The Brahmo Samaj emerged in Calcutta, in the region historically known as Bengal, as a distinct monotheistic reform movement. It was founded in 1828 under the leadership of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who sought to purify and elevate religious life by emphasizing a singular, formless divine reality. This founding moment in Calcutta marked a turning point for those seeking a more rational and ethical spiritual path within the broader Indic tradition. The city itself, a center of intellectual and cultural ferment, provided fertile ground for such a movement to take root and develop.

At its inception, this body was known as the “Brahmo Sabha,” a name that reflected its early character as an assembly devoted to the worship of the one supreme Brahman and to the reform of religious practice. Over time, as its ideas and institutional life matured, it came to be known as the “Brahmo Samaj,” a term that evokes a community or society united by shared spiritual aspirations. This later renaming, under the guidance of Debendranath Tagore, signaled a consolidation of its identity and a clearer articulation of its reformist and devotional ideals. In this evolution from Sabha to Samaj, one can discern a movement from a small circle of seekers toward a more structured spiritual community grounded in monotheistic devotion and ethical renewal.