Debendranath Tagore 5816

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Debendranath Tagore Biography

Debendranath Tagore was an Indian religious reformer and

Hindu philosopher. This biography of Debendranath Tagore

provides detailed information about his childhood, life,

achievements, works & timeline.

Quick Facts

Also

Known As,

Famous

asPhilosopher

Nationality Indian

Religion Hinduism

Born on 15 May 1817 AD

Zodiac

SignTaurus

Born in Kolkata

Died on 19 January 1905 AD

Place of

deathKolkata

Father Dwarkanath Tagore

Spouse: Sarada Devi


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Children

Rabindranath Tagore, Satyendranath Tagore,

Dwijendranath Tagore, Swarnakumari Devi,

Hemendranath Tagore, Jyotirindranath Tagore,

Bhudendranath Tagore, Punyendranath Tagore

Quick Facts

Image Source : http://tinyurl.com/kjn2sh9

Debendranath Tagore was an Indian religious reformer and

Hindu philosopher. He was one of the founders of the Brahmo

religion. Born into a wealthy landowning family, he began hisformal education at the age of nine and was taught Sanskrit,

Persian, English, and Western philosophy. Deeply affected by

the death of his grandmother to whom he was greatly attached,

he was drawn to religion and began contemplating the meaning

and nature of life. He commenced a deep study of religious

literature, particularly the Upanishads and soon became

uninterested in worldly affairs and began his search for thealmighty. Debendranath Tagore was a deeply devout man who

spread his religious understanding by forming the Tattvabodhini

Sabha which he later merged with the Brahmo Sabha. His role

in the Bengal renaissance and the rejuvenation of Hinduism is

of considerable significance. A philanthropist and social activist,

he believed in democracy and his efforts helped to influence a

generation of Indians. Often addressed as Maharshi, he wasundoubtedly one of the greatest religious intellectuals born in

India.


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Childhood & Early Life

Debendranath Tagore was born on May 15, 1817, at

Calcutta, Bengal, Bengal Presidency, to Prince

Dwarkanath Tagore, a wealthy landowner and successful

entrepreneur, and his wife, Digambari Devi.

After receiving his early educat ion at home, he wasenrolled at the Anglo-Hindu College in 1827. After

attending the college for a brief period, he began

supervising his familys property and also showed interest

in philosophy and religion.

In 1838, his grandmother passed away and he

experienced a psychological change in himself. He

became deeply involved in religion and began reading the

Mahabharata, Upanishads, and books on many other

religious as well as philosophical subjects.

Career

In 1839, under the guidance of Pandit Ram Chandra

Vidyabageesh, Debendranath Tagore established the

Tattwabodhini Sabha to share his experiences andknowledge. Four years later, he introduced the

Tattwabodhini Patrika as a means to connect with the

followers of the community.

While serving as the secretary of the Tattwabodhini

Sabha, he stopped Hindu puja ceremonies and introduced

'Magh festival', 'Nababarsa', 'Diksa Din' and similar

festivals.

In 1843, he revived the Brahmo Sabha, which had

diminished since the death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy in

1833. Later, the Brahmo Sabha was formally merged with

the Tattwabodhini Sabha and was renamed as Calcutta

Brahma Samaj.

In 1848, he was instrumental in codifying the Adi Dharma

Doctrine as Brahmo Dharma Beej.

In 1850, he published a book titled Brahmo Dharma

which emphasized the fundamental principles of


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monotheism and rationality while rejecting the necessity of

mediation between man and God, caste distinctions and

idolatry.

In 1851, he was appointed as the Secretary of the British

Indian Association which aimed to represent Indian

interests to the British government. As the Secretary, he

campaigned for Indias political autonomy and to reduce

the tax burden on the poor.

He also campaigned to promote universal primary

education in India and established a Brahmo school. In

1863, he founded Shantiniketan, a retreat in rural Bengal,

which was later transformed into an international

university under the supervision of his youngest son,Rabindranath Tagore.

Major Works

Debendranath Tagore founded the 'Tattwabodhini Sabha'

to facilitate discussions on different philosophies and later

integrated the Brahmo Sabha with it. He also introduced

the different forms of Brahmo worship which were later

used by the community.

As the inf luence of Brahmoism spread throughout India

under his leadership, he established himself as a person

of particular spiritual accomplishment and came to be

known as Maharshi.

He also got involved in active politics and was selected as

the Secretary of the British Indian Association. Whileserving at the post, he made relentless efforts to terminate

the chowkidari tax for the poor villagers and also

demanded political independence for India from the British

parliament.

Personal Life & Legacy

He married Sarada Devi and the couple was blessed withseveral children of whom 13 survived. All of their children

went on to make a significant mark for themselves in their

respective fields.


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His eldest son, Dwijendranath, grew up to be a talented

scholar, poet and music composer while his second son,

Satyendranath became the first Indian to join the Indian

Civil Services.

His third son, Hemendranath, was a scientist and

organizer of the family while another son, Jyotirindranath,

went on to achieve success as an accomplished scholar,

artist, music composer and theatre personality.

His other sons were Birendranath, Somendranath, and

Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali polymath who reshaped

Bengali literature and music, and won a Nobel Prize in

Literature.

His daughters were Soudamini, Sukumari, Saratkumari,

Swarnakumari, and Barnakumari.

Debendranath Tagore died on January 19, 1905, in

Calcutta, India, at the age of 87.

Documents

Debendranath Tagore 5816