Hindu reform movements

{{short description|Contemporary reform Hindu denominations}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{More footnotes|date=October 2015}} {{EngvarB|date=February 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}} {{Hinduism small}} {{Redirect|Neo-Hinduism|related movement also sometimes called neo-Hinduism|Neo-Vedanta}} Contemporary groups, collectively termed '''Hindu reform movements''', '''reform Hinduism''',{{sfn|Bose|1884}}{{sfn|Beckerlegge|2006|p=435}} '''neo-Hinduism''',{{sfn|Beckerlegge|2006|p=435}} or '''Hindu revivalism''', strive to introduce regeneration and reform to Hinduism, both in a religious or spiritual and in a societal sense.{{sfn|Jones|1990|p=}} The movements started appearing during the Bengali Renaissance.{{sfn|Killingley|2019|pp=36–53}}

==History== {{Main|History of Hinduism}} {{See also|Neo-Vedanta}}

From the 18th century onward, India was colonised by the British. This process of colonisation had a huge impact on Indian society: social and religious leaders then integrated Western ideas with Hindu culture.{{sfn|Michaels|2004}}

==Social reform movements== In social work, Swami Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati, Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, Baba Amte and Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar have been most important. Sunderlal Bahuguna created the ''chipko'' movement for the preservation of forestlands according to the Hindu ecological ideas.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Future of the environment : the social dimensions of conservation and ecological alternatives|date=1988|publisher=Routledge|others=Pitt, David C.|isbn=0-415-00455-1|location=London|oclc=17648742}}</ref> The less accessible Vedas were rejected and parallel Vachanas were compiled.<ref>''Dalit: The Downtrodden of India''. Himansu Charan Sadangi. Isha books. 2008.</ref>

==Religious movements== ===Brahmo Samaj=== The Brahmo Samaj is a social and religious movement founded in Kolkata in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The Brahmo Samaj movement thereafter resulted in the Brahmo religion in 1850 founded by Debendranath Tagore, better known as the father of Rabindranath Tagore.{{sfn|Farquhar|1915}}

==== Brahmo Samaj of South India ==== The faith and Principles of Brahmo Samaj had spread to South Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala with many followers.

In Kerala the faith and principles of Brahmo Samaj and Raja Ram Mohun Roy had been propagated by Ayyathan Gopalan, and reform activities had been led by establishing Brahmo Samaj in 1898 in the Calicut (now Kozhikode) region. Gopalan was a doctor by profession, but dedicated his life to Brahmo Samaj, and was an active executive member of the Calcutta Sadharan Brahmo Samaj until his death.{{sfn|Bose|1884}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nazir|first=Parwez|date=2011|title=Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Social Reform and Empowerment of Women|journal=Journal of Exclusion Studies|volume=1|issue=2|pages=1|doi=10.5958/j.2231-4547.1.2.013|issn=2231-4547|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sati, a writeup of Raja Ram Mohan Roy about burning of widows alive|last=Rammohun Roy, Raja, 1772?-1833.|date=1996|publisher=B.R. Pub. Corp|isbn=8170188989|oclc=38110572}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Hatcher|first=Brian A.|title=Debendranath Tagore and the Tattvabodhinī Sabhā|date=2008-01-01|work=Bourgeouis Hinduism, or Faith of the Modern Vedantists|pages=33–48|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195326086|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326086.003.0003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Men I have seen; personal reminiscences of seven great Bengalis.|last=Śāstrī, Śibanātha, 1847-1919.|date=1948|publisher=Sadharan Brahmo Samaj|oclc=11057931}}</ref>{{sfn|Killingley|2019|pp=36–53}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Reflections on the Bengal renaissance : [papers read at a seminar, "Perspectives of the Bengal Renaissance"]|last=Seminar on Perspectives of the Bengal Renaissance (1976 : Rajshahi University)|date=1977|publisher=Institute of Bangladesh Studies, Rajshahi University|oclc=557887410}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|chapter=Rabindranath Tagore: His Life and Thought|date=2016-02-24|pages=1–17|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781315554709|doi=10.4324/9781315554709-1|title=The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore}}</ref>

===Arya Samaj=== The Arya Samaj is a monotheistic Hindu reform movement founded in India by Maharshi Dayananda, an ascetic who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas.<ref>Hastings J. and Selbi J. (Ed.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=i53tYSX9SZEC&dq=Swami+Dayananda+Saraswati&pg=PA61 ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics''] Kessinger 2003 part 3. p. 57. {{ISBN|0-7661-3671-X}}</ref>

It aimed to be a universal structure based on the authority of the Vedas. Dayananda stated that he wanted 'to make the world noble', i.e., to return Hinduism to its universality of the Vedas. To this end, the Arya Samaj started Shuddhi movement in early 20th century to bring back Hinduism to people converted to Islam and Christianity, set up schools and missionary organisations, and extended its activities outside India. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India in his book, The Discovery of India credits Arya Samaj in introducing proselytisation in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thursby|first1=G. R.|title=Hindu-Muslim relations in British India : a study of controversy, conflict, and communal movements in northern India 1923–1928|date=1975|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=9789004043800|page=[https://archive.org/details/hindumuslimrelat0000thur/page/3 3]|url=https://archive.org/details/hindumuslimrelat0000thur|url-access=registration|quote=arya samaj.}}</ref>

===Ramakrishna Movement=== {{Main|Neo-Vedanta|Swami Vivekananda|Ramakrishna Mission}} Swami Vivekananda was a central personality in the development of another stream of Hinduism in late 19th century and the early 20th century that reconciled the devotional (''bhakti-mārga'') path of his guru Sri Ramakrishna (of the Puri dashanami sampradāya) with the ''gnana mārga'' (path of knowledge). His ideals and sayings have inspired numerous Indians as well as non-Indians, Hindus as well as non-Hindus. Among the prominent figures whose ideals were very much influenced by them were Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi, Subhas Bose, Satyendranath Bose, Megh Nad Saha, Sister Nivedita, and Sri Aurobindo.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A history of modern yoga : Patañjali and Western esotericism|last=De Michelis, Elizabeth.|date=2004|publisher=Continuum|isbn=0-8264-6512-9|location=London|oclc=51942410}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anandamayi.org/books/Bithika2.htm|website=www.anandamayi.org|access-date=2020-01-16}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==Sources== {{refbegin|2}} * {{cite book |surname=Bose |given=Ram Chandra |title=Brahmoism; or, History of reformed Hinduism from its origin in 1830 |year=1884 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |oclc=1032604831}} * {{cite encyclopedia |surname=Beckerlegge |given=Gwilym |year=2006 |title=Neo-Hinduism |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements |editor-surname=Clarke |editor-given=Peter B. |editor-link=Peter B. Clarke |place=London; New York |publisher=Routledge |pages=435–436 |isbn=9-78-0-415-26707-6}} * {{Citation | last =Dense | first =Christian D. Von | year =1999 | title =Philosophers and Religious Leaders | publisher =Greenwood Publishing Group}} * {{cite book|surname=Farquhar |given=John Nicol |title=Modern religious movements in India |url=http://archive.org/details/modernreligiousm00farquoft |year=1915 |place=New York |publisher=Macmillan |others=Robarts — University of Toronto}} * {{cite encyclopedia |surname=Jones |given=Constance A. |surname2=Ryan |given2=James D. |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |url={{Google books|OgMmceadQ3gC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2007 |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions. J. Gordon Melton, Series Editor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402211115/https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PR17 |archive-date=2020-04-02|url-status=live}} * {{cite book |surname=Jones |given=Kenneth W. |chapter=Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India |title=The New Cambridge History of India |year=1990 |pages=36–53 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-24986-4}} * {{cite book |surname=Killingley |given=Dermot |chapter=Rammohun Roy and the Bengal Renaissance |title=The Oxford History of Hinduism: Modern Hinduism |year=2019 |pages=36–53 |place=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198790839 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198790839.003.0003}} * {{Citation | last =Michaels | first =Axel | year =2004 | title =Hinduism. Past and present | place =Princeton, New Jersey | publisher =Princeton University Press}} * {{Citation | last = Mukerji | first =Mādhava Bithika | year =1983 | title =Neo-Vedanta and Modernity | publisher =Ashutosh Prakashan Sansthan | url =http://www.anandamayi.org/books/Bithika2.htm}} * {{Citation | last =Renard | first =Philip | year =2010 | title =Non-Dualisme. De directe bevrijdingsweg | place =Cothen | publisher =Uitgeverij Juwelenschip}} * J. Zavos, ''Defending Hindu Tradition: Sanatana Dharma as a Symbol of Orthodoxy in Colonial India'', Religion (Academic Press), Volume 31, Number 2, April 2001, pp. 109–123. * Ghanshyam Shah, ''Social Movements in India: A Review of the Literature,'' New Delhi, Sage India, 2nd ed. (2004) {{ISBN|0-7619-9833-0}} {{refend}}

==External links== {{Wikiquote}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150318220319/http://www.pragoti.in/node/3947 Experiences of Struggles Against untouchability in Tamil Nadu] * [http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article2064040.ece Forum to fight against untouchability] * [http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/dalits-given-entry-into-tamil-nadu-temple-after-decades-148842 Dalits given entry into Tamil Nadu temple after decades]

{{Hindu reform movements}} {{New Religious Movements}} {{paganism}}{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hindu Reform Movements}} Category:Hindu denominations Category:Neo-Vedanta