OPEN LECTURE BY TINNI GOSWAMI

Warmly welcome to the open lecture by Assistant Professor Tinni Goswami (St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata) on

The Intersection between Science, Religion and Modernity in Colonial Bengal, excemplified by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur

on Monday September 23, 2024, at 13.15 – 14.00 pm in Camera Obscura, Arken E201, Fabriksgatan 2, Åbo/Turku.

Abstract

During the colonial period, the English-educated Bengali middle-class intelligentsia recognized the need to reform the Gaudiya Vaishnava community from the moral degradation and corruption that had become prominent after the Caitanya age. To achieve this, the Vaishnava periodicals played a significant role in creating awareness among the devotees and initiating a print culture of ‘Piety’ (Dey, 2020). These publications not only helped their readers develop an understanding of the true essence of the religion, but also convinced them that it was the greatest and most righteous option for people.

Gaudiya Vaisnavism’s universal acceptance was not solely based on its scriptural finesse, but was also a product of its rational nature, where scientific observations were used to justify the religiosity of the community. Two periodicals on Hindu Astrology (Jyotirbid and Brihaspati) by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur played a significant role in making Gaudiya Vaishnavism more popular amongst the educated Bengali middle-class devotees due to its realism. Even the celebration of Vaishnava festivals was decided on the basis of astrological calculations mentioned in these journals, along with the birth and death anniversaries of famous Vaishnava gurus (Dey, 2020).

This paper aims to revisit the history of Vedic or Hindu astronomy through the lenses of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in colonial Bengal.  Here we need to highlight the life and works of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, the founder of the Gaudiya Math and Mission, who established the ‘Saraswat Chatuspathi’ in colonial Calcutta in 1897 to promote Hindu astrology.  He published Jyotirbid and Brihaspati to corroborate astrological data justifying the chronology and periodization of the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Bhaktibhavan Panjika published by Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakur was designed for the devotees and written in simple Bangla language. Still this almanac gets published from Sri Caitanya Math, Mayapur, West Bengal.  Perhaps no other religion in the colonial period had taken such a stance to prove its worth not only in the light of spiritual doctrines but also from the perspectives of scientific humanism.