Question

where is arya samaj centre for religious?

Answer 1

ajmer, rajasthan, india

Answer 2

Between 1869 and 1873, Saraswati began his efforts to reform orthodox Hinduism in India. He established Gurukul (Vedic schools) which emphasised Vedic values, culture, Satya(virtue) and Sanatana Dharma (the essence of living). The schools gave separate educations to boys and girls based on ancient Vedic principles. The Vedic school system was also to relieve Indians from the pattern of a Britisheducation.[6]

The first Vedic school was established at Farrukhabad in 1869.[7] Fifty students were enrolled in its first year. This success led to the founding of schools at Mirzapur (1870), Kasganj (1870), Chhalesar (Aligarh) (1870) and Varanasi (1873).

At the schools, students received all meals, lodging, clothing and books free of charge. Discipline was strict. Students were not allowed to perform murti puja (worship of sculpted stone idols). Rather, they performed Sandhyavandanam (meditative prayer using Vedic mantras with divine sound) and agnihotra (making a heated milk offering twice daily).

The study of Sanskrit scriptural texts which accepted the authority of the Vedas were taught. They included the Vedas, Upanishads, Aranyaka, Kashika, Nirukta, Mahabhasya, Ashtadhyayi, Darshanas. The teaching was open to girls and to children who were not of the Brahmins class.

Dayanand had difficulty finding qualified teachers who agreed with his views on religious reform. There were few textbooks which he considered suitable. Funding was sporadic, attendance fluctuated and students did not achieve desired standards and so some schools closed soon after opening. The last remaining school at Farrukhabad closed in 1876.

Adi Brahmo SamajEdit

Main article: Adi Brahmo Samaj

In 1872 and 1873, Dayanand travelled and came to know some pro-Western Indian intellectuals including Navin Chandra Roy, Rajnarayan Basu, Debendranath Tagore and Hemendranath Tagore who were actively involved in the Brahmo Samaj. This reform organization, founded in 1828, held many views similar to those of Dayanand. The organisation promoted monotheism and the eternality of the soul; and the abolishment of the hereditary caste or varna system and uplifting people through education. Dayanand disagreed with the Brahmo Samaj about the proper position of the Vedas. Dayanand strongly held the Vedas to be divine revelation.

"The Light of Truth" lecture seriesEdit

After visiting Calcutta, Dayanand's work changed. He began lecturing in Hindi rather than in Sanskrit. Although Sanskrit garnered respect, in Hindi, Dayanand reached a much larger audience. His ideas of reform began to reach the poorest people.

In Varanasi, after hearing Dayanand speak, a local government official called Jaikishen Das encouraged Dayanand to publish a book about his ideas. From June to September 1874, Dayanand dictated a series of lectures to his scribe, Bhimsen Sharma. The lectures recorded Dayanand's views on a wide range of subjects. They were published in 1875 in Varanasi with the title Satyarth Prakash ("the light of truth").

New samajEdit

While his manuscript for Satyarth Prakashwas being edited in Varanasi, Dayanand received an invitation to travel to Bombay. There, he was to debate representatives of the Vallabhacharya sect. On 20 October, 1874, Dayanand arrived in Bombay. The debate, though well publicized, never took place. Nonetheless, two members of the Prarthana Samaj approached Dayanand and invited him to speak at one of their gatherings. He did so and was well received. They recognized Dayanand's desire to uplift the Hindu community and protect Hindus from the pressures to convert to Christianity or Islam. Dayanand spent over one month in Bombay and attracted sixty people to his cause. They proposed founding a new samaj with Dayanand's ideas as its spiritual and intellectual basis.