Narayana Guru: Encyclopedia II - Narayana Guru - Enlightenment and its Poetic Expression

Narayana Guru - Enlightenment and its Poetic Expression

It is uncertain as to when precisely Nānu Āśān moved to his hermitage deep inside the hilly forest area in Maruthwāmala, where he is said to have subjected himself to the most austere life immersed in meditative thought, other rigorous yoga practices and extreme sustenance rituals. After an unpretentious life of over thirty years abounding in knowledge and harsh experiences, this epoch is considered the culmination of the meditative recluse; the point at which Nārāyana Guru is believed to have attained a state of Enlightenment, i.e. an absolute state of wisdom or awakening.

Nārāyana Guru’s later literary and philosophical masterpiece Atmopadeśa Śatakam (one hundred verses of self-instruction, written in Malayalam circa 1897) is considered a fertile poetic expression, encapsulating the Guru’s philosophy of egalitarianism, emanating from the author’s attainment of an experienced state of primordial knowledge and quintessence of the Universe; and his ensuing ability to view the human race, from a dignified and elevated perspective, as nothing but one of a genus, in unqualified equality and without any racial, religious, caste or other discriminations whatsoever.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Enlightenment and its Poetic Expression", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki