THE ARYA SAMAJ. 



101 



eighteen. There is no special ceremony of initiation for 

 members of the " twice-born " castes, but outsiders such as 

 Christians and Mohammedans must undergo a ceremony of 

 purification. The members of a local samaj are of two kinds, 

 probationers or non- voting and approved or voting members. 

 The peried of probation is one year. The officers of a local 

 Samaj consist of a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer 

 and librarian, elected by the voting members. It will be 

 observed that the officers are those of an ordinary secular 

 association. The Provincial assembly is a representative body 

 composed of delegates appointed by the local congregations. 

 Each affiliated samaj has the right to send one delegate for 

 every twenty members. Delegates are elected for three years, 

 and there is an annual meeting of the Provincial assembly, 

 which has the oversight of all the congregations situated 

 within a particular province, e.g., the united Provinces or the 

 Punjab. Thus the form of government of the Arya Samaj is 

 clearly representative. It is not quite clear, however, whether 

 its special type is Congregational or Presbyterian ; in other 

 words, whether the Provincial assembly is the analogue of a 

 Presbyterian Synod or of a Congregational Union. 



The weekly religious service of the Arya Samaj is held on 

 Sunday morning, since the Government offices are closed on 

 that day. As it is the only religious service of the week, it is 

 a long one, lasting three or four hours. Eeligious worship 

 consists of the burning of incense (the Homa sacrifice), accom- 

 panied by the chanting of Vedic mantras, exposition of the 

 writings of Swami Dayanand, prayer, hymns, sermon and 

 lecture. With the exception of the use of incense, the 

 constituents of worship are those of an ordinary Protestant 

 service. Thus the worship is non-ritualistic and Puritan in 

 its simplicity. Long sermons are apparently enjoyed. 



In its methods of work the Arya Samaj follows the methods 

 current among the various missionary societies working in 

 India. It uses preaching, education, tract distribution, news- 

 papers, etc., etc. Its methods of raising money are as follows : 

 CI) Voting members must pay of their monthly income. 

 (2) Special appeals are made at the anniversary meetings. 

 Much is made of such meetings as occasions for stirring up zeal 

 and creating a spirit of self-sacrifice. At the last anniversary of 

 the " cultured " section of the Arya Samaj held in Lahore at the 

 end of November, 1902, there were "two remarkable incidents. 

 The one was the surrender of a life policy for Es. 10,000 to the 

 samaj by one gentleman in the heat of the enthusiasm created 



