Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (born Bhabanicharan Bandyopadhtay, 1861-1907) was a complicated, rebellious, and seemingly contradictory man in a turbulent period of colonial history of Bengal. Inspired from an early life with a patriotic zeal for freeing his motherland from the British, at the age seventeen i.e. in the seventees of the ninetieth century, he decided not to complete his education or to marry but to devote himself to the struggle for independence as a celibate journalist. In time, as a young adult, he became increasingly attracted to the Brahmo teachings of Keshab Chandra Sen.
But gradually he developed a love for Jesus, which led to his conversion to Roman Catholicism in the mid 1890s. Taking the saffron robes of a Hindu renouncer, going barefoot and wearing a cross, he changed his last name from Bandyopadhyay (venerated teacher) to the simpler Upadhyay (teacher).
Influenced by Swami Vivekananda he retraced his steps back to Hinduism. In 1902, he gave a series of lectures in Europe. 
He left Shantiniketan within 4/5 months.
He left Shantiniketan within 4/5 months. A young graduate, Monaranjan Bhattacharya, became the Headmaster of Santiniketan after the summer vacation. At first the school was free but when Rabindranath observed that his countrymen did not come forward with financial help on the basis of idealism, he began collecting fees from the boarders since July 1902. The vision of an Ashram free of cost ended in no time.
