The socio-economic activities of the Arya Samaj Hindu community in Nairobi, a spiritual perspective

Abstract

The objective of this study is to exam me the religious motive of the Socio-economic activities of the Arya Samaji in Nairobi. Lack of information explaining the basis of these activities has led to distrust and suspicion by outsiders regarding the underlying motive beneath them. In part, due to the Arya Samaj' s exclusiveness, outsiders do receive benevolence with suspicion - benevolence and exclusiveness appear to be contradictory. This study examines the religious motive of these activities with the hope that this may generate information that may lead to a better understanding of the benevolence. Understanding this motive entailed: investigating the basic tenets of the Arya Samaj as they relate with charity; examining the socio-economic activities of the Arya Samaj in Nairobi and identifying the religious correlates of the Arya Samaj' s benevolence. Hypothetically, it was assumed that commitment to charity is necessitated by political, social and economic environments. Conversely, it is based on fulfilling religious duties. Using Streng's theory of the relation of religiousness to - cultural situations, this study concerns itself with the socio-cultural modes of expressing religious phenomena by the Arya Samajists. It relates the dynamics of religious awareness to social life and conceptual formulations. It therefore attempts to correlate the devotees' social expression of religious experience with social compassion. Collection of this kind. of data entailed the use of certain methodologies. Firstly, the use of secondary sources helped to shed light on the background information regarding the Arya Samaj. Secondly, understanding the activities of the community required the author to examine specific concrete phenomena using direct

observation. Thirdly, the author used participant observation approach to acquire first hand information on the way some of the facilities are actually utilized by the public for instance the sports facilities. Fourthly, ethnographic interview method (in-depth interviews) was employed for. gathering of in-depth information. Lastly, a questionnaire was administered to those respondents who were not in a position to be engaged in ethnographic interviews. The data was recorded in a small notebook and also on tape. The study employed qualitative methods of data analysis with the correlation between various variables being derived from the number of responses. The findings of this study identified four spiritual correlates of the Arya Samaj's acts of charity. Firstly, the Pandit was correlated with charity. He positively influences the laity to participate in charity. Secondly, the Arya Samaj symbol was correlated with benevolence. High level involvement in charity signifies conformity to the symbol. Thirdly, the community's doctrine is conducive to the adepts participation in social compassion. Those committed to the doctrine are more likely to take a stand consonant with the welfare of others than the marginally committed members. Fourthly, participation in charity is one way of expressing the faithfuls

commitment to the community's ethical code as well as an implementation of the divine will. This study has contributed a lot to knowledge by enhancing an understanding of the motive beneath the charitable acts of the Arya Samaj. By and large, they tend to be based on and motivated by the community's religious ideals. There seems to be no ulterior motive. This may be the case with other Asian groups. In spite of this observation, a lot still needs to be done on the Arya Samaj. Firstly, initiative should be taken to translate the community's literature from Hindi into English. Secondly, there is need for facilitating seminars and possibly courses tailored to enhance a pnor understanding of various oriental heritages to potential researchers. Thirdly, it may be desirable for potential researchers to adopt a comparative approach that may extend in either time or space as the situation may possibly demand. Spatial comparison may entail studying the Arya Samaj in Nairobi and comparing with other branches in the country for instance Mombasa or even with others outside the country. The former entails comparing the Arya Samaj today and a few years or decades back. Fourthly, potential researchers may wish to examine how the different Asian communities have co-existed in Nairobi. In conclusion, it can be stated that any oversights emerging from the delivery of charity notwithstanding, the Samaj I s acts of chari ty are spiritually motivated.