On The Reform Ideas And Modern Activities Of The Arya Samaj Which Is A Hindu Socio-religious Reform Organization

Arya Samaj (Aryan Society or Society of Nobles) is a Hindu socio-religious reform organization in India that was founded by Swami Dayananda (1824-83) in 1875. Swami Dayananda was a sanyasis who tried to realize the Hindu revival. He rejected the popular Puranas and believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas and advocated the doctrine of karma and reincarnation. Dayananda claimed to be rejecting all non-Vedic beliefs altogether. He unequivocally condemned polytheism, iconolatry, animal sacrifices, the role of Brahman priests, offerings made in temples, the caste system, the ban on widow marriage and child marriages - in short, almost all of contemporary Hinduism, on the grounds that all these lacked Vedic sanction. He aimed to be a universal church based on the authority of the Vedas and stated that he wanted 'to make the whole world Aryan'. Dayananda published Satyarth Prakash( The Light Of Truth ) in 1875,in which he elaborated his concepts of true Hinduism. Dayananda condemned all that he considered false, i.e. orthodox Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism and, Sikhism.On 10 April 1875 Swami Dayananda established the Bombay Arya Samaj. The Arya Samaj was scattered throughout the Punjab and the North-West Provinces plus a few in Rajasthan and Maharashtra on his death. The Arya Samaj not only preached Dayananda's ideals, but also put them in action. The Arya Samaj hired full-time missionaries to preach, established the Dayananda Anglo-Vedic College, elementary and secondary schools which were throughout the Punjab, and girls' schools. The Aryas launched societies to support widow remarriage, opened the Arya Samaj orphanages. They developed their own ritual of conversion (shuddhi) and employed shuddhi to purify and readmit Hindus who converted to Islam or Christianity and anyone whose ancestors had once been Hindus. They also used shuddhi to purify untouchables and transform them into members of the clean castes.The comment and analysis on the ideas and activities of the Arya Samaj is the topic of this thesis. This thesis is composed with four great parts. The first part is about the rising of the Arya Samaj. The author reviews the religion status and Hindu mind and politics etc. in the Panjab before the Arya Samaj, and summarizes the arisen generalsituation. The second and third parts dissertate the reform ideas and modern activities of the Arya Samaj. The forth part is the comment and analysis on the ideas and modern activities of the Arya Samaj. The author considers the Arya Samaj changed the face of the Punjab and the territories surrounding it in a view of transform. It enlightened the people' thought in these areas, and contributed to the social progress in India. At the same time, the author points out conservative characteristic of the reform ideas and activities of the Arya Samaj, also analyses the causes of conservative characteristic from the angels of era, caste structure, sect relation, cultural tradition, people' educational status and politics etc. Finally the author points out the two-facet functions of conservative characteristic.In the fifth part is summation and sublimation of the whole thesis. The author summarizes that the Arya Samaj had contributed to the social development in the northwest areas in India, at the same time points out Hindu transformation is all along the impetus of the social evolution in India and the extent and characteristic of the transformation are influenced with many factors.