ARYA SAMAJ
The Arya Samaj was established by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in the year 1875 . Swami ji studied Vedanta in Mathura under the guidance of Swami Virajananda, who was blind teacher.
The social ideals of the Arya Samaj include, among other things, gender equality, complete justice, and fair play between men and men as well as between nations. Arya Samaj also Additionally encouraged widow remarriages and inter-caste unions.
Arya Samaj was the first reform movement to engage in proselytising . The believers of Arya Samaj did not approve idol worship and held that God was far higher. According to Arya Samaj the Vedas are the ultimate source of knowledge, and every Hindu is required to read and recite them. Arya Samaj also promoted women’s equality, fought for widow remarriages, and outlawed polygamy, child marriage, and Sati through educating Hindus about the Vedas.
SWAMI DAYANAD SARASWATI
SWAMI DAYANAD SARASWATI-FOUNDER OF ARYA SAMAJ
Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in the year 1875 in Mumbai. Arya Samaj endorsed the supremacy and authority of the Vedas It waged a stiff fight against idol worship, superstitions and social evils such as Sati ,child marriage and promoted women education and widow remarriage.
Arya Samaj succeeded in reforming Hinduism, eradicating social evils and superstitions, and establishing some highly notable educational and social institutions for the evolution of human consciousness. Arya Samaj drew its inspiration purely from the Vedas and the rich cultural heritage of India.
Swami Dayanand Saraswati was born in the Morvi state of the then Saurashtra (present Gujarat) to a wealthy Brahmin couple named Karshanji Lalji Tiwari and Amrithbai. Being the Tahsildhar of Tankara, Karshanji assured a highly affluent life to Moolashankar (the original name of Dayanand Saraswati).
Moolashankar grew as a highly knowledgeable and inquisitive boy. Wealth and comfort did not allure him. He was deeply moved by the death of his sister and his maternal uncle whom he loved and revered the most. The grief he suffered turned him away from home to seek the truth of his life.
Once on a Shivratri day, Moolashankar observed rats moving on the idol of Lord Shiva and questioned the power of the idol. He started preaching the elders gathered that they were wrongly worshipping an insentient stone instead of seeking the true Shiva inside our being. He left the home in search of a Guru. Moolashankar became Swami Dayananda Saraswati under the able guidance and tutelage of Swami Purnananda.
Dayanand wandered in the Himalayas in search of the right Guru. Neither difficulties nor attractions deterred his journey. After 15 years of search, he was guided to approach Virajananda in a hermitage in Mathura on the banks of the Narmada River. The master asked about his scholarship. When Dayanand said he had learnt Kaumudi Saraswata, the Guru ordered him that he will be accepted only after throwing those useless books.
Dayanand faithfully obeyed the master and proved as a diligent and devoted student. Virajanand moulded him to perfection with his awesome knowledge and Dayanand was ordered by the Guru to go out and spread the knowledge he has acquired to reform the masses. Dayanand reclined several offers to sponsor his trip to the west and chose to educate his countrymen.