Guru used Adwaita for progressive purposes: CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Unlike Sankaracharya, Narayana guru used Adwaita for progressive purposes, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan while inaugurating the birth anniversary celebrations of Sree Narayana guru on Wednesday.
Inaugurating via online the 166th birth anniversary celebrations of social reformer and spiritual guru Sree Narayana at Chempazhanthy Sree Narayana Gurukulam here, Pinarayi said guru took a distinctive path as he put man first and made him the focal point of his philosophy.
Narayana guru put man first and tried to find solution to his sufferings. He upheld universal brotherhood and promoted spirituality devoid of religion. He did not think about salvation beyond death. Instead, his thoughts were about betterment of the present-day lives of people, Pinarayi Vijayan said.
“Both Narayana guru and Sankaracharyar were advocates of Adwaita philosophy. But what made Narayana guru different? He used Adwaita for the betterment of human lives. Not for sanctifying the conservative values. Narayana guru tried to correct them and devoted his time to propose humane and practical propositions of progressive nature,” Vijayan surmised.
The chief minister said that attempts from some quarters to justify evil customs like untouchability in the past by equating the same with the social distancing in the age of Covid-19 pandemic were absurd and should be denounced. “Guru followed tradition and at the same time outpaced the same. He used to address people directly and transformed their lives. In these pandemic times, we can pay him obeisance by adhering to Covid protocol,” he added.
Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah paid respects to Narayana guru by way of a social media post prepared in Malayalam. “The contributions of Narayana guru towards the empowerment and education of the downtrodden are unforgettable. His philosophy and advices would continue to brighten up the lives of people in the country,” he said.