The Sanskrit word Arya means a person whose actions are noble and Samaj means society. Arya Samaj was founded in 1875 as a Society of Noble Persons in Mumbai, India with the goals of promoting One Eeshwar (God), the Vedas and their true teachings, and for the selfless service to the community.
The principal philosophy of Arya Samaj is known as Traitwaad. It means that three entities are eternal or beginningless i.e Eeshwar, the soul, and the prakriti (matter). The authority of this statement comes directly from the Vedas: Rigved Mandal 1» Sukta164» Mantra:20
द्वा सु॑प॒र्णा स॒युजा॒ सखा॑या समा॒नं वृ॒क्षं परि॑ षस्वजाते।
तयो॑र॒न्यः पिप्प॑लं स्वा॒द्वत्त्यन॑श्नन्न॒न्यो अ॒भि चा॑कशीति
dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṁ vṛkṣam pari ṣasvajāte |
tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty anaśnann anyo abhi cākaśīti||
Meaning: Both Eeshwar and the soul are eternal, they are alike in consciousness and such other attributes. They are associated together – Eeshwar pervading the soul – and are mutual companions. The prakriti (matter), which is compared to the trunk of a tree. The natures, attributes and characters of these three are also eternal. Of the two – Eeshwar and the soul – the latter alone reaps the fruits of this tree of the universe – good or evil – whilst the former does not. He is the All-glorious Being who shines within, without and all around.
The Prakriti (matter), the soul and Eeshwar, all of them, are uncreated. They are the cause of the whole universe. They have no cause of the whole universe and have been existing eternally. The eternal soul enjoys the eternal matter and is wrapped up in it whilst Eeshwar neither enjoys it, nor, is He wrapped up in it.
More information on the philosophy of Traitwaad has been provided in multiple articles and videos by various scholars, links to which have also been provided below.
Vaidik Law of Karma
The second important pillar of the philosophy of Arya Samaj is the principle of Karma or Action. Is there existence of next birth after death or does previous birth exist? There may be many such questions in one’s mind. Some people say this is the only birth because we don’t remember anything about our previous birth. Some say without knowing our past karmas how can we be motivated towards the right direction by only bearing the fruits of those karmas as pleasure and pain. If we know the action for what we are rewarded or punished then only there is some sense to accept the existence of rebirth otherwise there is no need to accept its existence.
Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati in his book Satyarth Prakash and others examined all these kind of arguments and established the truth with logic that rebirth exists because by seeing inequality, differences in the life of people by birth in the form of physical comforts/discomforts, learned pious parents/ uneducated ignorant parents, healthy physical state/poor physical status, different inclinations and hobbies etc. the cause of inequality can be inferred. Either this inequality of mankind has a cause, or it is purely accidental. No sensible person would think of attributing this inequality to blind chance or pure accident. Eeshwar is Just and Impartial by His nature. He never discriminates Souls. He gives the fruit of past life actions to Souls with Justice in the form of JATI (life – state ), AAYU (life-period) & BHOG (life-experience). In this way we can infer the existence of past karmas of previous birth.
Therefore using the “Evidence of Inference” existence of re-birth is proved, means Soul acquires another physical body after he has left an existing materialistic body. Our present is a result of our entire past, and again with our accomplishments in the present, we shall be moving to the next life. As much we become aware of this fact , so much we become aware of our present actions and future plannings.
Definition of Karma
An extraordinary effort, done by the soul with body, mind and both kind of senses for attaining pleasures and to get rid of pain and sorrow is called Karma. (Aryodeshyaratnamala- No.48). According to the law of Karma, sooner or later we have to reap what we have sown. It is not possible that any action goes in waste without giving its fruit to the doer.
Classification
Karmas can be classified in different ways —
- Punya Karmas – Virtuous deeds are those which are done with good intention and produce positive and satisfying fruits, such as giving charity with purity, to speak truth etc. Actions , which make us grow as well as the society and help us to experience real contentment, peace, happiness and fearlessness are called good deeds.
- Paap Karmas – Sinful or bad actions are done with bad intention and by which other suffer unjustly such as, stealing , telling lies etc . Bad actions are evil and produce negative and bear painful fruits. Additionally, Actions , which degrade us and the society and lead us to experience negativity like fear , doubt, shame, restlessness etc. are called Paap Karmas.
- Mixed Karmas – Mixed Karmas are mixture of some Punya(Virtuous acts) and some Paap Karmas (Sinful acts), such as in the process of farming one gets a good harvest but at the same time some creatures are killed. When action is good but intention is bad and vice-versa, then also the karma is said to be ‘Mixed Karma’. The actions of average people are mixed , black and white, and produce mixed results.
- Nishkaam Karmas – The Punya-Karmas done with the intention of attaining Salvation only, without having even a trace of worldly desire and attachment to worldly results, and are executed with equanimous state of mind and total surrenderance to Eeshwar are called Nishkaam Karmas.
Some common questions regarding Law of Karma are covered below:
Question 1: We feel good after performing good karma . Is that feeling of goodness, the fruit of that good karma ? And vice versa.
Answer : No, feeling good or bad inside is merely response or reaction to those karmas. It is not the fruit/Phal of those actions. Fruit of those karmas which couldn’t be justly obtained in the world’s court is given by Eeshwar. Karma can’t give it’s fruit by itself, as the result of examination cannot be declared by the answers itself. An intelligent, experienced examiner evaluates the answers properly same way the evaluation of karma is done by Almighty.
Question 2: Whatever kind of pain , trouble and problem come in our life, are they fruit of our past karmas? For instance – If a drunk driver hits a man, following all the rules… (a) Is that suffering outcome of man’s past karmas? (b) Is Eeshwar the instigator and the driver is an instrument?
Answer (a ): No, all are not the fruit of our past Karmas. Because the soul is a free agent to do deeds. The soul is free to act according to its capacity. Pain experienced in accident is not the fruit of person’s past actions, however it is result ( reaction) of driver’s bad action. It is called injustice . Driver will get his karma phal as punishment either by Court or by Eeshwar. If every suffering is fruit of our past karmas, then everything is JUSTICE and existence of INJUSTICE word is invalid.
Answer (b): No, Eeshwar is not the instigator. If Eeshwar had sent driver to punish that man- he should have been rewarded not jailed!
Question 3: Does Eeshwar forgive the sins committed ?
Answer: No, If Eeshwar is to forgive the sins , His law of justice would be destroyed , and all men would become most sinful . Knowing that their sins will be forgiven, they will become fearless. One who has done anything in ignorance or purposely or in full senses , will have to face the consequences. In Eeshwar’s justice one has to receive the fruits of his deeds , it is certain and cannot be changed or altered in any condition.
By confession or repenting , one improves oneself and gets inspiration to rectify oneself and in future he will be more conscious about his deeds. By confession or repenting, one can be free from mental impurity.
Concept of Eeshwar in Arya Samaj
The second principle of the Arya Samaj explains its conception of Eeshwar. The one great and vital difference between the Arya Samaj and other religions is the Arya Samaj believes that Eeshwar does not create the world (1) out of nothing or (2) for Himself. There are eternal souls, possessing limited intelligence, as well as there is eternal matter, of which the Uni-verse is composed and Eeshwar is that all-intelligent, all- powerful and all-pervading being who effects this composition.
The first thing, that is most striking about Eeshwar is that He has made the world. Now there is a question. Does Eeshwar create the Universe out of nothing or out of something or out of Himself? The first case is impossible, as nothing can come out of “nothing.”
Even now, in this created world, we see hundreds of things which, according to theists, are Eeshwar’s creations and not one of them is a creation out of nothing. A tree springs up, not out of nothing, but out of something. If Eeshwar was the only existence before the Universe was created and there was no other existence at all, even if Eeshwar could create out of nothing, there was no reason why Eeshwar should create anything. Some say that Eeshwar did so in order to glorify Himself. This is absurd. Eeshwar needs no glory. Glorification is something that is possible before equals or superiors only. What glory is there if there is none to see His greatness. The world with so much misery and shortcoming can bring its maker stultification rather than glory if there is no other purpose.
Nor can Eeshwar create anything out of Himself. It would either mean that Eeshwar contained within Himself all that came out afterwards or that He changed Himself into the form of Universe as gold is changed into bangles. In the first case He is at His best a mere producer. In the second case, change always implies imperfection. A thing changes due to some outside agency when the latter is stronger. It changes by itself if it lacks anything. A perfect being cannot, need not, and does not admit any change. The third alternative holds good, that is, the creation of universe is another name of its composition out of the matter already existent for the benefit of the eternally existent souls.
With this idea as foundation, if we proceed further we must admit that:
(1) Eeshwar is one. Plurality of Governors is an absurdity. If there are many Eeshwars they will be either all equal or one superior to others. In the first case their jurisdictions will clash. In the second, inferiority of others would dethrone them from being Eeshwar
(2) Eeshwar must be all-pervading, in order to impel and control activity, at every place, He must be within all. This means that Eeshwar is formless, indivisible, finer then the finest, invisible, beyond the reach of senses.
(3) He should be all-intelligence, all-knowledge. No activity is possible without knowledge.
(4) He is kind and just, as He makes the world for souls and does not betray His partiality to any.
(5) He is changeless and cannot incarnate. Coming into flesh implies weakness.
(6) He is all-powerful, having no rival to challenge or thwart His authority or action.
The Arya Samaj does not look upon Eeshwar as a despot. He does nothing at His sweet will. In fact He wants nothing. He loves souls; therefore He makes this world as a field of activity for the souls. These souls are free in then actions. They have a free choice. In this freedom of choice lies the emancipation of the souls. They are free to develop their capabilities. The resistance which nature sometimes offers to them is to their benefit. It makes them stronger. If souls had no freedom, they were as good as dolls or inanimate puppets. No choice, no responsibility. No responsibility, no development. No question of mercy or justice. Eeshwar supplies opportunities. Souls utilize them at their own discretion.
The Arya Samaj’s conception of Eeshwar is not of a big person. The word Purusa used in the Vedas has an etymological sense. It means all-pervading, not that it has body like ours. We look upon Eeshwar as the Great controller of laws which govern the universe.
Reference: Swami Dayanand’s Satyarth Prakash, Chapters 7th and 8th.