Brahmabandhab
Upadhyaya (1861-1907) Time
Line
Born Bhabanicharan Bandyopadhyaya in Khanyan, Hugli. Brahmabandhab was a fiery patriot from an early age. Under the influence of Keshabchandra Sen, he joined the Brahma Samaj and went to Sind to preach his new faith. But, in Sind, he met Reverend Kalicharan Bandyopadhyaya under whose influence he was converted into a Roman Catholicism.
Influenced by Swami Vivekananda, he retraced his steps back to Hinduism and in 1901 took the name Brahmabandhab Upadhyaya. To propagate Vedanta in the West he went to England where he gave a series of lectures on Hinduism. He founded the Sarasvata-Ayatana in Calcutta in the tradition of the Vedas. He actively supported Rabindranath’s ideal of a Brahmavidyalaya and helped to organize the school in its early stages. Brahmabandhab's political sentiments however proved too strong to allow him to remain in purely educational work for long, and his connection with the school ceased about a year after the starting of the School.
Born a Brahmin, he typified the new Bengali middle-class: educated, upper caste and Hindu. Yet his conversion to Roman Catholicism and his revolutionary ideas for merging Christian doctrines with an Indian idiom marked him out as exceptional.
Death Centenary Celebration
The Centenary of the death (8.30am Sunday October 27, 1907) of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay will be celebrated from October 2006 to October 2007, in Kolkata and in other parts of India. A number of meetings have been held in Kolkata in connection with the centenary celebration. The Goethals library will host an exhibition in the last week of February, and a section will be devoted to the collected works and materials related to Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, as part of the death centenary celebration.
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Collection at Goethals :2005
Brahmabandhab Upadhyay |
1. Sophia, June-Dec 1900 (2 copies-bound) 2. Sophia – A monthly Catholic Journal, Jan-Dec 1894 (Vol. I) 3. Sophia – A monthly Catholic Journal, Jan-Oct 1895 (Vol II) 4. Sophia – A monthly Catholic Journal, Vol. II-IV (1895-1897) 5. Sophia – A monthly Catholic Journal, (2 bound copies) Vol. 5 (1898) 6. Sophia – Vol. 6 (1899) 7. Religious Views of Swami Brahmabandhav Upadhyaya: The first Indian Christian Theologian by Anil Mitra, SJ. 1970. St. Mary’s College, Darjeeling. (6B/407) 8. The Twentieth Century Vol. I (Jan-Dec. 1901). Editors: N Gupta and Brahmabandhab Upadhya. 9. Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, The life and thought of a Revolutionary by Julius J Lipner, OUP. Delhi. 1999 (6B/306) 10. Writings of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay by Julius Lipner & George Gispert-Sauch, United Theological College, Bangalore. 2002. 2 volumes. 30B/257(1), (2) 11. ‘Sanibarer Chiti’ (1961-64). 3 articles about Brahmabandhav Upadhyay in Bengali. 12. Jote. Vol. 51. January 1947. No. 1 13. An Indian Ashram: The Boys’ Own Home (Founded by Animananda) 1924. (38DB/114) 14. Upadhyaya Brahmabandhav: The political years by C Fonseca, SJ (6B/191). 15. Panchadasi – text, translation, commentary by B. Upadhyay. 16. Samaj (Bengali) by Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. (6B/122). 17. Blade: Life and work of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay by B. Animananda. Roy & Son. Calcutta. 1949 [511-UB-731a(A)] 2 copies 18. Swami Upadhyay Brahmabandhav: A story of His life by B. Animananda. 1908? (6B/124) 19. Infinite and the Finite by Upadhyaya Brahmabandhav: 3rd Edition 1918 20. A Teacher of Genius B Animananda by P Turmes, SJ (2 copies). (6B/130). Xavier Publications. Calcutta. 1963. 21. Short Treatise on the Existence of God by B C Banerji (Upadhyay Brahmabandhav), Karachi, 1893. (32H/2). 22. Upadhyay Brahmabandhav- Miscellaneous articles by and on Upadhyay Brahmabandhav, in 5 volumes Titled Varia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Languages: English & Bengali 23. An Indian Nation Builder by Animananda (A biography on Brahmabandhav Upadhyay) revised in 1946. Rewachand Gyanchand (Animananda) was the pupil of Brahmabandhav Upadhyay. (6B/123) 24. Transcription of an Autographed letter of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay to Fr. Billard and Lacombe, dated 10 Feb. 1898. (Xerox copy only). 25. Six large Folios (Preserved-Laminated and Encapsulated documents) containing articles, correspondence and writings by and pertaining to Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and Animananda. 26. Time line of the life of Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (encapsulated) by Timothy C Tennent. University of Edinburgh. 1997. |
Dr. Julius J. Lipner (University of Cambridge, UK) on Brahmabandhab Upadhyay
Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861-1907) was described by Rabindranath Tagore as a 'Roman Catholic ascetic yet a Vedantin - spirited, fearless, self-denying, learned and uncommonly influential'. Born a Brahmin, he typified the new Bengali middle-class: educated, upper caste and Hindu. Yet his conversion to Roman Catholicism and his revolutionary ideas for merging Christian doctrines with an 'Indian' idiom marked him out as exceptional. He was an ardent nationalist who died while under arrest for sedition in 1907.
Christian and Hindu, holy man and savant, prophet and revolutionary, Upadhyay was a paradoxical figure who played a key role in the struggle for independence, alongside Vivekananda, Tagore, Aurobindo Ghose and others. His fiery convictions and passionate rhetoric won him many admirers and branded him a dangerous revolutionary in the eyes of the British colonial establishment.
Upadhyay is in many ways the forgotten colossus of India's search for nationhood and modernity.
- Brahmabandhab Upadhyay: The life and Thought of a Revolutionary by Julius J Lipner, OUP, Delhi. 1999. Book No: 6B/306.