Ten Principles of Arya

“God is the efficient cause of all true knowledge and all that is known through knowledge.”

This is the first principle out of the ten principles of the Arya Samaj movement. This principle throws light on the fact that all true knowledge and whatever is capable of being known through knowledge originates from God. For all doubtless knowledge concerning God and soul, other living beings and matter, the efficient cause is God and none else. This comprehensive knowledge known as the Vedas — meaning knowledge (Rigved, Yajurved, Samved and Atharvaved) — was enlightened by God in the souls (atma) of four sages, namely Agni, Vayu, Adittya and Angira.

In the words of the great Manu, “All knowledge emerges from the Vedas and the Vedas are full of knowledge.”

Meaning: The names of all the materials and their various purposes have been formulated from the Vedas since the beginning of creation.

The meaning of ‘Ved’ is true knowledge. God is the efficient cause of this knowledge because human beings have limited knowledge and this leads them into doubt, untruth, miseries and other problems.

Just as God gave the human body five senses — namely eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin — similarly He gave the knowledge of the Vedas to us so that we are able to use our senses in the right manner. After knowing that great God, the whole creation can be known and there is nothing else to be known.

The objective of the second portion of the first principle, “all that is known through knowledge,” is to say that whatever is visible or not visible, from the sun to the earth, is all created and operated by God.

To follow the first principle, the followers of the Vedas must think about the principles of the world and have full faith that God is the creator of the world.

This first principle is the foundation of the other nine principles. This is why it has been placed first. It is the paramount duty of every noble person to think about this principle and, having firm faith in God, build one’s life according to His instructions.

In the first principle of Arya Samaj it has been explained that “God is the efficient cause of all true knowledge and all that is known through knowledge.” It is God who gives the true knowledge to the world. He is the efficient cause of all true knowledge and whatever is known through knowledge. Without His enlightenment, human beings would be lost into darkness of ignorance.

The second principle of the Arya Samaj is very much related to the first principle. In this principle the attributes of God are explained very well in a broader sense.

“God is existent, conscious, and blissful. He is formless, omnipotent, just, merciful, unborn, endless, unchangeable, beginningless, unequalled, the support of all, the master of all, omnipresent, omniscient, unaging, immortal, fearless, eternal, and holy, and the maker of all. He alone is worthy of being worshipped.”

According to Vedic philosophy there are three beginningless entities — God, Soul and Matter. God exists, is conscious and blissful. No intelligent person can reject the existence of God. God has been there ever since and will remain to do so. He is truth, has a limitless storehouse of knowledge, and the souls receive their knowledge from Him. He is the preceptor of the ancient saints, sages and rishis (seers). Time has no influence on God.

According to the Vedas, God is formless — meaning He does not have a physical form or a body like us. To govern the whole world, God has to be present everywhere at all times. This would be impossible if He takes a physical body, because a person having such a body can only be at a certain place at one time. Further, this would reduce the all-powerful God to one having very limited power. If God takes a physical form then He has to undergo the process of reproduction like humans, and go through childhood, teenage years, youth, adulthood, old age and then death. If He has a body, He will be affected by sicknesses, diseases, hunger, thirst, tiredness, and natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. He can even be injured and killed. Anybody having a physical body has to face these challenges in life. Thus, if God is occupied with His own problems, how can He be of service to us? The truth is that God is totally free from the bonds of the world. This is only possible if He is not confined to a physical body.

God is omnipotent, meaning He is all-powerful. He is the Lord of all the powers, but this does not mean that He can do anything that He wants to do. God also has a set of principles for Himself that He has to follow. On this subject, consider what Swami Dayanand writes: “Is it so that the one who can do the impossible is known as Almighty?” So without a reason, can God create another God and Himself perish, be unjust, impure, a sinner, an evil-doer? The natural laws — such as fire having heat and water having coolness — cannot be altered by God. God cannot make fire produce coolness or water produce heat. If He did, the question would be why did He change? Did He make an error before and is now trying to correct it? If so, that would mean God is not perfect. So in very simple terms, Almighty means that God is capable of doing all His work Himself, without the help of anyone.

God is just because He gives the fruits of our good and evil actions. For good deeds He rewards us, and for evil and wrongful actions He punishes us. This is His justice. The word “just” also means that whatever souls are rewarded or punished for is the result of their own actions. The Vedic principle says “as you sow, so shall you reap” — meaning, as one does, so shall one pay.

God is merciful and compassionate. Every soul in the world is worthy of His mercy. Merciful does not mean that God forgives our sins — if we accept that God forgives one’s sins, then we cannot accept Him as being fair. Say, for example, a person hurts someone and then asks God for forgiveness, and He forgives. The person who was hurt still expects justice — in other words, they would like the wrongdoer to be punished. When God forgives a wrongdoer, He is not doing justice to either the wrongdoer or the victim. To be fair, God has to give the results of all actions, good or evil. This satisfies both parties. Merciful simply means that God gives out results to souls for their actions accordingly, so they can achieve spiritual upliftment and progress in life.

The question arises: how can kindness and justice exist in God at the same time? The words of Swami Dayanand Saraswati on this are worth noting: “There is only a subtle difference between the two, because the end result of both is the same. The reason for punishment is that a person is stopped from doing wrong and thus prevented from further suffering. This is called kindness — removing the suffering of others. A person should be punished according to the seriousness of the offence. If the offender is not punished, kindness is destroyed, because by setting a wrongdoer free, thousands of innocent people will suffer at their hands. By imprisoning them, the wrongdoer is deterred from further wrongdoing; thereby kindness is also bestowed upon thousands of people.”

A doctor treats the illness of a patient by giving them more pain, such as through operations. It is not possible for the doctor to remedy the problem without giving pain to the patient — even with anesthetics, pain is still experienced in the later stages. Similarly, God removes our evils through punishment. Forgiveness encourages a person to repeat their sins; this act of God — giving results to individuals for their actions — is itself a kind gesture.

God is unborn. He has been there ever since and will remain to do so. Just because He is never born, He is endless, unchangeable, beginningless and unequalled. There is no limit to His greatness and powers, and there are no faults in Him. God is the support of all creatures, from the tiniest to the largest — all depend on God. God is omnipresent: He is present everywhere, in each atom, and also resides in the hearts of all. He is unaging, meaning He never gets old. He is immortal — He never dies. He is fearless — steadfast in His principles and afraid of nothing. He is eternal — everlasting. God is holy and the creator of all: the Creator, Operator and Destroyer of the world.

That is why we should all try our best to worship and meditate upon God. We should assimilate His attributes of truth, justice, strength and other qualities into our lives and make the present and future a prosperous one.

After throwing light on the attributes of God in the second principle, Swami Dayanand portrays the greatness of the Vedas in the third principle.

“The Vedas are the scriptures of all true knowledge. It is the paramount duty of all Aryas to read them, teach them, recite them and hear them being read.”

The message of the Vedas is given to the entire human race for their benefit by God at the beginning of human creation. The knowledge expressed in the Vedas is all true fact, which means this knowledge never changes. The Vedas are the source of all true knowledge in the world — God, soul, matter, science, mathematics, biology, sociology, mechanics, and more. There is no history in the Vedas. The Vedas direct us to worship only one God. In fact, the Vedas contain all the knowledge for human existence, upliftment and salvation.

Four Benefits of Studying the Vedas

• True knowledge is obtained.
• One becomes a learned person.
• Those who practice the teachings of the Vedas achieve happiness in life.
• One is able to differentiate truth from untruth.

All true knowledge in the world is obtained from the Vedas. So it is necessary that one studies and teaches the Vedas to others, listens and makes others listen to the Vedas being read, and practices — and helps others practice — the teachings of the Vedas in life.

In the first three principles of Arya Samaj, the source of all true knowledge, the attributes of God, and the significance of the Vedas have been highlighted. Now, in the fourth principle, emphasis is placed on the purity of behaviour and the purity of individual life.

“One should always be ready to accept truth and renounce untruth.”

It is the duty of every person to remain firm on truth, and even be prepared to give one’s life for it. The question arises: what is truth, and what is untruth — what is the basis of each? The answer is simple. To know, believe and follow in thought, word and deed a thing as it really is — and as it has been proved to be so scientifically on the basis of observation, reasoning and authority — is known as Truth. For example, someone might say the sun rises from the west and sets in the east, and that the sun rotates around the earth. Because these statements are against the law of nature and contrary to Vedic principles, they cannot be regarded as true.

We should have the power of accepting truth in our hearts. For this to happen, one’s thoughts, words and actions should be the same — whatever we have in mind, we should speak and act accordingly. Great philosophers have stated the difference between good and evil this way: a person whose thoughts, words and actions differ from one another is regarded as an evil soul, and a person whose thoughts, words and actions are the same is regarded as a great soul.

Truth remains the same everywhere — for example, two plus two equals four. This truth remains true at all times, past, present and future, and is accepted by all types of people. Similarly, truth in respect of all matters is accepted everywhere. One must accept truth from wherever it is available, and never try to undermine it.

This principle also teaches us not to be stubborn or argue unnecessarily. Just as we should be ready to accept truth, we should be ready to give up untruth. One should not think that, irrespective of whether it is true or false, one’s own idea is correct. Even if a child proves with reasoning that one is wrong, one must accept the mistake without hesitation. The one who longs for truth must also be humble.

“All acts should be performed in accordance with Dharm (righteousness), that is, after deliberating what is right and wrong.”

Noble people — those of good personality, righteousness, benevolence and devotion to truth — have always regarded righteousness as paramount in all their activities. The Gita clearly states that the destroyer of righteousness is also destroyed, and whoever protects righteousness is also protected by it. The Vedas and other philosophical texts give supremacy to righteousness. One sage has even stated that it is righteousness alone that differentiates human beings from animals — eating, sleeping, fear and reproduction are found similarly in both. A person of righteous conduct is regarded as a human being; one without such conduct is regarded as an animal.

A question arises: what is the righteous path, and what is not? The righteous path is the one through which one achieves happiness, both materially and spiritually, in this world, the next life, and until salvation. In the Manusmriti, Manu Maharaj states that people are kept under control, taken care of and protected by righteousness. This is why one should do everything according to righteousness — in every deed, righteousness must be paramount. Truth and untruth are closely connected to righteousness; it is righteousness that distinguishes between them, and righteousness contains only truth. The fifth principle was formulated so that people do not become followers of blind faith — their behaviour should not be like sheep, following one another without thinking.

A Parable

Once a saint left for pilgrimage. Seeing a very large crowd at the place of pilgrimage, he concealed the container he was carrying in the soil, and for identification purposes made a small mound on top of it. He then left. The people following him had not seen him bury the container — they only saw him making the mound, and wondered why. They assumed there must be a secret in it, but did not ask him for an explanation.

So they too began making soil mounds all over the place, and this act was copied by whoever came by. When the saint returned to retrieve his container, he found it lost among countless identical mounds. With regret, he said: “The people are like sheep — they do things by copying others, without trying to find out the truth.”

The lesson is that every right-thinking person must leave the habit of acting without thought, and instead act only after knowing what is true and what is untrue. The Vedas are the source of all true knowledge, and everyone should try to follow their teachings.

In the first five principles, the source of all true knowledge, the attributes of God, the significance of the Vedas, and the paths of truth and righteousness have been covered. When a person assimilates these principles — or a society puts them into practice — one becomes capable of doing good to the world. That is why the sixth principle states:

“The prime object of the Arya Samaj is to do good to the world, that is, to promote physical, spiritual and social good of everyone.”

All organizations and societies established in this world have certain aims and objectives. Most are established for the progress of their own people only, so the whole world cannot benefit from them — they work within a very limited scope. Swami Dayanand, however, established an organization whose objective is the general welfare of the world. This is a great objective. The question is: how can it be achieved, and what does welfare mean?

Swami Dayanand answers this clearly in the second part of the sixth principle: welfare means physical, spiritual and social development of all. A person who wants to do good to the world first has to be physically healthy and strong — a sick person cannot even take care of themselves, let alone the world. Good health is a basic requirement for the fulfillment of righteousness, wealth, desires and salvation, which is why wise people give first attention to physical fitness. It is our duty to keep the body fit through exercise, so that every part of it can be put to strong, healthy use for at least a hundred years.

After physical development, spiritual development must be attended to. Just as exercise, beneficial food and good medicine are necessary for the body, the study of good scriptures, penance, worship of God and good company are necessary for the strength of the soul. The soul’s real nature is pure, but once attached to worldly pleasures and the material world, it becomes impure — it takes real effort and non-attachment to remove that impurity. That is why body and soul must be developed together.

After physical and spiritual development, it becomes necessary to develop society. It is not enough to progress oneself only — it is our duty to develop the entire society, through unity, togetherness, and helping others. Those who seek progress for themselves only become selfish; one also has a responsibility toward one’s neighbours, and at times must even give one’s life for the protection and upliftment of the nation and its people. Every citizen should be ready to do so.

For social progress, we must remove the feelings of privileged and underprivileged, rich and poor, and move forward with love for all in our hearts. The Vedas clearly state that we must see each other with a friendly eye. Therefore, while developing physically, spiritually and socially, every person should devote their life to the service of the world — this is the objective of the sixth principle.

The question now arises: while doing service to the world, how should we interact with each other? This question matters because, in this vast world, there are good people and evil ones, religious saints and sinners alike. That is why the seventh principle was formulated:

“Our conduct towards all should be guided by love, righteousness and justice.”

Firstly, as humans it is our duty to interact with each other with love and care. One should not speak harsh words, create feelings of high or low class, or hate anyone — enmity toward others invites enmity in return. Every living being wants happiness; nobody likes pain and grief, so we should never inflict it on others. But this does not mean engaging in flattery or being led astray through temptation. Some people, for instance, are lured by astrologers who convince them their problems stem from the anger of stars and planets, and are then robbed of their wealth in exchange for supposed remedies. In truth, stars and planets are lifeless objects.

The second message of the seventh principle is that our interaction with others must be guided by righteousness — putting into practice only what is right according to the Vedas or the wise, and what is logical and practical. Following the righteous path brings happiness; following the non-righteous path brings only pain and grief.

This does not mean we treat everyone — young and old, good and evil — the same way. The third message of this principle is that our behaviour toward others should be as they deserve: one must consider whether a person is junior or senior, learned or foolish, good or evil, and respond accordingly. Punishing evildoers is the duty of the ruler, and doing so protects the good. Though every person in the kingdom is equal in the eyes of the ruler, it remains their responsibility to do justice and punish wrongdoing. Likewise, while maintaining loving relationships among family members, each should be treated according to what they deserve. We must remember this seventh principle in our day-to-day life.

How one should behave with others while living in this world has been explained in the seventh principle. In the eighth, Swami Dayanand turns our attention toward the propagation of knowledge:

“We should dispel avidya (ignorance) and promote vidya (knowledge).”

Wrong knowledge, false information or misunderstanding is known as ignorance. There are four types: believing impermanent and perishable things to be everlasting; feeling purity in impure things; feeling pleasure in things that cause pain and grief; and believing that life exists in inanimate objects.

In worldly terms there are two types of ignorance — one concerning the present life, and one concerning the next. The first refers to not knowing, or having wrong knowledge of, the correct behavioural norms of society in the present world. Examples include failing to uplift family life (grihasth ashram), which is paramount among the four stages of life, or degrading it; suffering under blind faith such as ghosts, witchcraft and superstition; attachment to baseless social beliefs such as untouchability, the caste system, or the dowry system; and neglecting study, good company or the righteous path in favour of bad company.

Ignorance concerning the next life means not following the path of righteousness, not believing in God, and regarding the present life as everything — pursuing only drink, dine, dance and merriment, and believing nothing exists above materialism. Such people pursue only their own selfish motives, without knowing what to do or not do, what is righteous or not, what is true or untrue — believing the house, car, spouse and children will remain forever, or that they are the most intelligent person with no limit to their powers. Having such thoughts is itself ignorance. A wise person always tries to overcome it.

One should not be satisfied merely with having overcome one’s own ignorance — one must also make an effort to propagate true knowledge so others may overcome theirs. In his commentary on the Yajurved (verse 1:6), Swami Dayanand states clearly: “After studying all types of knowledge, it must be preached in all places.” Knowledge and science have no limits — true knowledge is a precious possession that cannot be stolen, and passing it to others only increases one’s own.

Therefore, it is the duty of noble and learned persons to ensure that everyone around them receives proper education and knowledge, because ignorance is the root cause of all pain and grief in the world. One should always be ready to dispel ignorance and propagate knowledge.

After addressing the propagation of knowledge in the eighth principle, Swami Dayanand draws our attention to social progress:

“No one should be content with promoting his/her own good only; on the contrary, one should look for his/her good in promoting the good of all.”

Personal progress alone is not sufficient to ensure the progress of a whole society — developing only oneself is a mark of selfishness. A nation progresses only if everyone in it makes progress; noble and benevolent people devote their lives to the welfare of all.

Everything in this world is in motion. Even if a single atom became motionless, there would be scenes of destruction — every material undergoes either breakdown or development, and the same rule applies to society. A society that wants to be happy and live with prestige must always be willing to move forward. As the Vedas state, “Charaiveti charaiveti” — “Move on, move on.”

If only a few people make progress, that is not good enough — the progress of all is the ideal. If there is only one powerful person in a community while the rest remain weak, that person is likely to cause harm to others; unity is strength. One of the causes of India’s historical downfall was that the Brahmins believed themselves alone entitled to study and teach the Vedas — women and the shudras were not permitted to read them, and whatever the Brahmins said was taken as true. As a result, the propagation of the Vedas came to a standstill.

In the Vedas, God states, “Yathemam vacham kalyani mavadani janebhyah” — “I am giving the word of the Vedas for the welfare of all.” Yet because of a few selfish people, the progress of the nation stalled. After understanding the essence of this principle, we must all work to see that everybody is progressing.

“One should regard oneself under restriction to follow the rules of society calculated to promote the well being of all, while in following the rules of individual welfare all should be free.”

This principle emphasizes that every person, irrespective of belief, must follow the rules formulated for the good of society — while remaining free, in matters concerning one’s own personal good, to follow whatever is beneficial and free of harm to others.

It lays out the limits of freedom and restriction in people’s actions. It is difficult to say precisely which actions one is free to take as an individual, and which are bound by the rules of society — so well-tested principles for both have been formulated for everyone’s social good.

Bathing, for example, is important. If a person chooses not to bathe, that is their individual freedom — but by not bathing, they cause harm both to themselves and to others around them. Similar principles apply to eating, drinking and other personal habits: before taking any action, one must think carefully whether it is beneficial to oneself, and how it may affect the wider society. For this reason, one must follow the rules calculated for the welfare of all, even when one may not like them — there is no individual freedom of choice where society is involved. In practical terms this is beneficial; without it, there would be misconduct in society.

Actions that may tarnish the reputation of a society or religion should not be carried out, and likewise, actions beneficial to an individual alone but harmful to many — or not in favour of the country and its people — should not be practised. For example, a person who uses an organisation’s money for personal use may benefit briefly, but the members of that organisation, and others, suffer as a result.

Therefore, one must leave ignorance behind, discern what is true from what is untrue, and — understanding the importance of this principle — practise it strictly in life.