By Keshab Chand Challa
Prayer is the soul of every religion. It makes a direct attempt and awakens the human soul and forms a direct link with the Divine. So prayer is a necessity and the only important ritual in every Brahmos’ life. Every Brahmo should pray to the Almighty at least 3 times daily. We can offer short prayers in the morning, before taking food, before taking bath, before starting any work or in the office and before going to bed. Every Brahmo’s home has to become a broadcasting centre of Almighty’s message of unity and piety. Let His banner fly aloft every Brahmo’s home and be of help to all. If anybody is interested to be a true Brahmo , he or she should understand and be convinced of the truth of the fundamental principles of Brahmo faith, and endeavour to follow these principles for the rest of their lives.
This particular mantra from Sloka Sangraha aptly describes Brahmo faith .
Suvisaalamidamviswampavitram Brahma mandiram Chetahsunirmalamteerthamsatyamsaas tramanaswaram Viswaaso dharma muulamhipreetihiparamasaadhanam Swardhanaasastuvairaagyambrahmair evamprakeertyate.
This entire and vast universe is the holy temple of God. The heart is the shrine for pilgrimage. Truth is the scripture everlasting. Faith is the root of religion. Love is supreme realization. Asceticism is the death of self. So declare the Brahmos.
Maharshi Debendranath wrote “Brahmo Dharma” in 1848. Maharshi felt the necessity of a standard book for Brahmos. He looked at it as a work of inspiration. The Brahmo Dharma is a work of unique significance. It is an original work on the principles of Brahmoism in the language of the Upanishads. The entire contents of the first part of the Brahmo Dharma are from the June 2021 The Indian Messenger 136 Upanishads is about God and Dharma.
The second part of the book, which was compiled sometime after the first part consists of the enumeration of the daily duties of the theistic householder according to the ideals of the Brahmo Dharma. Debendranath conceived Brahmo Dharma to be a religious faith of the home and society and not that of the forests. Accordingly Maharshi thought it necessary to add a number of practical precepts to the Theological principles enunciated in the first part.