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Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality. Biography Narayanan, né Nanu, was born on 20 August 1856 to Madan Asan and Kuttiyamma in an Ezhava family, in the village of Chempazhanthy near Thiruvananthapuram, in the erstwhile state of Travancore. His early education was in the gurukula way under Chempazhanthi Mootha Pillai during which time his mother died when he was 15. At the age of 21, he went to central Travancore to learn from Raman Pillai Asan, a Sanskrit scholar who taught him Vedas, Upanishads and the literature and logical rhetoric of Sanskrit. He returned to his village in 1881, when his father was seriously ill, and started a village school where he taught local children which earned him the name ''Nanu Asan''. A year later, he ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as '' Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration population is around 1.68 million. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a major information technology hub in Kerala and contributes 55% of the state's software exports as of 2016. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills. The present regions that constitute Thiruvananthapuram were ruled by the Ays who were feudatories of the Chera dynasty. In the 12th century, it was conquered by the Kingdom of Venad. In the 18th century, the king Marthanda Varma expanded the territory, founded the princely state of Travancore, and made Thiruvananthapuram its capital. Travancore became the most dominan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tulika Books
Tulika Books is a New Delhi-based independent publisher of scholarly and academic books in the humanities and social sciences, with a "broadly left perspective." The Chennai-based Tulika Publishers is a sister company of Tulika Books. History Tulika Books was founded in 1995. It is managed by the Managing Editor Indira (née Indu) Chandrasekhar, who started her career as a copy editor with Macmillan India in the 1980s and also did some teaching in Bangalore and Delhi Universities. The authors published by Tulika include some of India's best known left intellectuals and academics. Tulika Books is one of the founder-members of the Independent Publishers' Distribution Alternative of India and the Independent Publishing Group. In 2014, it won the Printed Book of the Year award from Publishing Next for the book ''Project Cinema City''. The book falls into the Tulika Books' line of "art books," books on modern Indian art as well on modern Indian artists. In 2013, Chandra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam
The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (S.N.D.P) is a social service organization that has been representing the Ezhava community from the Indian state of Kerala since 1903. The S.N.D.P Yogam was founded by Dr.Padmanabhan Palpu and other Ezhava leaders with the blessing of Sree Narayana Guru. The organization aimed to lead the Backward community to the religious reform movement and to achieve economic prosperity and educational opportunities. The organization has also been playing a significant role in the Kerala social and political movements since its formation. The Sree Narayana Trust is founded by the SNDP Yogam to start, and manage educational, social, and economical institutions with the vision of Narayana Guru. Combined both the Yogam and the Trust present annual budgets of about ₹2,000,0000,00 (two hundred crore INR or USD 270 million).'' RS 86 cr budget for SN Trust'', https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/rs-86-cr-budget-for-sn-trust/articleshow/539 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casteism
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution. * Quote: "caste ort., casta=basket ranked groups based on heredity within rigid systems of social stratification, especially those that constitute Hindu India. Some scholars, in fact, deny that true caste systems are found outside India. The caste is a closed group whose members are severely restricted in their choice of occupation and degree of social participation. Marriage outside the caste is prohibited. Social status is determined by the caste of one's birth and may only rarely be transcended." * Quote: "caste, any of the ranked, hereditary, endogamous social groups, often linked with occupation, that together constitute traditional societies in South Asia, particularly among Hindus in India. Although ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ezhava Siva
Ezhava is a caste in Kerala. Shiva is a Hindu god. Siva idol was consecrated by social reformer Sree Narayana Guru at Aruvippuram, in 1888. Ezhava Siva refers not to Siva as God but to the tongue-in-cheek reply given by Sree Narayana Guru when questioned by a group of Brahmins about the legitimacy of a non Brahmin consecrating a temple. This was a major break from tradition as installation of idols by non Brahmins was considered blasphemy and Sree Narayana Guru belonged to the lower caste Ezhava community. The sarcasm was meant to highlight the immorality of Brahmins who denied social spaces and the right to worship from the lower castes. Sree Narayana Guru, well learned in the Hindu scriptures, always considered God as a power without limits and boundaries but who bestows benevolence on all, irrespective of caste. This is evident in the Universal Prayer in Malayalam, Daivadasakam (10 Verses To God) he had written for the masses. After the Aruvippuram Temple Consecration, he wrot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmins
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru or acharya). The other three varnas are the Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The traditional occupation of Brahmins is that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies, and rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , page 125 Traditionally, the Brahmins are accorded the highest ritual status of the four social classes. Their livelihood is prescribed to be one of strict austerity and voluntary poverty ("A Brahmin should acquire what just suffices for the time, what he earns he should spend all that the same day"). In practice, Indian texts suggest that some Brahmins historically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as "The Destroyer" within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess ( Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with his wife Parvati and his three children, Ganesha, Kartikeya and A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aruvippuram
Aruvippuram is a village in the southern district of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It is famous for the Siva temple established by Sri Narayana Guru. The Guru consecrated the Siva idol, the first non brahmin to do so in Kerala society, in the year 1888. Aruvippuram Sivarathri is a very popular event attended by a large numbers of devotees and followers of Guru. Sivarathri also marks the anniversary of the Aruvippuram Siva temple. Koduthooki Mala is a rocky hill nearby the Aruvippuram Siva temple. There is a cave on top of this hill, where Guru used to visit for rest, solitariness and meditation tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In some .... SNDP Yogam is formed at Aruvippuram, which was a historical event in Kerala history. References Tourist attraction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maruthwamala
The Marundhuvazh Malai , a part of Sanjeevi hills is also known as the Marundhu Vazhum Malai/Maruthwamalai ("the abode of medicinal herbs"), forms the part and the southernmost tip of the Western Ghats of Agasteeswaram taluk of Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu State.. People living in southern Kerala call it Maruthuva Mala. It stretches for more than a km, reaching a height of 800 feet at the highest point. From the highest point of the hill, one can see the 'V'section of the Indian subcontinent . The three Sea (Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian sea) with different shades of blue and coconut trees with different shades of green are visible from this hill. It is about 1 km from Pothaiyadi, a place along NH44 and NH66, 10km from kanyakumari entire to Nagercoil. This hill is also believed to be known in Ayyavazhi mythology as Parvatha Ucchi Malai. Apart from the Mythology, this hill is historically related to the life of Vaikundar. So a few theologians consider this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind ('' Chitta'') and mundane suffering (''Duḥkha''). There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,Stuart Ray Sarbacker, ''Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga''. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.Tattvarthasutra .1 see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102. and traditional and modern yoga is practiced worldwide. Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayyavu Swamikal
Thycaud Ayyavu Swamikal (1814 – 20 July 1909) was a spiritualist and a social reformer, the first to break customs related to caste in Kerala when caste restrictions and untouchability were at its extreme. Biography Ayyavu Swamikal was born in 1814 in Nakalapuram in Tamil Nadu.Brahmasree Thycaud Ayyavu Swami. Trivandrum, Ayyavu Mission, 1997 His original name was Subharayan. His parents were Mutthukumaran and Rugmini Ammal. His father and grandfather Sri Hrishikesan were scholars and experts in yoga and spiritual sciences.(Ayyaavu means Father) At the age of twelve, Subharayan received spiritual initiation from two Tamil Saints, Sachidananda Maharaj and Sri Chitti Paradeshi who used to visit his father. They told his family that his life has a specific assignment, he is destined to serve humanity at another place and that when it is time they would come and take him to mould him to fulfil his duty. These avadhutas are said to be connected to great siddhas from Tamil Nadu livi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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