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Website of the ADI DHARM PRACHAR SAMITI
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Introduction
Adi Dharm (aka 'Adi Dharma' and 'Adi Dharam') is the religion of the Adi Brahmo Samaj, the first development of Brahmaism. It is an organized casteless movement in India, founded by Ram Mohan Roy, Debendranath Tagore, and Prasanna Coomar Tagore in the early 19th century. The adherents, termed as "Adi-Dharmi"s worship the ancient formless indivisible one God called Brahma or the Parambrahma. The Adi Dharm religion repudiates all distinctions between people and stands for the foundation of a modern educated Dharmic world order under the timeless and formless God.
Short points
- Adi Dharm is the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj, the first development of Brahmaism
- It is the first organized casteless movement in British India and spread rapidly across Hindustan
- Ram Mohan Roy, Debendranath Tagore, and Prasanna Coomar Tagore are the original founders of Adi Dharma
- The adherents of Adi Dharma worship the ancient formless indivisible one God called Brahma or the Parambrahma
- Adi Dharma is not an anti-caste movement but stands for the repudiation of all distinctions between people
- Adi-Dharam differs from Brahmanical Hinduism in terms of core doctrinal beliefs
- Adi-Dharm opposes polytheism and idolatry, denounces "man-worship" or "God-men," and upholds equality among all men, denouncing distinctions like caste, race, creed, color, gender, and nationality.
- Adi-Dharm considers work as the way of existence, and there is no salvation or way to achieve it.
- In Adi Dharma there is no scripture, revelation, creation, prophet, priest, or teacher to be revered. Worship consists of revering the "inner light within," i.e., enlightened conscience.
- The religion opposes distinctions between people and rejects the need for priests, places of worship, long sermons, etc.
- Adi-Dharma was started by those Brahmins of Bengal who were excommunicated from the Hindu faith for opposing social and priestly evils of the time.These mobile scholars of priestly Brahmin clans were in contact with foreign rulers, which led to their ostracization by their "fixed" priestly Hindu clan peers.