New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-01-23
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
PERFORMED BRAHMANISM.

rho importancc of this collection of papers lies
principally in tie biographical sketches OF Ram
nohun Roy, Kcshub Chunder Sen, and Dayananda
Sarasvat tie orr nator and leaders OF the remarRa-
bic theisrc movement known rs the Brahma-SanlaI'
wichpromises as Professor Muller believes, to MAKE
nradical reformation i'll the ancient religion OIL lho'
fnot TO furnish purer faith for the whole world The
Brahma Samai meals the Society of the believers
In Drahman the Supreme Spirit" 1t is not sect
nor church; Professor Muller prefers to call IL az
nreseut only a movement an aspiration; nor Is IT
SO distinct tendency toward Christianity as many
persons have imagined on the contrary, it seems to
as more likely to hinder than promote the spreading
of the Christian religion. Yet it is phenomenon
of extraordinary interest; and Professor Mullers
account of il is one of the clearest and most exact
that we have ever read.
Fifty or sixty years ago Rammohun Roy, high-
caste Bengal rejecting the poytheism ana idoiatry
of the popular Hindu creed, proclaimed bellef Ill
One God. and organized regular meetings OF those
whom he could persuade to accept his reform.
Western thought no doubt had great influence upon
him and his disciples, although it was from contact
with blahometanism that he got the idea Of the
divine unity. His object however was not to over
throw Brahman!sm, but to reform it. He maintained
that monothelsm was the primitive religion of his
people, as revealed the inspired hymns OF the
Vedas Upon the supernatural authority OF these
sacred books lie based all his doctrines To them
he appealed alike against the dolatry of his coun-
try,nen and the claims of Christians for the BlDie
In point of fact the Vedas do not teach monothelsm
and Professor Muller thinks that Rammohun Roy
was not quite honest in saying that they did In
list ng only in jealousy guarded Sanscrit manu-
scripts, which even few scholars could read, the
Vodas were almost wholly inaccessible in Rammo-
hun Rows time, and he did not know what they
Ia; Ina M r,Drp
he did they could not contradict him. lie admired
the moral code of the New Testament; he respected
.Jesus Christ as a great and good teacher; he even
published collection Of extracts from the Gospels
excluding the miracles and whatever else he dis
liked His ethical system was compound OF laud-
able maxims taken wherever he found them, ana
thew led him to insist upon the abolition of caste
suffice and all manner of debasing rites. His theo-
logical system consisted in stripping what he held
TO be the old Vedic faith of the later corruptons OF
poythes.n andreducing it to the simplest expression
of belief in God So far as his theology went be-
yond this. it was pantheistic He obtained a great
MANY followers and his influence against idOlatry
and some of its customs was inestimable This SER
vice to civilization, together with his imaginary
tendency toward Christianity, caused him to be
most cordially welcomed when he visited England
in 1881 He died at Bristol III 1888; and It IS
alleged that in his latter days his mind was some
what affected and his manners bccaiae violent and
coarse.
Professor Muller gives him a high place
among great men. He faced many formidable OBJ
stacles in the defence of what he believed to be
truth-oss of CASTE loss property. the breaking of
family ties the sacrifice of personal feeling Thus
be was unselfish honest, and bold; and if these
three manly qualities do not entite him to the cpl
tibet great asks author pray in what does great
ness consist We might object that the perfect
honesty which Professor Muller ascribes TO Ram
mohun Roy on page % he denies to him on page 80
but we need not dwell upon these contradictory ver-
diets; the more charitable is doubtless the moro
Just and the charge that Ranmohun hoy was H.
sincere in his appeal to the Vedas is only an example
of Professor Mulers unfortunate propensity to at
tribute intellectual dishonesty to those who believe
more than he does But granting that RammOhun
Row was unselfsh, honest, and bold. were those
Qualities enough to make him great No; for man
might have them all and vet be a fool. No one Is
great unless besides possessing noble traits Oh ehar-
acter he achieves great deeds. Ramnohun hoy was
intelligent and earnest; but his perception fell far
short of the truth and to hail the invention OF his
acknowledgement system, whether we regard u
under tho aspect of a cold and naked thelsm or
cloudy pantheism, as great achievement would
certainly be wild flight of misplaced enthusiasm.
After the death of Rammohun Roy the Brahma
from Debendranath Tagone, at whose instigation
tho society formally repudiated the inspiration of
the yedas This significant step was taken in 1850
upon the report OF four young Brahmans who bad
been deputed to study the mysterious sacred books
and find ont what they really contained. The
change was curiously like a revolution by commit
tee. The claim of revelation being discarded in
tuition and the lessons Of nature were now made the
sole basis of faith The Vcdas were still held in re-
spect however on something like an equality with
the Bible and the Koran not rules of belief but as
more or less valuable incentives to conduct. De-
bendranath wished to preserve the national char
actcr of Brahnanism, to consult national feelings
and prejudices to spare all popular Hindu OBJ
servances which were not absolutely inconsistent
with monotheistc belief. But more radical and
progressive faction sprang up in the society under
the leadership of sprinclpal disciple
Keshub Chunder Sen. While the older reiOrmer
withdrew himself more and more from public llfe
passing long periods of contelnpatve retirement in
the mountains the young apostle made missionary
Journeys founded branches of the Sama and
preached with extraordinary effect He was man
of brilliant abilities, elOquence, activity, and
aspiring temperament He had no tenderness for
the national element in Brahmansm He looked
beyond India for the future of the new faith; he
dreamed of a union of the radical elements of Brah
manism, Mahometanism, Christianity, and other
creeds and systems, in what he and his followers
afterward called "The New DispcnsatOn." He
was supposed to hold Christ in rather higher esteem
than the conservative Samaj. but the difference
seems have been only in the degree of intellectual
appreciation, and really of no great cOnse
quence THEORETICALLY he agreed with DEFEND
ranath in regarding " the Book of Nature and In
tuition as the only basis of faith, and in holding
the pantheistic theory of the universe which forms
Q prominent part Of both of the old and the new
Brahmansm
An open schism took place when Debendra-