The Rich History
Raja Rammohan Roy, along with prominent figures of Brahmo ideology, organized a ‘dharmasava’ at the house of Bengali Christian Kamal Krishna Basu in Upper Chitpur, North Kolkata, on 20 August 1828 (৬ ই ভাদ্র ১২৩৫ বঙ্গাব্দ). This meeting was named ‘Brahmasava’. They decided to conduct the meeting weekly on every Saturday. The meeting mostly consisted of recitation of the Vedas, worship of the formless ‘Parambraham’ and singing of Brahmo songs. In commemoration of the establishment of this meeting, a prayer and music festival, ‘Bhadrotsava’ was organized every year. Almost two years after the establishment of the ‘Dharmasava,’ on 23 January 1830 (11 Magh 1236), the doors of the Brahmo Samaj’s own house of worship were opened at 55 Upper Chitpur Road. This house of worship is the temple of the Brahmo Samaj. The Brahmo Samaj was declared through a program at the Thakurbari of Jorasanko with the encouragement of Raja Rammohan Roy. On the day of the foundation of the Brahmo Mandir, i.e., 11th Magh, the annual festival of the Brahmo religion, Maghotsav, introduced by Raja Rammohan Roy, is celebrated. In his dedication letter, Rammohan Roy says about Maghotsav, “The message of today’s festival is that we are receiving a vow on behalf of all mankind; may the Lord of the vows make this vow successful. This is our vow of union. This vow has emerged from a great life. A great man has established it, so let us accept it.”Rabindranath’s spiritual association with the Brahmo Samaj started from the poet’s childhood. At the age of only eleven, he performed Brahmo Sangeet at Maghotsav. The influence of Maharishi Debendranath is at the root of this.
