Grassroots Traditions and Democracy in India vis-a-vis Sree Narayana Guru Movement/Tradition in Kerala

 

Grassroots Traditions and Democracy in India

Sree Narayana Guru Movement/Tradition in Kerala

6^th & 7^th August 2024 at the CPCI National Convention in Bangalore

 

Introduction:

As we all know, rather experience, Indian democracy is undergoing unheard of challenges, if not threat, through a skewed form of democracy by a political mobilization of religions and cultures around a projected core, that is, Hindutva through an attempt at annihilating the rudiments of grassroots participation.

 

Here, in this paper, we are trying to see one of such grassroot traditions of the rather enslaved and exploited Ezhavas who were enlightened, enriched and empowered by Sri Narayana Guru and how it overcame those hurdles on its way to equality and self-respect through movements like the SNDP Yogam and so on.

 

The Context:

Caste system in Kerala had evolved to be the most complex in India, and the exploitation of it had come to shaming levels. In the place of the four ‘varnas, Kerala had the Malayali Brahmins forming the priestly class and Nairs, the Aristocracy, besides the so called outcastes, considered even as pollutants. (Caste system in Kerala - Wikipedia) 

The abhorrent aspect was that pollution was not through touch alone, but the very sight or approach polluted. And it was the worst in Kerala, (Caste system in Kerala - Wikipedia) with over 500 groups represented in an elaborate structure of relationships, shocking someone like Swami Vivekananda to call it a ‘mad house’ of castes! Robin Jeffrey, who was a professor specializing in the modern history and politics of India, quotes the wife of a Christian missionary writing in 1860, ‘... a Nair can approach but not touch a Namboodiri Brahmin: a Ezhava must remain thirty-six paces off, and a Pulayan ninety-six steps distant. An Ezhava must remain twelve steps away from a Nair, and a Pulayan sixty-six steps off, and a Parayan some distance farther still... Pulayans and Parayars can approach but not touch, much less eat with each other (Caste system in Kerala - Wikipedia). If by accident a Pulayar happened to be there and sees an approaching Nair or a Brahmin, he was supposed to make a loud howling sound to warn the upper castes from getting nearer until he went away or climbed up a tree. If a Nair somehow meets him on the way, he cuts him down like an unpleasant animal. The Nair's right to kill any Pulayar he met on the pathway imminently is confirmed by almost all visitors to Kerala. Even the other lower castes had no communication with the Pulayar. According to Buchanan, the Nairs killed not only the Pulayars but any member of the other lower polluting castes, including the Ezhavas. (Caste system in Kerala - Wikipedia) 

This is how, the lower castes came be known as tintal jati, i.e. castes which pollutes at a distance. [The food of the upper castes were referred to as "Amruthathu" (elixir) and the food of the lower castes was called "karikadi" (black brew), similarly the, dwelling places of the higher castes and the thatched huts of the lower castes were called the "royal abode" and "the field of rubbish" respectively. Lower caste people could use only separate paths and their houses were in places where they could not be seen…] (Caste system in Kerala - Wikipedia). The lower castes, particularly the Pulayars were not even allowed to breathe the same air as the other castes or use a public pathway. 

 

The legacy Narayana Guru inherited:

Way back in the 16^th century, emergence of the Bhakti movement and the development of the modern Malayalam language and the influence of personalities like Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan started breaking of Brahmin dominance over literature and knowledge.

The arrival of the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, and the English, played a significant role as catalysts for such changes. With colonial rule and the influence of English education and missionary activities, many traditional Indian customs and practices were questioned and new waves of thinking about identity were emerging. This change was bolstered by the Indian renaissance movement, socio-religious reforms, and the rise of nationalism.

The political landscape of Kerala underwent significant changes with the establishment of centralized monarchies in Travancore and Cochin, leading to the decline of the feudal order. Unlike the British Malabar, the other two, Cochi and Travancore, were princely states ruled virtually by the royal families and in reality, by the Brahmin or British Divans. The Mysorean invasion of Kerala (1766–1792) further disrupted the existing caste hierarchy.

In contrast to north India, the reformation, leading to a socio-cultural shift in the social fabric of Kerala, was driven by the lower castes like Narayana Guru and Ayyankali who focused on the abolition of the caste system rather than its reformation.

 

The Man behind the Tradition:

It was into this caste ridden society, endangered by all kinds of oppressions and exploitations from the ruling class which was controlled by the Brahminical codes and dictates, remaining static and paralyzed showing no signs of progress, was Narayanan, born ‘as a morning star’ to Madan Asan and Kuttiyamma in an Ezhava family on 28^th August 1856 in Kerala’s Chempazhanthy village near Thiruvananthapuram.

In 1872, when he was a teenager, his mother passed away. In the late 1870s he went to learn under a Sanskrit scholar. In 1881 he returned to his home village, as his father fell ill, and worked briefly as a teacher. In 1882 he married the daughter of a village doctor which lasted for a short time till her death. Shortly thereafter, he left home and adopted the wandering life of a Hindu ascetic and traveled about southern India, seeking enlightenment through meditation, fasting and Yoga. People began to seek him out for his wisdom and his skills as a healer.

A learned man, he was fluent in Malayalam, Sanskrit, and Tamil with training in Ayurveda and astrology besides grammar, logic, poetry, drama and rhetoric. After his formal education, he was more interested in finding the truth about the self and its relation to the Ultimate Reality. In his teachings Guru emphasized the knowledge of self as essential to his notion of oneness. He claimed that oneness depends on consciousness of the self in relation to others and plays a significant role in spiritual and social emancipation. After attaining self-realization, he emphasized the concept of “one God” and the unity of all being in a singular divinity.  Guru does not postulate God as a separate reality: he identifies the Ultimate Reality with God: in Daivadasakam the Guru defines God as Satyam, Jnanam and Ananda- Truth, knowledge and happiness. Guru admits the existence of one Reality only.

This oneness was not confined to his concept of God alone, but to the the whole world to be of one family—vasudhaiva kudumbakam. The oneness of God and unity of all humankind became apparent when Narayana Guru propelled religious and social reforms in Kerala. More importantly, his exposure to the inhumane condition of people in the lower castes and his education in the various philosophical schools, especially Advaita Vedānta, or non-dualism, served as a foundation for his literary works and social and religious reforms in Kerala. [Sree Narayana Guru, George Pati]

After visiting the Guru at Sivagiri Mutt along with Rabindranath Tagore, C.F. Andrews, the British missionary in India who was also a close friend of Gandhi, in his letter to Romain Rolland, the French author and Nobel laureate, could write succinctly: “I have seen our Christ walking along the shores of Arabian Sea in the attire of a Hindu sanyasin.” (Back flop of “Sree Narayana Gurudevan”, Kumaran Asan, edited, translate and appended by Dr. Josh Channar, Channar Books, Ernakulam, 2021).

 

His Teaching:

Having been exposed to the inhumane condition of his people and other lower castes and educated in the various philosophical schools, especially Advaita Vedānta, he emphasized the knowledge of self as essential to his notion of oneness. His realization was of “One God” and the unity of all being in a singular divinity. Thus he considered the whole world to be of one family—vasudhaiva kudumbakam. The oneness of God and unity of humankind propelled the religious and social reforms he initiated in Kerala.  [Sree Narayana Guru, George Pati]. Some of his revolutionary teachings are the following:

- One Caste, One Religion, and One God for All.

- "Be enlightened by knowledge, be strengthened by organization, and be prospered by Industries”

- "We meet here not to argue and win, but to know and be known", in the Parliament of Religions in Aluva in 1924.

 

Religion and Ritual:

Narayana Guru was criticized for being a Hindu revivalist. However, he publicly stated in June 1916 that “We do not belong to any particular caste or religion” (Vivekodayam 23-24). He clarified his stance further by emphasizing his non-attachment to any existing religion, his lack of interest in establishing a religion, the individual’s choice in practicing religion and, most importantly, the importance of human goodness, irrespective of what religion he/she professed…

Moreover, he made it clear that he didn’t want to be seen as a Hindu sage when he said: “It is the British who gave us Sanyasam (sagehood) and they are our gurus. And if it was in the time of Ram, Sudras and Atisudras wouldn’t be allowed an ascetic life (Sambuka, a Sudra, was beheaded by Ram himself for his pursuit of sagehood) because the Hindus rule by the Smritis.” (P.K. Balakrishnan, ‘Narayana Guru’).

He tried to reveal the essential oneness of all religions. As rivers emerging from various mountains, converge into the oneness of the ocean, so also all religions merge into single, eternal entity. This concept is elucidated through his work such as Atmopadesa Satakam, Arivu, Daiva Dasakam, Darsanamala, Advaita Deepika and Brahmavidya Panchakam.

 

Idol Consecration:

‘Living in a state of stupor, suffering all these insults and oppressions, people did not have the energy to retaliate. It became indispensable to rouse them…’ (Betty Sunny 17) Back in the day, only Brahmins could consecrate idols. Guru was the first non-Brahmin to challenge it, by picking ‘a tiny rock piece resembling a Shivalinga’ from the Aruvippuram river bed ‘… on the auspicious day of Sivaratri in 1888’ (p.15), sending tremors to the priestly class. (p. xi).

 

This event marked the revolutionary beginning of a series of idol consecrations across southern India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka, ‘Ezham’ in Tamil) welcoming people of all castes, as well as non-Hindus. His installations of idols in temples progressed from the primordial Siva to Devi and their off-springs to mirrors (the self-reflection signifying ‘Aham Brahmas mi’, I am Brahman), lamps or inscriptions of words such as “Truth” and “Kindness” on plaques.

His genius came out when he exhorted followers to do away with the very idea of temple. All these efforts were for the spiritual education (Omana S. 268). From these non-formal educational agencies, the underprivileged and deprived classes can gain knowledge in various fields. However, if at all they need a temple, let that be “temples of learning” or schools…

 

Narayana Guru, the Karma Yogi:

Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam:

Though the Ezhavas were the largest community across the three provinces, in Travancore they were sidelined and oppressed through notorious social ostracism. Besides caste, the Hindu society was known for its superstitions, rigid rituals on marriage, birth, worship, social distancing, no inter-caste group dining and common use of public places etc. This was not at all conducive for a civilized modern society, though the stage was slowly being set for modernity which was resisted with occasional instances of revolt and they were duly suppressed. (p. x)

In the 19^th century, even those accepted human rights were denied to the majority of the population in the name of caste. Having failed in his attempts to change this individually as well as through the Ezhava Maha Jana Sabha, Dr. Palpu approached Sree Narayana Guru. Together with Kumaran Asan they organized a meeting of the Aruvippuram Kshetra Yogam, established in 1898, (for the welfare and administration of the temple and adjoining Mutt there,) at Kunnukuzhi in Trivandrum… followed by one at Pettah.

A special meeting of the Aruvippuram Kshethra Yogam was held on 7^th January 1903 at Aruvippuram attended by some 60 people... In that meeting Kumaran Asan introduced an amendment to change the Kshethra Yogam to Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam). Guru was made the president for life, Dr. Palpu, the Vice President and Kumaran Asan, the General Secretary and Aruvippuram, the headquarters. [An order dated 28^th March 1903 by the Dewan mentioned the word, “Ezhava community”… and naturally it was formed for the upliftment of that community… (pp. 313-14 of ‘The Prophet of One World’) and was registered under the Travancore Regulation-1 of 1063 (Indian Companies Act IV, 1882) at Kuzhithurai on 15^th May 1903… Its manifesto was “One Caste, One Religion, One God for Mankind,” directing the many Hindus of Kerala from belief in many gods to one God.

 

After SNDP Yogam:

This was followed by the commencement of a school there utilizing the service of his well-educated followers for teaching language (15-16) and a Mutt (religious school) there to convince people of the need to abandon age old stale and barbaric rituals and to replace them with new practices based on moral and ethical principles (18-19). This resolve became visible in his activities hence forth. Besides himself giving lectures and publishing works on the evils like animal sacrifice etc. he entrusted good speakers to give talks reforming religious practices (19).

Later T.V. Madhavan led the Vaikum Temple Road Entry Movement in 1927, under the patronage of Mahatma Gandhi. After the two years of sustained Satyagraha the Ezhavas were granted the right to use the road which ran near the Vaikum Temple which was owned by upper caste. This was a historic victory against orthodox ideas of pollution. Thus, the leaders of the movement were able to achieve for their followers all the basic rights in the field of religion, education, employment and politics. It also demonstrated that it was possible to remain within the fold of Hinduism and yet escape from the stigma of untouchability. The new awareness arose among Ezhava tribes. The movement motivated them to take to modern education which in the long run enabled them to access to the modern occupation and professions which carried high rewards in terms of prestige and wealth. Thus Ezhavas as a community successfully raised their status in society by the contribution of SNDP movement.

 

Educational Front: ‘വിദ്യകൊണ്ട് പ്രബുദ്ധരാവുക’:

Social evils like caste-discrimination were the ill-effects of ignorance and their eradication was possible only through education. He, therefore, insisted on the importance of universalizing education. The Sanskrit School in Sivagiri was started in the month of Vruschikam 1081 (Nov. 1905). Initially, 15 students registered their names. The principal was Mundayil Govindan Asan, one of the eminent Sanskrit scholars of the time. The school developed within no time. In addition to Sanskrit, subjects like Mathematics, English etc. were added. The strength of the students rose to more than 50. It was the time when the British were ruling the roost. So, English language had its own prominence. The learning of English will help in employment and also provide an insight into Western culture, he realized rightly.

 

Narayana Guru established a Night School in Sivagiri in Vrichikam 1081 (Nov. 1905). This was meant for the education of the illiterate and downtrodden poor people around the Sivagiri hill who were engaged in different occupations during day time. This was necessary to make them literate, thoughtful, progressive and free. How many of us today can think of such efforts made by guru in achieving this goal? It should be remembered that Movements like Literacy Mission was started in our country very many years after the establishment of the Night School in Sivagiri.

 

Later he even discouraged having more temples and said that temples should thereafter be “temples of learning” or schools, and asked people to make more schools instead. He laid emphasis on modern education and learning English, knowing it was the way to enlightenment and liberation.

 

Those were the days when none thought of having schools of their own, mainly, because people couldn’t believe that education was accessible to them too. Things have so changed since, that such initiatives are to be curbed by government regulations. Even temples, Guru conceived, are to be served as educational and cultural centers. Their clean ambience should encourage people to gather there in the evenings and discuss matters of spiritual and cultural import, for possible occasional formal discussions with invited distinguished scholars. Attached libraries were meant to enliven the quest for knowledge.

 

Social Front: ‘സംഘടിച്ചു ശക്തരാവുക’:

Each community then had certain of its own customs and social events observed almost with a religious fervor as symbols of their self-esteem and pride, though most of them were meaningless, unreasonable, unscientific, not befitting the modern age, and, above all, pushing families down to utter poverty. Some such customs were celebrating the first menstruation, eight-year-old girls having to undergo a sort of formal marriage having no marital value later, some ceremonies and social gathering at the first pregnancy of a girl etc. He discouraged all such practices. He once even dared to walk into the scene of a group-child-marriage and stop it. He blessed the little girls giving them some sweets, and the public gathered there took the oath to discontinue the practice. Such customs and practices, various in kind and details in different communities, eventually vanished altogether. Even on occasions like marriage and funeral, spending much money on feasts and showy things were discouraged by Guru. [All such abandoned practices are being taken up now by the Catholics and encouraged by the clergy making it a business almost]. He set example of how marriages could be simplified with minimum expense and few people attending.

 

The spirit with which Guru showed these new lines of social life, though acceptable in principle, were not fully adaptable to all in practice, especially when social pride and showiness of the well-to-do prevailed over principles and ideals. Here, separate social movements bringing forth people to practice what they preach did therefore shoot up, the most notable among them the Sahodara Prasthanam (Fraternity Movement) initiated by K. Ayyappan. The new awakening of the downtrodden was reflected in the political front as well.

 

Industry:

His slogan, “Be enlightened with education, strengthened with organization and make progress through industry” paved way for the integral growth of his community. Seeing the life of the coir workers and fishermen during his wandering days, he declared: “After education, industry is needed for the progress of society. Without industry, financial status will not improve”. He even suggested in 1908 that training facilities in industries had to be made along with temples. Again in 1920, he said, “more industries”. That is the best method for making wealth. Comfortable life and prosperity are not possible without industry and hard work. Jobs are to be created for the poor. A job is better than alms and cash.” (If someone asks for a fish, don’t give him one, but teach him to fish.) He also suggested the formation of companies to mobilize capital for machineries… There were agricultural and industrial exhibitions along with some of the annuals, starting from Kollam in 1905 (Dr. Mohandas, p. 321-2).

 

The Guru started a Weaving Centre on the north side of Sivagiri to train the children of the ashram and others in weaving. High quality looms and other accessories were bought from Cannanore. A weaving master was also appointed. Thus, he started giving training in weaving to young men and women. The instructors were from different communities. But, before long, the institution was facing problems. It was a time when C. Kesavan used to visit Gurudev in Sivagiri. The Guru knew beforehand only that C. Kesavan was a master in weaving. So, the Guru asked Kesavan to stay in Sivagiri and take up the management of the Weaving Centre. As a result, everything became systematized. The production field was activated. A major part of the requirements of the inmates of Sivagiri and others was produced there. The institution also received Govt. grants. The Guru and others felt happy at the progress of the Weaving Centre.

He was also the pioneer of education for the commoners, a great influencer of people to thrive in agriculture, industry, and commerce in the beginning of the 20th century.

 

Trade Union:

There were no political formations in Kerala till February 1938 and hence the SNDP Yogam was working as a de-facto labour organization. He announced, “Be strengthened with organization” and so he formed the SNDP Yogam in 1903 and advocated an organization to be founded along with every temple making Kerala unparalleled in political awareness and labour movements in due course among the Indian States.

 

The first Women’s meet was conducted along with the Annual of Yogam at Aruvippuram in 1904 and Dr. Palpu spoke of the failed Russian revolution too in the Annual of Yogam in Kollam in 1905. There were separate sessions during the Annuals to discuss labour matters and provisions were made for the representation of labour in the Board of Directors. The first Labour Conference was held under its banner in 1818. In the Annual held in Kollam in 1926, discussions were held on the working class and a resolution was submitted to the government for initiating welfare measures for them.

 

Sahodaran Ayyappan was one of the founders of trade union movements in Kerala, he formed “Vypin Aadi Thozhilali Sangham” which published a newspaper named “Velakkaran”, and VT Bhattathirippad and EM Sankaran Nambudirippad were moulded through the columns of this paper. He published the newspaper, “Sahodaran” from Mattancheri and… he coined the word, “Sakhav” (comrade) in a poem called “Ezhavolbhodhanam” to address the SNDP Yogam members in 1919… He declared in a labour meet at Cherthala in 1924 that “Strike and get liberated like the Russians who liberated themselves… Never be afraid of the guns of the enemy… (Dr. Mohandas, p.378).

 

Justice Sadasiva Aiyyar, the Chief Justice of Travancore High Court made a landmark judgment in 1907 applauding in high terms the reforms introduced by Guru. It reads: ‘I hope I might be pardoned for expressing in conclusion my  very great satisfaction that, through the efforts of the venerable Asan of the Ezhavar Community and his Ezhavar Samajam, most desirable reforms (or rather the relinquishment of the medieval pernicious customs and conventions which have outlived their original usefulness and which are unsuited to the needs of a progressive community) are taking place among the Ezhavars without the necessity at present to resort to the legislature. I allude especially to the fast-dying customs of polygamy and polyandry (though restricted to the use of a woman being the common wife of brothers), the unmeaning thalikettu or minnukettu ceremony, the conniving by the society at the loss of virginity by an unmarried girl remaining in her mother’s house and so on’. (C.A. No.46&47 of 1083) (p. 22 of ‘Sree Narayana Gurudevan’)

 

An analysis of the tradition vis-à-vis the basic principles of democracy:

The burden of Caste system forced upon the Ezhava community and such other communities was effectively challenged by Narayana Guru with his claim for equality, justice and esteem for the community and the individuals in democratic governance.

 

As against the rigid social hierarchy of the caste system, with its inbuilt privileges for the higher ones and discrimination for the lower, democracy would go for equal rights and opportunities for all. This would facilitate social mobility on the basis of education, merit and hard work besides proportionate representation in power and decision-making process so as to attain social justice and human dignity and rights.

 

It is here the grassroot traditions of Ezhava community, especially after Narayana Guru’s arrival, paved way for democratic endeavors and played a vital role to strengthen it through taking up issues and finding solutions, fostering participatory approach, focusing on marginalized groups to ensure their voices heard and concerns addressed, promoting inclusivity, fostering social capital by building trust, cooperation and reciprocity among members, encouraging them to engage in the democratic process and finally holding leaders accountable and advocating for their rights, preserving cultural heritage and community values, promoting diversity and pluralism, relying on decentralized decision making, offering alternative platforms for political engagement, bypassing movement/party structures and engaging in direct democracy and ultimately instilling democratic values like equality, justice and solidarity for a vibrant, inclusive and resilient democracy. 

He even dared to dissociate from the SNDP when it shrank to an exclusive domain of the Ezhavas alone as one of his letters made it clear. p.90-91, Omana S, ‘Sree Narayana Guru Jeevithavm Darshanavum’, Kerala Bhasa Institute, 2013.

 

Conclusion:

Poet laureate, Ulloor Parameshwara Iyer, had stated that the Ezhavas did neither utilize the spiritual strength of Gurudevan nor did they allow others to use it. The Guru’s followers had understood him wrongly while the non-followers did not understand him at all and the followers imprisoned him as a God in 10 cents of land while the non-followers imprisoned him as a social reformer solidified in a statue, but the real Gurudevan is beyond the reach of both the groups.

Creativity is quite often taken as rebellion or revolt as both are against established conventions and establishments/ the status quo. (‘മാറ്റുവിൻ ചട്ടങ്ങളെ...’ Kuamaran Asan). So, voices of self-respect and human rights had been labeled as revolts by imbeciles. Demands for right to worship, asceticism, travel along the public roads, to have education in government schools, government jobs, use of upper cloths for covering the breasts… were all called revolts by partial, prejudiced, perverted, tainted, paid historians. Guru had to disagree with Sankaracharia, Mahatma Gandhi in the case of caste. He had to disagree with Krishna and Bhagavad Gita. (Dr. S. Mohandas, ‘The Prophet of one world’, p.417) He categorically told Madan Mohan Malavya in Chennai that he agreed more with the Upanishads than the Vedas. He had to differ with the Brahmins, Manu, and the government in case of deity installation and securing wealth.

 

But today, through a political mobilization of religions and cultures around a projected core (Brahminic or Sanskritic Hinduism, “Syndicated Hinduism” in the words of Romila Thapar), the rudiments of grassroots participation are sought to be annihilated so as to impose a skewed form of democracy. And the Sangh Parivar is trying to co-opt Guru, a staunch critic of Hinduism, so that it can garner the Bahujan votes in the state.

It is essential for both Kerala and the rest of India to cherish and celebrate the secular and pluralistic legacy of Narayana Guru to counter the propaganda and polarization efforts of Hindutva forces. 

 

References:

Kumaran Asan, ‘Sree Narayana Gurudevan’, (Edited, translated and appended by Dr. Josh S. Channar, Channar Books, Ernakulam, 2021)

Balakrishnan P. K., ‘Jathivyavasthayum Kerala Charithravum’, D.C Books, Kottayam, 1983

Bijukumar, M., ‘Sahodaran Ayyappan – Navothanatthinte Sukranakshathram’, SPCS, Kottayam, 2016.

Betty sunny, ‘The concept of God in the philosophy of Sree Narayana Guru', Doctoral Thesis submitted to the University of Kerala, 2019.

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[28.07.’24 edited by Betty]