THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Challenging the Sangh Parivar narrative linking Sanatana Dharma and Sree Narayana Guru, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said Guru was neither a spokesperson nor a practitioner of Sanatana Dharma.
“Guru was a seer who deconstructed the concept of Sanatana Dharma, and developed new dharma for a new age. What is Sanatana Dharma? It is actually the varnashrama dharma. The new-age humanitarianism of Sree Narayana Guru had challenged and overcome the varnashrama dharma, and it has sustained over time,” Pinarayi said while inaugurating the Maha Sammelan at Sivagiri.
He said while varnashrama dharma upheld caste-based labour, Guru urged people to show defiance to it. “Then how can Guru become a spokesperson of Sanatana Dharma? Throughout his life, he had challenged and defied it. How can a Guru who proclaimed one caste, one religion, and one god become the spokesperson of Sanatana Dharma which had taken shape within the confines of one religion?” he said.
“Even today, we hear the word Sanatana Dharma. This is a favourite word for monarchy and communalism. Now there is a growing claim that the Sanatana Dharma is great concept, and its restoration is said to be the formula to resolve every social issue,” the CM said.
Counter attempt to portray Guru as religious seer, says CM
The CM also cautioned that pilgrimages conducted without paying due attention to Guru’s messages would turn out to be mere hollow rituals. “We should counter the attempt to portray Guru, who was a social reformer, as a religious seer. We should understand that Guru was not part of any religion,” Pinarayi said.
The chief minister’s statements invited severe criticism, with BJP leader V Muraleedharan accusing Pinarayi of defaming Sree Narayana Guru in the holy land of Sivagiri.
Speaking to media in Varkala, Muraleedharan alleged that Pinarayi’s remarks are the continuation of Udayanidhi Stalin’s speech in which the latter called for eradication the sanatana dharma. “The people of Kerala will reject the campaign of Communists to portray Guru as a person who was against sanatana dharma,” he said.
While speaking at Sivagiri on Monday, Muralidharan had said that there was propaganda by a section with certain ideology that Guru was against sanatana dharma.
Speaking at the Maha Sammelan in Sivagiri on Tuesday, SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan said Guru is being worshipped as people feel his divine presence. “Guru is being worshipped like any other deity. There might be people who criticise it. Let them criticise,” he said at the event.
Meanwhile, CPI state chief Binoy Viswam alleged that the BJP has been trying to glorify the caste system in the name of sanatana dharma. “The true followers of Sree Narayana Guru will not tolerate attempts by the BJP to reap political gains in the name of Guru,” said Binoy said in a statement.