Sree Narayana Guru was born on August 22, 1856, in Chempazhanthy, a little village in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. His mother was Madan Asan and his wife was Kuttiyamma. He was named by his father as Narayanan; he affectionately called him Nanu, a short name for Narayanan. From the society’s mores in that period, he first belonged to the Ezhava class and was also thought “avarna”. He enjoyed being alone and had spent much time thinking deeply since he was a young kid. He attended church in his area, and he made prayers and religious tunes.
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About Sree Narayan Guru
Sree Narayana Guru was a holy man, thinker, spiritual guide and change-maker from Kerala, India. Motivated to shatter old ideas and rules that were stopping Indian society from moving forward, the Guru spent many years doing hard work without food. After all these years, he finally became wise. After that, he started the process of social change and improvement in India. He was so powerful that he brought together some of the biggest thinkers, philosophers, and people who wanted to make society better like him. They wanted his guidance or helped him to try to change things. They included famous people like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and others. They were all excited about the Guru’s ideas and lessons.
Early Days and Education
- Sree Narayana Guru began learning when he was five at a school close to home in the old “Gurukula” way.
- He kept learning at home with his dad and uncle. His dad, who was also a teacher, knew Sanskrit, Astrology and Ayurveda very well.
- His uncle Krishnana Vaidyan was a famous traditional medicine doctor.
- He learned the basic of Tamil and Sanskrit languages, and traditional topics like Siddharupam, Balaprobhodhanam and Amarakosam.
- Since he was a kid, Sree Narayana Guru loved the stories told to him by his dad from big tales like Ramayana and Mahabharata.
- He liked to be alone and often thought deeply about things. He really liked going to the nearby temples and made special songs for praying.
- From a young age, he didn’t like the caste discrimination in society. He often told his own family members when they showed such behaviors.
- At 15 he lost his mom. Guru spent most of his childhood helping his dad teach and his uncle practice Ayurveda. He used the rest of his time for praying.
Sree Narayana Guru – A Timeline
- In India, he worked as a thinker, a spiritual guide and a person who changed society.
- To promote understanding of the spirit and fairness between all people in Kerala’s old system of class divisions, he started a change campaign against unfairness.
- After leaving his home, he traveled through Kerala and Tamil Nadu. There he met Chattampi Swamikal, a person who worked to change society and religion.
- Chattampi introduced Guru to Ayyavu Swamikal who taught meditation and yoga methods.
- He kept on exploring until he got to the Pillathadam cave of Maruthwamala, where he started an ashram and did yoga and meditation for the next eight years.
- He visited Aruvippuram in 1888. There, he spent a lot of time in thought and made a rock he found into the Aruvippuram Shiva Temple.
- In 1904, Guru moved to Sivagiri near Varkala and started a school for poor students. He gave them free education no matter what their social status was. But it took him seven years to build a temple nearby, the Sarada Mutt, which was completed in 1912.
- He also made temples in Thrissur, Kannur, Anchuthengu, Thalassery, Kozhikode and Mangalore.
- He went to lots of places, like Sri Lanka (it was called Ceylon back them). His last visit there was in 1926.
- When he came to India, he joined many activities such as planning the Sivagiri pilgrimage.
- He started this during his 1927 visit to Pallathuruthy to remember the Battle of Pallathuruthy’s anniversary.
- Sree Guru Narayan died on September 20, 1928. This day is celebrated in Kerala as Sree Narayana Guru’s birthday.
Sree Narayan Guru – Teachings and Principles
Sree Narayana Guru’s ideas of being open and including everyone are very important in our world that is getting more different today. We celebrate the following teachings that inspire us to respond to our common humanity:
- One in Kind, One in Faith, One in God, is Man.
- Whichever be the religion of a man, it suffices if it makes a better man.
- Acts that one performs for the sake of oneself should also aim for the good of others
Sree Narayan Guru – Role as a Social Reformer
- In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Kerala had a big issue with casteism.
- The people from lower castes were treated badly by those in higher castes.
- Sree Narayana Guru, who was born in the Ezhava caste, also faced discrimination.
- The Guru did his first big public act to fight this unfair treatment.
- He made a temple for Lord Shiva and put a stone with words Truth, Goodness, Kindness and Love on it.
- For the first time in Aruvippuram village in Kerala, a non-brahmin ordained a Hindu statue. This helped create a big change against upper-caste groups.
- The Guru made more than 40 temples in the state of Kerala.
- This let everyone including poor and oppressed folks use their faith.
- The Guru was in charge of the ‘Vaikom Satyagraha’ protest. It was against people being treated badly because of their birth status, the act of being considered unclean, and unfairness.
- The Sivagiri foundation was set up in 1924 by the Guru to help teach good habits like cleanliness, schooling, devotion, farming, handcrafts and trade.
Sree Narayana Guru – Major Works
- He coined the phrase “One class, One faith, One god for everyone” to fight against unfair treatment based on family background (All for us).
- In 1888, he built a Shiva temple in Aruvippuram that was against the caste-based rules of the era.
- Sree Narayana Guru built a temple in Kalavancode where he used mirrors instead of idols. This was a sign of his teaching that the divine lived in each of us.
- Conversions: He talked about everyone being equal, but thought we shouldn’t use differences to change things and make people unhappy in society.
- In 1923, he organized a big meeting at Alwaye Advaita Ashram for the first time in India. This was a reaction to the Ezhava community’s religious changes.
- After that, when he became the leader of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) in 1903, he also started a charitable group. Even today, the group still has a big role.
- The Sivagiri journey started in 1924 to encourage cleanliness, reading and writing, commitment, farming, hand-making things and buying and selling.
- He turned into one of the biggest fans and checkers of Advaita Vedanta, Adi Shankara’s idea of no separation.
- Sree Narayana Guru wrote many books in several languages. Advaitha Deepika, Asrama, Thevarappathinkangal and others are some examples.
- He was a great person who fought for everyone to visit temples and worked against issues like unfair treatment towards untouchables in society.
- He started the Vaikom protest, which was meant for the temple.
Sree Narayana Guru – Major Contributions to Science
- It was important to keep clean and learn, do farming, trade goods, make handicrafts, and get skilled in technology.
- The Adyaropa story (Darsanamala) explains how the universe was made.
- Daivadasakam and Atmopadesa satakam are two examples of mystic thoughts and ideas that match with today’s science breakthroughs.
- His idea of be together with everyone is very important in today’s world. Hate, violence, favoritism and division are hurting society in many places and countries. It’s very needed today.
Death
- In 1928, the teacher’s health got very bad and he had to stay in bed for some months.
- The Guru’s birthday was celebrated in many places last year, mostly in Kerala, Madras, Mangalore, Sri Lanka and Europe.
- On September 20, 1928, the Guru’s spirit left his body to become one with the highest soul.
FAQs on Sree Narayana Guru
Who called Sree Narayana Guru “The Second Buddha”?
G. Sankara Kurup, better known as Mahakavi G, called Sree Narayana Guru “The Second Buddha”.
Where did Sree Narayana Guru die?
Sree Narayana Guru, on 20 September 1928, died at Sivagiri, Kerala.
Who is the father of Kerala Renaissance?
Sree Narayana Guru
When did Gandhiji met Sree Narayana Guru?
Mahatma Gandhi met Sree Narayana Guru on March 13th, 1925.