An English Translation of the Satyarth Prakash. Expose of Right Sense (of Vedic religion) of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Being a Guide to Vedic Hermeneutics. Translated by Durga Prasad.

DAYANANDA SARASWATI, Swami

Edité par Virjanand Press, Lahore, 1908

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First complete edition in English (there was an earlier 1906 edition edited by Chiranjiva Bharadwaja but within Satyath Prakash studies that edition is viewed as abridged). Octavo. xvi, 564 pages plus the frontispiece portrait (although bound further into the text). Contemporary (publisher's?) plain brown cloth. A very good copy of this seminal book. A signature on the front endpaper of a resident of Lahore and a very small typographic label on the upper rear pastedown. A very clean and study copy of this scarce title.Swami Saraswati is referred to in the title as the "Luther of India and that is, by and large, a correct interpretation. His movement or religion, Arya Samaj, was a very important political and social driver in India in the later part of the British Raj. This is his only book and it lays down the principles of his beliefs. He was very Western-leaning and had a decidedly bad opinion of Islam (which resulted in his assassination in 1883). He voiced an immediate return to the original Vedic religion of India but a Vedic religion interpreted by him. For example the Vedas did not posit monotheism but monotheism is a primary part of Arya Samaj. He refers to the creator god as "Aum." He believed that in the centuries since they were written that the Vedas had become degraded by false swamis and gurus. His was, and continues to be a powerful political and social movement amongs the rural population of central and northern India. According to the EB:"The Arya Samaj opposes worship of murtis (images), animal sacrifice, shraddha (rituals on behalf of ancestors), basing caste upon birth rather than upon merit, untouchability, child marriage, pilgrimages, priestly craft, and temple offerings. It upholds the infallibility of the Vedas, the doctrines of karma (the accumulated effect of past deeds) and samsara (the process of death and rebirth), the sanctity of the cow, the importance of the samskaras (individual sacraments), the efficacy of Vedic oblations to the fire, and programs of social reform. It has worked to further female education and intercaste marriage; has built missions, orphanages, and homes for widows; has established a network of schools and colleges; and has undertaken famine relief and medical work. From its beginning it was an important factor in the growth of Indian nationalism. It has been criticized, however, as overly dogmatic and militant and as having exhibited an aggressive intolerance toward both Christianity and Islam.? Basically religious nationalism but with an emphasis on social work.In recent decades the Arya Sajat has become increasingly under the influence of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS is a Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization founded in 1925. Their message is that India must become a homogeneously Hindu country and have little tolerance for Christians or Muslims. Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of Inida, was an RSS member who previously served as Gujarat's chief minister for three terms.

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: An English Translation of the Satyarth Prakash. Expose of Right Sense (of Vedic religion) of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Being a Guide to Vedic Hermeneutics. Translated by Durga Prasad.
• Éditeur: Virjanand Press, Lahore
• Date de parution: 1908