5. Introduction
• Western education, as we have seen,
proved to be a blessing in the long
run. With the spread of Western
education, a large number of Indians
imbibed a modern, rational, liberal,
progressive outlook.
• The impact of modern ideas gave
birth to a new awakening. A vast
ancient country like India had been
enslaved by a handful of foreigners.
6. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was a founder
(along with Dwarkanath Tagore and other Bengali Brahmins) of the Brahmo
Sabha movement in 1828 which engendered the Brahmo Samaj, an
influential Bengali socio-religious reform movement.
• His influence was apparent in the fields of politics, public
administration and education as well as religion. He is best known for his
efforts to establish the abolishment hurry of the practice of sati,
the Hindu funeral practice in which the widow was compelled to sacrifice
herself on her husband’s funeral pyre in some parts of the then Bengal. It was
him who first introduced the word "Hinduism" into the English language in
1816. For his diverse contributions to society, Raja Ram Mohan Roy is
regarded as one of the most important figures in the Bengali renaissance. His
efforts to protect Hinduism and Indian rights by participating in British
government earned him the title "The Father of the Indian Renaissance"
7.
8. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar
Chandra Bandopadhyay, was Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of
the Bengal Renaissance. He was a philosopher, academic educator, writer,
translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. His
efforts to simplify and modernize Bengali prose were significant. He also
rationalized and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had
remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had
cut the first (wooden) Bengali type in 1780.
• He received the title "Vidyasagar" (in Sanskrit vidya means knowledge and
sagar means ocean, i.e., Ocean of Knowledge) from Sanskrit College, Calcutta
(from where he graduated), due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit
studies and philosophy.
9.
10. Dayanand Saraswati
• Dayanand Saraswati born (12 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) was a Hindu religious
leader who founded the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement of the Vedic tradition.
He was a profound scholar of the Vedic lore and Sanskrit language. He was the first to
give the call for Swarajya as "India for Indians" – in 1876, later taken up by Lokmanya
Tilak. Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship prevalent in Hinduism at the
time, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies. Subsequently the philosopher
and President of India, S. Radhakrishnan, called him one of the "makers of Modern
India," as did Sri Aurobindo.
• Those who were influenced by and followed Dayananda included Madam Cama, Pandit
Lekh Ram, Swami Shradhanand,Pandit Guru Dutt Vidyarthi,Shyam Krishan Verma
(who established India House in England for Freedom fighters)Vinayak Damodar
Savarkar, Lala Hardayal, Madan Lal Dhingra, Ram Prasad Bismil, Mahadev Govind
Ranade Swami Shraddhanand, Mahatma Hansraj, Lala Lajpat Rai and others.
11.
12. Swami Vivekananda
• Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July
1902), born Narendra Nath, was an Indian Hindu
monk and chief disciple of the 19th-century
saint Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the
introduction of the Indian philosophies
of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is
credited with raising interfaith awareness,
bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world
religion during the late 19th century. He was a
major force in the revival of Hinduism in India,
and contributed to the concept of nationalism in
colonial India. Vivekananda founded the
Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna
Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech
which began, "Sisters and brothers of
America ...,“ in which he introduced Hinduism at
the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago
13.
14. Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa
• Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),
born Gadadhar Chatterji or Gadadhar Chattopadhyay
was an Indian mystic and yogi during the 19th-
century. His religious school of thought led to the
formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief
disciple Swami Vivekananda. Tota Puri gave him the
name Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
• Ramakrishna was born in a
poor Brahmin Vaishnava family in rural Bengal. He
became a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple,
dedicated to the goddess Kali, which had the influence of
15.
16. Conclusion
• The Renaissance was the most important time period in the
development of humanity because of the significant
adjustments in science, exploration, the Church,
government, art, and writing. In the medieval period, the
society had fallen into a deep slumber. Significant amounts
of people decided to adhere to ideas that were thought up
by blind thinkers. The Renaissance was an awakening to
reality. It showed the sparkling brilliance of how life was