Dayanand Saraswati

Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati (February 12, 1824 – October 30, 1883 in Ajmer) was an important Hindu religious scholar, reformer and the founder, in 1875, of theArya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. He was the first to give the call for Swarajya–"India for Indians"–in 1876, later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak. Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship which was prevalent in Hinduism at the time, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies. Subsequently the philosopher and President of India, S. Radhakrishnan, called him one of "makers of Modern India" as did Sri Aurobindo.

One of his notable disciples was Shyamji Krishna Varma who founded India House in London and guided other revolutionaries. Others who were influenced by and followed him included Madam Cama, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar,Lala Hardyal, Madan Lal Dhingra, Bhagat Singh, Swami Shraddhanand, and Lala Lajpat Rai. One of his most influential works is the book Satyarth Prakash, which contributed to the Indian independence movement. He was a sanyasi (ascetic) from boyhood, and a scholar, who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas.

Dayananda advocated the doctrine of karma, and skepticism in dogma, and emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya(celibacy and devotion to God). The Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj were united from 1878 to 1882, becoming the Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj.

Among Maharishi Dayananda's contributions are his promoting of the equal rights of women–such as the right to education and reading of Indian scriptures–and his translation of the Vedas from Sanskrit to Hindi so that the common person might be able to read the Vedas.