Narayana Guru was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He was born into a family that belonged to the Ezhava caste. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality.
Varkala, also known as The Pearl of the Arabian Sea, is a municipality in the Thiruvananthapuram district, situated in the Indian state of Kerala. Varkala is home to 3% of the total urban population and most densely populated municipality of the district. It is the headquarters of Varkala Taluk and one among the oldest municipalities of Kerala established in 1980. It is the second largest coastal city in the district after the state capital and northern suburb of Trivandrum City. It is located 36 kilometres north of Trivandrum, which is the capital and largest metropolitan city of Kerala and 28 km south of Kollam City.
N. Kumaran Asan was an Indian social reformer, philosopher and poet of Malayalam literature. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry in the first quarter of the 20th century, transforming it from the metaphysical to the lyrical and his poetry is characterised by its moral and spiritual content, poetic concentration and dramatic contextualisation. He is one of the modern triumvirate poets of Kerala and a disciple of Sree Narayana Guru.
Nataraja Guru was a disciple of Narayana Guru and himself an Indian social reformer.
Sivagiri is a pilgrimage centre in Varkala Trivandrum where the tomb or samadhi
T. K. Madhavan was an Indian social reformer, journalist and revolutionary who was involved with the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP). He came from Kerala and led the struggle against untouchability which was known as Vaikom Satyagraha.
Narayana Guru built temples at various locations in India: Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kannur, Anchuthengu, Thalassery, Kozhikode, Mangalore. Some of the temples built by the guru are:
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. Sankar, in 1952 to manage the Sree Narayana College, Kollam. Later, educational institutions were started in other parts of Kerala.
The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) is an Indian charitable society.
Sree Bhavaneeswara Temple in Palluruthy, Kochi established by the great saint, sage and social reformer of India, Sree Narayana Guru on 8 March 1916. The temple is managed by Sree Dharma Paripalana Yogam which was founded in 1903 with the guidance and blessings of Sree Narayana Guru.
Advaita Ashram - the ashrams in Aluva, founded in 1913 Sree Narayana Guru. Here he also established a Sanskrit school to restore the sanctity of the language through which universal spiritual teachings can be grasped and imparted to dedicated disciples.
C. V. Kunhiraman was an Indian social reformer, journalist and the founder of Kerala Kaumudi daily. A follower of Sree Narayana Guru, Kunhiraman was the author of a number of books covering the genres of novels, short story, poetry, biographies and essays. He was one of the leaders involved in the Vaikom Satyagraha of Reformation movement in Kerala which led to the Temple Entry Proclamation.
Changaramkumarath Krishnan Vakkeel was a community leader, banker, social reformer, and journalist from Kerala, India.
Sivagiri Vidyaniketan is an educational institution located in Aluva, Kerala. The School conducts classes from kindergarten to senior secondary education to over 884 students.
Mannanthala Anandavalleshwaram Devi Temple is a Hindu temple in the Mannanthala suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, India.
Varkala Sivagiri railway station, station code VAK, is a major railway station in Kerala serving the town of Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram. It is the second-busiest railway station in the state capital district Trivandrum in terms of passenger movement and 8th busiest in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railways. Around 54 trains halts in this station which handled more than 11,427 passengers daily with 3 platforms. It is on Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line. Station is well connected to major metropolitan & tier 2 cities like Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kochi, Delhi, Bangalore,Mangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Goa etc.
Sree Narayana College for Women is a postgraduate college affiliated with the University of Kerala. The college is named after social reformer, philosopher and saint Sree Narayana Guru. The institution was established as a college for women in 1951. About 2500 students study in the college at present at degree and PG levels. It is an approved research center for eight subjects. It has 14 teaching departments and offers 16 undergraduate and 14 postgraduate courses.
The Reformation movement in Kerala refers to a socio-cultural movement that began towards the end of 19th century and led to large scale changes in the social outlook of the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam is an Indian spiritual organization that was formally founded by Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu in 1903, with the guidance and blessings of Shri Narayana Guru. The main aim of SNDP Yogam was to spiritually uplift the people of the Ezhava/Tiyyar communities. In 1886, Shri Narayana Guru founded an organization called "Aruvippuram Vavootu Yogam" for the spiritual activities of all native Hindus, regardless of their castes. This organization later narrowed its focus to the Ezhava/Tiyyar caste, and Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu changed the name to Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam. In 1903, SNDP Yogam was registered by Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu under the Indian Companies Act 1882, and became the first spiritual organization in India to be registered under this act.
