Satyarth Prakash
Satyarth Prakash (, "" – "The Light of Meaning of the Truth" or "The Light of Truth") is an 1875 book written originally in Hindi by Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati (Swami Dayanand), an influential religious and social reformer and the founder of Arya Samaj. It is considered one of his major scholarly works. The book was subsequently revised by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1882 and has now been translated into more than 20 languages including Sanskrit and several foreign languages like English, French, German, Swahili, Arabic and Chinese. The major portion of the book is dedicated to laying down the reformist advocacy  of Swami Dayanand with the last three chapters making a case for comparative study of different religious faiths. The book. Overview. During the Middle Ages of Indian history, many faiths and sects sprang up in religious and social spheres of Hindu society. Their practitioners slowly migrated away from the teachings of the Vedas attaching greater significance to their founders and their preachings. From then onwards polytheism commenced. Great differences developed among the different sects and divided and weakened Hindu society. The caste system based on birth became strong and gave rise to further fragmentation. Like with any aging society without  reforms, the customs gave way to superstition and ignorance wherein practice superseded reason and the spread of blind faith threatened degradation of "Hindu" society. The word Hindu is an improper word or misnomer- the correct word is Vaidic Dharma or Sanathana Dharma, a religion based upon the Vedas. The word Hindu does not appear anywhere in the Vedic texts or even the Bhagavad Gita. The word Hindu is a Persian word, used by the Muslims and the renaming of the Vaidic religion to "Hindu" demonstrates the level of weakening to the Vaidic faith. "Hinduism" needs reforms. It was at this  time that Swami Dayanand wrote "Satyarth Prakash" in order to spread the knowledge of the Vedas and to educate people on the true qualities of God. The "Satyarth Prakash" contains exposition and clarifications of Vedic principles. The book advocates Vedic monism based on Advaita Vedanta. Some of the important topics in the "Satyarth Prakash" include worship of one God, explanation of the main principles of the Vedas, the relationship between religion and science and between devotion and intellect, elimination of the caste system and of different religious beliefs for the strengthening of society, eradication of superstitions, false notions and meaningless  customs, shunning narrow-mindedness and promoting the brotherhood of man. Contents. The book contains fourteen chapters, the contents of which are detailed below: Editions. The book was originally written in Hindi by Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 CE. After detecting omissions, language and printing mistakes in the first edition, after making corrections at Israr mahal inside Ramapur at Kashi, he published a second revised edition in Samvat 1939 (1882-83 CE). The book has been translated into twenty-four different languages. Navlakha Mahal is presently the office of "Shrimadd Dayanand Satyarth Prakash Nyas", which after detecting in 2004 that the  book has been printed by many unathorised entities in different versions, appointed an authentication Committee of Vedic scholars, and started to publish authenticated version of the book. Reception and Criticism. S. Rangaswami Iyengar praised the book, saying that "It contains the wholly rationalistic view of the Vedic religion." Satyartha Prakash was banned in some princely states and in Sindh in 1944 and is still banned in Sindh. In 2008 two Indian Muslims, Usman Ghani and Mohammad Khalil Khan of Sadar Bazar, Delhi, following the fatwa of Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, the Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid in Delhi, urged the Delhi High  Court to ban "Satyarth Prakash". However, the court dismissed the petition and commented "A suit by Hindus against the Quran or by Muslims against Gita or Satyarth Prakash claiming relief... are in fact, meant to play mischief in the society."