Tolerance: Sree Narayana Guru
We live in a world where large majorities feel threatened by small minorities and hence loud certainties and quick judgments are rewarded. Tolerance is mistaken for weakness. To tolerate is seen as to yield, to compromise, or worse, to remain indifferent. The relevance of teachers like Sree Narayana Guru [1856-1928] can never be exaggerated in such a world. Born into a low caste of a rigidly stratified society in Kerala, Guru did not respond to injustice with bitterness or retaliation. Nineteenth-century Kerala was marked by an extreme and unyielding caste hierarchy that governed every aspect of life. Where you could walk, what you could wear, how you pray to your God… anything and everything had to conform to rigid rubrics. The lower castes were not merely excluded from the mainstream but rendered socially invisible. Their very presence was considered polluting. The low castes were denied access to temples, schools, and even public roads. They were deprived of human dignity. W...
