Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883)

 Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883) 🙏🙏

      

     Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, was born in a conservative Brahmin family of Gujrat, in 1824. In his childhood, he was known as Moolshankar. His father, Karsanji Trivedi, was a Tehsildar in Morbi, Kathiawar in Gujarat. He was raised in the orthodox Hindu tradition but soon he found himself unsatisfied with the archaic teachings and practices. At a very young age, he lost faith in idol worship, when on Shivaratri night, (when he was keeping awake to seek blessings of Lord Shiva) he saw mice running over the idol of Shiva. This greatly shocked him and he could not reconcile with the idea of an omnipotent living God, with this idol, which allowed mice to run over his body. Thus, in a flash, the maladies which afflicted Hinduism in those days appeared before him. Hindu religion should be freed from superstitions, dogmas, excess of ritualism and a new social order should be striven for, which would be free from the shackles of casteism, idolatry and other such ills.

       While his father was contemplating his marriage, Moolshankar left his home in 1845 and joined the Saraswati order of ascetics. For the next 15 years (1845-60), he travelled all over India as a sanyasin in search of a religious truth. During these travels, he came in contact with scholars like Lala Bhagat, Brahmananda, Parmananda Parmahansa and Swami Vrajananda. He held numerous discourses with these scholars, about the Vedanta Philosophy and finally became the disciple of Swami Vrajananda. He also studied about the secrets of Yoga Vidya. In his religious teachings, he accepted the old doctrine of karma and transmigration, but he developed a highly sophisticated monistic philosophy, which stressed the ideals of self-perfection and ethical universalism. Dayanand concluded that, current religious beliefs and social institutions were hopelessly corrupt. With this conviction, he began to preach an aggressive reforming doctrine which urged a return to the pristine Vedic tradition.

   In 1875, Dayanand established the Arya Samaj at Bombay. The Arya Samaj was an outcome of the reaction to Western influences. Swami Dayanand rejected western ideas and sought to revive the ancient religion of the Aryans. He aimed at creating a classless society and gave the call back to the Vedas. He gave his own interpretation of the Vedas. He disregarded the authority of the later Hindu scriptures like the Puranas and described them as the work of lesser men, and responsible for the evil practices of idol worship and other superstitious beliefs in Hindu religion. Dayanand condemned idol worship. While his commitments seemed basically ‘fundamentalist’ and somewhat orthodox, in fact, he advocated radical reforms. He decried untouchability and casteism, as not sanctioned by the Vedas. He condemned child marriage. He advocated widow marriage and a high status for women in society. He translated one and half of the Vedas in Hindi. His teachings on religious and social issues are contained in his works ‘Rig Vedadi Bhashya Bhumika’ (A prefatory exposition of the Rig Veda and others) and ‘Satyartha Prakash’ (Manifestation of true meanings). The contribution of Swami Dayanand and his followers to education in modern India is unparalleled. Arya Samaj, founded by Dyanand, established a large number of educational institutions, like; Gurukuls, Kanya Grukuls and D.A.V. (Dayanand Anglo Vaidic) Schools and Colleges, especially in northern India which did a commendable job of imparting education to males as well as females. Arya Samaj made remarkable contribution to reform Hindu religion and Indian society, by eliminating the prevailing evils. It started the Shudhi movement to convert non-Hindus to Hinduism. It also contributed to the growth of enlightenment and political consciousness through its educational activities.

              

          His outspoken criticism of Hindu tradition and his reforming interests provoked the hatred of many orthodox and conservative circles. Numerous attempts were made on his life, and he was finally poisoned in 1883. Dayanand wanted to collect the good points from all religion. His emphasis on self-reliance made some of the Arya Samajist institutions, almost a challenge to British authority. But the chief achievement of Dayanand was in imparting in his followers a passion for reforms. Dayanand’s personality and purifying reforms earned him the epithet ‘The Luther of India’.