Alasinga Perumal (1865 – 11 May 1909) was a propagator of
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
and an ardent follower of
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...
. Born in an orthodox Vaishnavite family at Chikkamagalur of Mysore, he took his education in Madras. After obtaining a B.A. degree in science, he started his career as a school teacher.
Around 1890–1891, he got the information of the upcoming Parliament of the World's Religions of 1893. Alasinga and his friends felt this could be a wonderful opportunity for them to present the ideals of Hinduism and Vedanta to the world. In December 1892 Vivekananda went to Madras and when Alasinga and his friends met him, they immediately felt that Vivekananda was the best candidate to represent India in the Parliament. He and his friends worked to collect money for Vivekananda' journey. In August 1893, Vivekananda informed Alasinga from America about the financial troubles he was facing at that time. After receiving this information, Alasinga borrowed 1000 from a merchant, and even sold his wife's gold ornament to collect money for Vivekananda.
In 1896, under the inspiration of Vivekananda, Alasinga started publishing a religious journal ''Brahmavadin''. The journal published until 1914 and then inspired ''
Vedanta Kesari''. Alasinga died on 11 May 1909 when he was just forty-four years old.
Early life and education
Perumal was born in 1865 as Mandam Chakravarti Alasinga Perumal (shortened to M. C. Alasinga Perumal) to an orthodox Vaishnavite family in
Chikkamagalur
Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from ...
, in the former
state of Mysore (the current state of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
).
His nickname was Achinga.
Perumal's father, Chakravarti Narasimhacharya, was a
Thenkalai
Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...
Sri
Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and an employee of the local municipality office. Due to low wages at this job, Narasimhacharya was unable to sustain his family in Chikkamagalur. In 1870, he came to Madras (now named
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
) in search of a job and managed to find employment in the Customs Department. Young Alasinga Perumal was sent to Hindu High School first. After completing his school studies from there, he was admitted in Presidency College, Madras, for pre-university courses. He then studied at Madras Christian College. At Madras Christian College, Rev. William Miller, principal of the college at that time, was very much pleased with the studious Alasinga and arranged a scholarship for him. In 1884, he graduated with a B.A. degree in science. He then started pursuing a course in law, but could not finish due to the poor financial condition of his family.
Marriage and personal life
While studying at the
Presidency College, Madras
Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...
, Alasinga married Rangamma, a girl from a Karnataka Iyengar family. Rangamma was a pious Hindu woman who stood by her husband in all the troubles and difficulties Alasinga faced in life.
Rangamma died in 1905.
Career
After finishing his studies in 1885, Alasinga went to
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...
, and then to
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...
, leaving his family behind in Madras. In both these towns, he worked as a school teacher. He came back to Madras in 1889 when his father Chakravarti Narasimhacharya died and decided to settle there. In Madras, he taught as well, working for Pachaiyappa's School in George Town. Within a few years he was promoted to headmaster. Alsinga retained this position for the rest of his life. In 1909, one year prior to his death, Alasinga was appointed as a professor of physics at Pachaiyappa's College.
Relationship with Swami Vivekananda
![Swami Vivekananda Chennai 1897](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Swami_Vivekananda_Chennai_1897.jpg)
Around 1890–1891, Alasinga heard about the upcoming
Parliament of the World's Religions
There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...
being held in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, in the United States in 1893 from
S. Parthasarathy Aiyangar.
Alasinga and his friends thought this could be a good opportunity for them to present the ideals of Hinduism and Vedanta to the world. They started to search for the best person who could represent India and Vedanta in the Parliament. In December 1892 Swami Vivekananda went to Madras
and was staying at the house of Manmathanath Bhattacharya, the first Indian accountant-general of the city. Very soon, Vivekananda was introduced to the public of the city at the Triplicane literary society. Alasinga was an active member of this society. He heard Vivekananda's lecture and felt that he was the right candidate to represent them in Chicago. Alasinga met Vivekananda, they talked, shared their views, their opinions on Vedanta and their motherland and informed Vivekananda about their plans. Vivekananda agreed to visit America as a representative of India (Vivekananda had already been asked the same by the king of Mysore, the Raja of Ramnad and few other disciples).
After Vivekananda agreed to go to America, a committee was formed under the leadership of Alasinga to raise funds for the tour. The task of collecting money was difficult. Alasinga even went door to door in hopes of getting money; finally they gathered of 500. At this time the king of Ramnad failed to make good on his promise of financial support for the tour. This made the situation difficult and Vivekananda had second thoughts about participating in the Parliament. The collected money was returned to the donors.
At this, Alsinga started to feel disappointed, but, at the same time, Vivekananda went to Hyderabad where people requested and encouraged him to go to America as a preacher. The Nizam of Hyderabad too promised to donate 1000 for the journey and other expenditures. Vivekananda also had a dream involving his master,
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...
, where he asked him to go to America. Thus, the planning was revived once again.
Alasinga and other members of his team started collecting money with new enthusiasm and very soon they gathered 4000. Vivekananda departed on his journey for America from Bombay.
After reaching America, Vivekananda learned that the Parliament would not start until September 1893. He started facing financial trouble. On 20 August he wrote a letter to Alasinga where he related—
The expense I am bound to run into here is awful. You remember, you gave me £170 in notes and £9 in cash. It has come down to £130 in all!! On an average it costs me £1 every day; a cigar costs eight annas of our money. The Americans are so rich that they spend money like water, and by forced legislation keep up the price of everything so high that no other nation on earth can approach it. Every common coolie earns nine or ten rupees a day and spends as much. All those rosy ideas we had before starting have melted, and I have now to fight against impossibilities. A hundred times I had a mind to go out of the country and come back to India.
... ... ...
After such a struggle, I am not going to give up easily. Only try your best to help me as much as you can; and even if you cannot, I must try to the end. And even if I die of cold or disease or hunger here, you take up the task. Holiness sincerity, and faith. I have left instructions with Cooks to forward any letter or money to me wherever I am. Rome was not built in a day. If you can keep me here for six months at least, I hope everything will come right. In the meantime, I am trying my best to find any plank I can float upon. And if I find out any means to support myself, I shall write to you immediately.
Right after getting this letter, Alasinga started collecting money once again. He borrowed 1000 from a merchant and even sold his wife's gold ornaments to gather money. He sent the funds to Vivekananda through telegraph service.
Though Vivekananda received very warm receptions in almost every city of America and England and his Parliament of Religion speeches were covered by the most notable newspapers of America, in India, these events and successes initially got almost no newspaper coverage. To popularize Vivekananda's efforts and success in India, Alasinga organized a meeting at Pachaiyappa's Hall, Madras on 28 April 1894. The meeting was attended by many notable and reputable people of the city, such as
Rajah Sir Savalai Ramaswamy Mudaliar, S. Subramania Iyer and Dewan Bahadur Raghunatha Rao. In the meeting, a resolution was passed to thank Vivekananda for his works and effort. This public meeting received wide media coverage. After this Alasinga organized similar meetings in other cities like Kumbakonam,
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
and
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
as well.
Other activities
In 1894, Alasinga founded a religious organisation named "Young Men's Hindu Association". In the next year he started his literary career.
''Brahmavadin''
Under inspiration of Swami Vivekananda, Alasinga with two other disciples of Vivekananda, Dr. M.C. Nanjunda Row and Venkataranga Raos, started publishing ''Brahmavadin'', a journal on Hindu religion and Vedanta philosophy. The first issue of the journal was published on 14 September 1895 by the Brahmavadin Press. After the death of Alasinga the journal's publishing schedule became quite irregular. The last issue of the journal was published in May—June 1914. It was succeeded by the journal ''
Vedanta Kesari''. Vivekananda himself contributed articles for this journal.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perumal, Alasinga
People from Chikkamagaluru
Disciples and friends of Swami Vivekananda
1865 births
1909 deaths
Scholars from Karnataka
19th-century Indian scholars
20th-century Indian scholars