Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s important contribution was in protecting the faith (dharma) and also the faithful (dharmi), for without protecting one the other cannot be, S. Gurumuthy, columnist and Convenor, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, said at the ‘Shraddhanjali’ organised here on Sunday.
The Swamiji realised that if the Hindu faith had to be protected, the faithful/believer had to be protected because he was under attack from religious forces that believed in conversion. He, therefore, launched the Dharma Rakshana Samiti. Simultaneously, he also launched the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha by bringing together traditional seats of learning to give a unified voice for Hinduism.
Mr. Gurumurthy also said that the Swamiji's another significant contribution was in getting the United Nations Human Rights Commission to declare that religious conversion should not take place through inducement or force.
Swami Shankarananda, Chief Acharya, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, said that the Swamiji was non-judgement in that it was not good versus bad but ‘dharma’ versus ‘adharma’ for him.
He had conviction in what he preached. Or, he walked the talk and saw the divine everywhere.
B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Chairman, Coimbatore Kendra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, said the responsibility was on all of Swamiji’s disciples to carry forward his message.
Ravi Sam and Sunitha Santharam, devotees, spoke of their association with Swamiji and recalled how his teachings had brought about a change for the better in their lives. M. Krishnan of Sri Krishna Sweets narrated Swamiji’s last days in Rishikesh.
