Dileep Pandita
Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Mool Shankar) a prominent Hindu religious leader and a Vedic scholar was the first Indian to voice his right for freedom of India form British rule in 1876. He was deeply devoted to God and translated the Vedas from Vedic Sanskrit to Sanskrit and Hindi so that the common man could also read them. He brought about a revolution in the social life of Indians to spread Vedic teaching and his ideas he travelled all over India and he roundly condemned the caste system, he was bitterly opposed to untouchability. “Untouchability is a dreadful curse of our society every living being has a soul, which deserves affection, in every human being there is a soul worthy of respect, one who does not know this basic principle cannot understand the true meaning of the Vedic religion.” Though acknowledged to be one of the greatest men of his age, even by those who differed with him on many points, Swamiji was simple and unostentatious in his habits and tastes. He had a sensitive and compassionate heart that melted at the sufferings of the poor. ‘To love the creation of God is to love God Himself- so he taught people. He always advocated that those Hindus who had gone to other religions and wish to come back into the Hinduism fold by performing purification rites for them.
Dayanand said that, Idol worship, child marriage and other harmful customs and traditions were the curse of Vedic religion. He always laid stress on female education, equal rights and pure conduct in life. In his opinion over the centuries, with the passage of time some wicked customs had crept into Hinduism, these customs dimmed the greatness of this religion. He held idol-worship in abhorrence. Swamiji visited from North Srinagar to South Tamil Nadu, from mountains of north to deserts of west. He travelled in every direction whether thick woods, sharp stones or huge boulders. Swamiji made a shift to reach the bank of a stream and coastal areas. Swamiji rejected his offer, saying that if he wanted wealth he should not have left home and separated from his parents and friends.
Swami Dayananda’s concept of Dharma is succinctly set forth in his ‘Belief and Disbelief’. He said ” I accept as Dharma whatever is in full conformity with impartial justice, truthfulness and the like; that which is not opposed to the teachings of God as embodied in the Vedas, whatever is not free from partiality and is unjust, partaking of untruth and the like, and opposed the teaching of God as embodied in the Vedas – that I hold as Adharma.” Again he says ” He, who after careful thinking, is ever ready to accept truth and reject falsehood; who counts the happiness of others as he does that of his own self, him I call just.”
He was the among the first great Indian stalwarts who popularized the concept of Swaraj- the right to self-determination vested in an individual -when India was ruled by British. It was his philosophy which inspired nationalists in the mutiny of 1857 as well as champions such as Lala Lajpat Rai and Bhagat Singh. Dayananda’s Vedic message was to emphasize respect and reverence for other human beings, he related Atma with Param Atma. In the 10 principles of the Arya Samaj, he enshrined the idea that ” All actions should be performed with the prime objective of benefitting mankind”. Dayananda’s ‘Back to Vedas’ message influenced many thinkers, Sri Aurobindo who decided to look for hidden psychological meaning in the Vedas, Many Padri’s , Sanyasi’s were influenced by Swamiji’s updesh, Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir went to see Swamiji during the Darbar which was held at Agra (November,1866 A.D.).
Swami Dayanand wished that his work of social reform should continue even after his death, so he founded an institution called ‘Arya Samaj’ at Mumbai on April 10,1875. It grew into a huge institution spread beyond the shores of India. Millions of Hindus were influenced by Arya Samaj, which rendered boundless and unequalled services to society, through its religious centres, gurukuls, schools, colleges, women orphanages and asylums for women. He was fully convinced that Indian could’t prosper unless education spread. He said that, there should be a law to compel the parents to send every boy or girl who is eight years old to school. The King’s son and the farmer’s son should be equal in a gradual. They should all be made to work and live alike in Gurukuls (gu-darkness to ru-light- i.e. one who makes you reach towards light from darkness).
The chief objective of Swami Dayananda’s teaching are that all should be treated with love and justice. One should always be ready to accept truth and give up untruth, be good to the world, i.e., to make physical and social improvement. To achieve these we should dispel ignorance and diffuse knowledge.
( The author is an academician and can be reached at dpandita2011@gmail.com )
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