Satyananda Stokes (born Samuel Evans Stokes, Jr., 16 August 1882 – 14 May 1946) was an American who settled in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and participated in the
Indian Independence Movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
. He is best remembered today for having introduced apple cultivation to the Indian state of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
, where apples are today the major horticultural export crop.
Biography
Satyananda was born Samuel Evans Stokes, Jr., to an
American Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
family. His father, a businessman, was the founder of the ''Stokes and Parish Machine Company'' which was a leading manufacturer of
elevator
An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
s in the USA.
In 1904, aged 22, Samuel traveled to India to work at a
leper
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve da ...
colony located at
Subathu in
Shimla
Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...
. His parents were opposed to this move. Raised a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
, Samuel was drawn to the asceticism that is exalted in Indian spirituality and began living a simple, frugal life among the villagers, becoming a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
Sannyasi
''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), '' grihastha'' (householder) and '' vanaprastha ...
.
A few years later, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, who was visiting the
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
at
Simla
Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...
(the summer capital of the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
) heard of the leper colony and was impressed by Samuel's efforts. He encouraged Samuel to form an order of
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
Friars, an order of monkhood committed to living in
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
and aiding the diseased and dying. Samuel formed such an order, but his membership in this wandering brotherhood of monks lasted only two years.
In 1912, Samuel married a local girl, gave up his life of poverty, and purchased a chunk of farmland near his wife's village in
Kotgarh and settled there. His wife, Agnes, was the daughter of a first-generation Christian. Samuel's father had left a considerable inheritance to Samuel, and the purchasing power of this inheritance was magnified in the remote part of India where he settled. Agnes and Samuel welcomed seven children.
Stokes was a critic of the
Christ myth theory
The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the fringe view that the story of Jesus is a work of mythology with no historical substance. Alternatively, in terms given by ...
. He authored the book ''The Historical Character of the Gospel'' published by the Christian Literature Society for India,
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
. It was republished in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
as ''The Gospel According to Jews and Pagans'' (1913). He argued for the
historicity of Jesus
The historicity of Jesus is the scholarly question in Biblical criticism and early Christian history of whether Jesus historically existed or was a purely mythological figure. Scholarly discussions questioning the historical existence of Jesus ...
and his
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
.
Samuel applied himself to improving the farmland he had purchased and was able to access scholarly resources unavailable to the other villagers. He identified a new strain of apples developed by the Stark brothers of
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, United States as being suitable to the
Simla Hills and began cultivating them on his farm in
Kotgarh in 1916. The resulting bumper crops, coupled with Samuel's access to European settlers who ran the export business in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
encouraged the other farmers to do as Samuel was doing. Over the next few decades he purchased more land and devoted it to growing apple cultivars which the villagers would use to seed their farms. These efforts invigorated the local economy.
This happy idyll was shattered with the loss of his son Tara to amoebic dysentery. In 1932, Samuel converted to
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
, taking the name "Satyananda" while his wife Agnes changed her name to "Priyadevi". Stokes' decision to convert to Hinduism was difficult for his wife Agnes, as it led to estragement from her family.
Stokes had a strong sense of
social justice
Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
and later became active in India's freedom struggle for independence from
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
.
[Fit to Post: Satyananda Stokes http://in.yfittopostblog.com/tag/satyananda-stokes/] Stokes had the rare honour of being the only American to become a member of the
All India Congress Committee
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...
(AICC) of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
. Along with
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 — 17 November 1928) was an Indian revolutionary, politician, and author, popularly known as ''Punjab Kesari (Lion of Punjab).'' He was one of the three members of the Lal Bal Pal trio. He died of severe tra ...
, he represented
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. He was the only non-Indian to sign the Congress manifesto in 1921, calling upon Indians to quit government service. He was jailed for
sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...
and for promoting hatred against the British government in 1921, becoming the only American to become a political prisoner of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
in the freedom struggle. On Stokes’ arrest,
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
wrote: "That he (Stokes) should feel with and like an Indian, share his sorrows and throw himself into the struggle, has proved too much for the government. To leave him free to criticise the government was intolerable, so his white skin has proved no protection for him…"
Samuel died on 14 May 1946 after an extended illness shortly before
Indian independence.
Works
''Arjun: The Life-Story of an Indian Boy'' (as Samuel Evans Stokes). Westminster, 1910.
* ''The Gospel According to Jews and Pagans: The Historical Character of the Gospel Established from Non-Christian Sources''. (as Samuel Evans Stokes). Longmans, Green, 1913.
* ''The Failure of European Civilisation as a World Culture''. (as Samuel Evans Stokes). Pub. S. Ganesan & Co., 1921
* ''National Self-realisation and Other Essays''. (as Samuel Evans Stokes) Rubicon Pub. House. 1977
* ''Satyakama: Man Of True Desire''. Indian Publishers Distributors, 1998. .
References
Further reading
*
Samuel Evans Stokes, Mahatma Gandhi, and Indian Nationalism''The Pacific Historical Review'', Vol. 59, No. 1. (Feb., 1990), pp. 51–76.
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Satyananda
1882 births
1946 deaths
American emigrants to India
Immigrants to British India
American expatriates in India
American Protestant missionaries
American Quakers
Converts to Hinduism from Christianity
Indian independence activists from Punjab Province (British India)
Indian National Congress politicians
Former Quakers
People from Shimla
Politicians from Philadelphia
Protestant missionaries in India
Quaker missionaries
Writers from Himachal Pradesh
Indian Hindus
Indian Hindu missionaries