Ram Mohan Roy and Brahmo Samaj, which literally denotes communities of men who worship Brahman, are interlinked. Ram Mohan Roy has played a crucial role towards the foundation of Brahmo Samaj. The Brahmo Samaj was set up on 20th August 1828, and formed a strong platform for Ram Mohan`s expression of universal worship. The first secretary of the organization was one of the potent leaders of "Young Bengal" named Tarachand Chakravarti. At the beginning weekly services were organized, every Saturday. Later of course, it was transferred to Wednesday, a practice which has been retained to this day at the Brahmamandir of Rabindranath Tagore`s Shantiniketan in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.
Ram Mohan and his admirers and follower used to attend payers in the church of Christian sect. Disciple of Rammohan - Chanrashekar Dev and others wondered why they should not have a prayer Hall of their own. Rammohan approved this idea. As a result they hired a building belonging to a man named as Ram Kamal Basu and also opened a Prayer Hall called "Brahmo Samaj".
The members of the organization, used to meet every Saturday. Vedic hymns and music of Upanishads were chanted by scholars. Religious discourses were held where Ram Mohan recited religious poems composed by him. Muslim and Christian boys sang songs in Persian and English. Many Hindus and people from foreign lands also attended these meetings.
`There is only one God. None equals Him. He has no end. He is present in all living beings` - this was the faith of the Brahma`s. This was the message of Ram Mohan. The Brahmo Samaj did not recognize differences of caste, creed, race or nationality. It emphasized the idea of universal brotherhood.
It is a hundred and forty years since Ram Mohan died. But his memory is still green in the minds of Indians. He was an intellectual who tried to lead India to modernity. He taught the Hindus to give up meaningless beliefs and customs. He was the lamp that led Hindus to the essence of origin of Hinduism. His memory itself guides us to a noble life.
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