The modern religious philosophy of

Brahmoism Brahmoism is a religious movement which originated from the mid-19th century Bengali Renaissance, the nascent Indian independence movement. Adherents, known as ''Brahmos'' (singular Brahmo), are mainly of Indian or Bangladeshi origin or natio ...

is based in part on the foundations of reformer Raja

Ram Mohan Roy Raja Ram Mohan Roy ( bn, রামমোহন রায়; 22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform m ...

's humanitarian philosophy, as exemplified by the Trust Deed of Brahmo Sabha, known to

Brahmo Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as unpar ...

s as the ''1830 Brahmo Trust Deed''.

Brief history

On 20 August 1828 the first assembly of the Brahmo Sabha was held at

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

(Calcutta),

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This Sabha was convened by religious reformer Raja

for his family and friends settled there. These were essentially informal meetings of

Bengali Brahmin The Bengali Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. The Bengali Brahmins, along with Baidyas and ...

s, open to all

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

, and there was no formal organisation or theology as such. On 8 January 1830 influential members of the closely related Kulin clan of

Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter ...

(Thakur) and Roy (Vandopādhyāya) ''zumeendar'' family mutually executed the ''Trust Deed of Brahmo Sabha'' for the first

Adi Brahmo Samaj Adi Dharm refers to the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj ( bn, আদি ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ, Adi Brahmô Shômaj) the first development of Brahmoism and includes those Sadharan Brahmo Samajists who were reintegrated into Brahmoism a ...

place of worship on Chitpore Road (now Rabindra Sarani), Kolkata, India with Ram Chandra Vidyabagish as first resident superintendent. In November 1830, Ram Mohan Roy left for England, leaving the Trust Deed as legacy for his successors. In addition to being a legal document, the (Banian) Trust Deed of 1830 settles some basic principles of

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of th ...

* a place of public meeting of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction as shall behave and conduct themselves in an orderly sober religious and devout manner, or, * the worship and adoration of the Eternal Unsearchable and Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe, but not under or by any other name designation or title peculiarly used for and applied, to any particular being or beings by any man or set of men whatsoever, and, * that no graven image statue or sculpture, carving, painting, picture, portrait or the likeness of anything shall be admitted within the said messages building, land, tenements, hereditaments and premise, and, * that no sacrifice, offering, oblation of any kind or thing shall ever be permitted therein, and that no animal or living creature shall within or on the said message building, land, tenements, hereditaments and premises be deprived of life either for religious purposes or for food, and, * that no eating or drinking (except such as shall be necessary by any accident for the preservation of life) feasting or rioting be permitted therein, or thereon, and, * that in conducting the said worship and adoration, no object, animate or inanimate, that has been, or is, or shall hereafter become or be recognized as an object of worship by any man or set of men shall be reviled or slightingly or contemptuously spoken of or alluded to, either in preaching, prayer or in the hymns or other mode of worship that may be delivered or used in the said message or building, and, * that no sermon, preaching, discourse, prayer or hymn be delivered, made or used in such worship but such as have a tendency to the promotion of the contemplation of the Author and Preserver of the Universe, to the promotion of charity, morality, piety, benevolence, virtue and the strengthening the bonds of union between men of all religious persuasions and creeds, and, * also that a person of good repute and well known for his knowledge, piety and morality be employed by the said Trustees or the survivors or survivors of them or the heirs of such survivor or their or his assigns as a resident superintendent and for the purpose of superintending the worship so to be performed as in hereinbefore stated and expressed, and, * that such worship be performed daily or least as often as once in seven days.(Source: http://brahmosamaj.org.googlepages.com/trustdeed.html and also in physical form at Appendix-A at pages 549–557 in ''History of Brahmo Samaj'' by

Sivanath Sastri Sivanath Shastri or Sibanath Sastri (31 January 1848 – 30 September 1919) was a Bengali social reformer, writer, translator, scholar, editor philoshoper and historian.সুবোধচন্দ্র সেনগুপ্ত ও অঞ্জ ...

, 1911/1912, August 1993 reprint of second edition published by 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 ...

)

Analysis

The ''Trust Deed of 1830'' is a complex legal document in archaic legal drafting for transfer of the property at Chitpur Road to the Trustees. This section will guide you through it.

Trustors

Dwarkanath Tagore Dwarkanath Tagore ( bn, দ্বারকানাথ ঠাকুর, ''Darokanath Ţhakur''; 1794–1846) was one of the first Indian industrialists to form an enterprise with British partners. He was the son of Ramlochon Tagore, the founder ...

of Jorasankoe in the Town of Calcutta, Zumeendar, * Kalleenath Roy Choudhury of Burranugar in the Zillah of Havelly in the suburbs of Calcutta, Zumeendar *

Prasanna Coomar Tagore Prasanna may refer to: People As sole name * Prasanna (actor) (Prasanna Venkatesan, active from 2001), Indian film actor * Prasanna (theatre director) (born 1951), Indian theatre director and playwright * V. V. Prasanna, a Tamil playback singer ...

of Pattoriaghatta in Calcutta, Zumeendar, * Ram Chandra Vidyabagish of Simlah in Calcutta, Pundit, and *

of Manicktullah in Calcutta, aforesaid Zumeendar.

Trustees

* Boykontonath Roy of Burranugur in the Zillah of Havelly in the Suburbs of the Town of Calcutta, Zumeendar, * Radapersaud Roy of Manicktullah in Calcutta, Zumeendar and * Ramnath Tagore of Jorasankoe Calcutta.

Explanation of the parties

* Zumendeer = Zamindar = Large Landlords * Names are listed in alphabetical order in the Deed so that there is no "distinction" between them.

References and notes

External links

Brahmosamaj.org

TheBrahmosamaj.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trust Deed Of Brahmo Sabha Brahmoism Defunct Hindu organizations Hinduism in Kolkata Religious organizations established in 1830 1830 establishments in British India