Sage Sree Narayana Guru was a humanist to the core. He lived in India during the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century.
inspired everyone to be righteous and believed in the peaceful transformation of society. He advised creative methods and positive solutions to ensure equality and justice as well as to resolve complex societal problems. “Get the education and be free and fearless,” was Guru’s message to empower those blinded by ignorance and crippled by the force of injustice.
He dedicated his life to eradicating discrimination, untouchability, and an array of social injustices that were prevalent in his time. Thus he presented a model for anyone to emulate everywhere when seeking social transformation in a peaceful manner. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., Guru also dreamed of a world where everyone is “judged by the content of their character”.
As a philosopher, Guru was a follower of the ancient Indian philosophical doctrine of Advaita, which establishes the oneness of all creations. The Guru prescribed the practical applicability of advaita to resolve contemporary social problems. As such, he was concerned about the struggles of individuals in their daily lives while acknowledging the spiritual realms of the human soul.
To propagate his teachings, Guru authored numerous texts such as Darsanamala, Atmopadesasatakam, and Advaita Dipika. As Guru was proficient in the Indian classical language of Sanskrit as well as major regional languages of southern India including Malayalam and Tamil, the texts were written in these three languages.
As a spiritual and religious visionary, Guru tried to build a better understanding of world religions through his literary works and social engagements. As a social reformer, Guru enabled profound social transformation in southern India in a peaceful manner within a span of four decades of his public life. In 1924, the Guru organized a religious conference, a Parliament of Religions in Aluva, Kerala with a unique slogan. He declared Not to argue and win, but to know and to make known as the goal of the gathering. Guru stressed that all religions have the same goal and advised against bickering among their followers.
Guru was revered as one of the most influential spiritual leaders in India’s history. Mahatma Gandhi visited Guru at his ashram in Sivagiri on March 12, 1925. Rabindranath Tagore who won the Nobel Prize for literature came to visit Guru on November 22, 1922. Tagore was also accompanied by C.F. Andrews, the Anglican missionary and activist who was also a follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
After a long and eventful life, Sree Narayana Guru left his mortal body on September 20, 1928.
Sree Narayana Guru was born on August 20, 1856 in a middle class peasant family of the then untouchable Ezhava caste, at Chempazhanthy village in Thiruvananthapuram. He was the only son of his parents Madan Asan and Kutti Amma and they affectionately called him Nanu. He had his elementary education from the village school. He learned Sanskrit from a Sanskrit scholar named Raman Pillai Asan and became well versed in Sanskrit scriptures and Vedic philosophy. For some time he worked as a teacher, teaching poor students and people called him ‘Nanu Asan’. ‘Asan’ means teacher.
Following the passing of his parents, his relatives urged him to marry. Despite succumbing to their pressure and participating in the marriage ceremony, he lacked interest in the married lifestyle. With a spiritual longing, he possessed an ascetic mindset, leading him to renounce the pleasures of the physical world. As a wandering mendicant, he travelled through various regions of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was during this period that he encountered Chattampi Swami, who introduced him to Thycaud Ayyavu, a Yoga guru. Under Ayyavu’s guidance, Nanu honed his skills in practices such as Hatha Yoga and meditation.
Even as a child he had strong abhorrence toward the caste distinctions and untouchability and he always protested against injustice. “Ask not, say not and think not caste” was his motto. He had deep sympathy towards the ill-treated people and he decided to clean the vulgarity crept in the Hindu society. …And, he started his revolutionary mission….
Consecration of a Hindu temple was the exclusive right of Brahmins. Sree Narayana threw a challenge on this domination. As the first revolutionary step, he himself consecrated a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Aruvippuram in 1888. When questioned by the Brahmins, he replied that he had consecrated a Shiva belonging to his community. The irony of the message was very clear – how could Shiva be owned by any particular community? It was a strong warning to the upper castes and a bold proclamation that everyone irrespective of his caste or religion has the right to realize God.
In subsequent years he consecrated several temples in different parts of Kerala with revolutionary changes. In one temple at Kalavancode in Sherthallai, instead of deities, he installed a mirror for worship, revealing the truth that God is within oneself and one should find salvation by the development of inner self. In another temple at Murikkumpuzha near Trivandrum, in place of deity, there was a bright light which revealed the words “Truth, Duty, Kindness, Love”. His temples were open to all Hindus and non-Hindus, without any discrimination of caste or creed.
He travelled throughout Kerala, Madras and Sri Lanka. He lived with the people and for the people. Wherever he went, he earned a large number of devotees. He opened a Sanskrit school at Sivagiri to teach poor students, irrespective of their caste. He set up two Ashrams at Sivagiri and Aluva. He always gave importance to education and attached educational institutions to the Ashrams.
In 1903, Dr. Palpu, a devotee of Guru, established a social organization called “Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam) to spread the message of Guru against the caste system in Kerala. The SNDP Yogam established several educational institutes and hospitals throughout the state and it became a powerful platform to unite the oppressed people.
In 1921, in the All Kerala Fraternity conference held at Aluva, he proclaimed his famous message “One Caste, One Religion and One God to Mankind”, which was a clarion call to the mankind to unite, instead of breaking down in the name of caste and religion.
A religious conference, named as the Parliament of Religions, was held at Aluva in 1924 with a slogan “Not to argue and win but to know and to make known”. In that conference he conveyed the universal message that the ultimate aim of all religions were same and there was no need for the followers of different religions to indulge in mutual conflict.
In 1925 Guru supported the famous Vaikom Satyagraha movement, which demanded entry for lower caste people into the Shiva temple at Vaikom and all temples in Kerala. Mahatma Gandhi visited Kerala during this time to support the Vaikom Satyagraha and met Guru at Sivagiri Ashram the two sages had interesting discussions on the issues of caste and untouchability. Gandhiji expressed that it was a great privilege in his life to have the darshan of an esteemed sage like Sree Narayana Guru.
The great Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore met Guru in 1922. About his warm meeting with Guru, Tagore later said: “I have been touring different parts of the world. But I have never come across one who is spiritually greater than Sree Narayana Guru”.
As I mentioned earlier, there is no death for great persons. They visit this earth with a great purpose, do their duties sincerely and leave us one day. Sree Narayana Guru left us on September 20, 1928.
Sree Narayana Guru Biography is not just a story of a saint; it is an epic of a crusade. The Guru was aware that spirituality cannot be fed to starving millions. He believed that other than the freedom from the curse of untouchability, the downtrodden classes needed education and wealth. They needed opportunities to improve like others. He was a real Karma Yogi and his whole life was dedicated for the betterment of the suppressed. He was an innate poet and a great scholar in Malayalam, Tamil and Sanskrit. He was an author of many beautiful and inspirational works in these languages. His words and deeds ignited sparks of revolution that led to a remarkable cultural renaissance in the profligate society of Kerala.