- Born in 1856 and belonged to Ezhava caste, considered ‘avarna’ or untouchable caste.
- Was intensely drawn to worship at the local temples and composed hymns and several devotional songs.
- From an early age, he was drawn towards asceticism. He lived as a hermit in forests for 8 years. He learnt Vedas, Upanishads, literature, logical rhetoric of Sanskrit, Hatha Yoga etc.
- Gave famous slogan “One Caste, One Religion, One God for All.”
- In 1888, he built a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at Aruvippuram which was against the caste-based restrictions of the time.
- His basic teaching was to teach equality but felt the inequalities should not be exploited.
- All-Religion Conference in 1923 was organised by him at Alwaye Advaita Ashram, which was reported to be the first such event in India.
- A charitable society was established in 1903 as the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP).
- “Not Many, But One,” an English translation of poems of Sree Narayana Gurudev.
- Books: Advaitha Deepika, Asrama, Thevarappathinkangal, etc.
