Bhagavan Das

Bhagavan Das

Bhagavan Das (1869-1958) was an Indian Theosophist and educator who served as General Secretary of the Indian Section and as Secretary of Central Hindu College.

NOTE: He should not be confused with an American yogi and singer and using the same name, who is best known as the teacher of Ram Dass. Another Bhagwan Das (1927-2010) was an Ambedkarite and historian of the dalit movement.

Early years and education

Bhagavan Das was born in Varanasi, India on January 12, 1869. After schooling he "became a deputy in the collections bureau, and later left to continue his academic pursuits." He earned a Master of Arts degree in Calcutta. Later in life, he was honored with an LL.D (Doctor of Laws) degree at Benares and Allahabad. Some sources describe the honorary degree as a Doctorate in Literature, and he could well have received more than one honor.

Work for the Theosophical Society

"Inspired by a speech given by Annie Besant he joined The Theosophical Society in 1894."

He collaborated with Mrs. Besant in many initiatives, but strongly opposed her exhaltation of Jiddu Krishnamurti as the World Teacher, and particularly the way in which participation in the Order of the Star in the East was promoted in Central Hindu University. He wrote about that subject in his pamphlet, "The Central Hindu College and Mrs. Besant."

One of his friends was Ananda Coomaraswamy

Career as educator

In 1898, Bhagavan Das joined the faculty of Central Hindu College, the year of its founding by Annie Besant.

In 1921, working with Babu Shiv Prasad Gupt, he founded the Kashi Vidya Pith, a national University which has since been renamed Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith. He served as the first vice-chancellor. Mahatma Gandhi , Jawaharlal Nehru, and other prominent citizens were involved with the school's governance. "It was inaugurated by the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi on the 10th of February 1921 during the non-cooperation movement of Indian freedom struggle. The university was established with the objective of enrichment of Hindi as a national language, staunch support to Indian socialism and nationalism, equality of all religions and commitment to democracy."

In recent years it has become a public university with 227 colleges, serving hundreds of thousands of students. The current objectives of the university, much in line with Theosophical principles, are "to strive to enhance and propagate:

• The development of Indian civilization & culture based on spiritualism.
• Homogeneous intermingling of all the sections of Indian society.
• Coordination among different thoughts and cultures.
• The notion of independence and patriotism along with the feeling of brotherhood & the urge to serve mankind.
• Ancient and modern development in the fields of various disciplines of learning , sculpture , science , technology etc."

Political activism

"He was an advocate for national freedom from British rule; served for a time in the Central Legislative Assembly of British India, and was active on opposing rioting as a form of protest."

Later years

Dr. Bhagavan Das died on September 18, 1958.

Awards and honors

In 1955, Dr. Bhagavan Das was awarded the Bharat Ratna, also called the gem of India, the Republic's highest civilian award for his achievements in literature and education.

"A prominent road in New Delhi is named after him and a colony is also named after his name in Sigra area of Varanasi 'Dr. Bhagwan Das Nagar.'"

After his death, on January 12, 1969, India issued a stamp in commemoration. A centenary book was printed.

The Dr. Bhagwandas Central Library, also known as the Bhagwandas Swadhyaypith, was established in the year 1921 at Kashi Vidya Pith, the first Indian university founded by Indians. "This library has a great collection of books of humanities, social sciences, and science.

Writings

Dr. Bhagavan Das was much in demand as a writer for many Theosophical journals. The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists 127 articles by or about the name Bhagavan Das.

• Ancient Solutions of Modern Problems. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1933.
• Ancient versus Modern "Scientific Socialism", or, Theosophy and Capitalism, Fascism, Communism. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1934. [2]
• Annie Besant and the Changing World. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1934.
• The Central Hindu College and Mrs. Besant, the Rise of the Alcyone Cult. London: Divine Life Press, 1913 and Chicago, IL: Divine Life Press, 1913. 25 pages. Signed in Benares, India on July 17, 1913. This pamphlet expresses his disappointment with Mrs. Besant in the way that Central Hindu College was made into Banaras Hindu University. It discusses the Order of the Star in the East in some detail, as is Mrs. Besant's insistence on a pledge of obedience to her among E. S. T. members; his perception of her as vindictive; his perception of neo-Theosophy; and the establishment of the Theosophical Educational Trust.
• Communalism and Its Cure by Theosophy, Or Spiritual Health, the Only Sure Basis of Material Wealth. Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar 1934. [3]
• A Concordance Dictionary to The Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali. Benares: Kaashai, 1938.
• The Essential Unity of All Religions. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932. Wheaton, IL, Theosophical Press, 1966, 1939. 683 pages. Other editions and publishers; also published in Hindi. This book is widely held in libraries throughout the world. It was the very first title issued under the Quest Books imprint of the Theosophical Publishing House in Wheaton, Illinois.
• The Dawn of Another Renaissance. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1931. [4]
• The Ethico-Psychological Crux in Political Science and Art, or, Who Should be Legislators?. Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar 1931.
• Eugenics, Ethics and Metaphysics. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1930.
• Indian Ideals of Women's Education. Madras: Current Thought Press, 1929.
• Krishna, a Study in the Theory of Avataras. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1924.
• My Picture of Free India. Benares: Indian Book Shop, 1944.
• The Pranava-Vada of Gargyayana. Three volumes, with notes by Annie Besant. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1910-1913. Pranava-vāda is the Sanskrit for "uttering of Pranava (AUM)" Das alleges that the work is a "summarised translation" of an otherwise unknown "ancient text" by a sage called Gargyayana. Das states that the text was dictated to him from memory by one Pandit Dhanaraja, a theosophist friend of his who was blind in both eyes and had died before the book's publication.
• The Philosophy of Non-Co-operation and of Spiritual-Political Swaraj. Madras: Tagore & Co., 1922.
• The Psychology of Conversion. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1917. [5]
• The Religion of Theosophy. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1911. Pamphlet taken from a paper contributed to the Convention of Religions held in Allahabad, India, on the 9th, 10th and 11th of January 1911. Available at Theosophy Canada.
• The Science of the Emotions. London: William Byles & sons, 1900 and Benares: Theosophical Publishing House, 1908. Available at Internet Archive.
• The Science of Peace. 1904, 1921. Third edition: Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1948. Available at Internet Archive.
• The Science of Religion, or, Sanatana Vaidika Dharma, an Attempt at an Exposition of Principles. Benares: Indian Book Shop, 1948.
• The Science Of Social Organization, or, The Laws Of Manu In The Light Of Atma Vidya. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1935. [6]
• The Spiritualisation of the Science of Politics by Brahma-Vidya. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1919.
• The Superphysics of the Great War. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1916.

Articles???

• A Few Truths about Theosophy. in The Theosophist, Adyar September 1889. [7]
• The Science of Social Organisation, or, The laws of Manu in the Light of Theosophy. Adyar, India: Theosophist Office, 1910.
• The Fundamental Idea of Theosophy. Theosophist Office, Madras 1912. [8]
• The Metaphysics and Psychology of Theosophy. in The Theosophist, Adyar 1916.

Other resources

• Browning, K., An epitome of the "Science of the Emotions": A Summary of the Work of Pandit Bhagavan Das Published under that Title. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925.
• Ginsberg, Allen. Ah, Bhagavan Das Singing. 1972.
• Khanna, D. P. S. Dr Bhagwan Das as a Social Thinker. Delhi: Shree Publishing House, 1983. 244 pages. Exhaustive bibliography of Dr. Bhagwan Das's works, p. 241-244.
• Prakasa, Sri. Bharat-Ratna Dr. Bhagavan Das. Meerut, India: Meenakshi Prakashan, 1970. "Remembered by his son, Sri Prakasa."
• Rutherford, H. C. The Message of Bhagavan Das on the Present Significance of the Vedic Social Order. Richmond Hill, Surrey, England, 1962. "New Atlantis Foundation. Lecture".
• Shastri, Raja Ram, and others, Eds. Dr. Bhagavan Das, 1869-1969: a Centenary Volume. Varanasi: Kashi Vidyapith, 1969.