Sādhāran Brahma Samāj; and great care was taken to organize the society in a representative way, so as to avoid the single-man government and the consequent changes of teaching which had caused so much trouble in the old body. The word sädhāran means "general," and is clearly meant to suggest that the society is catholic and democratic. With regard to doctrine and practice, they were anxious to continue the old theistic teaching and the social service and philanthropy which had characterized Keshab's Samaj to begin with. They were especially eager to go forward with female education. It was the easier to organize a representative government and to secure continuity of teaching, because, while there were many able men among them, there was no outstanding leader. Of the four missionaries appointed the most prominent was Pandit Siva Nath Sastrī. On the 22nd of January, 1881, their new building in Cornwallis Street was opened. Yet, despite the great schism, Keshab retained the primacy in Brahmaism by sheer genius and force of character until his death in 1884. His achievements during the last six years of his life are very remarkable, the extraordinary freshness of his thinking and writing, and the many new elements he introduced into his work. Yet, though very brilliant, these innovations have not proved nearly so fruitful and lasting as his early contributions to the cause. They will be more intelligible grouped under three heads, than set out in chronological order. 21. The first group comes under the head of his own phrase, the New Dispensation. For some years it had been clear that he thought of himself as having a special divine commission. That idea now becomes explicit. There have been a number of divine dispensations in the past: he is now the divinely appointed leader of the New Dispensation, in which all religions are harmonized, and which all men are summoned to enter as their spiritual home. He and his missionaries are the apostles of this new and universal church. But this claim, which, if logically carried out, would have set him, as the centre of the final religion of all time, far above Christ, Buddha, Muḥammad and every other leader, is crossed and hindered by two other thoughts, each of which influenced him powerfully during the last section of his life; first, the idea that all religions are true, which he took over from Rāmakṛishṇa Paramahamsa, and, secondly, a belief in the supremacy of Christ as the God-man. Consequently, all his teaching about the New Dispensation lacks consistency and grip. On the anniversary day in January in 1881 he appeared on the platform, with twelve of his missionaries around him, under a new red banner, on which were inscribed the words Naba Bidhan (Nava Vidhāna), that is, New Dispensation, and also an extraordinary symbol made up of the Hindu trident, the Christian cross and the crescent of Islam. On the table lay the Scriptures of the four greatest religions of the world, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Muḥammadanism. Four of the apostles were specially appointed that each might study the Scriptures of one of these religions. Henceforward, the phrase Brahma Samāj falls into the background, and Keshab's body is known as The Church of the New Dispensation. Feeling now more confident of his own inspiration, he frequently issued proclamations in the name of God, calling upon all men to accept the New Dispensation, and pronouncing those who had left him infidels, apostates and disobedient men. In keeping with the universality ascribed to the New Dispensation, the faithful were exhorted to turn their thoughts to the great men of all nations. One of the methods employed was to go on pilgrimage in imagination to see one of the great ones, and to spend some time in meditation on his teaching, achievements and virtues. Men and women were formed into orders of various kinds, and solemn vows were laid upon them. 22. The second group of innovations comes from Hinduism. How far Keshab had moved from his early theism may be seen from the following facts. In his early days he was a stern theist, and vehemently denounced polytheism and idolatry of every type. He was seriously opposed to all coquetting with other systems, believing that it was dangerous. When Mr. Sasipada Banerjea founded at Baranagar, near Calcutta, in 1873, the Sādhārana Dharma Sabha, i.e. the General Religious Association, the platform of which was open to Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians as well as to Brahmas, Keshab roundly condemned it, as the following sentences from his own paper show: We cannot but regard this new Society as a solemn sham before God and man. The members seem to have no fixed religion in them, and, in endeavouring to commend every creed, they only betray their anxiety to mock and insult everything sacred. Such dishonest latitudinarianism ought to be put down.1 But somewhere about 1875 Keshab made the acquaintance of Rāmakṛishṇa, and thereafter saw him frequently and listened with great pleasure and interest to his teaching. Now one of the most outstanding ideas of that gifted man was this, that all religions are true.2 In January, 1881, the New Dispensation was formally announced, as described above; and in the Sunday Mirror of October 23rd the following sentences appeared: Our position is not that truths are to be found in all religions; but that all the established religions of the world are true. There is a great deal of difference between the two assertions. The glorious mission of the New Dispensation is to harmonise religions and revelations, to establish the truth of every particular dispensation, and upon the basis of these particulars 1 1 This quotation occurs in an article in the Indian Mirror of Oct. 15th, 1896, called Prof. Max Müller on the Paramhansa. 2P. 197, below. to establish the largest and broadest induction of a general and glorious proposition.1 One of Rāmakrishna's friends had a picture painted symbolizing the dependence of Keshab on Rāmakṛishṇa in this matter. It is dealt with below.2 It was doubtless this idea, that all religions are true, and that their harmony can be demonstrated, which prompted Keshab to adopt a number of ceremonies from both Hinduism and Christianity and to seek so to interpret a great deal of Hindu doctrine and practice as to make it appear consistent with theism. He called God Mother. He adopted the homa sacrifice and the ārati ceremony (the waving of lights) into Brahma ritual. He expounded polytheism and idolatry as if they were variant forms of theism. He found spiritual nourishment in the Durgā Pūjā, i.e. the annual festival held in October in Bengal in honour of the demon-slaying Durgā, the blood-thirsty wife of Siva. In imitation of the 108 names of Vishņu, a Sanskrit hymn of praise, recounting 108 names of God, was composed, and became an integral part of the liturgy of his Church.3 Chaitanya's religious dance was introduced to express religious joy. Prayers were addressed to the Ganges, to the moon and to fire, as creatures of God and expressions of His power and His will. 23. The third group of innovations come from Christianity. Baptism and the Lord's Supper were both introduced into New Dispensation ritual. But of far more importance than these ceremonies were the new pieces of Christian doctrine adopted, above all, certain new convictions about the person of Christ. Ram Mohan Ray recognized clearly that Christ had a great contribution to make to Indian religion. He believed that 1I owe these quotations to HBS., II, 96. * HBS., II, 66. 'P. 293, below. |