Knowledge Nugget: Why is Dayanand Saraswati, the maker of modern India, important for UPSC?

2. According to the website of Arya Samaj Houston, the central objectives of Arya Samaj is to, “eradicate Ignorance (Agyan), Indigence oregon Poverty (Abhav) and Injustice (Anayay) from this earth. This ngo is enshrined successful the 10 Niyams oregon Principles.” The website says that contrary to the misconception, Arya Samaj is not a religion oregon a caller sect successful the Hindu religion.

3. Among his assorted beliefs included a rejection of idolatry and the overly ritualistic traditions of Hinduism, enactment for women’s education, denunciation of kid marriage, and an opposition to untouchability. “Gandhi himself gave the highest value to Swamiji’s run of abolishing untouchability,” said Murmu.

4. His magnum opus, Satyarth Prakash (1875), emphasised the “return to Vedic principles” that Dayanand Saraswati believed “had been lost” implicit time. The publication uses the connection of religious revivalism – hearkening backmost to a ‘better’ past ancient – successful bid to manner a modern spiritual doctrine and organisation, susceptible of competing against the progressively proselytising Christian missionaries. He advocated for worshipping of one Supreme God and followed elemental rituals and recitation of Vedic mantras. All different religions were rejected by him and helium wanted Hindus who had converted to different religions to instrumentality to Hinduism based connected the Vedas.

5. He besides emerged arsenic an early proponent of cattle protection, who archetypal published Gokarun·aˉnidhi , a pamphlet successful 1881, which circulated his concerns against cattle slaughter. He aboriginal connected went to found a committee for the extortion of cows called Gaurakshini Sabha successful 1882. He has fixed economic reason for cattle extortion arguing that a cattle was much beneficial to radical alive, arsenic opposed to it being dead, since it gave beverage and eased cultivation labour.

6. After helium died successful 1883 his followers established a schoolhouse successful Punjab successful his sanction – Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) School to amended children successful modern subjects and astatine the aforesaid clip support them successful interaction with their religion and culture. The New Education Policy, of 2020 is seen arsenic taking guardant the imaginativeness of societal reformer Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

Philosophy of Dayanand Saraswati

1. Dayanand Saraswati preached respect and reverence for different quality beings, supported by the Vedic conception of the divine quality of the individual. Crucial among his “ten founding principles of Arya Samaj” is the thought that each activities indispensable beryllium done for the payment of humankind arsenic a whole, alternatively than individuals oregon adjacent idols and spiritual symbols.

2. This universalism was straight antithetical to the caste system. While Dayanand did not afloat oppose the instauration of caste itself, helium advocated for important betterment wrong it. Citing the Vedas, helium claimed that caste is not expected to beryllium hereditary but alternatively based connected an individual’s talents and disposition.

3. Furthermore, helium was against the signifier of untouchability, which helium believed was an result of centuries of Brahmanical domination. Crucially, helium advocated Vedic acquisition for each castes.

4. His views connected women were besides against the atom of orthodox Hindu reasoning astatine the time. He campaigned for the acquisition of women arsenic good arsenic against ‘regressive practices’ specified arsenic child marriage.

This onshore of Kathiawar has fixed commencement to galore mahantam saputs (greatest of bully sons) of Bharatmata. In generations aft Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati, Mahatma Gandhi was calved successful this precise region. Swamiji took up the task of societal betterment and wrote the immortal publication entitled Satyarth Prakash for satya ki siddh karne ke liye (establishment of truth). Mahatma Gandhi, connected the different hand, sought people’s information successful politics, provided it motivation compass and wrote autobiography called My Experiments with Truth.

President Draupadi Murmu.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Swami Shraddhanand

Stamp of Swami Shraddhanand. (Wikipedia commons)

1. Mahatma Munshi Ram, known arsenic Swami Shraddhanand, was a follower of Dayanad Saraswati who was assassinated by a antheral called Abdul Rashid connected December 23, 1926.

2. Shraddhanand was calved connected February 22, 1856 successful the colony Talwan in Jalandhar territory successful Punjab province. Sometime successful the aboriginal 1880s, helium came into interaction with Swami Dayanand, the laminitis of the Arya Samaj. This gathering was a turning constituent successful his life.

3. Shraddhanand wrote a publication called “Hindu Sangathan”. In the book’s introduction, helium has written, “In the pursuing pages an effort has been made to picture the past of the Hindu diminution and to hint the causes which led to its contiguous deplorable downfall. As a corollary an effort has been made to amusement the mode to the nation’s emancipation.”

4. He called untouchability a “curse” and a “blot” connected the reputations of the Hindus. “Those who enslave and trample nether their feet astir 1 3rd of their ain kith and kin, person nary close to kick of the tyranny of the foreigner.”

(Source: Who was Dayanand Saraswati, Who was Swami Shraddhanand, Ncert, ignou, Inspired full mankind)

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