Question

How did Swami Dayanand acquire great power in his body?​

Answer 1

Explanation:

It was on the night of Shivaratri in 1838 AD that a simple experience in a Shiva temple transformed Mool Shankar to Swami Dayananda. He saw a rat climbing over the Shivalinga and eating the offerings to the lord. The sight filled Mool Shankar, who was just 14 years old then, with disgust with the prevalent Hindu rites and beliefs. He thought, “Can the killer of most formidable demons, the all powerful Shiva, be so weak that he cannot shoe away a small ratIJ” The seeds of rebellion and moral discomfort with the prevalent and pervasive idol worship in Hinduism were sown in his mind.

Answer 2

Answer:

Shivaratri is significant not only for Shiva devotees but also for Arya Samajis, as Dayananda got true wisdom on that night, writes Ashok Vohra

It was on the night of Shivaratri in 1838 AD that a simple experience in a Shiva temple transformed Mool Shankar to Swami Dayananda. He saw a rat climbing over the Shivalinga and eating the offerings to the lord. The sight filled Mool Shankar, who was just 14 years old then, with disgust with the prevalent Hindu rites and beliefs. He thought, “Can the killer of most formidable demons, the all powerful Shiva, be so weak that he cannot shoe away a small ratIJ” The seeds of rebellion and moral discomfort with the prevalent and pervasive idol worship in Hinduism were sown in his mind.

The desire to take sanyasa had first come to Mool Shankar’s mind when he watched his sister, who was two years younger to him, dying of cholera. The urge was reinforced when his uncle, who was also his teacher, passed away. Seeing the lifeless body, he reflected, “I shall also have to face death one day. I must devote myself to the path of salvation”. He had learnt that mukti (emancipation) is not possible without knowledge and right knowledge is not possible without self-learning and reflection (swadhyaya) and practising of the yoga. Therefore, he set before himself the task of studying the Vedas; perform yoga and enter into debates with the other scholars. like Shankaracharya, he travelled all over India for this purpose. He was a great exponent of Sanskrit language — the language of the Vedas and debated with his opponents in Sanskrit. However, later he started lecturing and debating in Hindustani.

He formally became a sanyasi at the age of 24. He took his diksha (baptism) from Swami Purnananda Saraswati on the banks of Narmada. Swami Purnananda Saraswati gave him the name Dayananda Saraswati. Based on his study of the original Vedas, Dayananda concluded that due to vested interests a number of dogmas and superstitions have crept into Hindu ethical, moral and social practices. Unlike Buddha and Mahavira, he did not reject the Vedas but argued for their unbiased interpretation. He urged his followers to eradicate the misconceptions and annihilate the malpractices based on them.