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| Formation | 10 April 1875 (150 years ago) (1875-04-10) Bombay,Bombay Presidency,British India (present-dayMumbai,Maharashtra,India) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Dayananda Saraswati |
| Type | Religious organisation |
| Legal status | Foundation |
| Purpose | Educational,Religious studies,Spirituality, Social reforms |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Membership | 10 million (world)[1] 8 million (India)[2] |
Official language | Hindi |
| Website | www |
Arya Samaj (Hindi:आर्य समाज,lit. 'Noble Society') is amonotheistic IndianHindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of theVedas.Dayananda Saraswati founded the Samaj in the 1870s.
Arya Samaj was the first Hindu organisation to introduceproselytisation in Hinduism.[3][4]
"Arya Samaj" is a compoundSanskrit term consisting of the words "arya" and "samaj". The term "arya" refers to an individual who possesses virtuous attributes and noble characteristics, whereas "samaj" denotes a social group or organised community. Therefore, the term "arya samaj" refers to a community of individuals of high moral character.[5]
Swami Dayanand Saraswati established the Arya Samaj in April 1875 in Bombay with ten principles. However, these principles were finally settled in 1877 in Lahore.[6][7]
Between 1869 and 1873, Dayanand began his efforts to reform orthodoxHinduism in India. He establishedGurukula (Vedic schools) which emphasised Vedic values, culture, andSatya (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 aBritish education.[8]
Due to schisms inAdi Brahmo Samaj at Calcutta, a new variant of Adi Brahmoism called Arya Samaj began to take root in thePunjab. When he traveled to Calcutta Swami Dayanand had come into close and extended contact withRajnarayan Bose,Debendranath Tagore etc. Swami Dayanand closely studied Tagore's bookBrahmo Dharma, a comprehensive manual of religion and ethics for Adi Dharma, while in Calcutta. The bone of contention between these two Samajs was over the authority of the Vedas–whose authority the Adi Dharma rejected and held to be inferior works, whereas Arya Samaj held Vedas to be divine revelation. Despite this difference of opinion, however, it seems that the members of the Brahmo Samaj and Swami Dayanand parted on good terms, the former having publicly praised the latter’s visit to Calcutta in several journals and the latter having taken inspiration from the former’s activity in the social sphere.[9]
Dayanand was assassinated in 1883. Despite this setback, the Arya Samaj continued to grow, especially in Punjab. The early leaders of the Samaj werePandit Lekh Ram (1858–1897) andSwami Shraddhanand (Mahatma Munshi Ram Vij) (1856–1926). Some authors claim that the activities of the Samaj led to increasedantagonism between Muslims and Hindus.[10] Shraddhanand led theShuddhi movement that aimed to bring Hindus who had converted to other religions back to Hinduism.[11]
In 1893, the Arya Samaj members of Punjab were divided on the question ofvegetarianism. The group that refrained from eating meat were called the"Mahatma" faction and the other group, the "Cultured Party".[12]
In the early 1900s, the Samaj (or organisations inspired by it such asJat Pat Todak Mandal) campaigned againstcaste discrimination.[13] They also campaigned forwidow remarriage andwomen's education.[14] The Samaj also established chapters inDutch colonies andBritish colonies havingIndian population such asSouth Africa,Fiji,Mauritius,Suriname,Guyana andTrinidad and Tobago.[15]
ProminentIndian nationalists such asLala Lajpat Rai belonged to Arya Samaj and were active in its campaigning.[16] 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.[17]
In the 1930s, when theHindu nationalist group, theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh grew in prominence in Northern India, they found support from the Arya Samaj of Punjab.[18]
In Punjab, the Arya Samaj was opposed by theAhmadiyya movement which provided the Samaj one of its most aggressive opponents from among the various Muslim groups and whose founderMirza Ghulam Ahmad was extensively involved in theological disputations with Samaj leaders, most notably withPandit Lekh Ram.[19][20] It was also opposed by theSikh dominatedSingh Sabha, the forerunner of theShiromani Akali Dal.[21] It was also opposed byVaishnavas, who were criticised by Dayānanda Sarasvatī.[22]
The Samaj was active inSindh at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The activities of the Samaj in the region included usingShuddhi in integrating half-Muslim or low-caste communities into the organisation. Narayan Dev, a Samaj member active in making many conversions is extolled as a Sindhi martyr. He is sometimes referred to as 'Dayanand Ke Vir Sipahi' (Dayanand's Heroic Soldier). Dev was killed in a street fight in 1948.[23] The history ofSindhi 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 conversions 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 theBJP. According to Malkani, the Arya Samaj created a "new pride" among the Hindu Sindhis by opening gymnasia and SanskritPathashalas in the 1930s.[24]
The Arya Samaj ofGujarat were missionaries from Punjab who had been encouraged to move to Gujarat to carry out educational work amongst theuntouchable castes by theMaharajaSayajirao Gaekwad III. The Gujarati Arya Samaj opened orphanages. The Samaj started losing support whenMahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915 because many activists joined his movement.[25]
In 1921,during a rebellion by the MuslimMoplah community ofMalabar Indian newspapers reported that several Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. The Arya Samaj extended its efforts to the region to reconvert these people back to Hinduism throughShuddhi ceremonies.[26]: p.141–152
The thenShankaracharya ofBadrinath Math in 1939 in a letter to thearchbishop of Canterbury, called Arya Samajis un-Hindu. He also criticised the Samaj efforts at converting Christians and Muslims.[27]
A branch of Arya Samaj was established atDharur inBeed district ofHyderabad State, the largest princely state during British rule.Keshav Rao Koratkar was the president of the organisation until 1932. During his tenure, the Samaj established schools and libraries throughout the state. Although a social and religious organisation, the Samaj activities assumed a great political role in resisting the government of the Nizam during the 1930s. In 1938–1939, Arya Samaj teamed up with theHindu Mahasabha to resist theNizam government throughSatyagraha. The Nizam government responded byraiding and desecrating Arya Samaj mandirs. The Samaj, in turn, criticised Islam and the Islamic rulers of the state. This widely increased the gulf between the Hindu and Muslim populations of the state.[28][29]
Arya Samaj promoted theuse of Hindi in Punjab and discouraged the use ofPunjabi. This was a serious point of difference between theSikhs, represented by theShiromani Akali Dal group and the Arya Samaj. The difference was marked during the period immediately following theindependence of India and the time of thePunjabi Suba (demand for a Punjabi-speaking state).[30][31][32]
Arya Samaj is a charitable organisation. For example, donations were made to victims of the1905 Kangra earthquake. The Samaj campaigned forwomen's right to vote and for the protection of widows.[33] From 2 million in 1947, in 2011 there were an estimated 10 million Arya Samajis in the world, mostly found in India, running more than 1,000 colleges, 10,000 schools as well as thousands of charitable dispensaries and public libraries.[34][better source needed]
Arya Samaj schools andtemples are found in almost all major cities and as well as in rural areas of (especially North) India. Some are authorised to conduct weddings. The Samaj is associated with theDayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) schools which number over eight hundred.[35] There are eight million followers of the Samaj in India.[36]
Arya Samaj is active in countries includingGuyana,Suriname,Trinidad and Tobago,Fiji,Australia,[37]South Africa,[citation needed]Kenya,[38]Mauritius[39] and other countries where a significantHindu diaspora is present. The Arya Samaj in Kenya runs several schools inNairobi and other cities of the country.[40]
Immigrants toCanada and theUnited States fromSouth Asia,East Africa,South Africa, and theCaribbean countries have set up Arya Samaj temples for their respective communities.[41] Most major metropolitan areas of the United States have chapters of Arya Samaj.[42]
Arya Samaj has been active in the United Kingdom since the 1890s. In 1976, Arya Samaj London was established with its own building in West London.
Members of the Arya Samaj believe in a creator God referred to as the syllable 'Aum' mentioned in theYajurveda (40:17). They believe the Vedas are an infallible authority, and they respect theUpanishads and other Vedic philosophy. They reject other non-Vedic religious texts in Hinduism. For instance, they believe epics like theRamayana and theMahabharata are legends of historical figures and reject them as references tosupreme beings andavatars. The members of Arya Samaj also reject other Hindu scriptural works such as thePuranas.[43] Worship ofidols (murti puja) is strictly prohibited in the Samaj.[44]
The core beliefs of Arya Samaj are postulated below:
The Arya Samaj members consider theGayatri Mantra,[46] as the most holy mantra and chant it periodically, do the meditation known asSandhya and make offering to the holy fire (Havan).[47] The Havan can be performed with a priest for special occasions or without a priest for personal worship. The Havan is usually performed as per theHavan Pustika, a simplified guide to 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 the family or neighbours can also perform the Havan acting as aPurohit. The host is known as the "Yajamana". The priest can be called an "Acharya", "Shastri" or "Pandit" 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.[48] After a death, Arya Samajis will often conduct a Havan and collect the ashes on the fourth day.[49]
Diwali is a very important day in Arya Samaj as Swami Dayanand died on this day. A special Havan is done for the same reason.
The Arya Samaj version of the Hindu festivalDiwali is typified by the celebration inSuriname. The festival celebrates the victory of good over evil. Avegetarian fast is kept. TheGayatri Mantra is recited while oil lamps are lit, in front of a fire altar lit withsandalwood. OneDiya lamp, which is larger 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.[50]
Holi 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 colours 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.[48]
In 1947, there were two million Arya Samajis. Today there are 10 million worldwide, with a sizeable presence in the UK, USA, Australia, Africa and New Zealand. There are 1,200 Dayanand Anglo Vedic Colleges (DAV) and 10,000 schools run by the Samaj. It also runs thousands of charitable dispensaries and public libraries.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)In 1947, there were two million Arya Samajis. Today there are 10 million worldwide, with a sizeable presence in the UK, USA, Australia, Africa and New Zealand. There are 1,200 Dayanand Anglo Vedic Colleges (DAV) and 10,000 schools run by the Samaj. It also runs thousands of charitable dispensaries and public libraries.
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