THE Arya Pratinidhi Sabha South Africa is celebrating a century of dedication to the principles of Vedic culture and community upliftment.
The organisation on Saturday will mark the significant milestone of 100 years with a celebration at the Kendra Hall.
Their guest of honour is Swami Aryavesh, president of the World Council of Arya Samaj.
The Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in 1875 in Mumbai and it spread to other cities in India and across the world.
The Samaj encouraged Indian South Africans to take pride in their heritage and culture and promoted education and social reform.
This year also marks 150 years since the Arya Samaj was founded in India.
In 1924 and 1925, visionary leaders from Vedic organisations in Natal, from Pietermaritzburg, Ladysmith, and Durban, gathered to create a unified representative body for all Arya Samaj organisations in South Africa, namely the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (APS) South Africa.
This significant event took place on February 22, 1925.
The Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (APS) South Africa, which was originally in Carlisle Street in Durban, recently relocated to Overport.
The pioneers of the Arya Samaj in South Africa, established organisations, fought for freedom, and rejected orthodox practices.
They promoted and preserved the Indian languages and culture and improved the status of Indians in South Africa.
Some of the work undertaken by the Arya Samaj organisations included building schools and the setting up of the Aryan Benevolent Home.
Karuna Mohan, a member of the executive committee of the APS, said the Arya Samaj was responsible for setting up the South African Hindu Maha Sabha.
"That was due to the Arya Samaj missionaries who came to the country from India in the early 1900 and they looked at the conditions of Indians and Hindus and they felt there needed to be a body that unified Hindus.
"The Arya Samaj has been caring for the community and therefore established the Aryan Benevolent Homes for the aged and orphanage," said Mohan.
She said another achievement of the Arya Samaj was the establishment of the Hindi Shiksha Sangh that promotes the Hindi language. It now also has Radio Hindvani.
Mohan said the Arya Samaj was also known for promoting the equality of women.
"Going forward we will be having a series of programmes that tackle gender based violence and how we can overcome it. We will be looking at how we can turn our centres to become a place where victims can get proper advice. And look at Vedic values and how people can live better lives. We want to join hands with other faiths to rid our society of gender based violence.
"Another matter we want to look at is climate justice. We currently have a project that looks at water scarcity in KwaZulu-Natal where we provide boreholes in schools in deep rural areas and communities without water. We also have food gardens," she said.
She said over the years developed graded exams in Hinduism in English. In 1975 during the golden jubilee celebrations the Vedic Temple in Carlisle Street in Durban was opened and the first five women Vedic Priests were ordained. At that time orthodox Hindus did not allow women to read the scriptures or become priests. The Arya Samaj has since produced several women priests of calibre.
Pundit Kirun Satgoor, president of the Arya Samaj of SA, said they will be holding events throughout the year to mark the 100 years.
"The new headquarters in Overport was inaugurated in February. At the centenary celebration on Saturday the seventh edition of the Aryan Prayer will be launched. It is the organisation's flagship prayer book of various hymns from the Vedas.
"The book is unique as it is in Sanskrit and translated into English with the meaning of the verses from the Vedas," said Satgoor.
Pundit Bhawani Dayal, the first president of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, developed the first prayer book in the 1930’s “Vedic Prayer”. Transition to the Aryan Prayer took place in 1954.
The Aryan Prayer plays a vital role in weekly satsangs and daily Sandhya recitals, providing structure and spiritual focus for gatherings and personal practice.
