Arya Samaj

Devo · Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 10:26 pm Post subject: Svami Dayanand Saraswati

Svami Dayanand Saraswati
by
Camille Salecha

Svami Dayanand Saraswati is well known all over the world as the founder of Arya Samaj, a man of great wisdom and intellect, a liberator and a reformer. Svamiji believed in the consecrated Vedas and thus his motto " Back to the Vedas". He was the one who introduced to us the popular greeting "Namaste" and he rejuvenated the Vedic ritual of agnihotra (fire sacrifice), which is now a vital part of the Hindu ceremonies. Another contribution was the promotion of Hindi as the national language of India. He was against many stigmas that affected the lives of Indians mainly the caste system and child marriage. He was the doctrine of truth and goodness.

According to Svami Dayanand "A Biography" by J. M Sharma (3), Svami Dayanand's life can be divided into three parts: his years at home (1824-46); his wanderings and education (1846-63); and his years as a reformer (1863-83).

Moola Shankar was Dayanand's original name; he was also called Dayaram. He acquired the name "Dayanand" when he entered sannyas (to renounce the worldly possessions, to forsake family ties and become a sadhu). Svami Dayanand even went through his funeral rites to end his old identity and assumed his new name and began a new life. He was also expected not to reveal his past life.

Moolshankar was born in 1824 in a small town called Tankara in the state of Gujarat. He was from an Audichya Samavedi Brahmin (a caste whose primary duty was to take care of temples and religious obligations) family. Moolshankar was the eldest of five children. His education began at the tender age of five years and by age eight Moolshankar had mastered Devanagari script (which was used for Sanskrit) and was endowed with the sacred thread for beginning the studies of the Vedas. By the age of 14, he had gained knowledge of the Yajurveda and hymns from the other Vedas.

Moolshankar's father, Karshan Ji was a devotee of Lord Shiva and wished for his son to follow in his footsteps. On the night of Maha-Shivaratri (the great night of Shiva), Moolshankar accompanied his father to the temple where all the devotees gathered in front of a Shiva idol to keep an all night vigil. One by one the devotees fell asleep except for Moolshankar who was taught that if you fall asleep on that particular night then the worshiper would not be merited for his devotion. In the calm of the night a few mice crept out of their holes and nibbled on the offerings that was left by the devotee at the Shiva idol. Some mice were even on the idol itself. Moolshankar watching all of this was very shocked and many questions flooded his mind. His father tried to explain that the idol was not God himself (thus the helplessness against the mice) it's only a symbol of Shiva for the purpose of worshiping. Moolshankar could not understand why people had to worship an idol instead of God himself.

According to J.M Sharma " Moolshankar's experience was not new, but the way his thought process worked was unique. The defiling of the idol unleashed a flood of ideas. He could not reconcile the contradiction between the belief and the obvious. (The Arya Samaj now observes Shivaratri as the 'night of enlightenment'. But it was actually the night of doubt. It is a doubt that leads one to the threshold of enlightenment.)"

Moolshankar spent the next two years learning "Nighantu (a glossary of Vedic words), the Nirukta (etymologies of Vedic words), the Purva-Mimamsa (an enquiry into the ritual portions of the Vedas), and the treatises on ceremonial and sacrificial rites".

At age 22, Moolshakar left home in search of true knowledge, spiritual purity and moksha (liberation). He met many wise sages but was profoundly influenced by Svami Virajananda, a blind sage. However, it was Svami Virajananda's guidance and teachings that Svami Dayanand found the answer to the perplexities of life.

Svami Dayanand was also involved in the fight for women's education, he urged women to get marry after the age of 20 and he was against child marriage and the division of society on the basis of the caste system. He thought that India would be more unified if there were one common language, Hindi. Svami Dayanand presented his speeches only in Hindi even in his home state of Gujarat where the mother tongue is Gujarati. He chose to write all his books in Hindi also.

Svami Dayanand was a true patriot and loved his motherland, India, very much. He rejected many offers to go abroad and was a strong believer in educating and teaching the Vedas to his fellow countrymen. He believed "Once the lamp of wisdom is lighted here, its light is bound to spread towards the west too."

After he studied the Vedas thoroughly, Svami Dayanand realized that there is only one God. And the Vedas are the only truth. In 1875, Svami Dayanand founded "Arya Samaj" and it was based on two principles: the influence of the Vedas conditioned by rationalism and utilitarianism. In India and all over the world millions of people were influenced by the teachings of Arya Samaj.

Amoung his many contributions to India and Arya Samaj, Svami Dayanand wrote a very important book called the 'Satyartha Prakash' (The Light of truth). This book is based solely on the Vedas. It contains fourteen chapters which teaches the true meaning of the Vedas.

On September 20, 1883, Svami Dayanand was poisoned by one of his cooks. Svami Dayanand seeked help from many doctors but no one could help him. A few days later the cook admitted to the crime and asked for pardon and Svami Dayanand being a man to such righteousness forgave the cook.

On October 30, 1883, Diwali Day, Svami Dayanand said the Gayatri mantra and it was said that 'OM' was the last word that came from his lips before he died.

Source: http://www.aryasamajflorida.com/svamidayanand.htm

Sunita · Arya Ladies Forum Moderator Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 567

I have one of the dummest question to ask...but i really want to know the answer. Is Swamiji's picture real or was it an artist impression? He truely is georgous.
_________________
Namaste!

(1) If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it. William Arthur Ward

(2) The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.John Dewey:

(3) Andre Gide: Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.

Shishya · Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:18 pm Post subject:

Namaste Sunita,

If you're talking about the picture in the link Devo posted, that's a painting. But there are a couple photographs of him as well. One can be seen here.
_________________
Namaste,

Shishya
ॐ

ॐ सह नावतु । सह तौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥
"Together may we be protected. Together may we be profited. Together may we do a hero's work. May we learn intelligently. May we never hate one another."
-Brihadaranyaka & Taittiriya Upanishads

Sunita · Arya Ladies Forum Moderator Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 567

Thanks shishya!
_________________
Namaste!

(1) If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it. William Arthur Ward

(2) The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.John Dewey:

(3) Andre Gide: Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.

Shyena · Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:17 am Post subject:

I prefer a more black and white version of the photograph i found somewhere... his face looks much nicer in that

Prabhat · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 4:35 pm Post subject:

Shyena · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 6:21 pm Post subject:

Currently i dont have it - I remember finding it in one of the co-arya samaj websites.

Prabhat · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:08 pm Post subject:

bhavesh · Junior Member Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 69

We believe - Dayananda was a Rishi

Swami Dayananda Saraswati was a Rishi – if he is judged analytically and without any bias. We, his followers, admirers and the members of Arya Samaj call him Great Rishi or Maharshi. But those who are not his followers or those who disagree with his principles may think of him differently. It is their freedom. We should not quarrel with them on this issue. However, we would like to present a few points about Dayananda for further deliberation:

(i) When we read Dayananda’s life and his thoughts through his books and biographies, etc., it becomes quite clear that he was a sage, a seer – a drashta – of the highest rank. He was a genuine truth-seeker, who saw the true law of things directly by inner vision. As an inspired seer, he saw the hidden truths and heard the Divine Words. He was a giant spiritual force capable of guiding humanity towards its perfection.

(ii) We all understand that man does not create any new or fresh knowledge. He merely discovers it. Therefore, our sciences and discoveries are nothing but re-search. The entire mankind including Rishis can neither create a blade of grass nor a petal of flower. It is not given to them to create a single law. They can merely read and discover for themselves what is written and in operation in the Vedas or in the Nature’s Book. So Vedas say: Devasya pashya kavyam na mamat na jiryati. (Atharva: 10.8.32) Dayananda was also one of such great seers of the eternal truth – rit. Maharshi Yaska says in his Nirukta: Rishi darshanat (2.11). Dayananda had that capacity to see things with a vision of truth. He was a real Darshanik – a Mantrarthvit – a Drashta. He was endowed with keenness of vision.

(iii) The word Rishi is derived from Rishi gatau. This means a person is called Rishi if he is a man of extraordinary wisdom, seer of the inner nature of things, knower of the true meaning of the Vedas. Dayananda was having such competence. In Nirukta (13.1.12) it is said: Tarko Rishi i.e. a person having highly developed faculty of reasoning enabling him to reach to truth is called Rishi. Dayananda was highly logical. His ability to use right sort of reasoning and inference evidence was just wonderful and he adopted a process of reasoning in making most difficult and abstruse matters very clear and comprehensible. That shows his Rishitva. The Nirukta further says: Sakshatkritadharman rishiyo babhuvuh – means a person who has realized the basics of righteousness or dharma into his life is a Rishi. Dayananda has exemplified the Vedic principles in his practical life. He visualized and fully understood the meaning of Vedic texts having manifold significations and lived up to the law of dharma. He understood the Vedic laws and engaged himself in the propagation of righteousness and Vedic learning in most adverse times.

(iv) Dayananda had a curiosity to know the exact meaning of Veda Mantras. At the time of writing Veda Bhashya he used to ask his intellect such questions as: What can be the meaning of this Mantra? He exercised his intellect and reasoning for completely understanding the meaning of the Mantras. It was not just a scholarly work for him; rather he took it as a spiritual pursuit. He was aware that the Mantras cannot be interpreted in an off-hand manner on hearing them or with the help of reasoning alone. They ought to be explained with due regard to their context, i.e., with reference to what precedes as well as to what follows. This point was taken care of by him in his Veda-Bhashya.

(v) From time to time Dayananda was advised by some of his friends to write Veda-Bhashya, but initially he did not agree for it, saying that it demands some extra-ordinary qualifications and powers and as and when he would find himself fit for that, he would venture for the same. After about 1875 it appears that he felt that he had gained that necessary quality and confidence for this great task of interpretation of Vedas. He made himself fully competent to expound the true meaning of the Vedas. In other words, he then acquired the Rishitva (excellence of Rishi), and started for Veda-Bhashya. Otherwise, he believed that a man, who is not a rishi, who has not performed the austerities (Tapas), whose mind is not pure and who does not possess learning, can not realized the meaning of the Mantras. Unless a man is fully acquainted with the context of the mantras, has the necessary qualifications for realizing their presence and is a man of highest erudition, he is not in a position to grasp the true meaning of the Vedic, however good his reasoning may be.
(vi) It is described in the Nirukta that once upon a time men saw that they were left without the rishis, i.e., the seers of the Mantras. Thereupon they approached to the learned and asked them as to who should be the rishi among them. The learned gave them reasoning as their rishi, so that by knowing the truth from falsehood they might be able to understand the meaning of the Vedas and told them by way of reply that reasoning would be the rishi among them. By reasoning here it is meant that kind of it whose only solicitude is the elucidation of the meaning of the Vedas and which leads to knowledge of the sense of the Veda Mantras. Dayananda possessed and demonstrated such reasoning faculty. He was a thoroughly learned man, who explained the meaning of the Vedas in such a way that his explanation became the explanation of a rishi. He was not a man of mediocre learning and intellect. He was not at all partial and biased. He wanted his followers and members of Arya Samaj to remain always open to Truth. One can refer principles of the Arya samaj. He studied thousands of Sanskrit books and enriched his stock of knowledge. In a small book named Bhrantinivaran he has declared that after due study and examination, he was of the opinion that starting from Rig Veda up to Purva Mimansa of Jaimini almost three thousand books were found authentic and worthy of acceptance to him. One can imagine his vast learning. Sri K. M. Munshi has rightly said in ‘The Creative Art of Life’ that “Dayananda was learned beyond the measure of man.” At one place in his Rigvedadi Bhashya Bhumika, Dayananda has expressed that his bhashya is of Rishi’s standard. There he has written: “In the Vedic commentary we shall refer to the action portion only in so far as it will be deducible directly from the meaning of the words. We shall not, however, give a detailed description of the acts which ought to be performed in the various yajnas, from the Agnihotra to the Ashvamedha, according to the mantras which have been applied to the action portion. The reason is that the true application of the mantras to the action portion and the details of the observances are given in the Aitareya and Shatapatha Brahmanas, the Purva Mimansa, and the Shrouta Sutras, etc. Their repetition will disfigure this commentary with the faults of tautological repetition and the grinding of a ground meal which disfigure the books not written by Rishis.” It means that he believed that his book should be as superb as that of a Rishi’s book.

(vii) Dayananda did not at all wish that his name should be listed in the list of those rishis whose names are mentioned in the Veda Samhitas for remembrance. He was not that ambitious. He was not at all competing with those great rishis of yore. He did not work for that purpose. However, we believe that future generation will definitely evaluate and honor his importance and unique contribution in the field of Vedic study.

- Bhavesh Merja