Date: February 12, 2026
Venue: Auro University, Surat
At the International Conference on Discovery and Application of the Vedic Knowledge (February 12-15, 2026), organised by Auro University in collaboration with Sri Aurobindo Integral Life Center, Surat, La Grace Sri Aurobindo Integral Life Center, USA, Bṛhat Foundation, BhāratShakti, Sri Aurobindo Society, SAKSHI Trust, Bengaluru and AuroChit, USA, Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti, SAS, was invited to deliver a special lecture on the first day of the conference. The conference opened on February 12, the birth anniversary of Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883), and Dr. Mehra had the special privilege to speak to honour the legacy of this great son of Mother India.
In her talk, Dr. Mehra explored the immense contribution of Swami Dayananda Saraswati through the discerning lens of Sri Aurobindo. She highilighted that Sri Aurobindo has spoken highly of Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s pivotal role in the Indian Renaissance. He regarded Swami Dayananda as one of the most powerful figures of a transformative era in Indian history, distinguished by his confident fusion of spiritual vision with pragmatic action—a unique ‘spiritual practicality’.
As per Sri Aurobindo, Swami Dayananda performed an “act of grandiose intellectual courage” in recovering the Veda’s true meaning. He notes that Dayananda brought the “eye of direct vision” to Vedic interpretation, revealing once again “the deep and energetic spirit of the forefathers who made this country and nation.” The Veda, he affirmed, is India’s “Rock of Ages.”
Dr. Mehra explained that speaking of Swami Dayananda as the pioneer who discovered the ‘right clues’ to Vedic interpretation, Sri Aurobindo admired his bold intellectual contribution to recovering the profound psychological, cosmological and scientific truths embedded in the Veda. At a time when the Veda was seen as merely a collection of ritualistic hymns, Swami Dayananda found in the Veda a living scripture of divine knowledge and action.
Dr. Mehra further highlighted how Swami Dayananda’s work sought to restore the “Aryan element” to India’s national character. Swami Dayananda also founded the Arya Samaj, an institution rooted in Vedic principles and with an aim of working toward national regeneration through Purushartha, Freedom, and Karma. The Arya Samaj movement was particularly influential in Punjab, and through its members’ disciplined action, moral courage, and organizational strength fostered a politically awakened society.
Dr. Mehra also briefly recounted some of the important luminaries from Arya Samaj who contributed immensely in Indian Freedom Movement and several other societal reform campaigns particularly related to women’s education and social equality. She shared a few anecdotes from her personal experience in this regard.
To conclude the talk, Dr. Mehra pointed out that Sri Aurobindo summarized Dayananda’s contribution across three axes:
- Recovered national and spiritual purpose rooted in ancient wisdom
- Practical methods—institutions and disciplined action
- Courage to assert both spirituality and action as integral to human fullness
She added that Swami Dayananda’s unique approach which Sri Aurobindo termed as “spiritual practicality”—the ability to translate suprarational truth into effective action can serve as an important model for civilizational renewal.
This special lecture was appreciated by the audience and a couple of interesting questions from the audience followed the talk. Several audience members said that though they had heard about Arya Samaj, they did not know about the important role this institution played in Indian Freedom Movement.