“The true religion is one that all men can share, based on the worship of the one Creator and the practice of virtue.”
— Ram Mohan Roy[commonly attributed] Theme of Roy's universalist religious writings and the Brahmo Sabha's trust deed; wording a summary
Commentary
This summary expresses the universalist vision that Ram Mohan Roy articulated for his religious society, which was open to people of all castes and communities. The idea of a religion founded on the worship of one Creator and on moral conduct gave the Brahmo Sabha its distinctive character as a non-sectarian congregation. Sophia Dobson Collet's biography presents Roy's universalism as the outcome of his comparative study of religions. David Kopf, in The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind (1979), argues that this universalism was both an intellectual conviction and a practical strategy for building a modern religious community. Later Brahmo leaders, including Debendranath Tagore, developed the idea in different directions. The wording here summarises the aims of the Brahmo Sabha, and the trust deed and tracts of the period should be consulted for exact formulations.
Commentary
This summary expresses the universalist vision that Ram Mohan Roy articulated for his religious society, which was open to people of all castes and communities. The idea of a religion founded on the worship of one Creator and on moral conduct gave the Brahmo Sabha its distinctive character as a non-sectarian congregation. Sophia Dobson Collet's biography presents Roy's universalism as the outcome of his comparative study of religions. David Kopf, in The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind (1979), argues that this universalism was both an intellectual conviction and a practical strategy for building a modern religious community. Later Brahmo leaders, including Debendranath Tagore, developed the idea in different directions. The wording here summarises the aims of the Brahmo Sabha, and the trust deed and tracts of the period should be consulted for exact formulations.