Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to understand the divinization process of Sree Narayana Guru (1856-1928) in Kerala and highlight socioreligious efficacy from bhakti perspective.

Paper long abstract:

Sree Narayana Guru (1856-1928), a member of the Izhava caste (a lower caste), and a product of colonial time period in Kerala, critiqued and refuted some of the customary practices within the caste oriented society of early twentieth century Kerala and pioneered socioreligious reform movement. In 1903, he founded the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), based on his manifesto, "One caste, one religion, one God for mankind." Guru moved away from ritual worship of Hindu deities as he established a mirror, symbolic of self-reflection, and a lighted lamp signifying illumination, in two temples, respectively. Though, he himself taught the significance of self-realization and consciousness and dissuaded image worship of Hindu deities, by the late twentieth century, people in the community recognized him as a spiritual and social leader as he becomes the object of reverence and common pride. More significantly, he was deified and worshiped (and still is worshiped) throughout Kerala.

Based on field work in Kerala, hagiographies, and historiographies, this paper engages and suggests possible answers to the following questions: (1) What factors contributed towards the divinization process of Guru and does it legitimize the social, religious, and political identity of Izhavas in contemporary Kerala? (2) What types of rituals are performed for Guru and how do his devotees perceive him? (3) What insights from such divinization process of the Guru can aid in our understanding religious pragmatism among Izhavas and does it reinforce aspects of medieval bhakti saints in India?