“I have wandered into a lunatic asylum,” thus thundered Shri Vivekananda after touring the princely states of Travancore and Cochin (now the modern state of Kerala) a century ago. Those were the days when the Ezhavas, the Cherumans and the Pulayans (all lower castes of Kerala) had to keep away from upper caste Brahmins by a considerable distance. During those days, the twin evils of untouchability and unapproachability stared at them throughout Kerala. In addition, their women folk were prohibited from covering their torso. The lower caste masses were also not allowed to enter the temples patronized by upper caste Brahmins, Ambalavasis and Nayars. This civic ostracizing that was being practised was forcing many of these caste people to convert to Christianity. Many converted. But a majority stayed back. Not only did they stay back, but they also fought back vigorously to move up the Hindu caste ladder. Kerala in many ways is an example of a state where caste is no more a barrier in the civic sense. How did this remarkable transformation of Kerala occur? Who was responsible for bringing social amity amidst the chaos that characterized much of Kerala a hundred years ago?
The answer is Shri Narayana Guru. Few books in India have been written about him. Unfortunately, he is known only to Keralites. Even in the neighboring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, very few know about him. The rest of India does not even know that he ever existed. His life story is a remarkable example of the integrative power of Hinduism, and shows us a prospective approach to put an end to the perfidious conversion practices followed by Christian missionaries.
Before we begin the story of Shri Narayana Guru, it is worth pointing out the fact that Santana Dharma nowhere preaches untouchability or sanctions casteism as in vogue in India now. In fact, Krishna, in a celebrated verse in the Geetha, the epic poem, talks about the varnas as valid social classes created out of differences in the character and duties of men. Obviously, over the years, distortions had crept in and some sections in the society sought to enjoy the privileges as a matter of birthright. Not surprisingly, with the rise of casteism (which is a Portuguese word), the creative spirit of ancient India declined considerably. And India remained a slave for thousand years as a result of the concomitant decay.
Not all is lost, for this land of Sanatana Dharma is eternally bestowed with God's wisdom. Messengers kept coming in different parts of India, at various times, to reform the society. Shri Narayana Guru was one such reformer who added a new vocabulary to the science of social reform. There have been examples in the past when saints and reformers did try to reform the society. Around 900 years ago, Shri Ramanujacharya did uplift the status of Scheduled Castes of the time by giving them upper caste status, an act for which he almost paid with his life. Another similar act happening almost 800 years later clearly illustrates that a lot had gone wrong with Hinduism during the intervening period. The life story of saints like Shri Narayana Guru serve as a sharp reminder to us that Hinduism can reform itself from within very efficiently.
Shri Narayana Guru was born as Nanu (as little Narayana was known affectionately) in the year 1854 in a village called Champazhendy in Southern Kerala. His parents, Madan Asan and Kutty amma, were a pious and devout couple. Although his family belonged to the lower caste Ezhava community, they had the sufficient wherewithal to take care of Nanu's basic education. His father, besides being a farmer, also doubled up as his Sanskrit teacher. Madan Asan was a modest scholar and served as a counsel of wisdom to the local villagers. Nanu's mother was child-like in innocence and was quite intelligent. She was addressed affectionately as 'Kutti', meaning the little one without any blemish.
Young Nanu was equally adept in studies and games. He went to the local school and excelled in both studies and games. He soon became proficient in Malayalam and Sanskrit. Sorrow was soon to hit the family with the passing away of Nanu's mother, when he was fifteen years of age. Nanu left his village incognito only to surface at Karunagapalli to learn Sanskrit from a famous Sanskrit teacher of the time, Shri Raman Pillai Asan. Those were difficult days when upper caste teachers refused to teach Sanskrit to the untouchables. However, Shri Raman Pillai Asan was no ordinary teacher, and seeing Nanu's abilities, readily agreed to be his teacher. Under the guidance of a wise and learned teacher, little Nanu soon became “Nanu Asan”. Years later, he returned to meet his father on his deathbed. His father felt proud of his son's achievement and affectionately addressed him as 'Vidwan'. Soon his father passed away, and Nanu Asan was free to go in pursuit of his life's mission – the pursuit of peace and realization.
Nothing much is known about his married life, although there is tangible evidence to prove that he got married to a girl from Chiriyankil. According to some sources, his wife passed away sometime later, and nothing much is known about whether he had any children. During his wanderings in pursuit of truth, Nanu Asan happened to meet two important gurus who influenced him rather very deeply. Chattambhi Swami influenced Nanu Asan to compose poems in Sanskrit. Under his influence, Nanu Asan composed the 'Nava Manjari' or nine stanzas in dedication to Chattambhi Swami. The other guru, Thikkad Ayyavu, taught him yoga.
However, Nanu Asan was not a person to be satisfied with composing Sanskrit slokas or practising yoga on a day-to-day basis. He was made of sterner stuff. The yoga and the composition only served to adorn the jewel that he was. Deep beneath him, there was this quest to realize the truth. His wanderings finally took him to a scenic and secluded spot called Aruvipuram. It was here that Nanu Asan first realized his self. As a sort of remembrance, a Shiva temple was built at the spot. Nanu Asan, by installing the murthi (idol) of Shiva, broke the monopoly of Nambhoodri Brahmins to install the murthis for 'prathishta'. By this act, Nanu Asan sought to convey to the world that Shiva for an Ezhava was no different from a Shiva for a Nambhoodri. Nanu Asan thenceforth became known as Shri Narayana Guru. Secondly, this act very clearly made the masses realize that God does not believe in meaningless rituals and chanting. As long as there was devotion, no symbols and rituals were needed to address God.
To commemorate this installation, a ceremony was held in which speakers burst forth in praise of Shri Narayana Guru. However, Shri Narayana Guru happened to notice some children who were sitting separately from the crowd. They were untouchables. Shri Narayana Guru beckoned them forward and counseled the crowd there that they should not practise untouchability towards anybody. Saying so, he burst forth, with tears in his eyes, the following declaration:
“Without distinction of caste or birth, without hatred of other religions, we all live here in brotherhood, this is the ideal that is here. Let every one of you know this.”
This was the starting point of his social reform movement, which was not couched in conflict, confrontation or agitation. Instead, it was based on the need to reform peacefully from within. “Pointing fingers” was never tolerated in his reform movement. Shri Narayana Guru was unique among Indian gurus. He was among the first to recognize the threat to Hinduism from the missionaries. Very early he realized that there was nothing wrong with the Sanatana Dharma as enshrined in the Vedas and in the Upanishads, and that the social practices of untouchability and unapproachability did not have any sanction in the Hindu holy books. He therefore took it upon himself the onerous task of reforming the society by peaceful means. His own caste background had made him realize that some of the practices of his own caste men were indeed repulsive. Although untouchables themselves, they too practised untouchability on other "inferior" castes. They were steeped in superstition and were quite illiterate. They were not conscious of hygiene and were dirty in their habits. Shri Narayana Guru patiently and carefully goaded them on the path of reformation. His reformation was internal at first.
His method was unique in several ways. Firstly, it was a distinctly religious movement. Shri Narayana Guru very well realized that India is essentially a religious country. He therefore based his movement on temple reforms. If the upper castes did not allow his folk to enter the temple, “So what?” he asked. “If they have their Shiva, so do we.” He quoted extensively from the Shastras to a Nambhoodri who questioned his right to open a Shiva temple. Secondly, he never attacked Hinduism. He forbade violence at all levels. In fact, he very keenly observed the fact that the Church was practising untouchability in certain cases within the church premises. He very correctly diagnosed that untouchability, as a social evil, was not peculiar to Hinduism alone. Thirdly, he never attacked any of the upper castes for practising untouchability or unapproachability. Instead, he told his folk to mend their ways and means in such a way that the upper caste could treat them as their equals.
Shri Narayana Guru exhorted the lower castes to mend their ways. He forbade animal sacrifice, drinking and other social evils. Temples where animals were sacrificed were simply demolished and newer temples built on the very same spot. But the mode of worship was made simpler and direct without any animal sacrifice. Once, seeing the pain inflicted by a bullock cart man on his animal, Shri Narayana Guru got down from the cart and walked to his destination twenty miles away. On another occasion, he refused to take milk and fasted, on coming to know that the milkman had not left enough milk for the calf. Such was his compassion for animals that animal sacrifice almost disappeared from the face of Kerala temples. He exhorted the lower castes to go after knowledge and encouraged them to get rid of their superstitions. Further, he promoted the spirit of cooperation and unity amongst them, and instilled in them the need to change for the better.
Soon, his movement started attracting young educated men who, in 1903, banded together to form the Shri Narayana Guru Dharma Paripalana Sangham. Later, this movement played an important part in the Vaikkom Temple entry agitation. Shri Narayana Guru shifted his base from Aruvipuram to Shivagiri near Varkala near modern Thiruvanathapuram. The Guru set an example of simple life in this ashram by washing his own clothes and vessels. The poor were always welcome in his ashram and were given free education. He kept himself engaged by sharing the duties of the ashram with his fellow mates.
Under his aegis, temples soon sprang up all over Kerala -- in Thrissur, Kannanur, Tellicherry, Calicut and Mangalore. He also opened an Advaitha Ashrama at Aluwa in Central Kerala. Besides, a Narayana Gurukula was established in the Nilgiris. The Guru passed away in 1928 at the ripe old age of 74.
During his lifetime, Shri Narayana Guru was visited by two important personages of his time, namely, poet Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhiji. Both men had interesting conversations with Shri Narayana Guru and acknowledged his greatness. The movement started by Shri Narayana Guru later on acted as a seed for social reformation throughout Kerala. Legislations were passed allowing the lower castes to enter temples. The movement did such wondrous work for the community that, within a short span of three generations, the Ezhavas of Kerala rose in status.
The Kerala of today owes a lot to Shri Narayana Guru for his significant contribution in removing the shackles of casteism, ignorance, superstition and, above all, untouchability. Also, but for him, Kerala would have been further Christianized. The press of the day, often in their enthusiasm, gives credit to both the communist movement and the Travancore Maharaja for raising the social and civic standards of the denizens of Kerala. Unfortunately, the real reformer, Shri Narayana Guru, rarely gets mentioned for his contribution to the society. To reform India, we need role models like Shri Narayana Guru, and definitely not Mayavatis.
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