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

.INTRODUCTIONTo JEREMY BENTHAM i?icorrespondents about Rammohun's domestic relations, couldscarcely have been mistaken in his uniformly high estimateof the Reformer's character. And his aggrieved Trinitarianopponents, even in the heat of controversy, never breathe awhisper against his fair fame. The reputation that has passedscatheless and stainless the ordeal of criticism by missionaries,Baptist and Unitarian, Presbyterian and Anglican, hostile aswell as sympathetic, may afford to ignore stale Hindu gossipserved up a generation afterwards.Rammohun was also accompanied by two Hindu servants,by name Rarnhurry Doss and Ramrotun Mukerjee. Thelatter as cook was entrusted with the duty of providing hismaster with food prepared in accordance with caste regulations.Some extracts from Mr. J. Young'sletter of introductionto Jeremy Bentham (of date Nov. 14, 1830) may fitly closethis chapter :If I were beside you, and could explain matters fully, you would comprehendthe greatness of the undertaking his going on board ship to aforeign and distant land, a thing hitherto not to be named among Hindoos,and least of all among Brahmins. His grand object, besides the naturalone of satisfying his own laudable spirit of inquiry, has been to seta laudableexample to his benighted countrymen; and every one of the slow andgradual moves that he has made preparatory to his actually quittingIndia, has been marked by the same discretion of judgment. He waitedpatiently until he had by perseverence and exertion acquired a little butrespectable party of disciples. He talked of going to England from yearto year since 1823* to familiarize the minds of the orthodox by degreesto this step, and that his friends might in the meantime increase innumbers and in confidence. . . He now judges that the time is come, andthat the public mind is pretty well ripe for his exploit. . ."The good which this excellent and extraordinary man has alreadyeffected by his writings and example cannot be told.Butfor-his exertions'* [The idea was present in his mind from the year 1817 at the latest,for in that year in a letter to Mr. Digby he makes mention of it.Edi.]