Brahmo Samaj (Bengali Bramho Shmaj) is the societal component of the Brahmo

religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent
to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in !"#$ %t was one of the most in&uential
religious mo'ements
()
responsible for the making of modern %ndia$
(*)
%t was concei'ed at +olkata
in !,- by Dwarkanath Tagore and .am /ohan .oy as reformation of the pre'ailing Brahmanism
of the time (speci0cally +ulin practices) and began the Bengal .enaissance of the #th century
pioneering all religious1 social and educational ad'ance of the 2indu community in the #th
century$
(,)
3rom the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism1 the most recent of %ndia4s faiths
recognised in law as distinct religions
(5)
and Bangladesh
(")
1 re&ecting its non6syncretic 7foundation
of .ammohun .oy4s reformed spiritual 2induism (contained in the !,- Banian deed) and
inclusion of root 2ebraic 6 %slamic creed and practice$7
(8)
After the publication of 2emendranath
Tagore4s Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in !8- which formally di'orced Brahmoism from
2induism1 the 0rst Brahmo Sama9 was founded in !8 at :ahore by ;andit <obin =handra .oy$
Meaning of name
The Brahmo Samaj literally denotes communities of men who worship Brahman.
[7]
In practice, a Brahmo Samaj is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting
publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and deout adoration of !the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal,
Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe.!
["]
Histor and timeline
Brahmo !abha
#n $% &ugust '"$" the first assembly of the Brahmo Sabha (progenitor of the Brahmo Samaj) was held at the
*orth +alcutta house of Feringhee ,amal Bose. This day is celebrated by Brahmos as Bhadrotsab (-
Bhadrotshb !Bhadro celebration!). .*[This !abha was convened at Calcutta by religious reformer Raja
Rammohun Roy for his family and friends settled there. The !abha regularly gathered on Saturday between
seven o'clock to nine o'clock. These were informal meetings of engali rahmins !the "twice born"#$
accom%anied by &%anishadic recitations in Sanskrit followed by engali translations of the Sanskrit
recitation and singing of rahmo hymns com%osed by Rammohun.''*' These meetings were o%en to all
rahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such.
[('[)*'
#n " /anuary '"0% influential progressie members of the closely related ,ulin Brahmin clan
['']
(scurrilously
['$]
described as 1irali Brahmin ie. ostracised for serice in the 2ughal Nizaamat of Bengal) of Tagore (Thakur)
and 3oy (Vandopdhyya) zumeendar family mutually e4ecuted the Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha for the first
&di Brahmo Samaj (place of worship) on +hitpore 3oad (now 3abindra Sarani), ,ol5ata, India with 3am
+handra 6idyabagish as first resident superintendent.
['0]
[#n $0 /anuary '"0% or ''th Magh, the Adi Brahmo premises were publicly inaugurated (with about 7%%
Brahmins and ' 8nglishman present). This day is celebrated by Brahmos as Maghotsab] (-
Maghotshb !2agh celebration!).
[In *oember '"0% 3ammohun 3oy left for 8ngland.]
['9]
Brief Ecli"se of Brahmo !abha
:ith 3ammohun.s departure for 8ngland in '"0%, the affairs of Brahmo Sabha were effectiely managed by
Trustees ;war5anath Tagore and 1andit 3am +handra 6idyabagish, with ;war5anath instructing his dian to
manage affairs. :ee5ly serice were held consonant with the Trust directie, consisting of three successie
parts< recitation of the 6edas by Telegu Brahmins in the closed apartment e4clusiely before the Brahmin
members of the congregation, reading and e4position of the =panishads for the general audience, and singing of
religious hymns. The reading of the 6edas was done e4clusiely before the Brahmin participants as the
orthodo4 Telugu Brahmin community and its members could not be persuaded to recite the 6edas before
Brahmins and non>Brahmins ali5e.
By the time of 3ammohun.s death in '"00 near Bristol (=,), attendance at the Sabha dwindled and the Telugu
Brahmins reied idolatry. The zumeendars, being preoccupied in business, had little time for affairs of Sabha,
and flame of Sabha was almost e4tinguished.
['7]
#attwabodhini "eriod
$n % $ctober &'() *ebendranath #agore, son of (Prince) *war+anath #agore, established Tattvaranjini
Sabha which was shortl thereafter renamed the #attwabodhini (Truth+seekers) !abha, Initiall confined
to immediate members of the #agore famil, in - ears it mustered over .// members, In &'0/
*ebendranath "ublished a Bangla translation of ,atha &%anishad, A modern researcher describes the
!abha1s "hiloso"h as modern middle+class !bourgeois# -edanta.
['?]
&mong its first members were the !two
giants of @indu reformation and Bengal 3enaissance, &5shay ,umar ;atta !who in '"0A emerged from the life
of an anonymous sBualor>beset indiidual! and Ishwar +handra 6idyasagar the !indigenous moderniCer!.
['7]
2irst 3ovenant and merger with the #attwabodhini !abha
#n 7th 1ous '7?7 Sha5a ('"90) ;ebendranath Tagore and twenty other Tattwabodhini stalwarts were formally
inited by 1t. 6idyabagish into the Trust of Brahmo Sabha. The 1ous 2ela at Santini5etan starts on this day
['"]
.
Drom this day forth, the Tattwabodhini Sabha dedicated itself to promoting 3am 2ohan 3oy.s creed.
['A]
The
other Brahmins who swore the Dirst +oenant of Brahmoism are<>

Shridhar Bhattacharya

Shyamacharan Bhattacharya

Brajendranath Tagore

Eirindranath Tagore, brother of ;ebendranath Tagore F father of Eanendranath Tagore

&nandachandra Bhattacharya

Tara5nath Bhattacharya

@arade +hattopadhyaya, the future father>in>law to 2aha&charya @emendranath Tagore

[$%]

Shyamacharan 2u5hopadhyaya

3amnarayan +hattopadhyaya

Sashibhushan 2u5hopadhyaya
*isagreement with the #attwabodhini
In 4ov &'.. the 5ev, 3harles *all (a Unitarian minister of Boston) arrived in 3alcutta to start his
mission and immediatel established contact with *ebendranath and other Brahmos, ;ebendranath.s
suspicion of foreigners alienated ;all and in '"77, ;ebendranath Tagore barred the entry of the 3eerend from
the Sabha premises for preaching the name o! "hrist ho some peop#e orship as $od within.
[$'][$$]
;ebendranath then proceeded on spiritual retreat to Simla. ;all, immediately formed a counter group !The
friends of 3ammmohun 3oy Society! and then got admitted a protege to Sabha. The presence of ;all.s protege
,eshub +handra Sen (a non>Brahmin) into the +alcutta Brahmo Sabha in '"77 while ;ebendranath was away
in Simla caused considerable stress in the moement, with many long time Tattabodhini Brahmin members
publicly leaing the Brahmo Sabha and institutions due to his high>handed ways. In September '"7",
;ebendranath returned to +alcutta to resole the simmering disputes. but his conseratie mien did not allow
him to ta5e decisie steps. @e proceeded on a sea oyage to +eylon accompanied by Sen and his $nd son
Satyendranath (a firm admirer of 2r Sen) but no concord was achieed. In '"7A, the enerable and beloed
Secretary of the Tattwabodhini Sabha Ishwar +handra 6idyasagar resigned from the Brahmo Sabha in the face
of ;ebendranath.s acillation. & meeting of the Tatwabodhini was promptly summoned with ;ebendranath
resigning from the group he had founded. @is third son @emendranath Tagore then a boy barely '7 years in age,
and the faorite pupil of 6idyasgar, was commonly acclaimed as ;ebendranath.s successor to head the
Tattwabodhini. In the course of time he would become 5nown as the MahaA%harya (or $reat Tea%her).
E6"ansion of the #attwabodhini !abha
*isgusted b "olitics within the #agore famil and the su""ort to 7,3,!en1s faction b his own brother
!atendranath #agore, Hemendranath too+ the bold decisions to e6"and his !abha out from 3alcutta,
His close associate Pandit 4obin 3handra 5o who had 8oined the new institution of 95ailwas9 in &'%/
as its 9Pamaster9 for U""er India was tas+ed to s"read Brahmoism there, :ith a "redominantl
monotheistic "o"ulace following Islam and !i+hism it was "erceived as fertile soil for 5ammohun1s
message, #he #attwabodhini decreed that the uncorru"ted faith of the original &'(/ #rust *eed would be
+nown there as the Adi *harm to distinguish it from the distorted versions of the s;uabbling factions of
3alcutta, The steps ta5en by @emendranath Tagore, with the blessing of his father, was to institute in '"?% a
suit before the Supreme +ourt to restore the title !Brahmo Samaj! to his faction. &fter losing in this suit in
'"?', ,eshub Sen.s faction altered the name of their Samaj from !The Brahmo Samaj of India! to !*aabidhan
(or the *ew ;ispensation)!. :ith ictory in this suit and the promulgation of his Brahmo Anusthan (+ode of
Brahmaic doctrine and practice) in '"?', @emendranath.s Samaj>ists are henceforth 5nown as the !&nusthanic!
Brahmos (or Brahmos who follow the +ode). The other factions were designated as !Ananusthanic! Brahmos
(or those who do not follow the +ode) (this distinction was again to be legally e4amined before the 1riy
+ouncil of Ereat Britain in 'A%' and in 'A%$ the 1riy +ouncil upheld the '"A7 finding of the +hief +ourt of
the 1unjab that the &di ;harm (anusthani% Brahmos) were definitely not @indus whereas the Ananusthani%s
Brahmos of +alcutta fall within @induism).
2oundation
<citation needed=
of the Brahmo !ama8
In '"?' the Brahmo Somaj (as it was spelled then) was founded at Gahore by *obin 3oy.
[$0]
It included many
Bengalis from the Gahore Bar &ssociation. 2any branches were opened in the 1unjab, at Huetta, 3awalpindi,
&mritsar etc.
3ontroversies
<-0=
over foundation of Brahmo !ama8 >
:ho founded the Brahmo !ama8 >
'. The Brahmo Samaj was founded at Gahore in '"?' by 1andit *ain +handra 3oy to propagate the
Brahmo religion. *obin +hunder 3oy had been deputed by 2aha&charya @emendranath Tagore to
spread the new &di ;harma message of casteless 6edic &ryanism in =pper India and rescue +hristian
conerts to the fold of the national religion.
:ho founded the Brahmo religion >
'. The Brahmo religion was founded in '"9A at +alcutta by ;ebendranath Tagore with the publication of
IBrahmo ;harmaI. This wor5 established Brahmoism as a separate religion apart from all others.
Is not 5a8a 5am Mohan 5o the Brahmo !ama8 founder >
'. 3am 2ohan 3oy started the Brahma Sabha (&ssociation of Brahmins) along with ;war5anath Tagore in
'"$". The objecties of this association were to publiciCe the true 6edanta which had been corrupted by
Buddhist and Brahmanical influences. The Sabha met eery :ednesday at ,amal BasuJs house in
+hitpur and later moed to their own premises at +hitpur 3oad in '"0% (purchased by the munificence
;war5anath Tagore) . &fter the death of 3am 2ohan 3oy in '"00, the Sabha became moribund.
Are these 3hit"ur "remises of &'(/ not the Adi Brahmo !ama8 >
'. It is correct that the present &di Brahmo Samaj premises are situated at the same location as '"0%.
@oweer, the &di Brahmo Samaj is only the name gien by the common people to the +alcutta Bramho
Samaj when ,eshub +hunder Sen and a few of his sympathisers were e4pelled from it by
2aha&charya.
If the 3alcutta Brahmo !ama8 is the same as Adi Brahmo !ama8, when was it founded >
'. The +alcutta Brahmo Samaj was so named in '"?0, when after a cyclone the +hitpur 3oad premises
were affected and Brahma Sabha (preiously amalgamated with Tattwabodhini Sabha) was shifted to the
/orasa5o Tha5ur bari.
2irst !ecession
;isagreement with the Tattabodhini came to a head publicly between the period of ' &ugust '"?7 till
*oember '"?? with many tiny splinter groups styling themseles as Brahmo. The most notable of these groups
styled itself !Brahmo Samaj of India!. This period is also referred to in the histories of the secessionists as the
!Dirst Schism!.
[$7]
3urrent status and number of adherents
:hile the arious +alcutta sponsored moements declined after 'A$% and faded into obscurity after the
1artition of India, the &di ;harm creed has e4panded and is now the Ath largest of India.s enumerated religions
with 7."0 million adherents, heaily concentrated between the states of 1unjab and =ttar 1radesh. In the Indian
census of $%%' only '77 persons declared themseles a !Brahmo!, but the number of subscriber members to
Brahmo Samaj is somewhat larger at around $%,%%% members.
[$?][$7]
!ocial ? 5eligious reform
In all fields of social reform, including abolition of the caste system and of the dowry system, emancipation of
women, and improing the educational system, the Brahmo Samaj reflected the ideologies of the Bengal
3enaissance. Brahmoism, as a means of discussing the dowry system, was a central theme of Sarat +handra
+hattopadhyay.s noted 'A'9 Bengali language noella, &arineeta.
&fter controersies, including the controersy oer ,eshub +hunder Sen.s daughter.s child marriage rituals
wherein the alidity of Brahmo marriages were Buestioned and split the Brahmo Samaj o! 'ndia, the Brahmo
Samaj Marriage Bi## o! ()*( was enacted as the Spe%ia# Marriages A%t o! ()*+ and set the age at which girls
could be married at '9.
[$"]
&ll Brahmo marriages were thereafter solemnised under this law which reBuired the
affirmation !I am not @indu, nor a 2ussalman, nor a +hristian!. The Special 2arriages &ct '"7$ was repealed
by the new Special 2arriages &ct in 'A79 which became the secular 2arriage law for India. The old Special
2arriages &ct of '"7$ was allowed to lie on as the @indu 2arriage &ct 'A77 for @indus > Brahmo
3eligionists are e4cluded from this &ctK which is applicable, howeer, to @indus who follow the Brahmo Samaj.
#n 2ay 7, $%%9 the Supreme +ourt of India, by order of the +hief /ustice, dismissed the Eoernment of :est
Bengal.s 0% year litigation to get Brahmos classified as @indus. The matter had preiously been heard by an ''
/udge +onstitution Bench of the +ourt (the second largest bench in the +ourt.s history). &s of $%%7 the statutory
minimum age for Brahmos to marry is $7(2)L$'(D) ersus $'(2)L'"(or '7D) for @indus.
It also supported social reform moements of people not directly attached to the Samaj, such as 1andit Iswar
+handra 6idyasagarJs moement which promoted widow re>marriage.
*octrine
The following doctrines, as noted in 3enaissance of @induism, are common to all arieties and offshoots of the
Brahmo Samaj<
[$A]
Brahmo Samajists hae no faith in any scripture as an authority.
Brahmo Samajists hae no faith in &atars.
Brahmo Samajists denounce polytheism and idol>worship.
Brahmo Samajists are against caste restrictions.
Brahmo Samajists ma5e faith in the doctrines of ,arma and 3ebirth optional.
Princi"les of Brahmo !ama8
The following prime principles are accepted by the ast majority of Brahmos today.
[0%]
$n @odA There is always Infinite Singularity > immanent and transcendant Singular &uthor and
1reserer of 84istence > @e who is manifest eerywhere and in eerything, in the fire and in the water,
in the smallest plant to the mightiest oa5.
$n BeingA Being is created from Singularity. Being is renewed to Singularity. Being e4ists to be one
(again) with Going Singularity.
$n Intelligent E6istenceA 3ighteous actions alone rule 84istence against +haos. ,nowledge of pure
+onscience (light within) is the #ne (Supreme) ruler of 84istence with no symbol or intermediary.
$n BoveA 3espect all creations and beings but neer enerate (worship) them for only Singularity can
be adored.
*ivisions of Brahmo !ama8
&di Brahmo Samaj
Sadharan Brahmo Samaj