Founder of Arya Samaj Swami Dayanand Saraswati was born in 1824 in the Tankara district in Morvi region of Gujarat, in a conservative Brahmin family. His childhood name was Moolshankar. He left home at the age of 12 after watching a mouse eating “Prasad’ offered to Lord Shiva and thereby losing faith in idol worship. He acquired knowledge of Vedas from Guru Virjanand at Mathura in 1860. The Guru said to him ‘Live and teach Vedas’.
He was the first man who accepted Hindi as national language and made Swaraj his base of working. From 1864, he started preaching all around. His objective was to remove socio-religious evils from Hindu religion and society. He had great devotion in ancient vedas, culture and dharma. He created famous scripture Satyarth Prakash in “his Udaipur abode. He established Aiya Samaj on 10th April, 1875. He died on 30 October, 1883.
Principles of Arya Samaj:
1. Stress on truth of Vedas
2. Doing Yajanas and Chanting mantras according to Vedic method
3. Stress on accepting truth
4. Opposing old faiths, idolatry and incarnationism.
5. Encouragement to women education and widow-remarriage.
6. God is supreme, formless and eternal.
7. Stress on good behaviour according to religion and love.
8. Giving importance to Hindi and Sanskrit and spread these languages.
9. Emphasising on progress of individual in progress of all and welfare.
10.Criticizing social evils that prevailed in the society. He collected favour of common people to eliminate them.
11.Opposing untouchability, child marriage, female foeticide, purdah system, idolism, orthodoxy and rituals.
12.Believing in Shuddhi movement.
