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54-742: Sivagiri is an area in Varkala Municipality of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala . It is a pilgrimage centre of Varkala Town where the tomb, or samadhi, of Sree Narayana Guru is situated. It is a place where Guru built the Sarada Temple dedicated to Sarada Devi. The tomb is an attraction for thousands of devotees every year, especially during the Sivagiri Pilgrimage days (Sivagiri Theerthadanam) from 30 December to 1 January. The Sivagiri Matha , built in 1904,
108-575: A Hindu saint instead of his usual white Muslim attire. The Guru, feigning ignorance, asked Khader who he was. Disappointed, Khader reminded the Guru that he was his disciple, initiated the previous year. Narayana Guru expressed his recognition of the 'old' Khader and reiterated that changing his Muslim attire was not necessary to be his disciple. Guru published 45 works in Malayalam , Sanskrit and Tamil languages which include Atmopadesa Śatakam ,
162-416: A Muslim named Khader during his Sri Lankan visit who expressed a keen interest in becoming his disciple. Khader inquired whether he would be accepted into the group and if a change of religion was necessary. The Guru assured him that changing his religion was not a prerequisite to becoming a disciple. A year later, during Narayana Guru's second visit at Sri Lanka , Khader met him again, this time dressed as
216-680: A central part of his mission. This marked a significant shift in Gandhi's approach, integrating the fight against caste discrimination into the broader struggle for India's independence. Mahatma Gandhi subsequently renamed his newspaper from " Young India " to "Harijan" and made the eradication of untouchability and upliftment of Harijans a part of the national movement. In 1905, Narayana Guru organized All India Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition at Kollam, first time in India to facilitate industrialization and agriculture. Guru wanted to convey
270-471: A hundred-verse spiritual poem and Daiva Dasakam , a universal prayer in ten verses. He also translated three major texts, Thirukural of Valluvar , Ishavasya Upanishad and Ozhivil Odukkam of Kannudaiya Vallalaar. It was he who propagated the motto, One Caste, One Religion, One God for All (Oru Jathi, Oru Matham, Oru Daivam, Manushyanu) which has become popular as a saying in Kerala. He furthered
324-538: A message to be displayed which read, We meet here not to argue and win, but to know and be known . The conference has since become an annual event, organised every year at the Ashram. Narayana Guru provided spiritual initiation to people of all faiths and sects. He initiated an individual from an orthodox Nair family in Koyilandy , who missed seeing the Guru upon his arrival due to huge crowd. This individual composed
378-403: A number of movies starting with the 1986 film Sree Narayana Guru , made by award-winning director P. A. Backer . Swamy Sreenarayana Guru , an Indian Malayalam -language film directed by Krishnaswamy, released the same year. Almost a decade and a half later, R. Sukumaran made a film on the life of Guru, titled Yugapurushan , in 2010 with Thalaivasal Vijay playing the role of Guru and
432-408: A pilgrimage of enlightenment. Seminars and discussions on various themes of modern life ranging from industrialisation to women's emancipation are held during the days of pilgrimage. The Mahasamadhi of Sree Narayana Guru also attracts a large number of devotees and tourists. Varkala Municipality BJP 11 UDF 07 Varkala Municipality is the municipal council that manages a portion of
486-464: A poem in praise of the Guru and sent it through a friend. Upon reading the poem, the Guru blessed him by saying he will become a great yogi. This individual later became a yogi and known as Sivananda Yogi of Koyilandy. Guru Narayana initiated Abdul Khader Masthan, a Muslim man, into spirituality. Born into the traditional Muslim family of Valiyakandy in Kannur city, which was traditionally involved in
540-551: A school for children from the lower strata of the society and provided free education to them without considering their caste. However, it took him seven years to build a temple there, the Sarada Mutt was built in 1912. He also built temples in other places such as Thrissur , Kannur , Anchuthengu , Thalassery , Kozhikode , and Mangalore and it took him to many places including Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) where he made his final visit in 1926. On his return to India, he
594-546: A slab inscribed with the words, "Truth, Ethics, Compassion, Love", a vegetarian Shiva, a mirror, and an Italian sculpture. He propagated the ideals of compassion and religious tolerance and one of his noted works, Anukampadasakam , extols various religious figures such as Krishna , The Buddha , Adi Shankara , Jesus Christ . On 12 March 1925, Mahatma Gandhi visited the Sivagiri Ashram in Varkala, Kerala, during
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#1732801231856648-642: A social commotion among the upper caste Brahmins who questioned Guru's right to consecrate the idol. His reply to them that "This is not a Brahmin Shiva but an Ezhava Shiva " later became a famous quote, used against casteism . It was here, the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam) was founded on 15 May 1903 by the efforts of Padmanabhan Palpu with Narayana Guru as its founder president. Guru shifted his base to Sivagiri , near Varkala in 1904 where he opened
702-484: A social reformer. He returned to his village in 1881, when his father was seriously ill, and started a village school where he taught local children which earned him the name Nanu Asan . Leaving home, he traveled through Kerala and Tamil Nadu and it was during these journeys, he met Chattampi Swamikal , a social and religious reformer, who introduced Guru to Ayyavu Swamikal from whom he learned meditation and yoga . Later, he continued his wanderings until he reached
756-586: A unique place of pilgrimage. The Sri Narayana Jayanthi , birthday of the Guru, and the Samadhi day are befittingly celebrated in August and September respectively every year. On these days colourful processions, seminars, public meetings, cultural shows, community feasts and special rituals are held. In the last week of December, devotees of Sree Narayana Guru , donned in yellow attire, stream to Sivagiri from different parts of Kerala and outside, in what may be called
810-706: Is atop the Sivagiri hill in Varkala Town. This is also the headquarters of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham , an organisation of his disciples and saints, established by the Guru to propagate his concept of "One Caste, One Religion, One God" . The Guru Deva Jayanti, the birthday of the Guru, and the samadhi day are celebrated in August and September respectively every year. Colourful processions, debates and seminars, public meetings, cultural shows, community feasts, group wedding and rituals mark
864-436: Is one of the most used poem in Kerala for community prayer. Narayanan, né Nanu, was born on 20 August 1856 to Madan Asan and Kuttiyamma in an Ezhava family of ayurvedic physicians, in the village of Chempazhanthy near Thiruvananthapuram , in the erstwhile state of Travancore . Unlike other Ezhavas who confined their Sanskrit reading to ayurvedic works, Narayana guru studied religious texts as well. His early education
918-714: The first pilgrimage was undertaken from Elavumthitta in Pathanamthitta District . Guru organized an All Religion Conference in 1923 at Alwaye Advaita Ashram , which was first such event in India. During this period, communalization escalated into riots in India . In Kerala , the Malabar rebellion occurred. According to the Simon Commission report, more than 112 major communal riots took place in India between 1922 and 1927. Throughout this time,
972-497: The non-dualistic philosophy of Adi Sankara by bringing it into practice by adding the concepts of social equality and universal brotherhood. In 1916, Ramana Maharshi hosted Narayana Guru at his Tiruvannamalai ashram when Guru was returning from a trip to Kancheepuram where Swami Govindananda, a disciple of Guru, had established the Sree Narayana Seva Ashram. Rabindranath Tagore met Narayana Guru at
1026-437: The 5 pilgrims wore bright yellow clothes, as suggested by Sree Narayana Guru. All the way to Sivagiri, they were reciting 'Swaathanthrya gadha' – written by the great poet Kumaranaasan. They were teased with the words 'Manjakkilikal' –meaning yellow birds. They never got provoked, with a smile they moved on. The dominant thought in their mind was their mission, to reach Sivagiri, a great responsibility bestowed on their shoulders by
1080-522: The Pillathadam cave at Maruthwamala where he set up a hermitage and practiced meditation for the next eight years. In 1888, he visited Aruvippuram and spent time meditating in a cave near the Neyyar River. It was here that his first and one of his prominent disciple, Sivalingadasa Swamikal, who hailed from an orthodox Nair family, discovered him. During his stay, he consecrated a rock from
1134-510: The Sreenarayana devotees. Their mission was a great success. He advised them to organise a series of lectures on the themes with experts conducting them. The lectures should be listened to attentively. More importantly, the principles should be put into practice. Success must accompany efforts. Only then will the country and the people benefit. This must be the core purpose of Sivagiri pilgrimage. The Sarada temple and mutt has now become
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#17328012318561188-486: The Upanishads impressed Gandhi and challenged his casteist views. Inspired by Guru's teachings, Gandhi re-evaluated his stance on caste and untouchability. As a result of this transformative experience, Mahatma Gandhi began to focus on eradicating untouchability and upliftment of Harijans (Dalits) in the national movement. He renamed his newspaper "Young India" to "Harijan" and made the eradication of untouchability
1242-519: The Vaikom Satyagraha. During his stay, he met Narayana Guru, who emphasized the need for education and wealth for the upliftment of lower castes rather than mixed eating and marriages. This conversation, facilitated by a translator, also addressed religious freedom and the caste system. Narayana Guru's logical arguments and inclusive practices profoundly impacted Gandhi. Witnessing lower-caste children reciting prayers and their knowledge of
1296-542: The ashram should be well looked after and that everyone should live as good people (18 January 1928). The special public meeting of the SNDP meeting held at Kottayam was the last public ceremony attended by Narayana Guru. In 1927, naturopathy was carried out in Mangatukodi and Kandachira on the banks of Ashtamudikayal along with Pazhavila Chattambiasan. He was bedridden for a long time suffering from senile disease but
1350-464: The backward castes such as Ezhavas and other untouchable castes like Paraiyars , Adivasis and Pulayars had to suffer discrimination from the upper caste community. It was against this discrimination that Guru performed his first major public act, the consecration of Siva idol at Aruvippuram in 1888. Overall, he consecrated forty five temples across Kerala and Tamil Nadu. His consecrations were not necessarily conventional deities; these included
1404-471: The celebrations. Gurudevan's association with Sivagiri in Varkala in south Kerala dates back to 1904. A lover of nature and places of natural beauty, Narayana Guru built a hermitage on top of the Sivagiri hill and stayed there, growing plants around it, and the once-solitary hill began to attract public attention. At first, an elementary school was established there. A night school was also founded for
1458-426: The chief minister of Kerala on 9 August 2016. In 2016, Kerala High court observed that the statue of Narayana Guru cannot be treated as a Hindu deity. Narayana Guru attained samadhi at Sivagiri, Kerala . The cause of death was indigestion and prostate inflammation. He had told all the great physicians and disciples of that time who came to treat him that the Guru had approached his samadhi in advance and that
1512-481: The city of Varkala in Kerala state in India . The Municipality manages the 14.5 km area of city of Varkala and has a population of 40,048 in that area. It is the most densely populated municipality in the state capital district Trivandrum . This article related to Kerala is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Gurudevan Sree Narayana Guru ( IPA: [nɑːrɑːjɐɳɐ guˈru] ) (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928)
1566-525: The colour of the garments Sri Buddha wore. Let no one purchase yellow silk because we have recommended yellow garments. Not even new clothes are required on the pilgrimage. A pilgrim can dip a white garment in turmeric water and wear after drying. The pilgrimage should be conducted with simplicity and preferably be accompanied by the chanting of hymns. There should be no shouting and pilgrims should scrupulously avoid trappings of ostentation. To Govindan Vaidyar and Kitten Writer Gurudevan counted on his fingers
1620-504: The copper business, Abdul Khader Masthan came into possession of a copper plate as part of the business. The inscriptions on the copper plate were in the Chenthamizh language. Being illiterate and unable to read even Malayalam, he found it difficult to interpret this ancient script and sought help from many, but to no avail. Eventually, Narayana Guru provided a solution. Upon examining the script, Narayana Guru read it but did not tell
1674-495: The deepest part of the Neyyar River, a whirlpool sinkhole known as 'Sankaran Kuzhi'. It is believed that it was in this 'Sankaran Kuzhi' sage Agastya gave his worshipping Shiva Linga to Neyyar river somewhere before leaving. This rock was established as the idol of Shiva, and the site has since been known as the Aruvippuram Shiva Temple. The act, which later came to be known as Aruvipuram Pratishta , created
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1728-406: The film also featured Mammootty and Navya Nair . Brahmashri Narayana Guru Swamy is a Tulu film made in 2014 by Rajashekar Kotian on Guru's life and the film was the 50th film made in the language. His life during the eight years he spent at Maruthwamala (also known as Marunnumamala) has been adapted into a docufiction, titled Marunnumamala and the film was released by Pinarayi Vijayan ,
1782-424: The goals of the pilgrimage should be the promotion of education, cleanliness, devotion to God, organization, agriculture, trade, handicrafts, and technical training and advised Vaidyar and Writer to organise a series of lectures on these themes to stress the need for the practice of these ideals, stating this to be the core purpose of Sivagiri pilgrimage. However, his death soon after delayed the project until 1932 when
1836-472: The goals of the pilgrimage, explaining how to achieve them. The goals were the promotion of education, cleanliness, devotion to god, organization, agriculture, trade, handicrafts and technical training. Finally, it was decided to start the first pilgrimage from the village of Elavumthitta . The S N D P unit No.76 of Elavumthitta selected 5 youngsters for the pilgrimage, namely, P.K.Divakara Panicker, P.K.Kesavan, P.V.Raghavan, M.K.Raghavan, and S.Sankunni. All
1890-429: The guru also received letters from a communal leader, Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni , from Uttar Pradesh , who later moved to Pakistan . The guru responded to his queries and questions through letters. The All Religions' Conference, which was the first of its kind in India, was organized against this backdrop to foster peace among the various religions of the country and at the entrance of the conference, he arranged for
1944-470: The head. From these words we can clearly understand the progressive nature of Gurudevan's concept of the temple. Sivagiri pilgrimage , now known as Sivagiri Theerthadanam, was conceived by Vallabhasseri Govindan Vaidyar and T K Kittan Writer. It was duly approved by Gurudevan in January 1928. The setting was SNDP's Nagambadam Shiva temple. It was 3pm, and Gurudevan was resting under a mango tree, when
1998-546: The illiterate people from the marginalised communities. Many people came to Sivagiri to have a darshan of Gurudevan. After travelling to many places in South India and Sri Lanka and establishing temples, he did the prathishta of the spiritual figure Sree Sarada at Sivagiri in April 1912. It is the most remarkable one among his consecration of temple deities. The foundation for it was laid in 1909. The same year he composed
2052-667: The importance of regaining the lost places of worship (later rebuilt by the Guru himself) and wealth. The social protest of Vaikom Satyagraha was an agitation led by backward caste communities against discrimination in Hindu society of Travancore. It was reported that the trigger for the protest was an incident when Narayana Guru was stopped from passing through a road leading to the Vaikom Temple by an upper caste person. It prompted Kumaran Asan and Muloor S.Padmanabha Panicker , both disciples of Guru, to compose poems in protest of
2106-572: The incident. T. K. Madhavan , another disciple, petitioned the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly in 1918 for rights to enter the temple and worship, regardless of the caste. A host of people including K. Kelappan and K. P. Kesava Menon formed a committee and announced the Kerala Paryatanam Movement and with the support of Mahatma Gandhi . The agitation developed into a mass movement which resulted in
2160-602: The latter's ashram in Sivagiri in November 1922. Tagore later said of Narayana Guru that, "I have never come across one who is spiritually greater than Swami Narayana Guru or a person who is at par with him in spiritual attainment". Three years later, Mahatma Gandhi visited Guru during his 1925 trip to Kerala to participate in the Vaikom Satyagraha after which the Indian independence movement leader stated that "it
2214-619: The meaning to him rather he smiled at Abdul Khader Masthan and advised him to consult Sufi saints in Tamil Nadu, who could decipher its meaning. Following Narayana Guru's guidance, Abdul Khader met with a Sufi saint in Tamil Nadu . The saint read the inscription, which turned out to be a Sufi text. Inspired by this experience, Abdul Khader Masthan later became a renowned Sufi saint known as Icha Mastan. He has composed many Sufi poems including praise of Shiva . Narayana Guru welcomed
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2268-473: The mother Sarada . The Guru himself wrote janani-navaratna Manjari , nine Gems in praise of the mother. It is not necessary to build temples in the old style by spending a lot of money he ordained. Further, he also advised not to spend money on festivals and fireworks . In temples there should be spacious rooms where people can sit comfortably and take part in discourses. There must be schools attached to all temples. There should also be amenities attached to
2322-644: The occasion of his 150th birth anniversary. The first of the several statues of Narayana Guru was erected at Jagannath Temple, Thalassery in 1927 while he was still alive. His statues are seen in many places in Kerala which include a 24 feet statue at Kaithamukku in Thiruvananthapuram . The Government of Kerala observes his birthday, the Sri Narayana Jayanthi , and the date of his death, Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi as public holidays. The life of Narayana Guru has been portrayed in
2376-485: The opening of the temple as well as three roads leading to it to people of all castes. The protest also influenced the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936. The Sivagiri pilgrimage was conceived by three of the disciples of Guru viz. Vallabhasseri Govindan Vaidyar, T. K. Kittan Writer and Muloor S. Padmanabha Panicker which Guru approved in 1928, with his own recommendations. He suggested that
2430-421: The physicians attended to him included Ayurvedic physicians like Cholayil Mami Vaidyar, Panappally Krishnan Vaidyar and Thycauttu Divakaran Moos as well as allopathic physicians viz. . Krishnan Thampi, Panikker, Palpu and a European physician by name, Noble. He returned to Sarada Mutt and died on 20 September 1928, at the age of 72. Casteism was practised in Kerala during the 19th and early 20th centuries and
2484-597: The poem "Janani Navaratna Manjari". According to the Indian concept, the goddess Saraswati is the primary goddess of knowledge . Gurudevan called this temple, which is octagonal in shape, Sarada Mutt . Unlike in other temples, naivedyam (offering of food to the deity) or abhishekam (pouring oil, ghee and such on the idol) is not practiced in the temple. Devotees worship the goddess by reciting hymns. The idol of Saraswati seated on white lotus symbolizes knowledge blossoming on whiteness or purity . Padmanabhan Palpu served as
2538-531: The president, and Kumaran Asan as secretary, for the Sarada Consecration Committee. In connection with Prathishta of goddess Sarada , grand conferences and festivals were conducted for four consecutive days. Sree Narayana Guru introduced original and novel perceptions about temples, departing from traditional ideas on the subject. He shunned tantric rituals. There is no similar temple in India. Here, he established an architecture that
2592-409: The temples to train children in various trades. The money that comes to the temples as donation must be spent in such a way that the poor people benefit from it. It is not desirable to make ponds near temples for the worshipers to take bath. It is not possible to keep the ponds always pure. Therefore, bathrooms are to be constructed with an arrangement of small pipes so that the water will fall from above
2646-593: The two presented the concept of Sivagiri pilgrimage. Before giving it his blessings he set out the goals of such a pilgrimage. He said: "Let the pilgrims congregate at the beginning of the European New Year. It should be Dhanu 16-17 in Malayalam calendar. Let the pilgrims observe 10 days' self-purification according to Sri Buddha 's principles of five purities ( Pancha Dharma ) - body, food, mind, word, deed." He ruled that pilgrims could wear yellow clothes -
2700-454: Was a philosopher , spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality . A quote of his that defined his movement was "one caste, one religion, and one god for all human beings." He is the author of the Advaita poem Daiva Dasakam , which
2754-486: Was a great privilege in his life to have the darshan of an esteemed sage like Narayana Guru." On 21 August 1967, Narayana Guru was commemorated on an Indian postage stamp of denomination 15 nP. Another commemorative stamp on him was issued by Sri Lanka Post on 4 September 2009. The Reserve Bank of India and Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India issued two sets of commemorative coins depicting Guru's image, each valued at ₹ 5 and ₹ 100 respectively, on
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#17328012318562808-411: Was in the gurukula way under Chempazhanthi Mootha Pillai during which time his mother died when he was 15. At the age of 21, he went to central Travancore to learn from Raman Pillai Asan, a Sanskrit scholar who taught him Vedas, Upanishads and the literature and logical rhetoric of Sanskrit. A year later, he married Kaliamma but soon disassociated himself from the marriage to commence his public life as
2862-404: Was involved in a number of activities including the planning of the Sivagiri pilgrimage which was planned after his visit to Pallathuruthy in 1927 to attend the anniversary of the S.N.D.P. Yogam. Soon after the meeting at Pallathuruthy, which was the last public function he attended, Guru became ill and underwent treatment at places such as Aluva, Thrissur, Palakkad , and finally to Chennai ;
2916-422: Was simple and different. For the first time in India, a temple with windows and ventilation was devised. The Guru installed a deity which was traditionally symbolic and aesthetically perfect. The highest standards of hygiene were introduced to maintain the place as a model to other temples and temple worshipers. The opening of this temple was uniquely marked by the inspirational ceremony of guest of hymns in praise of
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