Keshub Chunder Sen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Keshub Chunder Sen (Bengali: কেশব চন্দ্র সেন Keshob Chôndro Shen) (also spelt Keshab Chandra Sen) (1838-1884) was a Bengali intellectual and a noted religious reformer. His primary quest was for a universal religion or belief-system. Keshub Chunder Sen was a leading light of the Brahmo Samaj for several decades. In later life, he established a syncretic school of spiritualism, called the Nabo Bidhan or 'New Dispensation', which he intended to amalgamate the best principles of Christianity and of the western spiritual tradition with Hinduism.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Evaluation 3 External links 4 References

[edit] Early life

Keshub Chandra Sen was born on November 19, 1838 into an affluent, 'modernist' family of renaissance Bengal. His grandfather, Ramkamal Sen (1783-1844) had been the compiler of the earliest English-Bengali Dictionary (two volumes published in 1830 and 1834. He had also been the first Indian secretary of the Asiatic society and one of the founders of the Hindu College (1817) and the Sanskrit College (1824). The young Keshub therefore received not only an excellent education but also exposure to emerging ideas and philosophies.

He was educated at one of the Calcutta colleges, where he became proficient in English literature and history. For a short time he was a clerk in the Bank of Bengal, but resigned his post to devote himself exclusively to literature and philosophy.

At that time Sir William Hamilton, Hugh Blair, Victor Cousin, J. H. Newman and R. W. Emerson were among his favorite authors. Their works made the deepest impression on him, for, as he expressed it, "Philosophy first taught me insight and reflection, and turned my eyes inward from the things of the external world, so that I began to reflect on my position, character and destiny."

Like many other educated Hindus, Keshub Chandra Sen had gradually dissociated himself from the popular forms of the native religion, without abandoning what he believed to be its spirit. As early as 1857 he joined the Brahma Samaj, a religious association aiming at the reformation of Hinduism. Keshub Chandra Sen threw himself with enthusiasm into the work of this society and in 1862 himself undertook the ministry of one of its branches. In the same year he helped to found the Albert College and started the Indian Mirror, a weekly journal in which social and moral subjects were discussed and the pioneering Bengali weekly, Sulava Samachar.

In 1863 he wrote The Brahma Samaj Vindicated. He also travelled about the country lecturing and preaching. The steady development of his reforming zeal led to a split in the society, which broke into two sections, Chunder Sen putting himself at the head of the reform movement, which took the name "Brahma Samaj of India", and tried to propagate its doctrines by missionary enterprise. Its tenets at this time were the following:

1. The wide universe is the temple of God.
2. Wisdom is the pure land of pilgrimage.
3. Truth is the everlasting scripture.
4. Faith is the root of all religions.
5. Love is the true spiritual culture.
6. The destruction of selfishness is the true asceticism.

In 1866 he delivered an address on Jesus Christ, Europe and Asia, which led to the false impression that he was about to embrace Christianity. This helped to call attention to him in Europe, and in 1870 he paid a visit to England. The Hindu preacher was warmly welcomed by almost all denominations, particularly by the Unitarians, with whose creed the new Brahma Samaj had most in common, and it was the committee of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association that organized the welcome soire at Hanover Square Rooms on the 12th of April. Ministers of ten different denominations were on the platform, and among those who officially bade him welcome were Lord Lawrence and Dean Stanley. He remained for six months in England, visiting most of the chief towns.

His eloquence, delivery and command of the language won universal admiration. His own impression of England was somewhat disappointing. Christianity in England appeared to him too sectarian and narrow, too muscular and hard, and Christian life in England more materialistic and outward than spiritual and inward. "I came here an Indian, I go back a confirmed Indian; I came here a Theist, I go back a confirmed Theist. I have learnt to love my own country more and more." These words spoken at the farewell soire may furnish the key to the change in him which so greatly puzzled many of his English friends.

He developed a tendency towards mysticism and a greater leaning to the spiritual teaching of the Indian philosophies, as well as a somewhat despotic attitude towards the Samaj. He gave his child daughter in marriage to the raja of Cooch Behar; he revived the performance of mystical plays, and himself took part in one. These changes alienated many followers, who deserted his standard and founded the Sadharana (General) Brahma Samaj (1878). Chunder Sen did what he could to reinvigorate his own section by a new infusion of Christian ideas and phrases, e.g. the New Dispensation, the Holy Spirit. He also instituted a sacramental meal of rice and water.

Two lectures delivered between 1881 and 1883 throw a good deal of light on his latest doctrines. They were The Marvellous Mystery, the Trinity, and Asia's Message to Europe. This latter is an eloquent plea against the Europeanizing of Asia, as well as a protest against Western sectarianism. During the intervals of his last illness he wrote The New Samhita, or the Sacred Laws of the Aryans of the New Dispensation. He died in January 1884, leaving many bitter enemies and many warm friends.

However, his Brahmo Samaj was against idol or image worship. Their faith was in saguna nirakara aspect of God - God without form but with benevolent attributes - if one may say so. Quite a few bright and young college students came under the influence of this seemingly new, progressive, and liberal reformist religious movement.

He was the third chief of Brahmo Samaj and his Service Book for Samaj meetings, the Slokasangraha, was a collection of texts from Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Chinese scriptures. It was a movement brought to birth by the conflict of East with West in the realm of intellect. Pandit Sivanath Sastri gives an insider's view of History of the Brahma Samaj. Incidentally, despite the differences in ideals, he and Sri Ramakrishna became friends. Keshub and, following him, other Brahmos publicized Ramakrishna before the larger public of Bengal through their speeches and writings. The discovery of Ramakrishna was one of the greatest gifts of the Brahmos to the Bengali intelligentsia of the nineteenth century.

When Keshab Chandra Sen came over to Europe in 1860's and 70's, Max Müller urged him to become a Christian.

Protap Chunder Mozoomdar (Pratap Chandra Mozumdar) wrote a book Life And Teachings Of Keshab Chandra Sen.

[edit] Evaluation

India has lost her greatest son, Keshub Chunder Sen… If we look around for true greatness, not only in England or Europe, but in the whole civilised world, and if we try to measure such greatness, not by mere success or popularity, but honestly, and, so to say, historically, taking into account the character of the work done and the spirit in which it was done, few, I believe, would deny that it was given to Keshub Chunder Sen to perform one of the greatest works in our generation, and that he performed it nobly and well… Like all great men, he had warm friends and bitter enemies. He himself was proud of both, and though fully aware of the greatness of the work committed to him, and quite conscious of his own worth and dignity, he far more frequently protested against his exaggerated praise than against unmerited blame… As long as there is religion in India, whatever its name may be, the name of Keshub Chunder Sen will be gratefully remembered as one who lived and died for the glory of God, for the welfare of mankind, and for the truth, as far as he could see it. ^[1]

- Max Muller (1884)

Keshub had a social sense and wished to rouse the same feeling throughout India… Just as Vivekananda in after days (Vivekananda incidentally owed him a great deal without perhaps realising it; for ideas are a natural outcome of the age and are born at the same time in different minds), Keshub believed religion to be necessary for the regeneration of race. In an address at Bombay in 1868, he maintained that he wished to make it “the basis of social reforms”. Hence, religious reform within the Brahmo Samaj was to bear fruit in action. Keshub’s active but somewhat restless hand was therefore to be seen casting into the soil of India a handful of fruitful seeds, which in his turn Vivekananda sowed broadcast with powerful arm upon the mother country already awakened by the thunder of his words.

But Keshub came before his time. Some of his reforms even came up against the traditional spirit of the Brahmo Samaj…

He was in fact too far away from the deep-seated soul of his people. He wished to raise them all at once to the pure heights of his intellect, which had been itself nourished by the idealism and the Christ of Europe. In social matters, none of his predecessors, with the exception of Roy, had done so much for her progress; but he ran counter to the rising tide of national consciousness, then feverishly awakening. Against him were the three hundred million gods of India and three hundred million human beings in whom they were incarnate – the whole vast jungle of human dreams wherein his Western outlook made him miss the track and scent… ^[2]

- Romain Rolland (1929)

[edit] External links

• Hindu School, Kolkata - Web Site

• Evolution of Brahmo Samaj

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• The Banglapedia article on Keshub Chunder Sen

1. ^ From B.Mozoomdar’s Professor Max Muller on Ramkrishna and the World on Keshub Chunder Sen. Reprinted in Brahmananda Keshub Chunder Sen “Testimonies in Memoriam”, Compiled by G.C.Banerjee, Allahabad , 1934.
2. ^ The Life of Ramakrishna by Romain Rolland, translated by E.F. Malcolm-Smith.

Hindu reform movements v • d • e
Brahmo Samaj · Prarthana Samaj  · Arya Samaj · Ramakrishna Mission · Gandhism · Hindutva · Sri Aurobindo Ashram · Parisada Hindu Dharma
Topics
Bhakti · Caste · Indian independence movement ·Persecution of Hindus ·Shuddhi ·Women in Hinduism
Important Hindu reformers and Hindu revivalist writers
Sri Aurobindo · Ananda Coomaraswamy · Alain Daniélou · Koenraad Elst · David Frawley · Sita Ram Goel · M. S. Golwalkar · Mahatma Gandhi · Harsh Narain · Gedong Bagus Oka · The Mother · Srila Prabhupada · Raja Ram Mohun Roy · Ramakrishna · Dayananda Saraswati · V. D. Savarkar · Keshub Chandra Sen · Swami Sivananda · Arun Shourie · Ram Swarup · Debendranath Tagore · Rabindranath Tagore · B. G. Tilak · Vivekananda · Yogananda