2 HISTORY OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ open a place of worship where there was no image of a god or goddess was in itself a revolution, the importance and significance of which can be realised only by those who have some knowledge of the general degeneracy of the times. I shall try, therefore, to describe briefly the condition of Bengal at the time of the birth of the Brahmo Samaj.
The whole country, and especially the province of Bengal, was steeped in the most debasing forms of idolatry. The moral and spiritual aspects of religion and its elevating influence upon character had long been lost sight of, and in their place the grossest superstitions had taken hold of the national mind. Men were clinging to dead forms and trying to draw spiritual sustenance therefrom, as children cling to the corpses of their dead mothers. Their superstitious adherence to these forms was encouraged by the priestly class, whose prestige and power depended upon their continuance, and was fostered by a class of Brahmin preachers called Kathaks, who made their living by giving popular expositions of Hindu mythology, often working upon the imagination and credulity of the multitude. Thus the most extravagant mythological stories and false ideas of religion became current and were implicitly believed in by the ignorant masses. As a result, revolting prac-
