Principles and Practice of Hindu Religion
Chapter - III : A Historical Approach to the Hindu Traditions
A Study of the History and Evolution of the Faith along with
the Beliefs and Culture of India over the Time of Several Millennia
 
   
 
Lesson - 48 :
The Modern Age of Nationalism and Growth
The New World and New Leaders ( 1750's to the 1990's )
 
 

 

 
 

 

 

The Modern Age from 1750 AD.: The modern period constitutes from the period of the formation of British Raj all over India to India's Independence in 1947 and today. The British came to power with several battles and agreements slowly throwing out the Maratta and Sikh rulers, several hundred small Hindu and Muslim rulers and Moghul kings who were fighting among themselves. This period consists of the age of the reform movements from 1750 to 1885 AD which saw the rise of the Christian Missionaries and social reformers of the Hindu society. Many Hindus were showing interest in education in Western culture and ignored the Hindu values. Almost all Indigenous arts and religious works languished under alien rules of Christians and Muslim rulers, with ignorance of local people and obstruction to the practice of religion by the foreign rulers. This was the stimulus for the reform movements. The great works of classical music by Saints Thyagaraja, Syama Sasthri and Muthuswami Dikshithar were seen at this time.

 

The age of the Renaissance: This started after 1885 when the Indian National Congress was formed and movement for self rule and Independence started. Many leaders from different regions of India including Mahathma Gandhi, Gokale and Thilak joined hands with political leaders of other religions. This gave rise to secular thoughts and ideals for the future of independant India. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Vivekananda started the renaissance of Hinduism at this time. Later, in 20th Century, Sri Ramana Maharishi, Tagore, Aurobindo and Radhakrishnan established a new order of Hindu religious thoughts and Philosophy which became known to the Western world. Many of the political leaders were also strong in their Hindu beliefs and were responsible to introduce the reform movements in the thoughts of the common people, though many were trying to support some form of secularism. Chairs of Hindu Philosophy and Sanskrit and other Indian languages were established in many Western Universities. Hindu thoughts and Philosophy gained popularity among the educated people and reached the shores of Western countries through many emigrants, Religious leaders, Gurus and new converts.

 
   
 
The greatest Philosopher of the Twntienth century, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,
past President of India, explains the true nature of the Supreme God and the human Spirit very well.
"The Divine is both in us and out of us. God is neither completely transcendent nor
completely immanent. He is divine darkness as well as 'unencompassed light.'
The philosophers with their passion for unity emphasize the immanent aspect,
that there is no barrier dividing man from the real. Those who emphasize the
Transcendence of the Supreme to the human insist on the specifically religious
consciousness, of communion with a higher than ourselves with whom it is impossible
for the individual to get assimilated." [This is seen both in Eastern and Western Faiths]
 
 
   
 
Lessons : - 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 .
End of Chapter - III : : Go to Chapter - IV - Scriptures and Sacred Texts