SOUVENIR

Proceedings of 131st ALL INDIA BRAHMO CONFERENCE

Held on Oct 29th & 30th, 2022, Hyderabad

Venue:
Shri Kutchi Mitra Mandal
3-5-142, Eden Garden Road, Ramkoti,
Koti, Hyderabad, Telangana 500001

Published By :
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj
Ramkoti, Hanuman Tekdi, Koti,
Hyderabad, Telangana 500001
 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj President - Challa Kesava Chand
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj Secretary - Ajay Gautham
Organising Committee Members:

1 Ravi Sankar Banda 25 Pradyumn V

2 Aarani D 26 Prasad T
3 Aaradhya Gautham 27 Prashant M
4 Abhignya D 28 Praveen V
5 Aditya Gautham 29 Prem Chakravarthy D
6 Amrutha D 30 Raja Shekhar V
7 Anindita Gautham 31 Rajanadhani
8 Balaraju G 32 Ramu P
9 Bhargav Das D 33 Renuka G
10 Bhaskar T 34 Rishika M
11 Edwin Raj G 35 Sameera B
12 Gayatri Banda 36 Samhitha D
13 Illyas Ahmed 37 Sandeep B
14 Jagathi V 38 Shanti K
15 Jyotsna Illyas 39 Shirish Reddy K
16 Kalavathi D 40 Shiva Kumar K
17 Kalyan Chakravarthy G 41 Shiva Sankar N
18 Kartheev 42 Sravya V
19 Khairul Mubeen 43 Sreedevi D
20 Koteshwarrao 44 Sreedhar R
21 Madan Mohan E 45 Sreeman M
22 Madhu Bindu D 46 Sri Latha Gautham
23 Marie Solange 47 Sujatha
24 Mounika A 48 Uday Kumar D

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 FROM EDITOR’S DESK
Published on the occasion of the 131st All India Brahmo Conference held on the 29th and 30th of October
2022 in Kutchi Bhavan, Eden Bagh, Ramkoti, Hyderabad, we are extremely happy to be able to bring this
Souvenir to you.
The Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj in association with the Andhra Brahma Samaj had the privilege to
host this conference after a long gap of 27 years. The 105th conference was successfully held in Hyderabad
in 1995. We are grateful to the Almighty for giving us this great opportunity and honour to conduct the
conference in a befitting manner. This year’s annual conference was organized on a grand scale as it
coincided with the momentous occasion of the 250th birth anniversary of our founder, Raja Rammohun
Roy (22 May 1772-2022).
The commemorative Souvenirs of the Brahmo conferences are usually released during the conference itself
and distributed to the members, delegates, and all other invitees. But our organising committee decided to
publish it after the conference, in order to be able to cover all the deliberations, seminars, talks, photographs
and all other spontaneous activities held during the conference besides the submitted articles, so that it
would be truly be a record of what transpired at the conference and, we hope, serve as a special reference
book.    
NURTURE THE FUTURE was the carefully chosen theme of this conference. The aim was to create a
platform that would help us to formulate action plans to spread more awareness among children and youth
of the Brahmo principles and their implementation over the next five years. All the talks, panel discussions,
and other conference activities were planned around this objective. Ultimately, it is our hope that this
conference should give rise to a team of planners, mentors, guides, executors, and a dynamic resource
network who will be able to successfully implement the 5-year plan. Only then will we all truly be joining
hands to nurture the future.
The conference also showcased the importance of Raja Rammohun Roy’s work for children, raised the
current issues that affect the lives of children in our society, and how to address the social evils that are
detrimental to their welfare. The time has come for a change in society. We all have a responsibility to
provide future generations with a safe and ethical society. The Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1828 by Raja
Rammohun Roy with an objective that, if anything, has become even more relevant today. And it continues
to work with the same goal as its founder envisaged: to eradicate cruel and unfair social practices and evils.
The Deccan Brahma Samaj in Hyderabad was formally established in 1914 thanks to the efforts of Shri
Bhagya Reddy Varma and many other stalwarts. It has presently taken up the great responsibility of
preparing the generation of tomorrow to remove the inequalities and immorality in society and to provide
for a society based on values and security.
For the first time in the history of Brahmo conferences, the entire conference was planned, designed, and
executed by children and youth. The Chairperson of the Reception Committee, Ms. Anindita Goutham, and
the Organising Secretary of the conference, Mr. Bhargav Das Damuluri are both young people. The seniors
took on the roles of mentors only.  
The highlight of the conference was three most useful panel discussions:
1. How to spread the Brahmo Samaj message and principles to the greatest number of children in the
next five years?
2. What do you expect from the Brahmo Samaj? What can you do for the Brahmo Samaj? (by youth, and
children)
3. How do we raise children as great Brahmos and humans?

iii
There also took place seven insightful seminars by eminent speakers covering various aspects of Brahma
Dharma and future courses of action.
We convey our profound thanks to the Hon’ble Justice G Chandraiah, Chairperson of the Telangana State
Human Rights Commission, Chief Guest of the inaugural ceremony, and Mrs. Padmavathi Sastry, Guest of
Honour, for their presence during the conference.
Our thanks are also due to the President of the 131st conference, Dr. Arup Kumar Das, New Delhi, Dr. W.P.
Krishna, President of the CCBS, and Sri Saurav De, Secretary of Brahmo Conference for the success of the
Inaugural session.
We also convey our thanks to all the moderators and speakers of the Panel discussions, the speakers of all
the seminars, the upasaks, all the singers of the melodious Brahmo sangeet, and the young and energetic
Brahmo anchors. We would especially like to thank and felicitate all the young Brahmo organisers who
have relentlessly worked day in and day out for the success of the conference.
Our gratitude goes to all the managements of the various schools and other organisers for allowing the
children to participate in the conference and for beautifully chanting Veda mantras.
We gratefully acknowledge all the financial contributions generously made by our generous
donors - individuals, samajes, and other organisations. The financial support was the catalyst for the
success of the conference. We are grateful to each one of them.
We have appealed to all the panel members and speakers of seminars to send their speeches well before the
conference. We are happy to say that we received most of the speeches beforehand. Likewise, contributory
articles for the Souvenir were also received on time. We profusely thank all the writers for their promptness
and also for the excellent content they have shared.
It is the privilege of Hyderabad Deccan Brahma samaj to present this beautiful Souvenir to all seekers of
the truth, both Brahmo and Non-Brahmo. If they find it beneficial as a pathfinder, we consider our efforts
fruitful. May the deliberations of this conference become a platform to unite ourselves, work together, and
dedicate ourselves to laying the best possible foundation for future generations.
As it is said by the Vedic scholars:
“ परमेश्वर प्रीत्यर्थं Paramēśvara prītyarthaṁ To please you God Almighty,
इदं देहमर्पि तम् idaṁ dēhamarpitaṁ, I offer my body,
इदं प्राणमर्पि तम् idaṁ prāṇamarpitaṁ, I offer my life,
इदं सर्व मर्पि तम्” idaṁ sarvamarptitam I offer everything.

Maaham Brahma niraakuryam

Maa maa brahma niraakarot aniraakarana mastwaniraakaranam mestu !
Om ! Brahma krupahi Kevalam !

Editor
Kesava Chand Challa

Editorial Committe: Mr. B. Ravi Sankar, Mrs. Gayatri Banda, Dr. Marie solange, Ms. Abhignya
Damuluri, Mrs. D. Madhu Bindu
Published By : Deccan Brahma Samaj, Hyderabad

iv
 PROGRAMME SCHEDULE
DAY 1: Saturday, 29th October, 2022
START TIME END TIME PROGRAMME
08:00 AM 09:00 AM Breakfast
Session – 1 : Anchor – Ms. Kashish Das
09:00 AM 09:20 AM Flag Hoisting by Dr. Arup Kumar Das, Delhi
Brahmo Pledge, Song by All Brahma Samaj Members
09:20 AM 09:30 AM Samagana by Mrs. Gayatri Banda, Hyderabad
09:30 AM 10:30 AM Upasana by Dr. Dilip S. Joag and Dr. Sushama D. Joag, Pune
10:30 AM 10:45 AM Tea Break
INAUGURAL SESSION
11:00 AM 01:15 PM • Introduction of Guests by Ms. Kashish Das, Balasore
• Vedic Recitation
• Welcome Address by Mr. Kesava Chand Challa, President, Hyderabad
• Reception Committee Chairperson Address by Ms. Aninidta Gautham, Hyderabad
• Address by Chief Guest
• Presidential Address by Dr. Arup Kumar Das, Gurgaon
• Address by Dr. Wooday P. Krishna, CCBS President, Bengaluru
• Address by Brahmo Conference Committee Secretary, Mr. Saurav De, Kolkata
• Vote of Thanks by Ms. Samhitha Damuluri, Hyderabad
01:15 PM 01:30 PM Group Photograph
01:30 PM 02:30 PM Lunch Break
Session – 2 : Anchor – Ms. Abhignya Damuluri
02:30 PM 03:30 PM Venue: Meeting Room
Meeting of the All-India Brahmo Conference Committee & Executive Committee of
the Central Council of Brahma Samajes
Venue: Main Hall
Fun Time for children
03:30 PM 03:45 PM “Chanting Mantras by Little Stars”
03:45 PM 04:00 PM Tea Break
04:15 PM 05:30 PM Panel Discussion:
How to spread the Brahma Samaj message and principles to the greatest
number of children in the next five years?
Moderator : Mr. Amit Kumar Das, Kolkata
Speakers : Mr. Biswajit Roy, Kolkata
Mrs. Preeti Bais, Indore
Mr. Praveen Vema, Hyderabad
Mr. Baidurjya Sen Gupta, Ranchi
Mr. Prashant Manchikanti, Hyderabad
05:30 PM 05:45 PM Prize Distribution to winners of School Competitions
05:45 PM 06:15 PM Seminars:
• Digital Media De-addiction for Children and Youth – The Role of Brahma
Samaj : Mr. Illyas Ahmed, Hyderabad
• Intellect & Intuition : Ms. Kalyanmayee Chattopadhyay, Kolkata
06:15 PM 07:00 PM Upasana by Balasore Brahma Samaj
07:00 PM 08:00 PM Brahmo Sangeet by Brahma Samaj Members
08:00 PM Dinner

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DAY 2: Sunday, 30th October, 2022

START TIME END TIME PROGRAMME

08:00 AM 09:00 AM Breakfast
Session – 1 : Anchor – Ms. Rishika Mamidyala
09:00 AM 09:15 AM “Chanting Mantras by Little Stars”
09:15 AM 10:15 AM Upasana by Prof. Debashish Raychaudhuri, Kolkata
10:15 AM 10:30 AM Tea Break
10:45 AM 12:00 PM Panel Discussion by Children and Youth :
What do you expect from the Brahma Samaj? What can you do for
the Brahma Samaj?
Moderator : Mrs. Rekha Shahani, Mumbai
Speakers : Mr. Debaditya Ray, Bengaluru
Master Aditya Gautham, Hyderabad
Mr. Himadri Das, Kolkata
Mr. Bhargav Das, Hyderabad
Ms. Kashish Das, Balasore
Ms. Rishika Mamidyala, Hyderabad
12:00 PM 12:15 PM Brahmo Sangeet by Children
12:15 PM 01:15 PM Seminars:
• Health and Wellness in School Children : the Potential role of the Brahma
Samaj : Dr. Ashoka Gurudas, Bengaluru
• How to inculcate a Scientific Temper and Rational Thinking in Children :
Dr. Sreeman Mamidyala, Hyderabad:
• The role of the Brahma Samaj on the Morals and Values of Children in the
Present Socio-political Situation : Mr. Aniruddha Rakshit, Kolkata:
• Education and the role of the Brahma Samaj: Dr. Sushama D Joag, Pune
01:15 PM 02:30 PM Lunch Break
Session – 2 : Anchor – Ms. Anindita Gautham
02:30 PM 03:45 PM Panel Discussion: How do we raise children as great Brahmos ?
Moderator : Ms. Malavika Nagarkar, Mumbai
Speakers : Mr. Ajay Gautham , Hyderabad
Mr. Ranjan Banerjee, Baripada
Mr. Himakar Tata, Vizag
Mrs. Madhu Bindu, Hyderabad
Ms. Sneha Nagarkar, Mumbai
03:45 PM 04:15 PM Seminar: Proud to be a Brahmo : Mr. Ravi Sankar Banda, Hyderabad
04:15 PM 04:30 PM Tea Break
04:45 PM 05:15 PM Upasana by Indore Brahma Samaj
05:15 PM 05:30 PM Vedic Recitation
05:30 PM 06:30 PM Delegate Feedback
06:30 PM 06:45 PM Lowering the Brahmo Flag & Handing over
06:45 PM 07:15 PM Vote of Thanks
07:15 PM 07:30 PM Closing Hymn & Shanti Mantra
07:30 PM Dinner

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 INDEX
Topic Page No.
SECTION - 1
• Address by Reception Committee Chairperson - Ms. Anindita Gautham 2
• Welcome Address by Samaj President - Mr. Kesava Chand Challa 3
• Presidential Address - Dr. Arup Kumar Das 5
• Address by Chief Guest - Hon’ble Justice, Mr. G. Chandraiah 8
• Address by Guest of Honour - Mrs. Padmavathy Rahul Sastry 10
• Address by CCBS President - Dr. Wooday P. Krishna 12
• Address by Brahmo Conference Committee Secretary - Mr. Saurav De 14
• Upasana 1 15
• Upasana 2 18
SECTION – 2
Panel Discussion (by Youth and Children): 1 22
What do you expect from the Brahmo Samaj? What can you do for the Brahmo Samaj?

Panel Discussion: 2 27
How to spread the Brahmo Samaj message and principles to the greatest number of
children in the next five years?

Panel Discussion: 3 35
How do we raise children as great Brahmos ?
SECTION – 3
Seminars:
• Digital Media De-addiction for Children and Youth – The Role of Brahmo Samaj : 54
Mr. Illyas Ahmed
• Intellect & Intuition : Ms. Kalyanmayee Chattopadhyay 58
• Health and Wellness in School Children - The Potential Role of the Brahmo Samaj : 59
Dr. Ashoka Gurudas
• How to inculcate the Scientific Temper in Children : Dr. Sreeman Mamidyala 61
• The role of the Brahmo Samaj on the Morals and Values of Children in the Present 64
Socio-political Situation : Mr. Aniruddha Rakshit
• Education - Role of Brahmo Samaj: A Futuristic view : Dr. Sushama D Joag 68
• Climate Change & Brahmo Youths’ Responsibility : Mr. Ashish Basu 70
• Proud to be a Brahmo : Mr. Ravi Sankar Banda 72
A Tribute to Pandit Ramchandra Vidyabagish: Unsung Hero of the Brahmo Samaj: 75
Mr. Sunder Rao
Speech by Special Guest : Mr. Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, IAS (Retd.) 77
SECTION – 4
Pre and Post Conference Activities Taken up by Hyderabad Brahma Samaj 80
Acknowledgment 93
List of Conferences conducted Previously 94

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viii
SECTION - 1

1
 Address by Reception Committee Chairperson
Honourable Chief Guest,
Justice G. Chandraiah Garu,
Chairman of Telangana State
Human Rights Commission-
Guest of Honour
Smt. Padamavathi Rahul
Sastry, Senior Advocate of
Telangana High Court,
President of Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj,
Sri Kesava Chand,
President of 131st All India Brahmo Samaj
Conference, Dr. Arup Kumar Das, from Delhi,
President of Central Council of Brahmo Samajes,
Dr. Wooday P. Krishna, from Bangalore,
Secretary of Brahmo Conference Committee,
Mr. Saurav De, from Kolkata,
Organizing Secretary, Mr. Bhargav Das,
Members, Delegates from various Samajes, friends,
ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me, on behalf of the
Reception Committee to extend to you a warm
and cordial welcome on the 131st All India Brahmo
Samaj Conference being held in the historic city of
Hyderabad.
As you are aware, the conference theme is “Nurture
the future”. To commemorate the event, as part of the
celebrations we have organized a programme and
my friends from various schools are participating
in this programme. The talks, panel discussions and
all the other activities have all been planned around
this objective.
On behalf of the reception committee, we have taken
utmost care in providing nice accommodation to
the delegates, who have come from out-stations.
We are providing transportation facilities to the
delegates, who have requested to pick up them
from their hotel to the venue and vice versa.
About Anindita Gautham
Miss Anindita Gautham is a member of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj. She is currently pursuing
her studies in a Bachelor’s in Technology program (Information Technology). She is the daughter of
Mr. Ajay Gautham, present secretary of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj.
2
- Ms. Anindita Gautham
We organizers are wearing a green tag. If anyone
needs any assistance or any sort of help or enquiry,
please feel free to contact us.
We have made elaborate arrangements for food,
keeping in view the delegates, who have come from
other cities from different parts of the country and
abroad as well.
I, on behalf of Reception Committee, would like to
apprise you all, please don’t feel offended.
For conducting this programme hassle free and
smoothly without any delays, I humbly request you
all to be on time in the auditorium after breakfasts,
tea and lunch breaks.
I request all the participants to keep your mobile on
mute during the programme.
I would like to inform all the speakers that we are
raising a buzzer when the speaker is just coming to
his/her allotted time frame.
The Reception Committee is confident and will come
up to your expectations in extending hospitality.
We humbly request, if time permits, please visit our
Samaj (Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj) which is
very near to our venue, and we will be providing
bus facility for whoever wants to visit our Samaj.
Thanks to the efforts of Shri Bhagya Reddy Varma
and Prof. N.G. Welingkar for the establishment of
Deccan Brahma Samaj, Hyderabad.
We are sure that all of you will enjoy your stay in
Hyderabad today and tomorrow.
Hyderabad city has some places of tourist
importance like- Salar Jung Museum, Charminar,
Golconda Fort, etc. Those, who are interested,
may please plan and contact the person at the
stall located at the venue. He will assist you in this
regard.
Thank you.
 Welcome Address by Samaj President
Om! Ekamevadwiteeyam Brah-
ma, Sannamarupavivarjitam,
Rutam Satyam Para Brahma,
Eswaram Lokapalakam!
Salutations to the One and
Only Creator and Preserver
of this entire Universe, who
has no name and form!   the Almighty for giving us this great opportunity and
He is eternal.
He is the “Highest Brahma” that which is beyond all
descriptions and conceptualizations and the ruler
of the entire Universe.
Respected dignitaries on the dais, fellow
Brahmos, my dear brothers and sisters and young
stars and children. Hearty greetings to all of you!
On behalf of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma
Samaj and the Andhra Brahma Samaj, we whole
heartedly welcome the Chief Guest, Hon’ble Justice
Chandraiah garu, Chairperson of the Telangana
State Human Rights Commission, who has a long
and illustrious career. His presence and address
here will motivate all of us. We also welcome the
Guest of Honour Smt Y Padmavati garu, very senior
advocate of the High court of Telangana. She
is a conciliator, educationist, social worker and
philanthropist. We will be benefitted a lot by her
address. We take this opportunity to welcome the
other senior Brahmos on the dais, Dr Arup Kumar
Das from the Delhi Samaj. He is the President of
this conference. Dr WP Krishna, President, CCBS,
and Sri Saurav De, Secretary of Brahmo Conference.
Our hearty welcome to about 150 Brahmos who
have taken lot of trouble and come all the way
from various parts of this great country – Kolkata,
Mumbai, New Delhi, Indore, Benguluru, AP, Bihar,
Orissa, Jarkhand, etc and also a delegate from our
neighbouring country, Bangladesh. Thanks to you,
this has become an international conference. We
especially welcome our young stars, about 250
school children along with their teachers, who will
participate actively.
You will be surprised to see two youngsters on
the dais. They are Anindita Gautham, a first-
year engineering student. She is the chairperson
of the reception committee of the conference.
Next is Bhargav Das Damuluri, a third-year
engineering student. He is the organising secretary
of the conference. Generally, we find white- or
grey-haired people occupying these posts. But
the uniqueness of this conference is that the 131st
3
- Mr. Kesava Chand Challa
All India Brahmo Conference has been designed,
planned, organized and executed mostly by
youngsters. The elders were only advisors.
The members of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma
Samaj and Andhra Brahma Samaj feel very happy
to host the 131st All India Brahmo conference at
Hyderabad today and tomorrow. We are grateful to
privilege. We thank all the organisers, members,
patrons, and especially our young Brahmos
who helped us with their might to shoulder this
responsibility.
The theme of this conference is NURTURE THE
FUTURE. It’s aim is to create a platform that will
help us formulate action plans to spread more
awareness among children and youth of the Brahmo
principles and their implementation over the
next five years. So the Seminars talks, the 3 panel
discussions and all the other activities during these
2 days have been planned around this objective.
Ultimately, it is our vision that this conference
should build a team of planners, mentors, guides,
executors, and a dynamic resource network who
will be able to successfully implement the 5-year
plan. Only then will we all truly be joining hands to
nurture the future.
Earlier the 105th conference was successfully held
in Hyderabad in 1995. Now after 27 years, we are
once again hosting this conference. The founding
of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj is the
outcome of the reform movement of Sri Bhagya
Reddy Varma. Sri Wellinkar, Dr Govindarajulu
Naidu , Bhupendranath Chattopadhyaya , Sri BK
Nityanad and many others were the founding
members of the Samaj in 1914. Subsequently the
members decided to have a mandir for the samaj
and the present building in Hanuman Tekdi, Abids,
was constructed with donations in 1925. So, from
1914 to 2022, the HDBS has grown impressively.  
This conference is a great spiritual festival for all
Brahmos. This festival is not just for celebrating, it
is also for introspection and inspiration! So, we all
should celebrate it with heartfelt enthusiasm. We
may consider this conference as a great blessing
bestowed upon all of us by the Almighty to gather
strength from all the senior and eminent Brahmos
sitting here and inspiration from the energizing
presence of the school children and all the
youngsters!
Another unique feature of this conference is that
the year 2022 is the 250th Birth anniversary year
of the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, Rajarshi Raja
Rammohun Roy, who is acclaimed as the Father
of Modern India. To meet the demands of the new
aspirations of mankind, to attain higher and higher
stages of evolution, to voice forth the needs of a
new age, to save the nation from petrification, great
men arise with breadth of vision to make necessary
adjustments for harmony and progress. One among
such great leaders was Raja Rammohun Roy. He
appeared on the Indian horizon at a time when a
man of his stature was most needed. Life in India
at that time was stagnant in every way. “Man’s
necessity is God’s opportunity”.
Long before Raja Rammohun Roy, great men
born in India were mostly saints or religious
personalities. There were a few patriots. He was
the epitome of a new type of great men in India. His
spirit penetrated into various fields of national life.
There was no branch of national life which did not
actively engage himself.   seeks to learn and be inspired by the teachings of
HE WAS THE FIRST Nation Builder.
HE WAS THE FIRST in modern India to teach the
nation to honor woman as the better-half.
HE WAS THE FIRST religious and social reformer in
modern India.
HE WAS THE FIRST modern Indian to possess a
multi-dimensional personality.
HE WAS THE FIRST modern Indian who was
Universalist.
HE WAS THE FIRST educationalist.
HE WAS THE Founder of Indian Journalism.
HE WAS THE FIRST constitutional agitator for
political rights of Indians.
HE WAS THE FIRST in the world who made a
comparative study of theology.
HE WAS THE FIRST in modern India to catch the
spirit of the New Age.
All the liberal, progressive ideas and ideals and
fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution
of Indian Republic were proclaimed by him.  Salute
to the Father of Modern India and great Visionary
on his 250th year of Jayanti! The Brahmo Samaj,
founded by this great Indian, is a society of the
worshippers of the One and Only One Formless
God, who believe in the direct spiritual worship of
the Supreme Consciousness of that one immutable
being who is the Author and Preserver of the
About Challa Kesava Chand
Mr. Challa Kesava Chand is the current president and managing trustee of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma
Samaj as well as the president of the Andhra Brahma Samaj. In fact, he is a fatherly figure to all Samajes
present in the Telugu states.
4
Universe, in the brotherhood and sisterhood of
humanity, in the freedom of religious expression,
and in the acceptance of various religious faiths as
different approaches to the same ideal. In short,
it is an association of Monotheistic believers.
Monotheism as a Faith, as a creed and as a way of
life. As a creed, it is Universalism which is positive
and inclusive. It is not a sect. As a way of life, it is
humanistic in behaviour.
Brahmo Samaj is not a new religion. It is not against
the spirit of the fundamentals of other religions.
It is a new religious perspective. It is a spiritual
fellowship, a religious brother hood. Brahmo Samaj
is one with the spirit of the fundamental teachings of
all religions. It is different from the popular beliefs
and practices of every religion. The aim of Brahmo
Samaj is to bring about spiritual unity and religious
Brotherhood among people of all religions, who
believe in ONE God, through a common worship
of a common God. Even though the Brahmo Samaj
is based on the pure Sanatana Hindu Dharma, it
other faiths and honours their prophets as spiritual
guides who worked for the moral upliftment of
humanity. God is One and the same for all. The God
is formless. He is directly available to every earnest
seeker. Belief in that God and worship of that God
in truth and in spirit must go together. Worship of
many Gods or any of the many Gods or man-made
images is contrary to the faith of Monotheism and
Vedic concept of God.    
Mere worship of God is not enough. Worship
should be followed by endeavour after godly life
and remaking our souls in the image of God with
conscience as the guiding scripture.
I do hope that this august assembly of delegates
bestow their valuable time and thought on the
aspects of the aim and theme of the conference and
formulate concrete plans for the future prosperity
of the Brahmo Samaj and the society. Let us all unite,
concentrate on action and may this conference be a
milestone in the annals of the Brahmo Conferences.
May God bless our efforts!
I once again heartily welcome each one of you here!
Yatkaromi yadasnami , yagjnuhomi , dadaamiyat,
Yattapasyami, Bhagavan ! tatkaromi twadarpanam !
Maaham Brahma niraakuryam
Maa maa brahma niraakarot aniraakarana mast-
waniraakaranam mestu !
Om! Brahma krupaahi kevalam !
 Presidential Address
Transforming Society: The role of education in youth
Good morning. Let me begin my speech with the
Gayatri Mantra.
ॐ भूरभुव् ः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम्भार्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्
Let us meditate on the
benign wisdom and might
of that Supreme Being,
who reveals all worlds,
who pervades all things,
who is the highest good,
the Creator of the Universe,
who sends us all our powers
and thoughts. Hari Om!!
Respected Chief Guest, Mr. Kesava Chand Challa
(President Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj),
Dr. W.P.Krishna (President CCBS), Mr. Saurav
De (Brahmo Conference Committee Secretary),
Respected Elders, Dear Brahmo Brothers and
Sisters and the Brahmo Fraternity – I am delighted
and extremely happy to be here in Hyderabad on
the occasion of the 131st session of the All India
Brahmo Conference.
At the outset, I pay my tributes to the Brahmos of
the state of Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana who
worked tirelessly to spread the Brahmo Samaj and
Brahma Dharma ideals in the state, which started
more than 150 years ago. Specially, I remember
two great personalities, who exerted immeasurable
influence, and they were Veereshalingam Pantulu
and Venkatratnam Naidu. This building of
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj was founded
in the year 1914 by the Brahmo reformist Sri
Bhagyareddy Varma. Over the next 100 years,
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj became an
epitome of Brahmo movement in the state. The
legacy continues and lately, the team lead by
Mr. Kesava Chand Challa, Mr. Ravi Sankar and
Mr. Ajay Gautham is working tirelessly to spread
the awareness of Vedas and Brahma Dharma within
the next generation.
One of the key notes from the tenets of Brahma
Dharma is that by attaching highest importance
to monotheism, the Brahmo Samaj is responsible
for carrying the eternal message of the Indian
Hindu religion itself. Brahmoism epitomizes the
quintessence of what has been enshrined in the
Vedas and Upanishads i.e., the belief in – ‘One and
the only one Supreme Brahma’. This establishes
the belief that GOD and humans are different.
5
- Dr. Arup Kumar Das
Maharshi Debendranath, a GOD’s devotee par
excellence, and a true successor of Raja Rammohun
Roy, was immensely influenced by the Vedas and
Upanishads and strove to formulate the Brahma
Dharma on the vedic and Upanishadic principle.
His emphasis was on pure monotheism – the
abiding faith in the one Supreme Being, the all-
powerful, all pervading, formless, immutable
and eternal Mongolmoy Parameshwar. If we look
at other religions, i.e., Hindu, Muslim, Christian,
all of them believe this, i.e., human beings are
separated from GOD, the differences being on belief
in monotheism, beliefs in rituals and prejudices
due to their poor/mis-understanding of their holy
scriptures. However, Rammohun had a rationalist
approach to religion and firmly believed in Vedanta
Shastra, that said GOD is eternal and none is parallel
or equivalent to him.
I would now closely compare the Brahmo way of
life, with which I grew up, with a Hindu and Muslim
way of life that most of my friends & colleagues
grew up with, and I could spot the following key
differences.
1. I saw my friends celebrating Durga Puja, Kali
Puja, Saraswati Puja, Lakshmi Puja and offering
anjali with utmost devotion in front of idols. They
sincerely believed that praying in front of idols and
offering puja would do a whole lot of good to them
and their families and friends. If we introspect a
little, we will see that they grew up seeing their
parents doing the same and that belief got ingrained
into their belief system. Praying in front of an idol
is one of the most fundamental differences with
Brahma Dharma, and inspite of explaining the
Brahma Dharma fundamentals to my friends, who
are all learned and well established in their careers,
they simply didn’t change.
2. As a true nature lover, I love traveling to the
mountains and had the opportunity of visiting
many religious places as well, like Char Dham
(Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri).
Every year, many pilgrims visit these places and
some even undertake the bare-foot treacherous
walks on the mountain trails. Every year during
the month of Sawan (rainy season), pilgrims walk
back down to their homes 300-500 kms away after
offering prayers with Lord Shiva at religious places
like Hardwar, Banaras etc. The government also
blocks public roads to give them safe walk-way
passage, that often leads to massive traffic snarls
during peak office hours. I often ask the question
to myself, what do these pilgrims gain by offering
such pujas? Does Lord Shiva or Parvati listen to
their prayers?
3. Once I was on an official trip to Banaras, I
had the opportunity to visit the famous Shri Kashi
Vishwanath Temple. There was a long queue to
enter the mandir, which would take more than
couple of hours, but we had the luxury of hiring
an agent, who gave us a premium entry pass that
shortened the wait period to not more than 10
minutes. We entered the mandir premises bare-
footed and I was quite surprised to see people lying
down on floors and offering prayers to the deity.
There were priests roaming around, offering their
services at every corner of the mandir. Praying to
GOD using a priestly class, the so-called Brahmins,
is again one of the fundamental differences with
Brahma Dharma, as it needs no priest nor prophet
to mediate between us and GOD.
4. I also visited Ajmer Sharif Dargah few years
back during a trip to the state of Rajasthan. While
the dargah is quite beautiful, and very famous
too, it was a bit of an experience for me and my
family to get away from the pressure tactics. A
few mullas and maulanas (Muslim worshippers)
exhorted us to offer a large sum of money for the
worship. During my official trip to Indonesia, which
is mostly a Muslim nation, I could see my Muslim
colleagues, offering prayers at least three times a
day (10-15mins each), no matter if they were in
important meetings. Friday namaz blocking roads,
are something that I always question myself, as to
why you need to block public way to offer prayers
to GOD.
5. On the contrary, a Brahmo will always use his/
her own prayer hall and conduct simple prayer
services during social and family occasions. I have
always grown up seeing my mother offering prayer
to GOD when she would wake up and go to bed. I
have seen my maternal grand-father offering prayer
before taking any meals, thanking GOD for the
food we got. I grew up seeing my father observing
death anniversaries of his parents with Upasanas
& songs, where an Upasak will come to our house
to do the prayer service and me & my family would
be joining the prayer service. My birthdays would
always start with a short prayer & song. My father
used to say, jokingly, that until and unless I would
sit down and join the birthday prayer service, my
age would not go up by one year.
There is a “growing religious fanaticism” in the
country in the guise of “Constitution and religious
freedom” and “elaborate plans by a particular
community are often used as a vehicle to enter
the government machinery”. Innocent people are
killed, and religious polarization and hatred are
6
increasing by the day. However, we must look at the
positive aspects of our society, as well. As a human
race, we have come a long way when it comes to
making scientific progress, and all this credit goes
to education. Education is pivotal, if you want
to enhance your quality of life and have a better
understanding of the world. It is a powerful tool
that helps create better societies with an in-depth
knowledge of good virtues. Here are few ways in
which education can help in transforming society.
1. Making good moral choices – An educated
person is mature enough to choose right over evil
and stand up against atrocities and other social
problems. People become more patient, and
education transforms their way of viewing the
world (the glass half-empty or half-full).
2. Improving understanding of issues – We can’t
solve any problem, unless we understand the issues.
Sometimes, it requires research and education can
build the step for it. Education polishes problem-
solving skills and makes you ready to deal with
challenges.
3. Improving decision making ability – Education
can help you to become mature to judge the pros
and cons, before you can take any decision.
4. Becoming more efficient – Efficiency,
productivity and education are all corelated.
Knowledge acquired through education increases
the efficiency of society, by giving those reasons
to tackle situations logically. The government is
investing in improving the quality of education, as
it is the fundamental right of every citizen.
5. Healthy lifestyle – Education creates awareness
and gives you knowledge about every subject. The
benefits of good routine, healthy diet, exercise and
all the healthy alternatives, are part of the facts that
education teaches you.
6. Fighting crime –Imprisonment is not sufficient
in most of the cases, as criminals follow the same
path, once they are out of prison. Education helps
them to stand up for themselves and make them
good citizens.
7. World a better place – Education gives everyone
equal opportunities to empower themselves.
Women are making good use of this capability,
specially women coming from challenged families.
Knowledge has increased pluralism and diversity.
Thus, it is imperative that education be used to
transform society. We need young minds to learn
the core principles and foundations of our society,
as depicted in the Vedas. In December 1843,
Debendranath had, along with twenty other young
men, taken diksha in Brahma Dharma, vowing to
follow “the true religion inculcated in the Vedanta”.
He had great reverence for the Upanishads. It was
in the Upanishads that he had found confirmation
of the belief that he had found in his own heart –
belief in the omniscient, radiant and immortal
Being who pervaded all space. In the year 1864,
he sent one student to Banaras, who collected all
the original Vedic manuscripts there and began
to study them. In the following year, three others
were sent there. Each of these students studied
one of the four Vedas. In addition, one of them
studied the Upanishads, the Vedangas and the
Vedanata philosophy. After the return of the four
students from Banaras, Debendranath entered
deeper into the study of the Vedas. He wrote in his
autobiography: “The study of the Vedas led me to
believe that it was not the actual moon, sun, wind
and fire that the sages of old worshipped. It was
that one Great God whom they worshipped under
the names of agni, vayu and many others.” The Rig-
Veda says: “One is HE, but the Brahmans call HIM
variously as Agni, Vayu.” Also, the Yajur-Veda says:
“He Himself is all the gods.” Debendranath was
convinced that the Vedics never worshipped the
outward material sun, fire or wind. He observed
in his autobiography: “The seeking after Brahma,
the knowledge of Brahma, the truths relating to
Brahma, see how brightly these things shine forth
in the ancient Rig-Vedas and Yajur-Vedas. Strange
to say, the profound sayings of the Upanishads are
contained in the ancient Vedas and it is these that
constitute the glory of the Upanishads. This stream
of truth, flowing onwards, flooded and purified and
enabling the lives of the Upanishad rishis.”
I am convinced that education can truly help in
shaping the thoughts and beliefs in a man. I have
seen some of my close friends, having grown up
studying in Shantiniketan, and coming from deep-
rooted orthodox Hindu families, who don’t believe
in any form of idol worship. They studied in Patha
Bhavan, grew up attending weekly upasanas in the
prayer hall (Kanch Mandir, i.e., Glass Mandir) and
developed a completely liberal mindset.
The Brahmo Samaj can contribute in accelerating
this change through educating youth who will
contribute in transforming the society, fifty years
from now, from the evils of ritualistic beliefs that
I talked about, and is still continuing. This is the
topic of discussion and debate and I seek answers
from this august gathering.
1. How can we use our Brahmo institutions (E.g.,
Brahmo Girls School in Kolkata, Balakashram in
Mumbai, Online Vedic classes being conducted by
About Dr. Arup Kumar Das
Dr. Arup Kumar Das, is the secretary of the Brahmo Samaj, Delhi. He holds a Bachelors in Technology
(Electrical Engineering) from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, a Masters in Business Administration
(Systems & Finance) from XLRI Jamshedpur, and a Doctorate (Information systems) from MDI Gurgaon.
He is presently working with Ecrisson India Global Services Pvt. Ltd.
7
Mr. Ravi Sankar and many other such initiatives) as
the agents of change?
2. Should learning un-adulterated Vedic
Literature be made mandatory as part of school
curriculum?
3. How can we teach our young minds to be
more rational in their judgements, questioning
everything that’s happening around and help to
bring about a change in the society?
4. Can we replicate how Tagore used Shantiniketan
as the seat for Complete Education?
If I close my eyes and dream of that day, where all
the children of our country understand the core
Brahmo principles, I believe, we would see a new
India that applies rationalistic approach to religion,
removing dogmatism, blind faith and superstition;
that rejects all forms of idolatry; that rejects
caste system and stigmas of contamination and
untouchability; that believes in universalism and
unity of all religions; belief in immorality of soul
and salvation, and belief of one and only one Para
Brahma. I would like to end my talk with a reference
to a sloka from the Yajurveda 40th Chapter 1st sloka
ईशा वास्यमिदँ सर्वँयत्किञ्च जगत्याञ्जगत् ।
तेन त्यक्ते न भुञ्जीथा मा गधृ ः कस्य स्विद्धनम् ॥
Parameswara, who has created everything,
provides shelter, sustenance and gives refuge to
all in the Universe; If observed keenly it would be
understood that all this transforming Universe
would merge with the passage of time, ultimately
towards the Almighty; Like the bounteous nature,
people also should lead an altruistic life without
harming the environment; They must sustain
themselves with what is provided by nature;
People must not resort to immoral ways nor covet
what belongs to others; They must not lead a life
where earning wealth is the only goal. The wise
and the righteous adopt and practice the lifestyle
as laid down by the Brahma Dharma scriptures;
They do noble and righteous deeds all through the
lifetime that they are blessed with; Every human
being, every intelligent being, should possess such
a desire to live only to do the deeds as decreed by
their Creator; One should abstain from the deeds or
karmas forbidden by the Almighty; Such deeds bind
them, as would an unremovable sticky obstacle on
the path of liberation, from this ephemeral world to
that of eternal bliss and peace known as Moksha.
 Address by Chief Guest
My greetings to all the
delegates who have come
here for participating in
the 131st All India Brahmo
Conference.
India is such a vast country
with so many languages.
Every language is meant for
communication of ideas from the mind, physically
and from the heart, spiritually. Without mind there
is no heart. So, when the mind and heart beat
uniformly, we will get peace.
Mr. Kesava Chand Challa, Mr. Ajay Gautham and Mrs
Jyotsna Ilyas requested me to come and participate
in this conference. I thak them and everyone here
for inviting me to this conference.
I would like to congratulate and thank President
and members of Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj
for planning and conducting the program with such
beautiful topics. I also welcome all the people to
this Beautiful City of Hyderabad. I wish you all to
spend useful time here and leave this place with
peace of mind and beautiful memories.
As a Chairperson of Human Rights commission, I
visited the entire Telangana state. I have attended
many conferences and meetings and interacted
with different people of Telangana and I came to
know that not only common people, but even the
officials or well educated people also do not know
much about Human Rights.
How many of you are aware of the Protection of
Human Rights act of 1993? There are two aspects
of this act, one is the constitution and the other
is enactment, with which we are governed from
minute to minute, but are not aware of it.
Brahmo Samaj is a great organization founded by
Raja Rammohun Roy, a great son of this soil. He
was not only the founder of Brahmo Samaj, but also
propagator and implementor of the Principles of
Brahma Dharma.
From this 2-day conference schedule, I have
noticed 2 important aspects. One is to propagate
the principles of Brahmo Samaj to the people
throughout the country and to spread the message
specially to children in the school environment.
I really felt very happy because education is a
solution to all the problems. Without education,
8
- Hon’ble Justice G. Chandriah
there is no enhancement, no awareness. When there
is no awareness then there is no enlightenment,
when there is no enlightenment then there is no
implementation, when there is no implementation
then there is no development. So, for development
of the Human society in all aspects that maybe
socially, economically, politically- education is must.
A man’s development has been an ongoing process
since the ages and is still developing. It includes
many ups and downs, researches and upgradation
of knowledge. Every living creation in this universe
struggles for its existence. All the organisms
including man have two things for their existence
which includes convenience and comfort. No
organism can live without either of these.
Convenience is something when all the situations
and things around are according to the organism or
man. Every organism needs few basic things to exist
like food, water and shelter. All these are comforts
in the convenient environment. Without any one of
these, it will be difficult for an organism to live.
We, Human Beings also do follow the same
principles. Amongst all the organisms in the world,
Man is the most intelligent creature who thinks
on his own. We are highly intellectual. Man has
discovered many things from many centuries and
has made the existence more comfortable and
easier. This reminds us of the great and endless
efforts of many scientists and scholars on their
research towards Human Development.
There are also great people who fought for peace
and human rights in society like Jyotiba Phule,
Savitribai Phule, Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar,
Dayanand Saraswati, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and
Mahatma Gandhi etc.
Raja Rammohun Roy is considered as the pioneer
of modern Indian Renaissance for the remarkable
reforms he brought in the 18th and 19th century
India. Among his efforts, the abolition of the
brutal and inhuman Sati was the most prominent.
His efforts were also instrumental in eradicating
child marriage. In 1828, Rammohun Roy founded
the Brahmo Samaj, uniting the people, who had
no faith in idol-worship and were against caste
restrictions. The title ‘Raja’ was bestowed upon
him by the Mughal emperor Akbar II, in 1831. Roy
visited England as an ambassador of the Mughal
King to ensure that Bentick’s regulation of banning
the practice of Sati was not overturned. He died of
meningitis in 1833 in Bristol, England.
During the late 18th century (what was known as
the Dark Age), the society in Bengal was burdened
with a host of evil customs and regulations.
Elaborate rituals and strict moral codes were
enforced which were largely modified, and badly
interpreted ancient traditions. Practices like child
marriage (Gouridaan), polygamy and Sati were
prevalent that affected women in the society. The
most brutal among these customs was Sati. The
custom involved self-immolation of widows at
their husband’s funeral pyre. While the custom in
its original form gave choice to the women to do
so, it gradually evolved to be a mandatory custom
especially for Brahmin and higher caste families.
Young girls were married to much older men, in
return for dowry, so that these men could have
the supposed karmic benefits from their wives’
sacrifice as Sati. When the woman did not volunteer
for such brutality, she was forced or even drugged
to comply.
Raja Rammohun Roy was abhorred by this cruel
practice, and he raised his voice against it. He spoke
freely and took his views to the authorities in the
East India Company. His passionate reasoning and
calm perseverance filtered through the ranks and
ultimately reached the Governor General Lord
William Bentinck. Lord Bentinck sympathized with
Roy’s sentiments and intentions and amid much
outcry from the orthodox religious community,
the Bengal Sati Regulation or Regulation XVII,
A. D. 1829 of the Bengal Code was passed. The
act prohibited the practice of Sati Daha in Bengal
Province, and any individual caught practicing it
would face prosecution. Raja Rammohun Roy’s
name is thus etched forever as a true benefactor of
women not just for helping abolish the custom of
Sati, but also raising his voice against child marriage
and polygamy, while demanding equal inheritance
rights for women. He was also a great opponent of
the rigid caste divisions of his time.
He advocated the introduction of an English
Education System in the country teaching scientific
subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and
even Botany. He paved the way to revolutionizing
education system in India by establishing Hindu
College in 1817 along with David Hare, which later
went on to become one of the best educational
institutions in the country producing some of the
best minds in India. His efforts to combine true to
the roots theological doctrines along with modern
rational lessons saw him establish the Anglo-Vedic
School in 1822 followed by the Vedanta College in
1826.
The ideals of Raja Rammohun Roy are very clearly
present in his way of life and his principles.
We, humans in the current day are developing a lot.
Development is of two types - scientific and social.
Scientific development is happening but I think
it’s time for us to sit and think about our social
development also.
Indian constitution is the base for everyone in
our country to be socially developed, morally and
ethically educated. Therefore, it is the responsibility
of every citizen of this country to at least go through
the Indian constitution once. We should not forget
that it has been collated by great efforts of our
social reformers. So every citizen of India must
know what is there in the Constitution, as it is the
objective of humanity.
I wish the All India Brahmo Conference a grand
success!

About Hon’ble Justice Chandraiah (Chief Guest)

Hon’ble Justice Chandraiah is a former Judge of the High Court of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and
the present Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission for the State of Telangana.
He holds an LLM (Torts and Crimes) from Osmania University, College of Law and also has a postgraduate
degree in Politics from Osmania University.
During his long and illustrious career, Justice Chandraiah Garu has served in various capacities. He has
been Standing Counsel for various Government Corporations, a Member of Lok Adalat in the High Court,
an Administrative Judge in various districts, and the 1st Chairperson of Telangana State Legal Services
Authority, just to mention a few.

“ I cannot better employ my time than in an endeavor to illustrate and maintain

-”
Truth, and render service to fellow beings.
Raja Rammohun Roy

9
 Address by Guest of Honour
Hearty greetings to all
present here on the
occasion of 131st All India
Brahmo conference. I thank
the organisers for choosing
me as a Guest of Honour
to attend and address the
august gathering.
Brahmo Samaj was established by a distinguished
person, who is none other Raja Rammohun Roy.
Hence here we are also celebrating his 250th Birth
anniversary as well.
Even before establishment of Brahmo Samaj, Roy
had extensively worked against evil practices on
women and social emancipation and conducted
many remarriages of women. All the social evils are
connected with each other. In fact, Raja Rammohun
Roy was the first person who wrote about the
wealth being taken from India to Britain and made
everyone aware of that.
Brahmo Samaj basically believes in Monotheism
which was propagated after his own experiences
on spiritual destiny. As we know the Nirakara stage
is the highest level of worshipping the Almighty
and also that all saakarams lead to Nirakara. I am
still in worshipping Sakara stage, but still I respect
the Nirakara which is the basic principle of Brahmo
Samaj. Brahmo Samaj believes in Oneness of God. It
started as purifying the Hindu religion. There after
many other leaders like Debendranath Tagaore and
Keshav Chandra Sen who had extensively involved
in spreading the Brahma Dharma. During Course
of time, few differences of opinion arose between
the members but still the fundamentals of Brahma
Samaj remained in tact.
Brahmo Samaj is a Universal Religion and it
emphasises not to disrespect any other religion.
I have come to know about the 5 Principles of
Brahmo Samaj which are universally acceptable.
What I felt is that one may be from any religion,
but he or she has to follow all these principles to
become the best believer.
The 2 day programme schedule of the conference
is so well designed by the organizing committee
which mostly focuses on the children. Out of which
Digital Media de-addiction is a very contemporary
and appropriate one. Digital Media is creating a
havoc in today’s society.
10
- Mrs. Padmavathy Rahul Sastry
If we think about the issues of children in present
society, we can broadly classify them into 2 types.
One is Children with Economical disadvantage.
These children are very poor and economically
backward and there will not be money for their
school fees and also access to good health and
healthy nutritious food is a big problem. On the
other hand there are children who are completely
addicted to the gadgets and digital media, whose
parents do not give importance to their children.
Due to which Children lose Morals and ethics which
can be built mostly in a child only by spending time
with their family members and discussing their
daily things. These sort of things are not seen in
today’s society which is very sad. And I feel we
all should think on this and change ourselves
accordingly.
Raja Rammohun Roy believed in Constitutional
form of government. Even our Indian constitution
has incorporated few Brahmo Samaj principles in
it. Article 51 of our Indian constitution emphasises
the inculcation of scientific temper and rational
thinking in citizens of the country. Our country
adopted Social, Democratic and Secular setup
and Secularism is a main thing in our Indian
Constitution.
And if talk about the inequality, Article 14 speaks
about equal protection to all. Article 53 speaks
that special laws can made to protect women and
children, whom we need to care. In the regard
Several Legislations have been made like anti-
Dowry, Prohibition Act, Protection of women from
Domestic violence and Protection of women from
sexual harassments and many more.
Atrocities against women in those days were Sati,
but during course of time such kind of atrocities
have changed their form into sexual harassment,
matrimonial offences, exploitation of children etc.
There are many legislations made against these
kinds of evil practices, but as citizens we all must
have to check and retrospect ourselves about the
effects of the acts made.
I wish to inform about one Legislation made in
1985 regarding the coparcenary rights given by
combined state of Andhra Pradesh for the first
time in the country, which had become a central
legislation later in 2005.
There are many Great leaders and Reformers across
the country whom we should respect and make
them as our ideal models and take inspiration from
these great souls. There are many leaders in Telugu
states like Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu,
Raghupati Venkataratnam Naidu etc. Gurajada
Apparao authored a book called “KANYA SHULKAM”,
which emphasised on Child Marriage in society
taking place at that time. Shri Unnava Lakshmi
Narayana Garu, authored a book “MAALAPALLI”
About Dr. Yarlagadda Padmavathi Rahul Shastri (guest of honour)
Dr. Yarlagadda Padmavathi is a senior advocate with a standing of 35 years in the Telangana and Andhra
High Courts. She is a lawyer and arbitrator by profession; mediator and conciliator by commitment;
educationist, social worker, and philanthropist by conviction.
During her academic career, she was awarded five gold medals and two rolling cups by RBVRR College
and Osmania University for her outstanding performance.
Tribute To Sri Debanjan Ray
Debanjan Ray was a remarkable person. My first
meeting with him was during the Brahmo Conference
in Bangalore in 2007. He was then a young man, but
he left a deep impression in my mind. I still remember
a statement made by him that was indicative of his
religiosity. Speaking about how effective prayers can
be, he said that every morning, while waiting for his
office transport, he calmed his mind and prayed and
that sustained him for the rest of the day. I also found
out that he was a man of action. After the conference,
he started a ‘yahoogroup’ on e-mail, mainly to discuss
ways and means to attract the younger generation of
Brahmos to the Samaj; he started a website; wrote
a booklet on Brahma Dharma and compiled a list of
Brahmos from all over the country with their contact
details.
I came to know Debanjan better after the 2019
Bangalore conference. I was amazed at the depth
of his knowledge, his wisdom, his quest for more
knowledge and his dedication to the cause of the
11
and Shri Daasarathi Rangacharya Garu authored
many books about the social evil practices and
made people aware of the problems caused by such
practices. Many of these leaders are followers of
Brahmo Samaj and the Principles of Raja Rammohun
Roy, Eeswar Chandra Vidya Sagar etc.
I convey my hearty greetings to all of you and wish
the 131st All India Brahmo Conference a grand
success.
Brahmo Samaj. Providing impetus to the Brahmo
movement had become a passion for him. He, along
with Sri Ravi Sankar, was responsible for bringing
many of us together to discuss and find the path
ahead. When COVID pandemic struck, it was his
brainchild to start the weekly online Brahmopasana.
Debanjan had the rare skill of gentle persuasion. I now
realise that with his soft prodding, he made me do
some things which I would not have done otherwise.
But over and above all these, what charmed anybody
and everybody who came in contact with him was his
gentle, amiable nature, his humility, his ever-smiling
pleasant face and his readiness to help people. What
was not so obvious was his technical competence,
his professionalism, his capacity for hard work, his
sincerity, his thirst for knowledge.
Debanjan is no longer with us in this mortal world,
but his memory will always be cherished by us. May
his many invaluable qualities act as inspiration for us.
- Mr. Sanjoy Chanda
 Address by CCBS President
I am delighted to participate
in the 131st Annual All India
Session of the Brahmo
Conference on the theme:
‘Nurture the Future’. I am
thankful to Lord Almighty
for His abiding grace!
I offer my sincere thanks
to the organizers of this Conference, particularly,
Sri Ravi Sankar B, Sri Praveen Vema, Sri Challa
Kesava Chand, President, Hyderabad Deccan
Brahma Samaj; Sri Sourav De, General Secretary,
Brahmo Conference; Sri Ajay Gautham, Secretary,
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj and all the
members of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj
for having afforded me this opportunity to be with
you all here and share my concerns about the
Brahmo Movement.
I remember with gratitude my uncle Sri W. H.
Hanumanthappa, Dr. P. K. Ghosh of Kolkata, Rev.
Acharya P. Sitaramabrahmam, Sri Narendra Nath of
Delhi, my father Sri W. H. Puttiah, Sri S. P. Sarathy,
Dr. M. Gurudas, Sri B. P. Chandrashekhara, Sri T. G.
Siddaveerappa, Sri Shyam Rao D. Naik, Sri N. Sunith
Nivas, Dr. G. Lakshmipathi, Dr. T. Rajyalakshmi all
of revered memory; and Sri C. N. N. Raju and Dr. D.
S. Joag, and a host of other leading Brahmos who
kindled in me a deep sense of love and respect for
the Brahmo Samaj.
It is indeed a memorable day for all of us to meet
our brothers and sisters in faith to exchange our
feelings and thoughts in this annual gathering.
Many of you have travelled long distances from
various parts of the country only to uphold and re-
assert your ties of fellowship in our common pursuit
to nurture the future of the Brahmo Samaj. Let me
extend my greetings and warm welcome to each
and every one of you. I hope that the discussions
at the Conference will enable us to strengthen our
capabilities to make the Brahmo Movement more
vibrant.
In order to understand the Brahmo Movement and
to know what it stands for, we have to enter into the
spirit of the life and message of Raja Rammohun
Roy. The life of Rammohun was a unique record
of conceiving the possibility of a common worship
for people of different religions. He said that
12
- Dr. Wooday. P. Krishna
President, Central Council of Brahmo Samajes
God is the goal of all religions and that worship
is possible without the association of religious
tenets and traditions. In the words of Acharya P.
Sitaramabrahmam, Rammohun conceived of “a
common worship of a common God with a common
aspiration for unity, purity and upliftment”. He
heralded a new perspective that lifted the concept
of God and way of Worship above creeds and
denominations. He brought the redeeming love of
God to modern humanity, opening a new path of
liberation to mankind. He effected a grand synthesis
of all the great religions of the world. A passionate
lover of humanity, he realized that spiritual unity is
the only means of establishing everlasting peace in
the world. He propounded a Universal Theism with
the Upanishadic background of Hinduism with a
view to unite people of all shades of opinions and
beliefs in a common faith of one God. The relevance
of man and God is the relevance of Brahmo Samaj.
The mission of the Brahmo Samaj as an organization
is to infuse spiritual idealism, universal outlook and
humanistic approach.
This is the age of organizations and organized
efforts. Even the humblest persons have discovered
that the strength and utility of organizing
themselves if they want to get anything in life.
In this age, strength lies in unity and organized
efforts. Rammohun was quick to realize this
wonder of organized efforts. His theistic covenants
embodied in the Trust Deed of the Brahmo Samaj
(1828) speaks of his conviction that no great cause
can succeed without organization. He organized a
congregation of the worshippers of the Supreme
Being. The worshippers are known as Brahmos and
the Samaj means Congregation.
The Brahmo Movement spread to different parts
of the country due to the missionary work of great
leaders like Brahmananda Keshub Chandra Sen,
Pratap Chandra Mazumdar, Ananda Mohan Bose,
Amritlal Bose, Pandit Sivanath Sastry, Dr. Sir R.
Venkataratnam Naidu, Rao Bahadur K. Viresalingam
Pantulu, Chandavarkars, Bhandarkars and others.
Great missionaries from Andhra Pradesh like Rev.
E. Subbukrishnayya, Jayanti Venkatanarayana,
Tarakam and others including Rev. Acharya P.
Sitaramabrahmam did their best to propagate the
ideals of the Samaj. About 126 Samaj Centres were
organized across Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa,
Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bangladesh, Burma
and U.K.
Brahmo Samaj preaches and proclaims the
absolute unity and spiritual nature of God; the
presence of God in man; the harmony of all
scriptures and prophets. Brahmo Samaj has
nothing to do with scriptures, priests, mediators
or rituals and ceremonies. Rammohun organized
the Brahmo Samaj for the unsectarian worship of
an unsectarian God. Acharya Sitaramabrahmam
sums up the organizational structure of the
Samaj in the following words: “Brahmo Samaj is
a religion of brotherhood, a fellowship of faiths. It
is an unorganized world community of liberal and
progressive religious thinkers. Brahmo Samaj aims
at purifying, simplifying, unifying and beautifying
religion. Brahmo Samaj is the common ground
of all religions and the essential ground of every
religion. It is not a new religion but a new religious
perspective necessary for unity and welfare of
mankind”.
Brahmo Samaj which has for itself, the twin ideals
of “fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man”
has since grown as a Movement. Over the years, it
has provided a place in itself for the people of all
religious persuasions provided they are prepared
to follow the covenants of worship as exemplified in
the Trust Deed. The Samaj, through its philosophy of
service, of serving God in man, has been doing very
useful work in fields like education, medical relief
and promotion of communal harmony. Though the
statistics of the number of Samaj Centres and the
people served through them may not be impressive,
the spirit behind such service is still the panacea
for all the evils that surround us.
I would like to stress upon three principles in our
practical life. Unselfishness, truthfulness and purity
in personal life are essential virtues to nurture our
future. In order to do the work of the Lord, we need
great inner strength. True inner strength can come
only through inner purity. We have to demonstrate
through our lives the truth of this statement to the
world. The second principle is spirituality. Though
morality is essential, mere morality cannot bring
lasting peace. It is in search of peace and ultimate
fulfilment that people come to the Samaj. In spite of
all the activities we undertake, our Samaj Centres
should be abodes of peace and solace. Finally, the
principle of social service. To live is to give. A candle
loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle.
It is the duty of every one of us to strive one’s
utmost in bringing to fruition the great Mission of
the Brahmo Samaj. Let us unlock our possibilities.
The total absence of whole-time missionaries has
practically crippled our great spiritual movement.
Time has therefore come for all of us to deliberate on
this serious organizational drawback. I appeal to all
my brothers and sisters assembled here to discuss
and find ways and means of reviving missionary
work through some nodal Samaj Centre to take up
training programmes for lay missionaries to deliver
spiritual discourses and conduct congregational
prayers.
In these troubled times, when religious hatred
has become a common place thing, we need to
demonstrate unity of religions by holding inter-
faith meets, educate children in the unity of
religions and promote inter-faith dialogue.
“This wide Universe is the holy temple of God; the
Heart is the shrine for pilgrimage; Truth is the
scripture everlasting; Faith is the root of religion;
Asceticism is the elimination of Selfishness”, so
declare the Brahmos. I am honoured to be allowed
to say these few words.
Om. Brahma Kripa Hi Kevalam.

About Dr. Wooday P. Krishna

Dr. Wooday P. Krishna is an Indian educationist, technocrat and social activist. He is the Honorary
General Secretary of Seshadripuram Educational Trust, President of Karnataka Gandhi Smarak Nidhi,
Former Chairman of Gandhi Peace Foundation and former Chairman of “The Institution of Engineers
(India)”, Karnataka State Centre.

“liberty
Struggles are not merely between reformers and anti-reformers, but between
and tyranny; between justice and injustice; between right and wrong. Liberal
principles have been long gradually, but steadily, gaining ground, notwithstanding

”
the opposition and obstinacy of despots and bigots.
- Raja Rammohun Roy
13
 Address by Brahmo Conference Secretary
It gives me great pleasure to
welcome you all on behalf
of the Brahmo Conference
Central Committee, Kolkata
to the Inaugural Ceremony
of the 131st ALL INDIA
BRAHMO CONFERENCE
in Hyderabad – the land
of the Nizams, hosted by
the HYDERABAD DECCAN BRAHMA SAMAJ. This
is the third conference in the history of Brahmo
Conferences to be held here. The previous two
sessions were held in the years 1995 and 2006. I
was not able to attend in the year 1995 but had the
privilege of attending the session of 2006. This is
indeed a memorable occasion for all the delegates
here, some of whom have come from various parts
of India and even from Bangladesh.
Let us remember with reverence the founding
fathers of the Brahmo Samaj - namely Raja
Rammohun Roy, Pandit Ramchandra Vidyabagish
is, Maharshi Devendra Nath Thakur, Brahmanand
Keshub Chandra Sen, Pandit Sivanath Sastri and
many others. Let us also remember with reverence
and pay our humble tribute to the founding fathers
and dedicated members of the HYDERABAD
DECCAN BRAHMA SAMAJ – namely Sri Bhagya
Reddy Varma, Sri Wellinkar, Waltati Seshayya, HS
Venkataram, Bellapu Ramayya, J S Muttayya, B K
Nityanand and other dedicated members of the
HYDERABAD DECCAN BRAHMA SAMAJ.
The regular annual gathering of Brahmos and
Brahmo sympathizers under the banner of Brahmo
Conference was started in 1890 at Dacca (now
in Bangladesh). Up to 1937, the annual Brahmo
Conferences were held mostly in various towns of
East Bengal and Assam province. For the first time
in 1938, Calcutta (presently Kolkata) hosted the
Brahmo Conference session. Thereafter Brahmo
Conference sessions were annually held in different
places in India. The Centenary celebration was held
in New Delhi in 1990. Due to the pandemic last
year, there was no session and in the year 2020
we celebrated the conference session virtually at
Pune. The present-day conference has undergone
tremendous changes in terms of attendance,
programs, discussions, entertainment, food,
accommodation, excursion, souvenirs etc. Now, it
has attained a universal character.
About Saurav De
Mr. Saurav De is a teacher of economics at South Point High School. He has previously taught at DAV
Public School, Dhanvad. Presently, he is the secretary of the Ultadanga Brahmo Samaj as well as the
General Secretary of the Brahmo Conference.
14
- Mr. Saurav De
On the advice of Brahmanand Keshub Chandra
Sen in 1866, Bhai Gour Govinda Roy composed a
short verse, which vividly describes the doctrine of
Brahmo Samaj-
I quote:
“This wide universe is the holy temple of God.
The heart is the shrine for pilgrimage.
Truth is the scripture everlasting.
Faith is the root of Religion.
Love is the supreme realization.
Asceticism (Vairagya) is the death of self.
So, declare the Brahmos.”
I admire the organizers for their great effort to make
the conference a grand success. The delegates–,
brothers and sisters, young and old have come from
various parts of India and Bangladesh, taking so
much trouble in long journeys to ensure our faith,
and desire to uphold and maintain our Brahmo
ideas. Our activities and contacts have span from
Shillong in the east to Ahmedabad in the west and
Shimla in the north to Coimbatore in the south.
Following the vision and teachings of Raja
Rammohun Roy, the founder father of Brahmo
Samaj, the Samaj has a big role to play in present
day India. The current socio-religious state of our
country does not allow us to remain complacent. We
cannot remain silent spectators of the degenerating
trends, where fundamentalism, communalism and
particularly terrorism are active to ruin our society
and nation.
Brahmos from the beginning have had a chequered
history of struggle for truth and have corrected ways
of society by breaking narrow vested interests. Our
forefathers have shown right ways of life, which
have become relevant in the present age. It is a
journey which has spanned over two centuries and
yet more is to come.
Let us be confident – let us pool our resources to
mobilize Brahmo idealism to save our nation and
country. Let GOD – the Almighty give us strength
and devotion to fulfil our objectives.
I admire the organizers of the HYDERABAD DECCAN
BRAHMA SAMAJ for the excellent arrangement to
make it a grand success.
Brhma Kripahi Kebolam!
 Upasana 1
- Dr. Dilip S. Joag and Dr. Sushama D. Joag
यो देवः सर्व भूतेषु ब्रह्मरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतेषु आत्मरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतेषु सत्यरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतेषु ज्ञानरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतेषु शान्तिरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भतू षे ु आनन्दरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतेषु अमृतरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः|
यो देवः सर्व भतू ानां स्वामिरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतानां गरुु रूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतानां मित्ररूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतानां पितृरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
यो देवः सर्व भूतानां मातृरूपेण संस्थितः| नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमः तस्मै नमो नमः||
ॐ यो देवोग्नौ योऽप्सु यो विश्वं भवु नमाविवेश |
य ओषधीषु यो वनस्पतिषु तस्मै देवाय नमो नमः||
(We bow down again and again to the Almighty God
who dwells in Fire, Water, in the Entire Universe, in
the Herbs and Trees.)
Maharshi Devendranath Tagore has very aptly
collected a bunch of verses from Upanishads
describing the Almighty God by means of his
attributes and deeds and put them together in the
form of a small verse. He is the Eternal Formless
Brahma.
ॐ सत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म |आनन्दरूपममतृ ं यद् विभाति ||
शान्तं शिवमद्वैतम् | शुद्धम् अपापविद्धम् ||
He is Creator, Protector and Giver of all happiness,
the Life of all life and Fount of all good, from Whose
grace we derive our body and mind, our intellect
and strength, our wisdom and piety. He is the
constant Protector of our body and mind from
manifold disasters. He is the True, All-wise and
Infinite Brahma. He is Peace, Righteousness, the
One above all.
He is the Source of Knowledge and of Truth, of
Perfect Bliss and of Immortality, of Peace, of
15
Piousness and of Purity. He is in unison with the
Universe. He is Unblemished by evil. All these
attributes scale up to infinity in Him. God or
Parabrahma is Formless and has the qualities,
virtues, attributes, mentioned in this verse, scaled
up to infinity. The purpose of the Prayer of the
Formless, Virtuous God is to acquire these virtues
within us. If the prayer has to serve this purpose,
we must prepare ourselves with not just a clean
body but also with a pure and clear mind.
Come, let us sing to His glory. Let us resolve to
drive away the six enemies, the shad-ripus, from
our mind. We all have, to more or less extent, the
six enemies, kaama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada,
matsar, within us. We must, at least partially, drive
away these enemies so that there will be some
space in our mind to accommodate at least a small
part of these ten qualities, virtues of Formless God.
या हो करूनी निर्मल मन | करूं भगवंताचे भजन ||
जगदद् ु धारक भवभयहारक | करी सकल सष्ृ टीचे पालन ||
विषयसागरी बळे चि बडु ु नी | का भ्रमवावे आपल ु े मन ||
व्यर्थ अहंकृती मनी न धरूनी | करूं देहबद्ु धीचे भंजन ||
सोडुनि मत्सरभाव मनीचा | करूं बंधप्ु रीतीचे वर्धन ||
होऊनि नित्य लीन निरंतर | करूं प्रभूचे कौतक ु वर्णन ||
How to purify the mind? For this, we must control
our desire, must not become overambitious; we
must learn to control anger. The true story of Sant
Eknath is exemplary in this regard. One morning,
after taking a bath in the river Godavari, Sant
Eknath returned home when a gambler waiting
by the roadside spat at him to enrage him. Eknath,
however, didn’t utter a word and went back to
the river and took a bath again. On his return the
gambler spat at him again, and once again Sant
Eknath went back to the river Godavari to take a
bath. This continued until noon when the tired
gambler asked Eknath why he didn’t get angry.
Eknath answered, “Both body and mind need
to be clean while worshiping God. Spit made
my body dirty, and it was easy to clean it. But it
would be difficult to clear my mind if I got angry.”
The speechless man touched Sant Eknath’s feet.
Sant Eknath was known as Shantibrahma. He had
removed anger completely out of his mind. We
come across many incidents where the career of
people exerting excessive greed or ego got ruined.
We have to remove greed and ego from our minds
for getting a peaceful life. It is natural to get affected
by shad-ripus at some time or the other. We need
strength to drive those away, and for that, we have
to pray to Omniscient God with full devotion and
love.
Let us pray to the Almighty God for attaining the
Divine Knowledge. O Dear God, inspire us to be
friend of all beings, and help us to become free
from false ego. O Bhagawan, make us more tolerant,
satisfied, self-controlled, and equal towards
happiness and distress. O Dear God, give us the
determination to be engaged in devotional service
to You, with our mind and intellect concentrated
on You. O Paramatman, keep our hearts free from
all evil thoughts, and make us diligent in righteous
deeds. Fill us with love to think always of Your
boundless glory and ultimately attain eternal
union with You. O Dear God, inspire us to be always
truthful, to be constant knowledge-seekers, to
become peace-loving and tolerant human beings.
देई ज्ञान दिव्य ज्ञान | देई प्रीति शुद्ध प्रीति ||
तू मंगलालया | तू मंगलालया ||
धैर्य वीर्य देई | तितीक्षा संतोष देई ||
विवेक वैराग्य देई | दे तव चरणाश्रया ||
Brahmo Samaj believes in ONE GOD Who is
omniscient. God is Truth, God is Happiness, God is
Peace, God is Cleanliness; but He is Formless. Vedas
and Upanishads say this very clearly. God created
the universe. The universe remains in the present
state because of Him; and in the end, it will merge
with Him. He is eternal, the Brahma.
Interestingly, the Kena Upanishad (२-३) says :
यस्यामतं तस्य मतं मतं यस्य न वेद सः |
अविज्ञातं विजानतां विज्ञातम् अविजानताम् ||
(One who thinks he has not understood Brahma,
he has understood It; and one who thinks he has
understood It, he has not understood It. Those who
say, “we know Brahma”, they don’t know It, and
those who say, “we don’t know Brahma”, they know
It !) In short, Brahma is very difficult to understand.
Brahma or God is beyond the perception of our
mind, our intellect, and our speech. Without bathing
oneself in the nectar emanating from devotion to
God, no one can know Him.
16
भक्ती करो तभी जानो
Sant Tukaram says in one abhang that the identity
of God is difficult to perceive by mind, intellect, and
speech. Hence, he makes devotion - bhakti - as a
measure. He measures the Infinite with the help of
this unit of devotion - the bhakti. It is not possible
to measure God by any other unit or means. God is
neither attainable by performing physical acts such
as yajna, tapa or yoga alone; nor can He be found
even by obtaining knowledge. Sant Tukaram says
further in this abhang “O God, accept my lovingly
performed service the way I am performing it.”
Thus, the knowledge of God is not a result of
intellectual gymnastics, but a consequence of divine
grace. God bestows His grace upon those who unite
their mind with Him in devotion.
मनवाचातीत तुझे हे स्वरूप | म्हणोनिया माप भक्ती के ले ||
भक्तीचिया मापें मोजितो अनंता | इतराने तत्त्वता न मोजवे ||
योगयागतपे देवाचिया योगें | ज्ञानाचिया लागें न सांपडसी ||
तुका म्हणे आम्ही भोळ्या भावें सेवा | घ्यावी जी का देवा करितों ऐसी ||
A natural corollary of the concept of all pervading
Brahma is the principle “brotherhood of man
and fatherhood of God” in which Brahmo Samaj
believes. The actions endorsed by tenets of Brahmo
Samaj can be formulated in the following five points,
the Panchashil of Brahmo Samaj : *Humanize,
*Equalize, *Spiritualize, *Have rational thinking /
scientific temper, *Do righteous deeds.
This Panchashil is also reflected in the Constitution
of India, Article 51A, Duties and Responsibilities of
Citizens of India.
O Almighty God, inspire us to follow this Panchashil
in our life.
“Bless us with an imperishable dispensation, by
which knowledge becomes proactive and acts
become knowledge-based, by which millions of
voices sing together that discrimination on the
ground of caste, creed and religion goes away, by
which Science bows down at the feet of Compassion,
by which we understand that ‘humanism’ is the
meaning of religion, respecting physical labor is
a pilgrimage, by which our hearts are filled with
fearless pride of equality, by which we realise that
salvation is in service to humanity, by which we are
ready to take the test of alertness for justice, and by
which ‘the entire universe is our family’ becomes a
guiding principle for us.”
ज्ञान बनो कर्मशील कर्म ज्ञानवान |पणु ्यमयी दे आम्हा अक्षर वरदान ||
जातिभेद वंशभेद धर्मभेद दूर |लाख लाख कं ठांतनु हाच एक सूर |
करुणेच्या चरणांशी नत हो विज्ञान ||
माणस ु की धर्माचा अर्थ जाणतो |श्रमनिष्ठा हे पवित्र तीर्थ मानतो |
हृदयातनु समतेचा निर्भय अभिमान ||
सेवेतच मक् ु ती ही मंगल दीक्षा |न्यायास्तव जागति
ृ ही सत्वपरीक्षा |
“ हे विश्वचि घर अमचु े” मंत्र हा महान ||
(Marathi poem by Mangesh Padgaonkar)
ॐ सर्वेऽपि सखि ु नः सन्तु सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः|
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु न कश्चित् दःु खभाग् भवेत् ||
भवतु सब्ब मंगलम् | भवतु सब्ब मंगलम् ||
अन्यथा शरणं नास्ति त्वमेव शरणं मम |तस्मात् कारुण्यभावेन रक्ष मां
परमेश्वर ||
|| ॐ ब्रह्मकृपा हि के वलम् || || ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः || || हरिः ॐ ||

About Dr. Dilip Joag

Dr. Dilip Joag holds a Master’s degree in Physics from IIT – Mumbai, and a Doctorate from Pune University.
During his research career as a research student, he was the recipient of the Department of Atomic
Energy scholarship. He has been involved in writing science text books for Maharashtra State secondary
and higher secondary levels from 2014 to 20.
He is the secretary of the Pune Prathana Samaj and has been associated with the Pune Prathana Samaj
since his childhood.
About Dr. Sushama Joag
Dr. Sushama Joag is a Brahmo from Pune Prarthana Samaj, where she along with her husband
(Dr. Dilip Joag, Secretary Pune Prarthana Samaj) devotedly work in the service of the Brahmo Samaj.
She holds a Master’s degree and a doctorate in Chemistry. Dr. Sushma Joag is an active social worker,
preacher and classical singer.

Conference Opening Prayer Ceremony conducted at Deccan Brahma Samaj on 28-10-2022

“OneOften people learn self-deception through prayers to God.

”
may wonder how that is possible. Please wait. It happens.
- Shivnath Shastri

17
 Upasana 2
OM BRAHMA, OM BRAHMA, OM BRAHMA
(INVOCATION)
OM pita no asi, pita no bodhi,
Namaste-astu ma ma hingsi.
Vishwani deva savitarduritani parasuva
Yad bhadrang tanna asuva,
Namah sambhabayachah, mayobhavayachah,
Namah shankarayacha, mayaskarayacha,
Namah shivayachah,shivatarayacha
OM
O father, you are my father.
Like a parent impart
knowledge and wisdom to
me. I salute thee. O do not
destroy me, protect me from
all weaknesses and failings.
O please don’t forsake me,
don’t abandon me. O divine
father, forgive all my sins, send in me all that is
good, since you are the receptacle of all good. You
are greater than good, you are beyond goodness,
you are the eternal goodness.
Dear friends, colleagues, respected elders and most
promising young adults and children, we have
congregated together in this holy arena to worship
Brahma who is like our parents, loving and caring,
like our friends, even like our foes who can be cruel
at times. We try to understand this all-pervading
power that has created the world around us and is
the reason for our existence and our consciousness.
Today is a bright sunny day and nature appears
fresh and full of the goodness of the creator. Let us
all concentrate and invoke the happy spirit of the
‘Param Brahma’ to begin today’s upasana.
OM yo deva-agnou, yo apsu,
Yo viswang bhuvanamavivesa,
Yo oshadhishu, yo vasanpatoshu,
Tasmai devaya namah namah.
The divine who is reflected in fire, the divine who is
reflected in water, the One who is reflected in herbs
and trees, the One who pervades every single element
of the world, let us salute Him again and again.
Song: Jago sakala amriter adhikari
Rise and awake, all those who are entitled to
immortality
18
- Prof. Debashish Raychaudhuri
Open your eyes and behold the merciful who
destroys all sins and sorrows.
The morning sun in the east and the birds announce
His glory.
Open thy heart and carefully behold his loving
presence.
On this pious morn let us invoke Him and receive
the shower of peace.
***
(ARADHANA)
Om Satyam Jnanamanantam Brahma.
Anandarupamamritam yadvibhati.
Shantam Shivam Adwaitam.
Shuddham Apapaviddham.
O divine One, You are the truth. You remain in the
heart of all truth. The universe exists because You
are there. The world would not exist if You were not
there. Life flourishes in abundance because of You.
We are born in you, we live our lives and at the end
of our lives we enter into the eternity which is in
Your truth.
You are the receptacle of all knowledge. Nobody
can solve your mystery. The enigmatic universe
reflects your endless mystery and your creative
power. You are unending wisdom and knowledge.
Science constantly strives to solve the mystery of
creation, yet we can only discover a minuscule part
of the entirety. Your mystery is endless; hence we
can never fully understand or realize you and your
glory.
You have created this world in joy, in Ananda. This
bliss or joy or Ananda is reflected in your creation.
You are formless, yet you have created this world
that marvels in a variety of forms. You have created
these beauteous forms to fascinate us with your
undying self. Every minute this world renews and
rejuvenates itself by dropping and discarding all
that is decayed and old. The yellow leaf drops off
the branch with joy to make room for the new leaf.
Thus, you constantly revive the world from the
clutches of death and decay. Your Amritarup or
undying nature is revealed through this process.
You are shantam, at peace. You are Shivam; you are
constant and eternal. That is why the creation exists
by assimilating all contraries. You are adwaitam –
ekamevaadwitiyam. You are the only one, you have
no duality. You can subsume this endless diversity
of the world into your unique unity. We pray only to
you in all our sorrows and joys.
You are shudhham, pure, infallible and untarnished.
Sin cannot touch you. All the pettiness and
impurities of the humans disappear when they
surrender to you and seek your mercy. You are my
best beloved and you are calling me with all your
kindness and love.
Song: Se daake amare…
He calls me, hark!
Without my friend I am restive and without peace.
The birds, the flowers, the bees—all sing his praise
every morning.
His praise is heard in the sound of the waterfalls,
the mountains praise him.
His love keeps the stars and moon shining through
the night.
His love flows in numerous streams.
***
Song: Mahanande hero go sobe
Sloka: Anandaddhyeva khalvimani bhutani jayante
Anandena Jatani jivanti
Anandam prayanti abhisangvisanti.
Everything emanates from the Joyful Brahma. In
joy it exists, in joy it is subsumed in Brahma. Every
material, every living being and consciousness
emanates from this super-consciousness. We
humans try to seek Him and because of Him we
create and continue our strivings.
Now let us meditate on the super consciousness:
ॐ भूरभुव् ः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम्भार्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्
The entire creation is created by that eternal One
power. It is that super consciousness that provides
consciousness to our existence. It connects man
directly to the larger vista of creation. Let us,
through our consciousness, try to understand and
praise that super consciousness. Let us feel His
presence within us. Within the depth of our minds,
within the heart of our hearts, with all our intellect,
cognition and comprehension, let us feel the
presence of that eternal and all-pervading power
within us and in all things. The outer world is His
creation, so is our inner world within all of us. O
super consciousness, give us the insight to feel your
presence within us. Let us realize that we too are
capable of achieving salvation. Give us the faith to
19
believe that we too can raise ourselves above the
mundane realities and meanness, selfishness and
poverty and elevate us to the level of your glorious
existence. O all-pervading eternal power, lead us to
our goal where we may transcend our limited self
to a higher plane of divine existence.
Now let us pray in unison:
Asato ma sadgamayah,
Tamaso ma jyotirgamayah,
Mrtiyorma amritangamayah,
Aviravirma edhi,
Rudra, yatte dakshinang mukhang,
Tena mang pahi nityam.
Lead us from untruth to the realm of truth, lead
us from darkness to light, lead us from death to
eternal life and deathlessness. O self revealer, reveal
yourself in front of us in your true light. O destroyer,
show us your benign face and save us from our
fears. Even in death and destruction, let us be able
to see your true self, your benevolent self and let
your terrible form awaken us to see the truth.
Song: Kar Milan chao birahi
With whom do you seek union, O my wretched
miserable heart?
He is not to be found in the cruel, complicated
external world
Bereft of peace and comfort.
Look inside your own self
Where the immortal light glows
The light of consciousness
Like the full-blown lotus.
***
NIVEDAN AND PRAYER (SERMON)
This year the world is celebrating the two hundred
and fiftieth birth anniversary of Raja Rammohun
Roy. On this occasion, we were invited to sing
the English hymns of Rabindranath Tagore at the
Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel at Hampstead in
London. As a member of the Brahmo Samaj, they
also invited me to speak about “Belonging”. The
word ‘belonging’ set me thinking about the wide
significance it carries.
A Human has a sense of belonging right from
the time he is born. He belongs to his immediate
parents, to his larger family, to the society of which
his family is a part. This then expands to the locality,
to the state, to the country, to nationality, and to the
religious community. In certain societies there are
castes and creeds to which the human being has
to be attached to, ironically without his individual
choice, yet it determines his identity. A human being
also belongs to a certain cultural group, intellectual
group or an artistic group. It is the social, economic
and religious forces that largely determine the
identity of a human. It seems that humans belong
to these several and innumerable groups at the
same time and unfortunately but invariably, these
identities are responsible in dividing humanity and
obfuscate the one greatest truth that he is a part
of the larger humanity and therefore an inherent
element of the entire creation! If we forget this
larger sense of belonging, we automatically divide
ourselves, split ourselves, ghettoise, and “other-ise”
and thus fragment ourselves in antagonistic and
petty identities.
But when a human proclaims fearlessly that “I am
a human and thus a part of this entire creation”,
he can immediately transcend all the confusing
man-made differences and becomes free of all
prejudices and pettiness. It is then that he realises
his true worth in this creation and can celebrate the
wonder that life is.
Fortunately, Brahmoism, like all other Liberal
religions, teaches us this very basic and simple truth
right from our birth. Therefore, belonging to the
Brahmo Samaj or to any such Liberal belief, gives
us an added advantage to ignore all other identities
thrust upon us and realise the wonder that we,
as humanity, must follow the ideals of pluralism,
consider every fellow human as brother, and live
in harmony and peace. Belonging to the Brahmo
Samaj teaches me that more than a Bengali, an
Indian, an Asian, I am a part of the entire creation
where geographical, national, linguistic, racial,
cultural identities don’t matter.
This is the essential teaching of our ancient
intellects. They said “om bhurbhuvahswaha
tatsaviturvarenyam, bhargo devasya dhimahi,
dhiyo yo nah prachodayat”.
It connects man immediately to the larger
macrocosm and provides him with and
About Professor Debashish Raychaudhuri
Professor Debashish Raychaudhuri teaches English Literature at the Anandamohan College in Kolkata,
named after the Brahmo leader Anandamohan Bose, a lawyer, social reformer, academician, founding
member of the Indian National Association, and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress in British
India. Prof. Raychaudhuri is an accomplished vocalist, a dramatist and an excellent speaker. He regularly
sings and conducts prayers in different Brahmo ceremonies and in various Samajes.
20
places him in the proper perspective. This real and
true perspective makes a man ignore and forget
all pettiness. Belonging to the Brahmo Samaj thus
helps me realize my real place in the entire creation
and celebrate life with a sense of wonder, awe and
gratitude.
All human beings can thus free themselves from
all man-made boundaries and start acknowledging
their true belonging, a sense of belonging to this
entire fearless creation.
It is this freedom that makes me appreciate the
world, its variousness, and present my thoughts in
the universal platform. This lets me sing the words
of Tagore,”There are numerous strings in your lute,
let me add my own among them.”
Song: There are numerous strings
Today let us remember Raja Rammohun Roy who
introduced rational thinking in our lives and our
religion. Rationality, which again, is a gift of God,
should be practiced in every walk of our existence.
Let us learn to question and defy the age worn
superstitions and meaningless rituals and practices.
Let me remind you all that today is also the birth
anniversary of the great Indian nuclear physicist
Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhaba. Great scientists like him
try to delve deep into the mysteries of this creation.
They use their rationality, intelligence and intellect
that is gifted by the Almighty. Today, in this Brahmo
conference, let us pledge to inculcate rational
thinking amongst the children. Teach them their
relationship with the world and the creation all
around us. Teach them the simplicity of our Brahmo
faith which is devoid of any man made differences
and meaningless rituals. Let them believe in God
and learn to acknowledge their unique position in
the entire world. Let them learn to come to terms
with the sorrows and difficulties of life and not lose
faith in life. In other words, let Brahmoism be a way
of life for them, that would make them a better,
kinder, free, brave, rational and loving human being.
Om, ekamevaadwitiyam
Hari Om tat sat
SECTION - 2
(Panel Discussions)

21
 Panel Discussion (by Youth and Children): 1

What do you expect from the Brahmo Samaj?

What can you do for the Brahmo Samaj?
- Smt. Rekha Shahani
(Moderator)

A panel discussion with youth was organized during the 131st All India Brahmo Samaj Conference at
Hyderabad. Many times we feel that Brahmo Samaj has no future but the reality is that there are many
youngsters in our families who are interested and have a voice. Here we present their opinions and thoughts.
The discussion was moderated by Smt. Rekha Shahani Jagasia, and the following members participated:
Rishika mamidyala (Hyderabad), Bhargav Das (Hyderabad), Himadri Das (kolkata), Kashish Das (Balasore),
Aditya Gautham (HYderabad), Debaditya Ray (Bangalore).

About Rishika Mamidyala

Miss Rishika Mamidyala is 16 years old and is studying the 11th grade in Hyderabad. She
was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA and moved to India when she was 9 years old. Since
then, she has been learning spiritual sciences and the Vedas from Acharya Ravi Sankar.
She likes learning Sanskrit, drawing, and playing games.

Q. What do you expect from the Brahmo Samaj?
Miss Rishika Mamidiyala shared her expectations as
follows:
 “According to my perception, the Brahmo
Samaj must focus a lot on its fundamentals and
beliefs rather than always highlighting the life
stories of our ancestral Brahmos”, she said.
 She strongly felt and believed that the core
principles of the Brahmo Samaj must be given
the foremost priority. The Brahmo Samaj must
serve as a platform that helps one to inculcate
the divine qualities essential to lead a dignified
and respectful life.
 Hence the Brahmo Samaj must emphasize on
the immense importance of characteristics like
patience, perseverance, kindness, compassion,
etc. and urge everyone to imbibe such vital
traits while at the same time unfasten the
superior forces of Arishadvargas that promote
negativity and resolutely stifle the positivity
within us.
 Spirituality is not just about incorporating
the ideals of the Brahmo Samaj or worshiping
one God. It also includes possessing a fine
and decent mentality. This initiative can be
executed through presentations and talks that
contribute towards moulding one into a good
personality.
 The concept of oneness should be proliferated
in such a way that others’ opinions, beliefs
and traditions are not criticized. Otherwise,
it might trigger conflicts and disputes in the
society that further leads to the disintegration
of the Brahmo Samaj in the Indian Community.
 With India being a country equipped with
diverse cultures and distinct customs one must
be very careful and cautious about spreading
the ideas of Brahmo Samaj and ensure that
it doesn’t get portrayed in a negative way. To
achieve the goal of the Brahmo Samaj it must
be directed in the correct and right path.
 Noble deeds like providing food, shelter,
education and emotional support are needed.
 We need to understand the mentality and
mindset of the future generation. Kids
and teenagers, these days are completely
submerged in the pleasures, thrills, and joys
of worldly life. Their desires and aspirations
lure them into a trap thereby detaching them
from the right path which further disturbs the
balance between spiritual and worldly life.
 In order to grab their attention, the outlook
of the Brahmo Samaj should be signified in
an interesting and fascinating manner in
alignment with their mindset so that they
get captivated and connected. Thus, this is
a complex task which demands intention,
dedication, and determination.

22
 About Bhargav Das
Mr. Bhargav Das has completed his Polytechnic studies in Industrial Electronics and
is presently studying in the third year of a Bachelor’s Degree program in Electronic
Communication Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Hyderabad. He is 21
years old and has been learning vedas since he was 5.

Before sharing my expectations, I would like to
share a few rumours that are circulating in the social
media. People feel that Brahmo Samaj was active in
the 19th and 20th centuries but has become inactive
today. Celebrities like Payal Rohatgi are saying that
Sati did not exist. She stated Raja Rammohun Roy
was just a sycophant (chamchagiri) of the British
Empire, and that the Brahmo Samaj did nothing for
society. When our generation listens to these types
of rumours, they will certainly think and believe
that these statements are true and build hatred in
their heart towards the Brahmo Samaj and Raja
Rammohun Roy. Was it for this purpose that our
great leaders suffered their entire life travelling
from place to place without relief?
I would like it if our present Brahmo Leaders from
Samajs across India could fight against such abusive
talk and false propaganda against the Raja.
 I hope that the people of the Brahmo Samaj will
actively participate in those social activities for
which Brahmo Samaj is recognised since its
inception.
 I would wish all our people of the Brahmo
Samaj to follow the path of Brahma Dharma
and make their children also do that.
 I hope people will support me in social activities
that I would like to do in each and every Samaj.

About Himadri Das

Mr. Himadri Das is 23 years old and recently completed his graduation in 2021 in Kolkata.
He is very curious about the Brahmo philosophy and inspired by the rational thinking of
the Brahmo Samaj.

The Brahmo Samaj is a monotheistic faith based
on a few fundamental principles. Its second
most important characteristic is the social and
intellectual impact of the Brahmo Samaj. The
Brahmo Samaj had spread all over India from the
North to the South and the East to the West.
Unfortunately in the 21st century, the future of some
of our Samajes is now in question. There are many
reasons for the degradation. Some of us have less
knowledge about the facts of Brahmo beliefs and
ideology and even about our identity as Brahmo
which separates us from Hinduism.
It is time to focus on the future development and
the road maps of our own beliefs.
Brahmo Samaj should be a place where we know
how to connect with the youth. The youth has the
energy and enthusiasm but sadly go on the wrong
path and waste their time and energy.
I would like to look at Brahmos of each city and
local areas and see the youngsters in them and get
them involved in study circles of various topics of
Brahmo and comparative religions and learn about
the Brahmo stalwarts.
Brahmo Samaj fought against child marriage
and widow remarriage was encouraged, but
unfortunately today we do not see this in our
society. In today’s world there is a wide space to
protest but we only see a minority section who
stands by it.
There should be a digital platform of Brahmo Samaj
unitedly in which there must be a continuous
propagation of Brahmo ideas and deeds and
activities which are done by Brahmos and Brahmo
Samajes.
These digital platforms should contain a space
where they should publish continuous protest
articles regarding the ongoing political and social
injustice and our appeal as Brahmos.
We need to publish articles regarding the ongoing
political, social and various other injustices.

23
 About Kashish Das
Miss Kashish Das hails from Balasore, and is a member of the Utkal Navavidhan Brahmo
Samaj. She is the granddaughter of Sri. Jitendra Kar, who is presently working as the
secretary of the Utkal Navavidhan Brahmo Samaj, Balasore. She is 16 years old, passed
her 10th board examinations this year and joined college.

I feel that now most parents mostly give importance
to their kid’s education and career, which is
definitely important but they don’t teach their
children to be religious or devout.
They keep saying …. “Abhi padhai karlo, paisa
kamalo, phir umar hone ke baad ye sab karna”
which is really not right. They need to guide their
children in the path of dharma at the same time as
they guide them for their career.
I also expect that parents should raise their children
the way I was raised by my grandparents… Even
though I used to get bored in the upasana as a kid
and never wanted to join in the prayer, they forced
me to join the prayer and made me understand
the fact that God cannot be known, He has to be
believed in (bhagvaan janneki cheej nahi, maanneki
cheej hai).   

About Aditya Gautham

Master Aditya Gautham is 15 years old and is studying in the 10th grade. He is the son
of Mr. Ajay Gautham, secretary of the Deccan Brahma Samaj Hyderabad. Aditya is very
interested in robotics.

There are only two main festivals that we celebrate:
Maghotsav and Bhadrothsav. These two festivals
are celebrated on a big scale only in Kolkata and
Mumbai. We children need celebrations quite often.
We should celebrate the birthdays of prominent
persons of our Samajes on a big scale. Such as
the birthdays of Raja Rammohun Roy, Gurudev
Rabindranath Tagore, Keshub Chandra Sen, Pratap
Chandra Mazumdar, and many more.
I know about Samajes which belong to Gujaratis &
Jains, where they sponsor educational scholarships
and also sponsor educational expenses for studies
abroad. They are involved in social activities. They
show their solidarity as a group. We should also do
the same from Brahmo Samaj.

About Debaditya Ray

Mr. Debaditya Ray is currently pursuing his final year of a Bachelor’s in Technology
program in Computer Science in Bangalore, where he was born and brought up. He is the
son of Mr. Debanjan Ray and Mrs. Malabika Ray.

My first and foremost expectation would be religious
education the way it is imparted in Catholic schools.
In Christian schools they are taught the Bible and
they have a special Bible study for around an hour.
When I went to that school I enjoyed it a lot. It was
later replaced by value education. There were short
stories that were taught through these Bible study
groups which really impressed me and I learnt a lot
from it. We used to keep talking in other classes
and throwing paper balls at each other but during
these classes we were very disciplined because the
content of these classes was stories which were very
attractive to all of us. Later on when we had value
education I did not find much interest because the
examples given were not that great. The core ethics
and values which were taught in that class weren’t
bad but when added with religion it receives
another dimension of depth and interest. So with
the school closing the religious education aspect
part, the responsibility then falls on the parents.
But today is the age of corporate culture and the
IT industry boom with its 9-5 work culture. That
leaves very little time for the parents to do other
things with their children. Therefore the duty of
this religious awareness now lies with the religious
community to conduct classes for children. The

24
classes should be well structured, and they should
cover different aspects and concepts of faith in a
very child friendly manner through activities such
as storytelling and quizzes. Apart from teaching
one’s own religion, we need to learn about other
religions and faiths too in society. Some students
forbade me from talking about religion as they come
from families where the parents advise them not to
talk about religion and what is happening. I would
like to thank Shri Ravi Sankar Sir a lot for starting
the Brahma Dharma classes for children and the
youth recently which has given me an excellent
opportunity to dive deep into the Brahmo waters
that I have been longing to learn for a long time. I
would like our Brahmo sessions to spread wide just
as Biblical studies are conducted across churches
or in the same way Muslims conduct Quran classes
with lots of children and inquisitive youth enrolled
in them.
HHH
What can you do for the Brahmo Samaj?
Miss Rishika
Contributions
 At this point of time I would like to help my
family and friends to see and understand the
purpose of life i.e., to attain eternal bliss by
teaching them Vedic mantras.
 When I grow up my ambition is to work for the
welfare of people. It is said that good feelings
last for a moment but good deeds last for a
lifetime. Being a person who discovers their
contentment in other’s happiness I’d like to
help everyone with all my potential.
 I would like to build a school that offers world
class amenities in terms of academics, co-
curricular activities, quality of education,
infrastructure but at a very low fee structure
or free.
 Though I am not a doctor I’d like to serve my
people suffering from the unbearable pain
of critical health conditions by providing
a platform that assures clinical treatment,
consultation, and operations affordable to all
at low cost.
 I will play my role as a responsible citizen
and protect the natural resources which are
considered to be divine, pure, and precious.
 As a teenager I cannot accomplish these
massive goals but will promise to do so once
I have achieved the capacity i.e., in the near
future.
25
Mr. Damuluri Bhargav Das
• As a member of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma
Samaj I will attend the Sunday upasanas
regularly.
• Whatever Vedic Mantras and Brahma Dharma
principles that I have learnt and am even now
learning from Acharya Ravi Sankar, I would
certainly like to pass on to the young children.
We have already started to take Vedic classes
in 3 schools, covering about 200 children. By
God’s grace this number will increase in the
coming years.
• I want to spread the Message of Raja Rammohun
Roy to millions of people by using social media
platforms like Youtube, Facebook, Instagram,
Quora Digest.
• We can create a Youtube Channel and make
10min videos on topics like
1. History of Brahmo Samajes across india
2. Life history of prominent leaders of
Brahmo Samaj
3. Current social evils and how to eradicate
them.
4. Following principles of Brahma Dharma in
daily life.
• We need to write articles in Quora Digest. The
content of the article should be accomplishing
two things i.e. it should contain our Brahma
Dharma message and it should be the exact
reply to the question asked in Quora.
• So these are some ways that we can spread our
message, and I want to do these tasks by taking
help from my elders in the coming future.
The next thing I want to focus on is a few important
activities which will improve the quality of
children’s lives:
• Provide vocational courses to students and
youth  
• Free medical camps, health & hygiene sessions
in remote villages of India.
• Donating uniforms, books, stationary items
and nutritional supplements for children in the
underprivileged schools.
Master Aditya
I will come forward to fight against social evil
practices that are existing today.
I would attend Samaj regularly on Sundays. I will be
involved in propagating the principles of Brahmo
Samaj.
Mr. Debaditya Ray
“We have always held to the hope, the belief, the
conviction that there is a better life, a better world,
beyond the horizon” said Franklin D. Roosevelt.
On this note, I would like to request all the elders
and seniors present to not give up hope on the
present younger generation regarding continuing
the Brahmo way of life in society and living by its
principles. We may seem stubborn and disinterested
at times and elders often feel that religion is fading
away from the minds of the youth but there is a lot
of interest and work which pulls us towards the
Samaj. The core values which we are absorbing on
the way from here will stick with us till the very
end of our lives. Kindly give us the guidance and the
blessing to ensure that we are able to uphold the
faith, and belief and make the world the haven that
Raja Rammohun Roy had envisioned for us around
200 years back.
Miss Kashish Das
Most of us youngsters find talks and prayers in
Upasanas not very interesting.
I would like to have more “Rabindra sangeet” and
a few other compositions and stories about the
founders of Brahmo Samaj and what they taught us
in a role-play during Upasana to attract youngsters
and people from different faiths. I would like to
have online sessions and campaigns in different
cities and take the help of my friends to make some
animated videos for social media. When we go on
YouTube or social media we get a few videos and
lectures on Brahmo Samaj.
As I grow up I will not only try to protect the
women of our country but I would also educate
people about Brahma and make them aware of
social taboos like casteism, untouchability, and the
subjugation of women and I hope that we kids will
take the Brahmo flag ahead and make the members
of this Samaj proud of us.
Mrs Rekha Shahani beautifully summed up by
narrating a story & how each one of us can change
the society by being a change maker.
She also convinced the participants & Panelists that
all our future Brahmo leaders were sitting right in
front of us in the audience & we need not look out
for them far away.  
The panel discussion was a huge success as it let
the youth of Today express & explore their thoughts
plus feelings to a vast audience from all over the
country.

About Rekha Shahani

Mrs. Rekha Shahani was the Principal of Kamala High School from 2003 to 2015
and a Teacher at Kamala High School from 1990 to 2003. Mrs. Rekha Shahani
truly exemplifies the Gandhian principle – ‘Be the change you want to see in the
world’ and this has kept her motivated to relentlessly contribute to the growth in
education of first-generation learners. She is known to put all her energy behind
anything she takes on and to persist until she has productively completed the
task at hand. These skills, her constant pursuit of knowledge and her efforts
towards the development of new methodologies of learning have been one of the key reasons for her
continued success in various projects.

MESSAGE
Every delegate from across the country has appreciated the efforts made by the Task force team
right from receiving the delegates at Airport, railway station and at Hotel, inquiring their welfare and
requirements and looking after them in all respects. Like wise the arrangements and coordination in
the conference to make it a grand success is simply superb. I know that every one of you has spent
many sleepless nights and toiled a lot. The result is due recognition and appreciation of your services
by all the delegates. It is like a booster to all of you. You have earned a priceless reputation to the
Hyderabad Dn Brahma Samaj.
On behalf of Hyderabad Dn BS, I put it on record all your valuable services and our whole hearted
appreciation. I request all of you to attend the Sunday Samaj upasanas whenever possible for you and
involve more in learning Brahma Dharma.
Heartfelt Thanks to each one of you by name . Wishing all of you a bright future. May the Almighty
bless each one of you.
Chiranjeeva ! Sukheebhava !!
Kesava Chand challa
President, Deccan Brahma Samaj, Hyderabad

26
 PANEL DISCUSSION: 2
How to spread the Brahmo Samaj message and
principles to the greatest number of children in
the next five years?
Speakers : Mr. Biswajit Roy, Kolkata; Mrs. Preeti Bais, Indore; Mr. Praveen Vema, Hyderabad;
Dr. Natesh Pravhu, Tiruchi
At this 131st Brahmo
Conference held in
Hyderabad, we had a panel
discussion where speakers
spoke out their views on the
topic of “How to spread the
Brahmo Samaj message and
principles to the greatest
number of children in the next 5 years.” The
speakers included Mr. Biswajit Roy, Mrs. Preeti Bais
Mr. Praveen Vema and Dr. Natesh Prabhu.
Mr. Biswajit stressed on the development of the
moral and ethical values of children. He cited
examples where Sunday Schools were held in the
Brahmo Samajes in Kolkata. There was a Student’s
Weekly Service where education was imparted to
build personal integrity and high moral character.
There were debates, discourses and even picnics
organized by the service. He spoke of a role based
curriculum through which this high moral training
needs to be provided so that the children can learn
to be model Brahmos with high moral character.
He also spoke of organising programmes for high
school and college students.
Mrs. Preeti Bias stressed on the spiritual education
of children, and felt that education should begin at
home by the parents. This would help youngsters
learn about the Brahmo way of life. Her action plan
included finding areas of interest of the child and
grooming him. The child would inculcate spiritual
values. The self-awareness of the child would grow
and the child would not succumb to biases, and
would be able to separate needs from wants.
Dr. Natesh Prabhu talked of a digital network of
Brahmos. This would increase the visibility of
the Brahmo Samaj across India. The important
27
- Mr. Amit Kumar Das
(Moderator)
outcome of this would be that Brahmos would
be able to connect with “prospective Brahmos”
with similar views and ideals. The message of the
Brahmo Samaj and that of the Acharyas could be
dispensed through the latest digital resources like
reels, blogs, shorts, podcasts etc. He also talked of
graphic motivational messages to be made and the
slokas to be shared. This would increase the reach
of the Brahmo Samaj and would spread the concept
of oneness.
Mr. Praveen Vema spoke of a 5 year action plan on
the health and hygiene of the 4 crore Indian children
between the ages of 0 to 18. By health, he referred
not just to the physical and mental health, but also
to the Spiritual Health of the children. He talked
of Dharma to reach Moksha, teacher training in
Brahma Dharma, so that they can then impart the
knowledge to the children and spread the message
of Brahma Dharma. For him Brahma Dharma and
Health & Hygiene are related. This will increase
rational thinking and develop open mindedness
and build confidence among children.
Looking at these from a moderator’s point of view
I feel that:
• One should read and understand the Trust
Deed of the Brahmo Samaj – which clearly lays
out the purpose of the building to worship
the Eternal One, who is formless, and that no
religion should be referred to in any derogatory
way in any form or other.
• The young people who spoke should be
presented with a copy of the English Brahma
Dharma, which lists the Slokas and their
meanings and their explanation. Most of these
Slokas are taken from the Upanishads and
some from the Vedas. A study of these will
 tell us what we need to follow and practice.
There is advice for the family on how to lead an
exemplary life.
• Brahma Dharma does not recognize any
religious book or teacher or guru as infallible.
There is no spiritual leader as such. The
Acharyas do conduct the service and provide
the necessary teachings but in no way should
we be considering them as high priests. This
was the mistake that the followers of Keshab
Chandra Sen committed – raising him to the
status of a demi God.
• There are certainly very good ideas that we
can implement – some quickly and some will
take time. We can start on the digital presence
and make the creatives for sharing. The role
based curriculum and training material can be
worked on in the long term.
• None of the speakers spoke about doing social
work and reaching out to the people who are
less fortunate. The Brahmo Samaj grew fighting
against the social injustices. The country is in
a delicate state. Some evil social practices are
being glorified – the Brahmo Samaj needs to
speak out against these.
Overall it was a good session and very encouraging
to see the next generation come up with their ideas
and taking the Brahmo movement forward.

About Amit Kumar Das

Mr. Amit Kumar Das is a software professional and a project manager by profession working with one
of the largest MNCs in the world. Amit has been associated with the activities of the Brahmo Samajes
in Kolkata since an early age. He was strongly influenced by his activities with the Brahmo Samaj Youth
Network movement popularly known as BSYN in the late 80s. He has been leading the congregation into
prayer since the early 90s. He runs the Facebook group Brahmo Samaj where he focuses on Universalism
and promoting greater union among people with similar sentiments. He has penned several articles
which have been featured in various publications of the Brahmo Samaj and in some leading dailies of the
country. He is currently engaged in working for the Brahmo Samaj in its various activities.

Faith of Brahmo Samaj

I have the right to use my reason and conscience in judging of Dharma and
Adharma. With this ability of self-determination, I shall always uphold Dharma.
I also believe in the necessity of Upasana for the spiritual development, and in the
moral accountability of man.
I practice spiritual worship as a constant endeavour and try to do my best to
shape my life in accordance with Brahma Dharma. May God help me in this.
अन्धन्तमः प्र विशन्ति येसम्भूतिमपु ासते । ततो भूयऽइव ते तमो यऽउ सम्भूत्याँ रताः ॥
(यजुर्वेद – 40 – 09)
andhantamaḥ pra viśanti yesambhūtimupāsate |
tato bhūya:’iva te tamo ya:’u sambhūtyām̐ ratāḥ ||
(Yajurveda-40-09)

कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छतँ समाः । एवन्त्वयि नान्यथेतो स्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे ॥
(यजुर्वेद – 40 – 02 )

kurvanneveha karmāṇi jijīviṣecchatam̐ samāḥ | evantvayi nānyatheto sti na karma lipyate nare ||
(Yajurveda-40-02)

28
How to reach children & young adults to spread the
message ‘Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man’
For quite sometime, we
have seen that children and
young adults have become
completely absent from the
activities of the Brahmo
Samaj. It is our duty to
reach out to teach them one
of the basic tenets of the
Brahmo Samaj, ‘Fatherhood
of God and Brotherhood of Man’. All the children
irrespective of religion, caste or creed should learn
this principle from their very childhood so that the
society would be benefitted when these children
become the responsible adult citizens of this
country.
We need not invent new methods to reach our
target group, we can adopt our earlier methods in
this respect and alter them as per the need due to
change in time frame.
In the late nineteenth century, the Sadharan
Brahmo Samaj started a the concept of Moral
Schools for children. The Moral school had its own
curriculum for different age groups and various
textbooks published by a publication committee
of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj to support the
curriculum. These Moral schools were associated
with various schools administered by the Sadharan
Brahmo Samaj.
For young adults a separate organization was
established by the Samaj named Students’ Weekly
Service. In the Brahmo Public Opinion (later
renamed as The Indian Messenger) the English
mouthpiece of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj
reported in its 1st May, 1879 issue the following:
“…that a weekly theistic service called the Students’
Weekly Service has been organized from Sunday
last. The service is to commence with the singing of
a few hymns, after which a discourse is to be read
or delivered treating of educational, social, moral
and religious questions with a short prayer offered
in the spirit and the tone of the discourse, the
proceedings to be wound up with a hymn. It was
decided in the last meeting to hold the service every
Sunday morning at 7 a.m. at 13 Mirzapur Street.
Last Sunday there was a discourse on “Education”
by Pandit Sivanath Sastri.”
About Biswajit Roy
Mr. Biswajit Roy holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and is an IT Professional. He is a
member of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Kolkata.
29
- Mr. Biswajit Roy
The main activities of Students’ Weekly Service
were a) General Lecture, b) Memorial lecture,
c) Debate, d) Discourse, e) Prayer meeting, f) Picnic
& get together, g) felicitations, h) students’ hostel
inspection, i) relief missions, j) organizing night
schools and literacy missions, k) formation of study
circles, l) publication of books, booklets & journals,
m) organizing musical programs, n) fund raising,
o) helping poor students etc. It was observed that
the active member strength of Students’ Weekly
Service was 522 in the year 1922.
In view of these past activities, we may plan to
start regular moral classes for children focusing
on spreading brotherhood through booklets,
storytelling, audio visual presentations, short films
etc. These activities can be started from the Brahmo
Samaj administered schools and slowly spread to
other private schools.
For young adults, if we start our mission in a similar
but modified way, we can still reach a number of
young students who can actively participate in such
activities. A group may be formed by the target
participants with one or two advisors who can guide
them to select the correct activities and implement
the basic teachings of the Brahmo Samaj. Activities
may include publication of booklets & journals,
forming study circles, arranging lecture meetings,
regular social, cultural, charitable and relief
activities etc.
We need to find the right approach to the school
or college authorities for involving the students in
such activities and to encourage them to actively
involve in such activities. We may issue certificates
of participation. Structure and procedures to
be defined for creating such students’ groups
and regular connection, and joint activities with
different groups should be encouraged. Students
should take the ownership of such groups which
will also develop leadership qualities within group
members. For developing and building such groups
with regular activities, some funds should be raised
by the respective Brahmo Samajes and allocated for
team building and performing group activities.
 How to spread the Brahmo Samaj message &
principles to the greatest number of children
in the next five years?
As per my understanding
and thinking the Brahmo
Samaj message and prin-
ciples are best inculcated
and spread by making the
children’s parents under-
stand the need and the im-
portance of Brahmo belief,
because if the parents are in agreement or are in
accordance with this only then can we move for-
ward or even imagine bringing forward these well
laid action plans into motion for their sweet fruits
to yield.
I have devised an action plan with some key steps
for the same as under:
Find out the areas of interest of your children as it
is key to unlock their mind and their imagination.
In today’s age education is being provided by the
parents of different stratas as per their socio-
economic levels but somewhere along the line the
spiritual development of the children is lagging
behind due to the prevailing cut throat competition.
Here we need to understand what spirituality
means and how to inculcate spiritual values in
your child. To understand spirituality, an individual
should first understand the meaning of the term
‘Spirit’. In philosophy, the word Spirit is used to
refer to the entity which grants the body the ability
to function; for example, to sense, to breathe and
to think, thus giving the impression of being alive.
However, in religion, this very Spirit is addressed as
God. Spirituality, in fact, is the process of acquiring
knowledge about the Spirit, and realizing it.
Now that you have a basic idea of what spirituality is,
let us understand the key elements that constitute
spirituality and see how we can help our children
understand them.
i) Self-awareness: sense of self-awareness can
make us realise our true potential. Help your
child develop self-awareness through reflection,
practising mindfulness, and challenging her biases
and prejudices. However, to help your child do this,
you should also be self-aware and full of self-belief.
For, only then can you guide your child.
30
- Mrs. Preeti Bais
ii) Differentiating needs from wants: Any desire
arising in our mind requires us to engage in an
activity to fulfil it. For example, while a desire for
peace makes an individual engage in prayer, a desire
for money requires an individual to engage in work
that pays. However, whatever we gain or receive is
temporary and doesn’t stay with us forever. Also,
our list of desires keeps getting longer and longer.
As there is no end to our desires, we are caught in
a perpetual cycle of wishing, acting and receiving.
How to impart this to your child? Teach your child
the difference between what he needs and what he
wants. You can define needs as what is required for
our survival, health, and happiness; for example,
food and water, security and shelter, education and
relationships. Wants are what isn’t necessary to
either survive or feel happy. Ask your child to list
down his needs and wants by creating two columns
on a piece of paper. Differentiating needs from
wants will help your child experience happiness
and fulfilment, and prevent him from becoming
materialistic.
iii) Holistic education: there is a lot more
information available to us today, most of us are
interested in learning only about a particular
subject. Thus, we fail to gain knowledge about other
areas. For example, a chartered accountant may not
know much, or next to nothing, about health or
environment.
How to impart this to your child? In addition to what
your child learns in school, teach her about spiritual
values such as compassion and peace, about her
community and the surrounding environment, and
about herself. Help her learn to love herself, deal
with personal issues, own up to her actions, and
identify and achieve her goals. Holistic education
can help your child establish a connection between
her mind and body.
iv) Serving humanity: financial experts say that the
world has become wealthier, reports also suggest
that the divide between the haves and have-nots
is steadily increasing. How to impart this to your
child? Encourage your child to show kindness and
generosity by giving him opportunities to indulge
in acts like donating to the needy, sharing his
possessions, volunteering at community centres,
and showing appreciation. By learning to serve
others, your child will grow up to be an empathetic,
caring and responsible human being.
Integrating spirituality with your child’s daily life
can help him develop a different perspective, feel
compassionate, open up to different possibilities,
feel positive, and connect with his innermost
feelings as well as those of others.
I have two cute, adorable and lovely nephews,
the elder one (Ranveer) is eight years old and the
younger one (Ronsher) is three years old, I asked
Ranveer - Who is GOD?
He said – GOD is the one who made us.
Who taught you this?
Mummy and Papa.
There are so many things to gain by cultivating
these spiritual/moral values in children:
a) Research shows that spirituality changes the
brain regions associated with memory, sense
of self, empathy, and stress.
b) Introducing spiritual practices early in life
helps your children to view it as a natural part
of life and you will create a foundation that will
help them during tough times later in life.
● Make a routine for prayer, it can be anything,
please do not force of choice, ask them to sing
or follow a specific form or type of practice,
give them the freedom of choice, ask them to
say in their own words what they are grateful
today for
● Last but not the least please do not force any
child to pursue any belief which you think is
the best, let them make their own decisions in
small/big steps.

I was wondering if an eight-year-old boy
understands in very easy terms the meaning of
GOD. So what remains to be our duty is to develop
these beliefs and channel this huge energy that
today’s children have.
● Please remember the children who are raised
with a well developed spiritual base are
happier, optimistic and better equipped to deal
with life than those who are not and we all are
very good bargainers!!!

About Preeti Bais

Mrs. Preeti Bais is a member of the Indore Brahmo Samaj. She has a Master’s degree in Pharmacy, CRC.
She currently works as a Medical Coder (US Healthcare). She is also the internal auditor of the MBVBS
Trust, Indore Brahmo Samaj.

Faith of Brahmo Samaj

I have faith in The One and Only One Formless God, who is without a second,
The All-Perfect, the beginning and the end of everything.
I hold that no created object or person is to be worshipped as God, and no
mediator is to be recognized between man and God.

स पर्यगाच्छु क्रमकायमव्रणमस्नाविरँ शुद्धमपापविद्धम् ।

कविर्मनीषी परिभूः स्वयम्भूर्याथातथ्यतोर्थान्व्यदधाच्छाश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः ॥
(यजुर्वेद – 40 – 08)

sa paryagācchukramakāyamavraṇamasnāviram̐ śuddhamapāpaviddham |
kavirmanīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūryāthātathyatorthānvyadadhācchāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ ||
(Yajurveda – 40 - 08)

31
 Five year plan to reach 44 crore kids in India
with health and hygiene campaign
Health is often defined as ‘A
state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being
and not merely the absence
of disease and infirmity.’
A disease is a particular
abnormal condition that
negatively affects the
structure/function of all or a part of an organism
and that is not immediately due to any external
injury.
Infirmity is physical or mental weakness.
The overall health of an individual can be classified
into physical, mental and spiritual health. Physical
and mental health are being discussed widely in
most of the health campaigns but not spiritual
health. So I wish Brahmo Samaj as an organization
could take the movement forward and introduce
the concepts of Brahma Dharma to kids and thereby
help them shape their future according to the rules
of Brahma Dharma that are taught in the Vedas.
We all know how important it is to be healthy and no
wealth in the world can replace health. So we need
to take precautionary measures to keep ourselves
healthy and influence or reduce the diseases we
may get in the future. So health is a luxury and if
one has to enjoy it they should definitely have good
health and hygiene awareness. No one in this world
wants to be unhealthy and we have to constantly
remind anyone and everyone to correct themselves
at one point in life and remember the need to
be healthy. So this thought made us think about
initiating the health and wellbeing campaign for
kids with the credo “THE EARLIER THE BETTER.”
Everyone would have got advice from their parents
about being clean and healthy but there is always
room for improvement. Also there are many
misconceptions that need to be cleared in the
path which is again a different topic altogether. Let
us pass the authentic message to every kid with
proper guidelines and in a presentable format so
that we can build a healthy nation. Brahmo Samaj
always stood behind spreading good, so let’s all join
hands together in spreading this good message as
per the Vedic good deed of SAMAJIKA YAGNA.
32
- Mr. Praveen Vema
Spiritual Health:
Why does anyone need to be healthy and why
is it really important in spiritual terms? Is being
healthy limited to only being fit physically, mentally
or spiritually or all of the above mentioned? Yes,
it has to be all the above undoubtedly as many
researchers have found out that being healthy is not
only physical or mental but also spiritual. Health is a
combination of all the three aspects mentioned. For
a patient to be treated and to make him overcome a
disease all three factors need to be dealt with.
According to the VEDAS : ‘Shareera Madhyam
Idam khalu Dharma Sadhanam’
This means that the purpose of health is to keep the
body in good condition thereby to attain and obtain
the knowledge of Brahma Dharma, to Practice
Brahma Dharma, to preach Brahma Dharma and
use the body as a vehicle or as a tool to attain the
path of MOKSHA which is the ultimate purpose of
human life.
For all good reasons we have a responsibility to
take care of future generations to build a healthy
and a strong future. Brahmo Samaj always worked
to eradicate the social problems from root level and
played a vital role thanks to which today we enjoy
the eradication of sati, freedom of press, etc..
Missing link:
As brahmos we always talk about getting closer
to, We have a responsibility to teach that to future
generations and with good health and healthy
minds it is much easier for kids to get closer to the
one and only Almighty which is key in their spiritual
health. Most of the health and hygiene campaigns
in the world only talk about physical health,
hormonal changes, diet plans, regular schedules,
sleep patterns and a little part of mental health like
handling stress, maintaining healthy relations etc..
But spiritual proximity with is neglected in these
campaigns. So by fulfilling this missing aspect all
the ideology of the campaign gets a new perspective
and adds value to the future generations in terms of
being responsible with nature, their fellow humans,
society and creating an overall responsibility of
being alive.
Target: • Build confidence
Less than half of Indian children go to school out of • Inculcate open mindedness
440 million. Still we have 1.5 million schools, and • Inculcating Thought
8.5 million teachers. Teachers should be extensively • Make kids to think rationally
trained to pass on the message.
LET US Together:
SAMAJ Should succeed in addressing the following • Campaign Health and Hygiene
aspects:
• Spread BRAHMA DHARMA
• Why is spiritual health important?
• Build Healthy generations
• Root cause of stress
• Build a Healthy nation
• Make kids understand the purpose of life
• Build a PEACEFUL WORLD

About Praveen Vema

Mr. Praveen Vema is a pharmacist by profession, with a Bachelor’s degree from MGR UNIVERSITY,
Chennai (a prestigious university for pharmacy education in India), and a Master’s degree from Sheffield
Hallam University, England, where he acquired international exposure in research and education. He
worked for Boots, a leading chain of pharmacies in Europe, for four years where he acquired knowledge
on pharmacy chain management. He is presently working as a pharmacist and takes care of Medblooms
Pharmacy as a partner since November 2015. He is a first generation Brahmo and has been practicing
Brahma Dharma principles since a decade. He is passionate about the propagation of Brahma Dharma
to every soul.

Faith of Brahmo Samaj

I acknowledge the Fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of man and
the Kinship of all creation in love.

यस्तु सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मन्नेवानपु श्यति। सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानन्ततो न वि चिकित्सति ॥

(यजुर्वेद – 40 – 06)

yastu sarvāṇi bhūtānyātmannevānupaśyati | sarvabhūteṣu cātmānantato na vi cikitsati ||

(Yajurveda-40-06)

यस्मिन्त्सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मैवाभूद्विजानतः । तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनपु श्यतः ॥

(यजुर्वेद – 40 – 07)
yasmintsarvāṇi bhūtānyātmaivābhūdvijānataḥ | tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvamanupaśyataḥ ||
(Yajurveda-40-07)

“Gwealth,
od has equally subjected all living creatures, without distinction of caste, rank or
to change, disappointment, pain and death, and has equally admitted all

”
to be partaken’ of these beautiful mercies which he has lavished over nature.
- Raja Rammohun Roy

33
 Digitally connecting Brahmos
- Dr. Natesh Prabhu

Om EkamEva Advitheeyam brahma | 2.  Instagram / Facebook reels by Brahmos

Sanaama roopa vivarjitham ||
In today’s era, we search on
Google for answers to our
questions. The most con-
fusing and often unvalidat-
ed answers appear in our
searches especially about
spirituality. We need an au-
thentic online landing space
for people to know about
God. This online digital repository would serve as
reference material for prospective brahmos who
are exploring their path of realisation.
The contents of this digital repository could be
categorised under these four domains
1. Fundamentals of Brahma Dharma
2. Acharya’s Teachings (Q & A)
3. Vedic slokas
4. Motivational messages infusing spirituality by
ardent Brahmo acharyas
The content modes/platforms can be
1.  Image based Vignettes on Brahma Dharma:
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp & Twitter
3.  YouTube Shorts by Brahmos
4.  Morning / Night slokas blending motivation:
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram & Twitter
The impact of these contents should be to:
1. Create awareness on the existence of Brahmo
Samaj
2. Connect with people and make them
understand the concept of Brahma Dharma
3. Provide a platform for confused or lost minds
where they will be given an opportunity to
connect with brahmos.
4. Make validated / authentic information
available for easy reference
While building these digital repositories, we need to
keep the following things in our mind
1. Engage in altercations with the people who do
not have belief in Brahma Dharma
2. Never Accusing others.
3. Never publish Anti-religious contents /
comments
4. Creating own meaning for the Vedic slokas
should not be allowed

About Dr. Natesh Prabhu M.

Dr. Natesh Prabhu is a Professor at the Department of Pharmacology in Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan
Medical College and Hospital, Perambalur, Tamilnadu. He is a first generation Brahmo and has been
practicing Brahma Dharma principles.

34
 PANEL DISCUSSION: 3

How do we raise children as great Brahmos ?

Moderator : Ms. Malavika Nagarkar, Mumbai

Speakers : Mr. Ajay Gautham , Hyderabad

Mr. Ranjan Banerjee, Baripada
Mr. Himakar Tata, Vizag
Mrs. Damuluri Madhu Bindu, Hyderabad
Ms. Sneha Nagarkar, Mumbai
Dr. G. Sudhakar, Hyderabad

35
 How do we raise children as great Brahmos?
We often hear that our
children will follow our
example and not our advice.
This statement makes us
introspect when we are
raising our own children or
encouraging other children
to be great Brahmos. It
makes me wonder if we are ourselves following the
tenets of Brahmo Samaj.
Bringing our children to the Brahmo Samaj is a
herculean task because even if the parents are
following the principles of Brahmo Samaj at home,
there is a chance that their children may drift
away from the Brahmo principles due to outside
influence.
What I feel is, to inculcate the Brahmo principles in
our children, we should inculcate rational thinking
in them. Time and again we have to make them
understand what is correct and what is incorrect.
History has shown that the intolerance exhibited
by people who believed in certain principles helped
them in sustaining their beliefs. The same needs to
be practiced by us, till the child starts thinking in a
rational manner, to inculcate and implant the tenets
of Brahmo Samaj in our family members.
For this, I would like to narrate my own example.
My upbringing happened in such a way that my
father never allowed me to visit temples and he
used to condemn the stories about the Indian God
and Goddess. He implanted the same in my mind.
There used to be no celebration at my place of any
festival. Everyday used to be like any other day.
There were no idols and images of any God and
Goddess in our home. My friends often questioned
me about this and my reply was to them was that
we did not believe in Idol worship.
During my student days, I used to go to the Samaj
when there was a get together function or pot luck
lunches. After my marriage I started going regularly
on Sundays and started taking an active part.
My father’s intolerance to irrationalities paved the
way for rationalism in my later life.
Attracting children from other families and school
students needs to be done in a meticulous way.
36
- Mr. Ajay Gautham
By influencing the minds of others towards Brahmo
Samaj we are indeed helping them. It may take time
as it is a gradual process but we require patience.
We need to acquaint them to the Panch yagnas as
mentioned in our Vedic literature. We need to make
them understand about the Vedas and its true
meaning, We need to make them aware of how over
the period of time the meaning of the Vedic mantras
got corrupted and influenced society.
Righteous and morally accepted activity is
considered as Yagnam or Yagn or yagna. Truly,
according to Vedic literature “Yagna” means doing
good deeds or in simple terms, virtuous and pious
work.
Some people are under the wrong notion that Yagna
means the performance of illogical or unreasonable
rituals which may include sacrifice of animals or
burning oil.
The five Yagnas that are mentioned in our vedic
literature are:-
Brahma Yagna (Our relationship with God)
Deva Yagna (Our relationship with God’s creation
of nature and environment)
Bootha Yagna (Our relationship with society)
Pitru Yagna (Our relationship with our fellow
human beings)
Samajika Yagna (Our character)
Brahma Yagna:
Everything which is there in our universe is created
by Almighty Brahma who is ultimate and second to
none.
Without his knowledge, nothing happens in
this universe. He is the one who provides us
with everything for our well-being and it is the
responsibility of all human beings to express
gratitude to Him and we should request and pray
to Him to inculcate in us the spirit of goodness
through prayers at least 3 times a day.
For expressing gratitude and for praying to the
Almighty to fulfill our genuine needs and to guide
us in such a way that we never do any wrong act,
we need not visit any particular place and at the
same time, we don’t require any mediator between
us and The Almighty God. We can pray to Him and
request Him directly.
The Almighty is available to all of us all the time, we
just need to express our gratitude to him and pray
to him to inculcate in us the spirit of goodness.
Deva Yagna:-
We know that everything is created by Almighty
God for a specific purpose and meaning hidden in
it.
It is our responsibility to safeguard His creation
like the Environment and our surroundings, rivers,
Trees, Forests etc. Deva Yagna prohibits (denounces
or condemns) activities, which endanger the things
created by our Creator for our purpose and also for
the benefit of other living things on this planet.
In Vedic slokas, it is mentioned to look after nature,
flora and fauna created by the Almighty.
It also mentions that we need not worship
mountains, rivers, lakes, trees, animals, etc. which
are created by God but we should safeguard them
from exploitation and contamination.
Bootha Yagna:
Bootha Yagna is to be involved in charity activities
like providing Food to those in need, helping
and guiding the unemployed, providing medical
facilities to fellow beings and more.
Bootha Yagna reminds us that The Almighty created
us with a good brain and body not only to take care
of our needs but also to take care of the needs of
our fellow human beings.
In Veda slokas, it is mentioned that we should take
care of our fellow beings and help them in their
needy time.
Pitru Yagna:-
This Yagna says one has to respect our parents,
elders, teachers, and fellow human beings. One has
to be compassionate and empathetic towards our
fellow beings irrespective of caste, creed, religion,
region, and gender. It reminds us that it is our
responsibility to take care of our parents, relatives,
friends, and our teachers in their time of need.
This Yagna condemns any kind of ill-treatment to
anyone in the name of caste, creed, religion, region,
and gender.
Samajika Yagna:-
Just like Deva Yagna which condemns and prohibits
us from indulging in harmful and dangerous
activities towards our surroundings, in the same
way, Samajika Yagna proscribes (denounces or
condemns) us from indulging in illegal activities
and bad habits such as smoking, drinking, and
gambling, telling lies, stealing, cheating, hurting,
etc. In simple words , this Yagna prohibits thought
pollution.
In the Veda slokas, it is mentioned that whoever
indulges in wrong deeds he/she has to face bad
consequences and punishment from the Almighty.
To raise children as Brahmos, we should be great
role models, show zero tolerance to irrationalities
that are being held in our own houses.
We need to expose all the children in our homes
and outside to the pancha yagnas and how they can
be implemented in our day to day activities. Later,
these children can be exposed to the vedic mantras
and their true meaning.

About Ajay Gautham

Mr. Ajay Gautham is the secretary of the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj. He holds a graduate
degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Computer Applications. He is currently working
in a MultiNational Company. He is the grandson of the late Shri Bhagya Reddy Varma, founder of the
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj.

“ Water of life-stream never remains stagnant. How many circumstances come

and how many disappear! But happiness and misery, prosperity and adversity,
conditions and events, none of these occur without some purpose. They take away
something and leave something formative behind. What they use up is energy for

”
work. What they build up is character.
- Shivanath Shastri

37
 How can we groom children to be great Brahmos?
Dear friends, let us first
examine the root cause why
the Brahmo children of the
present generation are not
following Brahmo tenets.
Some of the points are
discussed below:
1. Since there are very few Brahmo families,
marriages are taking place between Brahmo
and non-Brahmo families. Intercaste and inter
faith marriages are well permitted. A Brahmo
always respects the faith of other religions.
Situation 1: A Brahmo boy marries a non-Brahmo
girl. After the marriage, the girl observes the
daily rituals in the house. Sometimes, she gets
motivated by a new concept of prayer but very
soon she loses interest since she is accustomed
to a kind of idolatry since her childhood and
it is very difficult to erase it so quickly. Slowly,
she starts to keep a small place for her worship.
Situation 2: A Brahmo girl marries a non
brahmo boy. When she goes to the new
household, already a place of worship exists
which may be very decorative and elaborate
(e.g a small mandir type in a zamindar family).
With initial reluctance, she joins the family in
various celebrations like Janmashtami, Ganesh
puja etc. Gradually, she picks up the new
tradition and her following her Brahmo way of
life is lost. Sometimes she takes her husband to
Brahmo Mandir during utsavs only.
2. Many Brahmo Samajes across the country have
Presidents and Secretaries who never go to
mandir for weekly prayers. The samaj does not
conduct utsav or any celebrations during the
year.
About Ranjan Banerjee
Mr. Ranjan Banerjee is a brahmo by birth. He is the great great grandson of Bhai Nandalal Bandopadhya,
who along with his son Nagendranath, were instrumental in establishing the Brahmo movement in
Odisha. He has a working experience of nearly 40 years in various organisations.
“ After a long comfort
struggle, the world lost its attractions, and God became my only
and delight in this world of sorrow and sin.
38
- Mr. Ranjan Banerjee
3.  Earlier every Brahmo household had to conduct
prayer in the evening.
The proposed solutions:
1. We need to develop our children as change
makers by inculcating ethical values.
2.  Follow and read scriptures of Brahmo Samaj
and their pioneers
3. Show empathy to others, so that others will
follow them
4. Sit for an evening prayer at home and while
going to bed thank God.
5.  Start participating in various debates and
lectures in schools and colleges specially
in forums for Brahmo missionaries like
Rammohun Roy etc
Our contribution for the next 5 years:
1. Brahmo Samaj should organise talks on
important personalities. These should include
not only eminent Brahmo pioneers but also
local reformers.
2. We should be active in natural calamities and
help people in distress and include our children
to participate.
3. Groom our children to be more caring, ethical
and future change agents.
4.  Hold family meetings where children will
learn to solve family problems like time
management, cleanliness and housekeeping
and even cooking of quality food.
5. There should not be any gender bias in
upbringing of boys or girls.
6. Samaj can start children homes and groom
young minds into the Brahmo way of life.
” Tagore
- Debendranath
 How to grow your child as a great Brahmo?
- Dr. G. Sudhakar

As I was listening to the is both need not be Brahmos. There is a conflict of

various speakers during the
past two days, especially
the session with the young
ones, it made one thing
amply clear. The speech I
prepared has no place here.
Taking cue from them and
other speakers I continue.
Before we answer the question we must remember
that the primary task for any child is academics and
academic achievements.
The child is already carrying a lot of load on his/
her shoulders. I don’t mean the school bags. It is the
hope and ambitions of the parents to see their child
as a doctor, engineer or an executive in a corporate,
etc. Every mark counts and every shortfall is
magnified, sometimes disproportionately. This
puts lot of pressure on the children.
There are only 24 hours in anyone’s day. Out of
this more than half goes for academic activity and
about a third for daily personal routine and sleep.
Considerable time is lost in travel, leaving hardly
any time to spend with friends and relax.
How many of us want our child to compromise time
devoted to studies and turn to religious or spiritual
activity? This is a necessary question we need to
ask. Will any parent allow the child to spare time
for such work?
The answer for that is to integrate Brahmoism in our
lives and indeed ‘make Brahmoism our way of life’.
beliefs, which sometimes may get serious. Children
are caught in the crossfire and we cannot add to the
fire. There is a need to evolve a different strategy
which is acceptable.
We as Brahmos, as I see, have different opinions
and practices in our own lives. A child brought up
in Hyderabad should not be differently raised from
another brought up in Kolkata or Delhi or Mumbai.
That requires standardization and a structured
program and proper trainers. This is similar to
any academic or professional training program.
We need to develop a Program, Training Module
and Trainers who can deliver a meaningful and
professional approach to bring in uniformity. This
also helps continuation of training as translocation
of families has become a norm across the
country and world. The child should not miss the
opportunity of training just because the parents
have translocated.
Finally one of the most important things to
remember is that children have great observation
powers and learn most from meaningful inputs,
than by being lectured. Our actions speak louder
and leave deeper imprints than our speeches and
preachings.
I conclude with this quote: “Train the child the
way it should go; And when he is old he can never
depart from it”

Another point to remember is that in the majority I once again thank the organisers for having given
of families, parents come from different faiths. That me a chance to express myself.

About Dr. G. V. Sudhakar

Dr. G. V. Sudhakar is a plastic surgeon by profession. He retired as Professor and Head of Department
from Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad. Born and brought up in a Brahmo family, Dr. Sudhakar has
been involved in humanitarian services since his childhood. He has conducted free plastic surgical
corrective surgeries for many deserving patients at the Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital.

“(oneHWithout
e is Ever-present, Good, Intelligent, Infinite, Above all, Formless
a Second), All Pervading. Ruler of Everything, Abode of All,

” Roy
Omnipotent, Almighty, Unchanging, Perfect, Incomparable.
- Raja Rammohun

39
 How to grow your child as a great Brahmo?
The first concept that we
need to be clear about is
what defines a “ GREAT
BRAHMO”?
We therefore need to ask
ourselves the following
questions:
A) What are the constituents of the moral fibre
that we would like to see in our Brahmo
children and the generations of Brahmos to
follow ?
B) How would we like our children to stand apart
in society and make a noticeable difference
and improvement in the society around them?
2. In brief, the important traits can be summed up
as :
A) HUMANENESS
B) BOLDNESS
C) COSMOPOLITAN APPROACH
D) SCIENTIFIC TEMPER & RATIONAL
APPROACH
HUMANENESS is manifested in the form of
i) Empathy for less privileged people around
them.
ii) Senstivity to the need and sufferings of the
people around them.
BOLDNESS is demonstrated when children
maintain steadfast commitment to the path of
righteousness, honesty and hard work. They should
have the courage of conviction to stand up for a just
cause.
COSMOPOLITAN APPROACH gets reflected through:
i) Openness and transparency in interaction.
ii) Tolenance for diverse cultures and opinions.
This requires keeping one’s mind like an open
window with readiness to adapt to new cultures
and new technologies in a volatile socio-economic
and political environment. However , this should
not happen at the cost of compromises with the
standard code of moral conduct.
SCIENTIFIC TEMPER & RATIONAL APPROACH:
The above desired traits are only suggestions They
need not be watertight compartments. In fact, as
was discussed in a previous seminar, the Marathi
40
- Mr. Himakar Tata
poet, Mangesh Padgaonkar too has covered most
of the above qualities under the banner of the
“PANCHASHEELA QUALITIES”.
4. Strategies for inculcation of the quality of
humaness in children:
Let us first be clear about two fundamental points.
a) Inculcation of values in children is not an
overnight process. It has to start early in their
childhood before the school starts playing a
major role in their lives
b) The strategies differ for different age groups.
i) For the age group 1-10 years: parents need
to adopt a particular strategy with the
home playing a dominant role.
ii) For the age group 10-18 years: a different
strategy needs to be adopted with the
schools, colleges and external social service
institutions playing a more proactive role.
4.1 Age group - 1-10 yrs.
Strategies for inculcating social and communication
skills:
AT HOME:
i) Regular discussions at the dining table to
encourage children to come out voluntarily
with their problems. Otherwise a child’s
problems will go unnoticed by the parents.
The children will also feel reassured after the
discussions.
ii) Initiation into daily family prayers. If time is a
constraint on account of the busy schedules of
working parents then it should be compulsorily
conducted at home on holidays.
iii) Playing of bhajans over a sound system in the
house early in the morning will help the child
to pick up the tunes and lyrics naturally as he
indulges in parallel activities while getting
ready to go to school each day.
iv) Keeping calendars and books of motivational
quotes and spiritual sayings in visible places
in all rooms. The child should be able to see
them at random. His curiosity must be kindled
to make him flip through the pages to see its
contents.
v) We need to create an awareness and interest
in spiritualism in children by making these
books easily available (either permanently as
 presents or temporarily from libraries). Right
books will help to wean children away from
cellphones.
AT SCHOOL:
vi) Moral science classes will help children to
reflect on the values of life. They should be
value based on a common code of conduct.
These classes will also be a de-stressing period
for the student as there is no rigid curriculum
like in other subjects. Free discussions in the
class will allow children to speak out issues
troubling their conscience.
vii) There should be a daily morning assembly.
It should help the students to soak in one
spiritual quote each day (drawn from different
religions). They should be encouraged to
ponder over each quote, now and then.
viii) In addition, there should be a longer weekly
assembly. It should have a provision for
participation in the Question & Answer session
by each student. It should be made all inclusive,
choosing students by turns and leaving no one
out of the discussion.
In this session, the students can also be made
aware of one social or economic event with far
reaching consequences. It will help to orient
them towards a national & global outlook.
ix) Throughout the entire years of schooling, we
must infuse in the students the following:
a) A deep respect for the laws of the country.
They should be instructed to abide by
them without fail.
b) A deep sense of national pride and
patriotism. Children must be repeatedly
told to give priority to the interests of the
nation over personal interests.
c) Respect for public property. Students must
regard it as their bounden duty to take care
to safeguard it from damage by hooligans
in case of law & order problems.
4.2 – Age group - 10-18 YEARS.
Strategies for inculcating social & communication
skills:
This is the age group when children start becoming
rebellious with strong opinions. This
is the age when they start getting addicted to mobile
phones. Their games have
disastrous consequences on the mental wellbeing
of a child. Blue Whale Challenge and PUBG are
examples of this to name only a few.
41
i) Encouragement of outdoor activities to
prevent youth from getting addicted to mobile
phones. We need to draw their attention to
group activities with emphasis on outdoor
physical activities. These will develop in them
a taste for adventure. This will enthuse them
to travel to new places, interact with different
communities and learn about new cultures.
To sum up , we must encourage children to see
the world beyond the screen of either mobiles
and computers. And also outside the four walls
of their homes.
ii) Building empathy & sensitising children.
We can help children to improve their empathy
levels and sensitivity to others problems by
initiating them to the following extra-curricular
activities :
a) Visits to Hospitals and participation in
medical camps
b) Visits to Old Age Homes and Destitute
Homes
c) Condolence visits to people’s homes at the
time of a bereavement.
Hospital visits will help to toughen the
child. They will gradually make him/her
aware of the harsh realities of life. They
also teach one of the numerous ways of
lending a helping hand to a hospitalized
person to overcome his health problems.
d) Birthday celebrations at orphanages /
destitute homes. This is recommended in
addition to the normal celebration that
any child would like to have with his close
friends.
iii) Inculcation of dignity of labour in youth.
The suggested strategies are :
a) Take children for slum visits and encourage
them to indulge in physical labour in
cleaning up the surroundings.
b) Encourage children & youth to render
voluntary service in small scale community
projects, gardening etc.
SUMMING UP:
Hands that serve are better than lips that pray. In
short, the children and youth should be regularly
reminded that the CORE PURPOSE of life is unselfish
& social service.
iv) Proper grooming it to be ensured by:
a) Teaching students to show respect for
women and gentle care for elders, the
infirm, etc.
 b) A careful watch to be maintained for the
language used by child as he/she grows
up. He/ She must be trained control his/
her emotions.
CAUTION: If we fail to take the above steps for
the inculcation of the above value system in a
child at an early stage he/she could probably end
up choosing a wrong role model characterized by
glamour without any integrity or substance, and
hollow from inside.
5. Strategies for inculcation of spirit of boldness
in children.
5.1 Make children aware of the social problems
around them They should be encourage to
read a wide range of books and issues.
5.2 They should be encouraged to stand up for
a right cause. For they must be trained to
be articulate and have confidence in public
speaking. It should start with elocutions
in the junior classes and later evolve
into extempore speaking. For this, their
thoughts must emanate from deep within
their hearts. It is therefore important
that their articulation goes beyond SMS
contractions and emojis! In short , children
and youth must be encouraged to allow
their hearts to speak. More important, at
an early age children must be encouraged
to speak the truth and walk the talk.
6. Strategies for inculcation of cosmopolitan
attitude.
Let us not forget that we have to groom our
children growing up as Brahmos in a multi-
cultural society adjusting to various customs,
and subtle nuances of other communities. In
the inaugural address of the 131st All India
Brahmo Conference at Hyderabad, the Chief
Guest Justice Chandraiah emphasized that the
youth must develop socially, economically and
politically.
This can be achieved as under:
6.1. Extensive broad based reading covering
a wide range of issues from across the
world. This could be facilitated through
membership at good libraries.
6.2 Interaction with children and youth across
the country and the world through youth
exchange forums & programmes, children
and youth festivals, inter-school & college
debating competitions.
7. Strategies for inculcation of the scientific
temper & rational approach.
Every student should have a strong base in the
study of physical sciences.
Laboratory experiments should kindle the
curiosity in him or her. We have to prevent
children from becoming mere blotting papers
by merely learning by rote. They must be
exposed to Science Exhibitions, Industrial Fairs,
Young Scientist & Innovators competitions.
The right learning atmosphere should be
created in both homes and schools.
Children should be encouraged to question
with an open mind and an undying spirit of
enquiry.
SUMMING UP
The consequences of imbuing all the above
mentioned traits in the personae of children in
various stages in the course of their growing up
will get reflected in Individual Benefits, Societal
Benefits and Nation Building.

About Himakar Tata

Mr. Himakar Tata is from Visakhapatnam. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and a Master’s
degree in Business Administration. He has worked for the Indian Railways in the Indian Railway Traffic
Service Cadre for 20 years.

“ Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house
with the fragrance of love.
Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God, first remove the
darkness of sin from your own heart.
Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees, first bend down to lift someone
who is downtrodden.
Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins, first forgive from your

”
heart those who have sinned against you.
- Rabindranath Tagore

42
 How to raise a child as a great Brahmo?
We have all gathered here to
nurture the children. We all
want to train the children as
great Brahmos.   future of the next generations mainly depends on
First of all, we all should
question ourselves: why
as Brahmos? Why should
a child become a Brahmo?
What is the purpose? What would we want to
achieve through this? Let me try to answer these
questions.
A Brahmo is a human being who leads his life
according to the principles of Brahma Dharma and
always cares for the welfare of others.
A Brahmo is a good human being who is connected
to the lord Parameswara throughout his life.
That means a Brahmo is always under the guidance
of the Supreme Lord who is the Owner, Sustainer,
and Creator of this entire universe. Surely, such a
person is on the righteous path in life.
How can a person become a great Brahmo? If
we study the great Brahma Dharma acharyas’
lives then we will understand that having divine
qualities such as forgiveness, kindness, patience,
courage and strong faith in the Parameswara makes
a person a great Brahmo. So, I will discuss how to
help children inculcate these divine qualities in
order to make them great Brahmos.
The purpose of moulding them as great Brahmos
is to build future generations as leaders with
selflessness.    Both moral and spiritual education go hand in hand.
In this context, I would like to highlight a few points:
First and foremost, children learn what they see.
We, as adults, have to adopt those divine qualities
which we want to inculcate in them. We have to
act as great Brahmos ourselves, and only then
can we mould them. We must lead an exemplary
life in order to guide them. I am sure we can all
agree on this fact. I feel I do not need to discuss this
much. I would like to add that being Brahmo is not
a profession, it is a passion. For instance, even if I
am not a Doctor, I can make my child a doctor, by
admitting him in a good institute and helping him
in his studies. But if I want to make a child a great
Brahmo, it will definitely only be possible by a good
Brahmo. For a man to become a Brahmo is to mould
his personality according to Brahma Dharma.
43
- Mrs. Damuluri Madhu Bindu
This means that he lives an exemplary life 24/7
according to the rules of Parameswara. Definitely,
this can’t be learnt in any college or institute. So the
our lifestyle, our way of thinking, the way we react
to situations, and our connection with God. I think
we all agree on this.
2) Secondly, even though we as parents may
sincerely follow certain rules, we do not always
force children to implement the same. We expect
them to realise the greatness of such things and
implement them. But we do not adopt the same
practice for all things. For instance we compel
children to do certain things like brushing their
teeth, wearing clothes, bathing regularly, etc. We do
not expect our children to become older, realise the
importance of brushing twice a day and then start
brushing. Isn’t it? Similarly, when we understand
that life’s goal is to please Parameswara and adopt
goodness, we need to inculcate the same in our
children also. Just as we make them eat healthy
food, and take care that they adopt good habits
such as eating fruits, and drinking milk, similarly
we need to inculcate spirituality in them right from
childhood. It needs to be added to their curriculum.
We should make them understand the importance
of connecting with God. Our effort to inculcate
spiritual orientation in them and stop them from
committing unrighteous deeds will make them
understand the importance of spirituality. If we
don’t do this, they may feel that it is not our priority.
And slowly, it moves away from their priority too.
But unfortunately, moral education and spiritual
education are missing from today’s typical school
curriculum.
3) We should always strive to strengthen our
connection with God. Reflect about God’s
perspective on all incidents. This can’t be built in
one day or one hour. Being connected to God is a
lifestyle.
4) I now come to the action plan: I suggest that to
inculcate good and divine qualities such as empathy,
forgiveness and knowledge in children so that they
may become good Brahmos, we can:
a. Support them by sharing knowledge
b. Train them as good teachers
c. Inculcate divine qualities through action
plans
The first step is to support them with the knowledge
of Brahma Dharma. We are doing that through our
value education classes. While teaching the selected
Veda mantras and by explaining the true meaning
of the mantras, we are trying to explain the great
attributes of the Lord Parameswara as well as the
divine qualities one should adopt.    thankful they should be to God for that.
The next step is to train them as good teachers.
Caring for others should become a habit for them.
They should have the eagerness to teach whatever
they learn. While training them as teachers, it’s
a must to mention that without implementation
there is no use of teaching. This kind of training
makes them masters of what they are preaching
and hence stops them from deviations. As the
saying goes: “You learn you forget, you revise you
remember, you teach you master”.
Kindness and forgiveness usually prevail in
children naturally. Our role is to see to it that it
is not lost. Children should understand that being
kind is a good thing. We should always recognise
children on the basis of their qualities rather than
their skill sets. Usually in schools and even at
home, adults appreciate children’s skill sets such as
playing, drawing, singing, language skills, etc. Skill
sets may definitely be recognised and encouraged,
but the top priority should be given to the goodness
and kindness in children. This changes their entire
lifestyle and way of thinking. Brahma Dharma
says that Parameswara likes the divine qualities
in a human and He blesses such persons with
great knowledge. Skills help man to implement
his knowledge, but the primary criteria to receive
knowledge is to be kind and good. Unfortunately in
today’s day and age, this one great thing is missed
out from our lives. We are not eager to recognise and
encourage the good qualities in our children. I have
observed many functions in schools, institutes, and
colleges. I hardly find an appreciation for goodness.
So as Brahmos we should start recognising these
good qualities and encouraging children to improve
them.
Action Plan 1 :
Arrange field trips :
Usually, schools plan field trips to factories, and
parks to give children exposure. We should arrange
field trips to orphanages, old age homes, blind
About Madhu Bindu
Mrs. Madhu Bindu is a first generation Brahmo and has been practicing Brahma Dharma for the last 2
decades. She is working as an Assistant General manager (Accounts & Finance) at a private company in
Hyderabad.
44
schools, schools for the differently abled, and rural
areas where poverty dwells in the houses.
When we take them to orphanages we need to
make them understand three things.
Firstly, what a better life they are leading and how
Secondly, it becomes their responsibility to assist
the children who are in need of us.
Thirdly, we are wrong if we accumulate wealth
which is not helpful to our peers.
And when we take them to old age homes, we should
make them understand how painful loneliness is.
And what is the condition in old age? Old age is
common for everyone. None can avoid it. This
increases their concern towards the elderly. Further,
it influences their behaviour with their family and
other dependents.
It is said in the Vedas “danam tada prati danam”.
That means you take from someone and pass on
the benefit to some other needy. Usually, children
stay in destitute homes and are expected to take the
benefit, till they become self-sufficient. But what I
suggest is, let them make it a habit of giving to some
other needy people.  
There are some other divine qualities which help
children to get closer to Parameswara and become
great Brahmos such as tolerance, sportiveness,
forgiveness, etc.
What I have planned is not possible in one year. It
takes a good while to implement. We need to interact
with children, win their hearts and confidence. We
need to inspire them to implement what we teach
them. We should always be available to them and
guide them, monitor them and protect them. And
finally, with the grace of God, they may become great
Brahmos and also good acharyas who will train
future generations. It is important to remember
not to get discouraged. If we train 100 children, it
is not necessary that all 100 children become good
Brahmos. Some of them may take deviations. We
should not get disheartened. I personally believe
that if I have taught 100 children, and that after a
few years of my efforts even if one child becomes
a good Brahma Dharma acharya, I feel I will have
succeeded. That is because this one acharya may in
turn train hundreds of children.
 INAGURAL SESSION

Inagural Session - Vedic Recitation by Adhyayanam – Adhyapanam Group

Address by Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Address by Chief Guest Hon’ble

Samaj President Mr. Kesava Chand Challa Dr. G. Chandraiah

45
 Address by Guest of Honour Address by 131st All India Brahmo
Mrs. Padmavathy Rahul Shastry Conference President Dr. Arup Kumar Das

CCBS Presient Dr. Wooday P. Krishna Brahmo Conference Committee Secretary

Addressing the Gathering Mr. Saurav De Addresing the Conference

Address by Reception Committee Address by Reception Committee Secretary

Chairperson Ms. Anindita Gautham Mr. Bhargav Das

46
Upasana by Dr. Sushama Joag and Dr Dilip Joag on Day -1

Upasana by Balasore Brahmo Samaj members on Day – 1

47
Upasana by Prof. Debashish Raychaudhuri on Day – 2

Upasana by Indore Brahmo Samaj Members on Day – 2

48
SANGEETOPASANA

49
50
Panel Discussion – 1 (by Young Brahmos) conducted on Day – 2

51
 Panel Discussion – 2 conducted on Day – 1

Panel Discussion – 2 conducted on Day – 1 Panel Discussion – 3 Conducted on Day - 2

52
 SECTION - 3
(Seminars and Special Articles)

53
 Digital Media De-addiction for Children and
Youth – The Role of Brahmo Samaj
My dear Brothers and
sisters, and my co-travelers
in the quest for truth -
Let me come straight to the
point: Our modern world is
obsessed with digital media.
Constantly glued to our
smartphones, smart
watches, laptops, and other devices, the amount of
time we spend on them is increasing daily. I know
most of you are very busy; to be precise, you are all
“digitally busy.” Always.
Decreasing Attention Span
Scientists are telling us that the human attention
span now is not more than 8.5 seconds. In other
words, on average, humans can focus very little on
any single subject. They are also saying that earlier,
the attention span of an average human being was
about 15 seconds, and it is on the decrease. And that
this reduction in attention span is mainly because
of digital media.
Right now, all of you are trying to focus on my speech.
But your digital device is constantly drawing your
attention towards it, and you are finding it hard to
resist. Moreover, instead of holding your attention
and creating the desired impact, many words or
phrases may activate some unconnected thread of
thought, and your mind, which may again tempt
you to go back to your digital device to watch an
entertaining YouTube video or a Facebook post
secretly.
And why not?
Multitask with the Digital Device?
When you have an enormously powerful tool
in your pocket offering you free and unlimited
entertainment, information, and knowledge, why
should you be restricted to just listening to someone
standing in front of you? After all, the world is in
your pocket!
We live in a rapidly changing world, a new reality.
The Worldwide Change
Thanks to digital devices, the past two decades
have radically changed the way of our lives and
54
- Mr. Illyas Ahmed
the way we interact with our families, friends, and
society. And above all, our thinking process itself
has changed. We are now living in a world that is
so much different from the one we lived in just two
decades ago.
Let me put it properly- those who have seen the
times with no digital devices may recall that
our mode of communication was only through
telephones, now called landlines. The other mode
of communication was the good old postal service.
Postcards, inland letters, postal covers, aerograms,
phonograms, telegrams, and many other things
were an integral part of our lives.
And for the news and entertainment, we had
newspapers, television, radio, magazines, books,
gramophone record players, and audio and video
cassettes. My heart is full of nostalgia for those
days.
Naturally, with fewer distractions, we always had
time to visit friends and relatives and enough time
to celebrate festivals or go on picnics. So, we had
all the time in the world to listen to each other
more keenly and value each other’s company, and
in short, every moment of our life was grounded in
real society. So, this was the kind of reality of the
people born before 1990.
The New Generation and Their Realities
But, for the new generation, who are now in their
teens and 20s digital World is the only reality.
They see and understand the world around
them primarily through digital media. Their
relationships, opinions, likes, and dislikes are all
governed by digital media.
And what about social life? Friendships?
Of course, we still have friends. Younger people
actually have hundreds and thousands of friends
on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., and
they participate in several WhatsApp groups.
However, most of these social media friends may be
just some names whom they have never met. These
friendships are usually driven by artificial pride.
Pride of having a larger number of friends and
followers; the pride of getting more likes, shares,
and comments for their posts, pictures, or even
their forwards! In contrast to hundreds of digital
friends, they have very few real-life friends.
Are they Really Addicted?
Having said all this, I wish to ask one fundamental
question. Can we say that the younger generation
genuinely suffers from an addiction to digital
media? If so, how can we de-addict them?
The answers to these questions are complicated,
and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. An addiction
is a physical or psychological, obsessive, and
compulsive behavior that leads to harmful effects.
When we say harmful effects, we talk in either
physical, psychological, or sociological contexts. So,
to say that a particular young person is addicted
to digital media, they must have developed some
physical or psychological disorder by constantly
being engrossed in social media. Or they must
exhibit certain anti-social behavior.
Looking around, we do know that young people can
show withdrawal effects if their parents take away
their digital devices. They may develop irritability,
uncontrollable anger, and even show a tendency for
self-harm. You might have heard of extreme cases
of some youngsters attempting suicide when their
parents took away their mobiles.
You have also perhaps heard of a certain fantasy
game called ‘the Blue Whale’, which compels
youngsters to physically harm themselves to win
the game and finally challenges them to commit
suicide. Such things are not just criminal but
diabolic.
We are all aware of fake news and forwards that
incite violence and poison the minds of not just
young individuals but even adults, spreading hatred
and anti-social thoughts.
In contrast to these horrific things, the addiction
to digital media leading young adults developing
Attention Deficit Syndrome or becoming reclusive,
losing their grades in school - may all appear
insignificant.
Whether its effect is significant or less significant,
an obsessive and compulsive dependence on digital
media can surely be labeled an addiction.
The Social-Media Conspiracy
Now let me tell you something very alarming. There
is clear evidence available now that the single-point
agenda of social media algorithms is to make you
addicted to them.
Most of us are unaware that the entire gamut of
social media is to constantly pry on the users’ lives.
55
An ongoing process is taking place without our
knowledge to find our likes, dislikes, habits, biases,
issues, and practically all our data. You can observe
that the moment you log in on any site or social
media, videos, and advertisements matching your
interest will pop up. This process continues, and
you get glued to your device for hours and hours
at a stretch. Most of the time, you are compelled to
watch meaningless and stupid videos and posts.
My point is that the whirlpool of social media can
surely and swiftly suck you in, even if you are a
person with organized thinking with great intellect.
How to Get De-Addicted from Digital Media
Though this is a huge global problem requiring
international attention, we must try and do our bit
at our level to safeguard our youngsters and society
However, before attempting to tell others about the
ill effects of getting hooked to digital media and
trying to de-addict them, the foremost thing is to
ask ourselves if we too are hooked to our devices. If
so, we must observe and see for how long in a day
we are engaging in meaningless or unproductive
activities on our phones.
Please be assured that we are not fighting the
technology or the devices but our unhealthy urge
to use them. Our fight is against unscrupulous
practices in vogue to compel internet users to get
addicted to social media. Our goal is to develop
the right perspective on these modern devices. We
should be able to see them just as they are. They are
tools of communication, knowledge, and welfare.
The moment we start seeking artificial gratification
from these tools we are just one step away from
getting addicted to them.
Now let me share some simple steps that can help
you or your youngsters break free from digital
media. But at this point let me reiterate that we are
only talking about those who are enslaved by digital
media out of compulsion, and not those adults or
youngsters who use it with a healthy and balanced
attitude.
How to De-addict?
1. Commitment: The first step is to commit to
un-hooking yourself from your digital media
habit. If you don’t have a strong enough reason
to quit, you will likely relapse sooner or later.
Switching off your device proved just now that
you are capable of committing to doing this
anytime.
2. Time limits: Set some boundaries. It’s
important to set boundaries for yourself and
 stick to them. Then, decide how much time
you’re willing to spend on digital media each
day, and then stick to that limit. During the time
when you turn off your phone, computer, and all
other devices, spend some time reconnecting
with the real world.
4. Meet the Real World: When you’re not
spending time on digital media, you need to
find alternative activities to keep yourself
occupied. Find things that interest you, and
that will keep you busy and distracted from
your devices. For instance, clean your room,
do the laundry, go to the grocery shop, read a
good book, and talk to your kids at home. There
are hundreds of useful and real-world things
that you can do while you are cut off from the
digital world! Switch off or keep your mobiles
on mute, particularly when you are having a
meal with your family, attending a function, or
meeting someone.
5. Seek help: If you think these things are tough,
seek support from others. Join a support group
or connect with friends who share your goals.
Pro Tips for Avoiding Digital Media Addiction
Here is one professional tip-
To overcome the compulsive habit of going into
the digital world, we can use some digital apps
to help us do that. It is a diamond-cut-diamond
situation. According to this tip, you are urged to
use the technology itself to your advantage. There
are lots of great tools out there that can help you
stay connected to the Internet without becoming
addicted. So, for example, try using an app like
Forest, which lets you focus on your work by
blocking distracting websites and notifications.
There are other Apps too like – Social Fever, Off
Time, Quality Time, Flipd, and Space. You can try
any such App that fits your needs.
Club 60+
This talk will be incomplete if I do not contextually
mention senior adults, let’s say men and women
above 60. Only a small percentage of people above
60 are proficient with various Internet applications.
They realize that they are pushed into a new
intimidating world where everything is happening
through digital devices. They are overwhelmed by
this sudden change and feel they have lost control
over their surrounding world. This change is
frightening.
If you think you fall under this category, please do not
try to sermonize your children and grandchildren
56
about digital media deaddiction. You cannot preach
about something about which you have no idea.
So, my advice to you is that you must first learn how
to use your device and try to understand how the
Internet and its various Apps work. Try to spend
time with your children, see what they are doing
with their devices, and play the games they are
playing. In short, win their confidence and make
them realize you know what you are talking about.
Try to wean them out from their devices if you feel
they are getting addicted and help them develop
some meaningful activity. Or you may seek their
help to create your personal blog or a website.
There are many ways you can connect with them
on their turf.
The Outlook of Brahmo Samaj
And at the very end, what should be the outlook of
Brahmos about all this? All the things I have been
talking about are in sync with Brahmo Samaj’s
principles. First, as Brahmos, we have always
supported social reform and fought injustice and
exploitation. On a global scale, it is our onerous
duty to warn the heads of the states about the
onslaught of unscrupulous and vested interests
and the conspiracy to get everyone addicted to
social media and lazy internet browsing. And take
up all such activities like seminars, forums, and
creating help groups to highlight and sort out the
imminent danger to the moral and spiritual fabric
of the world.
We as a group of informed intellectuals should
join together, discuss and prepare an agenda
for a movement against such organizations that
deliberately try to make our youngsters slaves to
unproductive and harmful Internet usage.
At the same time, instead of shunning technology,
we must embrace it to our advantage. One of our
initiatives can be to educate the seniors about
the use of various features of the Internet and its
applications.
Another initiative, which can go hand in hand
with the first two just suggested, is to encourage
all youngsters, particularly those who are going
astray and getting addicted to digital media, to
join us in some productive activities. This way,
the youngsters can still use their devices and be
gratified by engaging in socially useful and valuable
work. If they are used to getting excited to receive
likes, shares, subscriptions, and comments for their
meaningless work – they will be more excited when
the real world appreciates their talent and reward
their work.
And anyway, Brahmo Samaj has always professed
that as Brahmos, we must study the books of nature
and science, technology, philosophy, literature, and
history reverently and gather knowledge from
them for our spiritual welfare. So, empowering
ourselves with the latest developments in IT and
other technologies is to our advantage.
Before taking your leave – in a lighter vein, I would
like to say this. If you liked what you heard just now,
press the button below, subscribe to my channel,
and write your comments, which will help me to
continue giving you more interesting information
like this.
And also, don’t forget to send me your likes and
share this information with your friends.
Thank you for listening to me. And I also thank the
organizers for giving me this opportunity.

About Illyas Ahmed

During his 3-decade long tenure in All India Radio, Mr. Illyas Ahmed has written and produced hundreds
of radio features, dramas, and playlets on many thought-provoking subjects. Greatly inspired by Acharya
P. Sitarama Brahmam’s writings, Upasana, oratory skills, and depth of spiritual knowledge, Illyas Ahmed
got associated with the activities of the Brahmo Samaj and has been participating in all its major events
since 1978. Illyas Ahmed takes pride in the fact his marriage with Dr. Jyothsna Illyas was officiated by
Acharya Sitarama Brahmam and that later, even the marriages of their children were officiated by him
according to the dictums and style of Brahmo weddings. Illyas Ahmed has also contributed a few articles
in Dharma Sadhani, the bi-monthly publication of the Hyderabad Brahma Samaj.

CONDOLENCE
The meeting condoled the sad demise of the
following members and brahmos all standing
for two minutes silence

a) Sri Subas Kumar De (Kolkata)

b) Sri Nityanandan (Coimbatore)

c) Retd. Air Commander Ashok Shinde (Pune)

d) Smt. Deepti Kar (Balasore)

e) Sri Debanjan Ray (Bangalore)

f) Dr. Leena Das (Balasore)

g) Dr. D.C. Nayak (Puri)

h) Sri Ghanashyam Das (Cuttack)

i) Sri Kushan Chandra Singh (Indore)

j) Sri Subrata Das (Kolkata)

k) Smt Shanta Bai Bais (Indore)

l) Sri Gouranga Chatterjee (Kolkata)

57
 Intellect and Intuition
Our All India Brahmo
conference is an excellent
occasion for reviving our
strength of mind and soul
to go onwards for the
betterment of our religious,
social and educational
activities.
To do all the activities mentioned above we need to
know something about moral virtues and have to
know how to achieve them. Moral virtues are more
essential than other virtues. Virtue is better than
immortality. Truth, self control, generosity, non-
violence, constancy in virtue these are the main
characteristics of moral virtue. Kingdom, sons,
glory, wealth all this does not equal one sixteen part
of the value of truth. It is very difficult to maintain
Truth in our life. A simple example like this ‘He/ She
does not tell a lie’ gives immense pleasure. When
we don’t do any harm to others and keep ourselves
faithful to other- it’s a matter of great glory.   impulse is not confined to philosophy and theology
We face many glorious occasions in our life. When
we work hard for any organisation, be it a religious,
social or educational institution, whenever we
dedicate ourselves and come in assistance in any
sort of work, we get refreshed, we get relaxed and
may find satisfaction.
Dharma is not conceived in any hedonistic spirit.
Accumulation of pleasures cannot give us true
happiness. True joy entails suffering. Discontent
is the spur of progress. We should control our
minds and tame our passion. Our predecessors,
the Saints and Rishis also prescribed to follow the
above virtues. We should do what is agreeable to
our conscience. We are allowed to do whatever
is convincing to our reason. Even Manu (Rishi)
admitted the value of the inner witness, the voice
of God within us, ‘the antaratma’.
‘Our inner world is richer, ampler and more
concealed’ was well known to the writers of the
Upanisads. We need a comprehensive mind to know
all this. The feeble minded can’t grasp philosophic
truth. To grasp higher thought we need a cultivated
and refined mind. The process of knowing is not
About Kalyanamayee Chattopadhyay
Ms. Kalyanamayee Chattopadhyay is from Kolkata. She has worked as an English Teacher across India
for many years.
58
- Ms. Kalyanmayee Chattopadhyay
so much a creation, but a discovery, not so much a
production, but a revelation.
Knowledge is not something to be packed away in
some corner of our brain, but rather that which
enters our being, colours our emotions, haunts our
soul and is as close to us as life itself.
The spiritual motive dominates life in India. Indian
Philosophy has its interest in the haunts of men. The
founders of Philosophy strive for a socio-spiritual
reformation of the country. The idea of Plato that
philosophers must be the rulers and directors of
society is practiced in India. The ultimate truths
are truths of spirit, and actual life has to be refined
with it.
Dogmatism is not the characteristic of India. It
is experimental and provisional in its nature
attempting to keep pace with the progress of
thought. The strong intellectuality of the Indian
mind seeks to know the inner truth and the law
of all sides of human activity. The intellectual
but extends over logic and grammar, rhetoric
and language, medicine and astronomy, in fact all
arts and sciences from architecture to Zoology.
Everything useful to life becomes an object of
enquiry and criticism. It will give an idea of the all
comprehensive character of intellectual life.
Regarding science and philosophy there are
two approaches: the first one is the intellectual
approach, and the second is the intuitive school.
The purpose of the intellectual mind stands
accomplished the moment the intuitive knowledge
is manifested in the individual. Intellect by its very
nature is finite and limited. Intellect has got its
importance but it fails to give us access to Absolute
Reality. While intellect is the logical awareness of
the human mind, intuition is wisdom at its purest.
‘Darshana’ is a spiritual experience, a whole view
revealed to the soul sense. So the highest triumph of
Philosophy is possible to those who have achieved
in themselves a purity of soul. The purity is based
upon profound acceptance of experience, realized
from hidden strength within man. From this inner
source the Philosopher reveals to us the truth of life,
a truth which mere intellect is unable to discover.
 Health and Wellness in School Children -
The Potential Role of the Brahmo Samaj
Health and Wellness play
a major role in the overall
development of children.
With a population that is
almost twice that of Europe,
squeezed into a landmass
that is one-third of that
very continent, India has
been struggling to prove its
worth to the world.
Although India is doing a phenomenal job with
increasing high-quality healthcare across the
country, there is a severe lack of awareness and
education with limited access to quality health
services.
As a post-colonial economy, education and health-
care were late entrants into the environment of pri-
vatization.
If Brahmo Samaj has to play a role - on Health and
Wellness in School Children - let us first understand
that we are entering into a Government domain and
it is a nation-building activity.
Even though small scale enterprises have cropped
up in the field of education and healthcare, I see that
structured large scale corporates have been fairly
successful. With a late start, private healthcare and
to a large extent Government managed healthcare
is yet to mature. The main problem is that the
management is not structured and I strongly feel
that this is the first prerequisite of the healthcare
industry in our country.
While the healthcare industry has been progressing
and the clinical talent in India is regarded as one of
the best in the world, we still haven’t moved from
a person-driven to a process-driven industry. I
feel for this to happen, there are 3 things, which
the Indian healthcare industry needs to work on
to help us take a huge leap forward or to see a
breakthrough to make it a more equitable health
care system for India’s population:
a) Standardisation of processes
b) Systematic data collection
c) Wider Insurance coverage.
Today, when we focus on the potential role of
Brahmo Samaj - on health and wellness of school
children - there are many health concerns when it
comes to school children between the ages of 5 and
14years. To list a few:
59
- Dr. Ashoka Gurudas
a)  Malnutrition & poor diet leading to vitamin
and mineral deficiency
b) Food poisoning
c) Learning disabilities
d) Hygiene and its consequences
e) Sleep deprivation / sleep disorders
f) Issues during adolescence - smoking, alcohol
abuse, drug abuse, etc.
g) Mental disorders
h) Cardiac disorders
Now, let us see in which area, where and how
exactly Brahmo Samaj can play a role.
Firstly regarding standardising the processes: here
I have taken a few important areas we can look
into : Immunisation, Hygiene, Sleep, Dental care &
Nutrition.
In all these areas what we have to do is to bring
about awareness, motivate and inspire the teachers,
parents and staff.
When a child gets admitted to school, we need to
look into the immunisation card.
Can our mentors and volunteers prepare a data
sheet? This will help to ensure that the child is
completely immunised with vaccines like BCG,
Polio, DPT, MMR, Hepatitis B, Pneumococcal
vaccine, etc.
Awareness of hygiene and healthy habits - promoting
hand washing (30 seconds) with soap, usage of
footwear to avoid helminthic infestation, keeping a
check on the cleanliness of toilets - both female and
male washrooms,
dental care : encouraging brushing of teeth regularly
(insist on twice a day brushing) and maintaining
good dental hygiene.
Sleep deprivation / disorders is also one of the
key areas : deprivation of sleep can cause slowed
thinking, worsened memory, reduced attention
span, poor decision making, lack of energy and so
on. Effects of sleep deprivation have been associated
with wide range of health consequences - high BP,
diabetes, depression, heart attack and stroke.
We have to bring in a few awareness programs to
follow good habits. Its all about how we can make
children understand by working with them to make
them understand the right way to go to bed early
and rising early every day, to maintain discipline,
regular exercise, avoiding caffeine and mobile
usage.
Following good hygiene is critical for preventing
the spread of any infectious diseases and this will
help children to lead healthy lives. It also prevents
them from missing school, subsequently resulting
in better learning outcomes. Families which adhere
to good hygienic practices can avoid falling sick and
often resulting in less expenditure on health care.
The next important area is well-balanced nutrition.
Of course, the Government plays a big role by
supporting mid-day meals and providing nutritious
food to children.
Can we motivate the children to have a well
balanced diet by involving them in meal planning
and preparation? This would create awareness on
the importance of well balanced diet. Mothers also
need to be well educated in this regard.
Teachers play a major role by modelling healthy
eating habits. Can we maintain a “Road to Health
Chart“ to make sure that the child’s growth is
recorded? This provides essential information to
the parents and also to the healthcare professional
on the child’s development. We do know that
the Government supplies supplements like iron,
vitamin and anti-helminthic tablets among others.
Can all this be better delivered by standardization
of practices?   health of their household. And drastically varying
It has been shown that rigorous implementation of
evidence-based medicine, via protocolled therapy
and standardization of communication, can avoid
medical errors.
There have to be spiritual classes for children to
help overcome hardships and strengthen their
emotional health to create happier and healthier
children. These classes will give the strength for
the child to face life’s adversities.
Childhood serves as a foundation to become
flourishing, healthy, and prosperous adults. Hence
the child’s formative years are of utmost
importance. For achieving the right developmental
and emotional milestones, healthy social skills,
and handling problems, the child’s mental health
takes shape during the early stages of life.The need
today is detailed and improved methods of data
collection. We need to work on collecting as much
data as possible.
Networks of doctors and professional bodies like
the Indian Academy of Paediatrics and the Indian
Society of Critical Care Medicine have shown the
path for collaborative studies. Such data will help
the Government plan distribution of its resources.
It is clear that doctors and hospital administrators
could use such data to understand the medical
problems that affect our large population and
develop customized solutions and then test these
solutions and make further improvements.
Creating exposure to such practices in the hospitals
will create support to be accredited to national
bodies like National Accreditation Board for
Hospitals (NABH) and for laboratories (NABL).
This accreditation by Govt health care providers to
such National bodies will foster confidence. Models
of managing hospitals in unique socio-economic
situations are urgently required.
Before closing let me give you some statistics and
some practical problems and what could be the
solution.
Only 1.35% of the nation’s GDP is spent on
healthcare. This puts a strain on individuals
who spend 20% of their annual income on the
income often leads to incomplete and inadequate
treatment. Consequently, the morbidities and
mortalities are high. The burden of partially
treated and ongoing diseases further incapacitates
an individual from being gainfully employed and
thus creates a vicious cycle of suboptimal economic
status and poor health.
A large proportion of the population does not have
enough insurance coverage. Also, it is unreasonable
to expect the Government to foot the bill for the
entire population. A good solution for this will
probably be to improve the medical insurance
penetration from the current level of about 35%.
Let me close by highlighting that standardisation of
clinical and administrative processes, better data
collection and management, and wider insurance
coverage would go a long way toward bridging the
gaps created by our history.

About Dr. Ashoka Gurudas

Dr. Ashoka Gurudas is the son of the late Dr. M. Gurudas and a physician by profession. He had worked as
a lecturer in General Medicine at M.S.Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore. He is one of the promoters of
Bangalore Hospital, South End Circle, Bangalore. He is also the Ex-President, of the Bangalore Diabetes
Hospital. After returning from the USA in 1991, in addition to his profession, he has been actively
involved in the family business of Horticulture, IT enabled business and Real Estate for more than 20
years. He is the President of Bangalore Brahmo Samaj and a Trustee of the Brahmo Samaj Appavu Pillai
Girls School and Sikshana Foundation. As a Director of the Sikshana Foundation, he is involved in a
pioneering effort to improve the quality of education in the Public Education System. With a coverage of
over 50,000 schools involving 3 million children - it is one of the top two initiatives in the country. He is
the Managing Director of Niju Scribe Pvt Ltd, a BPO in Bangalore South and the Founder and Chairman
of - ‘AgroTIE’ Centre of Excellence for Horticulture in Bangalore.

60
 How to Inculcate the Scientific Temper in Children
All planets revolve around
the Sun precisely and
systematically in a definite
path of orbit without
colliding with other planets.
The Earth rotates around
its axis at a speed of about
1,600 km/h and revolves
around the Sun at a speed of about 107,800 km/h.
Similarly, the other planets too revolve around the
Sun. If we think about it, this is indeed a miraculous
process where the heavy matter in space revolves
in very accurate orbits at a certain speed without
any deviation. Similar processes can be observed
in the smallest particles of matter we look at the
atomic structure of elements. How is this possible?
Who is controlling and giving instructions to these
processes and how they are being followed?
In nature, there are several other examples. The
Sun rises and sets in a very systematic way. During
this time, light energy is used on the Earth for
various life processes. The carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere is converted to oxygen which in turn is
used by animals, including 8 billion human beings.
The oxygen is converted back to carbon dioxide
and released into the atmosphere to close this
respiration cycle. This is a continuous process and
happens in the most precise way without error.
How is this possible? All these natural processes
are well-studied, and we define them as science.
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds
and organizes knowledge in the form of testable
explanations and predictions about the universe.
But the question is what is the scientific temper?
Scientific Temper: Scientific temperament refers
to an individual’s attitude of logical and rational
thinking. An individual is considered to have
scientific temper if she/he employs a scientific
method of decision-making in everyday life. The
term was first coined by India’s first Prime Minister,
Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book ‘The Discovery of
India’. The components of scientific temper broadly
involve observation, questioning, fair open-minded
discussion, conclusion, revision, and results. The
most important characteristic of a scientific temper
is the search for truth with an open mind and
spirit of inquiry. In 1976, the Government of India
61
- Dr. Sreeman Mamidyala
re emphasised its commitment to cultivate scientific
temper through a constitutional amendment,
Article 51A. Article 51A in the 42nd Amendment of
the Constitution in 1976 says “It shall be the duty of
every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper,
humanism and the spirit of enquiry and reform.”
Significance of Scientific Temper: Acquiring and
practicing a scientific temper will have significant
benefit to individuals as well as society. Individuals
would benefit as a scientific temper imparts
an attitude of logical, rational and scientific
thinking. An individual through scientific method
can improve decision-making skills in everyday
life. He/she may acquire knowledge useful for
improving life and nation building. Society would
benefit from the scientific temper of individuals as
it brings forth a progressive society that is free from
superstitions and irrational practices. It promotes
tolerance among people that hail from various
regions, religions, and cultures with differing ideas
and thoughts. It also helps in Nation building by
formation of better public policy, improves self-
reliance and fosters quality education.
From a scientific perspective, how scientists
bring about new research innovation is by being
able to ask big questions. For example, how is the
water molecule made? How does haemoglobin
carry oxygen to different parts of body? How to
develop drugs to combat pandemic diseases such
as COVID19? As scientists we ask big questions
and set the goals for the progress and welfare
of the human race. Once the objectives are
defined, we need to plan the experiments and
the requirements. Scientists need to understand
and explain the significance of the proposal at the
level of the individual, the whole human race, the
environment and the universe. The experiments
need to be performed, analysed, and fine-tuned
if required to achieve the proposed objectives. It
is very critical for a scientist to have patience and
perseverance to conduct the designed experiments.
During the process many failures need to be dealt
with. If any other expertise is required, then the
need to collaborate and work together arises. This
involves the sharing of ideas and knowledge. As
a scientist it is extremely important to have the
quality of patience and perseverance, including
courage. Most importantly, the love and passion
that holds all together, is required to achieve the
targets and deal with the people around us. Overall,
the attitude of doing these science experiments
with the objective of doing good for the universe is
termed as ‘Scientific Temper’.
Why is it important to inculcate the scientific temper
in children? The human population of world is
around 8 billion. It is vastly heterogeneous with
different religions, ethnicities, cultures, foods,
rituals, social and political systems, etc. India is
a country blessed with 1.4 billion people among
whom several religions, cultures, rituals, languages
thrive. Out of a 1.4 billion population, 50% of the
population is below 25 years, 40% is below 18
years of age, and 25% population is below 14
years. With a predominantly young population,
is very important that parents and educationists
teach children and youth the concept of scientific
approach.
Dr. Bruce Lipton, an American scientist, while doing
research on stem cells at Stanford University found
that the growth of cells is influenced by external
chemical environment by signaling molecules.
That means the child in the mother’s womb is also
influenced by environmental factors such as the
mothers’ food habits and mental health. During child
growth there are several influencing factors such
as parents, family members, financial conditions,
quality of education, food, friends, school, college,
TV, mobile, cinema, etc. Comprehensive clinical
studies show that adverse conditions in early
life can severely impact the developing brain and
increase vulnerability leading to mood disorders
later in life and hence, these external factors
are critical in shaping and developing children.
Moreover, how do we inculcate the scientific
temper or attitude in children in our country where
temples are more numerous than schools? Where
great diversity is present in religious beliefs, mother
tougues, education systems, political structure, and
culture? How do we inculcate the scientific temper
in children in the face of such differences and
sometimes disparity?
1. Encouraging to observe: Encourage children
to observe nature:its creation and how precisely it
functions. What if it stops? In a similar fashion any
aspect of daily life can be observed.
2. Build the courage to ask questions: Developing
the attitude of questioning takes courage and is
considered as one of the best qualities one should
possess.
62
3. Set Goals: Setting goals from small to big goals
in every aspect of life is important. Understanding
challenges and how to mitigate them is a very
critical component. At a young age if children
are thrown into challenges they learn to absorb
the pressure. This will give them confidence by
inculcating patience or tolerance.
4. Relationship building: All goals cannot be
achieved by individuals even though they may have
been proposed or the idea generated by individuals.
In such a case, we need to collaborate with other
experts in the work. Hence, relationship building is
key for successful accomplishments.
5. Sharing and caring: To accomplish any complete
objective everyone needs to work together by
associating with other individuals. The job is done
in time only when knowledge is shared. This is only
possible by sharing and cooperating with others.
And in fact it enables one to learn more than by
working independently.
6. Patience: It is the most fundamental of all
qualities and is critical to acquire knowledge and
achieve bigger objectives in life. Patience is the
incomparable divine quality which is considered
as the backbone of all the other divine qualities.
Without patience, no other divine quality can be
practised. It improves other divine qualities like
kindness, forgiveness, courage and controls all
other negative emotions.
7. Perseverance: Patience and perseverance
are associated together since it is very difficult to
achieve any goals (either worldly or spiritually)
without both qualities. There is no limit to how
much patience one needs to extend, and infinite
perseverance will lead to success. All efforts will be
in vain if one loses patience or perseverance.
8. Honesty: Among all qualities, honesty plays a
key role in the direction of truth i.e., laws of nature
towards the Almighty. If an individual foresakes
honesty, any efforts towards achieving bigger goals
will eventually fail. All the support they rely on, and
their relationships will be damaged and ultimately
broken and lost.
9. Discipline: The attitude of being aware of and
avoiding negative emotions and distractions will
help acquire true knowledge in any field of work
be it worldly or spiritual. Hence, the discipline of
learning, and executing in time is required to be
developed at a young age in life.
10. Knowledge: One should accept knowledge
gained through the application of the method of
science as the closest approximation of truth at
that time and question what is incompatible with
such knowledge. One should also re-examine from
time to time the basic foundations of contemporary
knowledge. In addition, one who follows the rules
of nature and acquires the above divine qualities
will be blessed with true knowledge and ultimately
realise the truth.
Conclusion: In summary, it is essential to acquire a
scientific temper or attitude at a young stage of life.
Developing the scientific temper of children will
lead them to be successful not only in academics
but also spiritually. The one who realises that the
way of life is to follow the divine rules of nature, will
be able to connect to the creator, God Almighty. It
benefits individuals by empowering their personal
life, ultimately benefiting society and the nation. A
well developed scientific temper helps us reflect
on what is the truth and what is not, thus resulting
in the acquisition of the true knowledge. True
knowledge eliminates superstitious or irrational
activities in society, thus empowering individuals,
forging a harmonious society, and successfully
building the nation.

About Dr. Sreeman Mamidyala

Dr. Sreeman Mamidyala, Director of Chemical sciences, Huwel Lifesciences, has an impressive track
record of innovation in both academia as well as industry. He holds a Doctorate from the Institute of
Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad and was a Postdoctoral fellow at the Iowa State University, Ames,
USA and the Wayne State University, Detroit, USA. He has worked on various aspects of chemistry at the
interface of biology at The Scripps Research Institute, USA and the Institute for Molecular Biosciences,
University of Queensland, Australia. Dr. Sreeman has presented over 20 publications in peer reviewed
journals and holds 7 patents. Having extensive experience in leading multidisciplinary research teams
with programs in chemistry, material sciences, biotechnology, therapeutics, and diagnostics, he has
been extremely active in generating intellectual property and commercialization.

MESSAGE
Dear Brahmos,
Subhodayam and Greetings to all !!
The 131st All India Brahmo Conference completed successfully yesterday by the grace of the Almighty.
I, on behalf of Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj profusely thank each of you by name who have
attended the conference in large numbers from various samajees of the country and Bangladesh
by undergoing tedious journeys and made it a grand success. The Upasanas, seminars and Panel
discussions and other programmers are well received and heard with enthusiasm. Children, who
attended in large numbers, are much benefitted.
We also thank all the Upasaks, speakers and Panelists, moderators, Young and energetic Anchors,
Musicians, Singers, Technicians and all.
Our sincere thanks to all those Brahmos who could not attend the conference in person, but sent their
warm wishes.
We shall meet in Guwahati next year for 132nd conference.

With warm regards and wishes

Kesava Chand Challa

President
Deccan Brahma Samaj Hyderabad

63
The role of the Brahmo Samaj on the Morals and Values
of Children in the Present Socio-political Situation
Before commencing the
topic, learned dignitaries,
delegates and guests, allow
me to share a few words
on the history of Brahmo
Samajes in Andhra Pradesh.
Rammohun Roy, who
advocated belief in a
universal religion based on the principle of one
supreme God and condemned idol-worship and the
related rites and rituals, established The Brahmo
Samaj on August 20, 1828.
I now present some extracts from the Trust Deed
of Brahmo Samaj whose full text was written by
Rammohun Roy.
“ALL that brick-built messuage, Building or
Tenement with the piece or parcel of Land or Ground
thereunto belonging, and on part whereof the same
is erected and built containing by estimation four
Cottahs and two Chittacks be the same a little more
or less, situate lying and being in the Chitpore
Road in Sootanooty jn the Town of Calcutta to be
used occupied enjoyed applied and appropriated
as and for a place of public meeting of all sorts
and descriptions of people without distinction as
shall behave and conduct themselves in an orderly
sober religious and devout manner for the worship
and adoration of the Eternal Unsearchable and
Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver
of the Universe, but not under or by any other
name designation or title peculiarly used for
and applied, to any particular being or beings by
any man or set of men whatsoever, and that no
graven image statue or sculpture carving painting
picture portrait or the likeness of anything shall be
admitted within the said messuages building land
…. and that no sermon preaching discourse prayer
or hymn be delivered made or used in such worship
but such as have a tendency to the promotion of
the contemplation of the Author and Preserver of
the Universe, to the promotion of charity morality
piety benevolence virtue and the strengthening
the bonds of union Between men of all religious
persuasions and creeds.”
The word “messuage” instead of “mandir”
or “temple” itself speaks of the intention of
64
- Mr. Aniruddha Rakshit
Rammohun Roy. And “the place of public meeting
for people of all sects, religions and caste” is the
next most important thing.
Rammohun visualised Harmony of Religions in
Brahmo Samaj. In my opinion Rammohun Roy
had a model of society in mind. Undoubtedly his
pamphlets were written in response to certain
specific problems such as sati, freedom of the
Press, and the administration of justice in Bengal,
but when we consider them all together they
fall into a definite pattern. He was not a political
philosopher, nor a modern sociologist; he has
nowhere explicitly mentioned his model. But since
he was primarily a social engineer, he deliberately
set out to reconstruct society; a schematised
and an idealised social system was implied in his
arguments. He wanted to establish in India a social
order, which would enable individuals to maximise
their abilities and bring prosperity to the whole
community. Rammohun was deeply concerned with
the freedom of the individual. He assumed that a
man is human only so long as he is independent of
the will of another. An individual is independent
if he is ‘rational’ and the owner of his person and
capacities.
The strength of Rammohun’s model lies in its
being based on social reality, his awareness of the
growth of a market, the rise of a new class and a
competitive society.
This Trust Deed should be the message of Brahmo
Samaj and serve as a guideline while defining its
role towards building the morals and values of
children in our present unstable socio-political
situation.
If Rammohun was the inaugurator of a ‘moral
revolution’, of an era of investigation and inquiry,
he also helped to establish the concept of freedom
and equality. To do this he had to re-interpret the
classical religious texts and re-establish what he
considered the ‘true religion’.
With the above background in mind, it may be
derived that Brahmo Samaj was established to
promote the Universal Brotherhood of Mankind,
and social and mental upliftment. Most importantly,
any one can join in the activities of Brahmo Samaj.
Brahmo Samajes in every part of India maintained
the concept of Religions in harmony.
Now to come to this conference’s topic: children. It
may be pointed out that they are full of dreams and
imagination.
“Look, Papa! Those trees are waving at God!” As
we watched young birches bending in the wind
before an oncoming storm, a little kid’s excited
observation made me smile. It also made me ask
myself, do I have that kind of imaginative faith? This
imaginative faith is the stronghold of the young.
I now narrate a story about the role of parents.
Louis Armstrong was well known for his smiling
yet rasping voice and virtuosic trumpet playing.
His childhood was one of want and pain. He was
abandoned by his father and sent to reform school
when he was only 12. Strangely this became a
positive turning point.
A music professor, Peter Davis, regularly visited the
school and provided musical training for the boys.
Soon Louis excelled on the Cornet and became the
leader of the boys’ band. His life trajectory seemed
to have been reset, and he grew to become a world
famous trumpet player and entertainer.
Louis’ story can be an example for parents. The
proverb “Train up a child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”
can apply to the spiritual and moral aspects of our
children’s lives too. We should also realize that a
child’s giftedness will often determine his or her
area of interest. As we lovingly provide our children
divine instruction about God’s word, we should
encourage them in their interests and giftedness so
that they might become all that God has planned for
them to be.
Brahmo Samaj with its spirit of Oneness, can
keep alight its own lamp of mind as its part in the
illumination of the world, with the idea of keeping
intact the thinking lights of each race. To break the
lamp of any people is to deprive it of its rightful
place in the world festival. He who has no light is
unfortunate enough, but utterly miserable is he
who, having had it, has been deprived of it, or has
forgotten all about it.
Brahmo Samaj has proved that it has its own mind,
which has deeply thought and felt and tried to solve
according to its light the problems of existence. The
teachings of Brahmo Samaj is to enable this mind of
human beings to find out truth, to make this truth
its own wherever found and to give expression to it
in such a manner as only it can do.
65
In order to carry this out, first of all the mind has to
be concentrated and made conscious of itself and
then only can it accept education from its teachers
in a right spirit, judge it by its own standard and
make use of it by its own creative power. The fingers
must be joined together to take, as well as to give.
So when we can bring the scattered minds of ours
into co-ordinated activity, they will then become
receptive as well as creative - and the waters of life
will cease to slip through the gaps, to make sodden
the ground beneath.
Brahmo Samaj can take the initiative of educating
the youth with the specific goal of spreading the
uniqueness of the One who has no colour, no image,
but who is always there to guide the youth with His
blessings. The biographies of the sages of India and
the world, irrespective of religion, can be spread
with literatures and distributed to the teens.
I recall my childhood days when “Sunday School”
arranged by Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, enlightened
us with short stories, and life-sketches of renowned
personalities.
Periodic panel discussion can be arranged, with
youth taking active participation and leadership.
We are all optimistic and have high hopes following
the active participation of youth in the weekly
service conducted online in “Brohmopasona”. I
gratefully acknowledge the contribution of late
Debanjan Roy for taking the initiative of assembling
the youth on this platform and also offer my
humble regards to all those who are carrying it out
at present.
Once the youth is properly enriched with the
knowledge of the TRUTH, the cultural heritage,
the idea of helping out the distressed, all will
comprehensively take place. The guidance of the
parents, teachers and seniors from all spheres of
life will be their learning light.
“Tell all the truth but tell it slant,” the poet Emily
Dickinson wrote, suggesting that, because God’s
truth and glory is far “too bright” for vulnerable
human beings to understand or receive all at once,
it’s best for us to receive and share God’s grace and
truth in “slant”—gentle, indirect—ways. For “the
Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be
blind.”
“Tasmin Priti tassyo priyo karyyo sadhanam” – to
love God is to do what he loves.
The best place to begin is with your local Samaj. Is
there anyone there whose life has turned dark? As
God leads, you can be a light that points them to the
Almighty. Someday they may return the favour.
Who are the people you know you can count on?
Ask God to give you that kind of friend.
……………………….
Love thy neighbour, is one of the teachings Brahmo
Samajes always followed. The youth can reach out
their hands whole heartedly.
Make no mistake, our neighbours have needs.
Brahmo Samaj has a strong role in teaching kids the
essentials of living through our words and through
our lives. What are essentials?—to love God with
everything we have, and to love our neighbours
as ourselves. “Neighbour” is anyone with whom
we come into contact whose needs we can meet—
which certainly includes our literal neighbours.
Loving God and our neighbours is Brahmoism at its
core. It’s the essentials, the basics.
The most meaningful experiences from our youth
group’s attempts to live out this love of God and
neighbours were our disaster relief efforts.
Brahmo Samaj Relief Mission always came out to
help distressed people during occasional natural
calamities. It had been a collective effort. And I
personally am of the opinion that all who helped
are part and parcel of Brahmo Samaj, irrespective
of their religion.
Very recently, a Free Allopathic Medical Care Centre
was launched at Brahmo Sammilan Samaj, with the
initiative of the Hare School alumni of 1967. It is
also an example of togetherness, joining hands to
serve Mankind.
Seeing our neighbours is the first step towards
loving them.
Thankfully God saw them and loved them. And he
invited Brahmo Samaj to do the same.
Love requires time, sacrifice, and energy. And
chances to love seldom come at opportune times.
God doesn’t judge the way we do. “People judge by
outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.”
Loving our neighbour has nothing to do with how
much money we have or with how big our homes
are. We don’t even need a home. A generous and
hospitable spirit is what matters. What matters
is our presence. God teaches us to love our
neighbour the best we can no matter what season
we find ourselves in. And yet, love looks different
throughout the changing seasons of our lives. As I
reflect on other periods of my life, it’s quite obvious
that I no longer have the same level of flexibility in
my schedule that I did in my twenties, nor the same
stamina. Here is the Important Role of the Youths.
66
As we age, our bodies and minds can betray us. Our
spirits are willing, but our bodies are weak. Saying a
little prayer on someone else’s behalf, encouraging
others through a chat or phone call, are ways in
which we can love our neighbour. Teens can do it
smartly.
Fellowshipping with our closest neighbour most
often turn out to be a mutual blessing. We can
expect God to show up in the faces of our neighbour.
The prayer is, when I forget to show empathy for
others, help me God to care as You would.
This is God’s attitude toward us, even when we
choose to look elsewhere to numb our pain. He
wants to help us. He doesn’t want us to hurt
ourselves with habits that create bondage. Certain
substances and actions tempt us with a quick sense
of relief, but God wants to provide authentic healing
as we walk closely with Him throughout the course
of our lives.
We’re often tempted to pursue things that seem
of great value, yet they distract us from following
the Almighty. Let’s ask God to guide the teens in
the choices they face each day so they will choose
wisely and honour Him.
My learned Friends, I don’t know how these words
may be resonating with you personally today, but
here’s what I want to say to you: Dysfunctions may
be inevitable. All relationships may be difficult at
times. But they should not be detrimental to our
well-being.
OUR REAL PROBLEM in India is not political. It is
social. This is a condition not only prevailing in
India, but among all nations. I do not believe in
an exclusive political interest. Politics in the West
have dominated Western ideals, and we in India
are trying to imitate them. We have to remember
that in Europe, where peoples had their racial unity
from the beginning, and where natural resources
were insufficient for the inhabitants, the civilization
has naturally taken the character of political and
commercial aggressiveness. For on the one hand
they had no internal complications, and on the
other they had to deal with neighbours who were
strong and rapacious. To have perfect combination
among themselves and a watchful attitude of
animosity against others was taken as the solution
of their problems. In former days they organized
and plundered, in the present age the same spirit
continues - and they organize and exploit the whole
world.
But from the earliest beginnings of history, India
has had her own problem constantly before her - it
is the race problem. Each nation must be conscious
of its mission and we, in India, must realize that we
cut a poor figure when we are trying to be political,
simply because we have not yet been finally able
to accomplish what was set before us by our
providence.
The inner spirit of India is calling to us to establish
in this land great centres, where all her intellectual
forces will gather for the purpose of creation,
and all her resources of knowledge and thought,
Eastern and Western, will unite in perfect harmony.
In spite of our great difficulty, however, India
has done something. She has tried to make an
adjustment of races, to acknowledge the real
differences between them where these exist, and
yet seek for some basis of unity.
Men should be brought together and full scope
given to them for their work of intellectual
exploration and creation; and the teaching should
be like the overflow water of this spring of culture,
spontaneous and inevitable.
The last point is that Brahmo Samaj should be in
full touch with the teens’ complete life, economical,
intellectual aesthetic, social and spiritual.
Fortunately, in God’s world, the tyranny of the one
sole best is not tolerated. There are numerous
varieties of the best to keep each other company.
So let us not quarrel over that superlative adjective
or take it too seriously.
Before we are in a position to stand a comparison
with the other cultures of the world, or truly to co-
About Aniruddha Rakshit
Mr. Aniruddha Rakshit is a member of the Executive Committee of All India Brahmo Conferences and the
Secretary of the Brahmo Sammilan Samaj in Kolkata. He is also a member of the Hairnavi Brahmo Samaj
and Sadharan Brahmo Samaj.
67
operate with them, we must base our own structure
on a synthesis of all the different cultures we have.
For then we shall be able to take our own views
of Truth, from the standpoint of our own vantage
ground, thus opening out a new vista of thought
before the grateful world.
The stalwarts of Brahmo Samaj, took active
part in the political movement during the pre
Independence era of India, with the goal of
Independence. The situation is completely different
now. Unless a teen is mature enough to know what
is good for human society at large, they should try
to refrain from politics. When they are independent
in thinking what is right and what is wrong, they
can make their decision, but always it should be for
the betterment of human beings.
One day, all the people of heaven will sing together
in a magnificent choir proclaiming the majesty of
Ekamewadditiyam and the blessing of His Glory
forever reign. Until then, we live, work, pray, and
wait in hope.
শৃন্বন্তু বিশ্বে অমৃতস্য পুত্রা
আ যে ধামানি দিব্যানি তস্থূঃ॥
বেদাহমেতং পুরুষং মহান্তম্‌
আদিত্যবরণং্ তমসঃ পরস্তাৎ।
তমেব বিদিত্বাতিমৃত্যুমেতি
নান্যঃ পন্থা বিদ্যতে অয়নায়॥
 Education - Role of Brahmo Samaj: A Futuristic view
Honourable President of the
131st session of the Brahmo
Conference Dr. Arup Kumar
Das, respected dignitaries
and delegates from various
places across the country
and abroad, members of the
organizing committee and
the large number of children
participants, I am honoured to be here to deliver a
talk on Education and the Role of Brahmo Samaj.
The theme of this session of the Brahmo Conference
is ‘Nurture the Future’, and the Future is here, in the
form of the children participants, so that we don’t
forget the theme. Moreover, the organizers have
also defined the scope of the presentation which
says “focus on the action plan for the next five
years”. Hence I have modified the title of my talk to
“Education : Role of Brahmo Samaj : A Futuristic
View”.
Well, I have been in the field of education over the
past several decades at various levels - I have taught
Chemistry at undergraduate and postgraduate
levels, and also in teacher training programmes and
refresher courses for college teachers; written text
books for secondary and higher secondary school
as well as undergraduate level, prepared resource
material for open education programmes of Homi
Bhabha Centre for Science Education, and so on.
While working at all these levels, one guiding principle
was always in my mind, and that was "Education is
nothing if it doesn't nurture a habit of thinking." This
was a quotation written in my scrapbook by my own
favourite teacher when I was a student. So, the moral
of the story is that Education does not just lie in going
to school, reading textbooks, memorizing what is
read in the textbooks or heard from the teachers and
emptying the same in the answer book at the time of
examination. My dear children, have you ever seen a
toy called "speaking parrot"? Well, you might recall
that the speaking parrot toy repeats every word you
utter. Everyone enjoys the parrot chatter but no one
calls the parrot an educated entity! Parrot learning is
not Education. Unfortunately what we see around us
today is that in most of the examinations conducted
in our country only parrot learning is tested.
We today live in the modern age of Science and
Technology. All walks of life, ranging from food
production to communication, from entertainment
to wars, are highly influenced by progress in Science
and Technology. A man born in the 18th century, the
great visionary, Raja Rammohun Roy, could see the
impact that Science would have on the future of
human civilization and recognised the importance
68
- Dr. Sushama Joag
of Science Education. He pleaded successfully
with the British Government to introduce Modern
Science Education, to be accomplished by employing
educated and talented persons as teachers and
by providing appropriate books and laboratory
apparatus in India in the early 19th century. There
are many more reasons besides the initiative he took
for introducing Modern Science Education in India,
because of which Raja Rammohun Roy, the Founder
of Brahmo Samaj, is rightly called the Father of
Modern India.
At the time of the foundation of the Brahmo and
Prarthana Samajes, the high rate of illiteracy of
women and common people was a blunt reality in
India. As per Brahmo principles, the एकमॆवाद्वितीयम्
One God, the Cause of the Universe, is formless and
is to the Epitome of many virtues, one of which is
“Knowledge”. It was but natural on the part of the
Brahmo and Prarthana Samajes that, as a part of
social reform activities undertaken, many of these
Samajes started schools for the noble cause of
spreading the light of knowledge in society. Apart
from regular schools, night schools for workers,
vocational training schools and Sunday schools were
also run by different Samajes. Some of these schools
had government aid even in the pre-independence
period. Many of these educational institutions are
still functioning.
In post-independence India, the scenario in
the educational field has been changing. The
implementation of the new policy of Mass Education
and Adult Education was started. Government aided
schools were opened in remote and rural areas. With
time uniformity was brought in the syllabi of various
subjects, taught in different schools, through the
State Boards for School Education. Later on schools
started receiving full grants from the Government.
The large-scale governmentalization of Education
certainly resulted in a quantitative rise and
uniformity, but unfortunately the quality of Education
went down. Eventually the modus operandi became
very rigid for the grantable schools except for those
having a minority status. Private schools have
some latitude in the way of running the school and
choosing the educational content. International
schools have far more freedom in everything. Under
such circumstances the grantable schools of the
Brahmo and Prarthana Samajes are facing multiple
difficulties. This is a broad impression that I have
of the current scenario in school Education in India
which I have tried to put across. We have, now, to
think of the future role that the Brahmo Samaj can
play in Education in India. For this purpose, we have
to address the question : Why should the Brahmo
Samaj work in the field of Education at all, and what
would the Brahmo Samaj like to achieve by working
in the field of Education?
“Rational thinking” has to be the ultimate goal of
Education as we saw right in the beginning, and
rational thinking is intrinsic to Brahmo thought.
Brahmoism and rational thinking go hand in hand.
Another important value that needs to be part
and parcel of the educational system is “honesty”.
Education has no value without honesty. As per
Brahmo principles, adopting truthfulness in all walks
of life is worship of Almighty God Who is the Epitome
of Truth. As the Brahmo Samaj looks at Almighty
God as the Epitome of Truth and Knowledge, and
advocates honesty and rational thinking in all walks
of life, it is imperative to the Brahmo Samaj to play
a big role in the field of Education today and also
tomorrow.
Unlike the situation at the time of the foundation
of the Brahmo and Prarthana Samajes, educational
institutions have proliferated today in India. At the
same time a lot of practical difficulties, beyond the
scope of the functioning of the Brahmo Samaj, arise
in starting new mainstream educational institutions
today. Different innovative methods would have
to be adopted, therefore, by Brahmo Samaj to
inculcate rational thinking, truthfulness and passion
for knowledge in future generations. Some of the
Samajes, including the Pune Prarthana Samaj, and
the Deccan Brahma Samaj, are already working
on these lines. If an all inclusive plan is made and
implemented by all the Samajes together, it would
become a big, nationwide movement. I suggest,
herewith, a few programmes that may be undertaken
by the Brahmo and Prarthana Samajes in the near
future. Being a Brahmo Samaj activity, it would be
started and concluded with a short prayer.
1 SUNDAY SCIENCE EDUCATION : The subject
“Science” is introduced at middle school level. The
experiment component is missing in many schools
mainly because of paucity of funds. The Samaj
members having expertise in Science and Technology
may take initiative to start a Sunday Science
Education programme in the Samaj premises for
children. Stress may be given to “learning by doing”.
This activity may run throughout the academic year.
2 EVENING/SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR DROPOUT
STUDENTS : Members of the Samaj having some
expertise in school subjects may take initiative to
help school dropouts and weak students to gear up in
their studies. The Pune Prarthana Samaj had planned
this activity which could not be implemented due to
the pandemic. It will start from the next academic
year.
3 SUMMER CULTURAL CAMP FOR CHILDREN :
A short duration (about two to three weeks) camp
running six hours daily may be organised for children
of certain age groups. The Pune Prarthana Samaj
has been continually conducting this programme
since 2001. It is seen to it that children (in the age
group of 8 to 12 years) across all the economic strata
of society participate together in the camp. Day
round activities including yogacise, Bhajan singing,
short prayer, arts & craft, music, dance, drama, story
telling, science experiments, interaction with doctor,
scientist, artist, introduction to Indian and foreign
languages, diary writing, national song, mid-day
meals comprising of a balanced diet, are conducted
punctually in the camp. Children are introduced to
moral values, community living, scientific temper,
the concept of the all pervading formless God, health
practices, duties of citizens, and many more aspects
of positivity and character building through these
camp activities. The programme can be replicated
by other Samajes, and designed to be conducted at
advanced levels as well.
4 INTRODUCTION TO RICH VEDIC LITERATURE:
It is the constitutional duty of Indian Citizens
to value and preserve the rich heritage of our
composite culture. Vedas are known as the world’s
oldest scriptures and are part of the rich heritage
of our country. The tenets of the Brahmo Samaj are
derived from Vedic philosophy. The Brahmo Samaj
believes in the All pervading, Omnipresent, All
knowing, Omniscient, formless God as the Cause of
the Universe. This concept of God is derived from
the Vedas. A programme of introducing the Vedas
to children with the help of exponents on Vedic
scriptures may be undertaken by the Brahmo Samaj.
In fact the Deccan Brahma Samaj, Hyderabad has
been running such a programme for the last several
years. They may provide leadership to the other
Samajes in this regard.
PROGRAMMES THROUGH THE CENTRAL BODY :
Many Brahmo and Prarthana Samajes across the
country have been running educational programmes
parallel to the mainstream educational system.
A Central Body of all the Samajes could play a
pivotal role in taking cognizance of these scattered
individual programmes and coordinating to extend
these to other Brahmo Samajes across the country.

About Dr. Sushama Joag

Dr. Sushama Joag is the President and a Trustee of the Pune Prarthana Samaj. She has a Master’s degree and
a Doctorate in Organic Chemistry from the University of Pune. Dr. Sushama had the opportunity to do her
postdoctoral research work at the University of North Wales and the University of Oxford in the year of 1983-84.
Since 1980 she has worked at the Modern College, Pune, and superannuated in 2015 as Associate Professor and
Head of the Department of Chemistry. She has published over ten research papers and review articles in Chemistry
and Science Education in international scientific journals. Dr. Sushama Joag is a recipient of the prestigious “Best
Teacher Award-2015” of INSA (Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi).

69
 Climate Change & Brahmo Youths’ Responsibility
I am Ashish Basu. I was
born in Delhi. A wonderful
place! But in 1948, it
became terribly crowded
with lots of people coming
in from West Punjab. We
then moved to Shillong, (my
father had a transferable
job). Another wonderful place. But suddenly, this
also got crowded with lots of people pouring in
from East Bengal.
You all know Rekha Shahani. I know her family
well; so, I know that her parents, grandparents and
other relatives had to move from Sind to Mumbai.
These are just a few examples of a worldwide
phenomenon, known as ‘refugee conflict’ and it
keeps increasing and getting worse. Every few
years, however, new words/phrases get introduced.
A recent introduction is “Climate Refugee” (global
warming) - a word that may become the most
common word of this century.
While we believe that global warming is impacting
us all, its future role in human migration is largely
ignored. Sadly, climate change impacts more poor
communities. Extreme fluctuations of sun and rain,
makes these communities suffer massive drought
or enormous flooding. Communities are forced to
re-locate - this makes them “Climate Refugees”.
Should we care? And why am I talking about it in
this Brahmo conference?
Because Climate-induced re-location is on the rise.
Last year, it resulted in around 16 million people
becoming refugees. It is estimated that in 25 years
more, another 50 million may be forced to leave
their homes. I would like everyone present to think
about it seriously.
Much of this is due to natural disasters and is
impacting millions of people each year. It is not just
an issue for fragile states, as the changing patterns
of human migration mean that more people are
forced to flee their communities in search of safe
heavens. The world’s most vulnerable people will
be made to bear the brunt of climate change, though
they are the least responsible for causing it and are
ill-equipped to deal with the consequences.
70
- Mr. Ashish Basu
With climate change intensifying humanitarian
needs, international agencies are overwhelmed,
increasingly stretched, and lack funds to control.
United Nations has made a commitment to “leave
no one behind”. It is clearly failing. My earnest
appeal to Brahmo Youth is to primarily focus on
climate-related problems and work on a voluntary
or honorary basis.
The current system is in desperate need of reform.
As humanitarian crises become more complex, the
demand for funding is struggling to keep up with
the supply available. The global humanitarian
funding requirement for last year was over Rs 80
billion and will keep increasing. You, Brahmo youth,
will have to face this issue and solve it.
With the continuing crises, large funding is needed
to help close the gap. The scope for innovative
sources of finance by you, is enormous. Creating
financial solutions to reach more of those at
the bottom of the pyramid would be a major
contribution to addressing this pressing issue and
helping build local.
Climate Refugee change adds a new layer of
complexity. As women and girls are more vulnerable
to the effects of climate change, it impacts education,
maternal health and gender-based violence. In
climate change disasters, such as droughts, women
are often in charge of water collection. Can you
believe that over 25 million females have to collect
water every day! This needs to be attended to.
With climate change disrupting their education,
young girls are being taken out of school to marry
early, creating a higher number of child brides. It
has a profound impact on their mental, physical,
and overall well being.
Uncertainty of climate will become the most
important issue in the future. An issue that you will
have to confront. Another important issue for our
youth. Many of you may know that I was a seafarer
(Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy). In 1970, I
was on a ship that used to sail up the Hooghly River.
The draft was about 22-23ft. Today, my seafaring
friends tell me that the draft at the same point
on Hooghly is 12-13 ft. Where did the 10ft of silt
and sand come from, at the bottom of the river? It
came because of the illegal felling of trees in the
Himalayas. (Should I say ‘corrupt forest officials’
are responsible?)
Development of any community is generally in the
hands of the youth. The older generation has passed
on the baton to you, the young generation. You have
more dreams, more passion and more hope. Youth
in any country represents the future of his nation.
You could take the lead in establishing sustainable
habits at home, like switching off lights when
not in use, occasionally cooking simpler meals,
walking, or cycling instead of driving, or organising
carpooling. There may be a zillion others that you
can think of.
The youth could use the Samaj premises for other
useful purposes. In many places, the Samaj remains
closed for 6 days every week. It can be used to:
1. Play indoor games - chess etc.
2. Teach Facebook, etc to senior Brahmos.
I hope this old Brahmo has been able to pass on
some of his own beliefs and experiences to you, the
Brahmo Youth present here. It might even help you
to become better Brahmos, like your ancestors.
Thank You.

About Ashish Basu

Mr. Ashish Basu has worked as Chief Engineer, Merchant Navy Officer. He has penned many articles
related to the Brahmo Samaj. He has lived in Mumbai for many years and recently moved to Kolkata.

71
 Proud to be a Brahmo
Good evening, my Brahmo
brothers and sisters. This
is the last seminar for this
conference, and I would like
to talk about being “Proud to
be a Brahmo”. What has the
conference been all about
for the last two days ? This
is a Brahmo conference, and
this is our 131st Brahmo conference. We have been
having this conference for nearly a hundred years.
We can safely say that even after having these 131st
sessions of Brahmo conferences, if we are still not
proud of being a Brahmo then what is the reason
for conducting these conferences for ourselves?
The great Brahma Dharma Acharya Dheergha-
tamathe composed the following Veda mantra:
Yajurveda 40th chapter 17th mantra.
॒ न॑ ॒ पात्रे॑ण सत॒ ्यस्यापि॑हितं॒ मख
हिर॒ ण्मये ु म।् यो॒ऽसावा॑दित॒ ्ये पुरु॑ ष ः॒
सोऽसावह॒ म।् ओ३म् खं ब्रह्म॑ ॥१७॥
Through this mantra he says that if you have to
worry about your identity, then always worry about
your eternal identity, not about the ephemeral
worldly identity that you have in this universe.
Why did I choose this topic? Because, being human
beings, we all are very smart. We always want to
have the best of the best of things. We always want
to exercise our mental powers and achieve the
best. But when it comes to our identity, how are
we projecting ourselves today? For example, we
might be proud to be an engineer, to be a doctor,
and many other professions. The question is are
we really getting the best we can, or are we just
compromising with those few identities which we
can perceive?
It is important for all of us to think upon this
topic. Some Brahmos without understanding what
being a Brahmo actually means might say: why
you are stressing about being a Brahmo? Is it not
good enough for you to be a good person? Is it not
sufficient to do good deeds? Such people aren’t
proud to be Brahmos. They are not aware of the
privilege they have been blessed with in life.
The problem is that many of us are facing some
degree of Brahmo phobia. We don’t want to use the
word Brahmo. This is what I want to address today
in today’s concluding seminar. Do we really have
to worry and fear using the word Brahmo in our
lives? Is the only time we use it freely during this
congregation? If even at the end of the conference,
all of us are not able to make our children or this
72
- Mr. Ravi Sankar Banda
group proud to be called by this name, then the
purpose of the conference has not been achieved.
That’s what I personally feel.
What is your identity? How does it affect who you
associate with? Suppose somebody asked who
you were? What is your identity? What do you
say? I may say I’m Ravi Sankar, or I may say that
I’m the son of so and so, or another may say that
I’m the daughter of so and so, my parents are so
and so, I am the wife of so and so, or the husband
of so and so. We define our identities with such
parameters when somebody asks us who we are.
We define ourselves through our relationships,
or professions. We may say I’m an engineer, I’m
a doctor, I am a chartered accountant, or I’m
an advocate. We associate ourselves with these
professional or educational identities. Most of the
time all of us are proud to associate ourselves with
these positional identities or educational identities.
Sometimes we even have recourse to religious
identities by saying, I’m a hindu, I am a Christian, I
am a Muslim, or I’m a Jew. Nowadays we do not just
talk about these religious, educational, or religious
identities. We now have to contend with digital
identities as well. We have a whatsapp profile,
twitter profile, facebook profile, instagram profile,
and so on. We have so many identities, it is no
wonder all these identities bother us. But I call all
these identities “frogs in the well” identities. I call
them this as they all actually stunt our perception.
Suppose you take an elephant. The elephant likes
to compare itself with a bigger elephant. Or it may
want to associate with an elephant group. Or take a
mountain. You might not understand the language
of the mountains, but if a little mountain compares
itself to a bigger mountain, it might think: Yeah, I
want to become like that big mountain Everest.
It’s the same with human beings. We are worried
about defining ourselves, about our identities. Am
I thin or fat, long or short, rich or poor, clever or
naive? We feel it is important, we worry about
it, and the majority of our time goes in acquiring
these identities or keeping them up. That’s where
we put all our efforts. But just think, all these
identities I just mentioned, who knows about these
identities really? Who cares about whether you
are an Engineer, a doctor, or an actor? Who cares
about these identities? At the most, because of your
relationships, your family may like or may worry
about your identity. Or if you insist, your neighbour
may accept your identity, maybe even your pet.
You may be an important person, that perhaps a
whole community may recognize you. You may
even be a person who gets a lot of recognition and
applause. But just question yourself : does the
mountain know who you are ? Does the moon know
who you are? Does the Sun? Does the galaxy? Or
this entire Universe?
I think even a fish in a pond wouldn’t know or
care about our identity. Or a bird in the sky, or a
cow, or an elephant. For that matter, I’m sure that
even your pet dog doesn’t care and doesn’t know
that you are an engineer, a doctor or an actor. All
it knows is if you are a sincere, good human being.
It doesn’t worry about your identity. So then what
does matter? What alternatives do we have? What
identity can we choose to associate ourselves with?
Being Brahmos, we always search for the truth.
Although it might now feel so, this is not a new
dilemma for Brahmos. From time immemorial
Brahma Acharyas have had to address these issues
among people. Let us seek guidance from the Vedas.
In the Yajurveda, the 17th Mantra of the 31st Chapter
says:
वेद ा॒हमते॒ ं पुरु॑ षं महा
॒ न्त॑मादित॒ ्यव॑र्णं॒ तम॑सः पर॒ स्ता॑त।् तमवे॒ वि॑दित॒ ्वाति॑
मत्युमे ॑ ॒ नान्यः पन्था॑ विद्य॒तेऽय॑नाय ॥१८॥
ृ ॒ ति
The mantra basically says: worry not brothers. If
you want to be recognized or if you want to ensure
your eternal identity, there aren’t many ways to do
this. ना अन्यः पन्था विद्यते अयनाय,, there is only one way,
one path.
So what is that one and only one right path?
Suppose you want to become a good engineer or
an excellent doctor, what do you do? You naturally
model yourself on the best and greatest doctors or
engineers you know.
So if I want to create my identity forever, who is
the best and greatest in this entire Universe? Who
is known to the buffalo, to your pet dog, to the Sun,
to the Moon, to every entity in this Universe, to
human beings as well as to all the galaxies? This is
the question that the Brahma Acharyas of old were
asking themselves. If I want to be an eternal entity
in this universe, whom can I imitate and according
to whom can I fix my identity?
The 12th mantra of the Samaveda says:
दूतं वो विश्ववेदसं हव्यवाहममर्त्यम् । यजिष्ठमञृ ्जसे गिरा ॥१२॥
In other words, there is one and only one. Every part
of this Universe knows about Him. And He knows
about every part of the Universe. That’s why He is
called “Viswa Vedasam”. Viswa means Universe, and
Vedasam means to know. The One who is known to
everyone (or who should be known to everyone)
is called Viswa Vedasam. There is no mediator
required between you and Him. He is nothing
but the Creator. That’s what the mantra is talking
about. Including your heart, your body, your soul,
every cell in your being, and everything in this
73
universe knows about Parameswara. Except the
human mind. Our minds doubt. The human mind
can fool itself. It can get lost. We find ourselves with
an identity crisis.
So now we come back to the question slightly
differently: as Brahmos what is our identity? What
do we stand for? What does being a Brahmo mean?
We know that the Eternal Parameswara is the most
popular and powerful in the Universe. How is this
so? How is He revealed to all and everything in
the Universe? If we wish to try to imitate or model
ourselves on Him, doesn’t it also follow that we will
also be popular?
It says in the Vedas that, यस्यनाम महद्यश. He’s popular
because of His deeds. He is not just popular just
because of His existence.
That is the secret. If you want to be a popular
person, if you want to be remembered by all the
people here today, if you want your identity to be
remembered even after you are dead, this is what
you need to know. We all are meeting through these
Brahmo conferences year after year, for a hundred
years. Every year, we remember Raja Rammohun
Roy. Not as a Prince, or as a social worker, or as a
member of the press. We remember him as one of
our great Brahmo teachers. What a great identity!
This is where the mantra guides us. If you want to
be very smart, and you wanted to be remembered
by everyone, if you want to be a Brahmo or, or even
just a good human, you have to commit yourself to
doing certain deeds. What are those deeds?
The first most important deed is Adhyayanam and
Adhyapanam, and the second most important deed
is Yagnam and Yajinam. Since this morning, some
of our speakers here have already talked about
these two concepts. I will nevertheless quickly
summarize what they are once more.
Adhyayanam and Adhyapanam (learning and
teaching) have to do with knowledge. It is the quest
and the sharing of knowledge. These two must
always be linked. They are the two sides of the same
coin. One is meaningless without the other. If you
really want to construct your eternal identity, then
you really need to practice learning and teaching
the Brahma Dharma or knowledge. Adhyayanam
and Adhyapanam are concerned with both worldly
knowledge as well as spiritual knowledge.
Yagna means a good deed which should be done by
all. As explained by our dear friend Ajay Goutham-
ji, there are five Yagnas in all. The first is Brahma
Yagna. Brahma Yagna is all about connecting
with the infinite Brahma. The next, Deva Yagna,
is all about connecting with nature, God’s divine
Creation. Earlier today, our friend Ashish Basu-ji
explained the importance of protecting nature and
taking care of the environment. The third is Bhutha
Yagna. To practice this, you need to help fellow
human beings. This could be helping those in need
with food, shelter and so on. The fourth Yagna is
Pitru Yagna. Performing this Yagna involves caring
for elders. It could be helping out with their health
issues, or providing emotional support. The fifth
and last is Samajika Yagna. This Yagna is all about
the eradication of social evils. These are also called
the Pancha Maha Yagnas.
Practicing all the Pancha Maha Yagnas is important.
Unfortunately, there are some with half knowledge
who think they can pick and choose what they will
do. They may feel that it is enough if you just do
certain social activities. I have heard some say “I just
do Brahma Yagna, but I’m really not interested in
Deva Yagna.” Such thinking comes from ignorance.
Those with knowledge know that everything in our
lives, in this Universe, is interconnected. In some
way or the other every aspect of our life depends
on some other aspect.
If you really want to follow Brahma Dharma, and
be a good human being, you have to take care of all
these five Yagnas. These five Yagnas are like your
five fingers. Imagine that Brahma Yagna is like your
thumb finger, and the remaining four Yagnas are
like your four fingers. We can also take another
example of a ladder. Brahma Yagna is like the
vertical rods that hold all the other Yagnas that are
like the horizontal rungs. Unless your relationship
with the Parameswara is strong, your relationship
with the creation can never be strong.
So who needs to do these Yagnas? All of us.
Whoever believes in and practices the five Yagnas
and Adhyayanam and Adhyapanam, we call them
as Brahmos. In earlier days, this is what our Rishis
used to live by. Such people were also called as
“Viswamitra”. Many of us think Viswamitra is the
name of a Rishi. But it was actually a title given
to our Brahma Dharma Acharyas. He or she is the
one who is Mitra or friend to the entireViswa or
universe.
So when we talk about Brahmoism, it is not a
mere religious, cultural or geographic identities
that limit your perception and breed conflict and
dissent. It is a universal identity. Brahmo means
the best human being. We are not just talking about
compromising with being good or better. We are
talking about being the best. If you look at the great
Rishis like Nachiketa or Atharva, some of them
were actually doctors, some of them were kings.
But you know them first as great Brahmos. So I
would like to emphasize here that you may surely
be a good doctor, or a good architect, or engineer,
or anything else; but that unless you strive to be the
best possible human being, you will not be a good
person. This is what being a Brahmo is all about.
That’s the reason we use the word Brahmo to
identify and represent ourselves. It means we don’t
want to compromise. We don’t just try to be good or
better, we strive to be the best.
You may wonder whether what I am talking about
is something new. Is this something I came up with
or did others also think like this earlier? Who else
is in this universal club of Brahmos?  
To answer these questions, I will remind you of
what I quoted earlier from the Yajurveda:
आपों ज्योतिं रसैमतृ ं ब्रह्मभूरभुव् ः सुवर् ओं.
Furthermore, the Rigveda says:
पूर्वेभिर्ऋषिभिरीड् यो नूतनैरुत ;
it is not just you who joined this club
अग्निः पूर्वेभिर्ऋषिभिरीड् यो नूतनैरुत ;
in this club you are not alone.
All the great and wise people who came before us,
even the Sun, the Moon and the Earth; all great
things are together in this club. Therefore your
identity is not just restricted to a country or a
community or a religion. The identity of a Brahmo
is a universal identity. This is why we have to be
proud to be Brahmos. We are proud because we
thank the Creator, and we show our reverence
and gratitude. We are proud because we believe
in the universal kinship of all things. We are proud
because we believe in the brotherhood of mankind.
We are proud because we practice and preach
scientific temper and rational thinking.
So if you say that you are a Brahmo, you are saying
that you practice all these great deeds. If you say
that you don’t want it to be called a Brahmo, you are
indirectly saying that you don’t want to be the best
possible human being. You have to decide if you are
satisfied if someone calls you just human, or if you
want to be called the best human being, a Brahmo.

About Ravi Sankar Banda

Mr. Ravi Sankar Banda is a Vedic scholar who has devoted himself to the propagation of Brahma Dharma
for the last 20 years. Having himself learned the Vedas and Vedangas from various authentic sources, he
teaches the Vedas using simple and authentic meanings. He regularly conducts training sessions for people
who want to teach and spread the Vedas and Brahma Dharma. He is the editor of the bi-monthly journal
“Dharmasadhani” published by the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj. He earned his B-Tech degree at NIT-
Surat, and his M-Tech degree at I.I.T Delhi, which included research work for one year at the University
of Stuttgart, Germany. He has conducted research on technical aspects of the Vedas and has filed patents
in the field of engineering, nanotechnology, and environmental protection. He is currently director at a
research and development company in Hyderabad from where he is actively working on various kinds of
environmental protection related technologies in various states.

74
 A Tribute to Pandit Ramchandra Vidyabagish:
Unsung Hero of the Brahmo Samaj
“The wide universe is the sacred temple of God.
The heart is the shrine for pilgrimage. Truth is the
scripture everlasting. Faith is the root of religion.
Asceticism is the elimination of selfishness”, this is
the outlook of the Brahmo Samaj founded by Raja
Rammohun Roy, the great reformer and father of
Indian renaissance. ‘Brahmo Samaj’ literally means
the society of worshippers of the one supreme God
and is strongly opposed to the prevailing idolatry of
the land. It was an influential Indian socio-religious
reform movement during the Bengal renaissance.
The constitution of the Brahmo Samaj is one of the
immutable creations in the momentous eventful
life of Rammohun Roy. His effort to bring about
coherence among all religions of the world was
indeed a laudable aim.
Rammohun visited the U.K. in 1830 and on
September 27,1833, this eminent pioneer breathed
his last in Bristol City far away from his motherland.
In his absence, the Brahmo Samaj gradually
weakened and lost its importance. The financial
assistance rendered by Prince Dwarkanath Tagore,
a colleague of Rammohun and the effective internal
management by Ramchandra Vidyabagish, a trusted
disciple of Rammohun could enable the Brahmo
Samaj to survive. Till the arrival of Maharshi
Debendranath Tagore to the Brahmo Samaj in 1843,
Acharya Vidyabagish kept the lamp of the Brahmo
Samaj burning for 13 long years (1830-1843). In
spite of this unique service to the Brahmo Samaj,
he is totally forgotten by the Brahmos. Ramchandra
became well known as Pandit Ramchandra
Vidyabagish in Bengal for his unparalleled
erudition. In ‘History of Brahmo Samaj’ written
by Pandit Sivanath Sastri, it has been mentioned-
“When everybody else turned their back upon
Brahmo movement and when its enemies began
to rejoice at what they considered to be the final
collapse of the movement, the steadfast devotion of
the poor Brahmin alone never faltered”. According
to Debendranath Tagore - “He minded no rain or
storm, but always present in the scheduled place to
perform “Brahmopasana”.
75
- Mr. Sundar Rao
Ramchandra Bhattacharya was born on the 8th of
February, 1786 in Hoogly district of Bengal province.
His father Laxminarayan had four sons and he was
the youngest among them. He was well educated in
Grammar and Religion in his own village and went
to Varanasi to acquire more knowledge in these
fields. He was the first Secretary of "Brahma Sabha",
established in 1828 by Raja Rammohun Roy.
Rammohun, when settled at Rangpur, came
in contact with Ramchandra's elder brother,
Nanda Kumar Vidyalankar, who was later
known as Kulavadhuta Shrimad Hariharananda
Tirthaswami, a wandering hermit. Hariharananda
had acquaintance with Raja Rammohun from
his younger days. He was the worshipper of one
True God according to Mahanirvan Tantra and
used to discuss "Tantra Sastra" with Rammohun.
Once while visiting abroad on tour, he brought his
younger brother from his native place and put him
under Rammohun's custody for his able guidance.
With the passage of time Ramchandra came in
close contact with Rammohun and became his most
trusted disciple. Acknowledging his talents and
wisdom, Rammohun made necessary arrangements
for his higher studies in Vedanta and Upanishad.
His praiseworthy qualities made Vidyabagish
an extraordinary genius in the field of Religion.
Rammohun appointed him as the first Minister of
the Brahmo Samaj. In 1843 Debendranath Tagore
joined the Brahmo Samaj along with twenty-
one of his friends. At that time Ramchandra
acted as Acharya in that “Dikshya” ceremony. But
it is a matter of great regret that Ramchandra
Vidyabagish is a forgotten Acharya of the Brahmo
Samaj today. He extended his support to Iswar
Chandra Vidyasagar in his move for the remarriage
of widows. He was against the system of polygamy,
then prevalent in Hindu society, primarily amongst
Brahmins. Ramchandra believed in giving priority
to the local language for the benefit of the common
people. Therefore, he undertook the difficult task of
publishing the first monolingual Bengali dictionary
“Bangabhasabhidhan” in 1817. He has also written
6 other books. He worked for some time on the
Government’s desire to replace Persian by Bengali
language of the Courts. For this he had the active
support of David Hare and Prasanna Coomar
Tagore. He strived hard for the use of Bengali
language as the medium of education.
Rammohun executed a historic trust deed on the 8th
January, 1830 in which Ramchandra was nominated
as a Trustee. Despite being an embodiment of a deep
religious personality, Ramchandra was a modern
reformer. Like Rammohun and others, he was a
founder member of the Brahmo Samaj. Ramchandra
started his career as a Professor of Sanskrit in the
Government Sanskrit College, Kolkata in 1827. He
continued in that post for ten years. Unfortunately,
he was dismissed from service since he was a
faithful follower of Rammohun and was against the
heinous practice of "SATI", an act of forcibly burning
the widows on the pyre of their dead husbands.
He also taught at Vedanta College established by
Raja Rammohun Roy. He joined Hindu College as
Principal in 1840. After some years, he was invited
to join as Assistant Secretary in that institution from
where he was once unceremoniously removed. He
humbly accepted the offer.
After the demise of Rammohun, Ramchandra was
anxiously waiting for a worthy successor to hand
over the sacred charge that his departed Master had
entrusted to him. At last, he happily handed over the
same to Debendranath Tagore. He sealed his great
love for Brahmo Samaj by a legacy of Rs.500.00, a
huge amount in those days that he left by a WILL
to the Samaj. Pandit Ramchandra Vidyabagish
suffered from paralysis and breathed his last at the
age of 59 on March 2, 1845. The Brahmo Samaj was
able to keep up its existence due to the devotion,
sacrifice and tremendous efforts made by the poor
Brahmin Ramchandra Vidyabagish. However, this
sober, obedient, faithful, great scholastic religious
personality and first Acharya of Brahmo Samaj
shall ever be respected and remembered with
gratitude. In spite of many charming qualities,
Pandit Ramchandra Vidyabagish remained an
unsung leader in the history of the Brahmo Samaj.
Bramha Kripahi Kevalam.

02.09. 2022
MESSAGE
The Members of the Utkal Brahmo Samaj, Cuttack, the oldest Brahmo Organization of the State
of Odisha, convey their greetings and best wishes to the Organizers of the 131st All India Brahmo
Conference, scheduled to be held from 29th to 30th October 2022 hosted by the Hyderabad Deccan
Brahma Samaj.
We sincerely hope that the deliberations of the Conference will not only strengthen the Brahmo
Movement in India, but also encourage the younger generation to work hard to fulfil the basic principles
and ideology of the Brahmo Samaj, the Socio- Religious Organization founded by Raja Rammohun Roy,
a great reformer of our Country.
Lastly, we pay our rich tributes to all the leaders of the past for their valuable contributions for the
Brahmo Samaj.

Shri Sundar Rao, Shri Dipasya Kundu,

President Secretary

UTKAL BRAHMO SAMAJ,

ODIA BAZAR, CUTTACK-753001,
ODISHA, ESTD. - 1869,
Regn. No.14670/295.

76
 Speech by Special Guest
Mr. Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, IAS (Retd.)
I must confess that during
my career I worked for
about 6 years with Tirumala
Tirupati Devasthanam
(TTD). One of the important
contributions made by
Devasthanam is preserving
the Vedic heritage. They
started a Vedic Recording project in India. As
you are aware, as there are more than 100
denominations of Vedas, we cannot say which is the
most authentic one. The changes have arisen from
linguistic, regional, and the cultural variations.
So, the Devasthanam decided to preserve all the
traditions without considering any one superior
to the other. They have worked substantially to
preserve the heritage, and have digitized it as well.
During my time with them, I realised that bringing
the Vedas to the common man was a challenge.
Orthodox practices prescribe Vedic recitation at
particular times, occasions and by specific persons
only. It is not for all. There is very little chance of a
large number of people ever coming to know the
VEDAS, the HYMNS and the power of the words
they contain. We went to the Kanchi Acharya at
that time, a very enlightened person, who said that
while he could not publicly endorse it, nevertheless
encouraged us to record seminal extracts from the
Vedas and propagate them.
At this time, I was fortunate to meet Dr.S.K
Bhamachadra Rao, a great scholar and professor
at the Bangalore University at the time. With his
help we created these recordings of the Vedas
and Devasthanam made them widely available to
people at an affordable price with the support of
the RPG group for distribution.
What amazed me was the vast understanding of
nature and the Universe reflected in them. The
thoughts and expressions of the Upanishads is
beyond everything. The structure, the scale and
the vastness of the universe as described in the
Upanishads, is now being validated by the James
Web Telescope. The vastness of the Universe is
unbelievable, and much larger than what we ever
thought “Ananta”. The concept of Ananta itself was
experienced, and visualized by the upanishadic
77
minds. There is no greater progress in terms of
human evolution. Without any modern techniques
or tools, these people were able to understand the
structure of the universe with such accuracy! That is
what fills me with wonder. The Upanishads answer
questions that we continue to ask today “Who are
we and what is the Nature of the Universe?”.
The Upanishads are a quest to understand
ourselves in the universe. They represent a pinnacle
in the evolution of human thought, and we cannot
add anything more. When we look at our present
human society, we would like to believe that we
made progress. But that is not so. If we study
Human history, civilizations represent certain eras
of enlightenment and again we lapse back into
sectarianism, into division. Division is ever present
in human society. We are divided in the name of
nation states, ideology, race, and geography. Every
form of division creates a barrier between men.
When we look into the past, we have to draw
inspiration from our human heritage. We were not
always like this. We were better than what we are
today. We could at least emulate that ideal that has
been envisioned for the human nature, inspired by
the grandeur of the Universe, which is by its very
name “Ananta”, unending. After the upanishadic
period, comes the Aranyakas (the earlier vedas).
After the Aranyakas we see slowly the emergence
of society, and the emergence of dharma: Individual
dharma or manava dharma and social ethics. These
two are always an issue of conflict. How does a
man adjust to a society? And how does society
overpower an individual and control our destiny
with a majoritarian view? Anyone who do not
subscribe to the societal view, becomes an outcast.
The tolerance that is expected, the space that is
required for each individual to be able retain their
individuality and to co – exist with society has not
always been guaranteed. The conflict between man
and society has been continual and is going on till
date.
The philosopher Krishna Murthy says that the
biggest contribution any person could make
to society, and to the Universe is to be a better
human being by being enlightened. Even one
single person who become enlightened, can make
a change. “A quantum change would always come
through a quantum beginning” is what many of the
spiritualists have believed. And that is the quest
that is going on. That is what Brahmo Samaj is
always about. The transformation that has to come
at a fundamental level, at an individual level, will
revolutionize and change society. That is the hope
that we have.
The Greek civilization had enlightenment with the
emergence of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle who
asked the fundamental questions of what is virtue?
What is Justice? What is the purpose of life? These
are such fundamental questions. And Socrates
answered them beautifully. He says that the pursuit
of Truth and the pursuit of Virtue are the great
opportunity given to human beings and to none
other.
Again, after this great Awakening the world plunged
into Darkness. And we see a Reawakening with
the Renaissance after the fall of Constantinople in
Europe. Once again the ideals of Humanism and
Rationality are rediscovered and we see the progress
of the human mind, human intellect and the human
spirit. Superstition and dogma are cleaned, as the
human mind is filled with rationality and reason for
a while. And once this lamp of enlightenment is lit,
it fortunately continues to shed its light of progress
on the generations to come. The renaissance is
followed by the Reformation, especially of the
catholic religion and the obscurantist practices that
have come about. We find the same thing in the
Bengal Renaissance too. The Renaissance started
with the opening of the human intellect and human
mind. It started in the world of literature and art,
and then transcended into ethics, and created
new organizations at the forefront of which is the
Brahmo Samaj.
Such unbelievable quests, such as those taken up
by noble souls like Raja Rammohun Roy and Ishwar
Chand Vidya Sagar, we will never see in our lifetime.
What a great, good fortune it was for that century
to be able to be inspired by such great minds
that they continue to inspire us even today. What
breadth of Vision, what breadth of Wisdom and
what Compassion they had!
About Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar
Mr. Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar is a retired IAS Officer. He was sworn in as the 1st Andhra Pradesh State
Election Commissioner in April 2016. He belongs to the 1982 batch of the Indian Administrative Service.
He has worked as Executive Officer at TTD and as the Principal Secretary, Finance.
78
The Bengal Renaissance which saw the emergence
of the Brahmo Movement, also saw a lot of much
needed reformations similar to what happened in
Europe. The need of the hour was the reformation of
religion. Every era has a balance sheet of Good and
Bad, but it is fortunate to live in the interesting times.
Such interesting time was the period of the Bengal
Renaissance, which saw the Brahmo Movement, the
Bengal School of Art, the efflorescence of Literature
epitomised by Rabindranath Tagore and so on.
But I do not want to be nostalgic. The best time to
live is here and now. We cannot let our minds stay
rooted in the and become sentimental and say “our
ancestors were great , our culture was great, our
Upanishads were great, our masters were great”.
Society should not ostracise the individual. It
should be magnanimous enough to allow human
though and rationality to co – exist. Without that
there is no progress for mankind. We cannot be
labelled by public opinion, public standards, public
morals, and public virtues under a particular label.
There is no label which can really encapsulate
every human being. It is an ongoing quest. Like
the quest of the James Web Telescope that looks at
the Universe. What does it find? It finds vastness,
it finds greater beauties, it finds more ancient
galaxies, and it finds more ancient star formations.
The vastness of the structure is unimaginable.
So also is the human endeavour. As we go on a
mental Odyssey of understanding human nature
and go about it passionately, that is what makes a
life well lived. I believe that the Brahmo Samaj is a
wonderful foundation, free in the mind and in the
spirit, from dogma. It is not conditioned by mere
belief, by caste, or by tradition. As Tagore said in his
famous poem, “where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of
dead habit”. The contribution of the Brahmo Samaj
is immense. Today let us pay homage to the memory
of Raja Rammohun Roy. He is a noble son of India.
He lit a lamp, and that lamp is eternal. I thank you
for giving me an opportunity to pay my homage
to the contribution made by Raja Rammohun Roy,
Eeswara Chandra Vidya Sagar and the Brahmo
Samaj to Indian Society and culture to make us
more human, more rational, more tolerant, and
ultimately a better society.
SECTION - 4

79
 Pre and Post Conference Activities Taken up by
Hyderabad Brahma Samaj
The Brahma Samaj inculcates and encourages
rational thinking, honesty towards God, and the
true perspective of God in children. It works for the
eradication of inequality and other social evils. It
is also working on building an inclusive education
system to ensure a promising future for our country.
At the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj we are a
group of like-minded individuals, trying to expand
rapidly with the help of volunteers who are willing
to reach out and help children in need with food,
medical care, education, and so on. We also conduct
classes to teach children, and all those interested,
about the principles of the universal brotherhood
of mankind and the universal fatherhood of God. It
is our vision to build a team of planners, mentors,
guides, and executors in order to be able to develop
a dynamic resource network that will be able to
successfully implement our 5-year plan, and thus
nurture the future.
We want to create a platform that will help us
formulate action plans to spread more awareness
of the Brahmo principles and their implementation
over the next five years among children and youth.
These action plans can be implemented through
the Panchamaha Yagnas, the five great yagnas. The
Yagnas are righteous and moral activities. According
to Vedic literature “Yagna ‘’ simply means virtuous
and pious work. The five great yagnas are: Brahma
Yagna (deeds that improve one’s relationship
with God), Deva Yagna (deeds that improve one’s
relationship with God’s creation, nature and the
environment), Bhuta Yagna (deeds that improve
one’s relationship with society), Pitru Yagnam
(deeds that improve one’s relationship with
fellow human beings), Samajika Yagna (deeds that
improve character and fulfil one’s responsibility
towards society).
We formed the Social Event Organizing Committee
to coordinate and implement these ideas and
execute the action plans. We started to support
needy children in all possible ways to help them
in their daily needs as well as to try to inculcate
Brahmoism in them, guide their thoughts and
to create an emotional feeling of Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam (Universal Brotherhood) in the
future generation.
Activities :
Food is essential for existence. That is why
annadana ( food distribution) is indeed a good deed.
80
The youth of Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj
has taken up different kinds of food distribution
programs in destitute homes and other places.
Physical hygiene is very important to be able to stay
healthy, active and thus achieve our goals in life.
We find that across the country lack of hygiene is a
major reason for the spread of many diseases. We
are conducting seminars and webinars with help of
professional experts regarding health and hygiene
for girl students in various schools.
As we know, children are enthusiastic and eager
to participate in various competitions. Keeping
this in mind, the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj
conducted various competitions in essay writing,
drawing, and elocution. In the year 2022, the
Samaj was able to conduct these competitions all
over India, and over 1000 children participated.
The Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj awarded
certificates and mementos to the winners as well
as participation certificates to encourage all the
children who took part.
We have been conducting Value Education classes
for many children to nurture future generations.
These classes include Vedic recitation, memory
techniques, communication skills, etc. Through
these vedic classes Brahma Dharma principles are
introduced to children.
Vedic Recitation Program :
Vedas are the oldest sacred texts that explain the
philosophy of Brahma Dharma very well. Many
Veda mantras can be taken as authentic references
for the tenets of Brahma Dharma. Acharya Ravi
Sankar who learnt the Vedas and Vedangas has been
teaching the Vedas for the last two decades. In the
Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj around 50 of us
have been learning the Vedas from him for about 10
years. Since a few years ago, under his guidance, we
have started teaching to children and adults within
our known circle. This year, as a tribute to our
founder Raja Rammohun Roy, we planned to start
a value education program. After a long marathon
effort by our team of reaching out to various
schools and convincing school managements, we
got a few opportunities by the grace of God. We
were able to provide both online as well as offline
classes over the last few years to more than 250
children. Around 220 of these children attended
our conference. May God bless these children with
the knowledge of Brahma Dharma.
 Pre Conference Activities

Competitions Conducted in Variuos Schools all over India

Vedic recitation Classes Conducted in Schools as a Part of Value Education

81
 Support given to Akshara Jyothi Education Centre in building infrastructure

Food and accessries distrubution in Orphanages

Science lab Establishment in a School, Health and Hygiene webinars

Nizamabad conducted for girls

82
Inspirational Seminars by Eminent Speakers

Address by Special Guest, Felicitation to Special Guest

Shri Nimmagadda Ramesh

83
 Glimpses of 131st Brahmo Conference

Grand Platform Ready for “Nurture the Future” Delegate Registration

Flag Hoisting by Conference President Identity cards & Delegate bags of the
Dr. Arup Kumar Das conference

Sharing thoughts with each other over the Delegates to watch “Nurture the Future”
food counters

Samagana by Mrs. Gayatri Banda Mr. Kesava Chand with the Chief Guest
Hon’ble Justice G. Chandraiah
84
131st Brahmo Conference - By the children & For the Children

Anchors

85
 Children From Dawn Buds Model School

Children from Bhagya Memorial Girls’ High School

Children from Hi-Tech Valley School Children From Vardhan Asharam

86
Delegates to watch “Nurture the Future” Food counters

Chilling and Enjoying the Food

Breakfast arrangements DAY–2: Moments to be Cherished

87
 Children’s Special Programs

Day 1: Positive Vibes of Vedic Recitation by 180+ Children

Day 2: Positive Vibes of Vedic Recitation by 220+ Children

Edutainment Game for Children by Mrs. Sravya Vema

88
Delegate feed back

Delegates to watch “Nurture the Future”

89
 Members of Hyderabad Brahma Samaj

Delegates to watch “Nurture the Furute”

Delegates to watch “Nurture the Furute”

90
Special Guest Shri Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar Guest of honor Smt. Padmavathi Rahul Sastry

Members of Andhra & Hyderabad

Brahma Samaj

Food Counters

91
 Closing Ceremony

Brahmo flag

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - Extended Brahmo Family

92
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
When we, the Hyderabad Deccan Brahma Samaj team, planned to conduct 131st All India Brahmo
Conference in Hyderabad after 27 years, we considered it to be an uphill task. Though sufficient young
energetic and dedicated man-power is available with us, there are no sufficient internal resources. But
we have ventured into it with absolute faith on the Almighty. Finally, the conference has ended up with
a grand success. This is all resulted due to the blessings of God and the whole hearted cooperation and
assistance of all the members of Hyderabad Samaj team, all other Brahmo and Prarthana Samajes in the
country and Bangladesh and also many Non- Brahmos.
We acknowledge whole heartedly the following contributions generously made by the donors - individuals,
Samajees, other organisations. The financial support acted as a catalyst in the success of the conference.
We are grateful to each one of them.
S. No. Donor Name Amount
1 Mr. Aditya Narayan kar, Balasore ₹ 1500 /-
2 Mr. Ajay Gautham M, Hyderabad ₹ 25000 /-
3 Dr. Ashoka Gurudas, Bangalore ₹ 50000 /-
4 Mr. Balanarasimha D ₹ 3000 /-
5 Mr. Banda Ravi Sankar, Hyderabad ₹ 500000 /-
6 Bombay Prarthana Samaj ₹ 50000 /-
7 Cuttack Brahmo Samaj, Odisha ₹ 4000 /-
8 Dawn Buds Model School, Hyderabad ₹ 10000 /-
9 Mr. Deepak Kumar ₹ 2000 /-
10 Dr. Dilip Joag & Dr. Sushama Joag, Pune ₹ 115000 /-
11 Mrs. Geeta Jagasia, Mumbai ₹ 5000 /-
12 Mr. Gnana Prakash B.N ₹ 2500 /-
13 Mr. Himakar Tata, Visakhapatnam ₹ 12000 /-
14 Mr. Jaydev Singh ₹ 1500 /-
15 Mr. Jitendra Kar, Balasore ₹ 1500 /-
16 Mr. Kalyan Chakravarthi A, Hyderabad ₹ 25000 /-
17 Ms. Kalyanamayee Chattopadhyay, Kolkata ₹ 2000 /-
18 Mr. Kameshwar Rao S, Hyderabad ₹ 1111 /-
19 Mr. Kesava Chand Challa, Hyderabad ₹ 50000 /-
20 Madhya Bharatiya Varshiya Brahmo Samaj, Indore ₹ 11000 /-
21 Mr. Majeti Pradeep, Hyderabad ₹ 2500 /-
22 Ms. Malavika Nagarkar, Mumbai ₹ 1000 /-
23 Mrs. Manobini Das Gupta, Kolkata ₹ 5000 /-
24 Mr & Mrs Illyas Ahmed, Hyderabad ₹ 11000 /-
25 Mr. Nooka Raju ₹ 5000 /-
26 Mr. Prasad V ₹ 1000 /-
27 Mr. Praveen Vema, Hyderabad ₹ 170000 /-
28 Mrs. Rekha Shahani, Mumbai ₹ 10000 /-
29 Mrs. Renuka G, Hyderabad ₹ 5000 /-
30 Mr. Samrat Gupta, Kolkata ₹ 15000 /-
31 Mr. Sanjoy Chanda, Delhi ₹ 10500 /-
32 Mr. Satyanarayana B, Hyderabad ₹ 3750 /-
33 Mrs. Shyamala Santosh ₹ 10000 /-

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 S. No. Donor Name Amount
34 Mr. Sreedhar S, Hyderabad ₹ 1116 /-
35 Mr. Sreeman Mamidyala, Hyderabad ₹ 10000 /-
36 Mrs. Sri Latha Gupta, Kolkata ₹ 10000 /-
37 Mr. Subrata & Mr. Saurav Datta ₹ 2000 /-
38 Dr. Sudhakar G.V, Hyderabad ₹ 10000 /-
39 Mrs. Sudhakshina Kundu, Kolkata ₹ 4000 /-
40 Mrs. Sujatha G, Hyderabad ₹ 5000 /-
41 Mr. Sunil Kumar, Hyderabad ₹ 2000 /-
42 Mr. Suresh Gupta Jami, Hyderabad ₹ 1875 /-
43 Mr. Suresh Gupta’s Team, Hyderabad ₹ 16250 /-
44 Mrs. Susheela Rani ₹ 5000 /-
45 Mr. Syed Khairul Mubeen,Hyderabad ₹ 20000 /-
46 Utkal Nabavidhan Brahmo Samaj, Balasore ₹ 10000 /-
NOTE OF GRATITUDE:
The names of some donors have not been included in this list, as some donations were received
anonymously at the last moment. Our sincere thanks to these unknown donors for their generosity.

List of Conferences conducted Previously

Chairman reception Secretary Brahmo
Year Venue President
committee conference
1890 Dhaka, Bangladesh Bhubanmohan Sen Sasibhusan Datta
1891 Dhaka, Bangladesh Rajanikanta Gosh Sasibhusan Datta
1892 Dhaka, Bangladesh Bhubanmohan Sen Sasibhusan Datta
1893 Dhaka, Bangladesh Chandi Kishore Kushan Sasibhusan Datta
1894 Dhaka, Bangladesh Srinath Chandra Sasibhusan Datta
1895 Dhaka, Bangladesh Sarat Chandra Mjumdar P.Chatterjee
1896 Dhaka, Bangladesh Gurudayal Sinha P.Chatterjee
1897 Dhaka, Bangladesh Kallmohan Das P.Chatterjee
1898 Dhaka, Bangladesh V.Roy Bhubanmohan Sen
1899 Dhaka, Bangladesh Gurudayal Sinha Bhubanmohan Sen
1900 Dhaka, Bangladesh A.C.Sen Bhubanmohan Sen
1901 Dhaka, Bangladesh V.Roy Bhubanmohan Sen
1902 Dhaka, Bangladesh Nabodwip Chandra Das Jyotirindra Pd. Mitra
1903 Dhaka, Bangladesh Mathuranath Guha Satish Chandra Ghosh
1904 Dhaka, Bangladesh (Session Could not be held) Satish Chandra Ghosh
1905 Dhaka, Bangladesh Madhusudan Sen Brojendro Kumar Guha
1906 Dhaka, Bangladesh Gurudas Chakroborty Brojendro Kumar Guha
1907 Dhaka, Bangladesh Ramdurlav Mujumdar Atul Chandra Roy
1908 Dhaka, Bangladesh V.Roy Sachindra Kumar Ghosh
1909 Dhaka, Bangladesh Kalinarayan Roy Madhusuden Sen
1910 Dhaka, Bangladesh P.K.Roy Madhusuden Sen
1911 Dhaka, Bangladesh Prankrishna Acharya Mathuranath Guha
1912 Dhaka, Bangladesh Jatramohan Sen Mathuranath Guha
1913 Dhaka, Bangladesh Prankrishna Acharya Mathuranath Guha
1914 Dhaka, Bangladesh Heramba Chandra Moitra Mathuranath Guha
1915 Dhaka, Bangladesh Nitrotan Sarkar Mathuranath Guha
1916 Dhaka, Bangladesh Sivanth Sastri Mathuranath Guha
1917 Dhaka, Bangladesh Krishna Kumar Mitra Mathuranath Guha
1918 Dhaka, Bangladesh Sitanath Tattyabhusan Mathuranath Guha

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 Chairman reception Secretary Brahmo
Year Venue President
committee conference
1919 Dhaka, Bangladesh Heramba Chandra Moitra Mathuranath Guha
1920 Dhaka, Bangladesh Sashibhusan Datta Mathuranath Guha
1921 Dhaka, Bangladesh Sm.Kamini Roy Mathuranath Guha
1922 Dhaka, Bangladesh Prakrishna Acharya Mathuranath Guha
1923 Dhaka, Bangladesh Heramba Chandra Moitra Mathuranath Guha
1924 Dhaka, Bangladesh Prankrishna Acharya Mathuranath Guha
1925 Dhaka, Bangladesh Monmohan Chakroberty Mathuranath Guha
1926 Dhaka, Bangladesh Heramba Chandra Moitra Mathuranath Guha
1927 Dhaka, Bangladesh Satish Ch. Chakroborty Mathuranath Guha
1928 Dhaka, Bangladesh Prankrishna Acharya Mathuranath Guha
1929 Dhaka, Bangladesh Krishna Kumar Mitra Mathuranath Guha
1930 Dhaka, Bangladesh Krishna Kumar Mitra Mathuranath Guha
1931 Dhaka, Bangladesh Sm.Kamini Roy Mathuranath Guha
1932 Dhaka, Bangladesh Ramananda Chatterjee Mathuranath Guha
1933 Dhaka, Bangladesh Rajanikanta Gosh Mathuranath Guha
1934 Mymenshing, Bangladesh Krishna Kumar Mitra Mathuranath Guha
1935 Berash, Bangladesh Satish Ch. Chakroborty Harunarayan Sen Mathuranath Guha
1936 Tangail, Bangladesh Profulla Chandra Roy Krishna Kumar Mitra Madhusuden Guha
1937 Dhaka, Bangladesh Ramananda Chatterjee Satish Ch. Chakraborthy Amar Ch. Bhattacharya
1938 Calcutta, West Bengal Ramananda Chatterjee Subodh Ch. Nahalanobis Amar Ch. Bhattacharya
1939 Gauhati, Assam Sm.Kumudini Basu Satish Ch.Roy Amar Ch. Bhattacharya
1940 Dhaka, Bangladesh Subodh Ch. Mahalanobis Satish Ch.Roy Amar Ch. Bhattacharya
1941 Jessore, Bangladesh Rajanikanta Das Harinarayam Sen Akshay Kumar Sen
1942 Dhamua, Bangladesh Amar Ch. Battacharya Sm.Sarajubala Datta Akshoy Kumar Sen
1943 (Session, West Bengal) Not be held due to World War II Akshay Kumar Sen
1944 Calcutta, West Bengal Rajanikanta Guha Akshoy Kumar Sen
1945 Dhaka, Bangladesh Nabadwip Chandra Das Sarojendru Nath Roy Akshay Kumar Sen
1946 (Session could Not be held due to Communal riot Akshoy Kumar Sen
1947 Contai, West Bengal Saroj Kumar Das Dharanidhar Dindo Akshoy Kumar Sen
1948 Calcutta, West Bengal Lady Abala Basu Baradakanta Basu Deva Prasad Mitra
1949 Dhaka, Bangladesh Niranjan Niyogi Sarojendru Nath Roy Deva Prasad Mitra
1950 Banibabn, West Bengal Akshoy Kumar Sen Amiya Kumar Sen Ranendra Kumar Das
1951 Calcutta, West Bengal Sm.Abanti Bhattacharya Deva Prasad Mitra Ranendra Kumar Das
1952 Jamshedpur, Bihar Prasanta Ch. Mahalanobis Sudhansu Bh. Sinha Roy Ranendra Kumar Das
1953 Calcutta, West Bengal Devendra Mohan Bose Baradakanta Basu Ranendra Kumar Das
1954 Contai, West Bengal Amiya Kumar Sen Srinath Das Ranendra Kumar Das
1955 Bolapur-Santiniketan, WB Sudhanshu Kumar Das Prabhat Kumar Mukherjee Sachimohan Roy
1956 Midnapur, West Bengal Niranjan Niyogi Anil Kumar Basu Sachimohan Roy
1957 Hazaribagh, Bihar Amiya Charan Benerjee Manmatha Nath Dasgupta Sachimohan Roy
1958 Patna, Bihar Sudhi Ranjan Das Sm.Banalata Dey Sachimohan Roy
1959 Baniban, West Bengal Manmatha Nath Dasgupta Jyotirindra Nath Das Sachimohan Roy
1960 Giridih, Bihar Sudhanshu Kumar Das Nirmal Chandra Sen Birendranath Chakraborty
1961 Balasore, Orissa Kalidas Nog Purana Chandra Sen Birendranath Chakraborty
1962 Bombay, Maharashtra Prasanta Ch. Mahalanobis G.L. Chandavarkar Birendranath Chakrborty
1963 Kalan, West Bengal Prabhat Kumar Mukherjee Sm.Sucharita Pal Birendranath Chakraborty
1964 Balarampur, West Bengal Sm.Nirupama Devi Sm.Labanyoprobha Chandra Birendranath Chakrborty
1965 (Session Could Not be held due to Armed conflict Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1966 Patna, Bihar Sudhi Ranjan Das Sm.Ranjita Kundu Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1967 Chandannagar, W.Bengal Sudhanshu Kumar Das Sudhi Ranjan Das Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1968 Bangalore, Karnataka Sudhi Ranjan Das M.Mahadevan Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1969 Baripada, Orissa Deva Prasad Mitra Surendra Nath Banerjee Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1970 Hazaribagh, Bihar G.L. Chandavarkar Sm.Tabrubala Roy Purnendu Mohan Ganguli

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 Chairman reception Secretary Brahmo
Year Venue President
committee conference
1971 Baniban, West Bengal Karunaketen Sen Dava Prasad Mitra Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1972 New Delhi Sudhanshu Kumar Bijoy Krishna Acharya Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1973 Santipur, West Bengal Sm.lla Pal Chaudhuri Kalayan Bramachari Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1974 Radhanagar, W.Bengal Birendra Kumar Roy Sudhakanta Dey Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1975 Indore, Madhya Pradesh G.L. Chandavarkar Badri Prasd Pande Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1976 Shilong, Meghalaya Sm.Renuka Roy Ranajit Das Purnendu Mohan Ganguli
1977 Calcutta, West Bengal Sraoj Kumar Das Deva Prasad Mitra Mofi Ahmed
1978 (Session Could Not be held due to Floods) Mofi Ahmed
1979 Cuttack, Orissa Nihar Rajan Roy George Patnaik Mofi Ahmed
1980 Darjeeling, West Bengal Karunaketen Sen Nirupam Chandra Roy Mofi Ahmed
1981 (Session Could Not be held)
1982 Hazaribagh, Bihar W.H.Hanumanthappa Sm.Tabrubala Roy Mofi Ahmed
1983 Kakinada, A.P. W.H.Hanumanthappa Badri Prasd Pande Mofi Ahmed
1984 Patna, Bihar Sm.Renuka Roy Nalini Kumar Basu Premomoy Das
1985 Mangalore, Karnataka Jagadish Chandra Sing N.D.Suvarna Premomoy Das
1986 Puri, Orissa Prashata Kumar Ghosh Dinkar Rao Premomoy Das
1987 Harinavi, West Bengal Sm.Nalini Das Prasanta Kumar Ghosh Premomoy Das
1988 Kakinada, A.P. P. Sitaramabrahmam T. Venkataratnam Jothi Prakash Datta
1989 Calcutta, West Bengal M. Guru Das Nabashis Bose Jothi Prakash Datta
1990 New Delhi Amiya Kumar Banerjee Sudhansu Kumar Das Prasanta Kumar Ghosh
1991 Pune, Maharashtra P. Sitaramabrahmam Sharadchandra Joag Dilip Kumar Roy
1992 Indore, Madhya Pradesh Kalyan Kumar Poddar Jagdish Chandra Sing Dilip Kumar Roy
1993 Lonavala, Maharashtra P. Sitaramabrahmam Sm.Sita Samtani Dilip Kumar Roy
1994 Krishnanagar, W.Bengal Sm. Kalyani Kalekar LN Roy Dilip Kumar Roy
1995 Hyderabad, A.P. P. Sitaramabrahmam B.M. Gautham Dilip Kumar Roy
1996 Chennai, TN Dr. G. Lakshmipathi A.V. Ezhilarasu Dilip Kumar Roy
1997 Salt Lake, Calcutta Prof. Dilip Kr. Biswas Dr. Manoj Chatterjee Dilip Kumar Roy
1998 Santipur, Nadia, WB Dr. G. Lakshmipathi Ranajit Das Dilip Kumar Roy
1999 Balasore, Orissa Dr. S.D. Naik Shibhesh Kr. Das Aranava Nandan
2000 Lonavala, Maharashtra Dr.G.Lakshmipathi Gopal Gurubaxmi Aranava Nandan
2001 Guwahati, Assam Pradip Kr. Das Bijoy Kr. Das Subas Kumar De
2002 Chennai, TN P.Rajamanickam A.V. Ezhilarasu Subas Kumar De
2003 Patna, Bihar Dr.Sumanta Niyogi Dr. Dilip Sen Subas Kumar De
2004 Pune, Maharashtra Wooday P. Krishna Dr. Sushama Joag Subas Kumar De
2005 Kakinada, A.P. Subir Paul D. Suryarao Subas Kumar De
2006 Hyderabad, A.P. Wooday P. Krishna D. Suryarao Subas Kumar De
2007 Bangalore, Karnataka Dr.Sushama Joag S.P. Sarathy Subas Kumar De
2008 Indore, Madhya Pradesh R.Adm Subir Paul Vrc (Retd.) Sharmrao D. Naik. Lt. Col.(Retd.) V.S. Patil
2009 Hazaribagh, Jharkhand Sumanta Niyogi Sm. Santi Chatterjee Subas Kumar De
2010 Kakinada, A.P. B. Rajaram Sm. T. Rajyalakshmi Subas Kumar De
2011 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Prof. Dr. Dilip Joag Sm. T. Rajyalakshmi Subas Kumar De
2012 Pune, Maharashtra Milind M. Nagarkar Ashok P. Shinde Subas Kumar De
2013 Session could not be held
2014 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Sanjoy Chanda Vishal Sharma Subas Kumar De
2015 Santiniketan, West Bengal Shri Pradip Kumar Das Tapabrata Brahmachari Subas Kumar De
2016 New Delhi Sm. Malavika Nagarkar Ranabir Mitra Sourav De
2017 Balassore, Odisha Prof. Dr. Dilip Joag Amarendra Kar Sourav De
2018 Kolkata, West Bengal Sri Kesava Chand Challa Sri. Prasadranjan Ray Sourav De
2019 Bengaluru, Karnataka Dr. Ashoka Gurudas Dr. Wooday P. Krishna Dr. C.N.N. Raju
2020 Pune, Maharashtra Shri. Sanjoy Chanda Prof. Dr. Dilip S. Joag Saurav De
(on virtual platform)
2021 No session No session No session No session
2022 Hyderabad, Telangana Dr. Arup Kumar Das Ms. Anindita Gautham Saurav De

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