Guswhist

The Tattwabodhinī Sabhā ("Truth Propogating/Searching Society") was a group started in Calcutta on the 29th of September 1839 as a splinter group of the Brahmo Samaj, reformers of Hinduism and Indian Society. The founding member was Debendranath Tagore, previously of the Brahmo Samaj, eldest son of influential entrepreneur Dwarkanath Tagore, and eventually father to renowned polymath Rabindranath Tagore. In 1859 the Tattwabodhinī Sabhā were dissolved back into the Brāhmo Samāj by Debendranath Tagore.

Membership

In the early nineteenth century, following the influence and presence of British Missionaries, Bengal was in the throes of what has been dubbed the 'Bengal Renaissance', leading to a vast amount of new found wealth and material prosperity amongst high caste Indians. Dwarkanath Tagore, Debendranath's father, is often seen as India's first Western-style entrepreneur. The Tattwabodhinī Sabhā was generally composed of young men of similar standing - a class dubbed the 'bhadralok' (almost 'bourgeoisie').

Some notable members:

Debendranath Tagore

Ashkay Kumar Datta

Isvaracandra Vidyasagera

Ramacandra Vidyavagisa

Ramgo Pal Ghosh

Most scholars would also admit that Raja Rammohan Roy, who had a vast impact on the entire Bengal Renaissance, also had a huge influence on the ideas of Debendranath Tagore, and thus the groups ideology.

Objectives and Beliefs

The main objective of the Sabhā was to promote a more rational and humanist form of Hinduism based on the Vedānta, the Upanishads that form the last part of the Vedās (hence Vedā-anta, meaning 'end of the Vedās'). With increasing missionary presence in Calcutta tending to view the Classical branch of 'Avaida' Vedānta as amoral and renunciatory, the Tattwabodhinī Sabhā aimed to shield themselves and their reformed faith from criticism by distancing themselves from this 'outdated' version.

Debendranath Tagore said in 1843 that "It was to counteract influences like these [missionary] and inculcate on the Hindu religious inquirer's mind doctrines at once consonant to reason and human nature, for which he has to explore his own sacred resources, the Vedānta, that the society was originally established". This focus on rationality and humanity, whilst alleviating Missionary pressure, also allowed the materially wealthy 'bhadralok' members of the society to participate in a spiritual medium which did not condemn worldly concern. The group's writings, particularly the recently rediscovered 'Sabhyadiger Vaktṛtā', display a marked stress upon the role of the 'householder' (gṛhastha) as a religious path, over that of the renouncer of hermit. The Brahman, like the renouncer, must restrain his senses and passions, but only to the extent of not becoming obsessed with, or overcome by, anything in the material world.

Essentially, the Tattwabodhinī Sabhā's humanism in displayed in a profound focus on society and its interrelation. Their view , at least in the early years, was that the world is created by God, and all things within it are pathways to knowledge of Brahman, the Ultimate Self, and the ultimate goal. Similarly, they saw that material wealth, if made and possessed with the correct intention - that of helping society and others - was in fact not only ethically sound, but an utter necessity for harmonious society. Once again, their rationality is evident.

From 1843 onwards, they published a journal, the Tattwabodhinī Patrikā, which contained many discourses on their views on religion and society.

In 1855 Debendranath published his 'Brahmo Dharna' - an ethical guide for the members of the Tattwabodhinī Sabhā and Brāhmo Samaj.

References

Kopf, D; The Brāhmo Samāj and the shaping of the modern Indian mind; Princeton University Press; 1979 Hatcher, B. A; Bourgeois Hinduism, or the faith of the modern Vedantists; Oxford University Press; 2008 Flood, G; An Introduction to Hinduism; Cambridge University Press; 1996 Ali, M. M; The Bengali reaction to Christian Missionary activities; Mehrub Publications; 1965

--Guswhist (talk) 20:48, 28 December 2008 (UTC)