Harichand Thakur (English)

Harichand Thakur

By : Sudhir Ranjan Halder

Harichand Thakur was born in an agriculturist family of Safaladanga village in the district of Faridpur in East Bengal (now Gopalganj district in Bangladesh) on the 11th March in 1812 AD (1218 Bengali year). His family was Namas in race, then called as `Chandala’ or `Charal’ who were untouchables to the Hindus in those days.

The father’s name of Harichand Thakur was Yashomanta Thakur and mother’s name was Annapurna. His original name was Haridas. He had four brothers namely Krishnadas, Vaishnabdas, Gouridas and Swarupdas. Haichand was the second son of his parents.

We can know all about Harichand Thakur from the book Shri Shri Harililamrita, written by Kabiyal Tarakchandra Sarkar.

The title of the forefathers of Harichand Thakur was ‘Biswas’. The later generations of Ramdas had got the title ‘Thakur’ by the people of the society for their virtuous behaviour, good manners and their daily worshipping of Krishna as Vaishnaba. Some people called them as Bairagi also. After Mukundaram, the grandfather of Harichand Thakur, who was familiar with Mochai Thakur and at the time of Yashomanta Thakur, the title was permanently said as Thakur.

Harichand Thakur was very restless in his boyhood. His boyfriends were Braja, Natu, Bishwanath and others. He spent his time with them rearing the cows as a cowboy. He played with them also. He did not like the Vaishnabas. When the Vaishnabas were used to come to his house, his father ordered him to take the dust and water of the Vaishnaba’s feet, but he did not agree. Sometimes he threw the cloth-bags of the Vaishnabas in the water lurkingly.

The name of the wife of Harichand Thakur was Santibala, who is known to us as Santimata. Her father’s house was at Jikabari village in Faridpur district, now in Bangladesh. Her father’s name was Lochan Pramanik.

The family of Harichand Thakur lived under the zemindary of Suryamani Majumdar. The zemindar had obtained a decree in a false case against the thakur-family and occupied their land property with dwelling-houses. After that event being compelled the thakurs were deserted from Safaladanga village to Ramdiya in Faridpur district. At Ramdiya, they took shelter in Sen’s house and next stage in the house of Bhajaram Chowdhury at neighbouring  village of Orakandi.

Harichand Thakur had no opportunity to get systemic education from any school. In that period, the Namas were named as Chandala and were untouchables. For that reason they had no right to get education in the Brahmnical system. So, he could not go to school and had no bookish education. But he had very sharp intelligence and power of good memory which was exposed to his friends at childhood. His friends and companions were always encircled around him. He had solved all the problems and answered all the questions all of them.

The medical facilities of that time was not so good like to-day’s. In the villages it was more pathetic as there were no doctors and medicines, especially in the villages where the Patit people were living. The Ojhas were the doctors of them. To wear amulets, to exorcise by Ojhas and to depend upon God was only the treatment of the villagers.

Harichand Thakur began to treat medically the patients of neighbouring villages with the natural empiric medicine by his own intelligence.

A greater number of diseases were cured with this treatment by Harichand Thakur and mostly for that reason he gained a good standing as a deliverer of the poor and the Patit people. So, superstitious people of that time, influenced by the Vedic religion regarded him as an Avatar of so-called God.

Not only he played the role of a medical practitioner, but he took up the leading part with all types of social works also. He leaded the expedition of the Jonasur indigo factory at Gopalganj, pleading against the oppression by the indigo planter to the farmers. This time he worked with the various type of works to maintain his family. Some days he was hawking the various type of grocery goods in the villages. Once he was engaged in oil business. Then he started to plough in the uncultivated fields and got a bumper crops. By these works, he showed the way to the villagers to maintain their families and improve their lives.

The real fight of Harichand Thakur was against the inhuman rules such as inequality, false discrimination etc. and baseless imagination of the Vedic religion or the Hinduism. His fight was against the self-seeking rules in the religious books, like the Vedas, the Puranas, the Manusanghita etc. with groundless supersitions and to establish the rationalism. He said, “I am ready to eat the remaining food after eating by a dog, but I will not show respect to rules of the Vedas.” At last he introduced a new religion opposing the Vedic religion for the Patit people of the country. That religion was established as “Matuyadharma”.

Harichand Thakur and his followers were ‘Matta’ (absorbedly engaged) with ‘Haribol’ to do practices of virtue with abandment the Vedic conducts and behaviours. Seeing that practices by them, the opposition of Harichand, especially the Brahmins and the Kayasthas were taunting them as ‘Matto’, ‘Mautta’, then ‘Matuya’. Harichand Thakur had accepted this name. He said, “Bhinna sampraday mora Matuya akhyan” means ‘We are separate community namely ‘Matuya’. Now, who obey or honour his non-Vedic directions, visions and philosophy, they are called the Matuyas.

It is to be remembered that, it was the actual intention for introducing the Matuya religion by Harichand Thakur to tie in a bond of religion, to uplift with peaceful household lives and to abolish the inequality of the Namas and other downtrodden communities and to establish the sense of international brotherhood.

The Matuya Religion is a religion of Works and Messages, which are immaculated and admired by the wises. The speciality of this religion is the instance of truth, equality, universal love, and holiness.

The main directions of the Matuya religion are as follows—

1) to speak the truth,

2) to look upon another’s wife as his own mother,

3) to respect to parents,

4) to love the world,

5) not to believe in casteism,

6) not to disparage other religions,

7) not to make up as a saint,

8) to establish the Shri Hari Mandir [a house of worship],

9) to be careful from six enemies [1. sex-passion, 2. anger, 3. greed, 4. infatuation, 5. vanity and 6. envy],

10) to work by hand and to remember the name of Hari by the mouth,

11) to pray daily and

12) to do self-sacrifice to God.

The parents are the real God in the Matuya religion, they are the creators. They nourish and bring up their children. Becoming a son or a daughter they should have to serve always their parents and remove their griefs.

The definition of God in the Matuya religion is different from that of the God of the Vedic or other religions. Haricahand Thakur said, “He, who uplifted some one, is his God”. Uplift means to be raised in prosperous life in all respects from downtrodden state and obey the directions, visions and philosophy of that God is self-sacrifice to God. Here Harichand Thakur had uplifted the Patits (downfallen people), so, he is their God and to follow his idealism is self-sacrifice to God.

The images of various gods and goddesses are seen in many houses of the Matuyas and they are worshipping or doing puja to them by the side of Harichand Thakur. Gods and goddesses were created by the Vedic men, really it has no existence. The Matuya religion is not a Vedic religion, so, puja of created gods or goddesses in the Hinduism is forbidden for the Matuyas. But common Matuyas are doing those habitually having no idea about this  and by the instigation of the Hindu brahmins.

The main specialities in the Matuya religion are truth, love, holiness, equality, friendship and honesty. To love to all, not to think anybody low or inferior, liberty for all, equal rights and privileges for all, not to try to trace any imaginary god, thinking of worshipping of god by the sacred task of serving to mankind or any living being etc. are the religious practices of the Matuya religion.

The Matuya religion follows many teachings from ancient religion of India— the Sanatan Dharma and the Bauddha Dhamma. But, it is done more simple, easy, household, reasonable and scientific. the Matuya religion may be called as ‘Sukshma Sanatan Dharma’ because, it has many similarity with that. That was on the basis of truth, morality and equality. There was no division by Caste or Varna between man to man. No one was regarded as higher or lower in the society, all men were equal. Any one could do any work by his eligibility.

With the preaching of religion, Harichand Thakur advised to get education for all for prosperity of the community. But he could do nothing for education for the backward communities in his short-lived existence due to the situation and environment of that time. As he advised all, he also directed his elder son Guruchand Thakur to fulfil his wishes and outstanding works.

To introduce the Matuya religion is a great religious revolution. It is nothing but a religious movement against the Vedas, Brahmanas, Yajna (Jagya), caste and classes etc. in India, the country of Brahmanism. It is a declaration of war by Harichand Thakur against the creators of disunity. All Matuyas, men and women are soldiers of that war with equal dignity.

The Matuya religion has a triangular flag with red colour and white border. The red colour is the symbol for revolution and white for peace. Actually the revolution is for living together with equal rights of all human beings. This revolution is for removing the untouchability, inequality, superstition, inhumanity and differences between human creatures and to set up of equality in the society. The musical instruments of the Matuyas are the Jay Danka or Danka, Kansar and Shinga. The symbol of revolution and victory is the flag of Matuya’s hand and the sounds of Danka, Kansar and Shinga to announce the victory in war.

Harichand Thakur took up a great role to preserve the  rights and dignity of women. He always says for equal rights to men and women.

All human beings have equal rights, that is the main rule of the Matuya religion. Harichand Thakur was emphatic mostly on this matter. He opposed the system of differential treatment between men and women in the society. “Women are the doors to go to the hell”—this is written in the “Manusanghita”, the rules book of the Vedic religion. But Harichand Thakur says against this, “It is not possible to establish a model household religion without paying regard to the women. Women are the centre of householder. No family is formed without a woman. All the religious practices should be done with own wife”. For this, he always directed all to emphasize for education, rights and dignity of women.

Harichand Thakur was subsisting only 66 years. He passed away on the 6th March, 1878 (Bengali 1284). That day was  also a Wednesday as his birthday. He directed his elder son Guruchand Thakur at the time before death to fulfil  his intentions, what he could not completed in his lifetime. Guruchand Thakur obeyed his directions with great devotion.