Shree Narayan Guru Jayanti 2022: In the state of Kerala, Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti is an important public holiday which will be celebrated on 10th September this year. This date varies from year to year. All business including banks remain closed on this day. It commemorates the birth of a social reformer and saint Narayan Guru.
Apart from working for the empowerment of people in Kerala, who were oppressed due to caste prejudices, he immersed himself in meditation practices for spiritual upliftment. According to the Malayalam calendar, this day is the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Narayan, on this day temples and roads are decorated with flowers and dried coconut leaves. In memory of the great guru, peaceful processions and communal feasts are held.
Who is Shree Narayana Guru?
Sree Narayana Guru was born on 22 August 1856 in Chempazhanthi (1032 Chingam in the Malayalam calendar), a village near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to Madan Asan and his wife Kuttiyamma. According to the social norms of the time, his family belonged to the Ezhava caste and hence were considered “Avarna” (persons who were not given a place in the caste system and were known as outcastes and Dalits).
He had a strong dislike for the caste system and untouchability since he was a young child and was always vocal against injustice. He lived by the saying “don’t ask, don’t say, and don’t think caste.”
The dedication of a temple to Lord Shiva at Aruvippuram in 1888 marked the beginning of his revolutionary process. He insisted that everyone, regardless of caste or religion, has the right to feel God. In later years, he dedicated many temples to the revolutionary changes in different regions of Kerala.
The Guru moved to Sivagiri near Varkala in 1904, and established a school for students from the lower social strata, providing them with free education, irrespective of their caste.
Contribution of Shree Narayan Guru to stop discrimination on the basis of caste.
- To combat caste injustice, he coined the phrase “one caste, one religion, one God for all” (Oru Jathi, Oru Matham, Oru Daivam, Manushyanu).
- In one of the temples built by him in Kalavanakode, Sree Narayana Guru used mirrors instead of idols. This served as a metaphor for his teaching that each of us has a part of the divine.
- He advocated equality but believed that differences should not be used to influence people’s behavior or cause social unrest.
Later, in 1903, he founded a philanthropic society as the founder and president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP). The organization has a significant presence even today.
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