''Prabuddha Bharata'' () is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-language monthly

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

of the

Ramakrishna Order The Ramakrishna Order (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Sri Ramakrishna, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossipore Hous ...

, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and other writers on humanities and social sciences including religious, psychological, historical, and cultural themes. It has a section of book reviews where important publications from university presses from around the world are reviewed. It is edited from

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, and published and printed in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. ''Prabuddha Bharata'' is India's longest running English journal.

History

Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on March 19, 1899

''Prabuddha Bharata'' was founded in 1896 by P. Aiyasami,

B. R. Rajam Iyer B. R. Rajam Iyer (or Aiyar; 1872–1898) was an Indian lawyer and writer who wrote in Tamil language, Tamil and English language, English. He is the author of ''The Fatal Rumour, Kamalambal Saritharam'', an early Tamil novel. Iyer was deeply inte ...

, G. G. Narasimhacharya, and B. V. Kamesvara Iyer, in Madras (now

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

), at the behest of Swami Vivekananda, with whom the founders had been closely associated before the swami went to America in 1893. The swami suggested the journal's name, and gave encouragement to the founders through his letters to them. The editor, B. R. Rajam Iyer, was only twenty-four years old. The journal saw two full years of publication from Madras, from July 1896 to June 1898. The death of the editor on 13 May 1898 from

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

brought the journal's publication to an unexpected pause, and the July 1898 number could not be published. As

Sister Nivedita Sister Nivedita ( born Margaret Elizabeth Noble; 28 October 1867 – 13 October 1911) was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She wa ...

recalled the period in her memoirs, 22 June – 15 July 1898: "The Swami (Vivekananda) had always had a special love for this paper, as the beautiful name he had given it indicated. He had always been eager too for the establishment of organs of his own. The value of the journal in the education of modern India was perfectly evident to him, and he felt that his master's message and mode of thought required to be spread by this means as well as by preaching and by work." By that time, Swami Vivekananda had returned to India and was visiting

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of th ...

. He asked Captain J. H. Sevier, one of his English disciples who was accompanying him, to take up the management of the journal; Sevier agreed and offered to meet the preliminary costs associated with reviving it, which included purchasing and bringing up a hand-press, types, papers, ink and other materials required for the purpose from Kolkata. The ''Prabuddha Bharata'' resumed publication in August 1898 from Almora. Swami Swarupananda, one of Vivekananda's monastic disciples, became the new editor. Swami Vivekananda wrote a poem titled ''To The Awakened India'' addressed to ''Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India'' in August 1898, when the journal was not published for one month owing to the untimely death of its first editor

and was transferred from Madras (

) to

Himalayas. The press was shifted to the newly founded

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Swami Swarupananda died in

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

in 1906.

Swami Virajananda Swami Virajananda (10 June 1873 – 30 May 1951), born Kalikrishna Bose, was an initiated disciple of Sarada Devi and the sixth president of the Ramakrishna Order. Born as the son of Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkalidevi, Virajananda was the ...

, who in 1938 would become the president of the

, succeeded him as editor. Among later editors were Swamis Yatiswarananda (1922–24), Ashokananda (1927–30),

Gambhirananda Swami Gambhirananda (1899–1988), born as Jatindranath Datta, was a Hindu sanyasi associated with Ramakrishna Mission. He was born at Sadhuhati in today's Bangladesh. He graduated from Scottish Church College, Calcutta (Kolkata). Jatindr ...

(1942–44), and Vandanananda (1950–54). The printing of the journal was shifted from Mayavati to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1924. In 2010, Advaita Ashrama released a DVD archive of the first 114 years of Prabuddha Bharata, covering the years 1896 to 2009. 'Some of the greatest minds of India and the world have spoken their minds through writings on Indian culture, spirituality, philosophy, history and psychology.' 'At one time,

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

used to eagerly wait for every issue of the Journal.' The 'famous Psychologist

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phi ...

's thesis on yoga and meditation was serialised and first published in Prabuddha Bharata.' 'Dr S Radhakrishnan used to read every issue of this Journal with great interest.'

Policies of the Journal

Publishes papers that are vetted by its internal team of referees. The rejection rate is around 80%. Most of the papers published are invited by the editor. Uninvited papers could have a turnaround time of about one year or more.

Editors of ''Prabuddha Bharata''

Prabuddha Bharatha March 1897 Front Cover

The journal has assigned different titles to its editor over the course of its history. After being shifted to the Advaita Ashrama, the first three editors were also presidents of the ashrama. Thereafter, the editor and president were different persons. From 1959, the president was also called the editor, and the actual editor called the joint editor. From September 1993, the ashrama president has been called the managing editor, and the editor has again been called the editor.

References

{{reflist English-language magazines published in India Magazines established in 1896 Monthly magazines published in India Hindu magazines Ramakrishna Mission Swami Vivekananda Magazines about spirituality

History

Policies of the Journal

Editors of ''Prabuddha Bharata''

See also

Further reading

References