It was a revivalist reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati (born as Mulshankar at Tankara in Old Morvi State of Gujarat) in 1875 in Bombay. The Headquarters of Arya Samaj was established at Lahore in 1877. Dayananda attacked idolatry, polytheism, Brahmin-sponsored religious rites, and superstitious practices.
He advocated social equality, and improvement in the status of women and denounced untouchability, and caste rigidities, and encouraged rationality. He disregarded the authority of later Hindu scriptures like Puranas. However, he regarded Vedas as infallible and the fountainhead of knowledge and gave the popular call ‘Go Back to the Vedas’.
PRINCIPLES OF THE ARYA SAMAJ
Arya Samaj founded ten guiding principles, which are as follows
- The primary source of true knowledge is God.
- God is alone worthy of worship because God has all truth, all knowledge, almighty, the immortal creator of the Universe. Books of true knowledge are the Vedas.
- An Arya should always accept the truth and abandon untruth.
- Dharma should be the guiding principle of action.
- Promote well-being in the material, spiritual and social sense.
- Social well-being should be placed above individual well-being.
- Knowledge expansion.
- The uplift of others is the uplift of one’s own.
- Everybody is to be treated with love and justice.
- Arya Samaj’s social ideal, comprised the fatherhood to God, the brotherhood of man, equality between sexes, absolute justice, fair play between man and man, and between nation and nation.
SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASWATI
He was born as Mula Shankar in 1824 in Gujarat. He received his education from Swami Virajananda at Mathura. He was known as the earliest neo-nationalist. He was the first Hindu reformer who turned from defense to attack, for protecting the Hindu faith from assaults. He wrote three books which are as follows
- Satyartha Prakash (in Hindi).
- Veda-Bhashya Bhumika (in Hindi and Sanskrit).
- Veda-Bhashya (in Sanskrit).
Dayananda published his views in his famous work Satyartha Prakash (the true expositions in Hindi). He also wrote Veda-Bhashya Bhumika (partly in Hindi and partly in Sanskrit) and Veda-Bhashya (in Sanskrit). He accepted the Doctrine of Karma but rejected the theory of Niyati (fatalism). He advocated the physical, social, and spiritual welfare of mankind.
He gave a wider concept of the Aryan religion. According to him, “The Aryans were the chosen people, the Vedas, the chosen gospel, and India, the chosen land.” He was the first man to advocate the concept of Swaraj and gave the political slogan of ‘India is for Indians.’ He gave emphasis to education in order to diffuse knowledge and dispel ignorance.
ROLE PLAYED BY BRAHMO SAMAJ AND ARYA SAMAJ
Socio-Religious Reform Movements of the 19th century played an important role in the transformation of the society of the period and infused political consciousness among Indians. The Brahmo Samaj played an important role in generating Indian Renaissance.
The intellectual mind which had been cut off its moorings by Christian propaganda, found a way out in the Brahmo Samaj. Socially, the Samaj had purged Hinduism of many dogmas and superstitions. It achieved notable successes in improving the position of women and constantly fought for removing the social evils of casteism, untouchability, and others. The Brahmo ideas spread in Maharashtra, under the banner of Prarthana Samaj founded in 1849, under the guidance of Keshub Chandra Sen.
Arya Samaj played a progressive role in furthering the cause of social reforms and the spread of education in North India. It attacked a number of ill social practices such as idolatry, polytheism, and child marriage and advocated widow remarriage. It challenged the Varna System and the spiritual prominence of the Brahmin priestly class.
Arya Samaj comprised of the controversial program ‘Cow Protection’. It also started the Suddhi Movement, to bring back the Hindus converted to other religions, which contributed to the growth of communalism in the 20th century.