Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a
monotheistic Indian
Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
. The samaj was founded by the
sannyasi
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...
(ascetic)
Dayanand Saraswati
Dayanand Saraswati () (born Mool Shankar Tiwari; 2 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) also known as Maharshi Dayanand is an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. His Magnum Opus is the book ...
on 7 April 1875.
Arya Samaj was the first Hindu organization to introduce
proselytization
Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries.
Some draw distinctions between '' evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invo ...
in Hinduism.
The organization has also worked towards the growth of civil rights movement in India since 1800s.
Dayananda Saraswati and Foundation
The Arya Samaj was established in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
on 10 April 1875 by
Dayananda Saraswati (born ''Mool Shankar Tiwari)''.
[E News](_blank)
Aryasamaj website 2 March 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2017
An alternative date for the foundation of the samaj is 24 June 1877 because it was then, in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
when the Samaj became more than just a regional movement based in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
.
Vedic schools
Between 1869 and 1873, Dayanand began his efforts to reform orthodox
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
in India. He established ''
Gurukul
Education in India is primarily managed by state-run public education system, which fall under the command of the government at three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of Childre ...
'' (
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
schools) which emphasised Vedic values, culture, and ''
Satya'' (Truth). The schools gave separate educations to boys and girls based on ancient Vedic principles. The Vedic school system was also to relieve Indians from the pattern of a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
education.
The first Vedic school was established at
Farrukhabad
Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow.
...
in 1869. Fifty students were enrolled in its first year. This success led to the founding of schools at
Mirzapur (1870),
Kasganj
Kasganj is a city and the district headquarters of Kasganj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district was formed by grouping three Tehsils at 17 April 2008 .
History
Kasganj, which lies in the historical region of Braj, was al ...
(1870),
Chhalesar
Chhalesar is a village in the block and nagar panchayat of Jawan Sikandarpur, Aligarh district in Northern India. It is also known for being the location of the fourth Vedic school ("gurukul") founded in 1870 by the Arya Samaj reform movement. ...
(
Aligarh
Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...
) (1870) and
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
(1873).
At the schools, students received all meals, lodging, clothing and books free of charge. The discipline was strict. Students were not allowed to perform ''
murti
In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. T ...
puja'' (worship of sculpted stone idols). Rather, they performed ''
Sandhyavandanam
Sandhyavandanam (Sanskrit: , ', lit. 'salutation to (Goddess) Twilight' or 'salutation during the twilight')
is a mandatory religious ritual centring around the recitation of the Gayatri mantra, traditionally supposed to be performed three times ...
'' (meditative prayer using Vedic mantras with divine sound) and ''
Agnihotra
Agnihotra (IAST: ''Agnihotra'', Devnagari: अग्निहोत्र) refers to the yajna of casting of ghee into the sacred fire as per strict rites, and may include twice-daily heated milk offering made by those in the Śrauta tradition. Th ...
'' (making heated milk offering twice daily).
The study of
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
scriptural texts which accepted the authority of the Vedas were taught. They included the ''
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
'', ''
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
'', ''
Aranyaka
The Aranyakas (; sa, आरण्यक; IAST: ' ) are the part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of the Vedic texts ...
'', ''Kashika'', ''
Nirukta
''Nirukta'' ( sa, निरुक्त, , "explained, interpreted") is one of the six ancient Vedangas, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Nirukta" in The Illustrated Encyclope ...
'', ''
Mahabhasya'', ''
Ashtadhyayi'', ''Darshanas''.
"The Light of Truth" lecture series
After visiting
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, Dayanand's work changed. He began lecturing in
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
rather than in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
. Although Sanskrit garnered respect, in Hindi, Dayanand reached a much larger audience. His ideas of reform began to reach the poorest people.
In
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
, after hearing Dayanand speak, a local government official called Jaikishen Das encouraged Dayanand to publish a book about his ideas. From June to September 1874, Dayanand dictated a series of lectures to his scribe, Bhimsen Sharma. The lectures recorded Dayanand's views on a wide range of subjects. They were published in 1875 in Varanasi with the title ''
Satyarth Prakash
''Satyarth Prakash'' ( hi, सत्यार्थ प्रकाश, ' – "The Light of Meaning of the Truth" or ''The Light of Truth'') is an 1875 book written originally in Hindi by Dayanand Saraswati (Swami Dayanand), an influential religi ...
'' ("The Light of Truth").
New Samaj
While his manuscript for ''Satyarth Prakash'' was being edited in Varanasi, Dayanand received an invitation to travel to
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
. There, he was to debate representatives of the
Vallabhacharya
Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu (1479–1531 CE), also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) ...
sect. On 20 October 1874, Dayanand arrived in Bombay. The debate, though well publicized, never took place. Nonetheless, two members of the
Prarthana Samaj
Prarthana Samaj or "Prayer Society" in Sanskrit, was a movement for religious and social reform in Bombay, India, based on earlier reform movements. Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang in 31 March 1867 when Keshub Chandra Sen vi ...
approached Dayanand and invited him to speak at one of their gatherings. He did so and was well received. They recognized Dayanand's desire to uplift the Hindu community and protect Hindus from the pressures to convert to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
or
Islam. Dayanand spent over one month in Bombay and attracted sixty people to his cause. They proposed founding a new Samaj with Dayanand's ideas as its spiritual and intellectual basis.
Rajkot Arya Samaj
On 31 December 1874, Dayanand arrived in
Rajkot, Gujarat, on the invitation of Hargovind Das Dvarkadas, the secretary of the local Prarthana Samaj. He invited topics of discourse from the audience and spoke on eight. Again, Dayanand was well received and the Rajkot group elected to join his cause. The Samaj was renamed ''Arya Samaj'' (Society of Nobles). Dayanand published a list of twenty-eight rules and regulations for the followers. After leaving Rajkot, Dayanand went to
Ahmedabad but his audience at a meeting on 27 January 1875, did not elect to form a new Arya Samaj. Meanwhile, the Rajkot group had become a political row.
Bombay Arya Samaj
![Arya Samaj R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Arya_Samaj_R.V._Russell_1916.PNG)
On his return to Bombay, Dayanand began a membership drive for a local Arya Samaj and received one hundred enrollees. On 7 April 1875, Bombay Arya Samaj was established. Dayanand himself enrolled as a member rather than the leader of the Bombay group. The Samaj began to grow.
Growth of Arya Samaj after Dayanand
Dayanand was assassinated in 1883. Despite this set back, the Arya Samaj continued to grow, especially in Punjab. The early leaders of the Samaj were
Pandit Lekh Ram
Pandit Lekh Ram (1858 – 6 March 1897) was the leader of the Arya Samaj, an Indian Hindu reform movement, and was also active as a writer and publicist. He is known particularly for his encounters with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ah ...
(1858 1897) and
Swami Shraddhanand
Swami Shraddhanand (22 February 1856 – 23 December 1926), also known as Mahatma Munshi Ram Vij, was an Arya Samaj sannyasi and an Indian Independence activist who propagated the teachings of Dayananda Saraswati. This included the establishment ...
(Mahatma Munshi Ram Vij) (1856 1926). Some authors claim that the activities of the Samaj led to increased
antagonism between Muslims and Hindus. Shraddhanand led the
Shuddhi movement
Shuddhi is Sanskrit for Ritual purification, purification. It is a term used to describe a Hindu religious movement aimed at the religious conversion of non-Hindus of Indian origin back to Hinduism.
Shuddhi movement
The socio-political movement, ...
that aimed to bring Hindus who had converted to other religions back to Hinduism.
In 1893, the Arya Samaj members of Punjab were divided on the question of
vegetarianism. The group that refrained from eating meat were called the ''"Mahatma"'' group and the other group, the "Cultured Party".
In the early 1900s, the Samaj (or organizations inspired by it such as ''Jat Pat Todak Mandal'') campaigned against
caste discrimination. They also campaigned for
widow remarriage
Hindu texts present diverse views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess, to limiting gender roles. The Devi Sukta hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, declares the feminine energy as the esse ...
and
women's education
Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...
. The samaj also established chapters in
British colonies
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Coun ...
having
Indian population such as
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
Fiji,
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
,
Suriname,
Guyana and
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
.
Prominent Indian Nationalists such as
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...
belonged to Arya Samaj and were active in its campaigning.
Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary*
* who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer
*
* in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian national ...
's grandfather followed Arya Samaj, which had a considerable influence on Bhagat Singh.
[Twitter hails Bhagat Singh on his 112th birth anniversary]
Mid-Day, 27 September 2019. The British colonial government in the early part of 20th century viewed the Samaj as a political body. Some Samajis in government service were dismissed for belonging to the Samaj.
In the 1930s, when the Hindu Nationalist group, the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...
grew in prominence in Northern India, they found support from the Arya Samaj of Punjab.
Arya Samaj in Punjab
In Punjab, the Arya Samaj was opposed by the
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
movement which provided the Samaj one of its most aggressive opponents from among the various Muslim groups and whose founder
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphori ...
was extensively involved in theological disputations with Samaj leaders, most notably with
Pandit Lekh Ram
Pandit Lekh Ram (1858 – 6 March 1897) was the leader of the Arya Samaj, an Indian Hindu reform movement, and was also active as a writer and publicist. He is known particularly for his encounters with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ah ...
. It was also opposed by the
Sikh dominated
Singh Sabha
The Singh Sabha Movement was a Sikh movement that began in Punjab in the 1870s in reaction to the proselytising activities of Christians, Hindu reform movements (Brahmo Samajis, Arya Samaj) and Muslims (Aligarh movement and Ahmadiyah). The move ...
, the forerunner of the
Akali Dal.
Arya Samaj in Sindh
The Samaj was active in Sindh at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The activities of the Samaj in the region included using
shuddhi in integrating half-Muslim or low-caste communities into the organization. Narayan Dev, a Samaj member active in making many conversions is extolled as a Sindhi martyr. He is sometimes referred to as 'Dayanand ka vir sipahi' (Dayanand's 's heroic soldier). Dev was killed in a street fight in 1948. The history of Sindhi nationalism is also tied with the activities of the Arya Samaj. In the 19th century, the Hindu community of Sindh had been challenged by Christian missionaries and the Samaj served as a deterrent to the "conversion" done by Christian missionaries in the region. A Hindu Sindhi leader,
K. R. Malkani, later on became prominent in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
. According to Malkani, the Arya Samaj created a "new pride" among the Hindu Sindhis by opening gymnasia and Sanskrit pathshalas in the 1930s.
Arya Samaj in Gujarat
The Arya Samaj of Gujarat members were missionaries from Punjab who had been encouraged to move to Gujarat to carry out educational work amongst the
untouchable castes
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
by the
maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...
,
Sayajirao Gaekwad III
Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Ga ...
. The Gujarat Samaj opened orphanages. The samaj starting losing support when
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
returned to India in 1915 because many activist joined his movement.
Reconversion in Malabar
In 1921,
during a rebellion by the Muslim
Moplah
Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same ...
community of
Malabar Indian newspapers reported that a number of Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. The Arya Samaj extended its efforts to the region to reconvert these people back to Hinduism through
Shuddhi ceremonies.
[Thursby G. R]
''Hindu-Muslim relations in British India: a study of controversy, conflict, and communal movements in northern India 1923–1928''
Brill, Leiden, 1975.
Views of Orthodox Hindu on the Samaj
The then
Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; te ...
of
Badrinath math in 1939 in a letter to the
archbishop of Canterbury, called Arya Samajis Un-Hindu. He also criticized the Samaj efforts at converting Christians and Muslims.
Arya Samaj in Hyderabad state
A branch of Arya Samaj was established at
Dharur in
Beed district
Beed district (Marathi pronunciation: iːɖ is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district headquarters are located at Beed. The district occupies an area of 10,693 km² and has a population of 2,585,049 ...
of
Hyderabad state, the largest princely state during British colonial rule.
Keshav Rao Koratkar was the president of the organization until 1932. During his tenure, the Samaj, established schools and libraries throughout the state. Although a social and religious organization, the Samaj activities assumed a great political role in resisting the government of the Nizam during 1930s. In 1938–1939, Arya Samaj teamed up with the
Hindu Mahasabha to resist the
Nizam
The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...
government through
Satyagraha. The Nizam government responded by
raiding and desecrating Arya Samaj mandirs. The Samaj, in turn, criticized Islam and the Islamic rulers of the state. This widely increased the gulf between the Hindu and Muslim population of the state.
Language issue
Arya Samaj promoted the
use of Hindi in Punjab and discouraged the use of
Punjabi. This was a serious point of difference between the Sikhs, represented by the
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are man ...
group and the Arya Samaj. The difference was marked during the period immediately following the
independence of India and the time of the
Punjabi Suba movement
The Punjabi Suba movement was a long-drawn political agitation, launched by Punjabi speaking people (mostly Sikhs) demanding the creation of a Punjabi Suba, or Punjabi-speaking state, in the post-independence Indian state of East Punjab. Led b ...
(demand for a Punjabi speaking state).
[Lamba K. G]
''Dynamics of Punjabi Suba Movement''
Deep and Deep 1999. p. 90 Accessed 3 February 2017.[Chopra R]
''Love Is The Ultimate Winner''
Partridge, India 2013. p. 9072. Accessed 3 February 2017.[Grewal J. S]
''The Sikhs of the Punjab''
Cambridge University Press 1998. p. 187 Accessed 3 February 2017.
Humanitarian efforts
Arya Samaj is a charitable organisation. For example, donations were made to victims of the
1905 Kangra earthquake
The 1905 Kangra earthquake occurred in the Kangra Valley and the Kangra region of the Punjab Province (modern day Himachal Pradesh) in India on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale and killed more tha ...
. The samaj campaigned for
women's right to vote, and for the protection of widows.
Contemporary Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj in India
Arya Samaj schools and
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
s are found in almost all major cities and as well as in rural areas (especially in the North region) of India. Some are authorised to conduct weddings. The Samaj is associated with the
Dayanand Anglo Vedic
The D.B.V. College Managing Committee, familiarly known as DAVDholakpurMC, is a non-governmental educational organisation in Antarctica and overseas with over 900 schools. 75 colleges and a university. It is based on the ideals of Maharishi Da ...
(DAV) schools which number over eight hundred. There are eight million followers of the Samaj in India.
The former Indian prime minister
Charan Singh, as a young man, was a member of Arya Samaj in
Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Mun ...
.
A branch of Arya Samaj was established in 2015 in
Angul district in the state of Odisha.
Arya Samaj around the world
Arya Samaj is active in countries including
Guyana,
Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
,
Fiji,
Australia,
[Arya Samaj Queensland](_blank)
website. Retrieved 3 February 2017. South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
,
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
and other countries where a significant
Hindu diaspora is present. The Arya Samaj in Kenya runs a number of schools in Nairobi and other cities of the country.
Immigrants to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
from
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
,
Eastern Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historica ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, and the
Caribbean countries have set up Arya Samaj temples for their respective communities.
[Coward H]
''Hindus in Canada, the Third National Metropolis Conference''
Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis 1999. Most major metropolitan areas of the United States have chapters of Arya Samaj.
Core beliefs
![O3m AryaSamaj](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/O3m_AryaSamaj.PNG)
Members of the Arya Samaj believe in one creator God referred to with the syllable '
Aum' as mentioned in the
Yajur Veda
The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...
(40:17). They believe the Vedas are an infallible authority, and they respect the
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
and Vedic philosophy. The Arya Samaj members reject other Hindu religious texts because they are not "pure" works, and because these texts promote things do not support their ideology and are therefore against the Vedas. For instance, they believe epics like the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' and the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
'' are legends of historical figures, and reject them as reference to
supreme beings and
avatars
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
. The members of Arya Samaj also reject other scriptural works such as the
Puranas, the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, and the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
.
Worship of
idols (''murti puja'') is strictly prohibited.
The core beliefs of Arya Samaj are postulated below:
# The primeval cause of all genuine knowledge and all that is known by means of knowledge is God.
# God is truth-consciousness: formless, omnipotent, unborn, infinite, unchangeable, incomparable,
omnipresent
Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to descri ...
, internal, undecaying, immortal, eternal, holy, and creator of the universe. God alone deserves worship.
# The Vedas are repositories of all of true knowledge. It is the paramount duty of all Aryas to study and teach and to propound the Veda.
# One should be ever ready to imbibe
truth
Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as belie ...
and forsake untruth.
# All acts should be done in accordance with
Dharma, i.e. after deliberating upon what is truth and untruth.
# The prime object of Arya Samaj is to
do good to the whole world, i.e. to achieve physical, spiritual and social prosperity for all.
# Our conduct towards all should
be guided by love, by injunctions of Dharma and according to their respective positions.
# One should dispel ignorance and promote knowledge.
# One should not be content with one's own prosperity only, but should consider the prosperity of all as his own prosperity.
# All human beings should abide by the rules concerning
social or everyone's benefit, while
everyone should be free to follow any rule beneficial for him/her.
Practices
![Arya samaj Mandir hawan kaksh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Arya_samaj_Mandir_hawan_kaksh.jpg)
The Arya Samaj members consider the
Gayatri Mantra
The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the '' Rig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. ...
, as the most holy mantra and chant it periodically, do the meditation known as "Sandhya" and make offering to the holy fire (''
havan''). The havan can be performed with a priest for special occasions or without a priest for personal worship. The havan is performed as per the , usually a simplified guide to do havan, having mantras for general or special occasions. The priest is generally a Vedic scholar from the local Arya Samaj Mandir or Gurukul. Sometimes elder members of family or neighbours can also perform the havan acting as a purohit. The host is known as the "
Yajmana". The priest can be called an "
Acharya
In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ...
", "
Swami Ji" or "
Pandit Ji" depending upon his scholarly status and local reputation. It is customary to give a nominal "
dakshina" to the priest after havan, although in Arya Samaj it is more symbolic and the priest does not state any sum. The sum is decided by the host's capability and status but is still a small amount.
Members celebrate ''
Holi
Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...
'' (the start of spring) and ''
Diwali'' (a harvest festival and the victory of good over evil).
Arya Samaj advocates a
lacto-vegetarian
A lacto-vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian; from the Latin root lact-, ''milk'') diet is a diet that abstains from the consumption of meat as well as eggs, while still consuming dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ...
diet and in particular, the
eating of beef is prohibited.
After a death, Arya Samajis will often conduct a havan and collect the ashes on the fourth day.
Diwali
Diwali is a very important day in Arya Samaj as Swami Dayanand died this day. A special havan is done for the same.
![Dia two wicks divali 20151111](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Dia_two_wicks_divali_20151111.jpg)
The Arya Samaj version of the Hindu festival
Diwali is typified by the celebration in
Suriname. The festival celebrates the victory of good over evil. A
vegetarian fast is kept. The
Gayatri Mantra
The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the '' Rig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. ...
is recited while oil lamps are lit, in front of a fire altar lit with sandalwood. One
Diya lamp, which is of larger size has two wicks crossed to produce four lights, one in each direction and is lit first. The smaller lamp has one wick. A lamp is kept in every room except the bathroom and restroom. More lamps can be lit, which can be placed arbitrarily in the yard, living room and so on.
[Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-Century Punjab Paperback – 1 January 2006]
Holi
Holi
Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...
is celebrated as the conclusion of winter and the start of spring to sow the land and hope for a good harvest. This day is marked by colors and songs (''
Chautal''). It does not require specific prayer or fasting, however, some people keep a vegetarian fast on this day. The festivities do not associate Holi with a particular deity such as Vishnu or Shiva. The early Arya Samajist in 19th century Lahore adapted the festival to include prayers and havan but avoid the intoxication, and obscenities associated with traditional celebrations.
[Jones K. W]
''Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-century Punjab''
University of California Press, 1976. p. 95.
Arya Samaj across the world
*
Arya Samaj in Burma
*
Arya Samaj in Fiji
The Arya Samaj was the first religious, cultural and educational Fiji Indian organisation established in Fiji. From its inception, in 1904, it attracted the young, educated and progressive Hindus into its fold. During the first three decades of ...
*
Arya Samaj in Ghana
Arya Samaj was established in Ghana in August 1986 by Pandit Wreston Charles Ankoh when he founded the Arya Vedic Mission in Accra. Ankoh was the first black African to be trained as a Vedic priest in Durban, South Africa. Under the guidance of ...
*
Arya Samaj in Guyana
The Arya Samaj, Ārya Samāj doctrine, a Monotheism, monotheistic Hindu reform movements, Hindu reform movement that rejects the idea of caste and the exclusive role of ''brahmins'' as religious leaders, first arrived in Guyana in the early 1900s ...
*
Arya Samaj in Kenya
The Arya Samaj was founded in Nairobi on 5 July 1903, at a meeting at the home of Jai Gopal attended by forty-five people. The small group of Arya Samajis immediately began plans for a centre for its members and on 11 September 1903, the foundat ...
*
Arya Samaj in Mauritius
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Arya Samaj in Mozambique
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Arya Samaj in Singapore
*
Arya Samaj in South Africa
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement in South Africa. Like other parts of the world where people of Indian origin are settled, the teachings of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj, made their way to South Africa during the begi ...
*
Arya Samaj in Suriname
*
Arya Samaj in Tanzania
*
Arya Samaj in Trinidad and Tobago
*
Arya Samaj in Thailand
The availability of ''Satyarth Prakash'' (Light of Truth), inspired some people of Indian origin in Bangkok to follow the teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati and form the ''Vedic Dharam Pracharni Sabha'' on 5 May 1920. Weekly gatherings were h ...
*
Arya Samaj in Uganda
See also
*
Guru–shishya tradition
The ''guru–shishya'' tradition, or ''parampara'' ("lineage"), denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in Indian-origin religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism (including Tibetan and Zen traditions). Each ''parampar ...
*
Hindu reform movements
Contemporary groups, collectively termed Hindu reform movements, reform Hinduism, Neo-Hinduism, or Hindu revivalism, strive to introduce regeneration and reform to Hinduism, both in a religious or spiritual and in a societal sense. The movement ...
*
Sampradaya
''Sampradaya'' ( sa, सम्प्रदाय; ), in Indian origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and ...
References
Further reading
* Chamupati M. A. (2001) ''Ten Commandments of Arya Samaj'' New Delhi: D.A.V. Publications.
* Jordens J. T. F. (1978) ''Dayanada Saraswati'' Oxford University Press, Delhi
*Madhu Kishwar, "The Daughters of Aryavarta: Women in the Arya Samaj movement, Punjab." Chapter in Women in Colonial India; Essays on Survival, Work and the State, edited by J. Krishnamurthy, Oxford University Press, 1989.
* Rai L. (1915) ''The Arya Samaj: an Account of its Aims, Doctrine and Activities, with a Biographical Sketch of the Founder'' D.A.V. College Managing Committee, New Delhi .
* Rai L. (1993) ''A History of the Arya Samaj'' New Delhi .
* Ruthven M. (2007) ''Fundamentalism: a Very Short Introduction'' Oxford University Press .
* Sharma J. M. (1998) ''Swami Dayanand: a Biography'' USB, India .
* Sethi R. "Rashtra Pitamah Swami Dayanand Saraswati" M R Sethi Educational Trust, Chandigarh.
* Upadhyaya G. P. (1954) ''The Origin, Scope and Mission of the Arya Samaj'' Arya Samaj.
* Shastri V. (1967) ''The Arya Samaj'' Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha.
* Pandey D. (1972) ''The Arya Samaj and Indian Nationalism, 1875–1920'' S. Chand.
* Pandit S. (1975) ''A Critical Study of the Contribution of the Arya Samaj to Indian Education'' Sarvadeshik Arya, Pratinidhi Sabha.
* Vedalanker N. and Somera M. (1975) ''Arya Samaj and Indians Abroad'' Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha.
* Vable D. (1983) ''The Arya Samaj: Hindu Without Hinduism'' Vikas.
* Sharma S. K. (1985) ''Social Movements and Social Change: a Study of Arya Samaj and Untouchables in Punjab'' B.R. Publishing.
* Yadav K. C. and Arya K. S. (1988) ''Arya Samaj and the Freedom Movement: 1875–1918'' Manohar Publications. .
* Saxena G. S. (1990) ''Arya Samaj Movement in India, 1875–1947'' Commonwealth Publishers. .
* Sethi R. (2009) ''Rashtra Pitamah, Swami Dayanand Saraswati'' M R Sethi Educational Trust, Chandigarh
* Chopra R. M. (2009) ''
Hinduism Today
''Hinduism Today'' is a quarterly magazine published by the Himalayan Academy, a nonprofit educational institution, in Kapaʻa, Hawaiʻi, USA. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally, currently in 60 nations. Founded by ...
''
* Jamnager A. S. and Pandya D
''Aryasamaj Ke Stambh''A. S. Jamnager's website.
* Jones K. ''Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-Century Punjab''
* Dayananda, S., & Bharadwaja, C. (1932). Light of truth, or, An English translation of the Satyartha prakasha: The well-known work of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Madras: Arya Samaj.
*
Swami Shraddhananda, . (1926). Hindu sangathan: Saviour of the dying race. Delhi: Shraddhananda.
* Swami Śraddhānanda, . (1984). Inside the Congress: A collection of 26 articles. New Delhi: Dayanand Sansthan.
External links
*
{{Authority control
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Hindu new religious movements
Monotheistic religions
Religious organisations based in India
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