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3.SREE NARAYANA GURU

The Vice President of Indiahas virtually launched “Not Many, But One”,an Englishtranslationof poems of Sree Narayana Gurudev.

IMPORTANT POINTS:

Sree Narayana Guru was born on 22 August, 1856to Madan Asan and hiswife Kuttiyamma in Chempazhanthy, a village near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
His family belonged to the Ezhava casteand was considered ‘avarna’according to the social mores of the time.
Right from his childhood he loved solitude and always indulged himself indeep contemplation.He was intensely drawn to worship at the local templesand composed hymns and several devotional songs.
From an early age, he was drawn towards asceticism. He lived as a hermit ina forest for eight years.
He learned Vedas, Upanishads, literature, logical rhetoric of Sanskrit, HathaYoga and other philosophies.

IMPORTANT WORKS:

Against Caste Injustice:

He gave the famous slogan “One Caste, One Religion, One God forAll”(OruJathi, OruMatham, OruDaivam, Manushyanu).
In 1888, he built a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at Aruvippuramwhich was against the caste-based restrictionsof the time.
In one temple he consecrated at Kalavancode, he kept mirrors insteadof idols. This symbolised his message that the divine was within eachindividual.

Against Conversions:

He taught equality but felt the inequalities should not be exploited to carryout conversions and therefore generate strife in society.
Narayana Guru organized an All-Region Conference in 1923 at AlwayeAdvaita Ashram, which was reported to be the first such event in India. Thiswas an effort to counter the religious conversions Ezhava community wassusceptible to.

Contribution to National Movement:

A remarkable social reformer, he was in the forefront of the movement foruniversal temple entryand against the societal ills like the socialdiscrimination of untouchables.
Narayana Gurudev provided the impetus for Vaikom agitationwhich wasaimed at temple entry in Travancorefor the lower castes.It drewnationwide attention and appreciation from Mahatma Gandhi.
He captured the essence of Indiannessin his poems which highlighted theunity that lies beneath the world’s apparent diversity.

Death:

20 September, 1928. This day is observed as Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi inKerala.

SOURCE: PIB

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