Arya Samaj

Shishya

The World Commemorates Swami Dayanand

The following is a collection of tributes to Maharishi Swami Dayanand Sarasvati which appeared in newspapers and periodicals after his death.

The Voice of India
The Bengalee (English Weekly), Calcutta, November 3.

"Pandit Dayanand must be regarded as a religious teacher of no ordinary eminence. We may differ from his religious views; we may not accept his interpretation of the Vedas, but he stands forth as a religious teacher of surpassing power and earnestness. He was a yogi, an ascetic who had adjured the world, but he was gifted with a practical sagacity which few men of the world could pretend to possess. His death is not only a irreparable loss to the religious community of which he was the life and soul, but it is a loss to his countrymen at large, who will always be proud of his learning and cherish his memory with affectionate gratitude."

The Tribune
(English Weekly), Lahore, November 3 and 10.

"It would be a mistake to suppose that the work set on foot by the lamented deceased is confirmed within the four corners of the Arya Samaj. The principles he preached spread far and wide, and created a revolution in men’s opinions. Though we do not concur in all that he said and taught, we must agree that he was a man of great abilities – a genius of higher order, who, by the superior power of his intellect, rose above the gross superstitions inculcated by own Shastrarth. We are very glad to observe that his admirers have resolved upon establishing an Anglo-Vedic College in this place to perpetuate his memory.

It is true that a college of this kind, in order that it might be permanent, would require a respectable fund, but we have every hope the zeal of his numerous admirers will render the creation of such a fund perfectly easy. We would suggest that some able disciple of the Swamiji should undertake to write an accurate account of his life – faithful biography of his – which, while avoiding an extravagance of thought and style, would present to us all his greatness in their genuine colors."

Indian Empire
(English Weekly), Calcutta, November 4.

"It is our painful duty to record the death of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the distinguished founder of the Arya Samaj, and the foremost of Hindu reformers of his generation. The melancholy even took place at Ajmere, on Tuesday last. His vast scholarship, remarkable powers of debate and unimpreachable independence of character will be proudly remembered by his mourning countrymen."

Deen Bandhu
(Anglo-Marathi Weekly), Bombay, November 4.

"Swami Dayanand was a man of great learning and possessed great religious knowledge. His death will prove a shock to al of his relations, friends and disciples, and especially to the religious world."

Hindoo Patriot
(English Weekly), Calcutta, November 5

"We are sorry to record the death of two great Sanskritists of India, Pandit Dayanand Saraswati and Pandit Loharam Shirorutna. The first was a most eminent Vedantist. He, however, used to give new interpretations to Vedic texts, which did not often tally with those current among orthodox Pandits. He used to speak in Sanskrit, and the flow he commanded in that dead language was wonderful. He was the founder of the Arya Samaj. Pandit Loharam was an eminent grammarian."

Regenerator of Aryavarta
(English Weekly), Lahore, November 5.

"He was what might be called a true reformer. He not only deeply felt for his countrymen and gave vent to his feelings, but, like a true man, he put his shoulder to the task, and bore the burden and heat of the day. Among those to whom posterity will assign a glorious niche in the temple of fame, Swami Dayanand Saraswati will stand foremost."

Indian Chronicle
(English Weekly), Bankipur, November 5

"A profound Sanskrit scholar, and deeply versed in all the lore of Aryan philosophy; an eloquent speaker, and extremely courteous in his manners; he had all the qualifications of great religious teacher; and indeed his organization, the Arya Samaj, as a means of religious reformation, is of no ephemeral character. It will certainly have a voice in deciding the spiritual future of India. The chief aim of Dayanand Saraswati was to restore the pristine purity of the Hindu religion, and clear it of the heaps of exoteric dross under which latter-day brahmanic divines have succeeded in entering it."

Bengal Public Opinion
(English Weekly), Calcutta, November 3

"Pandit Dayanand’s death will cast a gloom over the whole of educated Hindu-dom. He was an ornament to our country: pride to our nation. What ever might be his errors of judgment, that he was a man of genius few will deny. The Arya Samaj has lost in him a leader whose place they will never again be able to fill up."

Hindu Observer
(English Weekly), Calcutta, November 8.

"He was a renowned Sanskrit Scholar and an earnest worker in the sphere of reformation. His death is a loss to the country."

Punjab Times
(English Weekly), Rawalpindi,

"He was a truly and thoroughly patriotic man, which fact alone is, perhaps, enough to entitle him to the lasting gratitude of his countrymen. But he was more. To vast and profound learning and research, such as very few men have been found to possess since the days of Sankarcharya and his compatriots, he added an amount of energy, intelligence and perseverance, which must be admitted as too rare in mortals of this land in these degenerate days. However we may differ from the principles of his creed and teachings, it would, perhaps, be more than churlish not to freely confess that he was one of the greatest men that India has produced, and as such, India might well weep for his loss."

Gujrat Mitra
(Anglo-Gurati Weekly), Surat, November 11.

"India has lost one of her foremost of religious reformers of the old school – a rationalistic advocate of Vedic revelation – by the close of a really useful life of our now historical Pandit Dayanand Saraswati Swami, who breathed his last with the dying spasms of the year 1883. difference may occur as to the preciseness or correctness of his energetical expositions of the Vedic Scriptures, yet who will not miss on our public platform the deep fervor of his language, the unopposable artillery of his purpose, the firmness of his resolve, the frankness and straightforwardness of his motives, his independence of character and actions, and his genuinely patriotic ardent zeal to lift up his country from the depths of superstition and priestcraft, idolatry and unmeaning ostentatious ritualism?"

The Thinker
(English Weekly), Madras, November 11.

"We are sorry to hear of the death of an eminent Sanskrit scholar, Swamiji Dayanand Saraswati. We send our hearty words of condolence to his personal friends and followers, to whom the news of his death would, not doubt, cause a pang on their hearts."

The Liberal
(English Weekly), Calcutta, November 11.

"Whatever the nature of his religion might be, Pandit Dayanand Saraswati deserved our sympathy and commended our admiration. Though his mind was not imbued with the truths of Western science, he entertained enlightened views of ideas, foreign to the education he had received, but which seemed to evolve out of his own inner consciousness. May his soul rest in peace!"

Indian Messenger
(English Weekly), Calcutta, November 11.

"Barring some peculiarities of doctrine, which however, were secondary, there never breathed a more sincere hater of the systems of idolatry and priestcraft of this country than this remarkable man, and none ever opposed them with such intrepid courage and perseverance. With many of his ideas yet unfulfilled, and his life-work yet unfinished, this true servant of God must have felt the approach of death to be rather sudden and untimely, and his last prayer was the pious resignation of his noble mission to the will of Him, who had called him to the field. May the spirit of this prayer inspire all our actions!"

Indian Spectator
(English Weekly), Bombay, November 18.

"With all his faults we looked upon Dayanand as one of the pillars of Aryavarta. And though we had occasions to differ from him on details of thought and faith, we admired his career nonetheless on that account. After the death of Sahajanand or Swami Narayan, Gujrat has not produced such a mighty reformer from among the indigenous population as Dayanand. And in natural aptitude and acquirements, as also in the extent of influence exerted, we believe the latter to have by far surpassed Sahajanand Swami. Our contemporaries are not far out in placing him by the side of the illustrious Shankarcharya.

Gifted with uncommon talents and actuated all his life by singleness of purpose, Dayanand Saraswati has achieved enough good to entitle him to the lasting gratitude of posterity. But the benefit he ahs conferred on his country has been more or less of a negative character. He applies his giant’s strength to denouncing idolatry; and terrible were his powers of denunciation, as will be conceded by anyone who has witnessed them even once. But the mind, otherwise so well-endowed, lacked the constructive faculty. Dayanand’s work must therefore, be considered as half done until some one of his disciples rises after him not only to carry on the crusade against Brahmanic errors, but to rebuild the edifice of Vedic truth, the erection of which was the ultimate object of the deceased iconoclast. May Dayanand’s mantle descend on any such possible reformer among his pupils, is our fervent prayer!"

(Source Unknown)

"Not other reformer has labored so effectively as the late Swami Dayanand to preach reform from place to place in India,. He ahs not only dilated on religious topics, but his sermons embraced other subjects as well. On the whole, it is hard to find a man equal to the deceased, instinct with the desire to do good to the public with all sincerity of purpose."

The Gujrati
(Gujrati Weekly), Bombay, November 4.

"Whatever may be his religious views, his death will damp the spirit of reform that was roused by his establishment of Samajes in different parts of India with their center in the North. To these associations his untimely death will give a staggering blow."

Jam-I-Jamshed
(Gujrati Daily), November 2.

"Every Native, conversant with the good works of the lamented deceased, will share with us the regret at the untimely death of his great Vedic scholar and well-wisher of India."

The Samachar
(Gujrati Weekly), Bombay, November 2.

"The religious views of the Swwami were sound, andin accord with the Vedic ordinances and the spirit of reform of the present day. He was an inveterate opponent of idolatrous rites and observances, and his main efforts were directed towards their eradication from the Hindu community. He was the principal organizer of Samajes in different parts of the empire, which are established with a view to bring about a reform in social and religious customs. The death, therefore, of such a learned religious reformer will be a loss to the community. His compatriots should bestir themselves to found some memorial of this illustrious reformer."

Vartman Sar
(Gujrati Weekly), Surat.

"His untiring efforts for the amelioration of the condition of the Hindu community, his strength of character, and his dauntless moral courage, were such as to inspire regard and esteem for him. Crowds went to listen to his masterly lectures, which were couched in homely and forcible language. But he lacked the power of arresting the attention of its numerous hearers. His abruptness of manners repelled the advance of his followers. But whatever may by his faults, there is no denying the loss the country has suffered by his death, inasmuch as he was mainly instrumental in reviving the dormant religious instincts of the Hindus."

Sanjivani
(Bengali Weekly), Calcutta, November 3.

"Attempts were made on his life several times by many evil-minded men, but by his own abilities he defied his enemies, and no con could do him any harm. On may occasions he attracted the admiration of his opponents by delivering excellent speeches. Who is there that can retain from shedding tears at the death of this admirable man?"

Victoria Paper
(Urdu-Tri-Weekly), Sialkot, November 9

"It is very necessary to publish a life of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. The members of the Arya Samaj should direct their attention to the subject, because the life events of such a great man are worth being published. Our contemporary, the Desh Upkarak, has given an advertisement to that effect, and we trust God will help him in his undertaking, and the public in general will be benefited thereby."

Oudh Akhbar
(Urdu Daily), Lucknow, November 8.

"Although Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s views did not meet with general approval, yet the measures taken by him for reforming the Hindu religion will be long remembered. There is no doubt India has lost in him one of her greatest Sanskrit Scholars."

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Dr. Andrew Jackson of America on the Arya Samaj and Swami Dayanand:

"I behold a fire, that is universal, - the fire of infinite love which burneth to destroy all hate, which dissolveth all things to their purification. Over the fair fields of America, - over the great land of Africa, - over the everlasting mountains of Asia, - over the wide empires and kingdoms of Europe, I behold the kindling flames of the all-consuming, all purifying, fire! It speaketh at first in all the lowest places; it is kindled by man for his own comfort and progress; for man is the only earthly creature that can originate and perpetuate a fire; even as he is the only being on earth that can originate and perpetuate words, so he is the first to start the firs of hell in his own habitations, and the first, also to seek and obtain from heaven the Promethean fire whereby Plutonian abodes will be purified by love and whitened with wisdom.

Beholding this infinite fire, - which is certain to melt the kingdoms and empires and governmental evils of the whole earth I rejoice exceedingly, and I take hold of life with an enkindling enthusiasm. All loftiest mountains will begin to burn, the beautiful cities of the valley will be consumed; sweet homes and loving hearts will dissolve together; and the good and the evil interfuse and disappear like dewdrops vaishing in the sun’s golden horns.

The spirit of man is on fire with the lighting of infinite progression. Only the sparks thereof ascend to-day into heavens. Lambient flames here and there appear in the inspiration of orators, poets, writers of scriptures. To restore primitive Aryan religion to its first pure state was the fire in the furnace called "Arya Samaj", which started and burned brightly in the bosom of that Inspired Son of God in India, Dayanand Sarawati. From him the fire of inspiration was transferred to many noble, inflaming souls in the land of Eastern Dreams…Hindoos and Moslems ran together to extinguish the consuming fire which was flaming on al sides with a fierceness that was never dreamed of by the first kindler DAYANANDA. and Christians, too, whose altar fires and sacred candles were originally lighted in the dreamy East, joined Moslem and Hindoo in their efforts to extinguish the NEW LIGHT OF ASIA. But the heavenly fire increased and propagated itself."

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