‘Sree Narayana Guru sowed seeds of secularism in Kerala,’ says V D Satheesan in Sivagiri

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V D Satheesan said that when we say Kerala is a secular state, the full credit for that goes to Sree Narayana Guru. He added that it was Guru who sowed the seeds of that thought and that Guru’s teachings have left a deep imprint on the minds of the Malayalees. The chief minister was speaking after inaugurating the Maha Parinirvana conference being held at Sivagiri under the auspices of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust.

‘When Sahodaran Ayyappan, a disciple of Guru, said that there should be no caste, religion or God, Guru’s response was that he had the right to say so. The fundamental value underlying all this is democracy. The idea of secularism emerged from that democratic thought. Guru also sowed the seeds of democratic values in Kerala,’ the chief minister said.

Minister P C Vishnunath inaugurated the observance of the 99th Mahasamadhi anniversary of Sree Narayana Guru at the Sree Narayana Gurukulam in Chempazhanthy. Deputy Mayor G S Ashanath, Kerala Soul World Management Project Director Divya S Iyer, MLA V Muraleedharan, Kowdiar Sree Narayana Vishwa Samskarika Bhavan Secretary Swami Sankarananda, Chempazhanthy Ward Councillor K K Shailaja, Chellamangalam Ward Councillor Arun Vattavila, and Aniyoor Service Cooperative Bank President Aniyoor M Prasannakumar, among others, attended the event.