United we stand!

With a view to propagate the guru’s teachings, a few like-minded people in Pimpri came together in 1990 and founded the Shree Narayan Guru Samiti (SNGS). "The membership of the samiti is not restricted to the Malyalee community. People of any caste, creed or religion, who follow the teachings of the guru are welcome to be members of the samiti," says Vettackal Bose, president of SNGS. He further adds, "SNGS is mainly a social organisation and gives prime importance to the welfare and well being of its members and their overall development in all spheres adhering strictly to the Sree Narayan Guru culture."

The Samiti’s activities include conducting discourses and lectures on the life and teachings of the guru. Since the teachings need to be inculcated in the younger generation, how many youngsters attend the discourses? "It is true that attendance primarily consists of middle-aged and elderly people, but we are not discouraged. We expect the parents to pass on the guru’s philosophy to their children," says Bose.

The samiti has also made books a medium of spreading the guru’s teachings. The samiti has a library at its central co-ordination office near Ashok theatre, Pimpri, which has more than 500 books in English and Malayalam on the Guru’s life and compilations of his message to society. Informs Bose, "To involve Punekars we will soon be embarking on translating the guru’s works into Marathi."

According to the SNGS, the guru belonged to the masses, and he dedicated his life for the betterment of society. He advocated prohibition of liquor, promotion of education, especially, amongst the economically deprived and strongly advocated eradication of the caste system. Keeping in line, SNGS offers scholarships to deserving and needy students.

The guru was the crusader of the human community,’ and abiding by this principle, SNGS organises blood donation camps under the guidance of Lokmanya Blood Bank regularly and on the birth anniversary of the guru which falls on Chatayam, the third day after Onam.

The guru had equal respect for all religions. He read the Koran and the Bible along with the Bhagwad Gita. The venue of the Onam celebrations of SNGS is rotated amidst its 10 branches in Pune including Chinchwad, Dehu Road, Vadgaon Sheri, Pune city, Ghorpuri and Akurdi. "In the first half of the day we organise an All Religion Conference where advocates of various religions are invited.

A pujari, a mullah and a priest share the same dais and discuss the common essence of all religions. A few years back we had invited a Buddhist priest. Of course, in the afternoon we have cultural programmes," says Bose.

On the future plans of SNGS, which presently has a membership of 840 families, Bose says, "we have already embarked on a project of constructing a Guru Mandir and a community hall at Dehu Road. A devotee of the guru, M. Vijayan and family have donated 4000 sq.ft. of land at Dehu Road and SNGS has already acquired an additional 4000 sq.ft. of land adjacent to the original plot. The estimated cost of the construction is Rs. 22 lakh." The work of the project will be overlooked by a committee under the chairmanship of Balaraman K. Panicker.

On the probable uses the community hall would be put to, Panicker says, "It could be used as a marriage hall, a venue for health camps, discourses, social activities. We also have plans of conducting a primary school there.

The project is for a noble cause, therefore we request all the devotees of Sree Narayan Guru and well wishers to contribute generously to the project," appeals Panicker.

With the sayings of their guru firmly embedded in their consciousness, the SNGS strives ahead for the betterment of their lives and those around them.