Skorokhodova T.G. The Origins of Neo-Hindu Thought: the Image of Hinduism in Bankimchandra Chattopaddhyay’s Works

Abstract: This article examines the formation process of Neo-Hindu thought in Bengal at the end of the 19th century on the basis of the religious and philosophical material from the works of the author, publicist, and public figure Bankimchandra Chattopaddhyay. The interpretation of Hinduism in his works of 1880–1892 presents the creation of a positive image of his native religion, directed at exonerating it from the criticism of Hindu Religious reformers and Christian missionaries. In creating an image of Hinduism Bankimchandra proceeds from recognising it as a multifaceted whole (the metaphor of the tree) tied by fundamental principles. For the description of the image of Hinduism in Bankimchandra’s works the author used the method of reconstruction, which is based on the hermeneutical analysis of the texts of the corresponding period, as well as taking into account the socio-cultural context of the time. For the first time in Russian Indology the author describes the complete image of Hinduism resulting from the reflections of one of the founders of Neo-Hinduism as a direction of social thought. Bankimchandra’s version of Hinduism was the worldview justification of this religion as a comprehensive spiritual tradition rooted in deep antiquity. Having appeared as a religion of nature, Hinduism evolved from the original form of the Vedic religion to the enlightened and good religion founded on the interpretations of the Dharma in the “Bhagavad Gita”.

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