Brahmo Samaj

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Brahmo Samaj (Bengali: ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ Bramho Shômaj) is a monotheistic reform movement within the Hindu religion. Adherents are referred to as"Brahmos," and in modern days Brahmoism is a legally recognized religion in India. The name literally means a community (Sanskrit: 'samaj') of men who worship Brahman, the highest reality.

Debendranath Tagore, the father of poet Rabindranath Tagore, was an early leader in the Brahmo Sabha, along with Ram Mohun Roy. That group formed in 1828. In 1866, Tagore's disciple Keshub Chandra Sen created a schism that was took the name Brahmo Samaj.

Some aspects of Brahmo Samaj would have been attractive to Theosophists, particularly in its rejection of the authority of scriptures, and its lack of distinction between people of different castes and creeds. However the Founders, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, experienced hostility from some Brahmo Samaj practitioners such as Sen.[1]

Additional resources

Notes

  1. See the Context and background section of Letter 16 in Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom.