Narayana Guru's oeuvre also includes Malayalam prose works. ‘Chijjada Chinthakam’, ‘Daiva Chinthanam’ , ‘Gadya Prarthana’, and ‘Aatmavilasam’ are considered his prose works.
‘Chijjada Chinthakam’ begins by differentiating between consciousness (‘Chit’) and inert matter (‘Jada’). It is a difficult work, impossible to comprehend with the intellect, unless directly experienced. It points to the nature or ultimate essence of the universe. Guru states that the universe is indescribable. If one ponders it, only knowledge remains.
Nataraja Guru's ‘Wave of the Guru’ dates this work to the year 1881.
‘Daiva Chinthanam’ (Divine Thought) consists of two parts. In part 1, Guru points out that there is a difference between destroying evil deities while believing in their existence and eliminating them with a firm conviction of their non-existence.
Guru attempted to reform society by eradicating such detrimental practices. In Tamil Nadu, he discouraged people from worshipping many evil deities. While performing temple consecrations, Guru did not hesitate to remove the consecrations that the people did not want. All his actions were aimed at awakening humans to the non-dualist truth.
In ‘Daiva Chinthanam – 2’, Guru presents a prayer for a life lived in unity with the Supreme Being, where even basic bodily functions are offered as devotion. This work further elaborates on the concept of liberation from the cycle of life, depicting it as the most sublime state.
In 'Gadya Prarthana', meaning ‘Prose Prayer’, it is revealed that meditating on the divine form of the Supreme Soul destroys all sins. It is a prayer towards attaining the supreme state of God.
'Gadya Prarthana' indicates that what is seen in worldly life is not eternal. Everything here is like a dream; we are not the body but consciousness. So birth, death, poverty, disease, and fear cannot touch what we really are.
‘Aatmavilasam’ holds a special place among the Guru's prose works. Like the Upanishads, it is considered a divine Vedic text that logically establishes that the truth that illuminates everything is God. The word 'Aatmavilasam' implies the manifestation of the soul in various forms.
Sree Narayana Guru's prose works stand as a testament to his exceptional writing prowess. He masterfully articulated the profound principles of Advaita in simple, lucid Malayalam, fully exploring the language's capacity to express complex ideas with clarity and beauty.
