The birth anniversary of the founder of Arya Samaj and social reformer Swami Dayananda Saraswati was celebrated on February 12 with prabhat pheries, havans in Arya Samaj mandirs and discourses on his teachings in north India.
Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824 –1883) had led a Hindu social reform movement of the Vedic tradition. He had worked against idolatry and ritualistic worship which had got rooted into Hinduism and upheld true Vedic ideologies. He wrote the book Satyarth Prakash as a guideline for a righteous living as a human being.
Right from his childhood he lived the life of an ascetic and studied Vedas thoroughly and became a Vedic scholar. He was the staunch supporter of the doctrine of karma and reincarnation and had lived a life celibacy subscribed for self-realisation as the ultimate of human life. He had believed in the equal rights for women, such as the right to education and reading of Indian scriptures.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Swami Dayananda Saraswati on his birth anniversary and stated,”Tributes to Swami Dayananda Saraswati on his Jayanti. His noble efforts towards social reform & education continue to have a lasting impact.”