Shree Narayana Guru, an eminent saint, scholar, philosopher, poet, and a catalyst for social rejuvenation in the southern region of Bharat, shines bright in history. He is venerated for his profound understanding of the Vedas, eloquent poetic prowess, and unwavering determination to rectify societal injustices. Narayana Guru played a pivotal role in establishing the spiritual groundwork for social transformation in Kerala, emerging as one of the most impactful reformers to challenge the entrenched caste system in India. What set him apart was his ability to pave a path towards societal liberation that transcended the dichotomy of the oppressed and the oppressor. He was a unique social reformer who consistently advocated for holistic solutions, never pitting one group against another.
EARLY LIFE
Shree Narayana Guru was born on August 20, 1856 to Madan Asan and Kuttiyamma in Chempazhanthy, a village near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in the erstwhile state of Travancore, in British India. He was named Nanu, which means Narayana.
His father Madan got the surname Asan because he was not only a farmer but an Asan also. The term Asan means Acharyan i.e. teacher. He knew Sanskrit and had studied Astrology and Ayurveda. He knew the Ramayana and the Mahabharata well and used to deliver talks to the village people in simple language once a week, sitting in the verandah of his house. Nanu too would listen with interest. As he grew up, he too would give the talks when Madan was not present.
Nanu received early education in a gurukula under Chempazhanthi Mootha Pillai. At the age of 21, he went to central Travancore to learn from Raman Pillai Asan, a Sanskrit scholar who taught him Vedas and Upanishads. When he came back to his village, he started teaching children, becoming an Asan himself. Later he got married, but his wife passed away in a few years. After the death of his and his wife, Nanu started leading the life of a wandering Sanyasi.
THE SANYASI
During his travels, he came in contact with two gurus who left a deep impression on him – Kunjan Pillai (also known as Chettambi Swami) and Thikkad Ayyavu. Chettambi Swami understood the innate powers of Nanu and encouraged him to compose poems in Sanskrit. Thikkad Ayyavu was a master of the Science of Yoga.
Inspired by his Guru, Nanu Asan wrote ‘Nava Manjari’ – a string of nine stanzas. He dedicated his poems to Chettambi Swami.
During his wanderings he reached the Pillathadam cave at Maruthwamala where he set up a hermitage and practiced meditation and yoga. In 1888, he consecrated a piece of rock taken from the river, as the idol of Shiva, which has since become the Aruvippuram Shiva Temple.
On May 15, 1903, Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu established the Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam at this temple with the inspiration of Narayan guru. In 1904, he shifted his base to Sivagiri, near Varkala, where he opened a school for children from the lower strata of the society and provided free education to them without considering their caste. He built a temple there too, popularly known as Sharada Mutt by 1912.
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore met him in 1922, and later said: “I have toured different parts of the world, but have never come across one who is spiritually greater than Shree Narayana Guru”.
He built several temples in other places such as Thrissur, Kannur, Anchuthengu, Thalassery, Kozhikode, and Mangalore. After a long journey of spreading love and humanity, he returned to Sharada Mutt and it was here, he left his body on September 20, 1928, at the age of 73.
HIS CONTRIBUTIONS
Since his childhood, Narayan had strong abhorrence towards the caste distinctions and untouchability and he always protested against injustice. The first revolutionary step was the consecration of a temple dedicated to Bhagwan Shiva in Aruvippuram in 1888 where he proclaimed that everyone irrespective of 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. His temples were open to all without discrimination.
He taught equality but felt the inequalities should not be exploited to carry out conversions and therefore generate strife in society. Narayana Guru organized an All-Region Conference in 1923 with a slogan “Not to argue and win but to know and to make known” at Alwaye Advaita Ashram, which was reported to be the first such event in India. This was an effort to counter the religious conversions Ezhava community was susceptible to.
In 1925 Shree Narayan Guru supported the famous Vaikom Satyagraha movement, which demanded entry for lower caste people in 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. Gandhiji expressed that it was a great privilege to have the darshan of an esteemed sage like Shree Narayana Guru.
Narayana Guru published 45 works in Malayalam, Sanskrit and Tamil languages. Jati Mimamsa (an inquiry into caste), a poem in five stanzas is of great significance. It gives in a nut-shell the Guru’s philosophy of life.
The Guru was aware that spirituality cannot be fed to starving millions. He believed that the downtrodden classes needed education, wealth and opportunities. He advocated for education, cleanliness, devotion to God, organization, agriculture, trade, handicrafts, and technical training. He was a real Karma Yogi and his whole life was dedicated for the betterment of the suppressed.
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