International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 ISSN 2347-5145 (Print) 2454-2687 (Online) DOI: 10.5958/2454-2687.2019.00038.8 Available online at www.anvpublication.org International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences Vol. 07 | Issue-03| July- September | 2019 RESEARCH ARTICLE Namasudra and The Matua Religion Dr. Sanchita Ray Post Doctoral Research Scholar, IGNOU, New Delhi, India *Corresponding Author E-mail: ABSTRACT: The Namasudras are recognized as the lower caste people of East Bengal (now Bangladesh). There are lots of theories regarding the origin of Namasudras. The Namasudras constituted the largest agrarian caste in East Bengal. With the help of Sri Harichand Thakur and his son Guruchand Thakur of Matua sect, the Namasudras gradually emerged as a well organized community so as to successfully challenge the hegemony of Hindu ritual order and the domination of high caste gentry in colonial Bengal. KEYWORDS: Namasudra, Namasmuni, Brahmanic Hegemony Matua, Harichand, Census, Chandal INTRODUCTION: The social awakening, religious and political movements among the lower caste people in Colonial Bengal and many other parts of colonial India may be interpreted in terms of two different distinct manners. The underlying reason behind these movements was perhaps due to the utter negligence of the downtrodden on account of their economic set back, social disparity, lack of proper education and inhuman treatment meted out to them by the upper class people of the society. In the first instance their movement was aimed at attaining equal status like that of the higher caste elites of the society. But keeping in view their social status, at that time in the society, as also to get rid of endless inhuman treatment given to them from various angle, they shifted their focus of movement to acquire higher education, employment, economic enrichment, and political power in due course. The socio religious movement of the downtrodden belonging to the Namasudra community started in the late 19th century which emerged as Matua Movement in colonial Bengal. Received on 09.04.2019 Modified on 16.04.2019 Accepted on 18.05.2019 © A&V Publications All right reserved Int. J. Rev. and Res. Social Sci. 2019; 7(3):618-626. DOI: 10.5958/2454-2687.2019.00038.8 Before we go deep into the Matua religious cults and culture and their basic philosophy, it will undulate our mind at the very inception as to who are Matuas, where they have come from, what were their history of origin economic, social, educational and religious status in the society as also why this religion could of come into lime light and so on so forth. A careful selection of old and new works, seminal studies and analyses by anthropologists, historians, renowned religious teachers and writers and other social scientists allows caste in History to envision anew the debates and discussions surrounding caste. To know all these facts relating to Matuas, it would be necessary to be familiar in detail with the origin of Namasudra1 Caste. Anthropological studies indicate that the people of Bengal racially different from the people of Northern India. They may perhaps be Proto Astroid of vedic race which is evident from the above studies as under: “Evidence of ethnology confirms the fact that the people of Bengal racially different from the people of Northern India. The earliest inhabitants of the land were a Longheaded Broad-nosed and Dark-skined race whom anthropologists call Proto Austroloid of vedic race. They are the real; Adivasis of the land.”2 It is really difficult to indicate the exact origin of evolution of Namasudra Community. However, Dr. Nandadulal Mohanta in his book-‘Matua Andolon O Dalit Jagaran’ has mentioned 618 International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 that according to various renowned historians the origin of evolution of Namasudra may be from 21 different sources. However, with the passage of time various opinions have been published in different books and Journals regarding the origin of Namasudra Community3. In this regard, more than a decade back it was published in 1996, 7thJanuary in ‘Bahujan Nayak’ Patrika that according to ”Shakti Sangam Tantra4, a Sanskrit book, the evolution of Namasudra Caste had been vividly depicted through the conversations between the Lord Shiva5 and Goddess Durga6. Once Devi Durga curiously observed that two black complexioned strangers were looking after Lord Shiva as also moving with Him all the time. Later on She enquired from Lord Shiva about the whereabouts of those two strangers who were moving with Him. In reply, Lord Shiva told that they are two Brahmans named Apasar and Naidhrub. They had taken great pains in saving the lives of two Brahman Children namely, Kirtiban7 and Uruban8. According to the epic Mahabharat9 written by Rishi10 Ved Vyas11, it is evident that among many sons of Maha Rishi Brahma12, the most famous ones were Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulasta, Pulaha, Krutu and Vaishist.13 Kashyap14 was the legitimate son of Marichi. According to Hindu mythology (sakti Sangama tantra) sage Namas15 (also known as sage Lomasa) was the legitimate son of the Kashyap. Sage Namas was the spiritual son of Brahma who married Sulochana16, the daughter of Ruchi17. Apasar and Naidhrub, the companion of Sage Namas, were the disciples of Kashyap and used to live together at Mathura18, the place of birth of Lord Sri Krishna19. Namasmuni was apathetic to mundane matters and was extremely devoted to divine contemplation. When Sulochana was pregnant for about six month, Namasmuni stepped out of his abode for meditation to achieve the divine bliss of Sri Hari, the almighty. Before renouncing the family life, he engaged Apasar and Naidhrub to take care of his wife Sulochana. In due course Sulochana gave birth twin male babies and died after six month. These two children were named as Kirtiban and urban. They were brought up with extreme care and affection by Apasar and Naidhrub. One fine morning Namasmuni came back home when the two children had just crossed fourteen years of age. According to Hindu mythology, once fourteen years of age is crossed, thread ceremony cannot be performed. Consequent upon this, Namasmuni once again left his abode with great grief. However due to departure of Namasmuni from Mathura, Apasar and Naidhrub felt very lonely and to avoid their loneliness and mental agony they took shelter of Lord Shiva. After leaving abode, Namasmuni once again deeply absorbed in the meditation of the Supreme power, Lord Sri Hari. On the other hand the two sons of Namasmuni went out for searching their father. After a long search, the two brothers, Kirtiban and Urban arrived at Siliguri 20 in the State of a Sudra King named as Simanta21. The King Simanta gave shelter to the two brothers in his state and subsequently gave in marriage of his daughters Lipika and Saptrika to the two brothers. Twin brothers happened to meet their father Namasmuni when they were living at Siliguri, now situated in the State of West Bengal. In the long run the two brothers after marrying the two daughters of the King Simanta became the proprietor of vast land. They adopted cultivation as their profession and lived there happily. On the other hand, Ashamanjn22, the eldest son of Sagar, the King of Oudh was found to have no attachment with family life and so he was driven away with his wife. Ashamanjn being driven away by his father took shelter in the kingdom of the king Simanta. During this period Ashamanjn had five daughters and two sons. Kirtiban and Urban ultimately had marriage relation with the sons and daughters of Ashamanjn and started living there happily. By this time, Sri Hari, the supreme power, being highly pleased with the austere devotion of Namasmuni who had left home for worship was requested to ask for a boon. Namasmuni, however, asked for three boons to Sri Hari. The first prayer was that the generation of his son should be equivalent to Brahman. The second boon as asked for was that his sons’ successors should be familiar by his name. The third prayer was that his name (Namasmuni) should be unforgotten forever. Ultimately, the Lord Sri Hari conferred the aforesaid boons saying that as his son has married Sudra girl, therefore, Sudra will be added to his name Nama so that the descendant of Namasmuni shall be styled as Namasudra (Nama + Sudra) by Caste. Saying this, Sri Hari disappeared. After being gifted with boons he came to know the place where his sons were staying through meditation. He then arrived at the Kingdom of Shrimanta and united with his sons and advised them to meditate with austere devotion for achieving Brahma being attached with family. In the Chapter of Prantoshi of ‘Shakti Sangam Tantra’, It has also been mentioned that Namasudras are Brahmans having no sacred thread because the thread ceremony could not be performed on account of surpassing of fourteen years of age of his sons as per Hindu mythology. However, Sri Hari consoled Namasmuni by saying that there is no need to have repentance on this issue. The only restriction is not to wear a sacred thread but all other social religious works of Brahman could be done without any restriction. However, Namasudras shall be styled as Brahman with equal status with those Brahmans who were having sacred thread. Besides, various distinguished authors believe that Namasudra belongs to Brahman Caste. This is evident from the chapter, fixation of caste in the part of Chhinnamasta of the Sanskrit book named-‘Shakti Sangam Tantra’. Author, Jatin Bagchi in his famous book named’Jati Dharma and Samaj Bibartan’(CasteReligion and Evolution of Society) has mentioned that 619 International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 the descendants emanated from the legitimate wife of Namasmuni belong to the generation of Kashyapmuni are Brahmin by Caste. In Sanskrit verse it has been mentioned as under: lakh whereas the population of Namasudra Caste was to the tune of twenty lakh. As such if Brahman ladies beget Namasudras with the union of Sudra male then what is the consistency of the opinion of Manu? How is it possible that the generation of illegitimate children be twice that of the population of Brahmans? Is it not an illogical proposition?34 “Kashypena Banshajata Sudryan Pranballava, Hritosteeya Yshrohi Namasudryopi Jatit.” The underlying meaning of the two sentences as stated above is that by birth Namasudras are Brahman and they During 1931 Census, the population of Namasudra are the descendant of Sage Kashyap and his son Sage Community was the second largest and their numbers Namasa. were to the tune of 20,94,947. Further Lokeshwar Basu in his Book named-‘‘Amader Padabeer Itihas’ has In the fourth chapter of Chandogya Upanishad, there is a mentioned that Namasudra is the name of a changed mention that Satyakam23, the son of maid servant Jawala, caste, species or race35. Dr. Nihar Ranjan Roy in his when went to Sage Gautam24 for investiture with the Book written in Bengali named ‘Bangaleer Itihas36’ has holy thread, he asked the name of the father of mentioned that according to the opinion of Satyakam. Satyakam could not mention the name of his Anthropologists the constitutional part of Namasudras legitimate father. As such his mother advised him to tell are like that of Brahmans. Sri Sri Anukul Thakur 37, a that he should say the name as Satyakam Jawala as his great religious teacher, however, in the second part of his mother’s name was Jawala. Hrishi Gautam was highly book ‘Nanakatha’38, has mentioned that Namasudras are pleased with the reply of Satyakam for his utter Parashar Brahman. Renowned Anthropologist, Sir truthfulness. Hrishi Gautama then told that such Herbert Hope Risley in his writings has mentioned that truthfulness is available only in Brahman. Satyakam then he has found a trace of four ‘Gotros’ of Namasudra. got teaching from his spiritual guide Hrishi Gautam who These are Kashyap, Bhardwaj, Lomos and Sandilya. He later on converted him ultimately into Brahman 25. Thus has also mentioned that Kashyap was the son of Sage one can say that by following the rules of Brahmanism Marichi, Dronacharya was the son of Sage Bhardwaj, one can become Brahmin. and Lomos was the son of Sage Lomos and sandiliya was the son of Hrishi Sandilya. Each of them was It may be mentioned here that although the two sons of Brahman. Therefore, it is evident that all those who have Namasmuni namely, Kirtiban and Urban married to descended from them are Brahman by Caste39. Sudra girls, none the less they could be deprived of being Brahman. It is evident from the great epic Sarat Chandra Biswas in his book, ‘Namasudra Mahabharat that Ved Vyas was the son of Maha Hrishi sampradayer Atma Katha’ (life history of Namasudra Parashar26 who was Brahman by Caste whereas community) stated that Namasudra community were Matsogandha27 the mother of Ved Vyas was Sudra. As originally divided into two categories namely Sefali and such Vyas Dev was recognized as Brahman since his Dhani Namasudra40. These stratifications were done by father was Brahman. Later on Matsogandha was Namasmuni based on the fact that Kirtiban, his eldest renamed as Satyawati and was married to Khatriya King son was having plenty of sefali41 flower in his house and Shantanu28. Satyawati gave birth two sons named so he was called Sefali Namasudra whereas Uruban his Dhritarashtra29 and Pandava30 who were familiar as youngest son was having abundant paddy through Khatriya as their father Santonu was Khatriya. cultivation and hence he was called Dhani42 Namasudra. Besides the above classifications, they were also assorted The first Census was started in India in the year 1872. further on the basis of their occupations such as Jiyani The Census Authority at the time of determination of (fisherman who used to sell fish by accumulating fish in caste, mentioned Namasudra Caste as Chandal. water), Bero (used to catch fish by making barricade), Malo, Jhalo, Kaibarta, Malo-Bagdhi, or Dule (were of Further according to Manu31, Namasudra is the the same category and used to earn their livelihood by legitimate child of Sudra due to union of Sudra male and catching and selling fish), Mago (the name was given on Brahman lady. But according to theory of ‘Gotros’32 this the basis of moving magh, the pirates through their is not acceptable as decendants from Kashyapmuni villages), Dhali (those who were engaged in army), belong to Kashyap Gotra and thus they are brahmans. gharami( those who used to do work of labour to built up Swami Vivekananda33 has also not supported the shed of house with straw etc.), Mistri or Sutradhar( those aforesaid view of Manu due to the reason that the who engaged in the wooden works for livelihood), population of Namasudra community was much more Baroi(engaged in making boats), Bala (engaged in than the then population of upper Caste people like making thin iron rod used to pierce through tongue Brahman, Baidya and Kayastha. At that time the during Nil Puja), Sardar ( engaged as head of a group in population of various higher Caste people was about ten village to protect from land disputes with opponent), 620 International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 Bepari (engaged in business for earning money by travelling from one place to another with the help of boats), Majhi ( used to earn their livelihood by carrying people from one place to another with the help of boats), Baoalee (used to work in Sundarban for livelihood), Mali (used to earn their livelihood by selling flower or by working in flower garden) etc. It has also been observed that the fishermen did not only restrict their earnings or livelihood through catching and selling fish but also started getting education and engaged in service. However, those who could not get employment or are not well educated were being engaged in various professions besides service. Their titles were Biswas, Mandal, Roy, Halder etc. In the then society, peoples were also classified as Sweeper, Scavenger, Potter, Blacksmith etc according to their adopted profession.43 According to Babu Rao Bagul, Varna44 and caste is the creation of the upper caste influential selfish people so that they can fulfill their selfish motives with the help of the down trodden people. Babu RaoBagal in his–‘Dalit literature is but Human literature’ has mentioned as under“Varna and caste came to be determined on the basis of birth. This was because the ruling class wanted to ensure for itself the exclusive possession of wealth, power and higher social status, and also because they did not want the sorrow, misery and servitude imposed on the oppressed to be transferred to the other sections of society. And birth was in tuirn conceived as being inevitably founded upon deeds of the previous births(karma), upon the good or evil sections of previous lives and upon devine justice. This firmly and irreversibly fixed an individual in a particular varna and a particular caste. It was indeed a Machiavellian act of manipulating the institution of property rights-achieved with great skill and extreme crookedness. As a result, society became frighteningly divided due to inequality. The dominant classes needed the fragmentation to protect their class interests. The fundamental division was: people who were endowed with wealth, comfort, power, proximity to God and claiming to represent the divine, on the one hand and on the other, those who were supposedly found damnable by God and religion, eternally condemned to a life of sorrow, misery, servitude and untouchability. In the name of divine retribution and divine will the latter were denied every form of deliverance and salvation. As a result, they were completely left out of the process of social production.”45 According to quality and stratification of work in the Hindu society, the division of four Varnas were created by Brahman for the purpose of controlling social affairs. The application of religious verdicts as written by Brahman pandits was vested on khatriya kings. Due to these dual efforts the servanthood custom was introduced for sudras by the higher castes to serve them as per their needs. Consequently, sudras were treated as worst creature of the society. The living conditions and social status of these untouchables (Sudras) have been focused by Arjun Dangle as under, “The living conditions of these untouchables were shameful. They had no land to till nor could they follow any profession. They did menial work ordered by the higher castes, from the village, and had to accept leftovers from the higher caste people, in return for their endless toil. Their physical contact was said to have same effect. Hindu religious texts forbade them to wear good clothes or ornaments or even footwear, and prescribed severe and humiliating punishment for violating these orders. Even for a basic necessity like water they were helplessly dependent on the higher castes, good will. The most perverted practice of untouchability was that which at one time compelled the untouchables to tie an earthen pot around their necks so that their sputum should not fall to the earth and pollute it. Another was the compulsion to tie a broom behind them so that their footprints would be erased before others set their eyes on them. Thus the untouchables lived a life full of poverty, starvation, ignorance, insults, injustice, atrocities-practices totally against humanity. The only thing available to them in plenty was their wretchedness and this was so mingled with every drop of their blood that they forgot their own existence and could hardly dream of freedom or independence. This condition prevailed till the British came to India.”46 The British when took over the administration in their own hand, at that time most of the people were engaged in government service from higher caste Hindu community. Consequent upon this, a large section of illiterate people were deprived of having any administrative power, remained as a neglected sector for a long period of time due to indifferent attitude and selfish motives of a group of the then intellectual opportunists belong to higher castes, specially brahmans. For the first time Census started in India, during 1872. The Census authority at that time was in the hand of Brahmans of Kanauj. Intentionally, the Census authority instead of writing Namasudra community they mentioned this section of people as Chandal. These Chandals were subsequently styled as Charal. However, this section of people had not accepted this nomenclature at all. They, time and again, protested in this regard to the administrative authority to change their designation from chandal/ charhal to Namasudra but due to weak social structure and illiteracy and lack of proper unity, they could not succeed. The famous magnanimous social activist Girindra Nath Bhattacharjee in his book‘Jatived’ has mentioned, “Chandal’ belongs to a nonAryan race. It is matter of great regret that meek religious Namasudras have been unjustly classified as Chandal by their own people of the same caste or tribe of the society. As a result, the existing government of 621 International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 different religious origin accepted the classification on anxiety at the bottom54. the basis of the recommendation of the people of their Caste is also a highly patriarchal system where all fair sexes of all castes are treated like chattel. Mala, own society.”47 misogynist expressions such as na striyo After the reign of Sen48 King, Muslim rule49 started in swaatantryamarhti (women should not be given freedom) India. During this period inhuman oppressions were and striyo hi mool doshaanaam (women is the root of all started by higher caste Hindus to lower caste Namasudra evils) abound in the caste canon. There are frequent cocommunity in such a way that finding no other remedial references to woman and shudra in the brahmanical alternative they, in mass scale, adopted Islam as their literature- both are life-long slaves from birth to death. religion. This is also worth mentioning that during the Manu and Yajnavalkya, the premier law-givers, hold that rule of either Muslim or Christian administrator they even when released from slavery they are not attempted their level best to bring people of different emancipated because slavery is inborn in them55. It may religion under the umbrella of their respective religion also be observed that the anti-woman, anti-shudra adopting various artifices. One of the most advantages at epistemology is enshrined in the bramanical sacred texts. that time was that even if the most neglected people It is not out of place to mention here that banished from the society like destitutes, untouchables , Bramanism/casteism is a hegemonic ideology, sustained sweepers, scavengers and even as the lower caste or through a cleverly designed socio-religious structure, tribes etc., if adopt either Muslim or Christian religion, which works to use Antonio Gramsci’s phrase, as a all of their social and administrative problems would ’permanently organized force’. Mere economismmitigate, humiliation removed and used to get equal reflected in the history-as-study-of-succession-of status in the society. As a result of freedom from (advancing)-modes-of-production approach-does not physical assaults, inhuman tortures and grant of relief help us to understand the complex and highly resilient like providing equal status in the society, a major portion character of bramanism. It works at several levels in a of Hindu being lured with such facilities adopted Islam multiplicity of forms- all of which empower the religion. In this regard Acharya Profulla Chandra Roy 50 Brahman and allied castes, and disempower the lower has mentioned, “ About 55% of Hindus from Bangladesh castes. Traditionally, it is propelled by the ruthless leaving shelter of Hindu society has adopted Muslim pursuits to self-aggrandisement based on caste, priestreligion.”51 craft and false philosophy- caste representing the scheme of domination, priest-craft the means of exploitation, and The caste system is a form of social stratification in false philosophy a justification for both. Power politics, which castes are hierarchied, occupationally specialized thus, is at the heart of Brahmanism.56 and separated from each other (in matter of marriage, physical contact, food) by rules of purity and pollution. Peasants, artisans and workers who have been humiliated The birth based segregation is reinforced by rigorous and brutalized as dasa-shudras, chandals and antiendogamy and strict control over women’s sexuality. shudras, who now call themselves dalit-bahujan or the Hierarchy- along with purity and power culminates in ‘oppressed majority’, have never had a stake in keeping brahman, says Manu, the ancient law-giver of caste alive. As it was in the interest of the Brahmans and brahmanical tradition,’When a Brahman is born he brahmanised castes to preserve and promote it, it was in springs to light above the world; he is the chief of all the interest of the lower castes to smash the poisoncreatures, entitled by eminence of birth to the wealth of house of caste. At any rate, they did not become slaves the world’.52 The brahman’s anti-thesis is the shudra, and clogs in the caste machine of their own volitionunder which category come all the laboring masses- they were forced into servility by the deadly combination peasants, artisans and workers. The shudra is the most of brahmanic socio-religious mechanism and kinglyimpure, born in sin. Caste- and- order, theorized and feudal coercion. Nevertheless, though the ages protests made sacred and sacrosanct as varnashrama-dharma by in one form or another were registered against its beneficiaries, is an institutional arrangement of social oppression. As a result, Brahmans became antagonized closure in which knowledge, wealth and human dignity against the depressed class and decided as under: are denied to the ‘impure’ groups who are pushed down the ladder of graded hierarchy.53 “Ved Bidhi Nahi Mane Na Mane Brahman, In other words, the characteristic attribute of the caste system is not only ‘hereditarily appointed work’ but also ‘unequally divided rights’. Berreman aptly describes it as ‘institutionalised inequality’ that guarantees different access to valued things in life. Not merely a system of interdependence, inhuman hierarchy of caste implies the concentration of power, privilege, affluence and security at the top, and humiliation, deprivation, want, and Nishchay Karite Habe A Dale Shasan.”57 The low castes do not follow the rules and regulations of Ved, therefore, they have to be brought under control and punished. When the people of Namasudra community in Bangladesh were extremely depressed from all corners, and the oppression reached its pinnacle and became 622 International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 extremely intolerable, at that time Sri Sri Harichand Thakur58 was born in the house of Yaswanta Thakur of Safaldanga village in the district of Faridpur (Now in Bangladesh) on the auspicious day of Madhukrishna Troyodoshi Tithi in 1812 A.D. as a God-incarnate to give relief and remove the sufferings of the so called untouchable Namasudra community as a whole along with other great religious teachers namely, Heera Mohan Goswami(Known as Hanuman of Ramchandra), Dasharath Goswami, Golok Goswami, Mritunjoy Goswami, Kabi Srestha Tarak Sarkar, Mahananda Goswami (Known as Pagal). According to literature available, Gaurango Mahaprabhu59 once told to his mother, “This birth is not my last birth. I shall once again born in North-East corner to finish the game of life (Published in Sri Sri Leelamrita, written by Tarak Sarker, page 3&4).” It is reproduced as under: Sachee Bale, “Tumi Jadi More Chhere Jabe A Bramhanda Tabe Mata Ke Manibe. A Samay Gaurango Karila Angeekar Tomake Chharite Mata Shakti Ki Amar. Shodhite Naribe Mata Taba Rindhar Janme Janme Taba Garbhe Haba Abatar. Dharma Sansthapan R Jiber Udhar A rupe Janma Laiba R Duibar. Tarpar Sreenibas Rupe Janma Nila Narottamrupa Nityananda Janamil. R Ak Janma Baki Rahila Prabhur Ai Shai Abatar SreeHari Thakur.” The meaning of these verses is translated into English as under; Sachi, the mother of Gauranga Dev, told to his son that if he leaves her then who will address her as mother. At that time Gauranga Dev admitted to his mother saying that he could not leave her at any cost. It would not be possible for him to repay her debt being her legitimate son. So he will be born time and again in his womb as an incarnation of God. To rejuvenate religion and to extricate people, he will be born twice in this world. Thereafter, he took birth as Srinibas and Nityananda. However, one more birth was left which was completed with the birth of Sri Hari Thakur. Sri Hari Thakur appeared on the earth with all good qualities of perfection for leading a peaceful life and dignified livelihood. He had spiritual power to efface the worldly evils and infuse spirits specially into the minds of the down-trodden to rise to the occasion. He enunciated the Matua Dharma / Religion in 1830 as a religion of some basic and universal ideas which admits oneness in human beings irrespective of castes, creeds and religion. Hence one can say, “Matua is a socio-economic religion with spiritual outlook based on family life and for their mass salvation in the way of eradicating the barriers of casteism and untouchability, social and economic disparities.”60 This ‘Matua Religion’ is a new and distinct religion from others in the sense that human salvation is possible by following “Garhastha Dharma” (householder stage of life) both by males and females simply uttering Harinam ( uttering the name of Hari- the Almighty) along with working by hand i.e., to say in Bengali-“Mukhe Nam Hate Kam.” This has neither been enunciated nor advised by any other great religious teachers but they have rather tried to avoid family life or Garhastha Dharma although this is the most suitable way of achieving salvation61. Several avatars have come to this vicious world to destroy the evils and to sing the song of unity in the globe; but according to the Matua Religion they have not glanced through the root cause of casteism, untouchability, social and economic disparity which needs to be addressed afresh because these are the main hindrances for the establishment of universal brotherhood62. However, Sri Sri Harichand Thakur through his Matua religion has made untiring efforts to create a common platform for all to unite, rich and poor, untouchables and oppressed classes without any caste and creed for common cause of collective contemplation and their spiritual salvation. Lord Krishna propagated “Namdharma”63 (The Glory of God). He did not mention any specific religious path for the common family men and women. But he established that honesty always prevails. In Ramayana64, attempts have made by Ram to strengthen the social bond or union, but there was no effort to end the racial enemity or clash. Lord Buddha propagated the principles of equality, but he thought “Garhastha life” or family life to be not suitable for collective contemplation. Similar was the case of Chaitanya Dev, who also embraced sannyas or asceticism for individual salvation although his principle of love united many Brahmins and chandals at one platform but feeling of oneness however, could not be developed among his followers. Ramakrishna Param Hansa also avoided Kamini Kanchan i.e., family life or Garhastha Dharama for achieving salvation. Hazrat Mohammad came with Koran in one hand and sword in the other. He considered punishment of ”Kafers” to be legal and true to religion. Jesus propagated the principles of Christianity. But absolute principle of unity among the followers could not be developed and hence declared war or crusade on the opponent religious parts. After analyzing opinions and views of all great religious teachers , Sri Hari Thakur observed that the root cause of all social evils lies in the various religions is nothing but the lack of oneness in human beings irrespective of colour, caste and creeds, inhuman oppressions, Brahminical hierarchic prescription and the socioeconomic exploitation to the lower caste people and came to conclusion that a new philosophy should be evolved for universal solution to get rid of the social problems which ultimately begot the Matua philosophy. 623 International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 According to Dr. Tushar Chattopadhya, “Hari Chand Thakur and the doctrine of Matua brought a rousing in the Namasudra community against the age old hierarchic Brahminical prescription and the socio-economic exploitation. The prime credit of Hari Chand Thakur and his successors is to create self confidence in the community and to uplift those who were neglected and backward under the pressure of different socio-historical cross-currents.”65 Nirod Bihari further mentioned,” This was undoubtedly another manifestation of the spirit of revolt in Hari Thakur against current pernicious social practices and a desire on his part to break away from the Brahminical traditions of the past. Thus it will be seen that although Hari Thakur was a religious Guru his mental make up and social outlook were quite different from those of the other Hindus religious Gurus of his time. In short, he was a saint and a social revolutionary at the same time.”66 able to reach a stage of feeling at this juncture where only illumination of subtle power exists even though he is in touch with the worldly affairs of daily life. Domestic bliss, ease and comfort can be attained only through this religion of family men or Garhastha Dharma. Home is the center of all domestic peace and prosperity. A family man must be provided with a means to gain spiritual salvation with in the domestic atmosphere. The salvation of the family men must be the goal of the religion68. The Brahmin principles of religion are the root cause of the decay of Indian spiritualism. It is believed that their main objective was to destroy the domestic “ashram” thus creating indiscipline in social life and polluting the family life by the evils of communalism or casteism and untouchability. In spite of being prey to this divisive Brahmin religion, masses still remain indifferent and inert. Yugavatar Sri Sri Harichand thakur appeared to reconstruct and revitalize the ruined and decayed social system and to correct these errors. Matuaism belives in the existence of ‘Hari’, the supreme power, in each and every particle of the earth. Unlike other sages, sri hari thakur considered family life as the ideal and best and propagated that by staying in family one can attain Supreme power “Sri Hari”. Matuas belive that there is an inseparable relation between the creator and his creation as that of mother and her child. They believe in maintaining proper balance between spirituality and sociability. Sri Hari Thakur preached twelve maxims/principles in order to live a disciplined and ideal life as under: The word Matua was first introduced by Sri Harichand Thakur and his followers were styled as Matua. It is worth mentioning here that by mistake many people may think that Namasudra elites organize the community through a vaishnava religious sect known as Matua is not correct “Hereafter the Namasudra elites began to organize the community through a vaishnava religion sect known as Matua67. Matua sect is not a branch of Vaishnava religion rather it is a religion that rouse the consciousness and self confidence among the lower 1. castes and worked for their upliftment. 2. Matuas are so called because of their devotion to Nama 3. (exercising Kirtan) and love. Sri Harichand Thakur and 4. his son Sri Guruchand Thakur, had no sufficiently 5. academic distinction but they were highly enriched with wisdom and divine power. Matuaism, the term based on 6. the philosophy of the path followed by the matuas, is found on the belief in existence of some supernatural power supposed to be omnipresent, omnipotent, judicious, omniscient, and well conscious. The term 7. Matua is abstract and subtle power enriched with 8. conscience as ‘Hari’ which is the ultimate goal to reach. 9. At the first stage of ‘Matua Sadhana’ everything in front 10. of the devotee is felt to contain Hari and he gets beyond the boundary of rational behavior of general people. The 11. mind at this stage is enshrined with certain supernatural 12. feeling. This vision embellishes him with a separate state of mind reflected through his activities not in conformity (i) with the spurious social norm. At this stage the devotee (ii) is termed as Pagal (mad) by the Matuas. He no more worships Hari for fulfillment of any earthly demand (iii) which is fully wiped out from his mind. The Matuas at (iv) this stage of Pagal (madness) want to mix his own (v) consciousness with that of the supernatural power and realizes the reflection of that vast power in them. He is (vi) 624 Always speak the truth; Others’ wives should be regarded as mothers; Everyone should respect his parents; Love all in the world without any distinction; one should not make any difference with people of good or bad character; One should be careful about six instincts (sararipu); (a) Kama(desire), (b)krodh(anger), (c) Lobh (greed), (d) moha (affection), (e) mad(pride), (f)matsaraya (envy), One should not disregard others religion; One should not pretend as a sadhu (saint); Utter name of Lord Hari while working; One should build temple for worshiping Lord Hari (God); One should dedicate oneself to Hari (God); One should pray to God everyday without fail in order to achieve the following objectives: Truthfulness; To achieve self restraint in conformity with social discipline and peaceful life; Moral obligation to look after old parents; Development of love and affection for all; To avoid creating differentiation in between good or bad character people; To develop strong habit or character to avoid urge of International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 stincts of sararipu; (vii) Development of tolerance and adjustment with others religious dogmas; (viii) Avoiding religious pretention; (ix) Practising habit of uttering name of Lord Hari at the time of working; (x) To develop social and spiritual activity; (xi) To develop habit of self sacrifice to Hari (God); (xii) To develop habit of making prayer to God for self improvement; “in this way through his life long preaching against superstitious habits, bad manners and evil social practices and above all with his constant insistence on leading a pure life by his followers Hari Thakur had succeeded in bringing about a spiritual and moral regeneration in the Namasudra society as well as among the other hindus who directly or indirectly came into touch with him or with any of his principal followers all of whom had attained great heights in the spiritual world under the influence and guidance of their master. The life of hari Thakur is a shining example of virtue and peity, courage and confidence to his fellowmen and moreover, it is a symbol of revolt against religious orthodoxy and the tyrannical Brahmanical social system. Through his preachings he had taught the downtrodden people to give up their servile mentality and to develop instead a spirit of equality with the others- a signal service indeed to them. The life of Hari Thakur itself is a message to his people.”69 The socio religious movements (Matua in bengal, Varakari in Maharastra, Alekha Dharma in Orissa etc) that emerged in different parts of undivided India reached its peak from fifteen century onwards were shaped and spearheaded by artisans, cultivators, labourers, lower caste people. These movements from below are a watershed in Indian history not only in religious literary terms but also in broader sociocultural contexts. They represent a cultural revolt and scintillating examples of toiling caste creativity70. These socio religious movements shared some common features like opposition to caste hierarchy, brahmanic ascription, resistance to growing insistence on purity and pollution rules, opposition to increasing rent and worsening of economic condition, poverty antagonism towards brahminical tightening of socio religious restrictions, emphasis on education, capturing political power inorder to move high in social ladder. Most of these socio religious movements culminated in capturing of political power. B R Ambedkar in “Annihilation of Caste” remarked “on the one hand one can say that generally speaking history bears out the proposition that political revolutions have always been preceded by social and religious revolutions. The religious reformation started by Luther was the precursor at the political emancipation at the European people. In England Puritanism led to the establishment of political liberty. Puritanism founded the new world. It was Puritanism which won the war at American Independence and Puritanism was a religious movement. The same is true with the Muslim Empire. Before the Arabs became a political power they had undergone a thorough religious revolution started by the Prophet Mohammed. Even Indian History supports the same conclusion. The political revolution led by Chandragupta was preceded by the religious and social reform brought about by the saints of Maharastra. The political revolution of the Sikhs was preceded by the religious and social revolution led by Guru Nanak. These will suffice to show that the emancipation of the mind and the soul is a necessary preliminary for the political expansion of the people.” REFERENCES: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 625 "Namasudras" are offsprings of sage Namasa, son of sage kshyapa Dr. Atul Sur- History and Culture of Bengal, 1963, page-24 Dr. Nandadulal Mohanta in his book- ‘Matua Andolon O Dalit Jagaran’ at pg-10,11 "Sakti Sangama Tantra"- A Tantrik work of 16th century states that the "Namasudras" are offsprings of Sage Namasa Shiva- according to hindu mythology shiva is lord who is also referred as destroyer. He is husband of goddess Durga and father of Lord Ganesha, Kartikeya, Lakshmi and Saraswati Durga – according to hindu mythology goddess Durga is the wife of Lord Shiva Kirtiban–son of sage Namas and sulochana, and grandson of sage Kashyap Uruban - son of sage Namas and sulochana, and grandson of sage Kashyap Mahabharata- the holy Sanskrit epic of ancient india. Rishi= Sage Rishi ved vyasa-the author of the holy epic of hindus “mahabharata” Maha rishi Brahma or lord Brahma – is worshipped as the creator ofuniverse in hindu mythology Brahma's mind born sons are the seers Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratuj, Pracetas, Vashishta, Bhrgu and Narada (refer-shatapatha brahmana and brihad aranyaka upnishad) Kashyap- Sage Kashyap was the father of devas, asuras, nagas and mankind. He was the son of Marichi who married Daksha Prajapati’s thirteen daughters 15. Namasmuni was son of sage mariachi. Sage Marichi was one of the saptarishis mentioned in Brahamanas Sulochana daughter of sage Ruchi the spiritual son of Lord Brahma Ruchi, a sage, referred as the spiritual son of Lord Brahma (Brahma puran) Mathura- is a city in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, birth place of Lord Krishna Lord Krishna- hindu deity, considered as preserver of universe Siliguri a place situated in the state of West Bengal in India King simanta ruled near siliguri, west Bengal (Sakti sangram tantra) Ashamanj-eldest son of suryavanshi king sagar (an ancestor of Rama) of Ayodhya {sakti sangam tantra andBhagavata Purana (Skandha IX Chapter-1) tells us about Suryavansh orSolar race} Satyakam- son of Jwala referred inChhandogya Upanishad Sage Gautam-was one of the famous seven rishis or sages termed Saptarshi. He was the progenitor of the Gautama gotra. He was the son of Rahugana. He was also the author of Dharma-sutra known as Gautama Dharma sutra. International Journal of Reviews and Research in Social Sciences. 7(3): July- September, 2019 25. Sage Parashar-son of shakti muni and grand son of Vashistha (vishnupuran) 26. Matsogandha-She is also the mother of the sageVyasa author of the epic Mahabharata. Her story appears in the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa and the Devi Bhagavata Purana 27. King Shantanu –father of Dhritarastra and Pandav, mentioned in Mahabharata 28. Dhritarastra, son of Shantanu (a kshtriya king), and father of Kauravas 29. Pandava- son of Shantanu, and father of Pandavas 30. Manu considered as the first law giver 31. Gotros-In Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor 32. Swami Vivekananda was the chief disciple of the 19th century saint Ramakrishna and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission 33. Jati Tatwa O Namashya Kuldarpan by Sitanath Biswas, Calcutta,1931 34. Lokeshwar Basu Amader Padabeer Itihas (A history of our surnames), Ananda publishers, Calcutta,1981 35. Dr. Niharanjan Roy, Bangaleer itihas (history of Bengali speaking people), Dey’s publishing,1981 36. Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra (14 September 1888-26 January 1969), born Anukulchandra Chakravarty was a guru and founder of the Satsang ashram at Deoghar. He is devotedly referred as Sri Sri Thakur by His followers and disciples. His devotees are known as Satsangees 37. Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra wrote Nanakotha, vol-2 pg-2 38. Sarat Chandra Biswas, ‘Namasudra sampradayer Atma Katha’ (The story of namasudra community), Vol-1, publisher - Shrimali Biswas, Kolkata,2005, pg-10 39. ibid 40. Sefali in Bengali, refers to Night-flowering Jasmine 41. Dhani in Bengali refers to paddy 42. Sharat Chandra Biswas, Namasudra sampradayer Atma Katha (The story of namasudra community), Vol-1, publisher - Shrimali Biswas, Kolkata,2005, pg-9-12 43. Varna- an ancient fourfold arrangement of socioeconomic categories 44. Babu Rao Bagal- Dalit literature is but Human literature, Poisoned Bread, Arjun Dangle (ed),1992, pg-273 45. Arjun Dangle, (ed) Poisioned bread, “Dalit literature Past, Present, and Future”, Orient Longman,1992 pg-267 46. Sharat Chandra Biswas, Namasudra sampradayer Atma Katha (The story of namasudra community), Vol-, publisher - Shrimali Biswas, Kolkata,2005, pg-10 47. The Sena Empire was a Hindu dynasty that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries 48. By 14th century the muslim rule got consolidated in Bengal. 49. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray was a Indian academician, a chemist and entrepreneur. He is the author of A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of Sixteenth Century (1902). 50. Namasudra sampradayer Atma Katha (The story of namasudra community, ibid-62,63,64 51. Wendy Doniger, The laws of Manu, Penguin Classics, 1991, pg99-100 52. Ibid- Pg 100 53. Gerald D Berreman, “The Brahminical View of Caste”, in Dipankar Gupta (ed), Social Statification, Oxford University Press, 1997, pg84-92 54. -Caste in India and Tne United States, The American Jounal of Sociology, Vol.66 No.2, September-1960, pg-120-127 55. Sharma, R.S, Perspective in Social and Economic History of Early India, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1983, pg45-48 56. Braj Ranjan Mani, pg-16-17 57. Sharat Chandra Biswas, Namasudra sampradayer Atma Katha (The story of namasudra community), Vol-1, publisher - Shrimali Biswas, Kolkata,2005, pg-185187 58. Sri Sri Harichand Thakur founder of Matua religion 59. Gaurango Mahaprabhu, was a Bengali Hindu mystic, saint, and the chief proponent of Gaudiya vaisnavism tradition within Hinduism. He also expounded the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga. 60. Nandadulal mahanto, Matua andolan o dalit jagaron, Annapurna Publication, Calcutta,2002 pg-105-109 61. Ibid,139-140 62. Ibid,23-29 63. Namdharma- refers to the Glory of God, time and again repeating the name of Almighty (believed that this will lead to salvation) 64. Ramayana–a holy Hindu epic written in Sanskrit by Sage Valmiki 65. Dr. Tushar Chattopadhya- Introduction-Shri Hari Thakur of Orakandi an Analytical Study- Nirodh Bihari Roy 66. Nirode Bihari Roy- Shri Shri Hari Thakur of Orakandi- An Analytical Study.- P-40-41 67. Sekhar Bandhapadhya, ‘A Peasant Caste in Protest: The Namasudras of Eastern Bengal, 1872-1945', in Caste and Communal Politics in South Asia, edited by Sekhar Bandyopadhyay and Suranjan Das, Calcutta: K.P.Bagchi & Co., 1993, pp-153. 68. Sri Kapil Krishna Thakur, Life History Of Hari- Guru Chand Thakur, Their Philosophy And Activities In Brief, PublisherHaripada Biswas (MLA),2009 pg-7 69. Nirod baran ray–Shri Shri Hari Thakur of Orakandi, An Analytical Study, pg-44,45,46 70. Braj Ranjan Mani, “Debrahmanising History- Dominance and Resistance in Indian society”, Manohar Publishers, Delhi,2008 pg 134-35 626