CLASSES ON SHODASHA KRIYAS!

A regular classes for teaching Shodasha kriya sanskars will be held at Arya Samaj Pathananmthitta from October 2009 onwards. The classes will be held on each second saturdays and second sundays of all english months. The food and accommodation will be provided free of cost. Learned Arya scholar Sri. Arya Bhaskarji will be taking the classes & give guidance to Arya Missionaries. For more information, please contact us at aryasamajkerala@gmail.com with complete postal address and contact number.

Agnivesh challenged by Paropkari for debate

Self-proclaimed sanyasi Agnivesh has been formally challenged by Paropkarini Sabha for his alleged support to homosexuality. Following is the extract of communication sent to him on 30 August, 2009.

Namaste Agnivesh

We would like to invite you and your panel of Vedic scholars for an
open house Shastrath in front of broader Arya/Hindu public on
'Homosexuality and Vedas' on behalf of Paropkarini Sabha.

I am sure you must have heard the name of Swami Dayanand Saraswati,
the legendary reformer who is also regarded as grandfather of modern
India. Paropkarini Sabha is an intellectual body constituted as per
will of Swami Dayanand. We hear that you consider him as your role
model.

You have been publicly supporting the cause of homosexuality. Since
you claim to be a sanyasi having sole allegiance to Vedas, we like be
keen to debate on sanction of homosexuality as per Vedas and
literature of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

The debate would be organized in open house with our panel of scholars
in Vedas, Science and Medicines so that the truth can be ascertained.
We firmly believe that the views circulated by you in this regard is
completely misleading and detrimental to Vedas and glory of Swami
Dayanand Saraswati. Hence we would like both parties to come to the
truth through the process of Shastrath - 'logical debate to understand
truth'. Please note that Shastrath was the favorite tool of Swami
Dayanand Saraswati to reach to truth.

If you are able to prove that Vedas/ Swami Dayanand Saraswati sanction
homosexuality, we would be eager to give you the complete mantle of
Paropkarini Sabha and quit. However if you are unable to provide Vedic
sanction of homosexuality, you would publicly apologize, retract your
statements from media, and follow the Prayashchit Vidhan as laid down
by Vedas and Vedic texts.

We keenly await your response so that the event can be organized at
the earliest. We hope to get a response within next couple of days.

Dhanyavad

Agniveer
on behalf of
Paropkarini Sabha, Ajmer

Zakir Naik challenged for debate by Paropkarini

On behalf of Paropkarini Sabha, Dr Zakir Naik and IRF have been invited for an open house debate. They have been mailed and informed by phone as well. We keenly await their response. Following is the extract of invitation:

----------------------------------------

---------------------------
To
Islamic Research Foundation (IRF)
Mumbai

Namaste,

We would like to invite Dr Zakir Naik and his panel of scholars in IRF for an open house discussion on following topics:

a. Comparison of Quran and Vedas
b. Prophet Muhammad and Cow Slaughter in Vedas
c. Science and Human Rights in Quran
d. Paradise and Hell in Quran

This would be based on the material that IRF literature and 'publicity mechanisms' contain.

Kindly note that Paropkarini Sabha is the apex intellectual body of Arya Samaj.

We would invite this discussion to happen in open house with our panel of scholars in Vedas, Islam and Science so that the truth can be ascertained. We firmly believe that the material circulated by IRF in these regard is misleading and hence would like both parties to come to the truth through the process of Shastrath - 'logical debate to understand truth'.

Please advise on next steps on this so that the event can be organized at the earliest. The event would be organized as per convenience of IRF.

Dhanyavad

Agniveer
on behalf of
Paropkarini Sabha, Ajmer
---------------------------------------------------------------

We request those having admiration for Dr Naik or any links with IRF to help expedite the process.

Sri RC Qureshi, his secretary has promised to revert back with next steps at the earliest.

VEDA SWADHYAYA SIBIRAM!

A three days free 'Veda Swadhyaya Sibiram' is being organised at Pathanamthitta (Kerala) from 25 - 27 Dec 2009. Training to perform agnihothram, explain the meaning and way of recitation of various veda manthras used for agnihothram, classes on various vedic literatures, shodasha kriyas etc. are included in the sibiram. Learned Arya scholars will be participating in this sibiram and will give guidance to Arya Missionaries. For more information, please contact to aryasamajkerala@gmail.com

ARYA SAMAJ PERINTHALMANNA OBSERVED 67th QUIT INDIA ANNIVERSARY DAY!

The Arya Samaj Perinthalmanna has observed the 67th anniversary of Quit India movement. A vaidika agnihothram and sathsang was held in this connection at Perinthalmanna Samaj. In his prabhashanam, Acharyan Kizhanellur Parameswaran Namboothiri has paid homage to those freedom fighters who gave sacrifices for participating in freedom struggle. He emphazied the need of inculcating the ideals of nationalism and dedication for overcoming the present crisis being faced by our country as mentioned in our glorious vedic literatures.

DECISIVE DECISIONS OF DAYANAND

Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati was a seer, a saint, a philosopher and a man of action who made decisions. Indeed it is a rare combination. He was a believer in the theory and practice of Karma and Karmaphal. The deep rooted belief in the Vedic concept of Karma transformrd the philosopher into a doer, a sanyasi into a religious and social reformer to his finger tips. He never hesitated into becoming an activist for the cause of the common man. He made decisions and faithfully implemented them for the good of Mankind. The Rishivar had the courage of conviction and stood by the Vedic principles, come rain come shine. A man of principles and yet open to suggestions made by the known and the unknown.Above all Dayanand Saraswati had the unique moral courage to reverse his decisions when the cause of common man suffered. When the situation demanded that a change be made for the common cause, he did not hesitate to abandon his favourite projects. Indeed it was a rare phenomenon then and it is a rare phenomenon now. Some leaders and pseudo-godmen continue to push forward their pilot projects even if these are detrimental to the interests of common man. Rishi Dayanand was made of sterner stuff and could, actually he did, reverse some decisions in the interest of society at large.IRREVERSIBLE DECISIONSYoung Moolshankar, as the Rishi was known in his adolescent years, made a decisive decision against worshipping idols when he found rats scrambling over the Shiva lingam on the night of Mahashivratri to find a feed from offerings made by devotees. The teenager walked out of that small temple by the river Demi and in due course of time made up his mind never to return to idolatrous faith. It was indeed irreversible and no power on earth could shake his belief in the Vedic concept of Nirakar Parmatma. In pursuance of his new found belief that was diametrically opposite of his parental faith, he decided to find the real Guru. Never mind forsaking comports of his house, a decision was made to go in search of the real Shiva, that is God Almighty. When pressed by parents to tie the knot and enter Grahasth Ashram , he left the parental home for good at the age of 22. Never mind roaming in the wilderness and being cheated by tricksters who posed as godmen but the great Quest must go on - that was his line of thinking He never regretted his decision.Later in life, he made the common man happier by freeing him from the clutches of false gods and equally false godmen. No inducement, what to say of threats, not even the proposal of Maharana of Mewar to make him the Mahant of the Eklinga temple could sway him from his chosen Vedic path. As a firebrand sanyasi,later in life, what he gave to the society in the form of religious and social reforms, no man on earth had ever given before.. It was indeed an irreversible decision that Dayanand made when he found himself transformed into a sanyasi straight from a brahmachari. The great QUEST was eventually fruitful in Mathura at the feet of Guru Virjanand. The decisive decision had paid dividends. When the Maharishi’s reputation as a great seer and sanyasi was well established, he was given both threats and inducements to forsake the real Vedic path but his decisive decision to stand by the TRUTH was unshakable. No wonder when the Ten Commandments of the Arya Samaj were codified in 1877 in Lahore in the presence of the Rishi an extra-ordinary emphasis was laid on Truth and it found a mention in as many as five commandments. Swami Dayanand’s decision to promote Truth and nothing but Truth was not only decisive but also Irreversible.By being decisive, the greatest contribution that Dayanand Saraswati made was to make the Vedas available to one and all, through his Hindi commentary or Ved Bhashya. In his bold and irreversible decision to make the Vedic Dharm all encompassing, he opened the floodgates of Vedic knowledge for the high and low, the rich and poor.Both in theory and practice he opened the portals of the Arya Samaj to followers of other faiths who expressed a wish to convert to the Vedic Dharm. The Swami himself converted a Muslim in Dehra Dun and another in Lucknow to the Vedic fold. VEDAS FOR ALL- WITHOUT ANY DISTINCTION OF CASTE,CREED,REGION OR RELIGION- - AH! It was an EL DORADO right at our door. Mankind shall ever remain indebted to Dayanand – the seer,sanyasi, philosopher and reformer; all rolled into one. He could do so because of his decisiveness.Reformation and Modernization went hand in hand in the campaigns of Dayanand Saraswati. To his utter dismay he found that the Dharmacharyas and purohits who were ordained to lead common men and women on the path of righteousness were themselves playing the role of predators. They had forsaken the noble role of protectors. Consequently, the Hindu society was an easy prey to misguided missionaries of foreign faiths. The Swami once again took a vow to found an organisation to hlp the innocents and illiterates find the path of ancestral faith to attain salvation. The decision was irreversible and the newly founded organisation, the Arya Samaj, found many adherents. The intellectuals and commoners were equally attracted to the Arya Samaj. The Maharishi paid special attention to orphans and destitutes and himself opened an Anathalaya at Ferozepur in the Punjab to protect the hapless from maulvis and missionaries. The said orphanage is a flourishing institution today.Modernization was the key to forsaking archaic religious and social practices. Of course, it did not mean denigrating everything that was our valuable inheritance. The Swami gave the clarion call " BACK TO THE VEDAS’ The import of the call was – let the divine revelation, the Vedas, chart the path of righteousness. Let us accept the tenets of the Ved samhita and forsake everything that may fall in the category of being anti-Vedic. It was just the litmus test that the decadent society needed. It was a decisive step taken by Dayanand Saraswati – never to be reversed. Pushing forward on the path of modernization the Rishivar bought a printing press and located it in Prayagraj to print,publish and disseminate Vedic literature for the reading of men and women in large numbers. A great modern decision, an irreversible one, and the printing press exists even now at Ajmer. It is the celebrated Vaidik Yantralaya. Taking a leaf out of the Rishi’s life, the Arya Samaj should modernize its methods of Ved prachar. With a view to attracting the children, adolescents and youth, the Aryas should take recourse to making and exhibiting cartoon and animation films on the stalwarts. The new generation will sit glued to these films and seeds thus sown will germinate.REVERSIBLE DECISIONSWith a view to highlighting the courage of conviction and the moral courage that Dayanand Saraswati possessed, let us list some instances where he made decisions in good faith but reversed them later to promote common man’s interests. Sometimes he did so because outcome of his decisions had become counter-productive. In some cases the new institutions were far from the goal and were deviating from the laid down path.Sanskrit language always fascinated the Maharishi. He wanted the common man to learn Sanskrit and fathom the depth of both the Dharm and the literature. One could delve deep into the Aarsh granths of the Rishis ONLY IF ONE HAD THE KNOWLEDGE OF SANSKRIT language. The Swami , therefore, chose to open Sanskrit Pathshalas. He did so with aplomb. He collected funds for them. He employed learned teachers and gave subsidies to students to enroll. However, on a close rexamination he found that the teachers stuck to old ways of teaching, were superstitious and kept the great grammarian of yore, Panini at bay. With ponga panthi pundits around, the very aim of opening Sanskrit pathshalas was defeated. Swami Dayanand Saraswati took a hard decision and reversed his earlier decision of opening many Sanskrit Pathshalas. He closed the existing Sanskrit pathshalas too as both money and effort were going down the drain He had the courage of conviction to bring down curtains on an episode that failed to achieve the aim.Swami Dayanand Saraswati once again gave a proof of his moral courage when he severed the relationship between the Arya Samaj and the Theosophical Society. When the reputation of scholarship and all embracing reforms of the Sanyasi crossed the Indian shores and travelled far and wide, some opportunists too wanted to ride the bandwagon of the Arya samaj for selfish gains. Two foreigners, Colonel H.S.OLCOTT and Madam Blavatsky wished to make hay while the sun was shining. They wrote letters from the United States of America eulogizing the Vedic learning and social reforms of Pundit Dayanand Saraswati Swami (as they put it) AND EXPRESSED A WISH THAT THE Theosophical SOCIETY become a part of the ARYA SAMAJ. They promised to promote the principles of Arya Samaj abroad across the seven seas where they were well entrenched and in return the Arya Samaj could give them a helping hand in getting established in India. Of course, they pledged that there would be nothing in their charter that would go against the grain of the Vedic principles as enunciated by the Rishivar. Everything looked ship shape and the Rishivar gave the green light to this arrangement. The much married lady of Russian origin, much divorced too, and her male companion, an ex-army officer, were welcomed with open arms by the Aryas wherever they went . The honeymoon was,however, over soon. These foreign Theosophists used the Aryas as crutches to move forward and jettisoned the Vedic principles at the drop of a hat. Madam Blavatsky even expressed her faith in the existence of ghosts and spirits and showed films to that effect in Shimla- thus forsaking belief in the Nirakar Parmeshwar and principles so dear to the Arya Samaj. This was blasphemy. The news travelled far and wide.A long correspondence ensued between Swami Dayanand and Colonel Olcott. There was much bickering by the foreigners that led the Aryas to nowhere. Ultimately Swami Dayanand decided to reverse his earlier decision of bringing the two organisations together. He made this announcement in the annual function of the Arya Samaj, Bombay in 1882. The chapter of foreign collaboration was closed for good.The Maharishi reposed faith in the goodness of all human beings. He wished the good work of propagation of the Vedas to be carried on after his demise. So he wrote a Will in Meerutt establishing the Paropkarini Sabha. The aim was good. However, much to his chagrin he found that some names of such people who were not free from blemish, had been included as trustees. Among them was Munshi Indramani round whose defence in legal battles the Aryas had rallied but he let them down. The legal case against Muslims was eventually won but Munshi Indramani embezzled money donated by Aryas to fight legal cases. The Maharishi had no option but to ex-communicate him from the Arya samaj and drop his name from the list of trustees of the Paropkarini Sabha. Moreover, some members of the Paropkarini sabha could best be described as sleeping partners who showed no sign of waking up. Yhe Maharishi could not allow the Paropkarini Sabha lie dormant in his lifetime as things could go from bad to worse after his demise.Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati thus wrote a new WILL and Last Testament at Maharana’s Udaipur in 1883 forming a new Paropkarini Sabha. Thus the earlier decision taken at Meerutt was reversed at Udaipur for the greatest good of the greatest number. The Sabha is presently located at Ajmer and has been working as per the Sweekar Patra of 1883. But for the moral courage of the Rishivar, it would not have been possible.EMULATING MAHARISHIWell, we have gone through some of the anecdotes from the life and deed of Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati where we learnt how he made decisive decisions and if and when the situation so required he had the moral courage to reverse his own decisions for the greater good of the greater number. So far so good. Where do we go from here. Indeed it is the common man who should benefit by learning lessons from the life of the Rishivar. The pages of history are turned over and over again to learn lessons. It is the Aryas who have to benefit most and inculcate the decision making trait in their character. It is the moral courage that they must imbibe and it will see them through thick and thin. The life of the founder of the Arya Samaj is a beacon light for those mariners who are stranded in the dark on uncharted seas and it helps them navigate to a port of safety, peace and tranquility. May Param Pita Parmatma help us, common men and women, to maintain this connectivity with our beacon light, Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, so that we banish the Evil and imbibe the Noble following the Ved mantra – DURITANI PARASUVA …BHADRAM AASUVA.
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

TURNING POINT AT TANKARA

A trip to Tankara, Gujarat, India came my way. I was invited to train the Vedic missionaries in the Art of Public Speaking. I accepted the invitation post haste. Tankara is the birth place of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj. The small village, now, a township, is situated on a small meandering river named Demi. On its banks is a small temple of Lord Shiva. It was in this temple that a teenager experienced the Turning Point of his life and it eventually transformed him into a Renaissance Rishi. The event known as Bodh Parva or Night of Enlightenment brought about a religious revolution and changed the social fabric of the Indian society.
Long years ago I had traveled through the highest plateau of the world – Tibet. In the western Tibet I stood face to face with the black granite mountain jutting out from the yellowish background of sandstone hillocks. This Mount Kailash is the mythical abode of Lord Shiva and his divine consort Parvati. Unfortunately I did not see any movement or presence of Lord Shiva or Goddess Parvati on the Kailash Parvat. Possibly, they do not live there because SHIVA is the Vedic name of the Almighty and is in no way related to any individual god. Of course, many fellow travelers went ecstatic, as they said: ``we saw the Almighty – Shiva.’’ Indeed, theirs was a make believe world. Some psychologists call a phenomenon like this, hallucination of sorts. Fortunately for me, I did not suffer from a state of mind like that of the fellow travelers. I made up my mind in Tibet to go to Tankara and see for myself what the teenager Moolshankar had seen in the19th century India. Tibet to Tankara was a long haul. Nevertheless, I made it. I wanted to know how the adolescent Moolshankar was transformed into Swami Dayanand Saraswati sitting in that temple on the Mahashivratri night. Let us see it for ourselves.As I said a moment ago, Swami Dayanand Saraswati was born in Tankara, in Rajkot district of Kathiawar, now called Saurashtra in India, in 1824. He was named Moolshankar. The young precocious boy memorized the text of Yajurved and impressed teachers and taught alike. He was always keen to ask questions and find answers to many a jigsaw puzzle. The 13-year-old Moolshankar was exhorted by his father, Karsan ji to observe complete fast on the Mahashivratri and sit in the Shiv temple in the village and pray the whole night. An obedient son that he was, he did so. In the temple, just before midnight, when other devotees including his father had fallen asleep a small rat ascended the Shiv Linga and started eating all edibles kept there as an offering. The rat’s friends followed suit. Devotees were in deep slumber. But not young Moolshankar, who was fired by an ardent desire and his father’s exhortations to have a darshan of Lord Shiva at midnight.Obviously, he was in for a great shock to see the Shiv Linga being desecrated by lowly mice and the idol bearing the insult helplessly. Moolshankar woke up his father and apprised him of his nagging doubt about the idol being the Almighty. The father chided the son for his untimely and irrelevant inquisitiveness. The young body returned to his house where his mother served him a sumptuous meal to break the daylong fast. Young Moolshankar had made up his mind to go in quest of the real almighty, God as described in the Vedas. He talked to all knowledgeable persons around. Not much came out of it. However, the foundations of a great spiritual movement, later, known as the Arya Samaj had indeed been laid. Of course, the formal formation had to wait till 1875. The great quest had begun. The young lad left his parental home at the age of 22 when pressed to get married and abandon his spiritual quest. He carried a new name, Shuddha Chaitanya. Later he met a sanyasi Swami Poornanand Saraswati, a great Vedic scholar who initiated the young seeker of truth into the Sanyas Ashram. Thus was born an ascetic, Swami Dayanand Saraswati.We may recall some major and minor anecdotes of his life that go to show that he placed great reliance on the social unity of the masses. His aim was to unite the entire mankind into one religion – the Vedic Dharam. Swami Dayanand Sarswati advised all Arya Samajists to run their show in a democratic manner. On staurday, April 10th, 1875 when the 1st arya samaj was founded at Kakarwadi, Mumbai in India, the great swami was requested by the congregation to assume the presidentship but the Swami declined. He chose to be just a simple member. Swami Dayanand Saraswati pleaded for equality of human beings, both men and women, as propounded in the Vedas. He was against creating human idols or icons. Indeed he was nipping the problem of human worship in the bud.Swami Dayanand Saraswati was dead against entering into litigation to solve problems of social nature. He made a mention of it in his will twice; first at Meerut and later again in 1883 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He advised all Aryas to sort out their personal and social as well as religious problems among themselves. Social solidarity should be achieved at all levels, said the Swami. He backed those Aryas against whom followers of other religions had filed legal cases just to harass them. Under his advice, monetary and legal support was given to writers, speakers and preachers of the Vedic Dharma to raise their morale high. The Swami succeeded immensely.Learning, speaking and writing in the Hindi language was Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s hobby. He saw Hindi as a common link language among all Indians, irrespective of their faith. The Swami was himself a Gujarati and as an adolescent spoke his mother tongue only. Of course, he had studied Sanskrit and wrote in Sanskrit extensively. But he promoted Hindi as a language of unity. All his treatises are written in the common man’s language. This indeed was a turning point in the linguistic history of India. Other national leaders followed suit later. The movement for Hindi had its effect among the Indians in foreign countries too. Hindi books are read by them and Hindi classes are organized in the Arya Samaj in foreign lands too. The Swami never wanted to be known as the founder of a mere sect that would cut away his followers from the vast society of the Hindus. He stressed that the ancient Vedic Dharma did not divide the society among sects and sub sects. He took pains to avoid the pitfalls that the Brahmos of Bengal could not avoid and separated themselves from the general social fabric. Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s efforts have paid rich dividends and the Arya Samajists have joined all movements for the unity and solidarity of the Indians in general and Hindus in particular. Let us take a look at his travels to preach and propagate the Vedic Dharma. Multan (now in Pakistan) in the north to Pune in the Deccan; Rajkot in the west to Kolkata in the east form the large canvass that he painted in the Vedic colours. Of course, there were many cities, towns in various other provinces in the British India and the princely India where he had hoisted the flag of Aum and given discourses to men and women who flocked to hear him in large numbers. The Swami started wearing long coat and Dhotis instead of only a loin cloth so that ladies did not fight shy of coming to his lectures to learn of the Ved Mantras. Indeed, he was never dogmatic. Many a time he traveled in great discomfort risking his life and limb but was determined to carry on with his mission. Of course, the Punjab became the citadel of the Arya Samaj after he founded his institution in 1877 in Lahore (now in Pakistan).It was in Lahore that the 10 principles of the Arya Samaj were enshrined and continue to guide the Arya Samaj till today. A turning point once again in the socio political history of India. In 1877 in Delhi many religious, cultural and political stalwarts had assembled. All the major ruling princes of India had come to attend the Delhi Durbar. Swami Dayanand Saraswati took advantage of this opportunity to bring about a unity of principles for conduct of righteousness among the followers of all major religions of the world. He invited Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a Muslim scholar and later founder of the Aligarh Muslim University, Reverend Father Scott of the Protestant Christian Church, prominent Brahmos of Bengal and stalwarts among Sanatani Hindus to sit together and iron out all differences that led to divisions in society. It was indeed a lofty ideal. His efforts made a good beginning. The Swami started with a bang but unfortunately the entire effort ended with a whimper. The people did not agree on the entity called God and how human beings should draw inspiration from him. Further, the non Hindus were not prepared to accept the Vedas as divine revelation. The plan fell apart. Let us now travel to Rajputana, the present day Rajasthan. It was here that Swami Dayanand Saraswati met with a measure of success in reforming the princes. His Highness Maharana Sajjan Singhji, the ruling prince of the state of Mewar became Swami’s devoted disciple. The maharana studied Sanskrit and Manusmiriti at the feet of the Rishi. He reformed the education system and brought it in tune with the Vedic Standards. The ruler performed daily havan in his palace. Indeed, it was going great guns for the Arya Samaj in Mewar. His Highness Sir Nahar Singh Varma of Shahpura went a step forward. He even accepted the Presidentship of the Parop karini Sabha to carry forward the mission of the Swami. However, it was in Jodhpur that a conspiracy was hatched by the forces enemical to the propagation of pristine Vedic Dharma to poison the Swami. They got him. After suffering from the after effects of that deadly poison for a month and a day the great Rishi of modern India breathed his last on October 30, 1883 at Ajmer.It was the evening of Diwali and indeed a turning point. The Swami let his soul leave his body and in the worldly sense the lamp of his life was extinguished but in the spiritual sense he lighted millions of lamps to lead men and women from darkness unto light.
BY BRIGADIER CHITRANJAN SAWANT, VSM