Sir Brajendra Nath Seal ( bn, ব্রজেন্দ্রনাথ শীল; 3 September 1864 – 3 December 1938) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Indian

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

philosopher. He served as the second vice chancellor of

Mysore University The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore. The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission ...

Life

Brajendranath Seal was born in

Haripal Haripal is a village in Haripal CD Block in Chandannagore subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Haripal is located at . Police station Haripal police station has jurisdiction over Haripal C ...

, Hoogly District (in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

), in 1864. His father Mohendranath Seal was one of the earliest followers of

Comte ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...

in Bengal. As a student of philosophy at the General Assembly's Institution (now

Scottish Church College, Calcutta Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

), he became attracted to Brahmo theology. And along with his better-known classmate and friend Narendranath Dutta, the future

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

, he regularly attended meetings of the

Sadharan Brahmo Samaj , native_name_lang = bn , abbreviation = , image = Sadharan Brahmo Samaj building in Kolkata 01.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Sadharan Brahmo Samaj building, Bidhan Sarani, Kolkata , motto = , predecessor = Brahmo Samaj , esta ...

. Later they would part ways with Dutta aligning himself with

Keshub Chunder Sen Keshub Chandra Sen ( bn, কেশবচন্দ্র সেন; also spelled Keshab Chunder Sen; 19 November 1838 – 8 January 1884) was a Hindu philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within ...

's New Dispensation (and later on to found his own religious movement, the

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

) and Seal staying on as an initiated member. Seal was the inaugural chair of philosophy at India's first graduate school in philosophy at the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

. Seal was regarded as 'a versatile scholar in many branches of learning, both scientific and humanistic,' and in his major work ''The Positive Sciences of Ancient Hindus'' demonstrated 'interrelations among the ancient Hindu philosophical concepts and their scientific theories.' He was appointed as the principal of

Krishnath College Murshidabad University is a public state university in Berhampore, Murshidabad, West Bengal. The university was established in 2021 by the West Bengal government under ''The Murshidabad University Act, 2018''. History The institution was establ ...

in Berhampore. Seal was the keynote speaker at the first session of the

First Universal Races Congress The First Universal Races Congress met in 1911 for four days at the University of London as an early effort at anti-racism. Speakers from a number of countries discussed race relations and how to improve them. The congress, with 2,100 attendees, ...

of 1911 on 26 July 1911, which gathered speakers and attendees from across the world to discuss racial issues and encourage international cooperation. Part of his address included the declaration that

We are assisting at a solemn function, the conferring of a new charter, the charter of the modern conscience, on each race and nation as a member of the world-system.... From this watch-tower of Humanity, we seem to hear the measureless tread of generations behind and before, to witness the universal march and procession of Humanity, at the opening of a new era...

Michael Biddiss notes that Seal's opening words 'set the tone of effusion and euphoria' which pervaded much of the Congress as a whole. Seal served as the vice chancellor of Mysore University from 1921 and retired in 1930 following a paralytic stroke.

Books

* ''A Memoir on the Co-efficient of Numbers: A Chapter on the Theory of Numbers'' (1891) * ''Neo-Romantic Movement in Bengali Literature'' (1890–91) * ''A Comparative Study of Christianity and Vaishnavism'' (1899) * ''New Essays in Criticism'' (1903) * ''Introduction to Hindu Chemistry'' (1911) * ''Positive Sciences of the Ancient Hindus'' (1915) * ''Race-Origin'' (1911) * ''Syllabus of Indian Philosophy'' (1924) * ''Rammohan Roy: The Universal Man'' (1933) * ''The Quest Eternal'' (1936)

References

*Kopf, David. 1979. ''The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind''. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press *Scottish Church College Magazine (Year – 1999, 2000, and 2001.Volume – 87, 88, and 89).

External links

* William Sweet (2003)
Brajendra Nath Seal''
* * ICHHIMUDDIN SARKAR
Acharya Brajendra Nath Seal’s Insights on Spiritualism and Humanity: Exposition and Reality
Tawarikh (International Journal for Historic Studies), Vol 8, No. 1(2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Seal, Brajendra Nath 1864 births 1938 deaths Bengali Hindus 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis Bengali poets 20th-century Bengali poets Scottish Church College alumni Bengali male poets Brahmos Indian male essayists 19th-century Indian historians Indian male poets 19th-century Indian philosophers Knights Bachelor Indian Knights Bachelor People associated with Santiniketan Writers from Kolkata University of Calcutta alumni University of Calcutta faculty University of Mysore faculty 19th-century Indian educational theorists City College, Kolkata faculty Bengali writers Bengali philosophers 19th-century Indian essayists 20th-century Indian philosophers Scientists from Kolkata 20th-century Indian essayists 20th-century Indian poets 19th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian historians 19th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian educational theorists Scholars from Kolkata Neo-Vedanta Indian humanists