P. Parameswaran
Encyclopedia
P. Parameshwaran is a renowned Hindutva
Hindutva
Hindutva is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva...

 thinker in 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....

, an orator and a social philosopher. He is the director of Bharatiya Vichara Kendra
Bharatiya Vichara Kendra
Bharatiya Vichara Kendra The [Bharatheeya Vichara Kendra] was established in 1982, by Mr P Parameshwaran as a centre of research and studies aimed at national re-construction. It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram...

 and the president of Vivekananda Kendra
Vivekananda Kendra
Vivekananda Kendra is a Hindu spiritual organisation based on the principles preached by Swami Vivekananda. It was founded 7 January 1972 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India by Shri Ekanathji Ranade. Its current president is P. Parameswaran.-Sphere of influence:...

, Kanyakumari. He is also one of the founder members of International Forum for India's Heritage (IFIH). He is also known as Parameswarji (പരമേശ്വര്‍ജി).

Childhood

,
Born at Cherthala
Cherthala
Cherthala is a town located in the district of Alappuzha, in the state of Kerala, India. It is located 30 km south of the city of Kochi and 22 km north of Alappuzha town, on the Kochi-Alappuzha streatch of both the National Highway 47 as well as the costal Rail-route.lt is 85 km from the...

 village in Alappuzha district
Alappuzha district
Alappuzha is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala in India. It was formed as Alleppey District on August 17, 1957. The name of the district was officially changed to Alappuzha in 1990. The district is a widely known tourist destination, and is well known for its coir factories. Most of...

 in the year 1927, Parameshwaran after his schooling at his birthplace, continued his studies at SB College Changanassery and graduated from University College, Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 with distinctions in BA (Hons.) in History. From early childhood, he had a great inclination towards the study of Hinduism. He was intimately connected with most of the Hindu social and cultural organizations. http://www.vicharakendram.org/pages/bvk_director.html

Ideology

He came into contact with the world's largest voluntary organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...

 during his student days, was also a favorite disciple of Swami Agamananda. Parameshwaran became an RSS
RSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...

http://www.sanghparivar.org/ "Pracharak" (full-time organizer) in 1950. As per the direction of M.S.Golwalkar (Guruji)http://www.golwalkarguruji.org/, who was the Sarsanghchalak
Sarsanghchalak
The Sarsanghchalak is the paramount leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.He is supposed to be the Philosophical guide of the organisation. He is nominated by the predecessor.The six individuals who have held the post so far have been...

 of RSS, He served as organizing secretary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Bharatiya Jana Sangh
The Bharatiya Jana Sangh existed from 1951 to 1980, whereupon it was succeeded by the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's largest political parties...

 in 1957. In 1968, he became and All‑India General Secretary and later Vice‑President of the Jan Sangh. He was jailed during the Indian Emergency (1975-1977). In 1977, Parameshwaran moved from politics to the sphere of social thought and development. He worked as director based in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

 for [Deendayal Research Institute]http://www.chitrakoot.org/ a premier Grassroot organisation started by Nanaji Deshmukh
Nanaji Deshmukh
Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh aka Nanaji Deshmukha was a social activist in Bharat/India. He did exemplary work in the field of education, health and rural self-reliance and has been honored with Padma Vibhushan title by the Government of India...

 for four years. P. Parameshwaran, a bachelor, who doesn't have a house of his own, is residing in the Vicharakenram head quarters, Thiruvanthapuram.

In 1982, he came back to his home state Kerala and gave shape to a new organization; [Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram]http://www.vicharakendram.org/ aimed at national reconstruction through study and research. It has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 and has units all over the state. He is currently the Director of Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram. It functions also as a center for moulding public opinion in favor of national needs and concerns. He has also been associated with the Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a sacred monument and popular tourist attraction in Vavathurai, Kanyakumari, India. The memorial stands on one of two rocks located about 500 meters off mainland of Vavathurai, India's southernmost tip...

http://www.rockmemorial.org/]] and [Vivekananda Kendra]http://www.vkendra.org/, Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari is a town in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is also sometimes referred to as Cape Comorin. Located at the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, it is the geographical end of the Indian mainland. The district in Tamil Nadu where the town is located is called Kanyakumari...

 and has served in various capacities in the governing body of the Kendra. He is the patron of Geetha Swadhyaya Samithi, which promotes the ideology of Bhagawad Geetha amongst youth. He was closely associated with Marxist Leader and philosopher E. M. S. Namboodiripad
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, , popularly known as EMS, was an Indian Communist leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala. As the first non-Congress chief minister in independent India, he became the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world...

 and the ideological dialogues between them made Kerala's political and social environment vibrant.

He took initiation from Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement. The Ramakrishna Mission is a philanthropic, volunteer organization founded by Ramakrishna's chief disciple Swami Vivekananda on...

 and was a close associate and disciple of Swami Agamananda http://ramakrishna-kaladysite.org/History.shtml social reformer and founder of Advaita Ashrama at Kalady
Kalady
Kalady is a village located east of the Periyar river, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. Notably, it is the birthplace of Sri Adi Shankara, and thus is a popular destination for pilgrims...

, the birth place of Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...

.
Well entrenched in the philosophy of Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....

, Upanishads and Gita, he has followed in detail the thoughts and writings of Western thinkers like Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...

 and Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee was a British economic historian also noted for his social commitment and desire to improve the living conditions of the working classes.-Biography:...

 and the Indian seers like Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...

, Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...

, Sree Narayana Guru, Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 and Deendayal Upadhyaya
Deendayal Upadhyaya
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya , along with Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, was an important leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, now the Bharatiya Janata Party.-Earlier Life and Education:...

.

He has been ceaselessly writing articles and books on social, cultural and religious themes. He is also a gifted orator, with a great command of words and a greater depth of insight. He has delivered lectures all over the country on national issues. He participated in the Centenary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda's address at the World Parliament of Religionshttp://www.parliamentofreligions.org/index.cfm]] held at Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 in [1893]http://www.parliamentofreligions2009.org/whatisparliament.php.

Social Thoughts

Parameshwaran is looked upon as a saint in the Kerala social scene albeit without the saffron robe. In the eighties, he took the initiative to call for an end to the mindless political violence in Kerala and put forward the idea of Ideological debate in the place of armed conflict. This was widely welcomed by the wisemen of Kerala and set the trend to end the bitter violence. He is an acclaimed scholar and propagandist of the vision of Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...

 and Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...

. His biography of Sri Narayana Guru is one of the well‑written studies on the life and teaching of the reformer saint of Kerala.

In 1998, as an answer to the rising crime rate, delinquency and other social evils in Kerala, Sri. Parameshwaran proposed observation of a 'Gita decade'. Popularizing the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

 as a comprehensive life science was his solution to the social problems of Kerala and the whole of India. This suggestion was well received by other social and religious leaders and organizations. By a joint effort of several social and religious organizations, a massive movement for spreading Gita awareness has started in Kerala. The recently conducted two‑day Gita Sangamam at Trichur attracted around two thousand youths from all over Kerala. Eminent personalities like Padma Subrahmanyam, Justice Sukumaran etc. attended the function, which was formally inaugurated by Ananth Kumar
Ananth Kumar
Ananth Kumar, is a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Bangalore South constituency of Karnataka and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party political party.-Early life:...

, Union Minister for Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports. The programme of conducting one Gita Shibir in each panchayat of Kerala is on.

The International Seminar 'Bhagavad-Gita Gita and Modern problems' held at Thiruvananthapuram from 7th to 4th December 2000, in which 1500 youths, scholars and saints from all over India and abroad including Murli Manohar Joshi
Murli Manohar Joshi
Murli Manohar Joshi was the Union Human Resources Development minister of India in the NDA government. Joshi is a leading member of the Bharatiya Janata Party...

, Union HRD Minister and his Holiness The Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...

 participated, was a high watermark of the Gita Movement organized by the Gita Swadhaya Samithi under the able guidance of P. Parameswaran. It is an on going movement with active participation of the youth from the universities and also from every walk of life. http://www.vicharakendram.org/pages/bvk_director.html.

Awards and recognitions

Parameshwaran was awarded the Hanuman Prasad Poddar
Hanuman Prasad Poddar
Hanuman Prasad Poddar was an author and freedom fighter of India.Lovingly called as Bhaijee, he was a multifaceted personality...

 Award instituted by Bada Bazar Library of Kolkata Calcutta in 1997, in recognition of his effort in teaching the lofty principles of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 to the common man.

Parameshwaran has won many awards and recognitions. He was appointed as the member of the Court (Senate) of Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...

, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

 in 2000.

Awarded the "[Amritha Keerthi Puraskar]http://www.amritapuri.org/cultural/sahithya/recepient.php" by Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Math
Mata Amritanandamayi Math
The Mata Amritanandamayi Math is an international charitable organization aimed at the spiritual and material upliftment of humankind, without regard to caste, creed or religion...

 http://www.ammachi.org on 26 September 2002, for outstanding service to the society. In 2004, the President of India awarded him the 'Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...

' upon him as recognition of his valuable contributions to the society. He has authored many books in Malayalam and English. "Beyond all isms to Humanism" is one of the famous works.

P. Parameshwaran has authored several books on Indian philosophy and society. He was the editor of the journals ‑ 'Kesari' and 'Manthan'. Currently he is the editor of the monthly 'Yuva Bharathi' and the quarterly 'Vivekananda Kendra Patrilka'. His books on Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...

, Marx and Vivekananda, Chhatrapati Shivaji, and Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...

's teachings are well acclaimed. He wrote many patriotic songs which are very popular in RSS
RSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...

.

He also keeps his close association with sri ramakrishna math http://www.belurmath.org/ and Advaita Ashram, Kalady
Kalady
Kalady is a village located east of the Periyar river, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. Notably, it is the birthplace of Sri Adi Shankara, and thus is a popular destination for pilgrims...

.

Works

Sri. Parameshwaran has authored several books on Indian philosophy and society. He was the editor of journals‑ 'Kesari' and 'Manthan'. Currently he is the editor of the monthly 'Yuva Bharathy' and the quarterly Vivekananda Kendra Patrilka and Chief Editor of 'Pragati' Quarterly Research Journal.

Books by him are:
  1. 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...

     the Prophet of Renaissance.

  1. Sri Aravindan Bhaviyude Darsanikan.

  1. Vishwa Vijayi Vivekanandan.

  1. Marx and Vivekananda.

  1. From Marx to Maharshi.

  1. Bhagavad Gita
    Bhagavad Gita
    The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...

     - Vision of a New World Order.

  1. Beyond All Isms to Humanism.

  1. Heart Beats of a Hindu Nation (Compilation of selected editorials in Yuva Bharathy).

  1. Yajna Prasadam (Selected Poems).

  1. Disabodhathinate Darshanam (Selected Essays in Malayalam).

  1. Bhagavad-Gita  The Nectar of Immortality (Collection of Essays on Gita).

  1. Marunna Samoohavum Maratha Mulyangalum.

See also

  • David Frawley
    David Frawley
    David Frawley is an American Hindu author, publishing on topics such as Hinduism, Yoga and Ayurveda. He is the founder and director of the American Institute for Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which offers courses on Yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and Hindu astrology...

  • Koenraad Elst
    Koenraad Elst
    Koenraad Elst is a Belgian writer and orientalist .He was an editor of the New Right Flemish nationalist journal Teksten, Kommentaren en Studies from 1992 to 1995, focusing on criticism of Islam, various other conservative and Flemish separatist publications such as Nucleus, t Pallieterke,...

  • Michel Danino
    Michel Danino
    Michel Danino , is a French‐born Indian author who has been living in Tamil Nadu, India since 1977.He participated in the translation and publication of the works of Sri Aurobindo and of The Mother...

  • Alain Danielou
    Alain Daniélou
    Alain Daniélou was a French historian, intellectual, musicologist, Indologist, and a noted Western convert to and expert on Shaivite Hinduism.-Life:...

  • Girilal Jain
    Girilal Jain
    Girilal Jain , was an Indian journalist. He served as the editor of The Times of India from 1978 till 1988. He was sympathetic to Hindu nationalism and authored books on the subject, the best known of which, The Hindu Phenomenon, was published posthumously.-Personal life:Girilal Jain was born in a...

  • Vivekananda Kendra
    Vivekananda Kendra
    Vivekananda Kendra is a Hindu spiritual organisation based on the principles preached by Swami Vivekananda. It was founded 7 January 1972 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India by Shri Ekanathji Ranade. Its current president is P. Parameswaran.-Sphere of influence:...

  • Vivekananda Rock Memorial
    Vivekananda Rock Memorial
    Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a sacred monument and popular tourist attraction in Vavathurai, Kanyakumari, India. The memorial stands on one of two rocks located about 500 meters off mainland of Vavathurai, India's southernmost tip...


External links

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