Arya: Encyclopedia II - Arya - Religious and spiritual uses

Arya - Religious and spiritual uses

The term Arya is often used in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian texts. In the spiritual context it can be applied to Rishis or to someone who has has mastered the four noble truths and entered upon the spiritual path. The religions of India are sometimes called collectively "Arya Dharma", a term that includes the religions that originated in India (e.g. Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism). The term Aryan can also be applied to an approach to religion or to religious systems that are similar to Hinduism or Buddhism (e.g. Taoism, Paganism, Zoroastrianism). Swami Dayananda founded the religious organisation Arya Samaj in 1875.

According to Swami Vivekananda, "A child materially born is not an Aryan; the child born in spirituality is an Aryan.” He further elaborated, referring to the Manu Smriti: "Says our great law-giver, Manu, giving the definition of an Aryan, "He is the Aryan, who is born through prayer". Every child not born through prayer is illegitimate, according to the great law-giver. The child must be prayed for. Those children that come with curses, that slip into the world, just in a moment of inadvertence, because that could not be prevented - what can we expect of such progeny?..."(Swami Vivekananda, Complete Works vol.8)

The term Arya is used 36 times in 34 hymns in the Rig Veda. According to Talageri (2000, The Rig Veda-A historical analysis) "the particular Vedic Aryans of the Rigveda were one section among these Purus, who called themselves Bharatas." Thus it is possible, according to Talageri, that at one point of time Arya did refer to a specific tribe.

The word Arya is also often used in Jainism. The word occurs frequently in the Jain text Pannavanasutta.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Religious and spiritual uses", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki