Dayananda Saraswati
Dayanand Saraswati[3] (ⓘ) (born Mool Shankar Tiwari; 12 February 1824 – 30 October 1883), was a Hindu philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a reform movement of Hinduism. His book Satyarth Prakash has remained one of the influential text on the philosophy of the Vedas and clarifications of various ideas and duties of human beings. He was the first to give the call for Swaraj as "India for Indians" in 1876, a call later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak.[3][4] Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies. Subsequently, the philosopher and President of India, S. Radhakrishnan, called him one of the "makers of Modern India", as did Sri Aurobindo.[5][6][7]
This article is about founder of the Arya Samaj. For founder of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, see Dayananda Saraswati (Arsha Vidya).
Dayanand Saraswati
Those who were influenced by and followed Dayananda included Madam Cama, Pandit Lekh Ram, Swami Shraddhanand,[8] Shyamji Krishna Varma, Kishan Singh, Bhagat Singh, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Bhai Parmanand, Lala Hardayal, Madan Lal Dhingra, Ram Prasad Bismil, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Ashfaqullah Khan,[9] Mahatma Hansraj, Lala Lajpat Rai,[10][11] Yogmaya Neupane, Vallabhbhai Patel and others.[12]
He was a sanyasi (ascetic) from boyhood and a scholar. He believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda advocated the doctrines of karma and reincarnation. He emphasized the Vedic ideals of brahmacharya, including celibacy and devotion to God.
Among Dayananda's contributions were his opposition to untouchability, promotion of the equal rights for women and his commentary on the Vedas from Vedic Sanskrit in Sanskrit as well as in Hindi.
Early life[edit]
Dayananda Saraswati was born on the 10th day of waning moon in the month of Purnimanta Phalguna (12 February 1824) on the tithi to an Indian Hindu Brahmin family[13] in Tankara, Kathiawad region (now Morbi district of Gujarat).[14][15] His original name was Mool Shankar Tiwari (Trivedi, in its original form) because he was born in Dhanu Rashi and Mul Nakshatra. His father was Karshanji Lalji Trivedi,[16] and his mother was Yashodabai.
When he was eight years old, his Yajnopavita Sanskara ceremony was performed, marking his entry into formal education. His father was a follower of Shiva and taught him the ways to worship Shiva. He was also taught the importance of keeping fasts. On the occasion of Shivratri, Dayananda sat awake the whole night in obedience to Shiva. During one of these fasts, he saw a mouse eating the offerings and running over the idol's body. After seeing this, he questioned that if Shiva could not defend himself against a mouse, then how could he be the saviour of the world.[17]
The deaths of his younger sister and his uncle from cholera led Dayananda to ponder the meaning of life and death. He began asking questions which worried his parents. He was engaged in his early teens, but he decided marriage was not for him and ran away from home in 1846.[18][19]
Dayanand Saraswati spent nearly twenty-five years, from 1845 to 1869, as a wandering ascetic, searching for religious truth. He found out that the joy from material goods was not enough, therefore he decided to devot himself to spiritual pursuits in forests, retreats in the Himalayan Mountains, and pilgrimage sites in northern India. During these years he practised various forms of yoga and became a disciple of a teacher named Virajanand Dandeesha. Virajanand believed that Hinduism had strayed from its historical roots and that many of its practices had become impure. Dayananda Sarasvati promised Virajanand that he would devote his life to restoring the rightful place of the Vedas in the Hindu faith.[20]
Assassination attempts[edit]
Dayananda was subjected to many unsuccessful assassination attempts on his life.[27]
According to his supporters, he was poisoned on a few occasions, but due to his regular practice of Hatha Yoga he survived all such attempts. One story tells that attackers once attempted to drown him in a river, but Dayananda dragged the assailants into the river instead, though he released them before they drowned.[37]
Another account claims that he was attacked by Muslims who were offended by his criticism of Islam while meditating on the Ganges. They threw him into the water but he is claimed to have saved himself because his pranayama practice allowed him to stay under water until the attackers left.[38]
Assassination[edit]
In 1883, the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Jaswant Singh II, invited Dayananda to stay at his palace. The Maharaja was eager to become Dayananda's disciple and to learn his teachings. Dayananda went to the Maharaja's restroom during his stay and saw him with a dancing girl named Nanhi Jaan. Dayananda asked the Maharaja to forsake the girl and all unethical acts and to follow the Dharma like a true Arya (noble). Dayananda's suggestion offended Nanhi, who decided to take revenge.[2]
On 29 September 1883, Nanhi Jaan bribed Dayananda's cook, Jagannath, to mix small pieces of glass in his nightly milk.[39] Dayananda was served glass-laden milk before bed, which he promptly drank, becoming bedridden for several days, and suffering excruciating pain. The Maharaja quickly arranged doctor's services for him. However, by the time doctors arrived, his condition had worsened, and he had developed large bleeding sores. Upon seeing Dayananda's suffering, Jagannath was overwhelmed with guilt and confessed his crime to Dayananda. On his deathbed, Dayananda forgave him, and gave him a bag of money, telling him to flee the kingdom before he was found and executed by the Maharaja's men.[2]
Later, the Maharaja arranged for him to be sent to Mount Abu as per the advice of Residency, however, after staying for some time in Abu, on 26 October 1883, he was sent to Ajmer for better medical care.[39] There was no improvement in his health and he died on the morning of the Hindu festival of Diwali on 30 October 1883 chanting mantras.[39][40]