physicians, who rank themselves next to Brahmans, and Ka ̄yasthas, tradition-
ally clerks, who claim Ks.atriya origin (Killingley 1991: 16). Being highly con-
scious of their caste status, and sensitive to accusations of having forfeited it
by taking up new occupations and consorting with foreigners, many of the
bhadralokwere meticulous about ritual purity, and lavish over rituals and patron-
age of Brahmans. Many of them also eagerly took up the opportunities for com-
munication represented by printing, the use of English, the growing education
system, and a new fashion for forming societies.
One such society was formed by Rammohun Roy (1772?–1833; the name is
sometimes spelled Ram Mohan Roy or Ray), the first notable Hindu to involve
himself in the new forms of communication. He founded newspapers in Bengali
and in Persian (which was a language of culture for Hindus as well as Muslims).
He published books in Bengali and English which attracted favorable notice over-
seas and controversy at home, and he corresponded with writers in Britain and
the United States.
Rammohun’s interests covered political and legal matters, education, and
religion. He believed that each religious tradition had a core of truth consisting
of belief in God and a humanitarian morality, but that each tradition had over-
laid this core with unnecessary or even pernicious doctrines and rules of prac-
tice. In Hinduism – he was probably the first Hindu to use the word, in 1816 –
one of his targets was “idol-worship – the source of prejudice and superstition,
and of the total destruction of moral principle” (Roy 1906: 21). Another was
the elaboration of ritual, which he claimed was promoted by Brahmans for their
own profit. He claimed, however, that the rational worship of one formless God,
without the use of images or rituals, was authorized by the Upanis.ads. It was
thus quite possible to reject image-worship and other rituals and yet remain a
Hindu, because “the doctrines of the unity of God are real Hinduism, as that reli-
gion was practised by our ancestors, and as it is well known at the present day
to many learned Brahmins” (Roy 1906: 90).
To promote this “real Hinduism,” Rammohun published Bengali and English
translations of some Upanis.ads, and the Ve d a ̄nta-Su ̄traorBrahma-Su ̄tra(see Part
II in this volume), following S ́an.kara’s commentaries in the main, but departing
from them at crucial points (Killingley 1993: 95–9). He also published contro-
versial tracts in which he supported his views with quotations not only from the
Upanis.ads and Ve d a ̄nta-Su ̄trabut from the Pura ̄n.as, Tantras, and other Sanskrit
texts. From 1815 to 1830, when he lived in Calcutta and wrote most of his pub-
lications, he led a society which was at first known as the A ̄tmı ̄ya Sabha ̄
(“friendly society”); in 1828 it was given a more formal shape as the Bra ̄hmo
Sabha ̄ or Bra ̄hmo Sama ̄j.Bra ̄hmois an English spelling of the Bengali word
bra ̄hmyaorbra ̄hma(these two spellings are pronounced alike), meaning literally
“belonging to Brahman,” this being Rammohun’s preferred name for God.
Members of the Sama ̄j often translated bra ̄hmaas “theist,” and called the Bra ̄hmo
Sama ̄j the Theistic Society. From Rammohun’s time the Bra ̄hmos had links with
the Unitarian movement in Christianity, which denies the doctrine of the Trinity
(Lavan 1977; Kopf 1979). Rammohun’s followers were also known as Veda ̄ntı ̄s
modernity, reform, and revival 515