The message of Bahagavan Das on the present significance of the Vedic Social Order

THE MESSAGE OF BHAGAVAN DAS ON THE PRESENT SIGNIFICANCE OF THE VEDIC SOCIAL ORDER

Dr. Bhagavan Das was born about 1868 and died three years ago. As much as can here be told of his life is taken from the autobiographical sketches which he has given at the beginning of some of his books. In his early days he studied psychology, ethics and metaphysics, reading both in English and Sanskrit, and later he entered the service of the government of India. From his earliest thinking days he started to wrestle with the problems of life and thought and by the time he had reached his twentieth year he had, as he himself puts it, found satisfaction. An answer arose in his mind as to the ultimate ‘Why’ and ‘How’, and from then on his mind was more or less at peace in the centre. He thereupon set before himself as his life’s work, with which he persisted tirelessly all his days, to communicate to others and to develop in action the results of his personal labours.

He started working on the notions of his whole scheme in 1887 at the age of nineteen, and some sketches of it were published in The Theosophist in 1894 and the following years. He received from then onwards the greatest help and encouragement from Mrs. Annie Besant, with whom he worked closely and for whom he had great admiration. It was at her suggestion that his first book, ‘The Science of the Emotions’, was written and published in I900.

His written work may be divided into three main parts, represented by three major books: “The Science of Peace’, in which he gives the metaphysical foundations which are applied in the other two books: ‘The Science of the Emotions’, in which these are

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