Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha
सनातन धर्म महा सभा
𑂮𑂢𑂰𑂞𑂢⸱𑂡𑂩𑂹𑂧⸱𑂧𑂯𑂰⸱𑂮𑂦𑂰
AbbreviationSDMS (internationally SDMSTT)
TypeHindu religious organization
ClassificationSanātanī
ScriptureVedas · Puranas · Upanishads · Ramayan/Ramcharitmanas · Mahabharat (incl. Bhagavad Gita) · Manusmriti · other Hindu scriptures
Theologycombination of Ramanandi Sampradaya, Vedanta (incl. Vishishtadvaita), Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Smartism and other Hindu traditions[1][2]
DharmacharyaPt. Dr. Rampersad Parasram
Secretary GeneralVijay Maharaj[3]
President GeneralPt. Krishna Rambally
President of the
Pundits' Parishad		Pt. Navin Omadath Maharaj
RegionTrinidad and Tobago • United States (Houston, Texas)
LanguageTrinidadian Hindustani · Sanskrit · Modern Standard Hindi · Trinidadian and Tobagonian English
HeadquartersSaint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
FounderBhadase Sagan Maraj[4]
OriginJune 2, 1952 (1952-06-02)
RecognitionAct 41 of 1952 of the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago
Merger ofSanatan Dharma Association of Trinidad and Sanatan Dharma Board of Control[5]
Primary schools43[6]
Secondary schools5[6]

The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), pronounced [sənɑːt̪ənə d̪ʰərmə məɦɑː səbʰɑː], colloquially known as the Maha Sabha, is the largest and most influential Hindu organization in Trinidad and Tobago. It operates 150 mandirs, over 50 schools, and has its own radio station, Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM, and TV channel, TV Jaagriti. They also operate the Indian Caribbean Museum of Trinidad and Tobago. It was formed in 1952 when Bhadase Sagan Maraj engineered the merger of the Sanatan Dharma Association and the Sanatan Dharma Board of Control. An affiliated group, the Pundits' Parishad, has 200 affiliated pundits. The organisation's headquarters are located in St. Augustine.[7][8]

The Dharmacharya of the Maha Sabha is Pt. Dr. Rampersad Parasram, the President General is Pt. Krishna Rambally, and the Secretary General from 1977 to his death on November 16, 2019, was Satnarayan Maharaj, son-in-law of the founder, Bhadase Sagan Maraj. Satnarayan Mahahraj's son Vijay Maharaj has succeeded him as the acting Secretary General.[9]

In 1881, a Sanatan Dharma Association was founded in Trinidad and Tobago in an attempt to consolidate Hindus and lobby on their behalf. This Association, however, was not known for any significant advances in Hindu organizational development. Other groups existed by the 1920s including the Trinidad Hindu Maha Sabha, San Feranado Hindu Sabha, and the Sanatan Dharma Prabartakh Sabha. But these, too, were not especially dynamic in shaping the course of Hindu history. The most significant advances in Hindu organizational development of these Sabhas came as a response to the Arya Samaj and its missionaries.

The controversies stirred by the Arya Samaj spokesmen acted as a kind of catalyst for the leaders of the Sanātanī (Orthodox Hindu) community to make greater strides towards effective organization. The Sanatan Dharma Association was incorporated by an act of Legislature in 1932. A conservative group of Hindus led by Pt. Sahadeo Tiwari, established a rival organization, the Sanatan Dharma Board of Control which was also incorporated in 1932. Each of these served to represent the interests of the Hindu community with regard to social action or issues surrounding the orthodoxy; they also served to liaise with colonial or parliamentary authorities. In 1935, in a move to demonstrate greater legitimacy, the Board became formally affiliated with the Sanatan Dharma Pratindhi Sabha based in Lahore, British India (present day Pakistan). Pundits and laymen throughout the island became affiliated with one or the other of the two national Hindu bodies. The Sanatan Dharma Board of Control, for example had branches in 32 villages by the late 1930s.

The greatest development in the Hindu communal activity in Trinidad and Tobago began in 1952 when under the guidance and direction of powerful Pt. Goberdhan JP of Siparia Old Road in southern Trinidad, British Trinidad and Tobago (who acted as a representative of the Governor General of Trinidad and Tobago at difficult times) Bhadase Maraj united the Sanatan Dharma Association and the Sanatan Dharma Board of Control. In that year Maraj, a self-made millionaire and sugar union leader, merged the two Sanātanī Hindu bodies, to create a much more powerful pressure group and public organization. The new organization, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, was incorporated in 1952. The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha's parishad, or council of pundits worked towards a complete coordination of temples activities and the standardization of ritual procedure. Relatively few structured, permanent religious groups existed in Trinidad's Indian villages until the advent of the Maha Sabha school building programme. Many mandirs were constructed or affiliated in addition. In order to ensure uniform teaching and practices, the Maha Sabha published literature to be used at all schools and temples.

Yet foremost on the new organization agenda was education, which its members saw as the key to promoting Hindu unity in all parts of the country, to promulgating the faith among future generations of Hindus, and to provide Indians with greater opportunities for social advancement. Between 1952 and 1956 the Maha Sabha built no less than 31 schools all over the island. Today the Maha Sabha operates 42 schools in Trinidad and Tobago, over 150 mandirs, and affiliated over 200 pundits.[10]

Dharmacharyas

References

  1. ↑ West, Jacqueline (2001). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002. Psychology Press. ISBN 9781857431216.
  2. ↑ The Hindu presence in Trinidad and Tobago Archived April 15, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Son to succeed Sat in SDMS". 15 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Maharaj, Sat (2013-02-21). "Bhadase The Politician". Trinidad Guardian. Guardian Media. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  5. ↑ Taylor, Patrick; Case, Frederick I. (2013-04-30). The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions: Volume 1: A - L; Volume 2: M - Z. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252094330.
  6. 1 2 MSSB-22-01-2021
  7. ↑ "'Theatre in motion' at Baal Vikaas finals". Trinidad Express. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  8. ↑ "Home". Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  9. ↑ "Son to succeed Sat in SDMS". 15 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "'Service of Sanatan Dharma Maha sabha". Bharat Marg. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  11. ↑ "Pandit Basdeo Misir Rare Photos & Biography, First Dharmacharya of Trinidad & Tobago".
  12. ↑ "NCIC president Deokinanan Sharma passes the baton". 23 October 2022.
  13. ↑ "Pt. Bhisham Persad » » About Me".
  14. ↑ "Rare Photos of Pandits of Trinidad".
  15. ↑ "Death of a Guru". 2003-10-21.
  16. ↑ "Maha Sabha loses its Spiritual Head". 2018-11-30.
  17. ↑ "Pundit Uttam Maharaj is new Dharmachaya". 2005-05-03.
  18. ↑ "New Dharmacharya congratulated". 2019-05-05.
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