New Delhi, February 12: Born on February 12, 1824, in Tankara, Gujarat, Moolshankar (Swami Dayanand Saraswati) was a prodigious talent from a young age. It is said that he learned to pronounce the Gayatri Mantra correctly at just two years old.
When his parents attempted to bind him in worldly attachments through marriage, he left home at the age of 22. For the next 15 years, he wandered barefoot from the caves of the Himalayas to the banks of the Narmada as a ‘Parivrajaka.’ During this journey, Swami Purnanand Saraswati named him ‘Dayanand Saraswati.’ His education culminated when he reached Swami Virjanand, the ‘Blind Sage’ of Mathura.
Guru Virjanand did not ask for money as a fee but instead requested a promise that laid the foundation for modern India. He instructed, “Dayanand, go and eliminate ignorance and hypocrisy from society, spreading the light of the Vedas.”
The establishment of the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875 was not merely a religious event; it was a campaign to liberate the Indian psyche from the shackles of colonial mentality. Swami Dayanand advocated the slogan “Return to the Vedas.” He believed that the weakness of Indian society stemmed from forgetting the true knowledge of the Vedas and the prevalence of superstitions.
His timeless work, ‘Satyarth Prakash,’ shook every section of society. He argued that God is formless and omnipresent. He did not only criticize the superstitions of Hinduism but also scrutinized the beliefs of other faiths through the lens of reason.
Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a reformer who struck at the root of societal issues. He spoke of women’s and Dalits’ rights at a time when such ideas were almost unimaginable. He outright rejected the birth-based caste system, asserting that a person’s greatness comes from their actions, not their birth. He empowered Dalits by granting them the right to wear the sacred thread and read the Vedas, breaking centuries-old chains.
Swami Dayanand declared that women could become Rishikas. He campaigned against child marriage and supported widow remarriage. The network of ‘DAV’ schools and girls’ schools we see today is a result of his vision.
Often, history views him merely as a religious reformer, but he was the first person to use the term ‘Swaraj.’ He boldly stated, “No matter how good a foreign rule may be, it cannot compare to a native state (Swaraj).”
While his ideas garnered millions of followers, they also attracted numerous enemies. He survived 17 assassination attempts. In 1883, in Jodhpur, after advising Maharaja Jaswant Singh to stay away from a dancer’s influence, conspirators poisoned his milk with ground glass.
On the evening of Diwali, October 30, 1883, as the entire country was illuminated with lamps, this radiant sun of India set. He suffered from illness due to the poisoned milk and ultimately passed away.
Leave a Comment