Sree Narayana Guru, the social reformer, educationist, spiritual leader who preached through practice

Statue of Sree Narayana Guru at the entrance hallway of Vidya Academy (Photo: Wikimedia Commons ssivanand@gmail.com) 

Sri Narayana Guru is a name that evokes respect - not just in Kerala - but across India and Sri Lanka as well. Born on 28 August 1855, he was a man well-versed in the knowledge of religion and spirituality and used that knowledge to bind society's various strata together in a cohesive whole. His birth anniversary is celebrated on 28 August each year as Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi.

Born into a family that belonged to the Ezhava caste, Narayana Guru led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of India that he was born in. His home state Kerala too suffered serious divisions among various castes and communities. As a social reformer and spiritual leader, Narayana Guru contributed immensely to bringing about spiritual enlightenment and social equality.

Narayana Guru's father's name was Madan Asan and his mother's name was Kuttiyamma. The boy was born to this couple in the Chempazhanthy village that is located near the state's capital Thiruvananthapuram, which was - in those days - a part of the Travancore princely state.

Remember, these were the days of the British Raj. This was the time around which the First Independence Struggle had broken out. There was disparity everywhere, anger and inequality crowded people's minds. The British rulers further widened the caste divides and religious differences to create chasms between people.

Born into non-Brahmin caste, but learnt Sanskrit and religious texts:

Narayana Guru's father too was a man who valued education, believed that education was the path to reform, equality, enlightenment, and prosperity in society. Narayana imbibed the values from his father. His early education was in the gurukula way under Chempazhanthi Mootha Pillai. Sadly, when he was merely 15 years old and was undergoing the gurukula education, his mother died.

So, at the age of 21, he went to central Travancore to learn from Raman Pillai Asan, a Sanskrit scholar who taught him Vedas, Upanishads and the literature and logical rhetoric of Sanskrit. 

He then returned to his village in 1881 and started teaching the local children who then began calling him Nanu Asan out of respect.

A year later, he got married and his wife's name was Kaliamma. But Grihastha Jeevan - the life of a householder was not his mission in life - realised Narayana soon and decided to leave home. 

He then travelled through Kerala and Tamil Nadu and in the process met Chattampi Swamikal, a social and religious reformer, who introduced Guru to Ayyavu Swamikal from whom he learned meditation and yoga.

Aruvipuram Pratishta and struggle for social equality:

Next, he reached the Pillathadam cave at Maruthwamala where he set up a hermitage and practised meditation and yoga for the next eight years. In 1888, he visited Aruvippuram where he meditated for a while and during his stay there, he consecrated a piece of rock taken from the river, as the idol of Shiva, which has since become the Aruvippuram Shiva Temple.

This incident later came to be called the Aruvipuram Pratishta. This consecration of an idol of Shiva created a commotion among the upper caste Brahmins who questioned Narayana Guru's right to consecrate the idol.

Narayana Guru then travelled to Sivagiri, and opened a school for children from the lower strata of the society and provided free education to them without considering their caste. He built the Sarada Mutt here in 1912. He also built temples in other places such as Thrissur, Kannur, Anchuthengu, Thalassery, Kozhikode, and Mangalore and it took him to many places including Sri Lanka which was his last big journey.

Humble, Modest, and Ready to Incorporate anything good:

Sri Lanka impressed him quite a lot. The equality preached by Buddhism won his heart as did the orderliness of the followers of the faith. On his return to India, Naryana Guru also emphasised on society's adoption of various modes to progress, such as education for all, village industries, indigenous craftsmanship-trade, and handicrafts etc.

He propagated the ideals of compassion and religious tolerance. His writings in "Anukampadasakam" extol various religious figures such as Krishna, The Buddha, Adi Shankara, Jesus Christ.

People of all castes and communities came to realise how evolved Narayana Guru's teachings were. He taught equality but felt the inequalities should not be exploited to carry out conversions and therefore generate strife in society.

Fight Inequality through education and enlightenment, not conversions:

Narayana Guru organized an All-Region Conference in 1923 at Alwaye Advaita Ashram, which was reported to be first such event in India. This was an effort to counter the religious conversions Ezhava community was susceptible to. AT the entrance of the conference mandapam, there was a message displayed for all: "We meet here not to argue and win, but to know and be known."

His followers have, ever since, carried out an annual event here.

Right from  Ramana Maharshi, Rabindranath Tagore, to Mahatma Gandhi, social reformers and spiritual leaders met Narayana Guru to express their shared beliefs in his works.

This great social reformer died at his Sharada/Sarada Mutt that he had consecrated as a Saraswati temple in 1912.

His writings still inspire people. Several films have been made on his life. The Indian government also issued postage stamps in his honour and coins had his likeness cast on one side.