Protap Chunder Mozoomdar
Protap Chunder Majoomdar | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1840 |
| Died | 1905 |
| Nationality | Bengali |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, Religious Leader |
Protap Chunder Mozoomdar (Template:Lang-bn Protap Chôndro Mojumdar, also transliterated as Pratap Chander Mozoomdar) (1840–1905) was a leader of the Hindu reform movement, the Brahmo Samaj, in Bengal, India, and a close follower of Keshub Chandra Sen. He was a leading exemplar of the interaction between the philosophies and ethics of Hinduism and Christianity, about which he wrote in his book, The Oriental Christ.
Life and work
Sen and his colleagues agreed that four Brahmos would study and report on the relationship between Brahmo ideals and the four major world religions (Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Islam). Gour Govinda Ray was deputed to examine Hinduism; Aghore Nath Gupta, Buddhism and Girish Chandra Sen, Islam. Mozoomdar was deputed to study Christianity. His resulting book, The Oriental Christ, was published by Geo. H. Ellis in Boston in 1883.[2] It was much discussed in the West, and eventually led to an important correspondence between Mozoomdar and Max Müller about the relationship between Hinduism and Christianity. After Mozoomdar published the correspondence it led to controversy in both Britain and India. Müller's efforts to get Mozoomdar to state openly that he was now a Christian were rejected by Mozoomdar, who argued that the label "Christian" did not properly articulate his own positive view of Jesus as a model of self-sacrifice, one whose actions and claims to divinity he interpreted from within the Brahmo philosophy. In turn Müller stated that Christians should learn from the Brahmos and should abandon the traditional Christian formulation of Atonement.[3]
Mozoomdar also wrote several books about the spiritual and social ideals of the Brahmo movement and a biography of Sen, The Life and Teachings of Keshub Chunder Sen (1887). He also wrote a biography of Ramakrishna, of whom he expressed deep admiration. He attended the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893 as a delegate for the Brahmo Samaj. In October 1893, Mozoomdar was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.[4]
In 1919, the collected precepts of Protap Chunder Mazoomdar were published titled as 'Upadesh'.[5] The writings of Mazoomdar reflects an outlook that freely acknowledges the value and fundamental affinity of different religions - including Christianity, Islam, or Judaism - and the religious figures associated with their origin and propagation.
P C Mozoomdar failed to understand Swami Vivekananda. He failed to see Swami's love in particular for the country India and in general for all the humanity. Mozoomdar had said certain things about Swami Vivekananda which were false and had no authenticity. He had questioned the life and integrity of Swami Vivekananda after the world's parliament of religion in Chicago in 1893 which had made an unknown monk the most known representative of the poor, downtrodden and suffering people of India. Swami Vivekananda was representing a religion which was for everyone regardless of cast, color and creed. It was the religion of humanity. It was literally a new universal gospel the world was awaiting for and this parliament of religion became the instrument to bring it before the whole world. It must have been difficult for Mazoomdar to accept the message from an contemporary Indian brother who was younger in years to him.
References
- ^ Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), (1976), Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary), (in Bengali), p 290
- ^ Suresh Chunder Bose (1929). The Life of Protap Chunder Mozoomdar (Vol. 2). Calcutta: Nababidhan Press, p. 105.
- ^ Müller, Georgina, The Life and Letters of Right Honorable Friedrich Max Müller, 2 vols. London: Longman, 1902.
- ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
- ^ Protap Chunder Mazoomdar (1919). Upadesh. Calcutta.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Bibliography
- Suresh Chunder Bose (1940). The Life of Protap Chunder Mozoomdar. Nababidhan Trust.
- Sunrit Mullick (1 January 2010). The First Hindu Mission to America: The Pioneering Visits of Protap Chunder Mozoomdar. Northern Book Centre. ISBN 978-81-7211-281-3.
External links
- Works by or about Protap Chunder Mozoomdar at the Internet Archive
- Article in the Telegraph of India, "Rote, Rhetoric and Identity - The ‘mixed bag’ quality of the colonial encounter, by Malavika Karlekar",
- "The oriental Christ" written by Protap Chunder Mozoomdar
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