ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SAT SABH&#256</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="SAT,SABH"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279SAT SABH&#256, a religious and social reform society founded at Lahore in 1866 by a group of Bengalis and Punjabis. B&#257b&#363 Nov&#299n Chandra R&#257i and S. P. Bha&#7789&#7789&#257ch&#257rjee of the Bengali Community along with two Punjabis, Pa&#7751&#7693it Bh&#257n&#363 Datta Basant R&#257m and L&#257l&#257 Beh&#257r&#299 L&#257l Pur&#299, established this new society. In the sphere of religion, the Sat Sabh&#257 preached an eclectic theism, very similar in content to that professed by the Lahore Brahmo Sam&#257j. It also sought to encourage education, replace traditional rituals with new rationalistic ceremonies, and to improve the social position of women. The major difference between the Sat Sabh&#257 and the Brahmo Sam&#257j lay in the area of language. The Brahmo Sam&#257j published its literature in either English or Hindi. Brahmo leaders, such as Nov&#299n Chandra R&#257i, espoused Hindi for education and government administration. The Sat Sabh&#257, by contrast, made the encouragement of Punajbi in the Gurmukh&#299 script one of its major goals. Led by Beh&#257r&#299 L&#257l, the secretary of the Sabh&#257, they debated and argued in favour of Punajbi. Beh&#257r&#299 L&#257l's reputation as a poet and composer of popular <i>bhajans</i> strengthened his advocacy of the Punjabi language. Beh&#257r&#299 L&#257l wrote hymns with two goals in mind : first to create devotional songs in praise of a theistic God and secondly to provide alternatives to those traditional songs of Punjabi women which he and other reformers considered immoral. Under the leadership of Beh&#257r&#299 L&#257l, the Sat Sabh&#257 opened a small school in 1882. This school taught in Punjabi using the Gurmukh&#299 script. The Sabh&#257 also presented a memorandum to the Hunter Educational Commission in which they argued their standpoint on language and education. The Sat Sabh&#257's advocacy of Punjabi made it one of the few groups outside of the Sikh community to espouse this language in the debates of the late nineteenth century.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The second major leader of the Sat Sabh&#257 was Pa&#7751&#7693it Bh&#257n&#363 Datta Basant R&#257m, the &#256ch&#257rya of the society. Bh&#257n&#363 Datta took a prominent role in the religious debates among Punjabi Hindus. He clashed with the great orthodox leader Pa&#7751&#7693it Shraddh&#257 R&#257m Phillaur&#299 and later opposed the &#256rya Sam&#257j when Sw&#257m&#299 Day&#257nand came to Lahore in 1877. Pa&#7751&#7693it Bh&#257n&#363 Datta provided leadership for the Sat Sabh&#257 after the death of Beh&#257r&#299 L&#257l in 1885. Even though the Sabh&#257 did not become a mass movement like the &#256rya Sam&#257j and remained confined to Lahore, it provided a centre for discussion and debate during the latter years of the nineteenth century. Numerous prominent individuals spoke at the Sabh&#257 hall including Nov&#299n Chandra R&#257i, Pa&#7751&#7693it Ganesh Datt, Yog&#299 Shiv N&#257th, and S.P Bha&#7789&#7789&#257ch&#257rjee. The school was well maintained and the annual anniversary celebrations of the Sat Sabh&#257 remained an event of importance in the life of Lahore. Throughout its history it continued to be seen as a "Brahmic institution, whose object is to inculcate pure Theistic worship." The Sat Sabh&#257 remains in Punjab history as an early example of social and religious reform stemming directly from the cultural influence of the Brahmo Sam&#257j, but in a particularly Punjabi form tied to the advancement of the Punjabi language.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Jones, Kenneth W., <i>Arya Dharam</i>. Delhi, 1976<BR> <li class="C1"> Kanal, P.V, <i>Bhagw&#257n Dev Atma</i>. Lahore, 1942<BR> <li class="C1"> Tuls&#299 Deva, <i>Shraddh&#257 Prak&#257sh arth&#257t Sr&#299 Pa&#7751&#7693it Shraddh&#257 R&#257m j&#299 K&#257 J&#299van</i>.Lahore, 1896<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Kenneth W. Jones<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>