| Opening notes
The
Satyartha Prakhash (The light of Truth) is the masterpiece of Swami
Dayanand Saraswati. Some call it as Magnum Opus. No doubt, it is a great
literary undertaking, as the lexicographic contents denote. But I go a step
further. The lexicon (Oxford) says, Magnum, a bottle containing a certain
quantity of wine. But as the great writer of this masterpiece Swami
Dayanand was a symbol of ultimate morality and spiritualism and was a sage
of standing, he never touched a drop of wine. And so his present work down
not contain any such alcoholic impact. But one thing is undoubtedly true
about it. This great, book is, indeed, and encyclopedia of the various
contemporary social religious and political currents cross-currents and
movements going on at the time of the writer's life. To go it further, the
writer has not spared the past events and guiding philosophies, which has
polluted the human mind and deteriorated man's quest for true knowledge
and right way of life.
When one analyzes this work for
this angle, we have witnessed that this great masterwork of Swami Dayanand
Saraswati positively made the revolution in the socio-political fabric not
only of the Indians but of the whole mankind. It created a new flutter and
awakening in the society, that made the various thinkers and followers and
scholars of different faiths and sects to make drastic changes in their
concepts, beliefs and interpretations contained in their Books of Faith. No
doubt, much more crusading spirit was witnessed among the readers of this
book who hailed from different races, communities and groups. The word
Magnum, therefore, has no parallel like that in the context of this work.
Its repeated study, research and investigation have greatly contributed to the
thinking of humankind, since it was written by the author, more than a
hundred years ago.
The liberal angle which
motivated the writer is summed up by him in the introduction, where he
unfailingly disclaimed to start a new sect or religion and laid his firm
faith in the oneness of human society.
The introduction has Swami's
following words:-
"………..there is not the remotest
idea to hurt the feelings of any person either directly or indirectly; but on the contrary, the book proposes that men should distinguish
truth from falsehood. Thus alone can the human race steadily advance
on the path of happiness, since none but the preaching of truth is the cause of the improvement of the human family."
Such
a selfless exposition by the writer has found a distinct position for this
author in the world literature of this kind. The English translation of his
book was rendered by Dr. Chiranjiva Bharadwaja in the last century. It
enjoys greater popularity and has already run into a number of reprints.
The Sabha has brought it out to meet the great and persistent demand and as
a present on the sacred occasion of Swami Dayanand's Nirvan (Death) Centenary
which being celebrated all over the world this year, under the Sabha's
aegis.
Satyartha Prakash means the
Light of Truth. In fact, it is a Light House in the ocean of knowledge,
where human mind can anchor at safe point during the turmoil and tempest. That
way, this book has weightage over other works numbering……… written by the
Swami during his life time.
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