Pandit Shiv Narayan Agnihotri (20 December 1850 – 3 April 1929) was a Hindu social reformer who emerged as a leading member of the

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one o ...

(Society of God), a Hindu reform movement. He broke from Brahmoism in 1886 to form his own religious group, the Dev Samaj (Divine Society). Born into a family of

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

in Akbarpur,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, Agnihotri entered the Thompson College of Engineering in

Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of Himalayas. The ...

at the age of sixteen. In 1873, he settled in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

where he took up a position as a drawing master at the Government School and joined the

, quickly rising as a major figure within the movement. In 1882, he resigned from his teaching position to commit himself fully to the movement, As a Brahmo Samaj leader, Agnihotri engaged in theological disputes with the

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the san ...

movement and in polemical exchanges especially with its founder Dayanand Saraswati. Though he opposed the latter as a Brahmo Samaj proponent, his own eventual dissatisfaction with its ideology resulted in ideological friction with other Brahmo leaders which, by 1887, led to a complete break with the movement. On 16 February 1887 Agnihotri founded the Dev Samaj, rejecting Brahmo rationalism and drawing on the concept of the

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

as an enlightened soul as its central tenet, while retaining elements of Brahmo reformism. Combining a strict moral code with social radicalism, Agnihotri advocated

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat ( red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetaria ...

, the social integration of

castes Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

, the education of women, widow remarriage and the elimination of child marriage. Adultery, polygamy and other 'unnatural crimes' were outlawed and hard work was stressed with members being urged to lead a useful life and shun excessive ceremonial expenses. The Dev Samaj followed the philosophy Propounded by the founder in 4 religious texts named as Dev Shastra volumes 1 to 4 and on the person of its Guru, Agnihotri, who held all doctrinal authority. Though initially upholding the worship of God, from 1892 Agnihotri advocated dual worship of himself and God claiming a status of near divinity. He asserted that he had attained the highest possible plane of existence and that eternal bliss could only be attained with his guidance. While retaining the nature of a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal ...

, by 1895 the Society underwent a new development and became essentially

non-theistic Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of god or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject o ...

in its ideology when Agnihotri rejected the worship of God and taught instead that the Religious Philosophy as written in the Dev Shastra volume 1 to 4 and Guru were for attention for its members. Agnihotri was active as a writer and journalist and was a dramatic speaker. His main target of criticism remained the Arya Samaj and he was able to produce a large volume of propagandist literature throughout his life. His teachings gained influence mostly among educated Hindus in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

who came to view him as their Guru. The Dev Samaj peaked in early twentieth-century Punjab as a "Science Grounded Religion" with 3,597 members in 1921, but declined following Agnihotri's death in 1929.

References

External links

* evsamaj Official Website* http://WWW.DEVSAMAJ.COM

The Sikh Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnihotri, Shiv Narayan 1850 births 1929 deaths People from Haridwar Indian Hindu spiritual teachers

See also

References

External links