Back to the Vedas

After more than five decades of dormancy, the Arya Samaj in Nana Peth, one of Pune’s five branches, has plunged into social reform and awareness, led by an elected team committed to revive Vedic learning and traditional values in society.

In January this year, they held their second four-day Arya Mahasammelan at Oswal Bandhu Samaj. A kilometre-long shobha yatra marked the beginning of the sammelan, with school children performing lezim and members singing bhajans and chanting Vedic mantras.

Back to the Vedas’ was Dayanand’s motto and this year a team of brahmacharis from Arsh Gurukul in Etha, Uttar Pradesh, performed Agnihotra (chanting the Vedas) every morning of the sammelan.

To preserve our culture is an initiative of the Samaj, and the one way they tried to realise it was by conducting a collective thread ceremony or Samuhik Yajyapavi Sanskar for children above seven years.

Enterprise or fortune, what’s more important?’ This was the topic for a debate contest for youth in which 12 schools participated. “We want more children to inculcate Vedic values and habits, for our aim is to mould them into first-rate humans. We tried to achieve that by holding contests like sketching, street plays and debates on burning social issues, recitation of Arya mantras and sandhyamantras,” says S C Nagpal, secretary of the Nana Peth Arya Samaj.

All Arya Samajists are trained to set an example for their children, by teaching them the importance of morning prayers, to study the Vedas, to accept truth and abandon untruth, to treat all with respect, to dispel social ignorance and increase knowledge. “They are also encouraged to admit them to Dayanand Arya Vedic (DAV) colleges or gurukuls,” says Nagpal.

Though they believe in the revival of Vedic literature, cleansing society of contemporary evils like drug abuse, alcoholism, smoking, blind faith, Sati pratha and corruption in public life are their goals.

“We want to spread awareness for a cleaner environment,” Nagpal says. “At our Shobha Yatra itself, the Samajists cleared the roads of fruit juice cartons and other litter”.

Several Arya Samaj families have adopted school drop-outs and destitute children and they bear their educational expenses.

Loneliness’ was the topic of a panel discussion organised with the psychology department of the University of Pune. Dr Ulhas Luktuke, psychologist, described cases of loneliness he had treated. India’s first Lady Major General, Dr Nirmal Ahuja, who had lost her husband within five years of their marriage, spoke about how she had risen above loneliness to focus her energies on bringing up her children single-handedly.

Swami Satyam, who took sanyas five years after the death of his wife, also spoke on dealing positively with loneliness. The seminar concluded with a discussion on the Future of Arya Samaj’.

Today the Samaj has a six-point programme, but it still abides by the constitution Dayanand Saraswati created. They believe in the fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of man’. So all internal administrative disputes are resolved by a samiti of retired judges from all castes and religions.

AIDS awareness, vegetarianism, women and child development, educating children and youth to equip them morally to deal with anti-cultural onslaughts through vulgarity and obscenity in literature and films, are goals the Samaj believes in.

Nagpal admits that the Samaj will play the role of an activist to wipe out evil Western influences in society.