The life and letters of Raja Rammohun Roy - WordPress.com

TRANSLATION OF THE VEDANT SUTRA 2$years of Rammohun's Calcutta life into four periods, whichmark the successive stages in his treatment of the main problemsof his day. These periods are (i) from 1814 to 1820 ;(2) from 1820 to 1824 ; '3) from 1824 to 1828 ; (4) from1828 to September, 1830. The three years which followed,mostly spent in England. where he died in September,1833, form a separate period altogether, and may be regardedas a general epilogue to the whole.*Commencing with the first of these periods, we soon seethat to Rammohun's mind the root evil of the whole wretchedstate of Hindu society was idolatry, and to destroythis washis first object. His multifarious researches in the varioussacred books of India had shown him how comparativelymodern was the popular Hinduism then current, and withwhat gross corruptionsit had superseded the earlier forms ofHindu faith and practice. Single-handed as he was, henaturally sought the path of least resistance, and by appealingto the venerated authorities of the more ancient and spiritualscriptures, he endeavoured to purify and elevate the mindsof his countrymen. For this purpose he selected some of thechief productions of the Vedantic system, "which (writesPandit Siva Nath Sastri) were of unquestionable authority inmatters of Hindu theology. With the general decline oflearning, these writingshad fallen into disuse in the provinceof Bengal, and there were very few men even amongst thosewho were reputed to be learned at that time who were familiarwith their contents.*' In 1815 he published his translationof the Vedant Sutra itself from the original Sanskritinto Bengali; and in 1 8 16 he published a brief summary ofthis in Bengali, Hindusthani and English. It had been hiswish to "render a translation of the complete Vedant intothe current languages of this country,"but this was never* To the third period two chapters are devoted (v., vi.) ;to the restone chapter each.4Continuator.c