Narayanaguru

Narayana Guru written and compiled by P K Balakrishnan is an exceptional work on the great social reformer of Kerala and spiritual leader Sri. Narayana Guru published on the event of his birth centenary. It gives a rare insight into the person that he was and the activities of the visionary. The book is carefully crafted with a selection of essays by many eminent personalities and essays written by Balakrishnan himself. The essays are classified into eight parts as follows:

1. Dark Background and Some Resplendent Documents:

   This section contains 38 documents consisting of articles by prominent personalities, proclamations, extracts from other documents etc. Greatness cannot be de-linked from space and time. Seen in this context, a life history not linked to a historical background will be incomplete. Swami's activities and the ascendancy of Ezhavas ( A hindu community of kerala) are interlinked. The effort in this section is to give a brief of the historical background necessary for this study.

2. A Life Changed Without Knowing Challenge:

   It is not the intention of the book to chronologically describe the life of the saint. Depending on the interest and ability of the reader a concept of the saint will get imprinted in their minds from the book. This section also contains the brief anecdotes/ sayings of the Sri Narayana Guru.

3. The Mirror of Memories:

   This section contains seven commemorative articles by people who were closely associated with Narayana Guru.

4. Biographical Setting:

   These are articles by Balakrishnan himself on the life of seven of Gurudev's disciples who were versatile in nature and beliefs and yet worked together without compromising their beliefs. And that ability to work together getting beyond their inherent contradictions is Narayana Guru.

5. The Poetry of Vision and the Poet's Vision:

   This section intents to give a picture of Narayana Guru as a poet. Though he was never reputed as a poet, he wrote some of the best hymns in the language. The preface to the hymns and instructions regarding the selections were given by Dr. Sukumar Azhicode

6. Contemporary Narayana Guru:

   We are products of contemporary times. The events we see are also coloured by this subconscious 'political' beliefs. This section contains such contemporary studies of the Guru. This direct transition in time may help to understand history better. This section contains six studies.

7. A Reformer in the Arena of Religion:

   This section contains nine articles on what the authors perceived as the religious beliefs of Narayana Guru. Whether the Guru was an inventor of a new religious philosophy or a religious reformer is an open question.

8. Narayana Guru and Social Transition:

   The Narayana Guru we know today primarily is a social reformer. Any study that does not touch the social aspect will be unrealistic. This section contains six articles that predominantly deal with the social angle.