Karunakara Guru (1 September 1927 – 6 May 1999), also known as Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru, was an Indian

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

, and founder of

Santhigiri Ashram Santhigiri Ashram is located in Pothencode, Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala. The ashram was founded by Navajyothi sri Karunakara Guru and is recognized and developed as a ''Social and Scientific Research Organization'' by the Government of ...

Pothencode, Kerala Pothencode, is a rapidly developing town and a developing area of Thiruvananthapuram District in the Indian state of Kerala. Spiritual leaders Brahmasree Jagadguru Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi, Sree Rama Dasa Mission, Karunakara Guru and founder ...

, India.

Birth and childhood

Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru was born on 1 September 1927 to the Chittekattu family in Chandiroor village in Kerala, India. As a child, he is said to have maintained simplicity,cleanliness and a regular prayer routine, and wanted to lead a monastic life.

Establishment of Santhigiri

Around the age of 14, Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru left his family home and joined Advaita Ashram in Alwaye, a branch of Sivagiri Mutt, founded by Naryana Guru, and spent the next 17 years at the various branches of Sivagiri Mutt. In 1957, Karunakara Guru left Sivagiri and moved to a hut on a nearby hill. With the help of Khureshia Fakir, a Sufi saint, Karunakara Guru experienced several visionary experiences. In 1968, Karunakara Guru founded Santhigiri Ashram. After five years of meditation, prayers, and physical hardships, Karunakara Guru attained 'spiritual completion' in 1973. Following this, Karunakara Guru instructed his followers to adopt a worship system based on faith in one Universal God – the

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

. The Santhigiri Ashram was advertised as open to all. Karunakara Guru would spend hours talking to people on spiritual matters. Many people visited him to receive guidance with personal and family-related problems. Guru’s devotees believe he was, and still is, after he left his body, the path to true knowledge and spiritual evolution. Karunakara Guru left his body on 6 May 1999.

Santhigiri Ashram

The

is located at Pothencode in

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 populati ...

, the capital city of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

References

External links

Official Site of Santhigiri Ashram'Lotus of peace' blooms in Santhigiri AshramPrime Minister's Speech
* ttp://www.samvedakan.com Guru's ideology {{DEFAULTSORT:Guru, Karunakara Malayali people Indian Hindu spiritual teachers People from Alappuzha district 1927 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Hindu religious leaders Malayali Hindu saints