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Kerala CM flays bid to paint Sree Narayana Guru as Sanatana Dharma advocate

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has criticized attempts to depict Kerala social reformer Sree Narayana Guru as a supporter of Sanatana Dharma. The Chief Minister stated that Sanatana Dharma and Varnashrama Dharma were not different.

An organized effort is now underway to establish Sree Narayana Guru as the exponent and proponent of Sanatan Dharma, the chief minister said after inaugurating the 92nd annual pilgrimage at Sivagiri Mutt on Tuesday.

The chief minister said the Sanatana Dharma argument was heard from a speaker at this Sivagiri pilgrimage conference itself. “Since the guru's conception of the Sivagiri pilgrimage was also a forum for debates, let us assume that it is here that the myth has to be corrected,” he said.

Pinarayi said Sree Narayana Guru was not an advocate or proponent of Sanatan Dharma, but a sannyasin who reformed that dharma and proclaimed a new age dharma for the new age. What is defined by Sanatan Dharma? It is nothing but Varnashrama Dharma. Guru's Navayuga Manavika Dharma is to keep pace with the times by challenging and overcoming that Varnashrama Dharma, he said.

The chief minister said this new-age dharma of the Guru was not defined by religions at all. Had any religion until then said that no matter what the religion, man should be good? No. Till then, did any religion say that the essence of all religions is the same? No. So what is clear is that the Guru upheld humanistic universalism which embodied the essence of humanity beyond religion. If it is placed within the framework of the Sanatan philosophy, it would be a great disservice to the Guru. Varnashrama Dharma is synonymous or an integral part of Sanatan Dharma.

Pinarayi said Sanatana Dharma imposed a rigid set of so-called divinely ordained practices on followers, adhering to the principles of Varnashrama Dharma, an inflexible set of obligations and responsibilities based on the follower's caste social status. The Chief Minister said Sree Narayana Guru challenged Sanatana Dharma and Varnashrama Dharma concepts that individuals born into a particular caste or social class could only pursue the traditional occupation practiced by their ancestors.

The Chief Minister also supported Sivagiri Mutt's call to end the practice of devotees entering temples after removing their shirts.

He backed Sivargiri Mutt’s social reformist message that devotees abandon the regressive practice of entering temples after removing their shirts.

The chief minister said Sivagiri Mutt president Swami Sachithananda stated that the practice was anachronistic and not in tune with modern progressive values. “His words echoed the reformist thought, life and message of Sree Narayana Guru.

He said temples associated with Sree Narayana Guru's movement had abandoned the questionable custom. The chief minister hoped other temples would follow suit.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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