Arya Samaj
Arya Performing Agnihotra
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| Motto | "कृण्वन्तो विश्वमार्यम्" Civilise the world ! |
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| Formation | 10 April 1875 Bombay (Now Mumbai), Bombay presidency, British India |
| Founder | Dayananda Saraswati |
| Type | Religious organisation |
| Legal status | Foundation |
| Purpose | Educational, Religious studies, Spirituality, Social Reforms |
| Headquarters | Ajmer, India |
| Coordinates | 26°27′00″N 74°38′24″E / 26.4499°N 74.6399°ECoordinates: 26°27′00″N 74°38′24″E / 26.4499°N 74.6399°E |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Leader | Dr. Surendra Kumar |
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Main organ
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श्रीमती परोपकारिणी सभा – Shreemati Paropkarini Sabha |
| Website | www |
Arya Samaj (Sanskrit ārya samāja आर्य समाज "Noble Society" Hindi आर्य समाज, Bengali আর্য সমাজ, Punjabi ਆਰੀਆ ਸਮਾਜ, Gujarati આર્ય સમાજ) is an Indian religious movement that promotes values and practices based on the infallibility of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by Dayananda Saraswati, a sannyasi, on 7 April 1875 (141 years ago).
The Samaj was established in Bombay on 7 April 1875 by Dayanand Saraswati. Others assert, however, that the formal founding took place at Lahore on 24 June 1877 when it became more than just a regional movement based in Punjab.
Between 1869 and 1873, Swamy Dayanand Saraswati (origanally called Mul Shankar), a native of Gujarat from the Kathiawar region, made his first attempt at reform in India towards orthodox Hinduism. This attempt took the form of the establishment of "Vedic Schools" or "Gurukuls" which put an emphasis on Vedic values, culture, and religion or satya sanatan Dharma to its students, including separate education for boys and girls based on ancient Vedic patterns. The first was established at Farrukhabad in 1869 with 50 students enrolled in its first year. This initial success led to the founding of four additional gurukuls in rapid succession at Mirzapur (1870), Kasganj (1870), Chhalesar (Aligarh) (1870) and Varanasi (1873) - all now in Uttar Pradesh.
The Vedic Schools represented the first practical application of Dayanand's vision of religious and social reform which was based on the Vedic tradition. They enjoyed a mixed reception. On the one hand, students were not allowed to perform traditional idol worship of stone sculpture (murti puja in Hindi) at the Gurukul, and were instead expected to perform sandhya (a form of meditative prayer using vedic mantras with divine sound and pronunciation from the Vedas) and participate in agnihotra twice daily. Disciplinary action was swift and not infrequently severe. On the other hand, all meals, lodging, clothing and books were given to the students free of charge, and the study of Sanskrit Holy books like Vedas, Upnishadas, Aranyakas, Kashika, Nirukta, Mahabhashya, Ashtadhyayi, Darshanas were opened to non-Brahmins and also for women. The most noteworthy feature of the Gurukuls was that only those texts which accepted the authority of the Vedas were to be taught. This was critical for the spiritual and social regeneration of Vedic culture in India.
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Wikipedia