Dayanand Saraswati
pronunciation(helpinfo)(Hindi:स्वामी दयानन्द सरस्वती,Gujarati:મહષિૅ દયાનંદ સરસ્વતીMaharshi Dayānand Sarasvatī) (24 February 1824 30 October 1883)[1]was an importantHindureligious leader of his time. He is well known as the founder of theArya Samaj, aHindu reform movementof the Vedic tradition. He was a profound scholar of the Vedic lore and Sanskrit language. He was the first to give the call forSwarajyaas "India for Indians" in 1876, later taken up byLokmanya Tilak.[2][3]Denouncing theidolatryand ritualistic worship prevalent inHinduismat the time, he worked towards revivingVedicideologies. Subsequently the philosopher andPresident of India,S. Radhakrishnan, called him one of the "makers of Modern India," as didSri Aurobindo.[4][5][6]
Those who were influenced by and followed Dayananda includedMadam Cama, Pandit Guru Dutt Vidyarthi,[7]Vinayak Damodar Savarkar,Lala Hardayal,Madan Lal Dhingra,Ram Prasad Bismil,Bhagat Singh,Mahadev Govind Ranade[8]Swami Shraddhanand,Mahatma Hansraj,Lala Lajpat Rai[9][10]and others. One of his most influential works is the bookSatyarth Prakash, which contributed to theIndian independence movement. He was asanyasi(ascetic) from boyhood, and a scholar, who believed in theinfallibleauthorityof theVedas.
Maharshi Dayananda advocated the doctrine ofKarma(Karmasiddhanta in Hinduism) andReincarnation(Punarjanma in Hinduism). He emphasized the Vedic ideals ofbrahmacharya(celibacy) anddevotion to God. TheTheosophical Societyand theArya Samajwere united from 1878 to 1882, becoming theTheosophical Society of the Arya Samaj.[11]Among Maharshi Dayananda's contributions are his promoting of theequal rights for women, such as the right to education and reading ofIndian scriptures, and his intuitive commentary on theVedasfromVedic SanskritinSanskritas well asHindiso that the common man might be able to read them. Dayanand was the first to give the word ofSwadeshilong beforeMahatma Gandhi.
