Vision of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati
It is worth studying the thoughts of a great personality in the background of his way of life, education, socio-cultural values and their impact on his psyche. From this point of view, before starting to analyse the philosophical collections of a great man of global stature like Maharshi Dayanand, it has to be kept in mind that he had spent most of his life as a sage and a Sanyasi, who did not find solace only in freeing himself from worldly attachments and wandering without any conflict, but who is always concerned about the welfare of the universe,the welfare of the mankind, his anxiety is manifested in his character, as he continuously strives for the relief and freedom from pain, sorrow and sufferings of the society.
Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati was born in a Brahmin family of India which considered the fulfilment of its duties to strictly follow the traditionally approved systems of its religious beliefs and social laws and regulations. His childhood upbringing and primary education also took place in a traditional manner, in which constant emphasis was laid on accepting communal beliefs as they were and strictly following the traditional duties of worship. However, it would be considered a miracle that despite being born and brought up in the complex environment of medieval religion and beliefs, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati could succeed in generating the most revolutionary and enlightened thinking in such an environment.
Maharshi Dayanand was born in an era when the people of India, after having been influenced by the knowledge, wisdom, science and logical thinking of the West, were unable to understand in what form and how they should accept this new awakening or consciousness. ? Would total adoption of the Western way of life not declare the end of one’s personal identity and self-esteem? Some similar resolutions and options were shaking and agitating the Indian psyche. The beginning of Indian Renaissance can be considered to be from around the date of birth of Maharshi Dayanand, whereas in during that time in India, Ram Mohan Roy was engaged in various reformist efforts in the broader context of religion, society and country. Historians have also linked the thoughts, works and achievements of Maharshi Dayanand with the history of Indian Renaissance. Actually, there is no objection in this, but it has to be kept in mind that while other luminaries and pioneers of revival took inspiration from Western education, European thinking and ideologies, Maharshi Dayanand did not even have any contact with the West. The family environment in which he was broughtup, the social environment in which he grew and the opportunity he got to study traditional Sanskrit scriptures, there was not the slightest contact with western culture . Therefore, by the example of Maharshi Dayanand, we will have to break the myth propagated by the people blinded by the Western culture that the sole credit for India’s awakening goes to English education and the prevalence of Western ideology. It was also a coincidence that except Maharshi Dayanand, the leaders of the revolution from Rammohan Roy to Gandhi were familiar with English education and customs. Maharshi Dayanand is the only exception who, despite being an expert in all the ancient Sanskrit scriptures, could present a program that was completely progressive, timely and capable of taking the society on the path of progress.
Maharshi Dayanand was basically a religious man, he studied religious texts, he was a religious preacher, and also a religious teacher. But the religion propounded by Maharshi Dayanand is not limited within the narrow boundaries as defined and confined within a self-structured notions like Hindu, Muslim or Christian. He has given a very broad vision to religion on the basis of its etymological meanings. According to Swami Dayanand, religion has to be impartial, fair, Godly and that does not contradict the principles of the Vedas. Here a question may arise that why does the Swami consider that the conduct, onlyin accordance with the Vedas as religion and not contrary to it? Can the conduct and duties as recommended by a particular book be the universal public religion of the entire humanity, worldwide? And whether the Vedas are not the work of a particular person, written at a particular point of time?
In this context, it would be appropriate to understand Maharshi Dayanand’s views on Vedas. Maharshi Dayanand considered Vedas to be synonymous with true knowledge and had a strong belief that such a knowledge was imparted to the early man at the dawn of civilisation, which being independent of place, time and person, was useful, beneficial andwas meant for the betterment, growth and development of the entire humanity. . Keeping these fundamental principles in mind, he presented a philosophical analysis of the ideals which are now prevalent in the larger context of Arya Samaj of India that such knowledge, imparted for the benefit of human beings, can only be the divine knowledge and can never be the work of any particular person. It is a different matter that today we have forgotten the dignity and divinity of this knowledge that is thousands of years old.
Maharshi Dayanand has not only formulated his views on Vedas at various sequences in his books, but has also explained and discussed them in depth at many places. He has established the eternality, infallibility and omniscience of the Vedas in the same way, which has been completely approved and accepted as per Indian traditions. However, it is to the credit of Maharshi Dayanand’s interpretation of the Vedas that it is possible to give a cautious answer to the objections and objections made on the Vedas with this type of interpretation system. It would not be inappropriate to go into some detail here and criticize Maharshi Dayanand’s views on Vedas.
By and large, no Vedarth thinker or Veda practitioner scholar of the Indian tradition disagrees with the ideas presented by Maharshi Dayanand regarding the eternity of the Vedas, the immortality of the Vedas or a treatise of all true and Godly knowledge etc. However, it has often been objected that Maharshi Dayanand’s Vedartha system of interpretation of Vedas does not follow the methodology accepted by other commentators of Vedas, who go with the following of commentators such as Sayan etc. But here too there is no contradiction, concealment or opposition of any kind in the thoughts of Maharshi Dayanand. He clearly declares that the commentaries of Sayan and others were written in an era when Vedartha – the most ancient system of thinking, which must have been very close to the Veda itself, was almost destroyed and in that era the commentators assumed that the Vedic mantras were composed only for the accomplishment of some particular act or retual, and also that apart from indicating the specific action and telling its duration, there is no other purpose of that mantra.
Maharshi Dayanand does not even completely challenge such sacrificial meanings. Veda mantras are the sponsors of rituals beneficial for humans, mantras should be appropriated in rituals performed for human welfare, despite agreeing in principle with this belief, he does not accept that the composition of mantras or their philosophy is merely the accomplishment of rituals. His belief is that if we actually accept the Vedas as divine knowledge, then the ideas expressed in them should be extremely liberal, comprehensive, and beneficial for all living beings, that is, universal and inspiration for the mankind to tread on the right path. On this basis, he is in favour of interpreting the meanings of Veda mantras as primarily of supreme truth and practical, in other words spiritual and scientific and expository of various elements and streams of knowledge.
Many revolutionary ideas and concepts have emerged in the Vedartha thinking of Maharshi Dayanand. He strongly refuted the belief prevalent among the Vedists that like the Vedic mantras’ colections, the Brahmanical texts can also be termed as Vedas. Although the idea that the evidence of Brahmin part should be accepted equal to that of mantras, was accepted among the sutra writers and Veda practitioners of the medieval period, yet Maharshi Dayanand makes it clear on the basis of his well-meditated series of thoughts that the mantra part and The Brahmin part cannot be kept at the same level. Undoubtedly, Brahmin texts, being the interpretations of the Vedas, hold a leading place in the category of main supporting texts of Vedartha, but being composed by the human intellect, their importance will be less than that of the Vedas. In this way, by redefining the name Veda, Maharshi Dayanand gave a new direction to Vedic studies.
When we accept that the sanctity and divinity of the Vedas or the revelation of the Vedic knowledge being the work of some divine power for the wider benefit of mankind, then only human beings automatically get the right to acquire this knowledge. It was an irony that the knowledge of the Vedas, which was seen and propagated by people of different classes, varnas, genders and sects and the teachings contained in the mantras were considered beneficial for human beings, yet the study, contemplation and meditation on the same Vedas were ignored in the medieval period. Regressive forces imposed various types of restrictions. The field of study of Vedas remained limited to the Dwijas or the higher/the Brahmin community. Shudras- the lower class and women had no access to it. History is witness to the fact that such restrictions on the study of Vedas were imposed in the same dark era of the medieval period, when the Vedas were considered the property of a particular class and people of other classes or castes were deprived from reading or reciting them. It was natural for a great man like Maharshi Dayanand, who was generous and believed in the unity of human beings, that he would strongly oppose these restrictions on the study of Vedas and would open up the flow of this God-given eternal voice in public interest.
Maharshi Dayanand’s original thinking on Vedas can be interpreted in many ways. In the words of Dr. Raghuvansh, “If the Vedas are a storehouse of knowledge, are authentic for other philosophies and for the great thinkers of India, their mantras have been experienced by sages and seers, then their mantras should have a coherent meaning, “Their expressions of meaning and sentiment should aim at the best and highest realms of knowledge, experience and values.” In this way, Maharshi Dayanand himself saw the secrets contained in the Vedas consisting of higher moral, spiritual values, philosophical elements, laws prescribed from the point of view of social welfare and analysis of scientific elements and through the noble and sublime expression of this divine knowledge. Thus he enlightened the human race with the introduction of this great and godly treatise..
It would be worthwhile to mention here about how much the Vedic thinking before Maharshi Dayanand had become stereotyped, inert and devoid of rationality, that all the philosophers and religious scholars of the medieval period having accepted the eternality of the Vedas, the existence of God and its supreme authenticity yet were unable to put forward the true meanings of the mantras before people. They had put their subtlest intellectual powers into the establishment of the Vedas, but were completely ignorant of what was written in the Vedas, the authenticity of which they were supporting so strongly.
The most important feature of Maharshi Dayanand’s views on Vedas is that he not only declares them as books of true knowledge, but also declares their study, teachings, reading and meditation as extremely useful and necessary for the mankind. During the time of Maharshi Dayanand, the attention of western scholars was attracted towards the Vedas. Many European scholars were engaged in the study of Vedas, writing texts on Vedas, editing the texts of Vedas etc. Although Dayanand was not familiar with any European language, yet he was keeping himself acquainted with this western system of studying the Vedas in every possible way. No matter how much this effort of the Western Veda scholars on studying the Vedas on the basis of comparative linguistics, sociology and Devine story telling might have enhanced their knowledge base, it is also clear that it was not possiblefor them to understand the essence of the Vedas through these new systems. Maharshi Dayanand, after evaluating the works of Western scholars on Vedas, gave a well-considered decision that the study of Vedas by these Veda scholars was still in the initial stage. It took a lot of time for the ancient sages to attain the gems which they had spontaneously obtained by churning the Vedamahodadhi on the strength of their intuitive knowledge, intelligence and wiedom..
It is true that due to many reasons the Vedartha method discovered by Maharshi Dayanand did not receive due recognition and respect. While a major reason for this was the prejudiced approach of the Indian scholars who blindly imitated the systems of Vedartha invented by the Western Veda scholars, it also has to be accepted that even the Indian group of Veda practitioners could not free themselves from the superficial bonding of the traditional Yagya style. As a result, Vedartha of Maharshi Dayanand did not receive the expected recognition. However, it is certain that without following the direction that Maharshi Dayanand has indicated in clarifying the Vedartha, we will not be able to fully understand the meaning of this oldest book of the world.
In dealing with religious matters, Indian tradition gives utmost importance to classical authenticity. The reason for this is not just faith in the ancient scriptures, but we believe that the great sages who created these scriptures were people with great intelligence, vast knowledge and composed the scriptures keeping the public interest in mind. Over a period, an era came when people with common sense composed many books with the desire to be called pioneers of scriptures. There is no visible purity of thought, nobility of style and vividness of perspective anywhere in this literary community of the later era. On the contrary, these texts reveal the inertia of man’s thinking, his progressive outlook and the feeling of blocking the progressive powers. Centuries later, the opportunity to determine the authenticity and quality of the texts designated as scriptures came when Dandi Virjanand, a wise monk who taught grammar in the Sanskrit school of Mathura, made it clear that now the time has come. Whereas we will have to differentiate between Arsh and Anaarsh scriptures and we will be free from the trap of Anaarsh scriptures. Virjanand had presented many formulas for discriminating between Aarsh and Anaarsh texts, but his foremost belief regarding this subject was that while universal sentiments are reflected in Aarsh texts, Anarsh texts are full of narrow-minded views of communal hatred and dogmatism.
Taking this sutra from Swami Virjanand’s Arsh Granth Pramanavad (Evidential proof), Maharshi Dayanand expressed his clear opinion that in every field of religion, spirituality, philosophy, rituals – only Arsh Granths will have to be recognized, because these are the texts which are completely free from all kinds of communal sentiments. These are full of human welfare and awaken man’s conscience and rationalism, whereas the creation of non-religious texts frustrates man’s thinking power and makes him a victim of mental inertia, regressiveness and conservatism. In the words of Devendranath Mukhopadhyay, “In the last five thousand years, many Acharyas have appeared in this Arya Bhoomi, but none of them could contribute to the revival of the knowledge promoted by Maharshi. The amount of hard work that Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhava etc. put into the organization of their respective sects was not equal to the amount of effort put into the revival of knowledge of Arsha. It is the credit to Maharshi Dayanand that the huge book written in Sanskrit language and known as Shastra was published for the proper examination of the community. Later, he made this clear announcement that now the time has come when leaving ‘Baba Vakya Praman’, we will have to discriminate between pleasure and pain and see which are those texts which make us progressive, which improve our intelligence and intellect. They develop us, make our attitudes pure and inspire us to walk on the path of awakening and fearlessness. Such books are worth reading and pondering over for us. No book is considered authentic just because it is written in Sanskrit language.
After accepting the principle of priority of Vedas and Arsha texts, it became very easy for Maharshi Dayanand to strongly oppose the thousands of false stereotyped, complex rituals, superstitions and foolish notions prevalent in the name of religion, in place of accepted high spiritual beliefs based on Vedic principles, sublime worship methods and rituals for the welfare of living beings had become prevalent. Idol worship, incarnationism, icon worship, pilgrimage, fasting, Shraddha for the deceased etc. were such religious conventions which had taken the form of religious beliefs of the masses. Maharshi Dayanand had clearly realized that the main reason for the overall downfall of the greater Hindu religion and society is that it has forgotten the Vedic and Upanishadic worship system; and in place of the Sadhana system described in Patanjali Yoga which makes man upward, stone, metal, he has considered inanimate objects like tree, mountain, river, water etc. to be Parashakti or its symbol and by rubbing his head in front of these material objects, his mind has also become very inert and gross.
Maharshi Dayanand had held idol worship totally responsible for the universal degradation of the Indians. In the words of Devendranath, “The only reason for the inhumanity, animalism and lowly tendencies that have been transmitted in the character of Hindus is idol worship.” At the root of idol worship was the concept of incarnation, according to which Sachchidananda etc. Lakshnanvit Brahma also incarnates in human form. Maharshi Dayanand’s famous biographer Devendranath Mukhopadhyay had written while describing the belief of incarnation as highly condemnable and baseless -“The God who has been praised in the Vedic scriptures with the words Akaya, Avran, Ashabd, Asparshya etc., that God in Hindus I projected in lust, anger with not even an iota of hesitation or sense of sin in accusing people of fear, hunger, thirst, disease, laziness, sleep, calamity, procreation, malice, violence, disloyalty, adultery etc.”
Finally, in a very emotional style, Mukhopadhyay Mahasaya has held idol worship responsible for distorting Indian religion. According to him, “Who made the religion which was completely internal and spiritual, completely physical and external? Who suggested wearing Tilak and Tripundra as the means of salvation instead of suppressing lustful enemies and renunciation? Who called the application of Gopichandan on body parts, recitation of Ganga Lahari from the mouth, chanting of various types of rosaries in the throat in exchange for devotion to God and love for God, charity and renunciation of selfishness as Para Sadhna? In place of restraint, purity, concentration of mind etc., who popularized the gross rituals like not consuming a particular food only on a particular day? There is only one answer to all these questions, idol worship. If seen from a holistic point of view, idol worship has also been the reason for instilling in the Hindus extreme selfishness instead of the best qualities like morale, bravery, generosity, courage, love, compassion, empathy etc.
There is one more thing to note here. Maharshi Dayanand had not learned to compromise with untruth, unrighteousness and injustice. We see that many reformers who were contemporaries and of the same religion as Swami Maharshi Dayanand, despite strongly opposing idol worship, did not hesitate in compromising with it when the time came. There was no active opponent of idol worship like Rammohan Roy in the earlier period of Maharshi Dayanand. But RaiMahasaya also accepts in a different way that the scriptures have prescribed the worship of inanimate objects for those people who cannot meditate on the extremely subtle formless God. Keshavchandra Sen, under the influence of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, had approved many such laws in the Brahmo Samaj which can be considered symbols of Pauttalik worship. When the religious reformers themselves compromised with idol worship in some form or the other, then there is no point in talking about the new interpreters of Hindu religion like Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Vivekananda etc. who supportedevery religious superstition and prevailing traditions with all their might. But Maharshi Dayanand never compromised with any such belief nor did he praise it unnecessarily, which frustrates human conscience and destroys his power of thinking. Keeping this fact in mind, Devendranath, the poignant interpreter of Maharshi Dayanand’s ideology, writes – “It seems as if it has been the inevitable policy of the Acharyas of India to establish friendship in some way or the other with idol worship and monism.” But Maharshi Dayanand did not agree with him. He was an exception. He himself was a staunch enemy of idol worship and continued to strongly oppose it throughout his life. Those who support idol worship by giving many practical tips and presenting allegorical explanations, neither do they know the terrible consequences arising from it nor try to know about them.
Maharshi Dayanand’s personality, character and his thoughts were not understood in their true form. Aiming at his strong refutation of the false beliefs of idolatry etc., people often accuse him of being narrow-minded, illiberal, and having hatred towards other communities. Certainly Maharshi Dayanand never hesitated in vehemently refuting whatever he considered untrue, whatever he considered unjust and whatever he called unrighteous. But his ax of denial fell on the same thing or idea which was harmful for the human race, destructive of its unity and leading to its downfall. It is regrettable that without understanding the meaning of Maharshi Dayanand’s factual and language-free language used in his rebuttal, he is called harsh, evasive, etc. Therefore, it is necessary that the purpose of refutation be explained in their own words.
In the introduction to his famous book Satyarth Prakash and the introductions written at the beginning of each subsequent chapter, Maharshi Dayanand has made it clear that his main purpose is to illuminate the meaning of truth and to demonstrate what is truth. That is, “Having accepted the things that are true in the opinion of all sects and cults, being non-controversial in all of them, but he has refuted the things that are false and where there is differences of opinion.” In fact, in the eyes of Maharshi Dayanand, there is only one religion. Such a religion, which is irrefutable due to the nature of things. Therefore, true religion cannot be refuted. Maharshi Dayanand has refuted the superstitions, tricks, tricks prevalent in various sects. He has refuted those misconceptions which are contrary to logic and science, which spread mutual hatred and division among the followers of religious sects. Therefore, it is completely unjust to call Maharshi Dayanand intolerant towards other beliefs. Maharshi Dayanand made it clear that at first sight he does not look at the book of any particular sect from the point of view of criticism, but he forms his opinion about it only after properly analyzing its merits and demerits. His aim was also that people should decide between truth and falsehood so that they can gain the ability to accept the truth and abandon the falsehood. He has expressed the same intention elsewhere also.
It would not be inappropriate to quote Dr. Raghuvansh again in the context of discussing the viewpoint behind the refutation made by Maharshi Dayanand. In his words, “Swami Maharshi Dayanand has considered only one true religion and in his view, religion can only be that which is capable of keeping the creative process of best human values dynamic. Later syncretists and internationalists have tried to present Maharshi Dayanand as a radical and refutational reformer. But the fact is that there has been no other liberal humanitarian leader like him.”
Those people of Christian and Muslim community also had a complaint against Maharshi Dayanand who were unable to understand the meaning behind his refutations. He did not try to understand that the biggest opposition to Maharshi Dayanand was from the priests, priests and abbots who did business in the name of religion. If Maharshi Dayanand criticized Islam and Christianity, it was not because he considered them to be carriers of anti-Semitic ideology originating in countries other than India, but the targets of his criticism were the falsehoods, superstitions and foolish notions present in these sects.
There was one more reason. Maharshi Dayanand knew that the propagators of Islam and Christianity keep inspiring the people of backward classes to convert their opinions under the cover of the customs, superstitions and many foolish laws prevalent in Hindu religion. He said that those who live in glass houses, what right do they have to throw stones at others? Keeping this very fact in mind, he made factual criticism of Christianity and Islam, as if alerting them that their situation is no different from that of the followers of Hindu religion, who due to their weaknesses become victims of criticism from the priests and clerics.. Liberal-minded people, whether they were Christians or Muslims, understood the reality of Swami Maharshi Dayanand’s vision and always remained his admirers. Syed Ahmed Khan, the pioneer of Muslim renaissance in India, broad-minded Muslims like Munshi Murad Ali, editor of Rajputana Gazette published from Ajmer, and thoughtful Christian priests like Bareilly’s pastor Dr. Scott, are proud to be called friends, admirers and devotees of Maharshi Dayanand. This is another matter that with the passage of time, some such political and social circumstances arose in India itself, due to which the Arya Samaj promoted by Swami Maharshi Dayanand could not maintain very cordial relations with Christians and Muslims, but it to consider them here is not contextual.
Maharshi Dayanand has often been remembered as a social reformer, religious leader and a nation builder of his era, but there has been very little discussion of his philosophical thoughts. The confusion regarding his ideals and principles spread to such an extent that many egoistic people declared the complete lack of philosophy in Maharshi Dayanand and tried to call the philosophical ideas expressed by him as very general, shallow and not very serious. The fact is that behind the entire personality and work of Maharshi Dayanand, a very clear, well thought out and cautious stream of thought was working. If Dayanand’s philosophy did not have the same realism, depth and clarity, then there rises a question whether he would have been able to convey his ideas to the common people and how a majority of the society would have become his followers.
Maharshi Dayanand has explained the world’s mundane affairs and illusory situation from a realistic point of view. His philosophy is based on the principle of the different aspects of God and the eternity of nature. From this point of view, he is also a strong critic of Shankar Vedanta. While his philosophical ideology is completely based on Vedic and Upanishadic philosophical thinking, it has also been strengthened with strong arguments and evidence. This does not mean that they ignore those sentences of the Upanishads which appear several times to support monism. He freely associates such sentences with rationality and says that if such seemingly indiscriminate Upanishad verses are properly considered as per the context, then it will be impossible to confirm the Shankara theory through them.
Maharshi Dayanand’s clear allegation on Shankar is that he has interpreted not only the Upnishads but also tha Vedanta Sutras as per his own opinion, and while doing so he forgets that the intention of the sage who wrote the sutras is definitely not what he meant. While writing an explanation Maharshi Dayanand himself had accused Shankar of conflict in the meaning of Vayasik sutras. It is not so. Swami Vivekananda, another leader of the Renaissance and who also made clear allegation on Shankar, is that he has interpreted not only the Upanishads but also the Vedanta sutras as per his own opinion, and while doing so, he forgets that the intention of the sage who wrote the sutras is definitely not what he meant is being written in explanation. He had accused Acharya Shankar of considering himself a great Vedanti, and had written in this regard – “Shankar was a monist, hence he has tried to explain all the sutras only in monism.” He had even said in a lecture that, “To confirm their views, great commentators like Shankaracharya have interpreted the scriptures at various places, which, in my opinion, is not appropriate.” Maharshi Dayanand also said almost the same.
But the matter was not only about the philosophical aspect or the theoretical aspect of monism. Maharshi Dayanand was a practical, realistic philosopher. He had clearly realized that Shankar’s Monism and Mayaism had separated the countrymen from the hard-working life and made them dreamers, people were thinking about the afterlife, and mere seekers of salvation forgetting their responsibilities towards the society and the nation. Those who analyzed the so-called great statements of ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ and ‘Tatvamasi’ may have achieved fame in the world of philosophy, but they never benefited the country and the society. The sublime elements of public service, sacrifice of self-interest for public welfare, dedication to achieve the wider welfare of the country and community, etc. are rarely seen in those Vedantists. Therefore, if we do not want to make our life inert, passive and escape-oriented, then we will have to give up the seductive liquor of Vedanta, this was the firm belief of Maharshi Dayanand.
In this way, after comprehensively rejecting the Shankar doctrine, Maharshi Dayanand established the Dvaita theory supporting JeeveshwarBhedvaad (or Treitvaad which accepts the triple eternal entities of Jiva, God and Nature). While discussing the Jiveshwar relationships, he accepted the feelings of mutual worshipper sage and follower, king and his subject, guru-disciple, friend-friend and master-servant.
Another important contribution of Maharshi Dayanand to the philosophical thinking of India is derived from his principle of authenticity of scriptures. They believe that the six Vedic philosophies, Nyaya-Vaisheshika, Sankhya Yoga and Vedanta and Mimamsa, are not opposed to each other but are complementary to each other. In Satyarth Prakash, he has mentioned Shad-Darshan coordination in two contexts and has raised the discussion on it in the form of a sutra. Had he got more time, perhaps he would have explained all the philosophies in a coordinated manner and would have also avoided the contradictions suddenly seen in them. This commendable effort to establish harmony in the philosophical sources was based on his opinion that the pioneers of Sankhyadi philosophies, Kapil etc., were sages of the Paravargya category who knew the secrets of Sakshatkrit dharma, life and the world by hand. Therefore, there cannot be any fundamental difference of opinion in the sayings of the sages, there may be a difference of style.
The philosophy of Maharshi Dayanand is based on the principle of mutual difference between the living being and God. Therefore, basically Maharshi Dayanand has prescribed for the living beings to worship the creator and creator of the world, God, for the sake of progress. It is worth noting here that in Vedic literature and ideology, the trinity of knowledge, action and devotion (worship) has not been presented as contradictory elements but has been discussed as complementary to each other. It was an irony that later on, enlightened philosophers like Shankaracharya established a direct relationship between knowledge and action and declared them contradictory. This was reflected in the Acharyas of Vaishnav sects, who completely rejected knowledge and action and called only devotion as the only means of attaining God in Kali Kaal. And what was this medieval devotion like? Which completely separated a person from social responsibilities and social context and brought him into such an emotional state, under whose influence a person would turn away from all his worldly responsibilities.
Maharshi Dayanand staunchly opposed this passionate devotion of Vaishnavas which claimed to open the door of salvation for the soul merely by remembering the name once or by dedicating Tulsi Das, no matter what the personal life of the devotee might be. He might be guilty of crimes and his actions might be filled with faults? By offering a flower in front of the idol of the deity, taking a dip in the holy waters of the Ganges or chanting the name of Narayana once in any way, right or wrong, a person becomes free from the bondages of life and becomes entitled to the supreme abode of God. Such sentiments and beliefs have demoralised the vigour of the people of India and made them deistic, fatalistic, indolent and escapist. This was the strong belief of Maharshi Dayanand.
However, it would be unfair to conclude from this that Maharshi Dayanand had appeared on the stage of public life of the country with the personality of a dry thinker and logician and a “VedabhyasJadmati” Mimamsak. According to himself, the important ritual that he had started for all-round improvement of public life was done only on the strength of strong faith in God. Maharshi Dayanand is an exclusive worshiper of the Supreme Being. He is a humble servant who came in front of Jagannataka Sutradhar with a spirit of surrender, who very emotionally said to his worshipable deity – “It is your nature that you never leave the accepted one.” This devotional principle of Maharshi Dayanand based on the Vedas is being revealed step by step in the explanations of various mantras collected in Aryabhivinay.
While discussing the worship here and there in his books, Maharshi Dayanand has laid great emphasis on yoga practice. Whether we take the topic of worship described by Satyarth Prakash or look at the topic of worship discussed in the commentary on Rigveda, we will find the discussion of yogas everywhere. Maharshi Dayanand himself had attained the state of Samadhi by following the Patanjalyoga method. After systematic practice of Yama-Niyama, he was able to attain the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi by climbing various levels of Yoga. But Maharshi Dayanand was clearly opposed to the strange and corrupt practices that were practiced in the name of Yoga in the Middle Ages. He was neither a supporter of those practices of Hatha Yoga, which give importance only to physical activities, nor did he want to give patronage to various esoteric and mysterious things in the name of Yoga. This was the reason that he could not get along well with the leaders of the Theosophical Society for a long time, who wanted to glorify various miraculous activities, strange spiritual practices and many mysterious supernatural methods in the name of Yoga. Maharshi Dayanand’s foremost contribution in the field of worship, religion, spirituality and philosophy is that he does not preach to cling to 125 ancient beliefs, concepts and methods just because they are ancient, hence valid and practical for us. They want to awaken the conscience of man. He wants to awaken the faith of mankind in the Vedas which he is often blamed for considering as the supreme proof, because Maharshi Dayanand considers the Vedas to be completely rational, logical and completely in accordance with the eternal rules of creation. . If there is a single important contribution of Maharshi Dayanand to mankind, it is that he asks man to use his intelligence, power of discretion and thinking system. We are not asked to accept anything just because it is an order of our scripture writers, a system of our ancestors or a statement supported by moneylenders.
As much as Maharshi Dayanand is a great religious reformer, religious lecturer or religious teacher, his personality as a sociologist, social culturist and social leader is no less important. Although he comes in the same tradition of those social reformers of the nineteenth century, who had raised their voice against the evils, foolish customs and ancient rotten practices prevalent in the larger Hindu society, but this reformer form of Maharshi Dayanand is also a fierce revolutionary. , is surrounded by the aura of a pioneer and revolutionary who radically changed the society. Maharshi Dayanand’s efforts to destroy the various evils, inequalities, exploitative tendencies and tyrannical practices prevailing in the Indian society have been appreciated everywhere and in all times. The way he staunchly opposed the horrific practices that hollowed out personal, family, social and national life, all this has come into the discussion of historians today. Therefore, his works related to abolition of child marriage, improving the condition of widows, providing higher status to women in the society, giving their rights to the castes called Dalits and untouchables, drawing the attention of the masses etc. to the defects of the innate caste system etc. To reconsider would be backsliding.
But we should also keep in mind that immediately after Maharshi Dayanand, a class of thinkers had arisen in our country, which was not only opposed to reformism, but which was trying to prove the justification of every ancient practice and which was completely dilapidated, dead and He also supported harmful stereotypes by resorting to rhetorical and figurative interpretation system. These people not only devalued the work of the reformer class but also made fun of them in many ways. Probably he was also irritated by the bitter criticism of social evils by the reformers, but he never analyzed the reasons for the reformers becoming so incendiary. If they had done so, they would have definitely reached the conclusion that criticism of conventions and evils has to be done without any strings attached, only then can the desired result be achieved. By using soft language, we cannot end the cruel atrocities that have been carried out for centuries, due to which our progress has been hindered for a long time.
Seeing the inhuman atrocities committed against women, Shudras and other Dalit classes, Maharshi Dayanand’s heart was not only moved but his soul also screamed. When they hear the cries of the suffering, oppressed and exploited class for centuries, they feel indescribable mental pain. And in such a state of anxiety, they become extremely cruel towards the priests, priests and other leaders of the society who oppress these people. Purvapakshi proudly reads the imaginary shruti of ‘Strishudronadhyatam’ and not only restricts the study of Vedas by women and Shudras, but also audaciously asks, what will we do if they (women and Shudras) start reading the Vedas? Now, what other answer could Swamiji have other than this that the right of a human being to read the Vedas is proved by the Vedas themselves. Therefore, when the former party shamelessly says that if the women caste and Shudra class are also given the right to read the Vedas, then their business will suffer loss and what will they do, then the only answer that will emerge from Maharshi Dayanand’s angry mind is that women and Shudras are behind your selfishness. The class will not suffer much longer. In the heat of this sattvik anger, Maharshi Dayanand says to those selfish people – If you are interested in your selfishness, then you should fall into the well because by giving evidence of imaginary rumors, you have been exploiting the poor, inferior and downtrodden castes for centuries. By understanding the entire context, the secret of the apparent bitterness of Swamiji’s words is also understood.
But Maharshi Dayanand is not just a harsh critic who constantly curses social evils. He is also a proponent of an excellent and ideal social legislation. It is certain that the ideal social system described and discussed by him was not a completely new invention of his own. This was the same ancient Varnashram system, which was invented by the Vedam followers thousands of years ago and was accepted by the Aryan race. Certainly, with the passage of time, many errors were incorporated in the caste system and it deteriorated. Maharshi Dayanand believed in the virtues and action-based form of the caste system, gave prestige to it and propagated it. It is true that in the present times, it is becoming difficult to find solutions to existing social problems on the basis of merit-based varna system, but why do those who criticize the varna system not accept that the varna system did not play much role in giving birth to these problems? As much as that of casteism, which despite being cursed at every post, every political leader and party is clinging to it more and more.
The social systems given by Maharshi Dayanand can be considered revolutionary in many ways. He is a supporter of making arbitrary changes in social laws even after deviating from tradition. For example, if they give only human beings the right to receive the sacred thread, then they also do not forget to write that the sacred thread given to an unauthorized person can also be snatched away. If this system specified by Swamiji had been implemented, then the sacred thread of those ‘Maharajas’ and ‘PaniPandey’ people, who only do service work, but who lack Brahmin-like qualities, would have been removed. Similarly, they consider it necessary for the Kshatriyas to read the scriptures and acquire knowledge in them because if they are illiterate and uncultured, selfish priests will exploit them in many ways. On the contrary, if they themselves become enlightened then it will be possible for them to control the inappropriate activities of their teachers and priest class. By considering these examples, it becomes easy to understand the dynamism of Maharshi Dayanand’s social thinking.
We have already written that Maharshi Dayanand was a Sanyasi from the point of view of Arya way of life and he also completely followed all the dignity of Chaturthashram. Renunciation, renunciation, devotion to God, contemplation of the afterlife etc. were expected from the monks of India, but it was never expected from them that they would also contribute in solving the burning problems facing the country and society. Presenting Maharshi Dayanand as the proponent of Indian unity and the founder of nationalism, Devendranath has rightly written that “Gautama Buddha discovered the path of Nirvana and made millions of people the path to that path, but he also gave the formula of unity to the divided India. Not even once did he talk about tying it in India. Shankar, a man of Namboodiri Brahmin origin and a man of great talent, earned an everlasting fame for himself by writing his unique commentary on the Vedanta sutras, but did he also make any program to unify the divided India? GaurangaDev (Chaitanya) hypnotized Bangabhumi with the sweet stupor of VaishnavSankirtan, but he also made some effort to establish Indianness in India.
Ultimately we come to the conclusion that neither any Acharya nor any sect promoter thought about the unity of the nation and the enhancement of the country’s pride. But Maharshi Dayanand is an exception to this. In the words of MukhopadhyayMahasaya – ‘The present day Acharya Swami Maharshi Dayanand, by breaking our age-old silence and eternal indifference, propounded caste unity along with the scriptures, world and religious values. Despite being a monk holding a cow, he had clearly understood that unless the strength among the indigenous people increases, casteism is not established in the country, the bond of unity within the caste does not become stronger, then the religion, rituals, scriptures, etc. There will be no culture, national progress, social progress etc.”
There is no need to discuss the nationalism of Maharshi Dayanand in detail here because the authors who have presented critical reviews on all aspects of his multifaceted personality have presented this topic in detail. However, it is necessary to write that Maharshi Dayanand had given direction for the revival of Indian nationalism at a time when there was no discussion of it in the public life of India. How eager he was for the independence of his country can be seen from the thoughts expressed in his prayerful book where he even prays to God for the independence of his country. Declaring the fact that Swarajya is more desirable and superior than Surajya, he had written in his major book SatyarthPrakash that “No matter how much one does, the indigenous state is the best one.” The rule of foreigners, with no insistence, zero favoritism between one’s own and another, with kindness, justice and mercy equal to that of a parent towards a son, is not completely pleasurable.” It is necessary to understand the euphemism contained in this immortal sentence of Maharshi Dayanand. History tells that when the rebellion of 1857 was calmed down and the rule of India was snatched from the East India Company and placed directly under the British Emperor, at that time Queen Victoria of Britain Among the assurances given to its Indian subjects, the most important assurance was that henceforth the government would not interfere in the religious activities of its subjects. Similarly, Indians were also assured by saying that in the eyes of the government, whites and There will be no discrimination between blacks and the Queen will provide motherly love and affection to her Indian subjects.
Maharshi Dayanand, while enumerating these assurances given by the British Crown one by one, wants to say that even if all these assurances are accepted, then this Surajya given by Queen Victoria can never be comparable to Swarajya for us. It is worth noting that Swami Maharshi Dayanand had said this at a time when other Sanskrit scholars and pundits of the country were praising the rule of Queen Victoria and wishing for her long life. Strong feelings of nationalism arose in the heart of Maharshi Dayanand when he saw that the country which was once known as the land of gold, was today tied in the harsh bonds of subjugation due to mutual disunity, laziness and carelessness of the countrymen. The state of total degradation has been reached. Gradually he also started thinking about the disease affecting the nation and the remedies to cure it. Ultimately he came to the conclusion that unless the self-respect of the nation, the pride and identity of the country are awakened, our problems will not be solved. From this point of view, he expressed his clear opinion that until all the countrymen adopt one language, one feeling, one ideology and the same sense of duty, the unity, prosperity and progress of the nation will remain like a dream. Maharshi Dayanand established the pride of Swadeshi in his teachings, emphasized on the use of one’s own language, paved the way for Satyagraha through one’s own conduct and taught one to be proud of one’s own religion and one’s culture. Despite all this, Maharshi Dayanand remained completely neutral and untouched by active politics. He knew that unless the countrymen become socially strong, organized and determined to achieve a common goal, it would not be possible for them to achieve independence. Therefore, like a preacher, Brahmin and Sanyasi, he kept inspiring people to give up their evils and become worthy of self-rule in the true sense.
It is important to consider one more thing here also. When the British government started making laws to end the various evils and evils prevalent in the Hindu society, an objection was raised from a section of the country’s leaders that for the family and social changes and reforms of the Indians and especially the Hindus. Foreign rule has no right to make laws. It was also said that when the country becomes independent, our own indigenous government will automatically implement social reforms etc. It is important to note here that Swami Maharshi Dayanand was not a supporter of this policy. He firmly believed that unless there was a significant improvement in the social, family and moral life of the wider Hindu community, unless they got rid of their stereotypes, harmful practices and dilapidated customs, India’s independence would not be possible. The sky will also remain like a safflower.
Maharshi Dayanand also had his own political philosophy. His attention was drawn towards how the architects of our governance should be, what ideals should inspire them to engage in public welfare work. Maharshi Dayanand’s political views are mainly based on the principles described in the Vedas and the ManvadiSmriti texts written on their basis, written by philosophers like Shukra and Vidur. But Maharshi Dayanand also agrees that these principles of administration discussed and determined in the political science of Aryans can be changed according to the country, time and situation.
Another surprise. Our historians have popularized the belief that the feeling of nationalism, people’s power and democracy started spreading in India from the time the countrymen came in contact with European political thinking. It has been said that it was by being inspired by Rousseau, Voltaire, Bentham and Mill that political consciousness was born in the country. But those who say this forget the fact that Maharshi Dayanand’s vision of state governance based on nationalism, people’s power and democracy in his book did not receive any inspiration from any western thinker or philosopher. PanditBishnarayan Dar, who presided over the 1612 session of the Indian National Congress, had rightly said that Swami Maharshi Dayanand was the most original Hindu of his era. He is the first Indian reformer who does not accept anything from Western culture and the same thing has been written by Shivanandan Prasad Kulyar, the English biographer of Maharshi Dayanand.
Maharshi Dayanand’s economic thinking is related to his national and political ideology. Seeing the extreme poverty of the countrymen, the terrible exploitation of the farming class, the life full of sorrows and sufferings of the common Indian living a middle class life, he had expressed his anxiety and worry many times. There have been such incidents in his life, when we saw that this innocent monk, who lived a carefree life of a devotee, completely separated from worldly illusions and affections, used to cry after seeing the economic plight of the country. In fact, Maharshi Dayanand had realized that as a result of the policy with which the foreign rulers are ruling, it would not be surprising if this country becomes completely bankrupt from the economic point of view.
To make the country economically prosperous, Maharshi Dayanand had made many plans and wanted to implement them. Firstly, they were realizing that no country in the world would remain unaffected by the wave of industrialization that has taken place in Europe. Even in India, factories were being established continuously and the country was gradually adopting heavy industries. But till then Indians were quite backward in the knowledge of science and technology. It was Maharshi Dayanand’s heartfelt sentiment that Indians should go to Europe and get industrial training and then return to India and contribute to its economic progress. German Professor G. His correspondence with G. Wiese on this subject is indicative of this.
While he was in favor of the development of commerce, business and industrialization, he was also not unfamiliar with domestic industries and rural economic conditions. There was no religious sentiment or any other kind of logic behind the great campaign he launched to ban cow slaughter. He looked at the question of cow protection from a purely economic point of view. If he imagined the economic destruction of the country due to cow slaughter, he also considered it necessary to protect all those animals like bull, buffalo, goat etc. which are the backbone of rural economics of India. Maharshi Dayanand’s economics inclined mind was behind cow protection.
Maharshi Dayanand has given a very high place to the farming class. He has written, “It is true that the king of kings, farmers etc. are hard workers and the king is their protector.” He considered agriculture to be the main basis of India’s economic system. While preaching to the rulers of Udaipur, Shahpura and Jodhpur of Rajasthan, he had laid great emphasis on the fact that the main duty of a Kshatriya is to serve the people. If they are unable to make the condition of their subjects pleasant, satisfactory and full of enjoyment, then they have no right to keep the reins of governance in their hands. To improve the condition of the farmers, he sometimes gave many practical advice to these rulers.
Although it is not easy to measure the ideological ground of great men who lived a hard-working life and influenced the society, nation and humanity with their strong personality, however, after a detailed assessment of the life of Maharshi Dayanand, his thoughts were discussed in the above pages. The above analysis is sufficient to declare the truth that while all the works and thoughts of Swamiji have relevance for the all-round upliftment of the nation, they also establish him on the role of Universal Man. Maharshi Dayanand’s thoughts and teachings, his aspirations and imaginations provide direction to the upliftment of the entire human society, his principles and intentions are universal, timeless and universal. His intense patriotism teaches the lesson of true internationalism because in his view the entire human race is one, the differences of language, religion, race and color are imaginary and man-made. They are sages because they thought about the era beyond the era in which they were born. His foresight, sense of era and recognition of the forces of time are unmatched. While worshiping such sages, the seer of Rigveda had said-
Idam Nam RishibhyahPurvajebhyahPurvebhyahPathikridbhyah.
(R. 10.14.15)
-Dr. Bhavanilal Bhartiya