- Roy believe social reforms not possible w/ religious reforms
- high imptance of religion in social life
- called father of modern india
- student & scholar of vedas, chirstianity, persian & sanskrit literature
- questioned christian superiority on basis of his studies of Vedanta texts and christianity
- believe in universalism
- translated Upnishad to Bangla to prove that Hindu favours monotheism (i.e. universalism)
- vedas superior to hindus, but did not focus on conversion
- his response to british criticism was to go back to the pure past of vedantic traditions
- ∴ accepted decay in recent times, but past glorious
- castes divide, which is why indians lack modern nationalism
- condemned idolatory, priestcraft, child marriage, poor condition of widows, infanticide, casteism, polygamy, polytheism, illiteracy
- opposed to idea of other worldliness (hell, heaven)
- against doctrine of karma and incarnation
- argued Sati = murder
- Rationality supreme, vedas not infallible
- wanted western sciences and western edu not indian edu
- Roy also demanded SoP, Press Freedom, Indians in Civil Services and trial by jury
- Set up Brahmo Samaj 1828 but this group did not take strong stance against karma and transmigration of soul as there are central to hindu religion