Sree Guru Narayana Jayanthi 2021

Published: 31st Aug, 2021

Context

Recently, the Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to SreeNarayana Guru on his Jayanti.

Who was SreeNarayna Guru?

SreeNarayana Guru was a catalyst and leader who reformed the oppressive caste system that prevailed in society at the time.
His philosophy always advocated social equality, education for all, and spiritual enlightenment. The caste system was rampant in Kerala at that time.
Caste: Born in the Ezhava caste.
Narayan Guru had experienced discrimination from the upper caste of society.
One of his famous sayings in Malayalam was ‘One caste, one religion, one god for all.’

Contribution in anti-caste revolution

Narayana Guru consecrated the first temple of Lord Shiva in 1888 where an idol was ordinated by a non-brahmin in Aruvippuram village of Kerala.
His step sparked off the anti-caste revolution against the upper-caste Brahmin communities.
In 1903, he established the SreeNarayana Dharma ParipalanaYogam (SNDP) as the founder and president.
- The organization continues to mark its strong presence to this day.

Contribution to National Movement:

He was in the forefront of the movement for universal temple entry and against the societal ills like the social discrimination of untouchables.
He provided the impetus for Vaikom agitation, which was aimed at temple entry in Travancore for the lower castes.
He captured the essence of Indianness in his poems, which highlighted the unity that lies beneath the world’s apparent diversity.

Literary Works:

He wrote various books in different languages. Few of them are: AdvaithaDeepika, Asrama, Thevarappathinkangal, BrahmavidyaPanchakam etc.

Philosophy of SreeNarayana Guru:

SreeNarayana Guru became one of the greatest proponents and re-evaluators of Advaita Vedanta, the principle of non-duality put forward by AdiShankara.
In 1913, he founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva. This was an important event in his spiritual quest.
This Ashram was dedicated to a great principle – Om SahodaryamSarvatra (all men are equal in the eyes of God).

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