Arya Samaj and Hinduism

There is NOT ONE SINGLE mantra in entire Vedas that prohibit Yajna for women.

 http://agniveer.com/woman-foundation-of-knowledge/  (with quotes from Vedas )

EXTRACT:

Rigveda 1.146.3: The Yajamaan (performer of Yajna) and his wife are two cows and the fire of Yajna is the calf.

Rigveda 1.72.5: Scholars perform Yajna with their wives and achieve bliss.

Rigveda 2.6.5: If mother and sister perform Yajna together, that brings bliss.

Rigveda 7.1.6: The young woman approaches the fire with Havi

Atharvaveda 3.28.6: O wife, you have entered the world of Yajna.

Atharvaveda 3.30.6: All the members of family should perform Yajna.

Atharvaveda 14.2.18: O woman, you should perform Yajna in Grihastha Ashram.

Atharvaveda 14.2.25: O woman, perform Yajna with bliss.

Further, there is NOT ONE SINGLE mantra in entire Vedas that prohibit Yajna for women.

Please note that Yajna here does not mean merely Agnihotra or Havan, but all kinds of noble deeds. Vedas simply do not differentiate on basis of gender or birth for conduct of any noble deed.

And when women can do Yajna, what stops her from reciting Vedic Mantras!

The restriction of women from Vedas or Yajna is an innovation of medieval age whose only contribution to our society has been disaster and slavery. It is a matter of shame that many revered representatives of Hinduism still justify such perverted beliefs. But thanks to legends like Swami Dayanand Saraswati who gave right interpretations of Vedas, we hear Gayatri Mantra sung by women even in temples!

The enlightening personality, that is Lord Krishna

Lord Krishna – an enlightening personality

Feb 20, 2013 | by Dr. Satyapal Singh, The Police Commissioner, Mumbai
Extract:
Shrikrishna is the only greatest personality whose character encompasses together all these diverse ideals. Dear readers, devotees of Krishna, let us take a pledge today, let us make a resolution that we will not allow even advertently any blemish to defame the noble life of that spotless, innocent, virtuous and realized soul. Let us follow the footsteps of the ideals of great people. Following are the words of Krishna

yad yad acarati shresthasthat devetaro janah
sa yat pramam kurute lokas tadanuvartate

Radha and Gopis

Some poets from rhetoric school and bhakticult accepted Lord Shrikrishna as a God, worshiped him, adorned him as blind devotees and followers on one hand, and on the other the Western scholars and their self esteemed, the so called Indian scholars, following their footsteps merely depicted him in various ways with low level intentions and sensual impulses. Shrikrishna to them was one who played in the group of Gopis under the sacred name Rasalila, as one stealing the garments of the women, the one engaged and indulging in youthful activities with the damsel by name Radha, making uncourteous hideous gestures with dwarfed maiden Kubja.

The rhetoric school poets wanted to hide their sensual impulses and writings from the indignation of common people in the society. The blind and self titled devotees wanted to escape themselves from the scornful attitude of common man towards them, their selfish and voluptuous behavior or actions and their luxurious and lavish life style made under the pretext of divine justification and conformation. The Western scholars and others belonging to different religions than that of Hindus, and not to speak of other pseudo scholars wanted to devaluate and bring down the supreme Indian culture and Indian religion – a sort of burning example for all. Thus they mutilated the very noble character of Lord Krishna into an ignoble and scandalous one.

In the whole of Mahabharata, there is no mention even of the name Radha. We first get glimpses of her, in Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, ……..

Bankimchandra Chattopadyaya, the author of “Anand math” who carried out research on Mahabharata continuously for about 36 years and also composed thereafter the biography of Shrikrishna, states that according to Mahabharata Shrikrishna had only one wife namely Rukhmini – neither two nor four and of course not at all 16000. According to Mahabharata immediately after getting married both Rukhmini and Shrikrishna went to Badrikashrama and led a pious life there for 12 years. They used to sleep on ground, ate only roots, tubers and fruits and observed strict celibacy. Thereafter Rukhmini gave birth to the first child named Pradhumna. (Reference: Mahabharata, Book 10 (Sauptika Parva), Chapter 12, Verses 29 & 30 – Editor) It is sheerly disgusting to stigmatize this noble character shown indulging in love-affairs with and in romance with Radha and Gopis. 

Extract from the article Vedic Theism - http://aryasamajvvpuram.org/articles/vedic-theism/

God – the Supreme Spirit is the most subtle topic of philosophy. Faith in Supreme Power seems almost universal and encompassing the human life from time immemorial. But unfortunately the concept of God has been blurred by the fog of numerous wrong, perverse and sectarian notions. Consequently, today we come across a variety of pictures, images and descriptions of God, which are highly conflicting with each other and finally lead people towards sectarian narrow-mindedness, bigotry, dogmas, superstitions, prejudice, skepticism, atheism, frictions, wars, terrorism, dense materialism and a host of similar other vicious and inhuman traits. That is why we also find among us many persons lost in some sort of spiritual confusion and many of them have already turned into either atheists or skeptics.

Just to harbour a faith in any so-called theistic notion is obviously an easy task. Sometimes it may be merely an intelligent recognition. But the most difficult venture is to divinize one’s whole being according to the right principles of spiritual science. A true spiritual person should desperately seek to know the ultimate truth of life and set out for the realization of the Supreme as the ultimate destination of his life. The true theistic attitude of a person needs to get fully manifested through his way of life. There could be no doubt about the omni-presence of God, but the question is that whether we are conscious of His presence or not. Unless we have a reasoned faith in His presence, unless we are sincere in our endeavor and unless our convictions are intense and grounded in truth, we cannot say that our theism is genuine and rewarding. The true theism confers on us joy, happiness, satisfaction, fearlessness and other divine powers; a perfect sense to the spiritual dimension of our being. Moreover, it also provides us sustenance, strength, solace and comfort in the moments of great distresses, failures and disappointment, which occur almost to everybody when one struggles to resolve the tangles plaguing one in the course of one’s daily life.

Generally it is believed that to define is to limit, and God being the most mysterious entity it is beyond the human capacity to define Him or fully express Him in any human language. Even the most consistent intelligent speculation or hypothesis may not be in a position to guarantee the realization of God. God can be realized only with the help of True knowledge, True actions and True meditation – the practice of Yoga with total surrender. Hence mere logical propositions or linguistic symbols could not be of much help in this matter. But this does not mean that the existence of God is to be regarded merely based on any sort of speculation. The speculations leading one towards theism should essentially be based on some definite observations, thoughts, logic and wisdom.

In Vedic philosophy, liberation from the worldly or material bondage and realization of the all pervading Divine spirit has been regarded as the ultimate goal of the human efforts. The Vedas proclaim that God is such a reality which can be apprehended and realized in the depth of our inner being. The Vedic wisdom demands that the Reason and Spirituality are to be well coordinated and well integrated. A true religion or philosophy of life must necessarily address these two fundamental aspects: (i) Worldly prosperity aiming for happy today, and (ii) Spiritual progress aiming for the happier tomorrow. Nevertheless, for the second purpose one has to transcend this vast visible and invisible world, this grand and wonderful manifestation of the matter, and reach to the Universal Spirit under whose will and wisdom the creation is made.

The Vedas teach us that the primordial root of all true knowledge, and the objects made known by the true knowledge is the Supreme God. Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883), the founder of the Arya Samaj has rendered a great service to humanity by restating the Vedic concept of God in the nineteenth century. He tried to emphasize that God has a personality but His personality is not physical or human, it is spiritual and divine. He is a spirit of spirit, the Spirit Supreme. Dayananda endeavored to present an image of God which is not only consistent with the philosophy of the Vedas and the spiritual vision of the Vedic seers, but it is also based on analytical reasoning. The hymns of the Vedas unequivocally express the conception of one Supreme Being. The Vedas being the Divine Revelation and the oldest record available with the mankind have universal appeal for the people of all countries and all times. On account of their universal character, the Vedic concept of God also must be secular and acceptable and adoptable as a sure guideline for the all thinking people of the world.

God being the Transcendental Reality, the Innermost and Cosmic Being, any discussion related to Him deserves paramount importance. In Satyarth-Prakash (Light of Truth), the world famous book authored by Dayananda, the concept of Vedic theism has been beautifully described in the most sensible way. Its seventh, eighth and ninth chapters embody a systematic and comprehensive discussion on three highly philosophical topics: God, Creation and Emancipation. The significance of true theism has been explained there in a very straight forward fashion. A careful reading of these three chapters of the Satyarth-Prakash make one fully convinced of the fact that the Vedic concept of God is not a casual creed, rather it is highly comprehensive in its application to human life; and is much subtler and deeper spiritual as well as scientific content than the sects and cults ordinarily known as monotheism and polytheism.

On Clinging

Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. The current of the river swept silently over them all - young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self.

Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks at the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current was what each had learned from birth.

But one creature said at last, "I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom."

The other creatures laughed and said, `Fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom.'
But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised , but hurt no more. And the creatures down stream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, `See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies. See the Messiah, come to save us all!'

And the one carried in the current said, `I am no more messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.' But they cried the more:. `Savior!' all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone, making legends of the Saviour."

Life is a do-it-yourself job

We generally ascribe our failures to Fate; the sanskrit aphorism:   yadbhaavam tat bhavati (as one conceives, so things happen) contradicts this assumption, reminds us that we are responsible for the consequences of our actions, and advises us to remember that Life is a do-it-yourself job:We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up with less than what is best.for us in the long-term. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we ourselves have built. If we had realized earlier, we would have done it differently. Think of yourself as the carpenter Who builds your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project" Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today. If you find the job difficult, help is always available: from the Wisdom of the past contained in the scriptures or the experienced, wise and competent teachers who are willing to advise and guide. Life's path is like the razor's edge, dark and difficult to tread - as explained in Kathopanishad: kshurasya dhaaraa nishitaa duratyayaa durgam pathastat kavayo vadanti and therefore: praapya varaan nibodhata get the know-how from competent सगेस. There is an another, easier path to liberation from the sufferings of failures: the ego's surrender to Krishna and resting in his hands as his flute. He himself has advised: मामेकं शरणम व्रज maamekam sharaNam vraja . This theme is lucidly brought out in the song "kuzhaloothi": குழலூதி மனம் எல்லாம் கொள்ளை கொண்ட பின்னும் குறை ஏதும் எனக்கேதடி? kuzhaloothi manamellam koLLai konda pinnum kuRaiyethum enakkEthadi I am safely resting in His hands It is He who blew the first breath of life into me and it is He who will determine the last breath of my life. I should rest my self in His hands as His flute and let Him play the sweet song of my life. Tired of this stressful life and senseless pursuits? Come; let us surrender to our dear Lord Krishna! Let us place our ego as the flute in His hands. Our every action will then becomes a note in the music that He will gladly play through us. Then, where will there be place in our mind for regrets about failures, or for unfulfilled wants and wishes that ceaselessly haunt us? We can blissfully chant thenceforth in harmony with His divine music: குறை ஏதும் எனக்கேதடி I am wanting in nothing; I am full; I am full; I am full. OM! Poornamadah Poornamidam! The sound of Krishna's flute is the divine call to ecstasy; it is His call advising us: "Give up attachments and follow Me." Happy are those who can harken to this call and commence living in eternal Bliss: yasya brahmani ramate cittam nandati nandati nandatyevaHe whose awareness rests constantly in Brahman-Conciousness, his mind is ever in the supreme Blissful state.