Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission and the Theosophical Society

Prerequisites

• Rammohan Roy, the Brahmo Samaj and the Prarthana Samaj: the first, “reformist” phase. This page covers the reaction that looked back to the Vedas.
• Vedic Age: what the Vedas, Upanishads and Vedanta are, since every movement here appeals to them.

The Hook: “Go Back to the Vedas”

Why it matters: Prelims asks about founders, years and books (Arya Samaj 1875, Satyarth Prakash, Ramakrishna Mission 1897, Theosophical Society 1875 and Adyar). Mains asks how these “revivalist” movements differed from the “reformist” Brahmo Samaj, and how they built cultural pride and nationalism.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati (स्वामी दयानंद सरस्वती), 1824–1883

Ideas of the Arya Samaj

• “Go back to the Vedas” (वेदों की ओर लौटो). The Vedas are infallible and the only true scripture. Later texts such as the Puranas were rejected as corruptions.
• Against: idol worship, polytheism, the doctrine of avatars, ritualism and priestly domination, pilgrimage and offerings for the dead, caste by birth, untouchability, child marriage.
• For: varna by merit and conduct, not birth; widow remarriage; women’s education; one formless God.
• Shuddhi (शुद्धि): a purification ceremony to bring back into Hinduism those who had converted to Islam or Christianity, and to “purify” lower castes. It made the Samaj more assertive, and it later added to communal tension.
• Hindi was promoted as a common language. Satyarth Prakash was written in Hindi, not Sanskrit.
• Dayanand also campaigned for cow protection.

After Dayanand: DAV and Gurukul

flowchart TD
    A["Dayanand dies, 1883"] --> B["DAV School, Lahore, 1886
(Dayanand Anglo-Vedic)
Lala Hansraj"]
    B --> C["Split, 1893"]
    C --> D["'College' party
Lala Hansraj, Lala Lajpat Rai
English + Vedic education"]
    C --> E["'Gurukul' party
Munshi Ram (Swami Shraddhanand)
Gurukul Kangri, Haridwar, 1902"]

• DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic) School, Lahore, 1886, with Lala Hansraj as its head. It combined English and modern subjects with Vedic learning.
• Split of 1893: the College party (Hansraj, Lala Lajpat Rai) supported the DAV model. The Gurukul (Mahatma) party, led by Munshi Ram, later Swami Shraddhanand, wanted traditional Vedic schooling. He founded the Gurukul Kangri near Haridwar in 1902.
• Lala Lajpat Rai’s Arya Samaj background shaped his nationalism.

Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda

Ramakrishna Paramahansa (रामकृष्ण परमहंस), 1836–1886

• Born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, a priest at the Dakshineswar Kali temple near Calcutta.
• A mystic who practised several spiritual paths, including Islam and Christianity, and taught that all religions are paths to the same God.
• Taught service to humanity as service to God: “Jatra jiv, tatra Shiv” (where there is a living being, there is Shiva).
• He founded no organisation. His disciples did.

Swami Vivekananda (स्वामी विवेकानंद), 1863–1902

Ideas:

• Practical Vedanta: the Vedanta of the Upanishads applied to daily life and social service.
• Service of the poor as worship (“Daridra Narayan”): the Mission ran relief work in famines and epidemics, hospitals and schools.
• Universalism and tolerance, but with pride in India’s spiritual heritage.
• Criticised untouchability, priestcraft and the “don’t-touchism” of orthodox Hinduism. He also criticised the neglect of the masses and of women’s education.
• His call for strength, self-confidence and self-reliance inspired later nationalists. The Mission itself stayed non-political.

The Theosophical Society

Contribution in India:

• Western members praising Hindu and Buddhist philosophy raised Indian self-esteem when missionaries were attacking Indian religion.
• Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College, Benares (1898), which became the nucleus of Banaras Hindu University (1916), founded by Madan Mohan Malaviya.
• Besant entered politics: Home Rule League (1916) and Congress President (Calcutta, 1917). See National Movement (1885–1919).

Limits: Much of its appeal was to the educated elite. Its occultism and its glorification of the past were criticised as uncritical.

Analysis for Mains: Reformist vs Revivalist

Memory Tricks

Don’t Confuse

Common Mistakes

Practice

All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.

Level 1: Foundation

1. Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s original name was ______.
2. The Ramakrishna Mission was founded in the year ______.
3. The Indian headquarters of the Theosophical Society is at ______, Madras.

Level 2: Prelims MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements about the Arya Samaj:

1. It was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in Bombay in 1875.
2. It accepted the authority of the Puranas along with the Vedas.
3. It started the Shuddhi movement.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 3 only
• (b) 1 and 2 only
• (c) 2 and 3 only
• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Match List I with List II:

• (a) A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1
• (b) A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3
• (c) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
• (d) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3

Q3. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?

• (a) Theosophical Society: founded in Madras, 1882
• (b) Arya Samaj: founded in Lahore, 1877
• (c) Ramakrishna Mission: founded in 1897
• (d) Satyarth Prakash: written in Sanskrit

Q4. “Where there is a living being, there is Shiva” (Jatra jiv, tatra Shiv) is a teaching associated with:

• (a) Dayanand Saraswati
• (b) Ramakrishna Paramahansa
• (c) Keshab Chandra Sen
• (d) Debendranath Tagore

Level 3: Mains Answer Writing

Q1. (150–200 words) Was the Arya Samaj a reformist or a revivalist movement? Discuss.

Q2. (60 words) What was Vivekananda’s idea of “practical Vedanta”?

Quick Revision Table

Key Takeaways

What’s Next

• Reform among Muslims, Parsis and Sikhs: Aligarh, Deoband, the Parsi and Sikh reformers
• Women’s Emancipation and Caste Reform
• Indian Thinkers: Vivekananda and Dayanand for Mains GS-IV
• Gandhian Era: how cultural pride turned into a mass movement