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Written by Dr. J. Kuruvachira
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A background to Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883) 1<\/a><\/p>\n 1.1 The exclusive truth of the Vedic Religion\u00a0 3<\/a> 2.1 Polemical style of writing\u00a0 15<\/a> 8.1. The link between Dayananda\u2019s philosophy and Hindutva\u00a0 22<\/a> Conclusion\u00a0 28<\/a><\/p>\n The aim of this article is to present the salient features of Swami Dayananda Saraswati\u2019s (1824-1883) religious philosophy, which is characterised by religious fundamentalism<\/em>, anti-other<\/em> attitude and militancy<\/em>. In Dayananda we have the first stirrings of Hindu fundamentalism in modern India. Unfortunately, this aspect often goes camouflaged under the aura of his greatness as a champion of Hinduism and a social reformer. In order to understand the attitude of Dayananda Saraswati towards other religions, it is necessary that we examine his ideological foundations. Dayananda emphatically affirmed that the Vedic religion is the only true faith revealed by God. This view is so central to his religious philosophy that one cannot understand his attitude towards other religions without it. Dayananda starts from the premise that God is the eternal source of all knowledge and He reveals it to man through the Vedas and had He not revealed, there would have been no knowledge[13]<\/a>. According to him, the Vedas give general teachings meant for all<\/em> mankind[14]<\/a>. This led him to maintain that, in the Vedas alone and not in any other work has God revealed the truth. Hence he claimed that what the Vedas expound are the truth and nothing but the truth[15]<\/a>. Since the Vedas alone are the supreme authority in ascertaining true religion whatever is enjoined by the Vedas is to be considered to be right, while whatever is condemned by them is to be wrong. He says: \u201cnothing should be accepted which is against the Vedas\u201d[16]<\/a>. He also argues that the Vedic revelation is synchronous with man\u2019s first appearance on earth so that the Vedas becomes the first book of humanity[17]<\/a>. The consequence was that he made the Vedas the standard of reference for all truth,<\/em> both religious and otherwise. Thus for Dayananda, the Vedas contain religious truth as well as every form of truth, even scientific truths<\/em>[18]<\/a>. Later, Aurobindo Ghose commenting on this, not only agreed with Dayananda but also argued that the latter had rather understated than overstated the depth and range of the Vedic wisdom[19]<\/a>. Dayananda was one of the Hindu thinkers of the 19th<\/sup> century who paid serious attention to the problem of the relationship between different religions. He maintained that in essence, there are only four main non-Vedic or \u2018Other\u2019 religions, namely, Pauranikas, Christians, Jains and Moslims. These cover all sects[29]<\/a>. According to J.T.F. Jordens, Dayananda began to think of Hinduism in relation to other religions only after his visit to Calcutta in 1873 where he met the leaders of the Brahma Samaj who were much influenced by the teachings of Christianity and Islam, and this led him to consider Hinduism in a wider context of these religions[30]<\/a>. In maintaining that the Vedic Religion alone is true, Dayananda is emphatically asserting that all other religions are false. In his Satyartha Prakash<\/em> he often refers to them as \u2018false beliefs\u2019[37]<\/a>. When the Aryans gave up the Vedic literature which alone could help people to distinguish between truth and untruth, ignorance prevailed and many anti-Vedic religions, cults and sects sprang up[38]<\/a>. He argued that, the founders and teachers of them, even if they knew the truth, did not teach it, because they feared that they would lose their followers and their means of livelihood. The religious teachers who do not advocate the Vedic faith are hypocrites, defrauders and tricksters. He says: \u201cAll these cults are an outcome of ignorance and antagonistic to learning. They mislead the foolish, low and uncivilised people into their net to serve their own ends\u201d[39]<\/a>. Thus Dayananda considered all religions, except the Vedic faith, as false. He observes: \u201cthere ought to be only one right religion [.\u2026] We have been all along emphasising this point\u201d[40]<\/a>. If all non-Vedic religions are false and products of ignorance, there arises the question whether there is any truth at all in them. Dayananda admitted that some religions contain elements of truth<\/em>. In fact on certain occasions he says that he accepts whatever is true in all religions[42]<\/a>. In the introduction to the Satyartha Prakash<\/em> he admits that there are undoubtedly many learned men among the followers of every religion[43]<\/a>. There are also certain universal truths found in all religions. These truths are those in which they all agree with each other, and in whatever they differ with each other is false and therefore they are to be rejected<\/em>[44]<\/a>. One of the major concerns of Dayananda was to regenerate Hinduism by purifying it from such corrupted beliefs and practices as polytheism, idolatry, animal sacrifices, priestly privilege of the Brahmins, worship of popular deities, long pilgrimages, ritual ablutions, etc. He argued that the Puranas<\/em> and the Tantras<\/em> and other \u2018new scriptures which supported and encouraged such beliefs are to be abandoned[48]<\/a>. So he rejected these texts as concocted by hypocritical and selfish priests to deceive the ignorant masses. Chapter XI of the Satyartha Prakash<\/em> is particularly dedicated to a critical analysis of the sects and cults of Hinduism[49]<\/a>. <\/p>\n In Chapter XII of Satyartha Prakash<\/em> Dayananda treats Carvacas, Buddhists and Jains as typical anti-Vedic religions[55]<\/a> and the atheistic cults of India[56]<\/a>. However, it is against Jainism that he directed much of his criticism. According to Dayananda, the Jains were prejudiced against and hostile towards the non-Jains. He argued that there is no religion which enjoins so much hostility towards people belonging to other faiths as Jainism[57]<\/a>. He also called Jainism the most dreadful religion, the founders and followers of which are in dense ignorance. Even their Tirthankaras<\/em> were ignorant and their teachers were devoid of knowledge. He says: \u201cYour Tirthankaras<\/em> had no conception of truth, otherwise they would not have written such nonsense. As are your teachers so are your disciples\u201d[58]<\/a>. Further, the Jaina scriptures are full of stories that delude people[59]<\/a>. Dayananda conceived Islam as a real threat to the existence of Hinduism and dedicated much space in discussing it[62]<\/a>. He considered Islam as the religion of the uncivilised and the ignorant and wondered how the ancient people of Arabia accepted a religion of the kind[63]<\/a>. According to Dayananda, the Quoran<\/em> (Koran<\/em>) is the product of a mind destitute of all knowledge of God. He says: \u201cQuoran is not made by God. It might have been written by some deceitful and fraudulent person\u201d[64]<\/a>. He further argued that the Quoran<\/em> causes rebellion and destroys peace[65]<\/a>. It is full of errors, distortions and contains all untruth, and even the little truth it contains is distorted[66]<\/a> and therefore it is to be considered as a great hoax[67]<\/a>. He also held that Mohammed was not a pious man[68]<\/a> but a quarrelsome[69]<\/a>, immoral and self indulgent person[70]<\/a>. Further, the God of Islam incites the prophet and the Muslims to fight against non-Muslims[71]<\/a>. Sumit Sarkar says that the polemics with the most far-reaching and long lasting consequences against non-Vedic religions was undoubtedly launched by Dayananda in Chapter XIII of Satyartha<\/em> Prakash<\/em> where he deals with Christianity[78]<\/a>. Since 1880s Dayananda was seriously engaged in combating Christianity. He used methods like, street debates, re-conversion ceremony (shuddhi<\/em>), publication of tracts and pamphlets. He sent members of his Arya Samaj (samajits) to organise fairs against the preaching of the Christian missionaries. Thus a battle of words went on between both sides especially through their publications in the form of tracts and pamphlets, the contents of which often sunk to the level of insults, calumny and maligning the other. For example, Dayananda writes: \u201cIt appears that Mary conceived through some man, and either he or somebody else gave it out that the conception was through God\u201d[80]<\/a>; \u201cHullo Jesus! What science told you that stars will fall.[\u2026] Had Jesus a little education he would have known that the stars are worlds and cannot fall down\u201d[81]<\/a>; \u201cMarriages are performed in the paradise of the Christians. It was there that God celebrated the marriage of Jesus Christ. Let us ask who were his father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law etc?\u201d[82]<\/a>. Dayananda wrote that the appellation \u2018Pope\u2019 means those persons who are hypocrites and accomplish their selfish ends by cheating others[83]<\/a> and that the Popes get themselves and their feet worshipped[84]<\/a>. Dayananda argued that the God of the Bible is unjust[85]<\/a>, cruel[86]<\/a>, jealous[87]<\/a>, a flesh-eater[88]<\/a>, destitute of mercy[89]<\/a>, malicious[90]<\/a> and an ignorant savage[91]<\/a>. He is temperamental, emotional and subject to passions. He is jealous, immoral and limited by space and time. He is also responsible for innumerable evil deeds. He says: \u201cThe God of Christians behaves exactly like a man\u201d[92]<\/a>. Therefore, Dayananda concludes that such a being can never be considered as God and he is not even equal to a learned yogin[93]<\/a>. Commenting on Gen. 30, 22-23 which says that God \u2018opened\u2019 the womb of Rachel who was barren he says cynically: \u201cWell done! O God of Christians! What a great surgeon you are! What instruments or medicines did you use in opening the wombs of women?\u201d[94]<\/a>. Dayananda claimed that the Bible contains statements that offend reason, logic, science and laws of nature. He rejected such beliefs as the birth of Jesus from a virgin, his resurrection from the dead, etc., as impossible and opposed to the laws of nature[98]<\/a>. He also condemned all miracles of Jesus as superstitions, irrational, impossible and a hoax[99]<\/a>. Dayananda argued that the Bible contains many stories and precepts that are immoral and cruel. Some of the stories that are morally repulsive and give licence to immorality and cruelty are, the visit of God to Sarah making her to conceive[103]<\/a>, Mary\u2019s conception by the Holy Spirit[104]<\/a>, the killing of the first born in Egypt[105]<\/a>, accounts of animal sacrifice and beef-eating[106]<\/a> and the like. The doctrine of the remission of sin through repentance, which besides being irrational, is also unjust as it encourages people to commit sin, because if repentance absolves one from sin, nobody would be afraid of committing sin and thus there would be an increase in sinfulness in the world[107]<\/a>. Belief in immaculate conception could lead to loss of control over women, and any virgin who happened to conceive can claim that she conceived through God. The conclusion that Dayananda arrived at after his so-called study of the Bible was that, it cannot be the Word of God because it is full of absurdities, and its authors are ignorant savages. He says: \u201cTherefore, your Bible is not God-revealed\u201d[109]<\/a>; \u201cthe Bible is a human composition and not a revelation of God\u201d[110]<\/a>; \u201cTheir Bible has many things which are condemnable. [\u2026] With the exception of a few things all else is untrue. As the contact of falsehood makes the truth also impure, similarly the Bible is also not acceptable\u201d[111]<\/a>. According to Dayananda, Jesus Christ was one who talked nonsense like a wild savage[114]<\/a>, destitute of knowledge and understanding. P.S. Daniel observes: \u201cThe term \u2018barbarous\u2019 or \u2018savage\u2019 is repeatedly used over twenty-five times applying them to Christians, their God and their scriptures (the Bible)\u201d[115]<\/a>. Dayananda spoke of the ignorance and foolishness of Jesus Christ and argued that Jesus was not a seer, that he was not even an enlightened person. He says: \u201cHad Jesus got even a little education, he should not have said such nonsense. [\u2026] The presence of Jesus was a great thing in a country of uneducated savages\u201d[116]<\/a>. He then claimed that Mary the mother of Jesus was not a chaste woman[117]<\/a> and that the Bible abounded in absurdities and therefore could be the work of an enlightened man. All Christian missionaries say that Jesus was a very calm and peace loving person. But in reality he was a hot-tempered persons destitute of knowledge and who behaved like a wild savage[118]<\/a>. This shows that Jesus was neither the son of God, nor had he any miraculous powers[119]<\/a>. He did not possess the power to forgive sins[120]<\/a>. The righteous people do not stand in need of any mediator like Jesus[121]<\/a>. Jesus came to spread discord which is going on everywhere in the world[122]<\/a>. Therefore, it is evident that the hoax of Christ\u2019s being the Son of God, the knower of the past and the future, the forgiver of sin, has been set up falsely by his disciples. In reality, he was a very ordinary ignorant man, neither learned nor a yogi[123]<\/a>. He was a mere carpenter\u2019s son, living in a wild and poor country.<\/p>\n Dayananda\u2019s so-called study of Christianity lead him to condemn Christianity as a shallow, barbarous, false and foreign religion, believed only by fools and barbarians. He presented all the prophets of the Christians from Moses onwards as uncivilised and devoid of culture[124]<\/a>. He spoke of the \u2018trap\u2019 and \u2018mesh\u2019 of the Christian religion and the \u2018net\u2019 of the Christian missionaries, and asked everybody to escape it[125]<\/a>. He then went on to claim that only wild savages believed in Jesus and his only achievements are dissentions and discords[126]<\/a>. Dayananda was a militant Hindu who could not tolerate any religion other than the Vedic. With him tolerance gave way to militancy. In 1877-1878 he visited Punjab and there he discovered for himself the threat Hinduism was facing from the proselytising activities of the Christian missionaries and Muslim teachers, and this made him denounce these religions[131]<\/a>. G.S.Saxena says: \u201cThe views of Swami Dayananda were radical and militant\u201d[132]<\/a>. P.S. Daniel observes that if Dayananda was militant, it was, to certain extent because he had two militant religions to counteract, namely, Christianity and Islam[133]<\/a>. Dayananda wrote extensively in the form of books, pamphlets, tracts and letters but most of them were polemic in nature. In fact a part of his Satyartha Prakash<\/em> was banned for a time in some parts of India because of its fundamentalist and militant nature. Romain Rolland says that Dayananda \u201cthundered against all forms of thought other than his own, the only true one\u201d[138]<\/a>. A.L. Basham says that Hinduism took offensive for the first time for centuries in Dayananda. He was also a mighty fighter in the cause of the \u2018Church\u2019 he founded and made fierce polemic speeches against its opponents[139]<\/a>. Dayananda maintained that all non-Vedic religions that are found in the world are products of muddled intellects[144]<\/a>. But the Vedic Religion is the only true religion and therefore all other religions are \u2018false beliefs\u2019 which should be refuted<\/em> and rejected<\/em>[145]<\/a>.<\/em> Thus he speaks of the snares<\/em> of the Jains, Christians and Moslems[146]<\/a>. Besides, the existence of diversity of religions only leads to hostilities and strife which greatly increases sufferings in the world[147]<\/a>. Humanity can expect no progress unless everybody followed the same Vedic Religion because it is the religion of light, culture and righteousness, which will give true happiness to the entire humanity. Therefore, the salvation of the world consists in rejecting all the false religions and accepting the one true religion as revealed in the Vedas, and consequently all the false faiths must disappear. In a letter to Colonel Olcott he wrote: \u201cWe pray the Lord that by his grace and the effort of men one day all these religions may disappear<\/em>, and that in the midst of all people may be established the one true religion which throughout the tradition has been preserved by the Aryans\u201d[148]<\/a>. In the introduction to Satyartha Prakash<\/em>, Dayananda presented four concrete principles that are to be taken into account in interpreting other religions. They are: a) akanksa<\/em> which demands the interpreter to enter into the spirit of the speaker or author; b) yogyata<\/em> which means fitness or compatibility of a word and the meaning it signifies so that it gives rationality to the text; c) asatti<\/em> which demands that a text be taken in its total context; d) tatparya<\/em> which insists in giving the same meaning to the words which was intended by the user or speaker[149]<\/a>. P.S. Daniel notes that, when Dayananda interpreted other religions and their sacred texts he totally ignored these rules, which he himself had recommended. He took the scriptures in their most literal sense, ignoring the context and the spirit in which they are written[150]<\/a>. Benjamin Walker commenting on Dayananda\u2019s Vedic religion notes that his interpretation of the Vedas was largely fanciful and often forcibly adapted to suit his preconceptions, and as he knew no English his inspiration was derived mainly from indigenous sources[151]<\/a>. Perhaps the most virulent criticism against Dayananda\u2019s fundamentalist ideology came from Mahatma Gandhi. The latter, after reading the Dayananda\u2019s Satyartha Prakash<\/em> in 1942 in Yerwada Prison, wrote in Young India<\/em>: \u201cI have read Satyartha<\/em> Prakash<\/em>, the Arya Samaj Bible. Friends sent me three copies of it whilst I was resting in the Yarwada Jail. I have not read a more disappointing book<\/em> from a reformer so great. He has claimed to stand for truth and nothing else. But he has unconsciously misrepresented Jainism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism itself<\/em>. One having even a cursory acquaintance with these faiths could easily discover the errors into which the great reformer was betrayed\u201d[158]<\/a>. Gandhi then pointed out that one\u2019s respect for Dayananda would have been greater if he had not written such a book as Satyartha Prakash<\/em>, especially the chapters on other religions. The comments of Gandhi invited strong protests from the Arya Samajists to which Gandhi responded saying that there was not a single word in his comments that was written without deep consideration and that his writings are therefore deliberate[159]<\/a>. Dayananda was greatly threatened by the activities of proselytisation by Christian missionaries and Muslim teachers. He said: \u201cDo you not see that before your very eyes fraudulent cults are increasing and many men are embracing Christianity and Islam\u201d[161]<\/a>. In order to counteract it, besides employing the usual methods of public lectures and writings condemning these religions, he also introduced a new weapon called shuddhi<\/em> or the re-conversion ceremony. K.W. Jones says: \u201c\n
\n1.2 Plurality of religions is unnecessary\u00a0 4<\/a>
\n1.3 Religions other than the Vedic faith are false\u00a0 5<\/a>
\n1.4 Other religions may<\/em> contain elements of truth\u00a0 6<\/a>
\n1.5 Criticism of popular Hinduism\u00a0\u00a0 7<\/a>
\n1.6 Jainism is the most dreadful religion\u00a0 7<\/a>
\n1.7 Islam is the religion of the uncivilised and the ignorant 8<\/a>
\n1.8 Christianity is a religion of the book\u00a0 9<\/a>
\n1.8.1 Christianity is a degraded religion\u00a0 10<\/a>
\n1.8.2 The God of the Bible is wicked\u00a0 10<\/a>
\n1.8.3 The Bible contains statements that offend reason\u00a0 11<\/a>
\n1.8.4 The Bible contains immoral and cruel stories\u00a0 12<\/a>
\n1.8.5 The Bible can never be the Word of God\u00a0 12<\/a>
\n1.8.6 Jesus Christ was a savage and a hoax\u00a0 13<\/a>
\n1.8.7 Christianity is a religion of fools and barbarians\u00a0 14<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n2.2 All non-Vedic religions should disappear 16<\/a>
\n2.3 Misrepresentation of other religious\u00a0 17<\/a>
\n3 \u2018Satyartha Prakash<\/em> the most disappointing book\u2019 18<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n8.2. Attempts to impose Vedic culture\u00a0 23<\/a>
\n8.3 Attempt to impose Vedic model of education\u00a0 24<\/a>
\n8.4. Intolerance towards religious minorities\u00a0 24<\/a>
\n8.5. Revival of the practice of re-conversion\u00a0 25<\/a>
\n8.6. The campaign of maligning by Voice of India<\/em>\u00a0 25<\/a><\/p>\n\n
<\/a>A background to Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883)<\/h1>\n
\nAnyone familiar with the \u2018Indian Renaissance\u2019 of the 19th century will immediately be reminded of the \u2018luminous\u2019 figure of Swami Dayananda Saraswati the Hindu social reformer and the founder of the Arya Samaj (\u2018Noble Society\u2019). He is considered as the \u2018first Hindu\u2019 in the nineteenth century to study and discuss Other religions (i.e. non-Vedic faiths). In fact, some twenty years prior to the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, in which Swami Vivekananda participated, Dayananda organised a conference in Delhi and invited representatives from all religions. In this, he was well ahead of the other thinkers of the time[1]<\/a>.
\nDayananda (originally known as Mulasankar) was born in a Brahmin family at Tankara, in Gujarat in 1824, and was raised up as an orthodox Saivite. He spent fifteen years as a wandering monk in search of personal salvation. In 1860 he met Swami Vrijananda of Mathura, a great Vedic scholar and grammarian who became his teacher and mentor. It was Swami Vrijananda who drew the attention of his pupil to the degenerated state of Hinduism. In addition, he implanted in him a great veneration for the ancient Vedas as the true source of pure Hinduism. For the rest of his life Dayananda taught in almost all parts of India on the exclusive truth of the Vedas. He also founded the Arya Samaj in 1875, which loomed large on the intellectual and social scene of late nineteenth century Northern India[2]<\/a>.
\nDayananda authored numerous books, tracts and pamphlets[3]<\/a>. However, it is above all in his Satyartha Prakash<\/em> (The Light of Truth<\/em>, 1875, 1884)[4]<\/a> \u2013 considered as his magnum opus<\/em> \u2013 that he expounds \u2018systematically\u2019 and with extraordinary clarity his fully developed philosophy of religion. Other important writings of Dayananda include, Rigvedadi Bhasya Bhumika <\/em>(Introduction to the Commentary on the Vedas<\/em>)[5]<\/a> and Rishi Dayananda Saraswati ke Patra aur Vijnapan <\/em>(A Collection of Letters and Notes Written by Dayananda<\/em>)[6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1. The ideological foundations of Dayananda Saraswati<\/h1>\n
\nSatyartha Prakash<\/em> first appeared in 1875 in Hindi. It consisted of eleven chapters and in the first ten a complete statement of his ideas on various subjects are presented. The eleventh chapter which runs to a quarter of the book, is devoted to a critique of Hinduism, dealing with idol worship, miracles, pilgrimages, holy men, sects, Puranas<\/em>, etc. Towards the end of his life he thoroughly revised this edition and added three more chapters dealing with Carvaka, Buddhism and Jainism which are religions of Indian origin, and Christianity and Islam which, according to him, are foreign faiths. This edition was published in 1884, though its proof reading was finished before Dayananda’s death in 1883. A comparative study of the two editions revels that Dayananda radically changed some of his earlier ideas during the last years of his life[7]<\/a>. Thus the revised edition contains more \u2018systematic\u2019 and fully developed ideas than the previous one with a criticism of all the major religions of India. This is also the work accepted by the Arya Samaj as the authorised edition.
\nDayananda in his writings makes five outstanding claims that determine his attitude towards other religions: i) the Vedic Religion alone is true and infallible and it is revealed by God[8]<\/a>; ii) the Vedic Religion alone existed in the whole world and all believed in it till 5000 years ago[9]<\/a>; iii) all the extant religions of the world originated in India and are derived from the Vedas[10]<\/a>; iv) all knowledge including all sciences spread to other countries from India, first to Egypt, then to Greece from there to Europe and finally to America and other countries[11]<\/a>; v) the Aryans were the sovereign rulers of the whole earth till the Mahabharata<\/em> war and they professed the Vedic Religion[12]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.1 The exclusive truth of the Vedic Religion<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda further argued that the Vedas are also infallible and that they are absolutely free from error[20]<\/a>. Truth and knowledge, wherever they are found, are derived from the Vedas. He says: \u201cIt is to be borne in mind that wherever and whatever truth is to be found it has proceeded from the Vedas and all untruth has its origin outside them and has not proceeded from God\u201d[21]<\/a>. He also stated that the Vedas are eternal just as God is eternal[22]<\/a>. This amounts to maintaining that there can be only one true religion<\/em>, and that religion is the one that is based on and derived from the Vedas. In other words, Dayananda was affirming the exclusive truth<\/em> of the Vedic religion.
\nDayananda then set out to provide proofs for the truth of the Vedic faith. First<\/em>, the Vedas consistently proclaim pure monotheism<\/em>, which alone can rationally be sustained. In the Vedas there are not many gods but one God. The multitude of names signify not different Divine beings, but different aspects of one Supreme Being[23]<\/a>. Second<\/em>, the truth of the Vedic faith is that, it is the most rational<\/em> religion because in it there is nothing that offends reason. In a letter to Colonel Olcott, Dayananda affirms that the true religion is expounded in that eternal Vedas practiced by the wise in conformity with reason[24]<\/a>. Third<\/em>, the Vedic Religion is the true religion because morality<\/em> lies at the very basis of it. According to Dayananda, there is nothing in the Vedas that offends morality. In reality, righteous conduct consists in rejecting all that is opposed to the Vedas, and in practicing whatever has been enjoined by them[25]<\/a>. Fourth<\/em>, the Vedic Religion is the true religion because it is universal<\/em>. It is meant for all time \u2013 past, present and future \u2015 for all places, and for all people[26]<\/a>. H.Coward notes: \u201cDayananda made Hinduism a religion of the book by adopting the Protestant principle of sola scriptura<\/em> [only scripture] and applying it to the Vedas[27]<\/a>. Dayananda also maintained that Sanskrit is the language in which the Vedas are revealed. Sanskrit belongs to no country but is the source of all languages and all peoples[28]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.2 Plurality of religions is unnecessary<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda bewailed the plurality of religions because of their mutual hatred and strife. According to him, often, he who is prejudiced try to prove that his untruth is truth while the truth of his opponent is untruth[31]<\/a>. He believed that in the midst of conflicting truth-claims of religions, it is the duty of everyone to discover and to embrace what is true and reject what is false[32]<\/a>. Hence he dedicated much energy to the study of other religions both through discussion with their teachers and by studying them from the original sources.
\nIt has been argued by many that it is necessary to have a plurality of religions because people differ in their nature, temperament, character and level of spirituality. Therefore, there is need for a diversity of religions, because there can never be one religion that suits the needs of all mankind. But Dayananda was not convinced of this argument. He also rejected another popular view that all religions are good and therefore, it is not proper to criticise any one of them[33]<\/a>. According to him, they contain untruth and falsity[34]<\/a>. Hence, for Dayananda, there was no need for a plurality of religions because only one among the many religions can be true, and for him, the one true faith is the Vedic Religion[35]<\/a>. Therefore, diversity of religions is unnecessary as they are products of ignorance and false beliefs<\/em>[36]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>1.3 Religions other than the Vedic faith are false<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda claims that there was a time in the ancient past since the beginning of the world when only one religion prevailed in the world, and that was the Vedic Religion. This religion was taught everywhere in the world and all firmly believed in it. As a result, peace and happiness reigned everywhere. But this state of perfect harmony was disrupted 5000 years ago when the Great War of the Mahabharata broke out in which most of the learned men, sages and seers were killed. As a consequence, the study of the Vedas and other true sciences disappeared, the light of knowledge grew dim, and with it the dissemination of Vedic Religion also came to an end[41]<\/a>. Thus in the place of the true religion of the Vedas, many false religions<\/em> came into being.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.4 Other religions may<\/em> contain elements of truth<\/h1>\n
\nHowever, a reading of the Satyartha Prakash<\/em> as a whole gives us a different picture. Even though there may be elements of truth in other religions, that does not make them worthy of acceptance, for two reasons: first, whatever truth is found in them is derived from the Vedas. Dayananda says: \u201cWherever and whatever truth is to be found has proceeded from the Vedas\u201d[45]<\/a>. It follows then that, since there is the totality of truth in the Vedas there is no need to follow any other religion which may have only elements of truth. Therefore, whoever sincerely seeks the truth, must embrace the Vedic Religion[46]<\/a>. Secondly, the truth that is found in other religions is mixed with untruths, like the best food mixed with poison. Hence they are to be rejected<\/em>[47]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.5 Criticism of popular Hinduism<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda insisted that the study of the Vedas should be open to all, including Shudras<\/em>, and not just to the Brahmins alone[50]<\/a>. He argued that nobody becomes a Brahmin simply because he is born of Brahmin parents[51]<\/a>. If God revealed the Vedas only for them, then He is to be regarded as partial and prejudiced and this would imperil God\u2019s justice[52]<\/a>. Therefore, he advocated that God has revealed the Vedas for all and that all men and women \u2013 i.e. the whole mankind \u2013 have a right to study them[53]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>1.6 Jainism is the most dreadful religion<\/h1>\n
\nIn this way, Dayananda presented the Jains as biased, perverse, ignorant and enemies of truth and upright living. He says: \u201call Jaina saints, family men and Tirthankaras<\/em> including [\u2026 are] given to prostitution, adultery, theft and other evils [\u2026.] He who will associate with them will get same sort of evils in his heart also\u201d[60]<\/a>; \u201cTherefore we say that the Jains are drowned in the hell of condemnative [sic] and religious bigotry\u201d[61]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.7 Islam is the religion of the uncivilised and the ignorant<\/h1>\n
\nTherefore, Dayananda concluded that he who believes that the Quoran<\/em> is revealed, that Mohammad is a prophet, and that Mohammadan God to be omniscient, just and merciful would be a perfect idiot. He says: \u201cthis book [Quoran<\/em>] is neither God\u2019s revelation nor the work of any learned man, nor a book of knowledge\u201d[72]<\/a>; \u201cthe Quoran, the Quoranic God and the Moselms are full of bigotry and ignorance\u201d[73]<\/a>; \u201cthe noble qualities of justice, mercy, etc. remain at a distance from the God of Moslems\u201d[74]<\/a>. Therefore, it is not true that the believers of the Quoran<\/em> are on the right path[75]<\/a>. In addition, all through its history Islam has been intolerant of followers of other religions[76]<\/a>. Thus, Dayananda maintained that, Islam is a false religion<\/em> which does harm to mankind, and therefore, it is to be rejected<\/em> and the Vedic faith is to be accepted by all[77]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.8 Christianity is a religion of the book<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda treated Christianity as a religion of the book \u2013 the \u2018religion of the Bible\u2019[79]<\/a>. Hence his study of the Christian religion was confined exclusively to the Bible. His conviction was that, the claims of Christianity stand or fall with the Bible because the Christians believe that it is the revealed Word of God. If it is proved that the Bible is not the Word of God, then the whole foundation of Christianity as a religion collapses. Therefore, the main concern of Dayananda was to show that the Bible is not<\/em> the Word of God but a human composition and that it combines many things that need to be condemned.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.8.1 Christianity is a degraded religion<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda also attacked Christianity by identifying it with the West, by attempting to refute its claims of religious, moral and cultural superiority, and by asserting the religious and the cultural degradation of Christianity and the superiority of the Vedas.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.8.2 The God of the Bible is wicked<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda further stated that the God of the Bible is not omniscient, for had he been so, he would not have created Satan because he would have known that Satan would tempt man to commit sin[95]<\/a>. Again, had he been an all-knowing being, he would have known Abel\u2019s death without inquiring from Cain, \u2018Where is thy brother?\u2019[96]<\/a>. Further, if he had been omniscient he would have been able to find out all about the firmness of Abraham\u2019s faith without tempting him to sacrifice his son Isaac[97]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.8.3 The Bible contains statements that offend reason<\/h1>\n
\nAccording to Dayananda, the Bible displays a crude ignorance of scientific knowledge[100]<\/a>. He argued that self-contradictory statements abound in the Bible. For example, while it is said in many places in the Bible that sins will be forgiven, it also says that each one will be rewarded or punished according to one\u2019s deeds[101]<\/a>. He contested that sin can never be forgiven because it will imperil God\u2019s justice, and His justice demands that each person should receive the reward or punishment according to his or her deeds. Again, the belief that a person will be punished or rewarded eternally cannot be logically sustained because the finite action of finite souls cannot produce infinite results[102]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.8.4 The Bible contains immoral and cruel stories<\/h1>\n
\nDayananda alleged that Christianity taught not only sacrifice in the Old Testament but also cannibalism in the New Testament. For example, the Christians eat and drink the body and blood of Christ imagining all the time that their bread and their drink are the flesh and the blood of Christ, respectively, and they call it the \u2018Lord\u2019s supper\u2019[108]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.8.5 The Bible can never be the Word of God<\/h1>\n
\nIt is evident that Dayananda misinterprets Christianity and the Christian teachings. He does not really enter into the spirit of the Bible. He makes a literal reading of it and is prejudiced by his a priori<\/em> assumptions. He also resorts to the study of Christianity exclusively from the Bible since he judges Bible alone to be the source of the Christian faith[112]<\/a>, and is convinced that Christianity stands or falls with the Bible[113]<\/a>. Thus Dayananda carefully chose biblical passages in order to present a demonic Christianity.<\/p>\n<\/a>1.8.6 Jesus Christ was a savage and a hoax<\/h1>\n
<\/a>1.8.7 Christianity is a religion of fools and barbarians<\/h1>\n
\nThe Christians are educated to a great extent. But political considerations and obstinacy do not allow them to forsake their hollow religion<\/em> and be open to the Vedic faith[127]<\/a>. Dayananda states: \u201cthe Bible is not God-revealed, nor its God good, nor its followers religious\u201d[128]<\/a>. Therefore he exhorts the Christians: \u201cHear O Christians, it is high time that you should leave this wild religion<\/em> and accept the Vedic faith\u201d[129]<\/a>.
\nBenjamin Walker remarks that, in spite of Dayananda\u2019s vigorous denunciation of Christianity, he borrowed many ideas from it. The foundation of such organisations as the Arya Tract Society, Women\u2019s Arya Samaj, Young Men\u2019s Arya Samaj, the Vedic Salvation Army, and his schools, colleges, orphanages , widows\u2019 homes and relief centres were due to direct Christian inspiration. Besides, the Arya Samaja rites include Sunday worship, the reading, preaching and teaching of the Vedas[130]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>2. Dayananda\u2019s militant attitude towards other religions<\/h1>\n
\nLala Lajpat Rai acknowledged the militant nature of the Arya Samaj which Dayananda founded. He says: \u201cThe Arya Samaj is militant, not only externally \u2015 i.e., in its attitude towards other religions \u2015 but it is equally militant internally\u201d[134]<\/a>. M.G.Chitkara, says: \u201cDayananda carried war into the opponents camp and was the first, after centuries of abject passivity, to take offensive against the Christian Missionaries and others\u201d[135]<\/a>. The aggressive attitude of Dayananda gave a new self-confidence to the Hindus and acted as a bulwark against the proselytising activities of the Christian missionaries and the Muslims[136]<\/a>.
\nDayananda\u2019s militant response to non-Vedic religions had already produced a most dangerous effect in India. It had increased the hostility between the Hindus (Arya Samajists) and other religious communities ever since its foundation. Dayananda\u2019s method of attacking other religions through polemic literature, public lectures, educational institutions, proselytisation through re-conversion (shuddhi<\/em>) became strong weapons in the hands of Arya Samajists. This was one of the important factors which led to the outbreak especially of Hindu-Muslim communal riots that continued to recur in many parts of India[137]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>2.1 Polemical style of writing<\/h1>\n
\nCommenting on the writings of Dayananda, H.Coward notes that his reading of the texts of other religions was always more polemic than scholarly in style. Passages would be selected for criticism where points of logical inconstancy or moral weakness could be shown. Much of this was motivated towards the winning of public debates or private theological discussions, rather than the ideal of dispassionate search for truth[140]<\/a>. P.S. Daniel corroborates Coward\u2019s view when he affirms that Dayananda\u2019s sole aim seems to have been to vanquish the opponents in arguments, and the means he adopted to achieve this end, whether fair or foul, were of a matter of no concern to him[141]<\/a>.
\nIn spite of this, Dayananda had the audacity to state that the aim of his writings on religions was not to hurt the susceptibilities of others or to condemn falsely anyone, but to further the cause of truth and eradicate error and thus contribute to the elevation of human race and to enable all human beings to sift truth from falsehood. He also claimed that he accepted whatever is true and good in every religion[142]<\/a>. However, his attitude towards other religions betrayed the denial of these noble sentiments. In fact, as J.T.F. Jordens has rightly remarked, Dayananda\u2019s views are strongly condemnatory, predominantly negative and positively intolerant and aggressive. He says that there is quite a lot of sarcastic bitterness in his criticism of other religions[143]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>2.2 All non-Vedic religions should disappear<\/h1>\n
\nTherefore, Dayananda considered it his mission to replace all the religions, including certain forms of Hinduism, with the pure Vedic Religion. In fact, he looked forward to a future in which all the existing religions will vanish from the world and the Vedic Religion alone will reign supreme.<\/p>\n<\/a>2.3 Misrepresentation of other religious<\/h1>\n
\nIt is an accepted fact that religious ideas are expressed in symbols and myths. Hence, in interpreting religious texts or ideas, one needs to go beyond the words, symbols and myths and seek their deeper meaning, through proper hermeneutics. But Dayananda took the mythical and symbolic expressions found in the scriptures of other religions in their literal sense, making no effort to grasp their hidden meanings. Jordens says: \u201cDayananda was hampered in his theological thinking by his complete inability to grasp the value and meaning of myth and symbols in the elucidation of the sacred. To him only pure rationality was acceptable in the realm of theology\u201d[152]<\/a>.
\nP.S.Daniel says that, more often in Dayananda\u2019s criticism of other religions and the interpretation of their scriptures, it was not rationality that guided him, but malice and spite[153]<\/a>. Coward observes that although Dayananda possessed a laudable desire to study other religions, and though he commendably went to great lengths to work on primary texts, his a priori<\/em> assumptions frequently prevented him from understanding them[154]<\/a>. F.K. Khan Durrani says that Dayananda’s arguments degenerated into wholesale abuse[155]<\/a>. He further notes that for Dayananda a thing is right if it is found in the Vedas. But if it is discovered in the Quoran<\/em> or in the religious scriptures of some other religions, it is objectionable and false. Hence what Dayananda really seeks is victory and not truth[156]<\/a>. J.N. Farquhar characterises much of Dayananda\u2019s writings on other religions as \u2018stinging taunts\u2019[157]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>3 \u2018Satyartha Prakash<\/em> the most disappointing book\u2019<\/h1>\n
\nIt is also to be recalled that the Sindh government banned chapter XIV of Satyartha Prakash<\/em> which deals with Islam because it promotes feelings of enmity and hatred between people. The government order particularly specified that the author of Satyartha Prakash<\/em> ridiculed some of the religious beliefs of Muslims, misrepresented and reviled the teachings of the Quoran<\/em>, attacked and belittled the authority of the Prophet Mohammad and that the book contained matters calculated to hurt the susceptibilities of Muslims[160]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>4. Practice of shuddhi<\/em> (re-conversion) as a weapon against Christianity and Islam<\/h1>\n