A marriage - Vivaha in Hindi movies is always shown as taking seven phere - rounds around the holy fire. To my mind it was the one and only way in which a Hindu marriage was solemnized. I was surprised to attend a friend’s wedding where the marriage ceremony was performed differently. Another friend clarified that what we saw in Hindi movies was the Arya Samaji way of getting married. Being products of Macualay’s educational system, Arya Samaj!(AS) what was my next question. Is it a sect, religion, who was its founder, what are its principles? The AS was founded by a Hindu Gujarathi Swami Dayanand Saraswati (SDS). Here is it for you.

You might wonder how the Arya Samaji way of marriage came to be popular in Hindi movies. Am unable to find a correct answer but what I think happened is that a number of actors in the late 1940’s, 1950’s were migrants from Punjab. Since the Arya Samaj had a large following there, the marriage custom followed by them was shown in our movies. Hindi movies rightly or wrongly are said to represent India so it got embedded in my mind like many others that this is the only way of Hindu marriage.

The essay is based on A History of the Arya Samaj by Lala Lajpat Rai, revised expanded and edited by Sriram Sharma and the History and Culture of the Indian People by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.

The essay is divided into 10 chapters. Ch 1 is on Dayanand’s early life and his quest for true knowledge. Ch 2 covers his Fight for truth. Ch 3 covers the birth of the Arya Samaj and his death. Ch 4 covers his teachings. Ch 5 covers religious teachings, observances and practices. Ch 6 covers religious ideals and aims. Ch 7 covers social ideals and aims. Ch 8 covers the Shuddhi movement and philanthropic work. Ch 9 covers contribution to education. Ch 10 covers impact of the Arya Samaj on contemporary India.