Debendranath Tagore (15 May 1817 – 19 January 1905) was an Indian philosopher and religious reformer, active in the Brahmo Samaj (earlier called Bhramho Sabha) ("Society of Brahma", also translated as Society of God). He joined Brahmo samaj in 1842. He was the founder in 1848 of the Brahmo religion, which today is synonymous with Brahmoism. Born in Shilaidaha, his father was the industrialist Dwarkanath Tagore; he himself had 14 children, many of whom, including Nobel-prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore, made significant artistic or literary contributions to society. Thakur Bari (House of Tagores) Debendranath Tagore was born to the Tagore family in Jorasanko, popularly known as Jorasanko Thakur Bari in North-western Kolkata, which was later converted into a campus of the Rabindra Bharati University. The Tagore family, with over three hundred years of history, has been one of the leading families of Calcutta, and is regarded as a key influence during the Bengal Renaissance. The family has produced several persons who have contributed substantially in the fields of business, social and religious reformation, literature, art and music. Education and work Debendranath studied at home from 1823-25. In 1827, he was admitted to the Anglo Hindu College established by Raja Rammohan Roy. After studying there for some time, he started looking after his father's property and business, as well as philosophy and religion. When his grandfather died in 1838, he had a mental change. He became interested in religion and started studying various subjects including Mahabharata, Upanishads and Eastern-Western philosophy. As a result, he developed a desire for spirituality. He established the "Tattwaranjani Sabha" (1839), which was later renamed as the Tattwabodhini Sabha. At this time he published a Bengali translation of the Katha Upanishad (1840). In 1842, Debendranath took charge of the Tattwabodhini Sabha and the Brahmo Samaj. The following year, the Tattwabodhini Magazine was published in his own money under the editorship of Akshay Kumar Datta. In this newspaper, the Upanishads were published with Debendranath's scholarship and Bengali translation. With the efforts of Debendranath, the public meetings were started on the Vedas. In 1844, Debendranath introduced the first method of Brahmopasana and from the following year it was used in the Brahmo Samaj. As a result of his long study of scriptures, he realized that it was not possible to lay the foundation of Brahmanism on the Upanishads alone. So from 1848 onwards, he gradually started publishing a translation