Page:The Autobiography of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore.djvu/68

 unmindful of the debt of gratitude he owed to the Adi Samaj, and was always anxious to establish a modus vivendi between the two churches. He even drew up a scheme with that object, and submitted it to my father for his approval, but somehow all his efforts in that direction fell through. Nevertheless, he continued to cherish the utmost reverence and regard for my father, and the latter treated him with paternal affection to the last. The schism in the Brâhma-Samaj made no difference in their mutual friendly and cordial relations.

The foundation of the new Church of India gave an impetus to much missionary enterprise, and Pratap Chandra Mazumdar, one of the most devoted and prominent of Keshab's followers, was selected for mission work in Southern India, where, through his exertions, a Brâhma-Samaj was established in the city of Madras. Later on, Pratap Chandra carried the banner of theism across the Atlantic, and made his influence felt chiefly amongst our Unitarian brethren in the West, and succeeded in enlisting their sympathies and co-operation in our cause. Keshab himself went about preaching the religion in Bombay and Northern India. Aghornath Gupta, another missionary, traversed with much difficulty the inaccessible forests of Assam, and preached with success among its rude and superstitious people.

Having established his church on a firm footing, Keshab, like the founder of the Brahma-Samaj,