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Gurudev forcefully argued for establishing literary clubs, reading
rooms and libraries in all places. One thing which deserves particular
mention in the life of Gurudev who has seen the farthest end of
the Vedanta is that he strove to give perfection to the worldly
life of people. We can see in Gurudev an attractive blending of
the idealist and the pragmatist. The Advaithashram is situated on the bank of the river Periyar at a place which charms us with its natural beauty. For a fairly long time this was one of the favorite camps of Gurudev. In this Ashram which Gurudev founded in 1914 no deity has been consecrated. This Ashram proclaims that the essence of all religions is the same. Here in 1924 Gurudev convened the first Asian Conference of World Religions. The platinum jublee of the conference was appropriately celebrated recently in 1999. In 1915, during his early days at Alwaye Gurudev established a Sanskrit school there. Later it developed into high school. Students of all communities attend this school irrespective of caste or religion.Gurudev planned programmes such as inter-dining and inter-marriage for the eradication of caste. Sahodaran Ayyappan who was an ideal disciple and devotee of the guru, worked with steadfast courage for the success of this enterprise. The movement in inter-dining with people of different castes which he began at Cherayi in 1917 sent the conservatives into jitters. But Sahodaran Ayyappan had received the consent and blessings of Gurudev. This movement produced far-reaching benefical effects in the social life of Kerala.By founding temples for true worship from Cape Comorin to Gokarnam, Gurudev created a revolution in thought which is of inestimable importance. In the early period of his prathishta he used idols of the traditional kind. But afterwards he consecrated meaningful symbols and objects. Aruvipuran consecration of Shiva deity has considerable significance. At the Sand Temple Gurudev removed the idol of Devi and consecrated Shiva. This was done to specifically remove such unholy practices as the sacrifice of chicken. He consecrated deities in 50 places of worship. Among them: At Murukkumpuzha he consecrated a mirror with the words "Truth, Dharma, Love, Kindness" inscribed on it. Gurudev's prathishta in which the lamp, the mirror, the pranava mantra 'Om' and other symbols are harmoniously combined were meant to accommodate all kinds of people. Strikingly, the words "Truth, Dharma, Love, Kindness" are inscribed around Om as cosmic embellishment. This consecration remains an inspiring reflection of Gurudev's philosophical vision. The most important and very the last act of consecration by Gurudev was done with mirror at Chertala Kalavankode temple in 1927. In its vision and philosophical scope it remains timeless. The prathishta of the mirror is symbolic. Advaita philosophers have interpreted the mirror prathishta as the visible symbol which expresses the unity of the Infinite and the Finite. After this consecration Narayana Guru shifted the focus of his activities quietly and dramatically, from temples to seats of learning. He exhorted people that it was more desirable to set up educational institutions than places of worship. Customs, he noted, are the external expressions of religious faith. They are mingled and blended in different ways in marriage, in the rights of succession, in habits of dressing, in food, cleanliness and numerous other things. Having realized that the people will enter a state of decadence if customs are debased, Gurudev took the utmost interest in reforming customs in a healthy way. He introduced reforms in marriage rites, that shunned luxury. Gurudev condemned the system of dowry which civilized society still
practises unabashedly. Society has not yet fully recognize the vision
of Gurudev who boldly declared, "Giving and receiving dowry
is equal to selling and buying one's own son and daughters".
It is the progressive nature of Gurudev's message that makes it
a permanent asset to a changing society. |
Gurudev's regulations on marriage can be made a model in any part
of the world. According to his instructions, there should be a maximum
of only 10 people in a wedding. They are the bride and the bridegroom,
their parents, a friend each of the bride and the bridegroom, a
priest and a prominent citizen. Sree Narayana Guru is unique among
those rare spiritual leaders who laid stress on the importance of
wealth and the just means of acquiring it. "There should not be any luxury connected with an auspicious function", he exhorted. Gurudev used to personally attend and bless the annual meetings of the S N D P Yogam in order to encourage reforms in social customs. He selected outstanding speakers from among the S N D P activists and encouraged them to speak judiciously on such subjects and to spread the message of reform among people. He made it a condition that they should not challenge the teachings of other religions. In 1916 Sree Narayana Guru had a meeting with another spiritual guru of that time. Gurudev went to Thiruvannamala and visited the sage Ramana Maharshi. Ramana Maharshi was very pleased with this visit. It has been recorded that afterwards he said to his disciples about Sree Narayana Guru, "Avaar Periyavar ('He is a great man'.) After visiting Ramana Maharshi Gurudev composed the Sanskrit poem "Municharya Panchakam", which is a celebrated work. It describes the glorious nature of a sage who has the intuitive power of perceiving truth. Making perfectly clear his casteless perspective, Gurudev issued a message in 1916. It is entitled "I Have No Caste". From the beginning Gurudev saw very clearly the miserable plight of the Harijans. He was deeply interested in redressing their disabilities. It is well-known that he had made the children of Pulayas the inmates of Sivagiri and had given them education. Gurudev had particularly advised his disciples to treat them like brothers. In 1916 Gurudev's 60th year of birth was celebrated in a festive manner in Kerala and outside. The celebrations were held in Madura, Tirunelveli, Madras and Calcutta and also in foreign countries like Singapore and Ceylon (the present "Sri Lanka"). On his 60th birthday Gurudev took rest at the Alwaye Advaitashram. He had said earlier that there should not be any festivity. The people offered him many gifts, bowed to him and received his blessings. In that year Gurudev visited Madras. The Tamil people had always held him in high esteem and Gurudev had an intimate knowledge of Tamil. He knew thoroughly well the famous Tamil work Thirukkural. He translated it into Malayalam. Gurudev had written excellent poems in Tamil too. It was during this journey that Gurudev founded Sree Narayana Seva Ashram at Kancheepuram.In 1918 and afterwards in 1926 Gurudev visited Sri Lanka. At Colombo a large crowd of people gathered to welcome him. Many eminent Buddhist scholars called on him and paid tributes to his greatness. A wealthy Muslim named Khadar acclaimed Gurudev as his guru. The next six years formed an important phase in Gurudev's life. Leaving the narrow field of one particular community, he soared to the lofty horizon of universal brotherhood and equality. Gurudev's famous message against the use of liquor was issued on his birthday, Chathayam, in 1920. In this message Gurudev Said, "Liquor is poison, don't make it, don't give it, don't drink it." Gurudev pointed out that liquor will ruin man in various ways and that the wealth gained through liquor trade will not last permanently. He strongly urged that liquor should be completely abjured as it tends to weaken the intellect. Gurudev's disciples started a movement to carry anti-liquor message to the people and propagated the message in the whole country. The foremost of this disciples who strove to build up this movement was the patriot T.K. Madhavan. It was around this same birthday that Gurudev issued the message "One caste, one religion, one God for man" which proclaims the oneness of humanity. He declared that the ultimate goal of all religions is the same. Gurudev was convinced that religious strifes were caused not by the innate principles of religion but by differences about religious customs. About religious fights Gurudev has written, 'No religion can win in a fight with another It was to impress these truths upon the minds of the people that
Gurudev convened at Alwaye the first Asian Conference of World Religions. |
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