Acharya Brajendra Nath Seal : His Intellectual Insight and Ideas of Universal Humanism

Abstract

The present paper is intended to highlight Achrya Brajendranath Seal and his philosophy of life with reference to his intellectual insight and ideas of universal humanism. Fact remains that Acharya Seal was a man of great mind and he not only came in touch with various branches of knowledge but also tried to analyze human mind as well as the universe as a whole. He wrote a few books and good number of articles and whatever may be the theme of his works, he proved his worth and was really a typical representative of an Indian mother. At a moment whenever we are concerned with intellectual crises and moral degradation all around, the thoughts of A.B.N. Seal may open a new dimension as to the mental relief we may seek for at this moment. He developed his ‘Jivan Darshan’ which propounded ‘Manavsamghati’ (Unity of Mankind), and above all professed humanism and spirituality from his scientific insight. A.B.N.Seal was attracted to the philosophical ideas of Raja Rammohun Roy, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindrnath Tagore, Keshav Chandra Sen and so on. At the long last he talked about ‘Universal Religion’ and the qualities of a Universal Man. For such a scientific temper he has rightly been called the ‘Child of Bengal Renaissance’ and this is justified when he stood not only for human solidarity but also could declare “I am a man (hence) nothing human is alien to me. I lived in the spirit of these sayings.” The entire paper is based on some original documents and contemporary writings available to us related to this man and very likely, it may strike the mind of some people who are not supposed to be alien to the ideas of spiritualism and humanity.