Vedic Dharma preceded all

[Guest guest]

Vedic Dharma preceded all: Arun Kumar

Surendra Ullal

 

India Post News Service

 

CHICAGO: "Arya Samaj was founded in 1875 in Bombay by Maharshi

Dayanand Saraswati. For over a century the wisdom of Arya Samaj has

not only spread in India but almost all over the world. India at his

time was under the colonial rule of British and Hindu Dharma was

being challenged by many other traditions like Christianity and

Islam and needed inspiration and strength to awaken the Hindu

masses," said Arun Kumar, Indian Consul General here.

 

Kumar was addressing a fund raising function for Chicagoland Arya

Samaj at Mr. Peter's Banquet, Arlington Heights, a Chicago

suburb. "Swamiji, a profound scholar of the Vedas and fierce

nationalist, thought that India throughout the ages respected all

religions and that vastness and universality of the Vedic

literature, particularly the concept of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the

entire world is one family), must be realized by the entire

world, "he observed.

 

Continuing, he said that during the Vedic period there was no

religion as we see it now. There was no Hinduism, no Christianity,

no Islam or other denominations. The early Vedic people were not

only concerned with this world, they also knew about other

galaxies. "The word Hindu, in fact, was coined by Persians during

the heyday of their Empire, when it was included a part of

Northwestern India. They called the people living east of the river

Sindhu, as Hindus. Vedic Dharma, therefore, preceded all these.

Vedic Dharma is a way of life based on universalism that does not

mention any parochial or other differences of any kind," Arun Kumar

said.

 

The function began with the recitation of Vedic Hymn for Peace by

Dr. Dilip Vedalankar followed by a welcome speech by Chander Sehgal,

and remarks by Dr. Sukhdev Soni, president of Arya Samaj, who

reminded the audience of the occasion and urged everyone assembled

to donate generously. Acknowledging the contribution of Dr.

Vedalankar in disseminating Vedic knowledge, he appealed to members

of the Hindu community to take the opportunity of Panditji's

presence and learn about their culture, heritage and religious

heritage from him to guide them in understanding our values and be

proud of our traditions.

 

As a part of the function, the Consul General released the special

issue of Vedic Jyoti, being published by Arya Samaj of Chicagoland.

In a short speech, Dr. Vedalankar observed that the primary object

of this publication was to acquaint the younger generation living

outside India with the rich and inspirational teachings of the

Vedas, Hindu Dharma and our heritage, so that they would be proud of

their heritage. He thanked Dr. Soni and other members of the Arya

Samaj for their support.

 

He said that the Vedas truly constitute the first literature at the

dawn of our civilization. Teachings of the Vedas is secular and

applicable equally to all lands and people. Inspired by the Vedas

Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati fought to bring back to Hindu Dharma

purity and sublimity of its origin. He fought against

untouchability, emancipation of women and freedom and equality to

all. It was he who used the word Swaraj, heralding the freedom

movement of India.

 

Intermittently the program presented appeal for funds, music and

dances. As Seema Shah raised the spirits of the audience by a

vigorous and artistic Bharatnatyam performance, the children of Arya

Samaj members staged some beautifully choreographed dances. One item

that was highly applauded was a General Knowledge "Trivia" by the

students, answering many questions about Vedas, Dharma and other

questions about gods, rituals, mantras, in short various aspects of

Hindu religion as it is practiced today.

 

Dr. Sony and Pt. Dilip Vedalankarji, presented awards to three

members of the Arya Samaj, who had left their mark of service and

sacrifice in the growth of Arya Samaj in the Chicago land area:

Uttam Singh Aurora, Virendra Kumar and Prabha Puri.

 

Chander Sahgal and Sangeeta Malhotra conducted the ceremonies.

Sangeeta Malhotra's hands were evident in all the children's

activities conducted superbly.

 

For the lovers of classical music, Charu Swaminahan entertained the

audience with her scintillating and sonorous voice singing many

devotional songs. She was ably assisted by Kamlesh Desai on Keyboard

and D. Shah on Tabla. At frequent intervals audience was also

enthralled by Dr. Virendra Mathur who sang many film songs of

yesteryears with his deep and melodious voice.

 

The program concluded after dinner and a raffle draw.

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