Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a
monotheistic
Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...
Indian
Hindu reform movement
Contemporary groups, collectively termed Hindu reform movements, reform Hinduism, Neo-Hinduism, or Hindu revivalism, strive to introduce regeneration and reform to Hinduism, both in a religious or spiritual and in a societal sense. The movement ...
that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sannyasi (ascetic) Dayanand Saraswati on 7 April 1875.
Arya Samaj was the first Hindu organization to introduce proselytization in Hinduism. The organization has also worked towards the growth of civil rights movement in India since 1800s.
Dayananda Saraswati and Foundation
The Arya Samaj was established in Bombay on 10 April 1875 by
Dayananda Saraswati
Dayanand Saraswati () (born Mool Shankar Tiwari; 2 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) also known as Maharshi Dayanand is an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. His Magnum Opus is the bo ...
(born ''Mool Shankar Tiwari)''.E News Aryasamaj website 2 March 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2017
An alternative date for the foundation of the samaj is 24 June 1877 because it was then, in Lahore when the Samaj became more than just a regional movement based in Punjab.
Vedic schools
Between 1869 and 1873, Dayanand began his efforts to reform orthodox Hinduism in India. He established '' Gurukul'' ( Vedic schools) which emphasised Vedic values, culture, and ''
Satya
''Satya'' (Sanskrit: सत्य; IAST: ''satya)'' is a Sanskrit word loosely translated as truth, essence. A. A. Macdonell, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Asian Educational Services, , pp. 330–331 It also refers to a virtue in Indian relig ...
'' (Truth). The schools gave separate educations to boys and girls based on ancient Vedic principles. The Vedic school system was also to relieve Indians from the pattern of a British education.
The first Vedic school was established at Farrukhabad in 1869. Fifty students were enrolled in its first year. This success led to the founding of schools at
Mirzapur
Mirzapur () is a city in Uttar Pradesh, India, 827 km from Delhi and 733 km from Kolkata, almost 91 km from Prayagraj (formally known as Allahabad) and 61 km from Varanasi. It is known for its carpets and brassware industries, and the folk ...
(1870), Kasganj (1870), Chhalesar ( Aligarh) (1870) and Varanasi (1873).
At the schools, students received all meals, lodging, clothing and books free of charge. The discipline was strict. Students were not allowed to perform '' murtipuja'' (worship of sculpted stone idols). Rather, they performed '' Sandhyavandanam'' (meditative prayer using Vedic mantras with divine sound) and '' Agnihotra'' (making heated milk offering twice daily).
The study of Sanskrit scriptural texts which accepted the authority of the Vedas were taught. They included the '' Vedas'', '' Upanishads'', '' Aranyaka'', ''Kashika'', '' Nirukta'', ''
Mahabhasya
''Mahabhashya'' ( sa, महाभाष्य, IAST: '','' , "great commentary"), attributed to Patañjali, is a commentary on selected rules of Sanskrit grammar from Pāṇini's treatise, the ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'', as well as Kātyāyana's ''V� ...
After visiting Calcutta, Dayanand's work changed. He began lecturing in Hindi rather than in Sanskrit. Although Sanskrit garnered respect, in Hindi, Dayanand reached a much larger audience. His ideas of reform began to reach the poorest people.
In Varanasi, after hearing Dayanand speak, a local government official called Jaikishen Das encouraged Dayanand to publish a book about his ideas. From June to September 1874, Dayanand dictated a series of lectures to his scribe, Bhimsen Sharma. The lectures recorded Dayanand's views on a wide range of subjects. They were published in 1875 in Varanasi with the title '' Satyarth Prakash'' ("The Light of Truth").
New Samaj
While his manuscript for ''Satyarth Prakash'' was being edited in Varanasi, Dayanand received an invitation to travel to Bombay. There, he was to debate representatives of the Vallabhacharya sect. On 20 October 1874, Dayanand arrived in Bombay. The debate, though well publicized, never took place. Nonetheless, two members of the Prarthana Samaj approached Dayanand and invited him to speak at one of their gatherings. He did so and was well received. They recognized Dayanand's desire to uplift the Hindu community and protect Hindus from the pressures to convert to Christianity or
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. Dayanand spent over one month in Bombay and attracted sixty people to his cause. They proposed founding a new Samaj with Dayanand's ideas as its spiritual and intellectual basis.
Rajkot Arya Samaj
On 31 December 1874, Dayanand arrived in
Rajkot
Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...
, Gujarat, on the invitation of Hargovind Das Dvarkadas, the secretary of the local Prarthana Samaj. He invited topics of discourse from the audience and spoke on eight. Again, Dayanand was well received and the Rajkot group elected to join his cause. The Samaj was renamed ''Arya Samaj'' (Society of Nobles). Dayanand published a list of twenty-eight rules and regulations for the followers. After leaving Rajkot, Dayanand went to
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
but his audience at a meeting on 27 January 1875, did not elect to form a new Arya Samaj. Meanwhile, the Rajkot group had become a political row.
Bombay Arya Samaj
On his return to Bombay, Dayanand began a membership drive for a local Arya Samaj and received one hundred enrollees. On 7 April 1875, Bombay Arya Samaj was established. Dayanand himself enrolled as a member rather than the leader of the Bombay group. The Samaj began to grow.
Growth of Arya Samaj after Dayanand
Dayanand was assassinated in 1883. Despite this set back, the Arya Samaj continued to grow, especially in Punjab. The early leaders of the Samaj were Pandit Lekh Ram (1858 1897) and Swami Shraddhanand (Mahatma Munshi Ram Vij) (1856 1926). Some authors claim that the activities of the Samaj led to increased antagonism between Muslims and Hindus. Shraddhanand led the
Shuddhi movement
Shuddhi is Sanskrit for purification. It is a term used to describe a Hindu religious movement aimed at the religious conversion of non-Hindus of Indian origin back to Hinduism.
Shuddhi movement
The socio-political movement, derived from ancien ...
that aimed to bring Hindus who had converted to other religions back to Hinduism.
In 1893, the Arya Samaj members of Punjab were divided on the question of
vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism may ...
. The group that refrained from eating meat were called the ''"Mahatma"'' group and the other group, the "Cultured Party".
In the early 1900s, the Samaj (or organizations inspired by it such as ''Jat Pat Todak Mandal'') campaigned against caste discrimination. They also campaigned for widow remarriage and women's education. The samaj also established chapters in British colonies having Indian population such as South Africa,
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
,
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
and Trinidad and Tobago.
Prominent Indian Nationalists such as Lala Lajpat Rai belonged to Arya Samaj and were active in its campaigning. Bhagat Singh's grandfather followed Arya Samaj, which had a considerable influence on Bhagat Singh.Twitter hails Bhagat Singh on his 112th birth anniversary Mid-Day, 27 September 2019. The British colonial government in the early part of 20th century viewed the Samaj as a political body. Some Samajis in government service were dismissed for belonging to the Samaj.
In the 1930s, when the Hindu Nationalist group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh grew in prominence in Northern India, they found support from the Arya Samaj of Punjab.
Arya Samaj in Punjab
In Punjab, the Arya Samaj was opposed by the Ahmadiyya movement which provided the Samaj one of its most aggressive opponents from among the various Muslim groups and whose founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was extensively involved in theological disputations with Samaj leaders, most notably with Pandit Lekh Ram. It was also opposed by the
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are man ...
.
Arya Samaj in Sindh
The Samaj was active in Sindh at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The activities of the Samaj in the region included using shuddhi in integrating half-Muslim or low-caste communities into the organization. Narayan Dev, a Samaj member active in making many conversions is extolled as a Sindhi martyr. He is sometimes referred to as 'Dayanand ka vir sipahi' (Dayanand's 's heroic soldier). Dev was killed in a street fight in 1948. The history of Sindhi nationalism is also tied with the activities of the Arya Samaj. In the 19th century, the Hindu community of Sindh had been challenged by Christian missionaries and the Samaj served as a deterrent to the "conversion" done by Christian missionaries in the region. A Hindu Sindhi leader,
K. R. Malkani
Kewalram Ratanmal Malkani (19 November 1921 – 27 October 2003) was a journalist, historian and politician associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Party from 1991 to 1994. He was Member of ...
, later on became prominent in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the BJP. According to Malkani, the Arya Samaj created a "new pride" among the Hindu Sindhis by opening gymnasia and Sanskrit pathshalas in the 1930s.
Arya Samaj in Gujarat
The Arya Samaj of Gujarat members were missionaries from Punjab who had been encouraged to move to Gujarat to carry out educational work amongst the untouchable castes by the maharaja, Sayajirao Gaekwad III. The Gujarat Samaj opened orphanages. The samaj starting losing support when Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915 because many activist joined his movement.
archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, called Arya Samajis Un-Hindu. He also criticized the Samaj efforts at converting Christians and Muslims.
Hyderabad state
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
, the largest princely state during British colonial rule. Keshav Rao Koratkar was the president of the organization until 1932. During his tenure, the Samaj, established schools and libraries throughout the state. Although a social and religious organization, the Samaj activities assumed a great political role in resisting the government of the Nizam during 1930s. In 1938–1939, Arya Samaj teamed up with the
Hindu Mahasabha
The Hindu Mahasabha (officially Akhil Bhārat Hindū Mahāsabhā, ) is a Hindu nationalist political party in India.
Founded in 1915, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of orthodox Hindus before the B ...
Satyagraha
Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...
. The Nizam government responded by raiding and desecrating Arya Samaj mandirs. The Samaj, in turn, criticized Islam and the Islamic rulers of the state. This widely increased the gulf between the Hindu and Muslim population of the state.
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
. This was a serious point of difference between the Sikhs, represented by the Shiromani Akali Dal group and the Arya Samaj. The difference was marked during the period immediately following the
independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
Arya Samaj is a charitable organisation. For example, donations were made to victims of the
1905 Kangra earthquake
The 1905 Kangra earthquake occurred in the Kangra Valley and the Kangra region of the Punjab Province (modern day Himachal Pradesh) in India on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale and killed more th ...
. The samaj campaigned for
women's right to vote
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
, and for the protection of widows.
Contemporary Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj in India
Arya Samaj schools and temples are found in almost all major cities and as well as in rural areas (especially in the North region) of India. Some are authorised to conduct weddings. The Samaj is associated with the Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) schools which number over eight hundred. There are eight million followers of the Samaj in India.
The former Indian prime minister
Charan Singh
Chaudhary Charan Singh (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) served as the 5th Prime Minister of India between 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980. Historians and people alike frequently refer to him as the 'champion of India's peasants.'
Charan S ...
, as a young man, was a member of Arya Samaj in Ghaziabad.
A branch of Arya Samaj was established in 2015 in Angul district in the state of Odisha.
Arya Samaj around the world
Arya Samaj is active in countries including
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,Arya Samaj Queensland website. Retrieved 3 February 2017.South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius and other countries where a significant
Hindu diaspora
Hinduism has approximately 1.2 billion adherents worldwide (15-16% of the world's population). Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world behind Christianity (31.5%) and Islam (23.3%).Canada and the United States from South Asia, Eastern Africa, South Africa, and the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
countries have set up Arya Samaj temples for their respective communities.Coward H ''Hindus in Canada, the Third National Metropolis Conference'' Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis 1999. Most major metropolitan areas of the United States have chapters of Arya Samaj.
Core beliefs
Members of the Arya Samaj believe in one creator God referred to with the syllable '
Aum
''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit-std=IAST) is a sacred sound, syllable, mantra, or an invocation in Hinduism. ''Om'' is the prime symbol of Hinduism.Krishna Sivaraman (2008), ''Hindu Spirituality Vedas Through Ved ...
' as mentioned in the Yajur Veda (40:17). They believe the Vedas are an infallible authority, and they respect the Upanishads and Vedic philosophy. The Arya Samaj members reject other Hindu religious texts because they are not "pure" works, and because these texts promote things do not support their ideology and are therefore against the Vedas. For instance, they believe epics like the '' Ramayana'' and the '' Mahabharata'' are legends of historical figures, and reject them as reference to supreme beings and avatars. The members of Arya Samaj also reject other scriptural works such as the
Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
, the Bible, and the Quran. Worship of idols (''murti puja'') is strictly prohibited.
The core beliefs of Arya Samaj are postulated below:
# The primeval cause of all genuine knowledge and all that is known by means of knowledge is God.
# God is truth-consciousness: formless, omnipotent, unborn, infinite, unchangeable, incomparable, omnipresent, internal, undecaying, immortal, eternal, holy, and creator of the universe. God alone deserves worship.
# The Vedas are repositories of all of true knowledge. It is the paramount duty of all Aryas to study and teach and to propound the Veda.
# One should be ever ready to imbibe truth and forsake untruth.
# All acts should be done in accordance with
Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
, i.e. after deliberating upon what is truth and untruth.
# The prime object of Arya Samaj is to do good to the whole world, i.e. to achieve physical, spiritual and social prosperity for all.
# Our conduct towards all should be guided by love, by injunctions of Dharma and according to their respective positions.
# One should dispel ignorance and promote knowledge.
# One should not be content with one's own prosperity only, but should consider the prosperity of all as his own prosperity.
# All human beings should abide by the rules concerning social or everyone's benefit, while everyone should be free to follow any rule beneficial for him/her.
Practices
The Arya Samaj members consider the Gayatri Mantra, as the most holy mantra and chant it periodically, do the meditation known as "Sandhya" and make offering to the holy fire ('' havan''). The havan can be performed with a priest for special occasions or without a priest for personal worship. The havan is performed as per the , usually a simplified guide to do havan, having mantras for general or special occasions. The priest is generally a Vedic scholar from the local Arya Samaj Mandir or Gurukul. Sometimes elder members of family or neighbours can also perform the havan acting as a purohit. The host is known as the " Yajmana". The priest can be called an " Acharya", " Swami Ji" or " Pandit Ji" depending upon his scholarly status and local reputation. It is customary to give a nominal " dakshina" to the priest after havan, although in Arya Samaj it is more symbolic and the priest does not state any sum. The sum is decided by the host's capability and status but is still a small amount.
Members celebrate '' Holi'' (the start of spring) and ''
Diwali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
'' (a harvest festival and the victory of good over evil).
Arya Samaj advocates a lacto-vegetarian diet and in particular, the eating of beef is prohibited.
After a death, Arya Samajis will often conduct a havan and collect the ashes on the fourth day.
Diwali
Diwali is a very important day in Arya Samaj as Swami Dayanand died this day. A special havan is done for the same.
The Arya Samaj version of the Hindu festival
Diwali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
is typified by the celebration in
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
. The festival celebrates the victory of good over evil. A vegetarian fast is kept. The Gayatri Mantra is recited while oil lamps are lit, in front of a fire altar lit with sandalwood. One
Diya
Diya may refer to:
* ''Diya (film)'', 2018 Tamil- and Telugu-language film
* Diya (Islam), Islamic term for monetary compensation for bodily harm or property damage
* Diya (lamp), ghee- or oil-based candle often used in South Asian religious ceremo ...
lamp, which is of larger size has two wicks crossed to produce four lights, one in each direction and is lit first. The smaller lamp has one wick. A lamp is kept in every room except the bathroom and restroom. More lamps can be lit, which can be placed arbitrarily in the yard, living room and so on.Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-Century Punjab Paperback – 1 January 2006
Holi
Holi is celebrated as the conclusion of winter and the start of spring to sow the land and hope for a good harvest. This day is marked by colors and songs ('' Chautal''). It does not require specific prayer or fasting, however, some people keep a vegetarian fast on this day. The festivities do not associate Holi with a particular deity such as Vishnu or Shiva. The early Arya Samajist in 19th century Lahore adapted the festival to include prayers and havan but avoid the intoxication, and obscenities associated with traditional celebrations.Jones K. W ''Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-century Punjab'' University of California Press, 1976. p. 95.
Arya Samaj across the world
*
Arya Samaj in Burma
Arya Samaj was first established in the cities of Mandalay and Rangoon in Burma in 1898. By the time the ''Arya Pratinidhi Sabha'' of Rangoon was formed in 1930, there were twenty-two Arya Samajs in Burma. The separation of Burma from India in ...
Arya Samaj in Kenya
The Arya Samaj was founded in Nairobi on 5 July 1903, at a meeting at the home of Jai Gopal attended by forty-five people. The small group of Arya Samajis immediately began plans for a centre for its members and on 11 September 1903, the founda ...
*
Arya Samaj in Mauritius
Arya Samaj (Sanskrit ' "Arya Society") is a Hindu reform movement in Mauritius. Established in 1911, the Arya Paropkarini Sabha was officially registered in 1913. Since its creation Arya Samaj has had a great influence on the religious, social, ...
Arya Samaj in Singapore
Arya Samaj (Hindi: आर्य समाज सिंगापुर) has existed in Singapore since 1927 and runs Hindi classes at its premises through the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic Schools System.
History
In 1927, Arya Samaj was established in ...
Arya Samaj in Suriname
Suriname has possibly the highest proportion of Hindus who are Arya Samajis, compared to any other country. In Suriname, the Hindu population had split, with roughly 20% following the teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Ārya Sa ...
Arya Samaj in Uganda
Arya Samaj was established in Uganda in 1908 by Pandit Purnanand. In 1929 a large building was constructed by the Samaj. The Uganda Arya Samaj was one of the most active in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the ...
* Chamupati M. A. (2001) ''Ten Commandments of Arya Samaj'' New Delhi: D.A.V. Publications.
* Jordens J. T. F. (1978) ''Dayanada Saraswati'' Oxford University Press, Delhi
*Madhu Kishwar, "The Daughters of Aryavarta: Women in the Arya Samaj movement, Punjab." Chapter in Women in Colonial India; Essays on Survival, Work and the State, edited by J. Krishnamurthy, Oxford University Press, 1989.
* Rai L. (1915) ''The Arya Samaj: an Account of its Aims, Doctrine and Activities, with a Biographical Sketch of the Founder'' D.A.V. College Managing Committee, New Delhi .
* Rai L. (1993) ''A History of the Arya Samaj'' New Delhi .
* Ruthven M. (2007) ''Fundamentalism: a Very Short Introduction'' Oxford University Press .
* Sharma J. M. (1998) ''Swami Dayanand: a Biography'' USB, India .
* Sethi R. "Rashtra Pitamah Swami Dayanand Saraswati" M R Sethi Educational Trust, Chandigarh.
* Upadhyaya G. P. (1954) ''The Origin, Scope and Mission of the Arya Samaj'' Arya Samaj.
* Shastri V. (1967) ''The Arya Samaj'' Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha.
* Pandey D. (1972) ''The Arya Samaj and Indian Nationalism, 1875–1920'' S. Chand.
* Pandit S. (1975) ''A Critical Study of the Contribution of the Arya Samaj to Indian Education'' Sarvadeshik Arya, Pratinidhi Sabha.
* Vedalanker N. and Somera M. (1975) ''Arya Samaj and Indians Abroad'' Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha.
* Vable D. (1983) ''The Arya Samaj: Hindu Without Hinduism'' Vikas.
* Sharma S. K. (1985) ''Social Movements and Social Change: a Study of Arya Samaj and Untouchables in Punjab'' B.R. Publishing.
* Yadav K. C. and Arya K. S. (1988) ''Arya Samaj and the Freedom Movement: 1875–1918'' Manohar Publications. .
* Saxena G. S. (1990) ''Arya Samaj Movement in India, 1875–1947'' Commonwealth Publishers. .
* Sethi R. (2009) ''Rashtra Pitamah, Swami Dayanand Saraswati'' M R Sethi Educational Trust, Chandigarh
* Chopra R. M. (2009) '' Hinduism Today''
* Jamnager A. S. and Pandya D ''Aryasamaj Ke Stambh'' A. S. Jamnager's website.
* Jones K. ''Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-Century Punjab''
* Dayananda, S., & Bharadwaja, C. (1932). Light of truth, or, An English translation of the Satyartha prakasha: The well-known work of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Madras: Arya Samaj.
*
Swami Shraddhananda
Swami Shraddhanand (22 February 1856 – 23 December 1926), also known as Mahatma Munshi Ram Vij, was an Arya Samaj sannyasi and an Indian Independence activist who propagated the teachings of Dayananda Saraswati. This included the establishment ...
, . (1926). Hindu sangathan: Saviour of the dying race. Delhi: Shraddhananda.
* Swami Śraddhānanda, . (1984). Inside the Congress: A collection of 26 articles. New Delhi: Dayanand Sansthan.