Describe about life and teachings of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy spearheaded several important reforms in the Indian society. Most notably, he brought about social and religious reforms. He also pioneered the ideas of nationalism, which led to the birth of Nationalist movement.

a) Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born in 1772, in Radhanagar, Bengal. He was educated in many languages, including Greek, Latin, Hebrew etc., and was deeply influenced by the Western Thought.

b) Consequently, he came to despise the social evils that plagued the Indian society. He spoke against idol worship, sati, dowry, child marriage and alcoholism.

c) In a significant move, he established the BRAHMA SAMAJ in 1828. The Samaj was based on the teachings of Vedas and Upanishads. It was open to all religions, and was established with the aim to reform the society by eradicating social evils, promoting worship and charity, espousing the truth and working towards the goal of a better society.

d) The main principles of Brahma Samaj were the central teachings of Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s life – monotheism, attaining salvation through service, immortality of soul, social equality, search for truth in prayer etc.

e) He was also troubled by the prevalence of widow burning, called sati, in India. He lobbied hard and finally forced the British authorities to pass a law to ban sati in 1829.

f) He also helped to establish institutions that bore origin in Western education and thought eg. Vedanta College, Hindu College, English school. He also started a newspaper titled Sambad Kaumudi

g) He breathed his last in Bristol, England in 1833.