Life of
Nava Jyothi Sri Karunakara Guru

    Whenever there is a decay in righteousness and the Will of the Supreme impaired, Gurus and Acharyas -spiritual masters- take birth as corrective forces trying to lead us to spiritual liberation. Since the advent of Sri Krishna, 5100 years back, and up to 1973, two thousand four hundred and forty four Great Souls were sent by the Almighty in order to guide humanity towards the Light of God, but in spite of their sacrifices and best efforts, the desired correction of past evils and errors could not be fully achieved. In this great mission Nava Jyothi Sri Karunakara Guru was empowered to fulfill the Will of the Supreme and was made to be born in a humble family "Chittekkad House" at Chandiroor Village, Cherthala Taluk of Alappuzha, District of Kerala, India.

    It was on the 1st. day of September 1927, that the Guru was born, which was the 16th. day of Chingam 1103, as per the Malayalam calendar. The birth star of that auspicious day of the first month -Chingam- of Malayalam calendar (the Onam festival month) was Chothi -Sirius. Every year the day of Chingam, 1st. month of the Malayalam calendar on which the star Chothi comes, is celebrated as Guru Jayanthi in Santhigiri Ashram.

    It is significant to note that the birth day of the Guru completes 282 days in mother’s womb after November 24th., 1926, the day on which Maharshi Aurobindo Ghosh -renowned spiritual preceptor- got the vision that the Supreme Super mind was descending to the World. This day is celebrated by the disciples of Aurobindo Gosh as the Siddhi -victory- day. This day is regarded for a decisive action direct from the Almighty for mankind, to march forward towards greater achievements and the day of global harmony will definitely arrive, so that life on Earth can indeed be a life divine.

    The Guru was born to a true devotee of the Almighty Supreme of a father by name Kochu Govindan. His mother’s name was Karthiayani. His maternal relatives did not know the objects of worship of his father, since only a lit lamp and no deity adorned the pedestal. His father passed away before the Guru was six months old. The childhood of the Guru was very unhappy in the residence of the maternal uncle.

    However, from childhood, the Guru was getting spiritual experience of envisioning an effulgence and the face of Krishna in its midst and was in constant communion with it. Words came from this form, and the Guru thought this was so in everyone’s case. His body was like a mike, a mere instrument through which that form spoke.

    The ignorant relatives misconstrued his lack of interest as incapacity to speak. The forlornness of the Guru, had caused the childhood playmates to tease him to the verge of cruelty many a times. Always the results were the never complaining calm, and dignified poise of the strange boy.

    As the Guru did not have normal speech, he was not sent to school. His relatives thought he had some defect in his tongue. They made offerings at temples and observed several vows. From the age of nine, the face within started diminishing and the boy began to play and talk like a normal child. After that, the Guru joined in a country school. But he studied there only for six months. The lessons consisted only of Malayalam, mother tongue of the people of Kerala State, South India, and basics of Arithmetic. The Guru was not at all interested in studying. The main characteristic of the youngster, was his far too cleanliness and strict vegetarianism, which was an unheard state in those days in Cherthala, the birth place of the Guru. He was a strong and faithful devotee in the spiritual arena.

    The mother got remarried against the advice of the eleven year old son. The stepfather, Kochu Sanku, was a vociferous drunkard making it unbearable for the child to stay home. At last, at the age of 14, the Guru left his maternal home with the insatiable desire of joining an Ashram. Maliekkal Kumaranasan, his master of the country school helped the Guru to go to Swami Agamananda of Kaladi Ashram. But there was no room for children in that Ashram. Therefore the Guru went to Advaita Ashram, Aluva, a branch of Sivagiri Mutt founded by Sri Narayana Guru. On seeing this youngster, Swami Sankarananda, the Head of the Ashram became very impressed and permitted him to stay in that place. This was the beginning of Ashram life of the Guru. Thereafter, this Great Soul spent 17 years and 4 months in various branches and Headquarters of Sivagiri Mutt. He worked in several places like Aluva, Aruvippuram, Kunnumpara Chempazhanthy, Thrissur, Anappara, etc. in Kerala and Kanchipuram, Mampalam-Chennai, etc. in Tamil Nadu. The Guru dutifully worked in various capacities like cook, attendant of guests, assistant of Ashram’s head, priest of sanctum sanctorum -the innermost shrine of a temple- and Santhi -one who performs pooja (worship)- of Sri Narayana’s Samadhi -place of death.

    At a hill near Kanyakumari Kodithookki Mala, while meditating, the Guru had a vision of Shirdi Sai Baba and this was a turning point in his spiritual side. All these days, this Great Soul was craving for some spiritual enlightenment and at the age of 25, his intense search made him to meet a Muslim wandering monk, Khureishi Fakir, who became his spiritual preceptor. At that time, the Guru was staying at Aruvippuram branch Ashram of Sivagiri.

    Many forbidden doors of spirituality were thrown open to the young disciple and spiritual experiences in abundance enriched him. The humility, dignity and calm poise of this ascetic, attracted the young aspirant to the devotees who came in large numbers to the institution of Sivagiri Mutt of Sri Narayana Guru. But the fellow inmates and renunciates had developed enmity towards him. All his humility and tendency to help in need, made the matters only worse. This he did realize only later, as the influence of the deities - ‘gods,’ saints, devas, angels, etc., who caused the fellow ascetics to be incited against him to prevent his spiritual progress.

    Before long, in the year 1957, the Guru bid farewell to Sivagiri and shifted to a hut made of coconut leaves and tapioca sticks, in a piece of land donated by a well wisher by name Gangadharan Mutalali, at Varkala. That place had started to be known as Santhigiri. While at Sivagiri people used to call the Guru as Karunakaran Santhi. The word Santhi stands for the one who performs pooja -worship. The word giri stands for mountain. Thus, the giri -mountain- to where Karunakaran Santhi was shifted, becoming Santhigiri, which now truly signifies ‘the mountain of peace,’ place where tens of thousands of people have come seeking directions in their material, emotional and spiritual life so as to be led to the supreme aim of human life, which is the communion with the Supreme Light. This was the beginning of Santhigiri Ashram.

    Gradually, people thronged the new abode of Guru in Varkala. They claimed to have achieved the miraculous power of healing, ability to envision deities -saints, devas, etc.-, who manifest to reveal the cause and remedies for the ills of the people coming to him. Scrupulously did their predictions prove right, but for a brief period of three months. Subsequently they started going wrong. The Guru under the impression that it was due to some error on the part of the disciples, was even unduly harsh on them, but there was no change. There were protracted protests and disturbances from some evil minded local people, on the suspicion that the Guru was functioning against Sivagiri Mutt and Sri Narayana Guru. But whatever Guru did was according to the revelations received through darshans -spiritual visions. At last he was ordered, through darshans, to quit Varkala and stay incommunicado -out of sight.

    It was in the year of 1969, that a small prayer place was started in a small piece of land donated to the Guru at Pothencode, three years back then, by the same benevolent person, Gangadharan Mutalali, who had given the Ashram land to the Guru at Varkala. This prayer place was also made of mere coconut leaves and wooden logs. It is significant to note that the lighting of the oil lamp, was initially done in this place by the Guru’s Guru, Khureishi Fakir. Guru leaving everything at Varkala, came to Pothencode and that was the reason for homesteading at the present headquarters of Santhigiri Ashram Pothencode.

    Here too, repetition of events of Varkala took place, but in a larger scale. Fifty two patients forsaken by modern medicines were in the Ashram, at the behest of assurance given through visions that they will be cured. Having lost faith by every passing day, they had even contemplated to initiate criminal proceedings against the Guru, who, till then, a scrupulous servant and worshipper of deities from the Trimurti plane -Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva’s stage-, was full of anguish and in consternation had the images of the deities removed and waited for the intervention of God Almighty. He also resolved to feed himself only after that. Then came the array of all the deities offering to cure the ailing and beseeching Guru to feed himself. But the Guru did not relent. Subsequently was the threat from them to teach him a lesson, because all these deities -saints, devas, etc.- are tied to their emotions, so that they can feel anger, jealousy, hatred, egoism, etc., and they did not want to be ‘betrayed’ by the Guru. The condition of the sick, suddenly became precarious. They threw up tantrums and the only remedy the Guru offered, was a solemn prayer which soothed them. Then came the series of revelations, as to the real state of these deities, which were not fully realized souls in the spiritual arena, and their devious deceits and the death trap like end which awaits their worshippers. Usually, these forces will never allow a worshipper to rise beyond them. The devotees were reminded of the earlier revelations they received, i.e. to chant a mantra -words that connect you to a certain source of Light- apparently eulogizing the Guru by name. Since he promptly proscribed this as his name was in it, they had no other way but to recite on their mind, when the Guru was in the vicinity and to recite loudly when he was away. The Akhanda Namam -mantra that connects you to the highest source of Light- since then, it was revealed, should be recited and nothing else to protect themselves and the Guru had come to stay. The gifted personnel were able to witness the destruction of various celestial deceitful forces by the chosen messenger of God Almighty, Sri Karunakara Guru.

     There were strong obstacles and opposition to the Guru, both in Varkala and in Pothencode. This came from material and subtle planes. The Guru got the revelatory vision of the good and evil forces that exist in varied astral planes in the subtle world. He could perceive how the subtle forces have the power to influence and determine the thoughts and actions on human beings. The Guru overcame great obstacles with a strong will and great perseverance. Many rigorous penance and austere measures had to be undertaken for the accomplishment of the goal of Guru or Poortheekaranam -culmination of tasks of divine dicta as per Divine Will- and only in 1973 the cause and effects were evident. The blessed disciples of the Guru, were treated to the symbolic revelation, exhibiting the cleansing got done in the 9 planets of our solar system, the stellar system of 27 stars, the 12 zodiacal signs and the Universe, along with the celestial beings therein. Then came the asariri -words from the God Almighty: "the thing I had been waiting for many yugas -eras- had been accomplished today. The children born hereafter will be of special spiritual acumen. If guided properly they will become the torchbearers of the Truth." This culmination day was September 20, 1973 which was the 4th. day of Kanni, the second month of the Malayalam calendar. On this auspicious day, Poorna Kumba Mela, is being celebrated in Santhigiri Ashram every year.

    After Poortheekaranam, the Guru was bidden to go on a pilgrimage. Him and various of his disciples, out of which some were having darshans -spiritual visions- went to many temples up to Chidambaram Nata Raja Temple, which is extolled as one epitomizing the virtues of all the temples in South India.

    The result every where was the same. Even before entering out skirts of the sanctum sanctorum -the innermost shrine of a temple- the deities therein used to manifest in front of the disciples forming the entourage of the Guru. It was always followed with an entreaty, requesting Guru not to enter the temple. Many times the deities manifesting were seen to approach and prostrate in front of Guru with all reverence and humility, beseeching for blessings for themselves and their worshippers. They used to seek the refuge of the Guru. Even Chidambaram was not different. The reigning deity manifested and in a most reverential tone, supplicated that the Guru may desist from entering the temple. When he said that he would like to see through his naked eyes, again came the entreaty to wait till the rituals of prayer are over. It was revealed through spiritual visions, that it was necessary for the deities to be on their legs in reverence at the very sight of the Guru and hence they would not be able to accept oblations and prayers attributed by the worshippers. The entourage was repeatedly insisted that they should be full of regard and respects for the Guru, prostrate in front of him before venturing on to prayer or for performing any act of spirituality. Thus all and sundry visiting the Ashram, are informed of the compassion of the Guru, whose Light engulfs everyone, everything and also the activities undertaken here in Santhigiri Ashram. This may be seen in the Chapter Santhigiri Ashram

    Thereafter, Santhigiri Ashram’s Guru, served as a beacon for those seeking true spirituality untrammeled by the materialism and illusory hopes of myths and legends of deities -saints, angels, devas, etc.- The Guru had to fight a silent and fervent war against the evil vested forces and only out of strong will, perseverance, austerity, humility, love, sacrifice and a complete faith, devotion and total surrender to the Almighty, he established the true tradition of the glorious heritage of gurumargam -the path of the Guru.

    Words fail to explain the suffering and sacrifices undergone by the Guru, to bring up Santhigiri parampara -group of people that follow a Guru’s doctrine. Police cases, scandals, political and social pressure, muscle power and what not Guru had to face. In 1974 a lunatic woman patient jumped into a well in Ashram and died. The local people who did not like the presence of the Guru, alleged that she was killed after seizing all her ornaments. There was police enquiry and all connected furor. At last, the inspecting officers found that all the allegations were false. The gold ornaments were stolen by the man who climbed into the well to take out the body of the woman, which he revealed afterwards, surviving from a suicidal attempt. There had been complaints and cases from some devotees that had stayed with the Guru for long time and had availed many benefits from this Great Soul. When their selfish motives could not be satisfied, they turned rebels and started fighting against the Guru. Even the Government tried to snatch the Ashram properties acquired by the Guru, paying good competition. Some politicians tried to arouse the cheap sentiments of ignorant laborers and tried to fight against the Ashram. But for all such activities Guru was calm and silent. Guru never allowed the enthusiastic disciples to fight back, other than adopting lawful means. Guru asked them to pray for them during such occasions.

    Day after day the number of devotees coming to the Guru increased. From small beginnings the Ashram developed to the present stage, with branches at Palarivattom, Ernakulam, Kallar and Kumily in Idukki District, Pambady Kottayam, Sulthan Bathery Wynad, Olassery in Palaghat and Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The Ashram started a number of activities in charitable, educational, industrial, agricultural, commercial and cultural sectors, with a view that lead to providing all those who come to the Guru a good ‘karma’ -mode of action, work- to live and earn. The Guru wants to bring out a parampara -people that follow Guru’s doctrine- through gurumargam -path of the Guru- by revealing the Dharma -spiritual law, duties for everyone- and karma -mode of action- of the present time period Kaliyuga -actual era in which a higher degree of spiritual knowledge is given and where tremendous evil forces test our spirituality, though, this precious age is the most conducive for attaining mukti, spiritual liberation. By following a fully realized Guru you can attain spiritual liberation at a tremendous rate, much, much faster than by any other means -religion or spiritual path. One of the uniqueness in the Guru’s system is the performance of Gurupooja -cleansing (done by the Guru) of your soul, your manes, and the ‘gods’ -devas, saints, angels, etc., who have been the objects of worship in past several ages. The only place in the World where this is being performed (to thousands of families) is in Santhigiri Ashram, liberating these people along with their ancestors from the influence of certain evil forces, helping them immensely in their spiritual progress. This is a very delicate process and after Gurupooja, the Guru has to take care of all the activities in their families, especially marriages of children.

    On October 20th., 1986 (3rd day of the third month -Thulaam- of Malayalam year 1162) the Guru laid the foundation stone of the prayer hall in the Ashram. The symbol of the installation of the prayer hall, was in accordance with the darshan -spiritual vision- received quite early in 1972. There are 10 steps depicting 10 stages of spiritual evolution achieved by the Guru. Upon this, there is a lotus having 58 petals 3+7+9+12+27 depicting trimurtis, Saptarishis, 9 planets, 12 houses of the Zodiac and 27 stars. Over the lotus, there is an Om emanating from inside the vague form of a human chest inscribed in a base like sun spreading rays. The Sarakoodam, wooden covering of the installation was completed on January 30th., 1989. The installation was spiritually prepared initially on February 10th., 1989 and was completed on April 23rd, 1989. Every year these days are celebrated as auspicious days in the Ashram. With a view to guide the people in the proper perspective, Guru started a sanyasi -renunciate- order in Santhigiri Ashram on October 2nd, 1985 on Vijayadasami day. The male renunciates are called sanyasis, swamis or jnana tapaswis and the females sanyasinis, jananis or jnana tapaswinis. The sanyasi members of the Ashram wear reddish yellow dress. There are also brahmacharis -renunciates aspiring to become sanyasis- wearing white dress at all time and there are also householders. The main goal of all these groups of people, is to attain spiritual liberation through gurumargam -most dynamic path to attain liberation, by having a complete faith, devotion and total surrender in a fully realized Guru.

    Santhigiri Ashram is the perfect place to understand this spiritual path. In his lifetime, the Guru spent long hours talking to individuals and groups of people trying to make them understand the correct spiritual path. He did not care to take timely food and required rest. Even ignoring all illness, he worked for the devotees, disciples and humanity in material and subtle planes and dictated the principles of true spirituality to the World.

    The Guru asked to construct a building by name Sahakarana Mandiram, a shrine of human togetherness. The foundation stone of this beautiful building was laid on August 23rd., 1993, the 67th. birthday of the Guru. After a period of almost 7 years, this building was completed and declared open on March 1st., 1999. This temple is now known as the abode of Sri Karunakara Guru. It is a real wonderful experience to be inside this temple, because you can feel a tremendous shower of Light impacting and engulfing every single part of yourself. Not only myself, but hundreds of people, can testify about this truth.

    Sri Karunakara Guru fulfilled the Will of the Almighty, preparing a new parampara -group of people following a Guru’s doctrine- capable of carrying out the Dharma -DivineLaw- and karma -mode of action- of Kaliyuga -present age where tremendous suffering is involved, though only in this era, we have the precious opportunity to correct, strengthen and purify our souls in order to attain spiritual liberation. After accomplishing the ordained mission, the Guru merged with the Supreme on Thursday, May 6th., 1999 which was 23rd. day of Medam 1174, according to the Malayalam calendar. The physical body of the Guru is laid to rest in the Parnasala -abode of the Guru (small but exceptionally luminous temple)- totally covered by vibhutti -holy ashes. A lotus upon a glob and planets of the solar system around has been installed in the Parnasala. Hereafter, this day will be celebrated as Nava Oli Jyothir Dinam -the day of the emergence of the New Light- May 6th., 2000. Symbolizing 72 years of human life of the Guru, special prayers for 72 days are performed in Santhigiri Ashram, each year before the Nava Oli Jyothir Dinam. As received by revelations by some of the Guru’s disciples, his name changes from Brahmasri Karunakara Guru, to Nava Jyothi Sri Karunakara Guru -Karunakara, the Spiritual Master of the Supreme New Light.

Next Chapter: Guru's Message(March 1994)

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