Validity & Legal Values of Arya Samaj Marriage

We at Arya Samaj Mandir work to achieve one of the main objectives of Arya Samaj-to end all discriminations based on caste, religion and birth. Arya Samaj is a spiritual way of living with a universal message of peace and happiness. Its ethos is captured in its ten guiding principles based on Vedic teachings that point to a better living. Arya Samaj is a global phenomenon that attracts the young and old alike, sometimes from other religions, for its simple, logical and contemporary thinking on God, spirituality and values of life. It finds resonance with educated, middle-class professionals as it revolts against the horrors of organized religion. Arya Samaj promotes true Indian culture and national spirit; instilling feelings of pride and patriotism for country. Though the Arya Samaj was primarily concerned with social and religious reforms, its political impact was most conspicuous.

Indian marriages are very much different from the western weddings. Indian marriagesare full of vigor, colors and ceremonial functions. There are a literally scores of ways in which a Arya Samaj Mandir marriage ceremony can be performed, though usually the religion/caste of the bridegroom (and sometimes the bride), decides the kind of ceremony and the nature of rites. No more lectures or any discussions about Dyanand Saraswati or 'Satayarth Prakash'. It has been stated that many of the difficulties and subsequent hostilities which arose between the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj were due to an unfortunate combination of personal intrigue and poor translations. Both parties have claimed to have been misrepresented on several occasions and members of each have accused the other of being responsible for the failure of the undertaking.

Regardless, the theological and ideological differences between the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj persist to this day. That is the way by which so many sectarian divisions have become prevalent in India: by making the guru’s word the touchstone of truth and thus fostering deep-seated prejudices which make the people religion-blind, cause quarrels and destroy all right knowledge. That is the way India arrived at her sorry contemporary state, and that is the way this Samaj too would grow to be just another sect.

Procedure of marriage in our Arya Samaj Mandir is very easy, simple, and hassle free. You just need to furnish age certificate, residence proof, a few photographs and witnesses. It takes hardly 1-2 hours to solemnize the marriage. We make all arrangements like photography, video recording, bridal make ups, feast etc to make you stress-free. One of the basic rules of the Arya Samaj is that it conducts marriages only for Hindus, since the movement's founder Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati sincerely believed Hinduism to be the 'original' religion and that conversions accounted for the spread of other religions from Hinduism. If in case a couple belonging to religions other than Hinduism want to get married under the auspices of Arya Samaj, they first have to be converted, through a process called "shuddhi", meaning purification.