and possibilities even among the philosophical students in the German universities. He
is bound to make his mark in life.'
Narendra's many-sided genius found its expression in music, as well. He studied both
instrumental and vocal music under expert teachers. He could play on many
instruments, but excelled in singing. From a Moslem teacher he learnt Hindi, Urdu, and
Persian songs, most of them of devotional nature.
He also became associated with the Brahmo Samaj, an important religious movement
of the time, which influenced him during this formative period of his life.
The introduction of English education in India following the British conquest of the
country brought Hindu society in contact with the intellectual and aggressive European
culture. The Hindu youths who came under the spell of the new, dynamic way of life
realized the many shortcomings of their own society. Under the Moslem rule, even
before the coming of the British, the dynamic aspect of the Hindu culture had been
suppressed and the caste-system stratified. The priests controlled the religious life of
the people for their own selfish interest. Meaningless dogmas and lifeless ceremonies
supplanted the invigorating philosophical teachings of the Upanishads and the
Bhagavad Gita. The masses were exploited, moreover, by the landlords, and the lot of
women was especially pitiable. Following the break-down of the Moslem rule, chaos
reigned in every field of Indian life, social, political, religious, and economic. The
newly introduced English education brought into sharp focus the many drawbacks of
society, and various reform movements, both liberal and orthodox, were initiated to
make the national life flow once more through healthy channels.
The Brahmo Samaj, one of these liberal movements, captured the imagination of the
educated youths of Bengal. Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833), the founder of this
religious organization, broke away from the rituals, image worship, and priestcraft of
orthodox Hinduism and exhorted his followers to dedicate themselves to the 'worship
and adoration of the Eternal, the Unsearchable, the Immutable Being, who is the
Author and the Preserver of the universe.' The Raja, endowed with a gigantic intellect,
studied the Hindu, Moslem, Christian, and Buddhist scriptures and was the first Indian
to realize the importance of the Western rational method for solving the diverse
problems of Hindu society. He took a prominent part in the introduction of English
education in India, which, though it at first produced a deleterious effect on the newly
awakened Hindu consciousness, ultimately revealed to a few Indians the glorious
heritage of their own indigenous civilization.
Among the prominent leaders of the Brahmo Samaj who succeeded Rammohan Roy
were Devendranath Tagore (1817-1905), a great devotee of the Upanishads, and
Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884), who was inclined to the rituals and doctrines of
Christianity. The Brahmo Samaj, under their leadership, discarded many of the
conventions of Hinduism such as rituals and the worship of God through images.
Primarily a reformist movement, it directed its main energy to the emancipation of
women, the remarriage of Hindu widows, the abolition of early marriage, and the
spread of mass education. Influenced by Western culture, the Brahmo Samaj upheld