Arya Samaj in Suriname

AUM or OM is considered by the Arya Samaj to be the highest and most proper name of God.
An old image of Arya Samaj temple in Meerzorg

Suriname has possibly the highest proportion of Hindus who are Arya Samajis, compared to any other country.[citation needed] In Suriname, the Hindu population had split, with roughly 20% following the teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Ārya Samāj, and 80% following the Sanatan Dharm.[1] According to the census of 2012 the number of Ārya Samājĩs is 16,661.[2] The arrival of Arya Samaj preachers in Suriname, in 1929, caused a rift in the Hindu community, between the followers of Sanātanī and the Ārya Samāj.[3]

  1. ^ Guyana has a large percentage of Arya Samajis either, see further: "Foundation Ganesh Tackles Holland's Tough Projects". Hinduism Today. February 1989.; Freek L. Bakker, Hindoes in een creoolse wereld, Zoetermeer: Meinema 1999, p. 20-22.
  2. ^ According to this census Suriname counts 541,638 inhabitants; 120,623 of them are Hindus and 16,661 of these Hindus belong to the Ārya Samāj (Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek – Suriname, Definitieve resultaten achtste algemene volkstelling (Vol. 1), p. 37 and 39.
  3. ^ Freek L. Bakker, Hindoes in een creoolse wereld, Zoetermeer: Meinema 1999, p. 100-103.