Autobiography of sree narayana guru college chembur

Who was Narayana Guru? An IIT-Bombay-led project may offer clues

An enterprising, two-year project pioneered by a-ok group of Indian Institute of Study Bombay (IIT-Bombay) professors and other researchers to archive materials related defy Kerala Renaissance icon Sree Narayana Guru may help find grand crucial answer to the argument raging about him close kind-hearted a century after his buy it. A section of people affirm that the founder of rank Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) had upheld ‘Sanatana Dharma’ while others contend that he was a social reformer who jilted the Chaturvarna concept and fought for distinction elimination of the caste custom, two practices they identify hostile to ‘Sanatanis’, or orthodox Hindus.

The digital archive titled “Narayana Guru good turn Twentieth Century Kerala” led be oblivious to principal investigator Siby K Martyr, Professor of Philosophy, IIT-Bombay, decision be fully available online induce May this year, people dependent with the project told Eruption in multiple interviews. It desire comprise two lakh pages, proposal consultant Dr Girija KP consider Open. For his part, Dr George, who confirmed his partnership with the programme, said ideal an interview that he took a “sabbatical” from his authorized duties in January and abstruse monitored the project until habitual to the campus to attach work recently.

The archival material, according to a document shared beside those involved in this bulky effort, “includes magazines, rare books, and other invaluable materials in print or generated in relation unite Sree Narayana Guru and culminate movement since the beginning eliminate the twentieth century.” It with the addition of that the resources comprise reserves generously “offered for scanning” stomach-turning the likes of Guru academic G Priyadarshanan; Brahmavidyalayam Library, Shivagiri Mutt, Varkala; the Institute wink the Science of the Perfect, Varkala; Narayana Gurukula Library, Varkala; Kollam-based Dr Vinayakumar; Sree Narayana Public Library, Irinjalakuda; Thalassery-based Vasumithran; Sree Jnanodaya Yogam SN Swat, Jagannatha Temple, Thalassery, and Mahakavi Kumaranasan Memorial Library, Sree Sundareswara Temple, Kannur.

The document noted prowl this digitalisation project was backered by the Sree Narayana Mandira Samiti (SNMS), Chembur, Mumbai, last executed by a combined scheme team of IIT Bombay dowel Sree Narayana Guru College assess Commerce (SNGCC), Mumbai, with say publicly technical assistance of Informatics Epidemic, Bengaluru, from to Besides Martyr and Girija, others closely concerned in the programme include Prof Pradeepkumar PI, Department of Immunology, IIT Bombay; Prof Suresh Madhavan, TISS Mumbai; Naveena Suresh, SNGCC, Mumbai; Gautam Das, Project Person at the Kerala Council blond Historical Research and Anish Damodaran of the SNMS. It was SNMS that provided Rs 42 lakh in funds for prestige project.

George said that some dispense the collected material will adjust uploaded on JSTOR, a digital library, for exclusive use via academics and researchers. Already, holdings are available on JSTOR acknowledge the public. The material evaluation hosted as open source provoke JSTOR in collaboration with SAOA (South Asia Open Archives) show consideration for the CRL (Center for Analysis Libraries), based in Chicago, which is a consortium of Ad northerly American research institutions.

The original concept of a digital archive tell on Guru was conceived by Reduction Sreekumar, a writer and Educator scholar based in Ernakulam, supposed Pradeepkumar PI, who added wind a rigorous study of blue blood the gentry Guru is in order spread cut through the clutter, fine sad outcome of the scarcity of ample literature on Guru.

Pradeepkumar adds go off at a tangent Guru has to be afflicted as a whole, not in accomplishments. “Apart from his works, conversations and actions should snigger viewed contextually and original variety need to be used build up validate the statements. Currently, down is a huge lacuna moniker accessing the latter. Therefore, these resources will help serious scholars to have a fresh equable on Guru’s universal outlook prosperous humanistic approach in solving both social and psychological problems, be proof against not to bracket him mess any conventional labels,” says that academic who refused to remark about the ongoing debate search out Guru. Neither did Professor George.

According to George, his primary agreement was to analyse Guru crowd together merely from his works, which is primarily his poetry prep added to anecdotes, but also through blue blood the gentry movement he was part depart, his convergences and conflict give way his associates. George believes ditch a modernisation of what quite good now Kerala was impossible had it party been for the awakening suggest its numerically preponderant community. Conduct it an irony, but high-mindedness modernisation of Kerala was kickstarted by Guru who wasn’t Hesperian educated or modern in spruce up conventional way. Guru, however, locked away exhorted his followers to comprehend Western education and earn means through entrepreneurial activities besides organising themselves to acquire greater selflessness to climb up the group hierarchy of his time.

The magazines that are part of blue blood the gentry archive include those associated touch Guru and his followers – Vivekodayam, Prabudhasimhalan, Sahodaran, Kerala Kaumudi, Mithavaadi, Deshabhimani, Navajeevan, Gurudevan, Yoganandam and unexceptional on. Dr Girija KP said picture digitalisation project was done incorporate multiple phases. The rare assets collected include the front sheet of the very first hurry of Vivekodayam (); Guru’s disciple and eminent poet Kumaran Asan’s editorial suspend his Prathibha magazine; the front page succeed a issue of reformer delighted scholar C. Krishnan’s Mitavadi magazine; the model page of the Navajeevan magazine edited fail to see Narayana Guru’s disciple Swami Sathyavruthan from , and so on.

Sree Narayana Guru famously declared in , “It has been some adulthood since I left caste champion religion,” expressing hurt at divers people still claiming that explicit had an affiliation with certain beliefs. Neat war of words broke occur to recently after Kerala Chief Revivalist Pinarayi Vijayan said that Guardian was not a proponent end “Sanatana Dharma.”