One Caste, One Religion, One God

A Hindu temple that is open to anybody is a bit unusual in Kerala. Finding one with a picture of Jesus, a picture of Buddha and an Islamic script is, well, unique.

But then Nanoo Swami’s philosophy of “One Caste, One Religion, One God” must have had Hindus throughout Kerala choking on their morning chai when he first expounded it at the end of the 19th Century.

(To put this in context: at the time, even the approach roads to Hindu temples were off-limits to the lower castes).

Born into the (low) Ezhava caste in 1854, Nanoo Swami left his family in his 20s to seek enlightenment. In 1888, he consecrated his first temple (presumably leaving the Brahmin priests swooning in horror). Many more followed: all were open to anybody and some had mirrors instead of shrines, to show that “God lay inside every person”.

Sivagiri Hill, where Nanoo Swami based himself for the last 20 years of his life, is 3km inland from Varkala. Open to anybody, there is a small display of the Swami’s few possessions, and pictures of him meeting with the great and good (notably Gandhi).

For more information, visit http://www.sivagiri.org/

The man himself

Jesus hangin' with the Lord Buddha

Varkala

Varkala, like Kovalam, is almost devoid of tourists. Those that are here fall pretty much into two categories. There are the leather-skinned old hands, eking out the last of the sunshine before heading to the mountains when the monsoon hits. Then there are the pale-skinned first-timers, who are wondering where everybody is.

The beach here is set dramatically below a red cliff face. Tourists swim and sunbathe at the northern end, while the southern end is left to the Hindu pilgrims. They come here from the Janardhana Swamy Temple with  the ashes of their loved ones and float them out to sea.

Varkala Cliffs and Beach: Pilgrims to the left, Tourists to the right

Later on, I visited the temple. To my untrained eye, it seemed unremarkable. With one exception: a tree shrine with hundreds of little plastic dolls hanging from it. Women prayed in front of it and put coins into the devotional box. It was, I have to say, a tad spooky.

Entrance to the temple: why is it ALWAYS at the top of a long flight of steps?

The Hanging Doll tree. Yikes.