Assignment

On

Elucidate the perspectives of Brahmabhandhav Upadhyay on the

incarnation of Christ and Is he agreeing with concept of Jesus as Avatar

Name: Joyel Santhosh

Class: BD 3
Submitted To: Rev. A. G. Jude

Subject: Indian Christian Theology

Luther W. New Jr. Theological College, Dehradun

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 Introduction 3
1. Brahmabandhav Upadhyay life sketch and the contextual influence 3
1.1 Life and family background 3
1.2 Socio-Political Background 3
1.3 Religio-Cultural Background 4
2. Defining the terms 5
2.1 Incarnation 5
2.2 Avatar 6
3. Similarities and dissimilarities between Incarnation and Avatar 6
4. Upadhyay on the incarnation of Jesus. 7
5. The Hymn of Incarnation 7
6. Upadhyay’s take on Jesus as Avatar 9
7. Reflection: Christ as the Nara-Hari 10
Conclusion 10
Bibliography 11

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 Introduction
Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861 to 1907) is one of the most fascinating figures of Indian
church history. The significance of his life and thought can be seen by the fact that a lot of major
studies have been written by both Roman Catholic and Evangelical scholars about this person. The
scope of the paper is to study Brahmabandhab Upadhyay's understanding of Christology. This paper
will deal with topics like Avatara, Saccidananda, Christ as Cit, Logos, and Nara-Hari. I hope that by
the end of this paper, we will have a basic understanding of what Brahmabandhab Upadhyay is
attempting to convey so that we will be able to move forward toward an advanced level of
understanding.

1. Brahmabandhav Upadhyay life sketch and the contextual influence

To understand deeper about Upadhyay’s view on Christology, we need to first look into the
background and the influential context of Upadhyay’s time.
1.1 Life and family background
Bhavani charan Banerji, better known as Brahmabandhav Upadhyay, was born in a village
near Calcutta in 186.1 Upadhyay was born into an elite family named Bhadralok. Bhadralok’s were
known as the “Cultured people”. It was said that the Bhadraloks were the "well-educated people."
British-Indian cultural brokers were known as the Bhadralok. They were given the chance to study
English, and they were known in Calcutta for establishing a number of English-medium schools.
As a result of his family's background, Upadhyay attended an English-medium school. He
was very much involved in social debates and teaching in schools. The Bhadralok family had an
important role in the social, religious, and political transformations2.

1.2 Socio-Political Background

During the early 19th century the Bengali intellect learned to raise questions about issues &
beliefs under the impact of British rule in the Indian subcontinent. People in Bengal had a unique
intellectual awakening that could be called a Renaissance. The European knowledge, especially in
the fields of philosophy, history, science, and literature, through English-language education has
changed the way people think and live in the modern world. Renaissance minds included Raja
Rammohan Roy (1774-1833), Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-1831) & his radical disciples,

1Julius J. Lipner, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay the Life and Thought of a Revolutionary (Great
Clarendon Street: Oxford University Press, 1999), 1-3.
2Timothy C Tennet, Building Christianity on Indian Foundations : The Legacy of Brahmab ndhav
Up dhy y (Delhi: Ispck, 2000), 53.
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 Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905) & his followers, Akshay Kumar Datta (1820-1826), Iswar
Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91), Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-73), Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhyay (1838-94), and Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)3. Also in the 1800s, Calcutta was
not only the capital of the province of Bengal, but it was also the capital of the whole country of
British India. we can also see it was becoming the centre of Indian nationalism. Around 1861, the
nationalist process, was in its very early stages. Even in its infancy, there were few clues that the
country of India was about to be born politically. In the 1800s Bengal was in a tensions between
Bengalis and Britishers who rose more on social and religious grounds than on any other grounds
before the middle of the 19th century. The fact that they didn't fight over politics doesn't mean that
there wasn't a fight. Many Bengalis didn't feel like they had a shared history and destiny, or had a
right to be self-rule, like people who are "nationalists." Instead, several types of regroupings were
taking place among socially prominent Bengalis. Eventually, in the late 1800s, these turned into
different ideas and events that led to Indian nationalism4.

1.3 Religio-Cultural Background

Hinduism was on the defence before to the nineteenth century. According to J. Linper, most
westernised Bengalis accepted the fact that hinduism has a severe contrast between its classical past
and ignorant, superstitious, and degraded religious practises in the 19th centuary. 19th century there
is a huge change. Hindu religion woke up from its sleep and started to revive itself. It took
advantage of the western lack of spirituality and gave importance to the Sanatana Dharma. In this
context, we can see the birth of Hindu Reformers in Bengal who wanted to cleanse current abuses
and degrading parts of Hinduism by saying that these difficulties and concerns in Hinduism are later
add-ons, and that the true Hinduism of the past, which is India's beautiful history, has to be
rediscovered. These Bengali youth, with great enthusiasm, studied "the rationalism of Descartes and
Spinoza, the scepticism of Hume, the utilitarianism of Bentham and Mills, the transcendentalism of
Kant, the positivism of Comte. They then used what they learned to challenge the beliefs of their
own society, religion, and culture. As Indians began to write works of poetry, drama, and fiction that
focused on human dignity and equality, a whole new kind of literature came into being. Individual
rights were claimed over traditional family and caste conventions. Printing was a big part of this

3 Sudipta Sahathe, “THE BENGAL RENAISSANCE,” June 1, 2021.

4Julius Lipner, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, 1-3.
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 whole process in 19th century Bengal. The printing press played an important role in the spread of
ideas5.
The Brahmo Sabha (Assembly of Brahman, that is, of the Supreme Being, afterwards
renamed the Brahmo Samaj or Society of Brahman) and the second, Young Bengal, were two of the
most significant groups in this period. The Brahmo Sabha was founded by, Rammohan Roy
(1774-1833), and the second by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-31), a youth of Ind -Portuguese
extraction. The Brahmo Samaj was probably the most powerful tool for social and religious change
in nineteenth-century Bengal6. The aim of the Sabha was to spread his Vedanta-based monotheism
and to promote the egalitarian social changes. The Sabha started out with little or no organisation
(no official membership) and several cultural taboos (e.g. only Brahmins were allowed to read the
Vedas). No doubt Rammohan had the total respect for his more orthodox Hindu friends and did not
want to insult them. There were a few who didn't like this project. This led to Radhakanta Deb, the
founder of the so-called bhadralok conservatives, forming the Dharma Sabha (the Assembly for the
Preservation of Dharma) in the early 1830s7.
When we relate all of this to Upadhyay's work and theology (which we shall discuss in more
detail in the following section), we can plainly see how he was inspired by every aspect of his
background.

2. Defining the terms

2.1 Incarnation
The word "incarnation" means "in flesh." This word refers to the fact that the eternal Son of
God took on a new nature, humanity, through the virgin birth. As a consequence, Christ retains His
unblemished divinity, which He has had from the beginning of time; but He also retains real, pure
humanity in one Person for all eternity8. Upadhyay define Incarnation as “God a being of Infinite,
uncompounded, independent nature, enters into a personal union with a human nature, so that the
action of the assumed nature become His personal action and derive their dignity from Him.”9

5 Timothy Tennet, Building Christianity on Indian Foundations, 55-56.

6 Julius Lipner, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, 15.
7 Julius Lipner, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, 20.
8Harold Willmington, “Scholars Crossing Scholars Crossing,” Liberty University, 2017, https://
digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=second_person.
9 Timothy Tennet, Building Christianity on Indian Foundations, 323.
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 2.2 Avatar
According Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that He will take avataras as and when needed, in
order to protect sadhus, to destroy the wicked and to establish dharma.10
According to Timothy C. Tennent “Avatar maybe broadly defined as a descent or a Divine
coming down into the world without necessarily distinguished what the nature, extent or limitations
of this descent may be”11

3. Similarities and dissimilarities between Incarnation and Avatar

Between the Avatar tradition and Incarnation has few similarities and dissimilarities.
Similarities:
a) The slow or progressive nature In it we read that "God spoke to our ancestors in many and
various ways through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through a Son." This is
how it works in the Avatara tradition, too. beginning with aquatic beings (fish, tortoise, etc.) and
culminating in human forms, Rama, Krishna, and Kalki. b) The purpose in both cases is salvation.
In the Avatara tradition it is called the restoration of the dharma (righteousness). c) In both the
traditions there is also the aspect of revelation taking place. d) In the Incarnation as well as in the
Avatara there is the concept of a crossing over or descent from the divine level (ava-tarate means in
Sanskrit to cross over). e) In both traditions, there is an aspect about defeating the demons. Jesus
Christ casts out the demons; the Avatara destroys or pushes down the demon into the hell12.

Dissimilarities
a) Regarding the frequency. Incarnation is only one and once, while avataras are manifold.
b) The nature of the Incarnation is real. In the Incarnation, the Word of God really becomes For this
reason, Jesus Christ remains man. eternally human, i.e., even after his resurrection. In Avatara there
is no real becoming; it is illusory, the deity only assumes a seeming body. That is why an Avatara is
said to float over the earth, as it walks. Precisely because the Avatara does not really become what it
assumes, it can take as many forms as wishes. If it were to really become all the different forms it
assumes, it would become a monster! c) While the purpose of the Incarnation is for forgiveness of

Sta Reporter, “Purpose of Avatars,” Return to frontpage (The Hindu, April 11, 2018), https://
10
www.thehindu.com/society/faith/purpose-of-avatars/article23505391.ece.
11 Timothy Tennet, Building Christianity on Indian Foundations, 323.
12 Sebastian Athappilly, Christology Today: Mystery and History of Jesus Christ, vol. 1 (Bangalore
(India): Dharmaram Publications, 2007), 295.
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 the wicked and sinners by calling them into repentance and conversion, the Avatara comes in order
to punish the wicked. Often the asuras (the demons) are the objects of the punishment. d) As regards
the dynamism or continued effect, Incarnation continues through the sacraments; but no such
dynamism ascribed to Avatara. In the life style. Christ in his Incarnation adopts poor and humble
life style of servant; Avatara sometimes comes as king, or rich man. There is a battle and victory.
Christ underwent defeat and death13.

4. Upadhyay on the incarnation of Jesus.

Upadhyay’s explains incarnation of Christ the unique Incarnation of God. According to
Upadhyay there is only one Incarnation, that of Christ, for he is unique and in him God himself.
Parabrahman than whom there can be none higher, becomes incarnate. Having thus made secure the
position of Christ as the unique Incarnation of God, Upadhyay somewhat startlingly goes on in his
later writings to allow a certain validity to the claims of Krishna, not as an incarnation of Brahman--
for that position belongs to Christ alone. a Roman Catholic he believes in natural theology, and
Hinduism represents natural theology-' the highest rational philosophy' and indeed a natural
theology. Within the framework of that natural theology Krishna appears as an incarnation of Visnu,
who is himself a personal manifestation of the supreme impersonal Brahman. Thus Krishna is at
several removes from God, and appears only in time and space, not having any existence apart from
that. In other words he belongs to the realm of Maya, of contingent being. Christ on the other hand
is beyond māyā, for he is God himself, living in the eternal dialogue of the Trinity. He too appears
in history as the man Jesus, but his personality is eternally in the Godhead. Thus Krishna the avatara
does not constitute a threat to Christ the Incarnation. In a blunt but vivid phrase Upadhyay says,
‘ Christ is like the sun and Krishna... a juicy ball!'14

5. The Hymn of Incarnation

Upadhyay is well known for his Sanskrit Hymn. This hymn is known as the Hymn of
Incarnation or the Incarnate Logo. The Hymn of Incarnation also introduce Upadhyay’s teaching on
the person of Christ15. The hymn is divided into six stanzas, each adoring six stages in the existence
and life of Jesus Christ.

13 Sebastian Athappilly, Christology Today, 296.

14 Robin H S Boyd, An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology, 82.
15 Timothy Tennet, Building Christianity on Indian Foundations, 239.
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 1. Praise to the Logos pre-existing in the Godhead

2. Praise to the Logos as the incarnate one
3. Praise to the hidden life of the Logos
4. Praise to the public life of the Logos
5. Praise to the meaning of the death of the Logos
6. Praise to the glorious life of the Logos and His victory over death16

The transcendent Image of Brahman,

Blossomed and mirrored in the full-to-overflowing
Eternal Intelligence–
Victory to God, the God-man.

Child of the pure Virgin,

Guide of the Universe, infinite in Being
Yet beauteous with relations,
Victory to God, the God-Man.

Ornament of the Assembly

Of saints and sages, Destroyer of fear,
Chastiser of the Spirit of Evil–
Victory to God, the God-Man.

Dispeller of weakness
Of soul and body, pouring out life for others,
Whose deeds are holy,
Victory to God, the God-Man.

Priest and Offerer

Of his own soul in agony, whose Life is Sacrifice,
Destroyer of sin’s poison–
Victory to God, the God-Man.

16 Timothy Tennet, Building Christianity on Indian Foundations, 239.

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 Tender, beloved,
Soother of the human heart, Ointment of the eyes,
Vanquisher of fierce death–
Victory to God, the God-Man17.
6. Upadhyay’s take on Jesus as Avatar
When Christian theologians use the word "Avatar" as a synonym for "incarnation," they
have to decide whether or not they should. Upadhyay view on Avatar is that, he also doesn't agree
word avatara for Christ. Jesus is unique incarnation of God Parabrahman, there can't be anyone
higher for the incarnation.18 Upadhyay, over the course of his writings, comes up with five main
characteristics of an incarnation. which show how it is different from the Hindu idea of an avatar.
a) A true incarnation is a one-of-a-kind, one-time thing. To him, "incarnation" means that
God took on a human nature of his own. This means that "the union between God and human nature
once assumed will last for all eternity.”
b) A true incarnation is a supernatural mystery. Upadhyay says that there are two types of
mysteries: natural and supernatural. There are a lot of natural things that are mysterious to us "Man
can find out these things through observation or inference but cannot explain how or why. He
defines supernatural mysteries, on the other hand, as "those truths that man will never discover, but
which God or his infallible messengers will disclose.
c) A true incarnation is God taking the union with man's nature. When two natures are joined
together, they must stay separate and distinct "in their own spheres," he says. That way, the Divine
nature can't be "mixed or confused or mingled" with the human nature, which isn't possible because
mixing means changing, and God isn't changing at all. Thus, "incarnation - in the Christian sense is
the union of two natures, the divine and the human, under one Person.
d) A true Incarnation must be a free act of God, not a forced act of God because of a need or
because of accumulated karma.
e) A true Incarnation the incarnate one is, by necessity, sinless19.

17 Robin H S Boyd, An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology, 77-78.

18Robin H S Boyd, An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology (Delhi: Indian Society For
Promoting Christian Knowledge (Ispck, 1991), 81.
19 Timothy Tennet, Building Christianity on Indian Foundations, 325-326.
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 Also Sunand Sumatra talk about an another view which Upadhyay give in which Avatara of
the Hindu deities is qualitatively different from the incarnation of Christ. Upadhyay holds that
the human is, according to vedanta, composed of five sheaths: animate, vital, mental,
intellectual to spiritual. While in human beings these five sheaths are controlled by
personality (aham), in the incarnate Son they are activated by the Logos or the cit of the
Trinity. Hence they are very different from the avataras, of the Hindu puranas. For this
reason Upadhyaya calls Christ often as narahari (nara = man, hari is the proper name for
Vishnu) God-Man. His pen name is also Narahari Das (the slave of narahari, the slave of
Christ). Brahmabandhav rejects the lie of Christian avatarism, for incarnation is far higher
than the avatara of Hindus20.

7. Reflection: Christ as the Nara-Hari

Jesus as perfect human and perfect God is beautifully portrayed my Upadhyay. Concept of
Nara-Hari is the climax of Upadhyay's Christology, and it can be found in his Hymn The Incarnate
Logos also, where he talks about Jesus Christ and how important it is for us to believe in him. He
has expressed his position concerning the human and divine nature of Jesus Christ in Hindu
terminology as Nara-Hari (Nara is man and Hari is God). He says that the incarnation was made
possible by putting humanity and God together in the person of the Logos. This incarnate God in
man, who we call Jesus Christ, came to life in the womb of a spotless, immaculate virgin. In his
description he affirmed that Jesus Christ, God-Man is perfectly divine and perfectly human21.

Conclusion
The Gospel in Western clothing was a major source of concern in India, particularly for
Upadhyay. Indian Christian Theology has immensely contributed to Indian society and helped us
see the gospel in a different way, and we can never deny the role of Upadhyay in this. Upadhyay
made every effort to bring concepts such as Logos, Jesus' divinity and humanity, and more, and to
explain them using Indian philosophy.His works are amazing and very profound in nature. Maybe
there will be many debates around his theology, but we cannot deny the fact that he successfully
brought out the seed of truth which was hidden in this religion.

20Sunand Sumithra, CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIES FROM AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE (Banglore,

Karnataka: Theological book trust, 1990), 74.
21Biren Kumar, “The Christological of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay in the Light of Advaitic
Framework”, 116.
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 Bibliography
Athappilly, Sebastian. Christology Today: Mystery and History of Jesus Christ. Vol. 1. Bangalore
(India): Dharmaram Publications, 2007.

Boyd, Robin H S. An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology. Delhi: Indian Society For
Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1991.

J. Lipner, Julius. Brahmabandhab Upadhyay the Life and Thought of a Revolutionary. Great
Clarendon Street: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Nayak, Biren Kumar. “The Christological of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay in the Light of Advaitic
Framework.” The Asia Journal of Theology 22, no. 1 (April 2008): 107.

Reporter, Staff. “Purpose of Avatars.” Return to frontpage. The Hindu, April 11, 2018. https://
www.thehindu.com/society/faith/purpose-of-avatars/article23505391.ece.

Sahathe, Sudipta. “THE BENGAL RENAISSANCE,” June 1, 2021.

Sumithra, Sunand. CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIES FROM AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE. Banglore,

Karnataka: Theological book trust, 1990.

Tennet, Timothy C. Building Christianity on Indian Foundations : The Legacy of Brahmab ndhav
Up dhy y. Delhi: Ispck, 2000.

Willmington, Harold. “Scholars Crossing Scholars Crossing.” Liberty University, 2017. https://
digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=second_person.

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