Lessons From India Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the Failure of Hindu Christianity by Madhusudhan Rao

rahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861-1907) is one of the most fascinating fig- ures of Indian church history. The relevance of his life and thought for the present time is obvious from the fact that major studies of this remarkable man have appeared from both a Roman Catholic and an Evangelical scholar during the past three years. Julius Lipner’s brilliant biography of Upadhyay (Brahmabandhab Upadhyay: The Life and Thought of a Revolutionary) appeared B in 1999, and Timothy Tennent’s analysis of Upadhyay’s theology (Building Christianity on Indian Foundations: The Legacy of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay) appeared in 2000.

This article is written to introduce Upadhyay and his significance to thoughtful Christians who may never read either of those books, although it is hoped that some will proceed to such reading after this introduction to Brahmabandhab (hereafter referred to by his initials, BU). The interpretations of these scholars will also be critiqued at points, and an alternate analysis of BU’s life and signifi- cance will be offered.

Lipner divides BU’s life into four stages and, especially since Tennent generally agrees, that outline will be followed here as well. The Path to Manhood: 1861–1881/82 BU was born as Bhabanicaran Bandyopadhyay on February 11, 1861 in the vil- lage of Khannyan in the Hooghly district in Bengal (modern West Bengal). He was a Kulin , Kulin being the ritually purest and socially most elevated stratum of the caste. His father was a police inspector in the British govern- ment. His uncle, Kalicharan Banerjea, was a convert to Christianity under the influence of the Scottish missionary Alexander Duff, and this no doubt accounts for BU’s first exposure to Christianity. Kalicharan Banerjea is known as an early advocate of what is now referred to as a contextual expression of faith, and he did not renounce the cultural and social practices of his caste even while actively involved in Christian leadership.

BU lost his mother early in life, and it was his paternal grandmother who infused in him a deep knowledge of Bengali traditions. By age 13 he had Dr. Madhusudhan Rao is an assistant professor of chemical engineering in read the Bengali versions of and 13 and 7 times Chennai. respectively. International Journal of Frontier Missions 18:4 Winter 2001 • 195 196 Lessons From India Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the Failure of Hindu Christianity 197 BU was educated in Christian schools aims that ranged from harmonizing arguments for what he called “rationalist but also went for Sanskrit education and reconciling “pure” and theism”, superimposing revelatory truths on the side. During his college days he “pure” Christianity to preaching Christ of Scripture onto this natural theology. resolved not to marry and not touch as the eternal Son of God to proclaim- These and other concerns led him to wine and meat. He later left college in a ing Guru Nanak (founder of the Sikh start a monthly journal, Sophia, in 1894. failed venture to join an uprising against religion) as a great teacher of That this journal had official sanction the British rule over India. (devotion). Some months after his from the church speaks clearly of the esteem in which he was held. The Brahmo Years: 1882-1891 baptism BU joined the Roman Catholic Church. Working within a Thomistic framework Around 1880 BU befriended The Hindu-Catholic Comes of BU argued that truths found in Hindu Narendranath Dutta. They were both scriptures were developed through impressed with two leading Bengali Age: 1891-1903 the use of reason, have divine origin religious figures of the time, Keshub There are two phases of BU’s life as a and serve as preparatio evangelica. Chunder Sen and Roman Catholic and two phases of his He held that on this natural soil the Paramahansa. BU finally followed theological outlook. In the first phase he supernatural truths of scripture, which Keshub and joined the , was not greatly different from a tradi- cannot be apprehended through while Dutta followed Ramakrishna tional convert; he grew from strength reason but received as revelation from God, should be grown. This line of thinking is brought out clearly in e switched to saffron clothes, walked an article in Sophia entitled “Our Attitude Towards Hinduism” in 1895. barefooted, wore an ebony cross around his He writes that Christian faith must fulfill and not destroy what is true and neck and called himself a “Hindu-Catholic.” good in Hinduism, and that with the H exception of ancient Greece it is in and went on to worldwide fame with to strength and drew admiration from Hindu thought that human philosophy his new name of . the church establishment through his or insight into the invisible things of Keshub exercised a deep influence over apologetic writings and debates and God reached its zenith. Some natural the young BU. His open devotion to speeches in several parts of the coun- Hindu truths according to him are Christ, “puritan ethic and attempts try. BU embraced traditional Thomist the uniqueness, spiritual, all-pervasive, to rehabilitate Hindu modes of Roman Catholic thought and there is omniscient, omnipotent, imperishable thought and practice, and his vibrant no evidence of his ever departing from nature of Supreme Being. The doctrines personality” [Lipner 1999: 65] drew BU this intellectual tradition even in the of Christ, the Trinity, the atonement into his movement. later radical phases of his life. and the resurrection were classified as After Keshub’s 1884 death, BU was Especially the natural theology of supernatural truths beyond the domain active in a Bible study class and learned Thomas Aquinas appealed to his sense of reason. some New Testament Greek. At age 26 of the goodness and value of Indian In these early years BU followed the in 1887 he was formally initiated into culture and thought, and became the traditional Christian path of vehe- the Church of the New Dispensation, foundation for all his later adaptations mently refuting . He the Keshub faction of the Brahmo to deeply Indian ways. It is gener- repudiated the advaitic (non-dualist) Samaj. In 1888 BU left Bengal to serve ally considered that his conversion to philosophy of Sankara, decried the as a Brahmo missionary at a school Catholicism was due to this theological concepts of , rebirth and for boys at Hyderabad in Sind (now in position and the comparatively more and attacked polytheism. On advaita he Pakistan). BU taught Sanskrit, wore hostile Protestant perspective on Indian declared in Sophia in January 1895 that simple indigenous dress and became life and thought. “our one great objects in life is to banish guru to some of his fellow teachers In the December of 1894 BU declared Advaitavad from India.” and locals. He began his pilgrimage that henceforth he should be known in Christianity through a book by a But gradually BU’s perception of many as Brahmabandhab Upadhyay; Roman Catholic that he found by his of these points changed. In contrast to Brahmabandhab is the Sanskrit father’s deathbed and proceeded to the denunciations of advaita rendering of his baptismal name study diligently. which characterize his early phase, he Theophilus and Upadhyay stands began to affirm advaitic philosophy and On February 25 or 26, 1891, BU for “teacher”. He switched to saffron rehabilitated the concept of maya. It was baptized a Christian by the Rev. clothes, walked barefooted, wore an is important to note, as Lipner points Heaton, a local Anglican clergyman. ebony cross around his neck and called out, that this rehabilitation of Hindu He did not become an Anglican and himself a “Hindu-Catholic.” philosophical concepts took place was unconvinced on which to church to In this first stage of his Christian life within a Thomistic framework. BU follow or whether to join any denomi- BU sought to draw intellectual now attempted to embellish Catholic nation at all. Already in 1890 he started to the Catholic faith by positing rational doctrines in Hindu philosophical a monthly journal, The Harmony, with distinctives in the manner Aquinas

International Journal of Frontier Missions 196 Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the Failure of Hindu Christianity 197 operated on Greek philosophical dis- in accordance with caste custom, and he adds, “Upadhyay now became minded tinctives. He claimed that the Vedantic rejected food given by foreigners as it to add overt politicization to his patriotic philosophical system should be won was tainted. With the withdrawal of campaign to evangelize India. In other over in the service of Christianity as the little support that he could muster words . . . evangelization for Upadhyay Greek philosophy was won over in the for his project BU abandoned it. He would now need to be expressed more Middle Ages. has continued to be criticized in rela- explicitly through the political liberation tion to this project, although clearly far of his compatriots” [224]. BU chose to Lipner outlines BU’s creative theo- more criticism should be pointed at the wage this new campaign from Calcutta, logical endeavours at great length and Church. Even Lipner, in his otherwise the political and cultural capital of Tennent’s book is primarily to outline brilliant work, fails to present a balanced British India. his theological thought. Tennent’s view at this point. outline brings three areas into focus, In Calcutta in 1900 BU started a new the first being BU’s understanding of Lipner’s critique of the proposed train- Sophia magazine as a weekly. He wrote natural theology already noted above. ing center is insightful indeed, especially frequently on caste here, seeking a The second broad area is BU’s effort to in his questioning of the indigenousness return to what he considered the true, build from the advaita philosophy of of the institution. It was to be thor- original and still valid insights of the Sankara a truly Indian theology. Issues oughly Thomistic in thought and highly caste system. But, arguing for purity of religion and culture are the third area structured and centralized in accord and maintenance of the social order, he Tennent develops in detail for a proper with European monasteries. But Lipner deplores the low castes, sometimes using understanding of the theology of BU. also comments that had this project racist language. The model he envis- been supported “the course of the his- ages has no role for religious minori- BU’s relationship with the establish- tory of Catholic witness in India might ties like Buddhists, Muslims or even ment of the Catholic Church did not have been very different.” [1999: 223] Christians, who are portrayed in a poor continue as positively as it had begun. light. Significantly, such crass treatment From suspicion over his moves toward One should go further than this and note shines forth more clearly in his Bengali more Hindu expressions of life and that with all its limitations the ashram writings. BU did not consider this model philosophy a clearly confrontational or had greater potential to be a to be unchristian as he maintained that course developed when BU wrote up witness than the intellectualist enterprise caste distinctions belong to the social and set out to develop a what he called articulated in heavily Thomistic ideology realm and do not take away spiritual a kasthalika matha (Catholic monas- in the pages of Sophia. The high brow privileges which are open to all. tery) in Jabalpur (in Madhya Pradesh). intellectual material that poured from In an article “Are we Hindus?” in 1898 the pen of BU is incomprehensible even Lipner insightfully analyzes the ramifi- he wrote “by birth we are Hindu and to the most learned of Indians. This cations of this model [1999: 238-248] shall remain Hindu till death”[Lipner criticism must be applied to Tennent’s and concludes saying it is a case of a 1999: 209]. “We are Hindus so far study of BU as well. Surely the failure of person seeking to exorcise powerful as our physical and mental constitu- BU and his academic theology are the tensions within himself. In the public tion is concerned, but in regard to our main lessons to learn from this history? eye, he was a Brahmin convert to the immortal souls we are Catholic. We An outline of his theology as a pointer religion of an alien minority increas- are Hindu Catholic” [Lipner 209]. to truly Indian theology seems based ingly being perceived as hostile to These opinions might have been toler- on a misguided intellectualism. Instead India’s best interests as a nation, yet he ated by the church, but his practical of being critical of BU’s intellectualism burned to show that he was not a traitor plan of action involving the develop- the Church slaughtered his training but a patriot, in a sense more Hindu ment of a training center for Indian center project that had true potential than conventional Hindus. People in evangelists was not. He wrote that for great good. Lipner’s skepticism and Upadhyay’s position often err on the The proposed institution . . . should valid objections to the project must be side of conservatism. [250] weighed against the fact that BU altered be conducted on strictly Hindu lines. Surely this is a right assessment as there his strategies and methodologies swiftly There should not be the least trace of is no other way of making sense of in the light of experience, and may well Europeanism in the mode of life and his pronouncements. On the political living of the Hindu Catholic monks. have done that with this project so that it front he hailed the rebellion against the The parivrajakas (itinerants) should could have turned out to be successful. be well versed in the Vedanta philoso- British in the wars in China and South phy as well as in the philosophy of St. Lipner rightly points out that “the Africa. The tone of the Sophia weekly on Thomas [Lipner 1999: 210]. Jabalpur venture was a watershed in the issue of caste and the caustic remarks Upadhyay’s life.” [1999: 222] Indeed it against the British administration led to This project was strongly opposed was. The Sophia monthly was shut down BU stepping down from the editorship and permission for it denied by the in 1899 and the reasons, according to of Sophia. He launched another journal Apostolic Delegate to India, Micheal Lipner, are that “he was sick at heart, soon after, but The Twentieth Century Zaleski. Unfazed, BU tried valiantly to disillusioned with his Church, appre- survived for only a year. get the project moving and gathered a hensive of implacable opposition from During his editorship of The Twentieth few companions in Jabalpur and lived the highest Catholic ecclesiastic in the Century BU befriended Rabindranath under trying conditions. They begged land.” [224] Regarding BU’s next move for food, each one cooking his own food Tagore and helped him establish his

International Journal of Frontier Missions 18:4 Winter 2001 198 Lessons From India Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the Failure of Hindu Christianity 199 noted school at Shantiniketan. Already his work Gita and Gospel. The Hindus was not uncommon in those days for BU had established an “Aryan” school saw Farquhar pitting Gita and Hindus to undergo praysacchita for named Ayatan (the abode against Gospels and Christ, with traveling abroad, interdining with and/ of learning). The school comprised Christ superseding Krishna. BU was in or intermarrying with foreigners, etc. of Brahmin boys from whom no fees a dilemma whether to defend Christ As Lipner points out, this symbolic were charged. In 1902, shortly after the and incur the displeasure of Hindus, act did not mean an abandonment death of Swami Vivekananada, BU set or defend Krishna and jettison his of his Christian faith; he was doing sail to England with an official recom- Christian commitment, yet he carefully the requisite penance in order to be mendation from the Archbishop of avoided the traps set for him. He formally readmitted to Hindu society. Calcutta which read “By means of this suggested that Krishna is the living But Christian critics did not under- statement we declare Brahmabandhav root of Hinduness and is historical, and stand this. (Theophilus) Upadhyay, a Calcutta moral objections raised against Krishna The British administration finally Brahmin, to be a Catholic of sound are based on unscriptural works. The moved in and BU was arrested and morals, burning with zeal for the Gita does not culminate in Christ, who faced trial for sedition. During the conversion of his compatriots” [Lipner is not an avatar (incarnation) in the trial BU switched to simple white 1999: 294]. But in England BU spoke way of the Gita. Krishna avatar was a swadeshi clothes and wore the sacred as a champion of the Hindu cause, real human being with a real human thread and stood hours on end without and letters he sent for publication in personality, whereas the personhood seeking any privileges. The trial took Bengal were full of criticisms of the of Jesus was that of God the Son. its toll on his health and he had to be West. Lipner points out the Hindu and Lipner points out that this address hospitalized. He was operated on for a Christian motives underlying his visit on Krishna further reinforced the hernia and when tetanus set in after a is very appearance . . . was a living challenge to the alienating modes of Christian behaviour, practice and teaching that had taken root in the land. Hto England and concludes that “ . . . they distinction between BU’s public image few days he breathed his last on 27th [his aims] were signaled by him in an as a Hindu (his message was clearly October, 1907, often in those last days increasingly confusing way. Like St. in opposition to Farquhar’s) and his of extreme pain exclaiming “O Thakur” Paul, he wanted to be all things to all, private commitment as a Catholic. (O Lord). On the question whether or at least, Christian to his Church and Upadhyay died as a Christian Lipner’s In late 1904 BU assumed the editor- Hindu to his Hindu compatriots. He assessment is worth quoting: ship of a Bengali daily newspaper, succeeded in misleading both.” [312] Sandhya, in which he addressed nation- If to die a Christian entails personally The Nationalist Phase: alistic concerns and understandably set acknowledging Christ to the end as aside his theological and philosophical one’s divine saviour, then he seems 1903-1907 concerns. His political activities and to have died a Christian. But if part of The final phase in BU’s life would dying a Christian means that one must vitriolic writings caught the eye of the be recognized in the public forum to prove the most controversial. In 1904 British government, but they would he instructed the students of his school have lived ritually as a Christian before not act against him until later. Here death, then it is doubtful if Upadhyay (Saraswati Ayetan) to celebrate the he waxed eloquent on Ramakrishna festival of Saraswati, the Goddess died as a Christian. Certainly . . . so far Paramahamsa, saying “Who will as the general public was concerned of learning, and this created a rift protect us if you do not ? You are the he died a Hindu. Perhaps he died as between him and his long term associ- saviour of the fallen—the strength he lived: as a Hindu and a Christian ate Rewachand who opposed the cer- of the weak. Man-god in the shape according to his own distinctive emony. BU argued that if as Christians of holy Ramakrishna, since you have lights. That by his life and death they would not take part but as Hindus come down to us through mercy . . . ” he has raised such an issue for seri- the students were entitled to celebrate ous debate can be one of his most [Lipner 1999: 373]. This caused much rewarding legacies. How narrow must the festival. On this issue Rewachand confusion among his Christian friends. resigned and the school was thereafter our religious labels be? How open to administered by practicing Hindus Two months before his death in hyphenated religious identities should until it closed down around 1906. August of 1907 BU decided to publicly we become? What is the scope for undergo the ceremony of praysacchita religious dialogue in a religio-cultur- ally divisive world? [1999: 385] In July 1904 BU was chosen by a few (expiation for “sins”) for social trans- influential Hindu Bengali intellectuals gressions he had committed such as On the impact of BU’s life and work to deliver a lecture in Bengali interdining with foreigners. The end of Lipner remarks that countering the thesis of J.N. Farquhar, the ceremony was his formal readmit- the noted Scottish missionary and tance into the Hindu community. It In modern times, in the context fulfillment theologian, presented in of interreligious relations, he did

International Journal of Frontier Missions 198 Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and the Failure of Hindu Christianity 199 more by thought and deed than deeply with BU and his struggle, and It was when the Hindu-Catholic perhaps any other Indian Christian as one who shares a common culture experiment failed that BU went over to raise key issues for debate. His as well as a common faith with him, I to a private faith and drifted away into very appearance . . . was a living feel it an injustice not to point out his wild esteem for Ramakrishna, etc. He challenge to the alienating modes failings and weaknesses and especially could not be accepted by Hindus and of Christian behaviour, practice the fact of the overall failure of his had to constantly prove his loyalty and and teaching that had taken root life and work. This to the constructive his distance from his Catholic past. in the land” [386-87]. end that we learn and improve and Had he from the first been a Hindu truly esteem BU as one of our master disciple of Jesus such reactionary posi- With this assessment, Tennent is in teachers. tions as his early anti-advaita and his full agreement, and for this alone late pro-Ramakrishna would not have BU should be studied by all who are The fundamental fact of BU’s life seems to be his reactionary extremism. been necessary. The main lesson of his involved in the interaction between life is that discipleship to Jesus must Hindu and Christian peoples. From violent opposition to advaita he switched to centering his faith be brought entirely into the Hindu Conclusion expression on it. He is not a reliable ambient, without any “Christianizing.” Lipner’s study of Upadhyay hardly theological guide despite Tennent’s On leaving Catholicism BU could not contains a false step. Tennent’s defenses and Lipner’s soft-peddling model this way of life due to his long treatment is more open to criti- of his errors. There really is not much association with Christianity, but his cism, partly due to the lack of criti- point in studying his theology, which failure stands as a warning to others cal analysis as he merely spells out is far too high brow; who ever read to embrace a more integrated, more BU’s thought. (An annoying spelling him during his lifetime? Moreover incarnational approach. error in Tennent should be noted, the Thomistic bent to all his efforts is BU is certainly a reliable guide in the Vedantic term being highly disconcerting. terms of the necessity of action repeatedly spelled with the first “a” BU was extreme in his embracing towards contextualization. His ashram long instead of both “a”s being short, idea should have gone ahead, and including in the name Brahmo as in and advocacy of Roman (particularly Thomistic) Catholicism. He was rather his Sophia should have been Brahmo Samaj. Also annoyingly, a stopped with all its highfalutin ideas. book of this nature should certainly certainly extreme in his advocacy of caste, as he clearly upheld the superi- The theology of BU offers little for contain an index.) Both are perhaps us today, but we will surely sing his too optimistic about BU’s influence, ority of the Brahmin. But it is neces- sary to trace out some of the roots of few Sanskrit hymns (the brilliance of and Tennent’s concluding lines must which is highlighted by both Lipner be pronounced as simply false: this extremism, and in doing so one finds that BU’s deepest error lies in and Tennent) and must follow his Largely due to his influence, no an area where he is often celebrated example of using and developing longer can the Indian Church be as a success. That is, BU (contra Vedantic (and other Indian) termi- characterized today as Upadhyay did nologies. in his day as “standing in the corner, many others) is not a model of Hindu like an exotic stunted plant with poor Christianity, but rather is a model case New BUs are certainly needed; not foliage, showing little or no promise demonstrating the impossibility of Hindu-Catholics, certainly not of blossom.” Today, Indian Christian Hindu Christianity. This explains at Thomists, but disciples of Jesus who theologies are blossoming in no least some, surely most, and maybe all remain fully Hindu and never shatter small measure due to the role of the of his extremism. their relationships in Hindu soci- pioneers, like Upadhyay, who labored ety. Indian theology is not our great tirelessly for an indigenized Christian The Hindu-Catholic idea that BU theology for India [Tennent 2000: published and sought to live out was need, certainly not new intellectual- 380-381]. full of promise, but the lesson of his- ist apologetics. Humble disciples of tory (not just BU’s history) is that you Jesus living as Hindus among Hindus, But Upadhyay’s influence on the reading the Bible holistically and church in India has been minimal, and cannot ride these two horses simul- taneously. One cannot be Hindu- sensitively instead of with an intel- the church continues to appear exotic lectualist focus on philosophical and and isolated from the mainstreams of Catholic, nor Hindu-Protestant, nor Hindu-Christian. BU should have doctrinal positions, are the great need. Indian life in the perception of most Brahmabandhab had so much to offer Hindus. Academic discussions of been Hindu, no hyphen needed. The extremes of BU were reactions; he had this been the focus of his life; Indian theology and learned disserta- he stands as a striking example of a tions on BU and other pioneers do originally embraced too much of the reactionary anti-Hindu Christianity Hindu disciple of Jesus despite miss- not impact either the church or wider ing this as the one thing needful. society. that is still so present in Indian churches. When he tried to leave this, For today’s Hindu disciples of Jesus, Perhaps western Christian friends the legacy of those years forced him there is more to learn from the errors of India hesitate to criticize a giant to be overly reactionary in an anti- of Brahmabandhab than from any figure like BU. As one who identifies Christian, Hindu direction. supposed successes, but his example

International Journal of Frontier Missions 18:4 Winter 2001 200 Lessons From India as a Hindu disciple of Jesus remains References Cited Tennent, Timothy C. a great positive witness that should Lipner, Julius 2000 Building Christianity on Indian inspire and energize all who share 1999 Brahmabandhab Upadhyay: The Life Foundations: The Legacy of his twin love for his nation and his and Thought of a Revolutionary. Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Delhi: ISPCK. Saviour. IJFM Delhi: Oxford University Press.

"alcohol, drugs, tobacco, coffee or tea", Book the author claims that Christianity "has totally disallowed the use of any intoxi- Reviews cant to its followers." More controversially, Dr. Masih claims that "Christianity destroys caste"–– The Role of Swami Chinmayananda Reinterpretation of meaning both the injustice of caste Christianity discrimination and the concept of caste in Revitalization of Hinduism and as a sociological grouping. This is partly Reinterpretation of Christianity In this section, the author describes both how Christianity influenced true, as many choose to shed By Jagdhari Masih M.A. (Phil.) M.Th. their "outcaste" identity for a Christian (Religions) Ph.D.(Phil), Punthi Pustak, Swami Chinmayananda and how he interpreted Christian doctrines. one, thus experiencing a break in the Calcutta, 2000, 326 pages Christ's life of service influenced oppressive system of caste in their lives. ––Reviewed by Sharla J. Kinne, BA in Chinmayananda to serve his fellow However, merely switching caste labels does not destroy the reality of caste as a Intercultural Studies from BIOLA and man. In addition, he drew from the system; it leads caste Hindus to consider Ed.M. from Oregon State University. example of Christian missions in set- ting up service institutions, such as all Christians as dalits and a conversion hospitals, schools and study groups to Christ as requiring leaving one's own Dr. Masih gives a useful overview (even while blaming Christianity and caste and joining the "Christian caste." of common Hindu concepts and a Western culture for creating the needs This misperception adds an unnecessary recent history of reform movements for such institutions through eroding barrier to the gospel for caste Hindus. within Hinduism. He compares these traditional Hindu society). He even Furthermore, the reality of the Indian to Christian beliefs and the history of modeled the VHP (Vishwa Hindu church belies the claim that Christianity Christian activity in India. In addi- Parishad/World Hindu Council) after destroys caste. Caste identity and affili- tion, he thoroughly describes the the World Council of Churches in an ation patterns are very strong within life, teachings and work of Swami effort to unify Hinduism. The section Indian congregations, denominations Chinmayananda. on Christian doctrines describes how and missions. Christians prefer to marry Revitilization of Hinduism Swami Chinmayananda re-interpreted within their caste, etc. Christianity does, Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993) various parables, Bible verses and doc- however, teach and act against unjust founded the Chinmaya Mission to stem trines in his teachings. caste discrimination. the erosion of Hindu society by Western Interestingly, Dr. Masih points out Swami Chinmayananda sought to culture and Christian conversions. He that Christianity has spurred many reach out to all sections of society, but sought to revive people's pride in being Hindu reform movements. The life the "upper" castes and affluent people Hindu and to call them to higher ethi- and teachings of Christ inspired Hindu responded more readily to his Mission. cal and moral living. He carried out his reformers such as Mahatma Gandhi, This is in sharp contrast to the response aim through teaching Hindu scriptures, Rabindranath Tagore, and Ram Mohan to Christian missions. Why has the training service-minded bramcharis Roy (founder of the Bramo Samaj) to Chinmaya Mission appealed to the (renunciant), and efficiently organizing remove evils, such as caste discrimina- upper sections of society, where the institutions to promote Hindu culture tion, from Hindu society. In addition, Christian missions have failed? There is and serve society. many of those facing discrimination— a great need for study in this area, and it The title seems to promise a compre- "lower" caste sudras and "untouch- is hoped that Dr. Masih and others will hensive analysis of Chinmayananda's able" dalits––have been converting to pursue this question seriously. It is likely influence on Hindu society as a whole, Christianity.This has motivated some that anyone seeking to influence the but Dr. Masih gives only a few anec- Hindu reformers to fight caste discrimi- neglected "upper" sections of society, dotal accounts of Hindu leaders' nation in order to keep the downtrod- should follow Swami Chinmaya's exam- opinions of Swami Chinmayananda den within the Hindu fold. ple in thorough study and understand- and a survey of thirty Chinmayananda The book is marred by a few factual ing of Hindu scriptures and cultural devotees. errors regarding Christianity. For values. Who will make this effort? example, while defining intoxicants as

International Journal of Frontier Missions