Sree Narayana Guru biography by Nitya Chaitanya Yati - (3) continued from yesterday..... What kind of a child was Nanu? Narayana Guru (Nanu) was a smart, handsome and witty child who was very perceptive of all that was happening around him. Everybody felt forcefully drawn to him. Even as a child, he showed a tendency to teach and correct others. He saw elders placing fruits and sweets before the pictures of mythical Gods. They were attributing to these pictures the desires and sentiments of humans. The little boy Nanu stealthily got into the sanctum and ate the sweets and fruits offered to Gods. When he was questioned he simply said ‘God will be pleased if I please myself’. He found the elders inconsistent in their moods. When an elderly person died, people became grief-stricken and cremated the body with much fuss and lamentation. After a couple of days all were found in their usual merry mood. Seeing this the young Nanu went away and sat in the woods nearby. When people found him and asked him why he left home, he said he was confused by the inconsistent behavior of his elders. He saw his parents and other elders observing unsociability. They were even afraid of becoming polluted by going near a working peasant. To break this taboo, little Nanu went and embraced the so called untouchables and unapproachables and came home to touch and pollute his family members. He wanted to prove in a practical way that no harm would befall anyone who hugged a poor man. Thus he was a reformer of the society even from the start. Did Nanu go to school? Nanu was initiated into reading and writing by Chempazhanthi Pillai. He studied till the age of ten in a one-teacher school. Afterwards he was asked to tend the family’s cattle. Like Krishna he became cow-herd. While his cows were grazing he sat under some shady tree and composed hymns in praise of God. One such hymn caught the attention of his maternal uncle. The lyrical beauty and the depth of its meaning convinced everyone that he was a prodigy. So his parents sent him to Varanapally, a rich household in central Travancore (Kerala) where free education in Sanskrit and Indian philosophy was disseminated to deserving pupils. Nanu was no longer a child. He did not want to go through the traditional routine of studying one book after another and getting gradual promotions. His teacher allowed him to study as many books as he could. In four years he completed his Sanskrit literature and Vedanta studies under Kummampilli Raman Pillai Asan. How did he conduct himself during those days? His peer group was of late teenagers and youths. Most of them were boisterous. Nanu kept away from their hot blooded romances and adventurism. By his teacher’s recommendation he was given a separate cottage to live in. He used his spare time to meditate and practice the discipline of yoga. He was drawn to the great Indian epics, The Ramayana and The Mahabharatha. He mastered these books. Whenever there was heated discussion among his peers he was asked to meditate and adjudicate. His decision was always just and was respected by all. During those days he had the first spiritual experience which was a stepping stone to his enlightenment. (to be continued)
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 07:41:42 +0000
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