Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that attempts were being made by certain forces to ‘hijack’ the Sivagiri Madhom for their vested interests. He alleged that such an effort was intended to organise the Hindu community by distorting the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru in order to create a communal divide in society.
He was speaking while inaugurating the centenary celebrations of the Guru’s proclamation against caste system at a function organised by the Sree Narayana Dharna Sangham Trust here on Sunday.
Referring to the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, Mr. Vijayan accused the leaders of the organisation of allying with ‘certain dark forces.’
“Such forces were striving to push the followers of Sree Narayana Guru into the clutches of social divisions on the lines of castes and religions against which he had strived throughout his life. For this, the leaders of the community organisation, who claimed to be the ideal followers of the Guru, have made it their prime agenda to bring together those who have suffered by such divisions, only to push them into the same trap yet again. Such attempts must be seen as efforts aimed at garnering the votes of backward communities,” he said.
‘Propagate teachings’
The Chief Minister held the view that the teachings and proclamations of the Guru on the caste system were relevant for all times.
“Instead of distorting them, efforts must be invested to propagate them in a manner that was relevant for the present times,” he opined.
Mr. Vijayan was also highly critical of the alleged stance of the leaders of SNDP Yogam in highlighting the caste they represented.
“In his resignation letter that he had sent to P. Palpu (one of the founding leaders of SNDP Yogam) in 1916, the Guru stated that he had sought to step down owing to the caste pride of the leaders of the organisation, which went against his ideals of having neither any caste nor any religion.
“Unfortunately, the factors that ailed the organisation back then continued to affect them even now. It functioned in a manner that contradicted the teachings of the Guru. Their actions amounted to disrespect towards the Guru,” he remarked.
Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust general secretary Swami Rithambarananda presided over the function.
