Narayana Kasturi
Encyclopedia
Narayana Kasturi was born Kasturi Ranganatha Sharma in North Travancore
, which now forms part of the modern day India
n state of Kerala
. He is remembered by many as a great visionary who promoted human fraternity and multilingualism
.
He received his Bachelor's degree in Law, and his Master's degree in Arts from the University College, Trivandrum, India. "After his degree at the age of 21, he stumbled up on an advertisement for the post of a lecturer in a High School in the city of Mysore." He acquired the position. After a few years, Kasturi began to "seriously contemplate on a career in Law."
Around 1928 he served as a lecturer in Maharaja’s College of Arts (affiliated to the Mysore University). He served as the Secretary of the Sri Ramakrishna Mission in Mysore for over seventeen years. During these years he came into contact with Sri Siddharudha Swami, Sri Ramana Maharshi
, Sri Meher Baba
, and Sri Narayana Guru
; and was initiated into Japam by Mahapurushji, the direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa. He met Sathya Sai Baba
in the year 1948 in Bangalore. In his first meeting with Sathya Sai Baba, Sai Baba related, ""After retiring from the University, stay with Me. You can write My biography." "Me?” Kasturi replied. "Yes, I shall tell you whom to consult for details – parents, brothers, kinsmen, neighbours, teachers, etc. I shall also help." It was July, 1948." He began to write the life of Sathya Sai Baba and published it as Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Part I. He later became the editor of the magazine of the Sathya Sai Organization
, called Sanathana Sarathi
.
In 1949, "a University Order sent Mr. Kasturi to the Intermediate College, Davangere as its Principal."
Kasturi stayed on for five years and then retired. "When he retired in 1954 with a full year’s pension, Swami (Sai Baba) suggested that he go on a spiritual pilgrimage to North India taking his mother and wife along."
In 1956, Sathya Sai Baba suggested, and in spite of Kasturi's reluctance, "convinced him to accept the offer of the post of Producer of Programmes for the newly established All India Radio Station, Bangalore
."
Kasturi enjoyed the post immensely, and "during a visit to Bangalore in 1958, (Sathya Sai Baba) spotted him (Kasturi) at the residence of Mr. Vittal Rao and said, “Now, you have to work at Puttaparthi. A monthly magazine will start soon. Guess! How is it named?”
"In the initial days of Sanathana Sarathi
, with no professional or skilled help of any kind, be it in writing and editing to printing, pasting and parceling, it was a tremendous responsibility for Professor Kasturi to ensure that the issue, flawless in every aspect, reached the readers on time."
Mrs. Geeta Ram, who watched and played with Professor Kasturi as a tiny girl in those days, recalls, "The whole process of type-setting would be repeated so many times. After the sheets were printed, the ink would still be wet. They would then have to be spread all over the floor to dry, so the ink would not smear. Later, the pages were carefully collated, stapled together, packed and addressed in preparation for mailing – all done by hand. Although there were a few volunteers to help him, I remember Professor Kasturi doing all these jobs, month in and month out, for so many years. This was truly his labor of love for Swami (Sathya Sai Baba)."
and Uravakonda
, where Sathyanarayana Raju (Sai Baba) was a student. The second part of the book was published in 1968 and closed the first volume of "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram". Kasturi states that "ten eventful years had pass(ed)" between the publications of parts three and four. The second volume (and complete "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram") was published around 1980.
"“He was no ordinary man, a scholar par excellence and a matchless writer,” says Professor Anil Kumar" of Kasturi. He also proved his talent as a writer in the Kannada language, especially as a humourist as his writing was packed with humor and contained many jokes. He wrote more than 1000 articles. According to some sources, he named Mysore Radio station "Akashavani" while working for Gopalan. Narayana Kasturi translated the famous Malayalam novel Chemmeen
into Kannada. N Kasturi (sometimes referred to as Na. Kasturi) was a regular contributor to the Koravanji.
Koravanji, which he launched on Ugadi
Day in 1942, enjoyed a circulation of nearly two lakh
(two hundred thousand). Rashi himself wrote the column "Koravavalokana", and was responsible in bringing the latent talents of many young writers to light. Some well known names include Kefa, Bulla, Aa. Ra. Se, Na. Kasturi, C.K.N. Raja, Girani Ramsami, and T. Sunandamma. Though the magazine ceased publication in 1967 due to financial constraints, many of its writers remained in the field. Magazines devoted to humour came to the market, but none seemed to matched the success of Koravanji.
"People may come and go, there may be many speakers and writers, any number in the past, numerous in the present and many more in the future, but none can equal Kasturi in the art of oration and narration. His poetic style, nectarine language, convincing candour, and his soft and tender, appealing and devoted voice… Professor Kasturi is a legend, a personality too extraordinary to imitate or emulate,” says Professor Anil Kumar."
According to Lawrence A. Babb (as of 1986), virtually all existing accounts of Sathya Sai Baba's life were based on the hagiographic
writings of Narayana Kasturi. In 2000, a highly detailed account of the first twenty four years of Sathya Sai Baba's life was published. The author stated he was "eternally grateful to Professor N. Kasturi, the first official biographer of (Sai) Baba. At every stage, his magnum opus, Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, has served as a pathway into the life of (Sai) Baba."
Kasturi's autobiography entitled, "Loving God
- Eighty-five years under the watchful eye of The Lord," was published in 1982 by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications.
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, which now forms part of the modern day India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. He is remembered by many as a great visionary who promoted human fraternity and multilingualism
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
.
He received his Bachelor's degree in Law, and his Master's degree in Arts from the University College, Trivandrum, India. "After his degree at the age of 21, he stumbled up on an advertisement for the post of a lecturer in a High School in the city of Mysore." He acquired the position. After a few years, Kasturi began to "seriously contemplate on a career in Law."
Around 1928 he served as a lecturer in Maharaja’s College of Arts (affiliated to the Mysore University). He served as the Secretary of the Sri Ramakrishna Mission in Mysore for over seventeen years. During these years he came into contact with Sri Siddharudha Swami, Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master . He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation , he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus...
, Sri Meher Baba
Meher Baba
Meher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
, and Sri Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru
Sri Nārāyana Guru , also known as Sree Nārāyana Guru Swami, was a Hindu saint, sadhuand social reformer of India. The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people from backward communities like the Ezhavas faced much social injustices in the caste-ridden Kerala society...
; and was initiated into Japam by Mahapurushji, the direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
Paramahamsa. He met Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba
Śri Sathya Sai Baba , born as Sathyanarayana Raju was an Indian guru, spiritual figure, mystic, philanthropist, and educator. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, a spiritual saint and miracle worker who died in 1918 and whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hindu and...
in the year 1948 in Bangalore. In his first meeting with Sathya Sai Baba, Sai Baba related, ""After retiring from the University, stay with Me. You can write My biography." "Me?” Kasturi replied. "Yes, I shall tell you whom to consult for details – parents, brothers, kinsmen, neighbours, teachers, etc. I shall also help." It was July, 1948." He began to write the life of Sathya Sai Baba and published it as Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Part I. He later became the editor of the magazine of the Sathya Sai Organization
Sathya Sai Organization
The Sathya Sai Organization was founded in the 1960s by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The first Sai Centers were started in India under the name Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi...
, called Sanathana Sarathi
Sanathana Sarathi (magazine)
Sanathana Sarathi is the official monthly magazine of the Sathya Sai Organisation, published by the Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust. The English translation of the word Sanathana Sarathi means `Eternal Charioteer'...
.
In 1949, "a University Order sent Mr. Kasturi to the Intermediate College, Davangere as its Principal."
Kasturi stayed on for five years and then retired. "When he retired in 1954 with a full year’s pension, Swami (Sai Baba) suggested that he go on a spiritual pilgrimage to North India taking his mother and wife along."
In 1956, Sathya Sai Baba suggested, and in spite of Kasturi's reluctance, "convinced him to accept the offer of the post of Producer of Programmes for the newly established All India Radio Station, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
."
Kasturi enjoyed the post immensely, and "during a visit to Bangalore in 1958, (Sathya Sai Baba) spotted him (Kasturi) at the residence of Mr. Vittal Rao and said, “Now, you have to work at Puttaparthi. A monthly magazine will start soon. Guess! How is it named?”
"In the initial days of Sanathana Sarathi
Sanathana Sarathi (magazine)
Sanathana Sarathi is the official monthly magazine of the Sathya Sai Organisation, published by the Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust. The English translation of the word Sanathana Sarathi means `Eternal Charioteer'...
, with no professional or skilled help of any kind, be it in writing and editing to printing, pasting and parceling, it was a tremendous responsibility for Professor Kasturi to ensure that the issue, flawless in every aspect, reached the readers on time."
Mrs. Geeta Ram, who watched and played with Professor Kasturi as a tiny girl in those days, recalls, "The whole process of type-setting would be repeated so many times. After the sheets were printed, the ink would still be wet. They would then have to be spread all over the floor to dry, so the ink would not smear. Later, the pages were carefully collated, stapled together, packed and addressed in preparation for mailing – all done by hand. Although there were a few volunteers to help him, I remember Professor Kasturi doing all these jobs, month in and month out, for so many years. This was truly his labor of love for Swami (Sathya Sai Baba)."
As author
Kasturi authored the work "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram - (Life of Sathya Sai Baba)"., which translates into English as Truth, Goodness, Beauty. The first part of book was published in 1960. As Kasturi states, it "is the story of the Lord, come in human form,". The first book covers the first thirty four years of the life of Sathya Sai Baba. Kasturi states that he wrote about the early years of Sathya Sai Baba's life based on information gathered from Pedda-Venkapa Raju (Sai Baba's Father), Seshama Raju (Sai Baba's brother) and teachers from the schools in BukkapatnamBukkapatnam
Bukkapatnam is a village and a Mandal in Anantapur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.-Geography:Bukkapatnam is located at . It has an average elevation of 484 metres ....
and Uravakonda
Uravakonda
Uravakonda is a census town in Anantapur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Geography:Uravakonda is located at . It has an average elevation of 459 metres .-Features:...
, where Sathyanarayana Raju (Sai Baba) was a student. The second part of the book was published in 1968 and closed the first volume of "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram". Kasturi states that "ten eventful years had pass(ed)" between the publications of parts three and four. The second volume (and complete "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram") was published around 1980.
"“He was no ordinary man, a scholar par excellence and a matchless writer,” says Professor Anil Kumar" of Kasturi. He also proved his talent as a writer in the Kannada language, especially as a humourist as his writing was packed with humor and contained many jokes. He wrote more than 1000 articles. According to some sources, he named Mysore Radio station "Akashavani" while working for Gopalan. Narayana Kasturi translated the famous Malayalam novel Chemmeen
Chemmeen
Chemmeen is a 1965 Malayalam romantic drama film based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and directed by Ramu Kariat from a screenplay by S. L...
into Kannada. N Kasturi (sometimes referred to as Na. Kasturi) was a regular contributor to the Koravanji.
Koravanji, which he launched on Ugadi
Ugadi
Yugadi or Ugadi or "Samvatsradi" , Konkani/Marathi: युगादी yugādi, , formed by sandhi of yuga "age" and ādi "beginning": the beginning of an age) is the New Year's Day for the people of the Deccan region of India. It falls on the different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar...
Day in 1942, enjoyed a circulation of nearly two lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
(two hundred thousand). Rashi himself wrote the column "Koravavalokana", and was responsible in bringing the latent talents of many young writers to light. Some well known names include Kefa, Bulla, Aa. Ra. Se, Na. Kasturi, C.K.N. Raja, Girani Ramsami, and T. Sunandamma. Though the magazine ceased publication in 1967 due to financial constraints, many of its writers remained in the field. Magazines devoted to humour came to the market, but none seemed to matched the success of Koravanji.
"People may come and go, there may be many speakers and writers, any number in the past, numerous in the present and many more in the future, but none can equal Kasturi in the art of oration and narration. His poetic style, nectarine language, convincing candour, and his soft and tender, appealing and devoted voice… Professor Kasturi is a legend, a personality too extraordinary to imitate or emulate,” says Professor Anil Kumar."
According to Lawrence A. Babb (as of 1986), virtually all existing accounts of Sathya Sai Baba's life were based on the hagiographic
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
writings of Narayana Kasturi. In 2000, a highly detailed account of the first twenty four years of Sathya Sai Baba's life was published. The author stated he was "eternally grateful to Professor N. Kasturi, the first official biographer of (Sai) Baba. At every stage, his magnum opus, Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, has served as a pathway into the life of (Sai) Baba."
Kasturi's autobiography entitled, "Loving God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
- Eighty-five years under the watchful eye of The Lord," was published in 1982 by Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications.