Swami Dayanand Saraswati birth anniversary celebrated

• Recently, Prime Minister paid tribute to Dayanand Saraswati on his 200th birth Anniversary.

About Dayanand Saraswati

• Born on February 12, 1824 in Tankara (Gujarat)and named Mul Shankar Tiwari.
• Swami Dayananda was a social reformer, hailing his contributions towards the fight against social discrimination and untouchability.
• He stressed the importance of education for all children and preached respect and equal rights for women.
• He spent 25 years as a wandering ascetic and travelled to the Himalayas, he also started practising Yoga during this time.
• He also preached against the giving of donations to priests. He also challenged established scholars and won debates against them through the strength of the Vedas.
• He was staunchly against rituals and superstitions.
• Literary Works: He wrote many books. His major contribution is Satyartha Prakash. Other books include Sanskarvidhi, Rigved Bhashyam, etc.
• He was first to give call for Swaraj as “India for Indian” in 1876.
• He started Shuddhi Movement wherein purification was imparted to those who sought their way back to Hinduism.

Arya Samaj

• He founded Arya Samaj in 1875 to counter social inequities.
• Arya Samaj led a prolonged movement against untouchability and advocated the dilution of caste distinctions.
• He issued the slogan, “Back to the Vedas.”
• He was unconcerned with the Puranas.
• Swami learned Vedanta from a blind instructor named Swami Virajananda in Mathura. His viewpoints were similar to Ram Mohan Roy’s.
• Intercaste marriages and widow remarriages were also promoted.
• Disbelief in polytheism and image worship, hostility to caste-based limitations, child marriage, opposition to the ban of sea journeys, and advocacy for female education and widow remarriage were all key programs shared by Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj members.
• He stressed on One God and rejected idol worship. He also advocated against the extolled position of priests in Hinduism. He opposed the multiplicity of castes.
• Dayanand anglovedic trust and Management society in Lahore in 1886 , was an attempt to unite the samaj and its activities.