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Continue reading »By constant practice the manifested universe
Lalleśwarī
gets merged in the universal self.
The world of name and form gets merged in the
vastness of the void as one homogenous whole.
This, O Brahmin, is the true doctrine.
“We place ourselves under your instruction. Perhaps, we may directly and indirectly aid you to hasten the accomplishment of the holy mission, in which you are now engaged; for our battle-field extends to India: from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin there is work that we can do.
Colonel Olcott, letter to Dayānand Saraswatī, February 18, 1878
You venerable man, who have learned to pierce the disguises and masks of your fellow-creatures. Look into our hearts and see that we speak the truth. See that we approach you not in pride but humility, that we are prepared to receive your counsel, and do our duty as it may be shown to us. If you will write us a letter, you will know just what we wish to know, and will give us what we need.”
In the previous post in this series, I gave a brief examination of one of nineteenth-century India’s reform movements – the Brāhmo Samāj, founded by Raja Rammohun Roy. For this post, I’m going to examine the Ārya Samāj, founded in 1875 by Dayānand Saraswatī. It is here that the Theosophical Society enters the picture – as the TS briefly allied itself with the Ārya Samāj, and it is arguable that Dayānand Saraswatī played a key role in the Society’s eastward turn.
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