ശുഭാനന്ദ ഗുരുദേവന്‍

Lord Subhananda born on 28th April 1882 in Kulayikkal, Budhanoor village, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala to the devout Sambava couples Ittyathi and Kochu Neeli. Father was an astrologer and mother was pious woman. The couple was endlessly visiting the holy temples and performed several Pooja and Bhajans for a child. After the long twenty four years of marriage, the fortunate Kochu Neeli gave birth to a blessed child at the age of forty and blissfully named him as Paappan.

In small age itself, the “child” started giving spiritual discourses and did wonders. The bewildered parents thought some invisible power had entered their son and took the child to temples and renowned astrologers to seek the remedy. However, the priest in the temple devotionally said “you gave birth to the protector of mankind, a marvelous gift for this Kali Yug; who will be worshipped by millions”.

From the 16th November 1888 Friday morning, the child has a heavenly light and its rays are omnipotent and its strength bespeaks of Kalki. This experience had lasted for three days continuously and returned to normal life on the fourth day of his eternal sight of Para-Brahma. He discovered that in the inner self of every individual, sparks of this heavenly light is burning and its existence can be realized only with the help of Jagath-Guru.

Following mother's death in 1894, Gurudev went on to pilgrimages inquest of studying the super spirit that immersed Him for three continuous days. The determined Gurudev has visited various holy places and met with different scholars, but no one could explain about the meaning of the revelation that He experienced.


Thapogiri: Thereafter during 1914, He went on to a deep mediation underneath a laurel tree for the realization of the divine light which he had experienced for three days from the 18th November 1888. This place is now known and referred as “Thapogiri”. After three years intense meditation He attained the heavenly enlightenment and that was the birth of the Njana Kalki..


Subhananda Gurudev started His noble mission of liberating the untouchable from the misery widely practiced and prevailed from slavery. He mingled with the underprivileged and so called untouchables, to educate them that the God has no distinction between and all creations are equal to Him. He declared there is only one Supreme Spirit and that is the creator, protector and savior of all mankind. He declared that Lord Himself has taken birth in a Sambava caste in order to eradicate the injustice prevailed. He declared;

~ all are one, one in Athma, one in harmony, you are not alien, if you feel alien that is the ignorance in you, because all are My creation and I am not different any ~.

In the 1918s, Gurudev had reached “Cherukole” a small village located in Mavelikara Taluk of Alappey District in Kerala, South India. He conveyed spiritual gatherings and other social activities. Gradually more and more people to refuge at His feet and got attracted towards His divine power and large crowed attended the prayers. He advised his followers worship one God and to discard devils from within. He had stiff resistance and opposition from the so called upper caste leaders. However, Gurudev was determined on his resolve to establish dharma and continued it with increasing vigor.In 1914, Gurudev has established Subhananda Ashram “the abode of peace and ecstasy in this world” in Cherukole, Mavelikara, Alappey District in Kerala, South India with the mission to attain status of “one caste, one religion, one God to mankind”. He declared;

~ Divine knowledge is the creator; He created this beautiful world for the human being to live peacefully by following the path of Athma-Bodham.

He created no caste and religion as all are His children and are equal to Him, you believe in me, you are my children and I am your protector ~

The ashram was inaugurated by the Travancore maharaja’s nephew Artist Rama Varma Raja. Gurudev shown immense sympathy and care for the poor and affiliated Himself to the people as the savior and protector. People from all walks of the community (caste and religion) are coming to Subhananda Ashram (hereinafter referred as Sannidhan) for salvation from sufferings, distresses, sins and deceases.

Subhananda Sannidhan stands for the moral ethics that is unhesitant acceptable to the people of all faith. Gurudev teaches followers to attain self realization in order to see the eternal light which resides inside of all of us. Man is not self illumine, but the Guru lights the lamp in him and in the light emanates he can see himself and the Guru just like we see the sun and sun light by our eyes. This precept is akin to Christ’s proclaim, “I am the way and the light” and the Upanishad teachings of “Tamaso ma Jyothirgamaya, Mirthyur ma Amrutham Gamaya”.

As lamp is required to spread light, when light is spread though disciples, the world over becomes illuminated and there is no difference between Guru and disciple. They are one and the same. Movement for unity of various cults is another essence of Gurudev’s messages and He confers us to; bliss

~~Wander not in search of God; gain His sight in your soul,

Gain this eternal bliss, with the divine knowledge

Human beings are never satisfied with mere material comfort, they always strive to attain something else. What is that thing? That is eternity: the universal truth on which the whole universe exists!

Prayers through chanting of nama-sankeerthan are the way to sayujya.

Prayer is the process of purification of mind and soul in order to consecrate oneself and install God in us.

Gurudev disclosed that mankind is born with sin, lives doing sins (lawlessness) and harms self (life), and fails to realize the purpose of life.

God has created mankind with the five organs of sense and gave him intelligence (brain) to think and live a sensible life to the satisfaction of self and neighbors alike and according to the heavenly principles. However without realizing this truth, men always commit lawlessness and destroy themselves.

The entire visible and invisible are the creations from divine knowledge, the supreme divine power. The visible means the planets, plants, all living things, trees, air, water, sun, moon, stars and the human body. These creations are not eternal and thus will perish! The invisible is “Athma or soul” which is the seed of para-brahma that has no end unlike the visible, but has to merge with the prime atom, the divine power.
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