Reformism and Spiritualist Perspectives on Tantra

The Theosophists and their interlocutors were driven by a wish to “revive” the Aryan wisdom that should form the basis of a new age. Yet they also promoted decidedly “reformist” ideas that highlight the necessity to explore the meanings of reform and revival. In this chapter, the emergence of Spiritualism in Bengal helps to flesh out the role of Tantra in social reformist programs that were characteristic of Bengali Spiritualists, as elsewhere across the globe. The chapter discusses prominent figures such as Pyarichand Mitra and Shishirkumar Ghosh, who extensively and creatively engaged with Theosophy, Spiritualism, New Thought, and Transcendentalism. This serves to demonstrate that Theosophy was indeed a main factor in these exchanges, but that Bengali intellectuals maintained global correspondences beyond Theosophy and engaged with the ideas independently and actively.