Shri A.K. Balan, Minister for Welfare of SC/ST and Backward Classes, Culture and Parliamentary Affairs,
Shri Ramesh Chennithala, Opposition Leader,
Advocate V.K. Prasanth, Mayor, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation,
Sreemad Sooshmananda Swamy, Sivagiri Mutt,
Shri Medayil Vikraman, Councilor,
Shri N. Thulaseedharan, President, Kolathukara Kshethra Samajam,
Advocate S. Sathi Kumar,
Friend in Media,
Sahodaree Sahodaranmaare,
Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram,
I am very happy to address you all after inaugurating the Valedictory Cultural Congregation of the Thiruvathira Festival of the famous Kolathukara Shiva Temple.
This festival is special, since it marks the 125th Anniversary of the consecration of the idol of Lord Shiva by Sree Narayana Guru, the Universal Teacher who called upon the masses to imbibe the ideals of love, brotherhood and concern.
Let me begin by placing on record my deep appreciation for the thousands of devotees who have been attending the Thiruvathira Festival of this temple year after year. It is their faith and devotion that have led to the popularity and prosperity of this temple as an institution that nurtures social harmony.
As we all know, our Temples are divine places of worship, which ennoble our minds through spirituality and compassion. The right to worship is something that everyone enjoys in the present era, but there was a time when places of worship had remained closed or out of bounds to a large majority of people. The holy scriptures also remained as the monopoly of a set of elite people, who believed in their superiority on account of the caste system that prevailed in those days. The people who were destined to remain in the lower strata of society had to be content with unreasonable customs, animal sacrifice and superstitious activities in the name of worship.
It was into such a social scenario that Sree Narayana Guru stepped in with a new theology of equality, which he calmly advocated. With a philosophy that integrated the non violence of Buddha, the love of Christ, the brother-hood of Nabi, and the spirituality of the ancient Indian Gurus, he kindled a strong desire for equality in the minds of millions of people. When Gurudevan installed a stone as the Shiva idol at Aruvippuram, he was actually laying the foundation stone of free thinking and political awakening that charted the destiny of Kerala in later years.
That the Kolathukara Temple also had the fortune of having a Shiva Idol installed by Gurudevan, has elevated the position of this seat of worship in people's minds. I am informed that it was under the directions of Gurudevan that the Thiruvathira Festival is conducted every year in this Temple. Incidentally, I must inform you all that Sree Narayana Guru's name is known to people in my village in Tamil Nadu also. It was Guru who had installed an idol at the Bhavani Temple in Erode, my native place. In fact, that was not the only temple in Tamil Nadu, where he installed idols.
While taking pride in being devotees of a temple consecrated by a saint as great as Gurudevan, we, the devotees have a spiritual duty to perform. You would recall that in some temples, Gurudevan had installed a lighted lamp to remind us of the ever-burning light of consciousness and in some temples, the mirror, to help Man to know and improve himself. Let me ask the devotees present here: are we following the idea of self improvement through noble actions and compassion? Have we truly imbibed Guru's proclamation of ‘One Caste, One Religion, One God for Mankind’? It is when we do this that our State becomes truly a God's Own Country.
As I had mentioned earlier, temples as places of worship have been able to unite people with the spirit of devotion. Our devotion should manifest more in our concern for the
down-trodden and suffering people around us than in our outward expressions of Bhakthi. Our devotion should also extend to society in the form of guidance to the future generations on the right ways of living. Congregations like this should inspire our younger generations to carry forward the torch of human kindness so that the light of happiness, peace and equality prevails everywhere. Such a society is what Sree Narayana Guru also envisioned.
I understand that the programmes as part of the 21 day Thiruvathira Festival had included spiritual discourses, Congregation on Education, Agriculture, Science & Technology, Anti-Drug Awareness and many other relevant topics. I congratulate the organizers for conducting this Festival in an orderly manner and wish them all the best in coming years.
I also greet all the devotees who have assembled here and wish them happiness.
Ellavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal
Nanni
Jai Hind
