Addressing the 148th Foundation Day celebration of the Arya Samaj Honourable Union Minister of Home and Cooperation today commemorated the contributions of its founder Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati. He said that the great saint awakened India’s soul by establishing Arya Samaj.
“It was a time when hardly anyone dared to speak about Swaraj, Swabhasha and Swadharm for India’s independence. But Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati not only spoke about them he travelled across India campaigning for the movement and thereby inspiring many,” he said.
“Today we are celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. But it was Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati who first proclaimed freedom from British rule,” he said.
Adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a new India borrows extensively from the life and works of the Maharishi he said, “The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to celebrate the 200th birth anniversary of the great saint. The Prime Minister himself attended the celebration on 12th February and expressed his reverence to the saint,” he said.
He also said that Maharishi was the first person after the legendary Ved Vyas to revive the Vedas.
“He ushered a cultural and intellectual renaissance into India and inspired many revolutionaries during the British Raj. Most importantly he led numerous social reform measures,” he added.
Lauding the Arya Samaj for its efforts to promote natural farming he said that the movement will not only help India save soil but will also protect the natural ecosystem by saving Gau Mata and the earth as a whole.
“Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing his support like a rock to this movement and initiating policy measures free the soil from the effects of using chemical fertilisers,” he said.
Adding that India’s history of freedom struggle can never be complete without the extensive narration about Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s contribution he further related, “I am proud that I was born in the land from which Maharishi Ji hailed. Maharishi Ji shook up the nation that was in the clutches of superstitious beliefs and freed the nation from many practices that were against the greater interest of society. He manifested the truth with his book Satyarth Prakash.”
He also expressed satisfaction over Arya Samaj’s efforts to spread the knowledge of the Vedas in the Northeast.
“On account of the revolutionary measures initiated by the Arya Samaj in the field of education, today the children from the tribes of the Northeast are learning Sanskrit and involving themselves in Vedic yagnas. It has become possible only because of the efforts made by Arya Samaj,” he said.
He further added that the Arya Samaj is dedicated to illuminating the lives of the tribes with India’s civilizational knowledge and no organization other than the Arya Samaj can achieve this feat.
He said that by founding the Arya Samaj, Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati not only paved the path for India’s welfare but also for the entire humankind.
He also said that it is a matter of immense pride that only two years later the Arya Samaj will complete 150 years.
