RAM MOHAN ROY (17741833)

This article appears in Volume V22, Page 877 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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RAM MOHAN ROY (17741833) , Indian religious reformer, and founder of the Brahma Samaj (q.v.) or Theistic Church, was born at Radhanagar, in the

district

DISTRICT

of Hugli, Bengal, in May 1774. He was the son of a small landowner, and in his early life acquired a knowledge of Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit, besides his own vernacular,

Bengali

BENGALI

. At the age of sixteen he first assailed idolatry in his

Bengali

BENGALI

work

WORK

, entitled The Idolatrous Religious System of the Hindus. This gave offence to his orthodox father, and Ram Mohan left home and spent some years in travel. At the age of twenty-two he began his study of the English language, and he also acquired a knowledge of other modern and ancient European languages. On the death of his father he obtained an appointment under the British government in 1800, from which he retired in 1814, settled down in Calcutta, and devoted himself to religious reform. He had already inaugurated a circle for discussing the absurdities of idol

worship

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

, and published a striking book in Persian called Tuhfat-al-Muwahhidd:n (" A

Gift

GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. die Gift, gift, das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stem gab-, to give, cf. Dutch geven, Ger. geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence)

to Monotheists "). On his

settlement

SETTLEMENT
SETTLEMENT, ACT OF

in Calcutta he established a little friendly society (Atmiya Sabha), which met weekly to read the Hindu scriptures and to chant monotheistic hymns. In 182o he issued a selection from the Christian Gospels entitled The Precepts of Jesus the Guide to Peace and Happiness. He also wrote Bengali works on the Vedanta philosophy, translated some of the Upanishads, entered into controversies with Christian missionaries, and on the 23rd of January 183o definitely established the Brahma Samaj " for the

worship

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe." He gave his support to the

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

-general, Lord William Bentinck, for the abolition of the suttee rite, i.e. the custom of permitting Hindu widows to burn themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands. He also worked hard to spread education among his fellow-countrymen, and to improve the quality and the prestige of the native press. In 183o the emperor of Delhi bestowed on Ram Mohan the title of raja, and sent him to England as his agent. Raja Ram Mohan Roy gave his evidence before the Select Committee of the

House

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

of Commons on the judicial and revenue systems of India. He presented petitions to the

House

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

of Commons in support of the abolition of the suttee rite, and had the

satisfaction

SATISFACTION (Lat. salisfacerc, to satisfy)

of being present in the House when the appeal against such abolition was rejected on the rrth of July 1832. As the first educated and eminent Indian who had come to England, he received a cordial welcome from learned men; and Bentham addressed him as an " intensely admired and dearly beloved collaborator in the service of mankind." Ram Mohan also visited France and contemplated a voyage to America, but a sudden attack of brain fever led to his death on the 27th of September 1833. He was buried at Bristol, where a tomb was erected by his friend Dwarka Nath Tagore.

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