New Delhi: Today is the birth anniversary of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, the thinker of modern India and the founder of Arya Samaj. In the history of India, the name Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati is recorded in golden letters. Dayanand Saraswati was born on February 12, 1824, in Tankara, Gujarat. Swami Dayanand Saraswati is recognized as a great thinker and social reformer of modern India as well as a patriot. His childhood name was Moolshankar and he founded an Arya Reformer Organization- Arya Samaj in 1874. Swamiji died on October 30, 1883, in Ajmer.  

Let us tell you here that he was a sanyasi and a great thinker and he has always considered the power of the Vedas as paramount. Swamiji made karma theory, rebirth, celibacy, and sannyasa the four pillars of his philosophy. He first gave the slogan of Swarajya in 1876, which was later carried forward by Lokmanya Tilak. The number of great men influenced by the thoughts of Swami Dayanand Saraswati is innumerable, prominent names include Madam Bhikaji Cama, Pandit Lekhram Arya, Swami Shraddhanand, Pandit Gurudutt Vidyarthi, Shyamji Krishna Verma, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Lala Hardayal, Madanlal Dhingra, Ram Prasad Bismil, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Mahatma Hansraj, and Lala Lajpat Rai, etc.  

Among the prominent followers of Dayanand, Lala Hansraj established the 'Dayanand Anglo Vedic College' in Lahore in 1886 and Swami Shraddhanand established a Gurukul at Kangri near Haridwar in 1901. Swamiji strongly denied the evils prevalent in the prevailing religions, whether it was Sanatan Dharma or Islam, or Christianity. In his epic Satyarth Prakash, Swamiji has denied the evils prevalent in all faiths.   

Adani Power plunges 5% in early trade amid merger

India's G20 Presidency at Bangalore: Puri addresses G20 delegates, What's said

'Won't contest elections', Kamal Nath's statement creates uproar, but Congress...