1. The Arya Samaj was founded on the 10th of April, 1875 in Bombay, India by Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
2.The Arya Samaj holds that, though God may be referred to by many names, the highest and most proper name of God is OM.
3. The Arya Samaj proclaims that the Vedas are the original revelation of God to man and that they contain all true knowledge necessary for the healthy and natural propagation of human society.
4. The Arya Samaj maintains that man can enter direct communion with God, and therefore has no need of any kind of religious mediator or intercessor to petition salvation on his behalf, such as a savior, prophet or priest.
5. The Arya Samaj engages in the practices of Sandhya (Divine Contemplation) and Agnihotra (Fire Sacrifice) as the proper means of praising, praying to and worshipping God.
6. The Arya Samaj advocates the practice of Yoga as the most proficient means of attaining direct communion with God.
7. The Arya Samaj promotes the worship of God in His true nature, i.e. without form or limitations. No image or material representation can capture the true nature of God. Therefore idols in any form are neither necessary nor desired in the worship of God.
8. The Arya Samaj recognizes that both enjoyment and suffering are the natural and logical results of one's actions (karma), and that wrongs can only be atoned for by the performance of good deeds.
9. Aryas commonly greet each other with the Vedic salutation, 'Namaste', which means, 'I bow unto the light within you'.
10. Today, the Arya Samaj has branches in countries around the world including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guyana, Surinam, Trinidad, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Malawi, Mauritius, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia.
