Sri Nārāyana Guru () (1855–1928), also known as Sree Nārāyana Guru Swami, was a Hindu saint, sadhu and social reformer of India. The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people from backward communities like the Ezhavas faced much social injustices in the caste-ridden Kerala society. Gurudevan, as he was fondly known to his followers, led Reform movement in Kerala, revolted against casteism and worked on propagating new values of freedom in spirituality and of social equality, thereby transforming the Kerala society and as such he is adored as a prophet. in today's Kerala and was one of the most successful social reformers who tackled caste in India. He demonstrated a path to social emancipation without invoking the dualism of the oppressed and the oppressor.

Guru stressed the need for the spiritual and social upliftment of the downtrodden by their own efforts through the establishment of temples and educational institutions. In the process he brushed aside the superstitions that clouded the fundamental Hindu religious convention of Chaturvarna.

Biography

Family and Early life

Narayana Guru was born on August 22, 1856, in the village of Chempazhanthi near Thiruvananthapuram, the son of Madan Asan, a farmer, and Kutti Amma. The boy was dotingly called Nanu. Madan was also a teacher ("Asan") who was learned in Sanskrit and proficient in Astrology and Ayurveda.He had three sisters. As a boy, Nānu would listen to his father with keen interest when he narrated stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata to the simple folks of his village. Nānu was initiated into the traditional formal education Ezhuthinirithal by Chempazhanthi Pillai, a local schoolmaster and a village officer. Besides schooling, young Nānu continued to be educated at home, under the guidance of both his father and uncle Krishnan Vaidyan who was a reputed Ayurvedic physician and a Sanskrit scholar, where he was taught the basics of the Tamil and Sanskrit languages and traditional subjects such as Siddharupam, Bālaprobhodhanam and Amarakosam.

As a child, Nanu was very reticent and was intensely drawn to worship at the local temple. He would criticise his own relatives for social discrimination and the apartheid-like practice of segregating children from, supposedly, lower castes. He preferred solitude and would be found immersed in meditation for hours on end. He showed strong affinity for poetics and reasoning, composing hymns and singing them in praise of God. He lost his mother when he was 15. Nānu spent the most part of his early youth assisting his father in tutoring, and his uncle in the practice of Ayurveda, while devoting the rest of his time for devotional practices at the temples nearby.

Transformation as master, yogi and seeker of truth

The young Nanu had a keen mind and was sent to a famous scholar, Kummampilli Rāman Pillai Asan at Karunagapally, a village fifty miles away from his home, at the age of 21. Living as a guest in a family house Varanapally near Kayamkulam, Nānu, along with other students, was taught Sanskrit language and poetry, drama and literary criticism, and logical rhetoric. He studied the Vedas and the Upanishads. He also began teaching in a near-by school. His knowledge earned him the respect of many and he came to be known as "Nanu Asan".

Nanu returned home to spend some time with his father, who was on the death bed. For a short period he ran a village school for the children of his neighbourhood. While continuing his quest for "the ultimate truth", Nanu would often spend time in the confines of temples, writing poems and hymns and lecturing to villagers on philosophy and moral values.

Married life

Under pressure from his family, Nanu married Kaliamma, the daughter of a traditional village doctor. The marriage was a simple affair with the groom's sisters themselves investing the bride with the 'Thaali' (wedding knot) on his behalf. The bride remained with her parents, since Nanu asan became a wanderer not long after.

'Parivrajaka' (A Spiritual Wanderer)

After the demise of his father and wife, Nanu Asan continued his life of a wandering Sanyasi. He became a 'Parivrajaka' (one who wanders from place to place in quest of Truth). It was during one of these days that Nanu met Kunjan Pillai, who later came to be known as Chattampi Swamikal. Kunjan Pillai, who discovered and appreciated Nānu Āśān’s philosophical genius and passion for Yoga, introduced him to Thycattu Ayyaavu, a 'Hatha yogi'. Under the Yogi, Nānu Āśān mastered various Yogic practices including Hatha Yoga. The exposure gained from this scholastic experiences had a lasting impact on the later life and philosophy of Nārāyana Guru.

Enlightenment and its poetic expression

Nānu moved to his hermitage deep inside the hilly forests of Maruthwāmala, where he led an austere life immersed in meditative thought and yoga and subjected himself to extreme sustenance rituals. This phase of solitude lasted for 8 long years. After an unpretentious life of over thirty years abounding in knowledge and harsh experiences, this epoch is considered the culmination of the meditative recluse; the point at which Nārāyana Guru is believed to have attained a state of Enlightenment.

Nārāyana Guru’s later literary and philosophical masterpiece Atmopadesa Satakam (one hundred verses of self-instruction, written in Malayalam circa 1897) is considered a fertile poetic expression, encapsulating the Guru’s philosophy of egalitarianism, emanating from the author’s attainment of an experienced state of primordial knowledge and quintessence of the Universe; and his ensuing ability to view the human race, from a dignified and elevated perspective, as nothing but one of a genus, in unqualified equality and without any racial, religious, caste or other discriminations whatsoever.

Consecration of Siva Lingam at Aruvippuram

Learning from the sacred books and the practice of Yoga did not quench the thirst of Nanu. He continued his wanderings in quest of Truth. By and by, he came to a beautiful place called Aruvippuram. It was a forest area. There were hills around. A gurgling rivulet (of river Neyyar) also flowed there. As more people sought him out for healing or advice, he and his disciples felt the need for a regular temple for worshipping Shiva. At a beautiful spot near the river, he had his followers build a small canopy of coconut leaves and mango leaves over an altar on a rock jutting out in the water. The year was 1888. They improvised lamps with shells and arranged them in rows. They were lighted at dusk and a piper began to play devotional tunes. The whole place was soon filled with pious village folk. Gurudevan, who had been sitting apart and meditating all night, stood at midnight and walked into the river. As thousands watched silently (If silence had music, the atmosphere was filled with it, wrote one correspondent) he descended into the river and then reemerged, holding an idol of Shiva. He stood beneath the canopy with it in his arms for three hours, totally lost in meditation, tears flowing down his cheeks. Finally, at three in the morning, he installed the idol on the pedestal. His action was equivalent of overturning the tables of the money changers, or refusing to give up a seat on the bus. From the beginning of time, so far as anyone knew, only Brahmins had ever installed an idol. Yet when Gurudevan performed the sacred rite it appeared so natural for him to pick up a small rock and install it. When Brahmins challenged his right to consecrate, he replied in his famous quote:This is not a Brahmin Siva, but an Ezhava Siva.To those who questioned the timing of the consecration saying it was not an astrologically auspicious time, he replied: Horoscope is to be cast after the birth of a child, not before. He instructed to place a plaque containing a motto on the temple wall which read as:

:Devoid of dividing walls of Caste :Or hatred of rival faith, :We all live here :In Brotherhood, :Such, know this place to be! :This Model Foundation!

A new phase began in the Guru's life in 1904. He decided to give up his wandering life and settle down in a place to continue his Sadhana (spiritual practice). He chose Sivagiri, twenty miles north of Thiruvananthapuram. Goddess 'Amba' became his deity of worship.

Next, he started a Sanskrit school in Varkala. Poor boys and orphans were taken under his care. They were given education regardless of caste distinctions. Temples were built at different places - Thrissur, Kannur, Anchuthengu, Tellicherry, Calicut, Mangalore. A temple was built for Sharada Devi in 1912, at Sivagiri. Worship at such temples helped reduce to a large extent superstitious beliefs and practices.

One of the temples built in Thrissur is the Sri Narayana Temple at Koorkenchery. The temple has a school in its compound named Sri Narayana School. The School encourages students' talents by organizing talent competitions. These competitions, regularly held every year, have been a platform for youngsters to stand up and recognize their talents.

In 1913, he founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva. This was an important event in his spiritual quest. This Ashram was dedicated to a great principle - Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (all men are equal in the eyes of God). This became the motto of the new Ashram.

When Nārāyana Guru attained the age of sixty, his birth day was observed throughout the west-coast from Mangalore to Sri Lanka. Between 1918 and 1923 he visited Sri Lanka many times. In 1921, a Conference of Universal Brotherhood was held at Aluva. Again in 1924, a conference of all religions was held there. Guru stressed the need for a Brahma Vidyalaya for a comparative study of different religious faiths.

Sree Nārāyana Guru had many followers and disciples. Nataraja Guru, a notable disciple of Sree Nārāyana Guru, introduced Guru's visions and ideals to the western world. He established Narayana Gurukulam in 1923 in the Nilgiri Hills with the blessings of Nārāyana Guru.

Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (The Brotherhood of All)

In 1913, the Guru founded an Ashram at Aluva. It was called the Advaita Ashram. This was an important event in the life of the Guru. The Ashram was dedicated to a great principle - Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (all human beings are equal in the eyes of God). In 1921, a Conference of Universal Brotherhood was held at Aluva. Again in 1924, a conference of all religions was held there. The Guru stressed the need for a Brahma Vidyalayam for the comparative study of various religious faiths. An institution called Narayana Gurukulam was established in the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu by Bodhananda Swamikal and later handed over to Nataraja Guru.

Final Ceylon Journey

Gurudevan visited Ceylon again in 1926. He had some moving experiences while travelling in Tamil Nadu in connection with his journey to Ceylon. While he was in Sree Ganapathi temple in heavy rain he said, "If there is anyone writing my biography, these experiences should not be missed, they should be recorded."After that journey to Ceylon, Gurudevan did not want to return. He went back only after repeated requests of his disciples and devotees.

Message to Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam

In a message to the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam in 1926 Gurudevan declared, No community can make progress except through organization. He further said in that message, The name Ezhava does not denote a caste or a religion and he made temple rights to everyone. Therefore people can be admitted to this organization without paying heed to differences of caste.

On June 14, 1927 Sree Narayana Guru consecrated a mirror - with the message "Om shanti" written on the surface - in a temple in Kalavankode. The prathishta of the mirror is symbolic in that Advaita Vedanta interpret the mirror as the visible symbol of the unity of the Finite and the Infinite. That was the last prathishta that the Guru would do. Schools rather than temples are to be preferred, he exhorted in a dramatic shift of focus. Gurudevan participated in the anniversary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam held at Palluruthy in 1927. It was a splendid meeting which demonstrated the sincere, devout faith of the people in Gurudevan. T. K. Madhavan was one of the chief architects of this meeting. In 1928 Gurudevan took part in the special meeting of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam at Kottayam and gave away registration certificates to the branch organizations.

Even though Guru started SNDP as a forum to lead the activities for social equality and caste less society, eventually SNDP turned out to be a forum of Ezhava caste, which is a contradiction to Guru's vision. Various factions in the SNDP Yogam accuse others of financial irregularities and corruption . There are allegations that liquor barons are controlling the SNDP Yogam .It is an irony that today SNDP Yogam represents exactly those things/ideas which Guru opposed.

Sivagiri pilgrimage

Sivagiri pilgrimage was conceived by Vallabhasseri Govindan Vaidyar and T K Kittan Writer. It was duly approved by Gurudevan on January, 1928. The setting was SNDP's Nagambadam Shiva temple. It was 3 pm and Gurudevan was resting under a mango tree when the two presented the concept of Sivagiri pilgrimage. Before giving its his blessings he set out the goals of such a pilgrimage. He said: "Let the pilgrims congregate at the beginning of the Gregorian calendar 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 - body, food, mind, word, deed called as Pancha Dharma.

He ruled that pilgrims could wear yellow clothes - 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 the goals of the pilgrimage, explaining how to achieve them. The goals were the promotion of

1. Education

2. Cleanliness

3. Devotion to God

4. Organization

5. Agriculture

6. Trade

7. Handicrafts

8. Technical training

He advised them to organize a series of lectures on the themes with experts conducting them. The lectures should be listened to attentively. More important, 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.

Finally, it was decided to start the first pilgrimage from the village of Elavumthitta in Pathanamthitta District. 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, S.Sankunni. All the 5 pilgrims wore bright yellow dress, 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 the mission to fulfil, will have to reach Sivagiri, a great responsibility bestowed on their shoulders by the Sreenarayana devotees. Their mission was a great success. Today thousands are following the way they have shown.

The Palluruthi event in 1927 was the last anniversary of the Yogam which Gurudevan attended. It was also the last public function Gurudevan attended.

Gurudevan went to Vellur Mutt at Vaikom to rest. There he was taken ill. He went to Alwaye and later to Trichur for treatment. Dr. Krishnan took Gurudevan to Palghat. From there Gurudevan travelled to Madras for treatment.

Death

Guru became seriously ill in September 1928. He remained bedridden for some time. Devotees came in large numbers to have a glimpse. The same year, Gurudevan's birthday was celebrated in many places, mostly in Kerala, Madras, Mangalore, Srilanka and Europe. On 20 September, Guru died.

Nārāyana Guru’s philosophy

Hailing from the land of Adi Shankara, Sree Nārāyana Guru was a great proponent and re-evaluator of Advaita Vedanta. Guru’s philosophy, which is fundamentally of Advaitic and non-dual wisdom in principles, further extended Advaitic concepts into practical modes of self-realisation through spiritual education, compassion and peaceful co-existence of humanity, whilst promoting social equality and universal brotherhood. His philosophy strongly denounced discrimination in the name of caste or religion, and emphasised focusing on education and private enterprise for the ongoing upliftment of the quality of life. Guru’s philosophy emphasised the consistency between true existence of the "common reality" on Earth and one Divine behind the creation and sustenance of the Universe.

Guru’s philosophy is exemplified in his mystical writings that are truly interchanging warps and wefts of ethics, logic, aesthetics and metaphysics woven into masterpieces of silken rich poetry. Guru’s literary works in Malayalam, Sanskrit and Tamil are of a conceptual and aesthetic quality at par with the Upanishads.

At the time of its conception, Nārāyana Guru’s philosophy was in many respects ahead of its time and focused on a futuristic world order that could be shaped from his philosophical connotations that are underlain with transcendental aesthetics and logic embodied in knowledge and pure reason. Most of the serious scholars of Nārāyana Guru’s philosophy have been from generations beyond his lifetime; and this list keeps growing.

Tolerance toward others

Guru had followers from all walks of life. Some of these were atheists. An Advaithin to the core, he did not differentiate people on the basis of their relegion, caste, colour or beliefs. He was tolerant toward all philosophies that stood for the progress of mankind.

To avoid the attempts made by a section of his followers to identify him with the community he was born into, Nārāyana Guru was forced to state explicitly that he did not belong to any particular caste or religion. Through a message he sent in the year 1916, he proclaimed : It is years since I left castes and religions. Yet some people think that I belong to their caste. That is not correct. I do not belong to any particular caste or religion.

The Guru's influence on other social thinkers

Concerning the caste system, Gandhi said the following to Nārāyana Guru: "The caste-Hindus and the low caste-Hindus are both the sons of Hinduism. The caste-Hindu is the elder brother who shoulders responsibility, and he therefore exercises certain privileges. The low caste-Hindu is his younger brother who is to be cared for. If the elder brother turns out to be somewhat rough and aggressive that should not make the younger brother a runaway from his mother Hinduism." Nārāyana Guru, however, disagreed, and voiced his tolerance for those who converted to other religions, with the argument that one should follow what one truly believes in. He also questioned the logic of Gandhi's argument, arguing that caste in India was a socio-economic issue.

Guru's Famous Teachings

One Jati(Caste) One Religion, One God for Man

All are of one Self-fraternity Such being the dictum to avow,In such a light how can we take life And devoid of least pity go on to eat

Ask not, Say not Think not caste. Think only Gods.

Acts that one performs For one's own sake Should also aim for the good Of other men

Love of others is my happiness, Love that is mine is happiness for others. And so, truly, deeds that benefit a man Must be a cause for other's happiness too.

Grace, Love, Mercy -all the three - Stand for one same reality- Life's Star. He who loves is who really lives.

Whatever may be the difference in men's creed, dress, language etc. because they all belong to the same kind of creation, there is no harm at all in their dining together or having marital relation withone another.

Liquor is poison Make it not Sell it not Drink it not.

Devoid of dividing walls Of caste or race Or hatred, We all live here In Brotherhood

Progress through education. Strengthen through organisation.

Public acceptance, honours and veneration

of Narayana Guru]] Since his lifetime Nārāyana Guru has been conferred formal recognitions and honours by the State, intelligentsia and society. In 1901 the State Census Manual of Travancore recorded Sree Nārāyana as a revered "Guru" and an erudite Sanskrit scholar. A sharp drop in the statistics of the commission of crime was also attributed to the correcting and moralizing influence of Nārāyana Guru on the society. In 1904 the then Maharajah of Travancore exempted Nārāyana Guru from personal appearances in court, an honour recognizing the Guru as a distinguished living personality. cover spread on 31 December 1999 naming Nārāyana Guru as 'Malayalee of the Century']] The first statue of the Guru was conceived by Moorkoth Kumaran and sculpted by an Italian sculptor Prof. Tavaroli whilst the Guru was still alive. The bronze statue, which took 14 months to complete, was installed at the Jaggannaatha temple at Thalassery and unveiled on 13 March 1927, after the consecration of the statue by Bodhananda Swamikal, the disciple and then spiritual successor-designate to Nārāyana Guru.

On the Guru's Mahasamadhi (passing away), the famed Jnanapith award winner poet Mahakavi G. Sankara Kurup paid tribute to Nārāyana Guru by writing a Malayalam verse venerating the Guru as The Second Buddha. Sree Nārāyana Guru's legacy continues to be revered at esteemed levels within social, intellectual and spiritually organised communities worldwide.

Jagadguru Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi,the renowned spiritual teacher reckoned as the greatest karmayogi to uphold Sanatana Dharma since Swami Vivekananda drew inspiration from the guru's life and teachings and popularised it through his long oratories across the length and breadth of Kerala.He can be regarded as a political successor of the guru who enshrined the guru's vision in the setting up of Hindu Aikya Vedi uniting all the hindu organisations in Kerala under the aegis of a single organisation brushing aside caste distinctions and uniting the two major groups of Hindus in the state,respectively the savarna Nairs and Ezhavas.As Noted by

All across the State of Kerala, and outside of the State, hundreds of small chapel-like Guru Mandirams are devoted to the reverence and worship of Sree Nārāyana Guru. Most recently, a distinctively styled iconographic statue of Nārāyana Guru named the Jnana Vigraham was conceived and created by a team of artists, as a suggestive model for the future, to improve the aesthetic quality of statues of Nārāyana Guru kept in homes and placed in Guru Mandirams worldwide.

At the turn of the 21st Century, Sree Nārāyana Guru was named as The Malayalee of the Century by Kerala's leading daily Malayala Manorama. The full cover-page spread of the newspaper was dedicated to Nārāyana Guru in its last issue of the Century on 31 December 1999. So also Nārāyana Guru was featured first among the "100 great lives" nominated by Malayala Manorama on the occasion of Malayala Manorama's centenary celebrations in the year 1988.

Saint Disciples Of Guru

Sree Bodhananda Swamikal

Sad Guru Shivalingadasa Swamikal

Satyavrata Swamikal

Chaitanya Swamikal

Nataraja Guru

Swamy Ananda Theerthan

Swamy Dharma Theerthan

Swamy Ernest Kerk

Govindhananda Swami

Dharma Thirthar Swami

Atmananda swami

Sankarananda Swami

Sreenarayana Theerthar

Works

In Malayalam

# Swanubavageethi # Atmopadesa Śatakam # Advaitha Deepika # Arivu # Daiva Dasakam # Jeevakarunya Panchakam # Anukamba Dasakam # Jathi Nirnayam # Jathi Lakshanam # Chijanda Chinthakam # Daiva Chinthanam - 1 & 2 # Athma Vilasam # Shiva Shathakam # Kolatheereshastavam # Bhadrakaalyashtakam

In Sanskrit

# Darsana Mala # Brahmavidya Panchakam # Nirvruthi Panchakam # Slokathrayi # Vedantha Suthram # Homa Manthram # Municharya Panchakam # Asramam # Dharmam # Charama Slokangal # Homa Mantram # Chidambarashtakam # Guhashtakam # Bhadrakaliashtakam # Vinayaka Ashtakam # Sree Vasudeva Ashtakam # Genani Navamanjari

In Tamil

# Thevarappathinkangal

Translations

# Thirukural # Isavasyo Upanishad # Ozhivil Odukkam His knowledge earned him the respect of many and he came to be Known as "Nanu ashan"

Gallery

Guru In Fiction

P.A. Backer (1940–1993)one of the "new wave" Malayalam film directors of the 1970s,has directed film named 'Sree Narayana Guru' in 1985.

In 2010 a film 'Yugapurushan' which is also about the life and times of Sree Narayana Guru. The movie is directed by R.Sukumaran, who has previously directed the films Rajashilpi and Padamudhra. The film has an ensemble cast.Thalaivasal Vijay did the role of Sree Naryana Guru. The magnum opus was in the making for more than fifteen years according to the director R.Sukumaran. Over 2000 hand drawn images constitute the story board. The cast includes some of the best in the Malayalam Movie Industry.

See also

Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham

Sivagiri, Kerala

Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam

Sree Dharma Paripalana Yogam

Temples built by Narayana Guru

M. C. Joseph

C. V. Kunhiraman

Mithavaadi Krishnan

Daiva Dasakam

Notes

# Matha virodhathinte Matham - The Religion of Irreligiousness BY M.C.Joseph (Page 322-325 in Narayanaguru: Ed: P.K.Balakrishnan, March 2000 (First Edition 1954) , Kerala Sahitya Academy # See article by T.N.Jayachandran in Yukthireka (August 2004) and the book Charithrathe Aghadhamakkiya Guru by K.P.Appan (May 2005) # See bilingual image (on the right) quoting observation by T.N.Jayachandran in his article in Gurupadhom published by Kerala Kaumudi on Guru's 150th birth anniversary celebrations(August 2004).

Footnotes

Bibliography / References

Sree Narayana Guruswamikalude jeeva charithram– Moorkothu kumaran-(The official biography as approved by Sivagiri mutt.) Published by SNDS Trust Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala-695141,Kerala,India. Email: publications@sivagiri.org

Sree Narayana Gurudeva Krithikal – Sampoorna Vyakyanam – G Balakrishnan Nair- (Works of Sree Narayana Guru with Complete Interpretations – ten parts compiled in two volumes) published by The State Institute of Languages, Kerala.

The Word of the Guru : The Life and Teaching of Guru Narayana : Nataraja Guru, D.K. Printworld, 2003, New Delhi, ISBN 81-246-0241-7

Guru - Kumaranasante Drushtiyil : DC Books, Kottayam, Kerala

Srinarayana Guruvinte Sampoorna Kruthikal (Complete Works of Sri Narayana Guru): Mathrubhoomi Publishers, Kozhikode, Kerala

Sri Narayana Guruvinte Mathavum Sivagiriyum (Sivagiri and the Religion of Sri Narayana Guru): K. Maheshwaran Nair

Sri Narayana Guru - Jeevitham, Darsanum, Kruthikal: Editor: K.N.Shaji, Current Books, Trissur, Kerala

Narayanaguru- Editor: P.K.Balakrishnan (A collection of essays in Malayalam):March 2000, (First Edition 1954), Kerala Sahitya Academi, Trichur, Kerala.

Narayanam: Perumpadavom Sreedharan (Biographical novel on Sree Narayana Guru published in 2004): Distributors: Current Books. ISBN 81-240-1427-2

The Philosophy of Narayana Guru: Swami Muni Narayana Prasad, D.K. Printworld, 2003, New Delhi, ISBN 81-246-0236-0.

Yukthirekha August 2004 (Special issue commemorating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sri Narayana Guru) - Dhanuvachapuram Post, Trivandrum-695503, Kerala.

Charithrathe Aghadhamakkiya Guru : K.P.Appan -DC Books, Kottayam -686001 (ISBN 81-264-1025-6)

Sreenarayanaguruswamy Jeevacharithram by K. Damodaran, 2nd ed., 2003. Publisher: Kaumudi Public Relations. (in Malayalam)

Maharshi Sreenarayanaduru by Dr. T. Bhaskaran. Publisher: Cultural Publication Department, Govt of Kerala, Trivandrum-14 (in Malayalam)

Sreenarayanaguru by Koyikkal Jacob, MA. (in Malayalam)

External links

SreeNarayanaGuru,Kerala

Life Sketch & Works Of Narayana Guru

Sree Narayana Global Mission

360° Virtual tour of Chempazhanthy:The birthplace of SreeNarayanaGuru

Category:1855 births Category:1928 deaths Category:Indian philosophers Category:Advaitin philosophers Category:Hindu gurus Category:Hindu philosophers Category:Prophets Category:People from Thiruvananthapuram

Background	#FFA07A
Name	Radhanath Swami
Religion	Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Hinduism
Alias	Richard Slavin
Initiation	Diksa–1973, Sannyasa–1982
Post	ISKCON Guru, Sannyasi, Member of the Governing Body Commission
Birth date	December 7, 1950
Birth place	Chicago, USA
Website	http://www.radhanathswami.com

Radhanath Swami (born December 7, 1950) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava guru and a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He works largely from Mumbai in India and also travels extensively throughout Europe and America. He has been instrumental in the founding of the Mumbai Bhaktivedanta hospital.

Biography

Born as Richard Slavin, he studied a number of religious paths such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. At the age of 19 he began traveling through Europe and the Middle-East, eventually settling for over a year in the Himalayas. Much of this time he spent devoted to the tradition of Shaivism and was living as a renunciate Shaivite in India when he first met with Krishna devotees near Delhi. Through contact with the devotees in Vrindavan, and after receiving name Ratim Krishna from Swami Bon Radhanath began to focus exclusively on his spiritual path in Krishna Consciousness. In 1971 Radhanath Swami observed A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada during the ISKCON Cross Maidan festival in Mumbai. After leaving India, Radhanath Swami returned to the United States where he joined the New Vrindaban ISKCON farm community in West Virginia during July 1972. There he accepted initiation from A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in February 1973.

Radha Gopinath temple

In later years Radhanath has been essential for many highly successful Mumbai projects associated with Radha Gopinath Temple in Chowpatty, which was founded in 1986 and joined ISKCON in 1994. Radhanath Swami also has been instrumental in the founding of the Mumbai Bhaktivedanta hospital. is the story of how Radhanath Swami grew up in a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois and through his journey of prayer was led through the 60's counter-culture movement in America into Europe, walking and hitch-hiking all the way through Europe to the Middle East and into India.

See also

Hare Krishna

Bhakti Yoga

Vaishnavism

List of ISKCON members and patrons

Footnotes

References

External links

Radhanath Swami Official Website

Official Website for The Journey Home – Autobiography of an American Swami

Talks by Radhanath Swami

Reviews of Radhanath Swami's Book The Journey Home

Category:Converts to Hinduism Category:International Society for Krishna Consciousness religious figures Category:Living people Category:American Hare Krishnas Category:People of Jewish descent Category:1950 births

Deva Premal (born in 1970 in NürnbergGermany), is a musician known for her meditative spiritual New Age music, which puts ancient Sanskrit mantras into atmospheric, contemporary settings.

Deva has toured since 1991, along with her life partner, Miten, offering concerts and chant workshops worldwide. Their record company, Prabhu Music, reports sales of over 900,000 albums.

Best-known for her top-selling chant CDs, Deva Premal is a classically trained musician. She grew up singing mantras in a German home permeated with Eastern spirituality. Her albums have topped the New Age charts and popularity polls in yoga studios and healing centers throughout the world since her first release, The Essence, featuring the Gayatri Mantra. Her latest album, Mantras For Precarious Times, which features Deva chanting seven different mantras 108 times each, was created as a support for mantra meditation. She and Miten have also recently released a CD/DVD In Concert: The Yoga of Song and Chant, featuring a concert recorded live in Byron Bay, Australia with Nepalese bansuri flautist Manose.

Deva and Miten performed for The Dalai Lama during a 2002 Conference in Munich, Germany on Unity and Duality, which brought top figures from the scientific community together with members of the Buddhist community. They gave a concert for the full conference, and were also invited to sing for the Dalai Lama at a small pre-conference gathering. They had heard that his favorite mantra was the Tara Mantra, dedicated to the Green Tara of Compassion, and that he had asked for it be chanted recently when he was ill, and so they chanted it for him.

Deva began her journey with mantra in her mother's womb, as her father chanted the Gayatri Mantra, one of most sacred mantra of Hinduism, to her daily, and it continued to be her bedtime lullaby after she was born. Many years later, she heard a friend singing the Gayatri and was inspired to put together an album featuring it. She and Miten recorded The Essence in her mother's apartment in Germany, the same one in which she was born and where her parents had sung the Gayatri Mantra to her years before. Deva brought this journey with the Gayatri Mantra full circle in July, 2005, when she and Miten chanted the Gayatri for her father as he was dying: "We kept singing for what must have been over half an hour, when suddenly the monitor showed that he was about to leave. I continued to sing and the last sound he heard as he passed on was his beloved Gayatri Mantra. Finally we ended with the mantra Om and the circle was complete. He had welcomed me onto this planet with the Gayatri and I accompanied him out of this physical existence with it. What a blessing this was for me! It was the first time that I was present at a death, and to be at my father’s is a memory I will cherish all my life."

Discography

The Essence (1998)

Love Is Space (2000)

Embrace (2002)

Satsang (2002)

Dakshina (2005)

The Moola Mantra (2007)

Into Silence (2008) (compilation)

In Concert: The Yoga of Sacred Song and Chant (w/Miten & Manose) (2009) (CD/DVD)

Mantras For Precarious Times (2009)

References

External links

Category:German singers Category:New Age musicians Category:Performers of Hindu music Category:Living people Category:1970 births

Brahmananda Saraswati (20 December 1870 - 20 May 1953) was the Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, a revered spiritual title in India and of Hinduism, from 1941 to 1953.

Early life

Brahmananda Saraswati was born into a Brahmin family in the village of Gana, near Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, India. He was called Rajaram in his younger days and was also known as Maha Yogiraj.

At the age of nine, Rajaram left his home unannounced to follow a spiritual path of renunciation but was soon after returned to his parents by a policeman. Upon returning home, he asked his parents for their permission to leave home and begin the life of a recluse. His parents wanted him to marry and live the life of a householder and asked their family guru, or panditji, to convince Rajaram to forget his dream of a recluse life. However, the family guru was so impressed with Rajaram's advanced state of wisdom and spiritual evolution, that he gave up any attempts to change the boy's mind. The parents then also acquiesced and gave their permission for Rajaram to leave. Two days later, Rajaram formally renounced his family life and left his boyhood home in search of solitude in the Himalayas. At that time, Rajaram was given the name of Brahma Chaitanya Brahmachari. He then became the favorite disciple in his master's ashram and, according his master's instructions, he retired to a cave, resolving not to emerge until he had attained enlightenment.

Adult life

At the age of twenty-five (25), having achieved his goal, the Brahmachari emerged from his cave and permanently rejoined his Master at his ashram. At that time, Brahmachari was formally ordained in the ascetic order and given the name Shri Swami Brahmanand Saraswati Maharaj. In 1950, President Radhakrishnan addressed Brahmananda Saraswati as Vedanta Incarnate (the embodiment of truth).

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became a devotee of Brahmananda Saraswati shortly before Brahmanda Saraswati was installed as Shankaracharya in 1941. The Maharishi later became the Shankaracharya's personal assistant. The Maharishi wrote an essay on Brahmananda Sarawsati, whom he revered as Guru Dev (greatest teacher), saying: "In the English Language, his devotees felt that the expression "His Holiness" did not adequately describe this personified Divine Effulgence; and so the new expression "His Divinity" was used. With such unique adoration of newer and fuller grandeur, transcending the glories of the expression of antiquity, was worshiped the holy name of Guru Deva, the living expression of Upanishadic Reality, the embodiment of the transcendent Divinity." This essay was included later in the 1955 book Beacon Light of the Himalayas.

Devotees of the Maharishi also respect and revere Brahmananda Saraswati as their "Guru Dev" and as an outstanding representative of the Vedic tradition. It is in recognition of Guru Dev as the modern custodian of the Vedic tradition that a puja ceremony is performed by the Transcendental Meditation teacher during personal instruction. An explanation of the purpose of the TM puja ceremony, the Sanskrit text of the ceremony, and its English translation was written and published by the Maharishi in the pamphlet, The Holy Tradition. The court in Malnak v Yogi, quoting and citing The Holy Tradition, found that this ceremony involved the making of offerings to a "deified" Guru Dev.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in his farewell message on January 11, 2008, announced the establishment of the Brahmananda Saraswati Trust, named in honor of his teacher, to support large groups totaling more than 30,000 peace-creating Vedic Pandits in perpetuity across India.

Swami Shree Swaroopananda Saraswati ji

“Swami Shree Swaroopananda Saraswati ji was born Pothiram Upadhyay in 1924, in Dist. Seoni and village Dighori area of Madhya Pradesh. At nine years old he left home to visit the holy places of India, including Varanasi where he eventually studied with Swami Karpatri (aka Hariharananda Saraswati), a disciple of Guru Dev Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. At 19 years old he became a freedom fighter in the 'Quit India' movement (1942) and was known as 'Revolutionary Sadhu' (serving two prison sentences for same of 9 months & 6 months). In 1950 Guru Dev made him a dandi sannyasi. After Guru Dev's passing in 1953, Swarupanandji took up with a new guru, Swami Krishnabhodashram ji Maharaj. Krishnabhodashramji was established as Guru Dev's successor by Swami Karpatri. Swami Swarupanandji became president of the 'Ramrajya Parishad Party' (set up by Swami Karpatri), and on Krishnabhodashram's demise the post of Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math passed to Swami Swarupanandji. There were now two Shankaracharya ashrams in Joshimath, Swami Swaroopanand's being on the site of Trotakacharya's cave, just below the ashram that Guru Dev Swami Brahmanand had built in the 1940s. In 1982 Swami Swaroopanand inherited the title of Shankaracharya of Dwarka.”

References

External links

Life & Teaching of Guru Dev, Shankaracharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati

Biographical data and quotations

The official website of Swami Shree Swaroopananda Saraswati ji

Category:1871 births Category:1953 deaths Category:Hindu religious figures Category:People from Faizabad Category:Transcendental Meditation movement Category:People from Chamoli district