By,

S3, BNYS

S-VYASA University

Introduction

Early Life

Dayanand’s Mission

Arya samaj

The 10 principles of Arya Samaj

Death of a saint

Message of Dayanand Saraswati

References

Dayanand Saraswati was a reformer and believed in pragmatism

The founder of the Arya Samaj

The great sage who sought to restore to Hinduism its natural radiance and wisdom

A fearless reformer. He saved the man who poisoned him - so boundless was his goodness

Dayanand Saraswati was responsible for the revival of the Indian educational system by bringing together pupil from different strata of the society under one umbrella, that is, classroom

Dayanand Saraswati was born on 12,

February, 1824 in Tankara, Gujarat.

His original name was Mool Shankar.

His mother Amrithbai, was a beautiful and

Virtuous woman. She was like a mother to all

the villagers

His father Karsanji was a tax collector and

was a rich person

He belonged to Brahmin family

When he attained the age of

five, Moolashankar's education started.

At the age of eight, his Upanayana Samskara

(being invested with the holy thread) was

performed.

The boy used to perform religious rites like

'Sandhyavandana’ with devotion.

He had a very good memory. By the time he

was fourteen he had learnt by heart the

Yajurveda, the scriptures and the

Upanishads

Karshanji wished that his son should follow

his footsteps by becoming a devotee of Shiva

He, therefore, used to describe the

greatness of Shiva every now and then

He would advise the boy to worship Lord

Shiva and only then eat something on days of

festivals

Moolashankar had a sharp intellect and an

extraordinary memory

Dayananda set about the difficult task of reforming Hinduism with dedication despite attempts on his life

He traveled the country challenging religious scholars and priests to discussions and won repeatedly on the strength of his arguments

He believed that Hinduism had been corrupted by divergence from the founding principles of the Vedas and misled by the priesthood for the priests' self-aggrandizement

Hindu priests discouraged lay people from reading Vedic scriptures and encouraged rituals, such as bathing in the Ganges and feeding of priests on anniversaries, which Dayananda pronounced as superstitions or self-serving

Swami Dayananda was critical of Islam and Christianity and also of other Indian faiths such as Jainism, Buddhism, besides denouncing idolatry in Hinduism—as may be seen in his book Satyartha Prakash

He was against what he considered to be the corruption of the pure faith in his own country. Unlike many other reform movements within Hinduism, the Arya Samaj's appeal was addressed not only to the educated few in India, but to the world as a whole as evidenced in the sixth principle of the Arya Samaj.

Dayananda's Vedic message was to emphasize respect and reverence for other human beings, supported by the Vedic notion of the divine nature of the individual–divine because the body was the temple where the human essence (soul or "atma") had the possibility to interface with the creator ("Paramatma")

In the ten principles of the Arya Samaj, he enshrined the idea that "All actions should be performed with the prime objective of benefiting mankind", as opposed to following dogmatic rituals or revering idols and symbols

In his own life, he interpreted moksha to be a lower calling (due to its benefit to one individual) than the calling to emancipate others

Dayanand Saraswati undertook a tour of the

entire county, made fiery speeches condemning

the caste system, idolatry, and child marriages

He advocated the ideal age for a girl to be

between 16 and 24, and for men between 25 and

40

Dayanand Saraswati was the first leader in the

field of theology who welcomed the advances of

sciences and technology

To him, the Vedas as the source book contain

the seed of science, and to him, the Vedas

advocate the philosophy of dynamic realism

On 7 April, 1875 Dayanand Saraswati formed

the Arya Samaj at Bombay

It was a Hindu reforms movement, meaning

"society of the nobles"

The purpose of the samaj was to move the

Hindu religion away from the fictitious

beliefs

'Krinvanto Vishvam Aryam" was the motto of

the samaj, which means, "Make this world

noble"

Today, the Arya Samaj organization is very

active not only in India but also in various

parts of the world

The United

States, Canada, Trinidad, Mexico, United

Kingdom, Netherlands, Kenya, Tanzania, Uga

nda, South

Africa, Malawi, Mauritius, Pakistan, Burma, T

hailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia

are some of the countries where the Samaj

has its branches

Swami Dayananda's creation, the Arya Samaj, is a unique contribution in Hinduism. The Arya Samaj unequivocally condemns idol worship, animal sacrifice, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priest craft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability, child marriages and discrimination against women on the grounds that all these lacked Vedic sanction

To many people, the Arya Samaj aims to be a "universal society" based on the authority of the Vedas

1. God is the efficient cause of all true knowledge

and all that is known through knowledge.

2. God is existent, intelligent and blissful. He is

formless, omniscient, just, merciful, unborn, endle

ss, unchangeable, beginning-less, unequalled, the

support of all, the master of

all, omnipresent, immanent, un-

aging, immortal, fearless, eternal and holy, and

the maker of all. He alone is worthy of being

worshiped.

3.The Vedas are the scriptures of all true

knowledge. It is the paramount duty of all

Aryas to read them, teach them , recite

them and to hear them being read.

4.We should dispel Avidya (ignorance) and

promote Vidya (knowledge)

5.One should always be ready to accept truth and to renounce untruth.

6.All acts should be performed in accordance with Dharma that is, after deliberating what is right and wrong.

7.The prime object of the Arya Samaj is to do good to the world, that is, to promote physical, spiritual and social good of everyone.

8.Our conduct towards all should be guided by love, righteousness and justice.

(cont…)

9.No one should be content with promoting

his/her good only; on the contrary, one should

look for his/her good in promoting the good of

all.

10.One should regard oneself under restriction

to follow the rules of society calculated to

promote the well being of all, while in

following the rules of individual welfare all

should be free.

Due to his radical thinking and approach to

the social issues and beliefs Dayanand

Saraswati had created many enemies around

him

One such enemy of the saint was the

Maharaja of Jodhpur. On the occasion of

Diwali, the King invited Dayanand Saraswati

to Jodhpur and killed him by offering food

mixed with poison, in 1883

The king was believed to be against the

principles of Dayanand Saraswati

Dayanand Saraswatiji reminded his countrymen of the egalitarian(advocating equal rights for all) approach of the Vedas

He said that the smrutis and puranas misled people into such practices as untouchability, and exploitation of women

He was primarily responsible for reviving the ancient Indian educational system of gurukula, where students from different strata of the society studied together under one guru without class, or caste discrimination

Dayanand Saraswati's greatest measure was

to convert people from so called lower

castes and non-Hindu religions into the Vedic

religion

‘Our Vedas are the earliest books,

Hinduism is the most ancient of all the

religions that have survived …

Wikipedia

The ―Light of Truth‖, by Swami Dayanand

"The sparkling energy of India lies in Hinduism. Without the framework of Hindu belief India would fall apart. Without Hinduism India is not herself "

THANK YOU…