Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Yug Pravartak/ Yug Drashta and founder of Arya Samaj, rebuilt the Hindu society in a new mould. He established the vision that Bharat is our own land and no person of foreign birth could ever become head of its affairs. Swamiji believed and proved that untouchability did not exist in our Vedas. Through his reform movement ‘Arya Samaj’, Swamiji succeeded in launching a great movement against untouchability. Later, Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress followed in Swamiji’s footsteps during the freedom struggle and even post-Independence.
Eradicating Child Marriage
During Swami Dayanand’s days, child marriages were common. He vehemently opposed this practice and worked hard to eradicate this curse from the Hindu society. Child marriages were later legally abolished, though sadly it is still practiced to some extent in certain regions and among backward Hindus.
Swami Dayanand also launched a movement against polygamy – the practice of marrying more than one woman. Later, Arya Samaj, through “Magic Lantern”, worked for eradicating this evil. Arya Pracharaks travelled widely to remote villages and towns of Bharat and successfully removed this evil from our Hindu society. Subsequently, it was lawfully abolished under the Hindu Code Bill.
Focus on Vedas
Arya Samaj successfully fought against orthodox groups in the Hindu community and established that there was no example in the Vedas to worship the idol as God. It argued that Bhagwan is omnipotent, omnipresent and formless. Since it is omnipresent, it cannot be confined under lock and key anywhere, even in the temple. Swamiji preached and pleaded with the orthodox Hindu community to return to the Vedas in the true sense.
He obtained original Vedas from Germany and translated them into simple Sanskrit and Hindi along with his famous book Rigveda Bhashya and Solah Sanaskars.
Proponent of Equality
Swami Dayanand propagated that all people are born equal and no one is Brahmin, Vaishya, Kshatriya or Shudra by birth. But these divisions are according to the profession a person chooses and each of these sects is complimentary to each other and none is superior or inferior.
Swamiji created consciousness among the Hindu society that the West has not contributed anything towards the emancipation of our country; rather the West owes to us everything, every progress which they unjustifiably claim as theirs, including the invention of ‘zero’. He strongly believed in a national religion based on intense dedication, truth, selflessness, fearless nationalism – values he propagated amongst all the Hindus of India. He propagated self-rule and freedom, based on equality – its details are enshrined in Satyarth Prakash, a book by Swami Dayanand. This was his life’s greatest mission.
For the welfare of women, Swamiji brought about widow re-marriages amongst Hindus and stopped the most barbaric Sati Pratha.
Throughout his life, Swamiji came down heavily on the blind faiths prevalent among Hindu society and awakened them to their ills.
Ghar Wapsi
Shuddhi Prachaar of Dayanand Saraswati was and is still the greatest contribution to Hindu society, bringing back our brothers and sisters whom we had lost to other religions owing to our orthodox beliefs.
Emphasis On Education
Swami Dayanand played a significant role in strengthening Hindu society. He stressed the need to streamline education and this factor has played a crucial role in India’s rise. The spread of education to all, irrespective of gender and caste, was a crucial factor aided progress in the country. Swamiji played a laudable role in starting women’s educational institutions across the country. He ensured that education reached everyone, irrespective of caste, creed and sex.
By articulating the need to open orphanages, Swamiji ensured that orphans did not convert to other religions. Arya Samaj opened its first orphanage in Firozepur, followed by a chain of orphanages all over the country. This ensured that orphans did not adopt other religions like Islam or Christianity.
To provide a healing touch to widows, Swami Dayanand’s Arya Samaj opened homes for widows and destitute women to accommodate and train them in useful professions and to get them married to suitable partners in due course of time.
Swami Dayanand worked tirelessly as a social reformer as he wanted women to be at par with men. Arya Samaj succeeded in removing the parda system from Hindu society.
Swamiji also succeeded in launching a movement to ensure that studying Vedas and Upanishads was not restricted to Brahmins alone but ensured that our ancient texts were available to every caste, and men and women equally.
In earlier days, a Hindu who travelled overseas had to undergo penance and presented gifts to Brahmins for allowing them to be re-admitted to Hindu dharma. Thankfully, Swami Dayanand got rid of these ills from the orthodox Hindu society.
For the first time, Swami Dayanand explained to the Hindu society the difference between the meaning of good governance and “own independent rule”. He instigated the people to demand self rule and to throw away the foreign yoke of slavery of the Britishers. Swami Dayanand was the first Indian who announced that Bharatvarsh is only of Bharatvasis and we should have self-rule.
Swamiji created consciousness in the Hindu society that the West had not contributed anything towards the emancipation of our country; rather the West owes everything to us, every progress which they unjustifiably claim as theirs, including the invention of ‘zero’
Swamiji and Arya Samaj emphasised the concept of ‘Swadeshi’ and urged Hindus to patronise only Swadeshi products.
If Hindi remained the mainstay of our freedom struggle, it was because of Swami Dayanand. Even today, Swamiji’s Arya Samaj can take credit for promotion of Hindi as a national language across the country.
Swami Dayanand gave to the society great thinkers, national leaders and revolutionaries such as Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Shri Arvind Ghosh, Bhai Parmanand, Shyamji Krishna Verma, Ram Prasad Bismil, Bhai Bal Mukund, Madanlal Dhingra,Madan Mohan Malviye, Swami Shraddhanand and Pandit Lekhram. The contribution of these great thinkers and revolutionaries in our independence struggle need not be elaborated.
Hindu women have to acknowledge the role of Swami Dayanand Saraswati in ensuring that they are treated at par with men, as per our ancient systems. Indeed, he was the greatest social reformer. He was the driving force behind the social change that improved their social rights, right to education, right to study the Vedas and Upanishads, abolition of the dowry system and equal opportunity to select their partners. n
