When we go through the life and messages of Sree Narayana Guru properly, we will find that his vision is truly universal and ever relevant. Its relevance has only increased with time. Looking at the condition of the modern society, I think it has never been more relevant than this. We hear a lot about murders, rapes, riots, disputes, poverty, robberies, etc. through the newspapers. All these are only symptoms, not the actual problem. The problem is something else – We don’t know what to do and what not to do. We have locked up our thinking and reflecting faculty and buried it under a pile of rubbish we have collected from our present education system, politics, religions, etc. Its not that they are useless but we have forgotten how to use and manage them properly. We are confused. We are confused about education, about love, about faith, about life.
Education is the backbone of any society or nation. It’s well known that Sree Narayana Guru had given great importance to education among the masses. It is a fact that Sree Narayana Guru had played a pivotal role in turning Kerala gradually into the most literate state in the country. Maintaining the quality of education is as important as the imparting of education. A faulty education system is more dangerous than no education at all. The current education system has become profession- oriented. Ask the students and they will have a ready plan for their future – Load informations to the brain, store them there till the exams, unload them on to the answer sheets during the exams so that they get some good marks which will in future fetch them some jobs. It may give us jobs and good money but can at the same time make us physically, emotionally and morally bankrupt. It is here that we should remember Sree Narayana Guru’s famous message – ‘Liberate ourselves through education’. The message is clear – Education is to liberate or free ourselves. However, what is happening now is that we are getting enslaved. We have enslaved ourselves to money, to jobs, to companies, etc. Man is turning into machines and the machines which were created by man are now controlling man. The rising number of student suicides is a side effect of the present system. Students are not able to deal with the pressure. Instead of making them capable of facing challenges it has made them run away from situations. This mentality of running away from problems is what leads them to alcohol and drugs and finally to suicides. Education should be character oriented. Only getting jobs are not enough, we must know how to perform those jobs in a way beneficial to the society and also to our individual development. Another important message of Sree Narayana Guru about education is ‘Children should be taught the value of sacrifice in schools.’ Today, the students are taught to compete not contemplate, they are taught to memorize not understand, they are taught to pass not progress. Competition or rivalry is instilled into the minds of the students from their childhood. It is good to teach them to succeed but we must also teach them how to handle or accept failure too. Otherwise the present scenario will continue or may even turn worse. For the development of mankind, we need selfless workers which can be possible only if we have a sense of sacrifice within us.
Unity or brotherhood among the people is another important thing for an ideal society. ‘This is the model abode where all live in brotherhood devoid of caste discriminations and religious rivalries.’ – This was the message Sree Narayana Guru gave at Aruvippurram 125 years before in 1888. The establishment of such a society is the vision of the Guru and it should be the aim of everyone who believes in humanity. For the establishment of such a society what we need is unity among the masses. ‘Be strong through unity’ is an often quoted message of Sree Narayana Guru. Sacrifice, which can be earned through right education, is a very important factor for the development of unity. A sea consists of innumerable drops of water. These drops don’t have any significance individually but together they are a mighty sea. Guru himself has given a beautiful parable – ‘A number of honeybees collect honey from a number of flowers with the sole aim of storing honey. They are successful because all of them work with the singular aim of storing honey. If we work like the honey bees with a single aim, then only the society will progress.’ Today, we have a number of organizations and regional institutions in the name of Sree Narayana Guru – Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, Guru Dharma Pracharana Sabha, etc. However, the disunity and differences among them are well-known. It’s high time that Sree Narayana institutions around the world come together under one platform and decide to work selflessly for the propagation of the Guru’s ideals for a better society or world. Another message of Gurudevan we should remember here is ‘The purpose of the organization should not be to form a community by joining members of a particular caste only.’ There should never be any kind of discrimination in accepting members into such organizations. ‘Unity is strength’, ‘United we stand, divided we fall’, that’s the whole idea. Another beautiful idea of Guru which attracts me a lot is this – ‘The differences in caste and religion should disappear. The easterners and westerners should unite. Then, the whole mankind will become one.’
Religion or faith is one of the factors influencing modern society. Religions are supposed to be mediums through which we realize our true nature which we call God and thus get liberated. This is the real aim of all major religions. Guru said - ‘Religion is only a means to an end. Religions are only the guides that help us to seek rightly’. However, with the passage of time, these beliefs get tampered and poisoned with dogmas and blind faiths. People just blindly believe or follow whatever their ancestors did or what they hear from the priests. Thus many unnecessary expenditures and practices are done in the name of religion and God. Religions were intended to bring man closer to God but what has happened is just the opposite. People have lost themselves in rituals and ceremonies without thinking about their necessity or relevance. When we follow religious practices or read religious literature we must be careful to accept only those which are necessary and discard courageously what we understand to be meaningless. Gurudevan himself has set us an example by bringing an end to useless and outdated customs and rituals and bringing people to a higher plane of devotion. Religions are these days being used as lethal weapons by the politicians and fake religious heads. We still hear about religious disputes and fights in the world. Let’s see what Sree Narayana Guru said about religions – ‘Religion is the result of the mind. We should never say that only our religion is true and all others are false. There is truth in every religion. All of them have been established with good intentions. Religious dispute is the sign of foolishness. Why do people fight with each other in the name of religion? That is not the characteristic of the wise. Knowing that everybody is always striving for their mental happiness, all should control their instincts and live peacefully.’ The message that Sree Narayana Guru gave at the end of the All Religions Parliament at Aluva Adwaitha Ashram in 1924 is unique and an answer to many questions of the modern world – ‘Let everybody study and know all religions with equal respect and devotion and share the knowledge thus earned among each other with love and affection. Then, people will understand that rivalry is not because of religion but because of arrogance.’ We must also remember the following message of Guru here – ‘I don’t have any special relation to any religion. I have not founded any religion. I do not belong to any particular caste or religion. All men are of one caste, this is my religion (opinion). When I say that I have given up caste and religion, I only mean that I do not have any special attachment to any religion or caste.’
A lot can be written and discussed about the relevance of Sree Narayana Guru in modern society but I leave it to someone more capable and skilled in it. I have just shared some points according to my skill and time about three of the factors which influence a modern society.
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