Vayaleri kunhikannan Gurukkal-''(Vagbhatananda)'' (1885 – October 1939) was a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

religious leader and

Social reformer A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He was the founder of the Atmavidya Sangham, which was fundamentally a group of professionals and intellectuals who sought change, and also the

Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society Uralungal Labor Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) is India’s oldest worker cooperative. Located in Calicut Kerala, it was established in 1925 by Palery Chandanman with blessings from Vagbhadananda. The Uralungal Labor Contract Co-operative ...

Biography

Vagbatananda was Born in 1885 near

Kuthuparamba Kuthuparamba is a town and a municipality in the Kannur district, state of Kerala, India. It is about 24 km south east of Kannur and 14 km east of Thalassery. History Kuthuparamba was part of Kottayam dynasty under the reign of P ...

in a

Thiyya The Ezhavas () are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala, where in the 2010s they constituted about 23% of the population and were reported to be the largest Hindu community. They are also known as ''Ilhava'' ...

family, V. K. Gurukkal undertook his studies under M. K. Gurukkal and Parampath Rairu Nair in the traditional pattern of guru- kula education. According to K.K.N Kurup, "He gained proficiency in scriptures, six systems of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, logic and other sästras. Then he travelled extensively and propagated the teachings of universal non-duality for a better and egalitarian society. He started Sanskrit School in Calicut and simultaneously took great interest in the activities of Brahma Samaj in that urban centre. This organisation known as Atmavidya Sangham, founded in 1920 by Vagbhatananda had been a major force of social change in Malabar. Like Narayanaguru, Vagbhatananda was also an eminent philosopher who followed the path of Advaita of Sankara. Vagbhatananda, who was married, died in October 1939. Kurup has described him as a "good combination of an erudite scholar, reformer, organiser, journalist and nationalist. ... His authority was the ancient wisdom of

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 p ...

, not the dogmatism of theology." The significance of the Atmavidya Sangham declined after his death, being superseded by other secular-oriented reform groups such as the Karshaka Sangham that adopted its agenda. However, it was still active in the 1980s".

Movement

Some time after 1898, Vagbhatananda founded a school to teach

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

, and also took interest in the work of the

Brahma Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hinduism, Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was ...

that had been founded there that year by

Ayyathan Gopalan Rao Sahib Ayyathan Gopalan (3 March 1861 – 2 May 1948), popularly known as Darsarji and Darsar Sahib ("Darsar" means "doctor", derived from Latin word "docere" for doctor), was an Indian doctor, surgeon, professor, writer, philanthropist, s ...

. In 1920, Vagbhatananda founded the Atmavidya Sangham, whose principles he outlined in an Advaita treatise titled ''Atmavidya''.K.K.N.Kurup says' "Unlike the

Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sree Narayana Trust, also known as the SN Trust, is an Indian educational organisation. The headquarters of Sree Narayana Trust is in Kollam city. It is named after Sree Narayana Guru and was formed by a former Chief Minister of Kerala, R. San ...

(SNDP), which had been established by

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 spiritua ...

, which was significant around the same time, the Atmavidya Sangham consisted mostly of professionals and intellectuals and had a secular approach towards reform. It was instrumental in advancing the development of class organisations among peasants of the region, spreading Marxist–Leninist ideas as a counter to the overbearing feudal and religiously orthodox establishment. Vagbhatananda himself criticised both economic exploitation and the role of foreign governments in supporting it. Vagbhatananda inspired the formation of Uralungal Labor Contract Co-operative Society in 1925.

Work

According to Kurup,"Modern Kerala Karshaka Sangham incorporated the programme like inter-caste dining and stood against caste formalities and untouchability. However, Atmavidya Sangham even at present exists with some activities in Kerala. E. M. S. Namboodiripad has assessed the role of Vagbhatananda in these words: Though he could not obtain a universal name or fame like Narayana Guru Swami, Vagbhatananda Gurudeva, born in Kottayam taluk of North Malabar, was one who had greatly contributed to the growth of society. He, even superior in his scholarship and eloquence, to Narayanaguru, first cooperated with the Brahmasamaj and later through his own independent organisation of Atmavidya Sangham initiated programme against casteism, consumption of liquor, etc. and even made a few high caste members as his disciples. No doubt, that he had a significant role in the growth of society in North Malabar." It is a matter of great academic interest for historians and sociologists to trace causes responsible for the decline of a progressive movement like this".

References

Citations Bibliography * *

External links

Website of the Atmavidya Sangham (Malayalam)
20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Narayana Guru Indian Hindus 1939 deaths 1885 births Activists from Kerala Indian social reformers 20th-century Indian philosophers People from Thalassery 20th-century Indian educational theorists {{India-activist-stub

Biography

Movement

Work

See also

References

Further reading

External links