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Swami Vipulananda | |
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| Born | Mylvaganam Samithamby (1892-03-27)27 March 1892 |
| Died | 19 July 1947(1947-07-19) (aged 55) |
| Resting place | Monument at Sivananda Vidyalayam |
| Other names | Vipulananda Adigal Muththamizh Viththagar Mylvaganam Swamigal |
| Education | Bachelor of Science |
| Occupation | Professor |
| Employer | University of Ceylon |
| Known for | Hindureformer |
Swami Vipulananda (Tamil:சுவாமி விபுலாநந்தர்; 27 March 1892 – 20 July 1947), also known asVipulananda Adigal, was aSri Lankan TamilHindu social reformer, literary critic, author, poet, teacher andascetic from the Eastern Province ofSri Lanka. Vipulananda was an early pioneer associated with theIndian-basedRamakrishna Mission in Sri Lanka. Along with other reformers, Vipulananda was instrumental in the revival of the Hindu religion and native traditions in Sri Lanka after a long period of dormancy and decline during the previous 500 years ofcolonial rule by variousEuropean powers.[1][2]
Vipulananda was born in the village ofKarativu, in the south ofBatticaloa in Sri Lanka in 1892. His father's name was Samiththamby and mother's name was Kannamma. His birth name was Mylvaganam. Vipulananda had his early education in St. Michael's College National School inBatticaloa city. After completing his high school education at the age of 16, Vipulananda became a teacher in various cities across the island nation. During his tenure as a teacher he completed hisBachelor of Sciencedegree from theUniversity of London, and also became the first Sri LankanTamilPandithar, a degree awarded by theTamil Nadu-basedMadurai Tamil Sangam, alinguistics academy created to promote the study of Tamil language. Vipulananda eventually became the head of operations of theRamakrishna Mission in Sri Lanka as well as aprofessor of Tamil language in two universities.[1][2]
Apart from Vipulananda's knowledge ofTamil he also knewEnglish,Greek,Latin,Sanskrit andSinhala.
After researchingTamil music and other Indian musical forms andmusical instruments for many years, Vipulananda produced the seminal book of scientific research in Tamil called theYazh Nool, orBook of Stringed Musical Instruments, which was published just before he died in 1947. The book was an effort by the author to understand and explain the intricacies and technicalities of genre of Tamil music in general, and the stringed musical instruments in particular, using modern techniques and tools of research and calculations based onmathematics andphysics.Yal Nool is recognized as a unique work of its kind.[3]
Using the literary traditions in Sanskrit, Greek and English he wroteMathangaculamani, a translation of twelve ofShakespeare's plays, as atreatise ondrama with commentaries focusing on various aspects of drama such as the plot, structure, sequence of action, characterization, subjective experience and gestures. ProfessorChelva Kanaganayagam, in a critical review ofMathangaculamani, concludes that
The major contribution of the text is its attempt to establish drama as a valid academic discipline rather than provide a basis for performance.
Vipulananda also served as editor of several publications includingRamakrishna Vijayam (Tamil),Vivekananda (Tamil) andPrabuddha Bharata (English). He also edited and helped publish literary works of several well-known scholars. His translations from English to Tamil include selected writings ofSwami Vivekananda,BengaliNobel LaureateRabindra Nath Tagore andhistorianKathiresan Chettiar. He also translated from Tamil to English selected poems from theSangam literature period, devotional songs from theBhakti movement period, and poems ofSubramanya Bharathi and Navaneetha Krishna Bharathi.
Vipulananda authored six major Tamil publications: a collection of fourPrabanthangal,Mathangaculamani,The Great Dance of Thillai,Umamageswaram (all related toSaiva traditions of the Hindu religion),Dictionary of Technical Terms on Chemistry andYal Nool. A collection of 170 essays, written from 1914 to 1947, were published posthumously in four parts in1995. He also wrote many poems, and a collection of 32 of his poems was published in 1995. He was a good public speaker and most of his speeches, focusing mainly on history of the Tamils,Tamil literature, Tamil music and musical instruments, andVedanta philosophy, were published in international journals and magazines.[1][2]
Founded in 1897 bySwami Vivekananda, the disciple ofRamakrishna, the Ramakrishna Mission is a unique order of ascetics and volunteers dedicated to service to community, irrespective ofreligious,caste,creed orlanguage differences. The mission, while promoting spiritual development, does not believe in religious conversion. The mission's charitable and philanthropic activities focus mainly on the provision of educational and medical services to the weaker segment of the population through schools, hospitals and orphanages run by the mission. It became a counter weight toChristian missionary-run charitable organizations throughoutSouth Asia.
Vipulananda initially met the head of theMylapore Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Sarvananda,[4] inColombo in 1916. This was followed up with another visit inJaffna in 1917. He entered the Mylapore Ramakrishna Math in 1922 for his monastic training. On completion of the training in 1924, he was given the name Vipulananda. After his ordination he dedicated his life to educational and spiritual pursuits and service to the community in Sri Lanka and India.
In 1925 Vipulananda became an administrator of Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) schools in Sri Lanka. He was instrumental in founding new RKM schools inJaffna, Batticalao, Trincomalee and in many villages. He also founded orphanages – two for boys atVaitheeswara Vidyalayam, Jaffna and Sivananda Vidyalayam inBatticaloa, and one for girls in Karativu. Thereafter, a number of RKM schools were opened in several remote villages in the North and East of Sri Lanka. This provided an alternative to the natives to go to schools and orphanages that were not associated with westernChristian missionaries.[1][2] He also helped his lifelong friendA. M. A. Azeez, a pioneering Sri LankanMuslim educator andcivil servant, to establish charitable organizations to help poor Muslims in the east of the country.[5][6]
As a noted educationist, scholar and community worker, Vipulananda was invited by theUniversity of Madras to present its case for the establishment of a Tamil University to the special commission set up to investigate the proposal. On the recommendation of the commission, theAnnamalai University was opened in 1927. In 1931 he became its first Professor of Tamil language. Professor Vipulananda also received a second invitation to become the first Professor of Tamil soon after theUniversity of Ceylon was established in 1943, which he held until his death in 1947. Thus Professor Vipulananda enjoys the unique distinction of being the first scholar to be appointed the first professor of Tamil in two Universities in two different countries.
Vipulananda was a strong advocate of themother tongue as themedium of education, but stressed the importance of learning other languages. At Sivananda Vidyalayam, in addition to Tamil, Vipulananda facilitated the teaching of English, Sinhala and Latin. He also recognized and promoted the importance of learning sciences such as biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics, as well as job-related technical subjects. He facilitated the efforts of other Tamil scholars to translate science and technology publications into Tamil by providing suitable technical terms.
Based on his critical studies of some of Professor Vipulananda's writings, Mr.K.S. Sivakumaran, one of the notable literary critics from Sri Lanka, has called him a pioneer of Tamil literary criticism and the first Sri Lankan Tamil literary critic.
As a social reformer, Vipulananda led the movement to recognizeSubramanya Bharathi, aBrahmin by birth, as theMaha Kavi (National Poet), and succeeded despite strong opposition from socially and politically powerful elites due to Bharathi's anti caste views and his opposition to the perpetuation of the caste system and thesuperstitious practices andrituals. As anationalist, he hoisted theIndian flag on the occasion of the visit of SirGeorge Fredrick Stanley to theAnnamalai University for the 1937 convocation, while India was still aBritish possession.
There are number of institutions named after him in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka andGermany have issued stamps honoring him.[1][2][5] He died after a brief illness on July 19, 1947. Swami Vipulananda is buried close to the Sivananda Vidyalayam inKalladi, near Batticaloa city. (see picturehere).
Other social reformers from Sri Lanka of the same period
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