Arya Samaj (Sanskrit ārya samāja आर्य समाज "Noble Society") is a Hindu reform movementSwami Dayananda on 10 April 1875.[1] He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallibleauthority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya (chastity). There are 3–4 million followers of Arya Samaj worldwide. founded by
Founding of the Arya Samaj
Vedic schools
Between 1869 and 1873, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, a native of Gujarat, made his first attempt at reform in his native India. This attempt took the form of the establishment of "Vedic Schools" which put an emphasis on Vedic values, culture and religion to its students. The first was established at Farrukhabad in 1869, with 50 students enrolled in its first year. This initial success led to the founding of four additional schools in rapid succession at Mirzapur (1870), Kasganj (1870), Chhalesar (1870) and Varanasi (1873).
The Vedic Schools represented the first practical application of Swami Dayanand’s vision of religious and social reform. They enjoyed a mixed reception. On the one hand, students were not allowed to perform traditional idol worship (murtipuja in Hindi) at the school, and were instead expected to perform sandhya (a form of meditative prayer using mantras from the Vedas) and participate in agnihotra twice daily. Disciplinary action was swift and not infrequently severe. On the other hand, all meals, lodging, clothing and books were given to the students free of charge, and the study of Sanskrit was opened to non-Brahmins. The most noteworthy feature of the Schools was that only those texts which accepted the authority of the Vedas were to be taught. This was critical for the spiritual and social regeneration of Vedic culture in India.
The Vedic Schools soon ran into difficulties. Swami Dayanand had trouble finding qualified teachers who agreed with his views on religious reform, and there existed a paucity of textbooks which he considered suitable for instruction in Vedic culture. Funding was sporadic, attendance fluctuated considerably, and tangible results in the way of noteworthy student achievement were not forthcoming.
Consequentially, some of the schools were forced to close shortly after opening. As early as 1874, it had become clear to Swami Dayanand that, without a wide and solid base of support among the public, setting up schools with the goal of imparting a Vedic education would prove to be an impossible task. He therefore decided to invest the greater part of his resources in the formulation and propagation of his ideology of reform. Deprived of the full attention of Swami Dayanand, the Vedic School system collapsed and the last of the schools (Farrukhabad) was closed down in 1876 due to Muslim takeover.
Adi Brahmo Samaj
While traveling (1872–1873), Swami Dayanand came to know of several of the pro-Western Indian intellectuals of the age, including Navin Chandra Roy, Rajnarayan Basu, Debendranath Tagore and Hemendranath Tagore all of whom were actively involved in the Brahmo Samaj. This reform organization, founded in 1828, held few views similar to those of Swami Dayanand in matters both religious (e.g. a belief in monotheism and the eternality of the soul) and social (e.g. the need to abolish the hereditary caste system and uplift the masses through education). Debendranath Tagore had written a book entitled Brahmo Dharma, which serves as a manual of religion and ethics to the members of that society, and Swami Dayanand had read it while in Calcutta.
Although Swami Dayanand was persuaded on more than one occasion to join the Brahmo Samaj, there existed points of contention which the Swami could not overlook, the most important being the position of the Vedas. Swami Dayanand held the Vedas to be divine revelation, and refused to accept any suggestions to the contrary. Despite this difference of opinion, however, it seems that the members of the Brahmo Samaj parted with Swami Dayanand on good terms, the former having publicly praised the latter’s visit to Calcutta in several journals.
The Light of Truth
Swami Dayanand made several changes in his approach to the work of reforming Hindu society after having visited Calcutta. The most significant of these changes was that he began lecturing in Hindi. Prior to his tour of Bengal, the Swami had always held his discourses and debates in Sanskrit. While this gained him a certain degree of respect among both the learned and the common people, it prevented him from spreading his message to the broader masses. The change to Hindi allowed him to attract increasingly larger following, and as a result his ideas of reform began to circulate among the lower classes of society as well.
After hearing some of Swami Dayanand's speeches delivered in Hindi at Varanasi, Raj Jaikishen Das, a native government official there, suggested that the Swami publish his ideas in a book so that they might be distributed among the public. Witnessing the slow collapse of the Vedic Schools due to a lack of a clear statement of purpose and the resultant flagging public support, Swami Dayanand recognized the potential contained in Das' suggestion and took immediate action.
From June to September 1874, Swami Dayanand dictated a comprehensive series of lectures to his scribe, Pundit Bhimsen Sharma, which dealt with his views and beliefs regarding a wide range of subjects including God, the Vedas, Dharma, the soul, science, philosophy, childrearing, education, government and the possible future of both India and the world. The resulting manuscript was published under the title Satyarth Prakash or The Light of Meaning of Truth in 1875 at Varanasi. This voluminous work would prove to play a central role in the establishment and later growth of the organization which would come to be known as the Arya Samaj.
First attempt at a 'New Samaj'
While the manuscript of the Satyarth Prakash was being edited at Varanasi, Swami Dayanand received an invitation to travel to Bombay in order to conduct a debate with some representatives of the Vallabhacharya sect. The Swami arrived in Bombay on the 20th of October, 1874. The debate, though greatly publicised, never materialized. Despite this, two members of the Prarthana Samaj approached Swami Dayanand and invited him to deliver a few lectures at one of their gatherings, which were received with appreciation by all those present. The members of the Prarthana Samaj of Bombay recognized in Swami Dayanand an individual in possession of the knowledge and skills necessary for promoting their aims, the greatest and most comprehensive of which being the general uplift of Hindu society at large and its protection from what they perceived to be the advancing threat of Christian and Muslim efforts to convert Hindus.
After his having spent over a month at Bombay, 60 new-found students of Swami Dayanand – among them, prominent members of the Prarthana Samaj – proposed the notion of founding a 'New Samaj' with the Swami’s ideas serving as its spiritual and intellectual basis.
Second attempt at Ahmedabad
After having received a personal invitation from Gopalrao Hari Deshmukh, Swami Dayanand left Bombay and traveled to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, arriving on the 11th of December, 1874. Once there, he conducted a debate with local pundits on the issue of Vedas, and emerged victorious. It is reported that the formation of a Samaj and the founding of a Vedic School at Ahmedabad was proposed following the success of the debate, but it was found that not enough support for such a venture could be mustered.
Initial success at Rajkot
On an invitation from Hargovind Das Dvarkadas, the secretary of the local Prarthana Samaj, Swami Dayanand travelled to Rajkot, Gujarat, arriving on the 31st of December, 1874. Instead of delivering his standard program of lectures, he allowed members of the audience to choose the topics they would like to have him discourse upon. A total of eight topics were chosen, and Swami Dayanand delivered impromptu lectures on all of them to the satisfaction of all present. Gifts were bestowed upon the Swami as tokens of gratitude for his masterly orations, and it was announced that the Rajkot Prarthana Samaj was henceforth dissolved and was ready to be reorganized as a new Samaj under the auspices of Swami Dayanand. The Swami, after much deliberation, chose the name ‘Arya Samaj’ or ‘Society of Nobles’. Swami Dayanand drafted a list of 28 rules and regulations for the Rajkot Arya Samaj, which he later had printed for distribution.
Setback at Ahmedabad
On his way back to Bombay, Swami Dayanand stopped off in Ahmedabad and related the news of Rajkot, Gujarat, distributing copies of the rules and regulations to those present. A meeting was held on the 27th of January, 1875 to discuss the proposal of forming an Arya Samaj there, yet no conclusive decision was reached. Unwilling to wait for the deliberations to come to an end, Swami Dayanand continued on his way to Bombay.
While traveling, the Swami received word that the still fragile Rajkot Arya Samaj had involved itself in some political dispute and managed to have a government warning issued against it and its members. Thus, the collapse of the just established society was already looming large.
Lasting success at Bombay
Swami Dayanand reached Bombay on 29 January 1875, and immediately the appeal to establish an Arya Samaj there was renewed. However, the Swami did not want a protracted debate to ensue as had occurred at Ahmedabad, bringing with it the possibility of endless deliberations. Thus, a membership drive was initiated which would circumvent the need for discussions. Within a short time, 100 individuals enrolled themselves as prospective members.
While the membership drive was underway, Swami Dayanand held a now famous discourse with the congregation at Bombay. Someone in the audience asked the Swami: "Should we set up a new Samaj?" Dayanand responded:
| “ | If you are able to achieve something for the good of mankind by a Samaj, then establish a Samaj; I will not stand in your way. But if you do not organize it properly, there will be a lot of trouble in the future. As for me, I will only instruct you in the same way as I teach others, and this much you should keep clearly in mind: my beliefs are not unique, and I am not omniscient. Therefore, if in the future any error of mine should be discovered after rational examination, then set it right. If you do not act in this way, then this Samaj too will later on become just a sect. That is the way by which so many sectarian divisions have become prevalent in India: by making the guru’s word the touchstone of truth and thus fostering deep-seated prejudices which make the people religion-blind, cause quarrels and destroy all right knowledge. That is the way India arrived at her sorry contemporary state, and that is the way this Samaj too would grow to be just another sect. This is my firm opinion: even if there be many different sectarian beliefs prevalent in India, if only they all acknowledge the Vedas, then all those small rivers will reunite in the ocean of Vedic Wisdom, and the unity of dharmadharma there will result social and economic reform, arts and crafts and other human endeavors will improve as desired, and man’s life will find fulfillment: because, by the power of that dharma all values will become accessible to him, economic values as well as psychological ones, and also the supreme value of moksha. will come about. From that unity of | ” |
On the 10th of April, 1875, the Bombay Arya Samaj was officially established. The membership amounted to 100 persons, including Swami Dayanand. The members appealed to the Swami that he should serve as either the President or the Guru of the Samaj, but he kindly refused, and instead requested that he be listed as a regular member.
Principles of Arya Samaj
Main article: Principles of Arya Samaj
On the 24th of June, 1877, the second major Arya Samaj was established at Lahore. However, the original list of 28 rules and regulations drafted by Dayanand for the Rajkot Arya Samaj and used for the Bombay Arya Samaj were deemed to be too unwieldy. Therefore, it was proposed that the principles should be reduced and simplified, while the bylaws should be removed to a separate document. Everyone present, including Swami Dayanand, agreed, and the 10 Principles of the Arya Samaj as they are known around the world today came into existence.
All subsequently established branches of the Arya Samaj have been founded upon the ten principles. However, each new branch of the Society has a degree of freedom in determining the exact bylaws under which it shall operate. Everyone who wishes to become a member of the Society must agree to uphold these principles in their entirety. However, nothing beyond these 10 Principles has any binding force on any member of the Arya Samaj. For this reason, the early Samaj proved to be attractive to individuals belonging to various religious communities, and enjoyed a notable degree of converts from segments of the Hindu, Sikh, Christian and Muslim populations of Indian society.
Drawing what are seen to be the logical conclusions from these principles, the Arya Samaj also unequivocally condemns practices such as polytheism, iconolatry, animal sacrifice, ancestor worship, pilgrimage, priestcraft, the belief in avatars or incarnations of God, the hereditary caste system, untouchability and child marriage on the grounds that all these lack Vedic sanction.
The Arya Samaj and the Theosophical Society
Main article: Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj
There continues to this day a controversy regarding the exact nature of the relationship which existed between the Arya Samaj and the Theosophical Society from 1877 to 1882. What follows is a report of the chain of events as understood by members of the Arya Samaj today. (For the version of the Theosophical Society, see the article: Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj.)
Initial relationship
In 1877, a meeting occurred in America between some leading members of the Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, and Mulji Thakarshi, an individual who was present in the establishment of the Bombay Arya Samaj that same year. During the course of the exchange, it became clear that the two societies held many views in common, and efforts were undertaken to bring their leaders into closer contact. As a result, correspondence began between Henry Steel Olcott, one of the co-founders of the New York Theosophical Society, and Harish Chandra Chintamani, the acting president of the Bombay Arya Samaj.
At the suggestion of Chintamani, Olcott composed a letter addressed to Swami Dayanand dated the 18th of February, 1878 which is reported to have contained, among other things, the following notable passage:
| “ | There exist a number of Americans and others who earnestly seek spiritual knowledge. They place themselves at your feet and pray you [sic] to enlighten them. They are united in the object of gaining wisdom and becoming better. For this purpose they organized themselves into a body called the Theosophical Society three years ago. Finding in Christianity nothing that should satisfy their reason or intention they (…) have turned to the East for light and openly proclaimed themselves foes of Christianity. We come to your feet as children to a parent and say: ‘Look at us, our teacher. Tell us what we ought to do. We place ourselves under your instructions.’ | ” |
Unwilling to wait for what they were led to believe would be a positive response, the heads of the Theosophical Society decided to go ahead with their plans to recast their organization as a branch of the Arya Samaj. On the 22nd of May, 1878, the Theosophical Society was renamed ‘The Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj of Aryavarta’ and Swami Dayanand was announced as its director in chief.
Reconsideration and reorganization
This unilateral move on the part of the Theosophists, however, eventually proved to be miscalculated. While Olcott’s open profession of faith in the Vedas was positively received and publicly praised by Swami Dayanand, when he came to learn of the details of the tenets held by the Theosophists, including their belief in ghosts, mediumistic abilities, miracles and other occult matters, the Swami, taking up the role of teacher, was quick to admonish Olcott for what he termed ‘humbuggery’ and ‘superstition’ unbefitting of a seeker of truth.
The Theosophists were unwilling to give up their faith in these matters, and the gulf which had always existed between the two societies suddenly became apparent. In September 1878, the Theosophical Society reverted to its former status as an independent organization. However, a second organization was simultaneously formed and given the now familiar name ‘The Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj of Aryavarta’. It was agreed that membership of the new society, which itself was to remain a common branch of both the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj, would be open to any persons who wished to remain associated with both societies.
Irreconcilable differences
This tentative solution proved incapable of bridging the divide. Between 1879 and 1881, the founders of the Theosophical Society, Henry Olcott and Helena Blavatsky, paid Swami Dayanand several visits while touring India. Through the course of their discussions and correspondence, it became clear that the differences between the two societies were not, as previously assumed, limited to relatively minor issues, but extended to what the Swami viewed as central tenets of the Vedic Religion.
The main point of contention was in regards to the nature of God. While the Theosophists asserted that the highest Divinity is an impersonal Principle, Swami Dayanand maintained that the Vedas and their allied literature clearly teach that God is a personal Being – in his words, “the Personification of Being, Knowledge and Bliss”. Thus, the line dividing the two organizations was clearly identified and neither party saw themselves in need of reconsidering their views. Therefore, on the 28th of March, 1882, Swami Dayanand announced that the Arya Samaj had officially cut off all ties with the Theosophical Society.
It has been stated that many of the difficulties and subsequent hostilities which arose between the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj were due to an unfortunate combination of personal intrigue and poor translations. Both parties have claimed to have been misrepresented on several occasions and members of each have accused the other of being responsible for the failure of the undertaking. Regardless, the theological and ideological differences between the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj persist to this day.
Relations with Sikhs
In 1875, the Arya Samaj established itself in Punjab, and some of its members began stating publicly that Sikhism is a degraded form of Hinduism[2][3] using what was seen as derogatory language in reference to Sikh Gurus and their writings.[2][3][4] Leaders in the Sikh community, however, showed resolve in maintaining the status of their religion as independent[5] and unique[6], and the statements of the Arya Samaj activists were summarily denounced as acts of aggression with the intent of destroying Sikh religious identity[4]. Moreover Swami Dayanand called Guru Nanak Dev a "dambi", meaning hypocrite. It was also alleged that the Arya Samaj, which had taken an increasingly active role in certain Sikh Gurdwaras, was introducing practices that were contrary to Sikh principles[7] and behaving in ways which would prove detrimental to the Sikh faith. In response, organizational efforts such as Singh Sabha and Gurdwara Sudhar Movement were launched for countering Arya Samaj influence and peacefully reclaiming control of Sikh Gurdwaras. Inspite of these incidences, there have been some positive affiliation like Bhagat Singh, born as a Sikh, a renowned Indian independence revolutionary was deeply influenced from the Arya Samaj philosphies and worked with other legendary Arya Samaj revolutionaries like Ram Prasad Bismil for the independence struggle.
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