Narayana Guru - 1856-1928

Uplifting Literature

Narayana Guru was a great scholar in Samskrita. He wrote a number of books both in Samskrita and in Malayalam. 'Jati Mimamsa' (an enquiry into caste), a poem in five stanzas is of great significance. It gives in a nut shell the Guru's philosophy of life. The first stanza is in Samskrita. The rest of the stanza s are in Malayalam. The gist of the first stanza is as follows : "There is no reason for caste differences among human beings. All those who posses humanity are human beings. Just as there are different languages and different systems, though human beings seem to be different, there can be no reason for caste differences. Humanity is common to all." Thus the Guru did not recognize differences of caste.
The gist of the second stanza is as follows: "One caste, one religion, one God for man; one form and the same blood in all; I cannot find any differences."
This teaches the equality of all human beings. It is another form of the teaching of the Brotherhood of Man (Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra). How ' this maxim should be practised in life was explained by the Guru as follows : "Men may differ in their faiths, their languages and their modes of dressing; but there can be no evil in inter-dining and inter-marriage, because all belong to the same kind of creation." He practised this in his own life. His aim was to build a society without caste distinctions.
A message delivered by the Guru, on the occasion of the anniversary of Alwaye Ashram, is of great value in under standing the Guru's philosophy. It said : 'A man's religion is a matter of his personal belief. This natu rally depends on the growth of the man's mind. It may, therefore, be said that each man has his own religion. All the religions of the world accept `Atman' as the pith and core of religion. All the religions speak of Truth and Dharma. The aim of all is the same. Such being the truth why should people fight for their religions? This is indeed unwise. One should not lose one's peace of mind just because religions are different. Do not all people try hard to get happiness? Are there not differ ences in the clothes that men wear? Some like to grow beards, while others may like to have a clean-shaven face. Wise men do not quarrel over these things. Do not people speak different languages? In spite of such differences, are not all men alike? Why should men, therefore, hate one another because their religions are different? If people fight one another the only possible result is destruction. All men are of one Caste. Their Religion is one. Their God is one."