Dayananda Saraswati
Dayananda Saraswati, the great founder of Arya Samaj, occupies a unique position in the history of social and political ideas of modern India. Dayananda Saraswati and the Arya Samaj represent the militant phase of social and religious reform.' He, along with others, like Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ramtirth and several others gave a new outlook to Indian Political thought. He was primarily a religious reformer who had come to the forefront to rid our society of social evils from which it was seriously suffering. He wanted to give true interpretation of religious laws and expounded these in true sense and spirit. He also wanted to tell the world as to what was contained in our religious scriptures particularly in the Vedas and how true and practical to life our religion was. He came to the conclusion that without a political philosophy religion and society could not go ahead. Swami Dayananda is the sole representative thinker of the ancient Vedic dharma in its pure, pristine and rational simplicity with its merit- based Varnasharam system which ensures goals of Dharma (virtue), Artha (wealth), Kama (pleasure), and Moksha (salvation). Being the first religion of man, our return to it can bring out the Renaissance closer i.e. unity, independence, progress and prosperity of India. He did not give expression to the spirit of the age but also formulated political views which were far in advance of his times. Dayanada's personality had many facets. He was a self-directed, self-sufficient individualist.
Life Sketch
Moolshanker, as his original name, was born in 1824 at Tankara (Gujarat) in an orthodox Brahmana family. The religious orthodoxy of his father and the tender humanitarian outlook of his mother made the young Dayananda a true devotee of the existing religion. At the early age of thirteen, he h a unique experience on the day of Shivaratri fast. In the temple of Lord Shiva he saw a mouse moving over the idol of Shiva and began to eat what the worshippers had placed before the diety with so much reverence and respect. It was an eye awakening event for young Moolshanker who began to question his tender mind as to whether this was the almighty and omnipotent and omnipresent God who even could not save himself from the little mouse. There was a sense of dissatisfaction and discontentment in his young mind which Was finding no solution to this important problem. In order to remove his doubt about idol worship, he made enquires from his father and came to know that the idol was only the symbol of the Lord Shiva and not the God himself. This was the turning point of his life. Dayananda, felt that the he must know the truth. Like the Buddha, he was also shaken by the phenomenon of death. Dayananda was shocked by the sudden death of his sister, when he was in his late twenties, whom he loved very much. Thus these ideas settled in his mind which later on shaped his personality and philosophy of religion; disrespect for idol worship; detachment from the world; and disbelief in ritual ceremonies. Thinking that he must prepare himself for knowing the truth for the service of mankind, Dayananda lelt his home in the month of May, 1846, in order to avoid marriage.
After wandering for fifteen years during which peried he became a Sanyasin and took the name of Dayananda Saraswati. he finally became the disciple of Swami Virjananda of Mathura. He studied under the swamiji for two and half years. At the end of this period, pleased with Dayananda's progress the Swamiji told him that he had successfully completed the acquisition of Vedic knowledge and the time had come for to go and disseminate this knowledge among his misguided brethren who quarrelled over castes and creeds because did not know the Vedas. As his dakshina (customary reward from pupil to his guru or teacher) the Swamiji took a pledge from Dayananda that he would spread the message of the Vedie religion among the masses. With determination and confidence in himself Dayananda set out to fulfil his promise to his Guru.
On November 17, 1869 he engaged in a mighty disputation (Shastrartha) with leaders of Hindu theology and orthodoxy at Kashi. He founded Arya Samaj on April 10, 1875 in Bombay and in 1877 the constitution of the Arya Samaj was finalized at Lahore. His influence spread over mainly in Punjab, Rajputana native states, Gujarat and others, mainly in Northern India. Native princes like Maharana Sajjan Singh of Udaipur, King Agit Singh of Jodhpur, Rao Nahar Singh of Shahpura (Bhilwara) etc. sought his discipleship. On scolding the king of Jodhpur on his indulgence with some prostitute, he was poisoned by the latter through the cook Jaganath. Dayananda as a great sanyasi pardoned him and asked him to leave for Nepal. He died on October 30, 1883. His last wish was that his funeral should be conducted in a manner that no Samadhi is constructed for committing the evil of idol-worship later on by his own followers, and grow into another sect.
Tagore wrote, "Swami Dayanada, the great pathmaker in modern India, who through bewildering tangles of creeds and practices-the dense undergrowth of the degenerate days of our country-cleared a straight path that was meant to lead the Hindus to a simple and rational life of devotion to God and service for man. With a clear sighted vision of truth and courage of determination he preached and worked for our self-respect and vigorous awakement of mind that could strive for a harmonious adjustment with perfect touch with that glorious past of India when it revealed its personality, when in freedom of thought and action, in an unclouded radiance of spiritual realization".
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