Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti

In News

• Recently, The Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to Sree Narayana Guru on his Jayanti. 

About Shree Narayana Guru

• He was born in 1856, in the village of Chempazhanthi near Thiruvananthapuram as the son of Madan Asan, a farmer, and Kutti Amma. 
• He was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people from backward communities faced social injustice in the caste-ridden Kerala society. 
• He led the Reform movement in Kerala, revolted against the caste system and worked on propagating new values of freedom in spirituality and social equality which transformed Kerala society.
• He became a ‘Parivrajaka’ (one who wanders from place to place in quest of Truth)after the demise of the father and wife.
• He passed away in 1928.

                                                       Image Courtesy: TH

• Contributions: 
  • He is revered for his Vedic knowledge, poetic proficiency, openness to the views of others, non-violent philosophy, and unrelenting resolve to set right social wrongs. 
  • He stressed the need for spiritual growth and social upliftment of the downtrodden by the establishment of temples and educational institutions. 
  • After the famous Sivalinga Prathishtta at Aruvippuramin 1888, he consecrated idols and founded many temples all over Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
  • In 1903, He established Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam to unite the masses through organization and make them a self-confident and self-respecting community of people.
  • In 1913, he founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva. This Ashram was dedicated to a great principle –  Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (all men are equal in the eyes of God).
    •  In 1921, a Conference of Universal Brotherhood was held at Aluva. 

• The Sivagiri pilgrimage was established in 1924 to promote the virtues of cleanliness, education, devotion, agriculture, handicrafts, and trade. 
• He took up other campaigns to enlighten the people, giving the mantra “Enlightenment through Education, Strength through Organization, EconomicIndependence through Industries”.
• Famous Quotes
  • One of his famous sayings in Malayalam was ‘One caste, one religion, one god for all.’
  • He said, “Ask not, say not, think not caste”.

Source:PIB