https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Hindu_reform_movementsHindu reform movements - Revision history2026-07-31T11:37:26ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Hindu_reform_movements&diff=477176&oldid=prevBlshastri2 at 03:21, 3 February 20262026-02-03T03:21:17Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Contemporary reform Hindu denominations}}<br />
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{{Hinduism small}}<br />
{{Redirect|Neo-Hinduism|related movement also sometimes called neo-Hinduism|Neo-Vedanta}}<br />
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}}<br />
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==History==<br />
{{Main|History of Hinduism}}<br />
{{See also|Neo-Vedanta}}<br />
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From the 18th century onward, India was colonised by the [[British Raj|British]]. This process of colonisation had a huge impact on Indian society: social and religious leaders then integrated [[Western culture|Western ideas]] with [[Hindu culture]].{{sfn|Michaels|2004}}<br />
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==Social reform movements==<br />
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><br />
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==Religious movements==<br />
===Brahmo Samaj===<br />
The [[Brahmo Samaj]] is a social and religious movement founded in [[Kolkata]] in 1828 by [[Ram Mohan Roy|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}}<br />
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==== Brahmo Samaj of South India ====<br />
The faith and Principles of Brahmo Samaj had spread to South Indian states like [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Karnataka]], and [[Kerala]] with many followers.<br />
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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><br />
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===Arya Samaj===<br />
The [[Arya Samaj]] is a monotheistic [[Hindu]] [[reform movement]] founded in India by [[Dayananda Saraswati|Maharshi Dayananda]], an ascetic who believed in the [[infallible]] [[Moral absolutism|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> <br />
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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 (Hinduism)|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 [[Proselytism|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><br />
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===Ramakrishna Movement===<br />
{{Main|Neo-Vedanta|Swami Vivekananda|Ramakrishna Mission}}<br />
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> <br />
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==See also==<br />
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}<br />
* [[Ayyathan Gopalan]]<br />
* [[Bengal Renaissance]]<br />
* [[Contemporary Sant Mat movements]]<br />
* [[List of Hindu organisations]]<br />
* [[Hinduism in the West]]<br />
* [[Hindu Widows%27 Remarriage Act, 1856]]<br />
* [[New religious movement]]<br />
* [[Acharya Prashant]]<br />
{{div col end}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist|2}}<br />
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==Sources==<br />
{{refbegin|2}}<br />
* {{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}}<br />
* {{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}}<br />
* {{Citation | last =Dense | first =Christian D. Von | year =1999 | title =Philosophers and Religious Leaders | publisher =Greenwood Publishing Group}}<br />
* {{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}}<br />
* {{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}}<br />
* {{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}}<br />
* {{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}}<br />
* {{Citation | last =Michaels | first =Axel | year =2004 | title =Hinduism. Past and present | place =Princeton, New Jersey | publisher =Princeton University Press}}<br />
* {{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}}<br />
* {{Citation | last =Renard | first =Philip | year =2010 | title =Non-Dualisme. De directe bevrijdingsweg | place =Cothen | publisher =Uitgeverij Juwelenschip}}<br />
* 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.&nbsp;109–123.<br />
* Ghanshyam Shah, ''Social Movements in India: A Review of the Literature,'' New Delhi, Sage India, 2nd ed. (2004) {{ISBN|0-7619-9833-0}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{Wikiquote}}<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150318220319/http://www.pragoti.in/node/3947 Experiences of Struggles Against untouchability in Tamil Nadu]<br />
* [http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article2064040.ece Forum to fight against untouchability]<br />
* [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]<br />
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{{Hindu reform movements}}<br />
{{New Religious Movements}}<br />
{{paganism}}{{Authority control}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hindu Reform Movements}}<br />
[[Category:Hindu denominations]]<br />
[[Category:Neo-Vedanta]]</div>Blshastri2