Dr A B Sai Prasad* discusses the role played by Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu, ‘an uncompromising opponent of Religion’, in popularizing Buddhism in the 19th century, the mantle currently borne by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“In history textbooks,” according to Dev Dutta Patnaik, “religion starts with a leader. When the founder (of a religion) dies, he is replaced by an institution.” (Papas And Politics, T O I April 22,2025).
As far as the Buddhism is concerned Maha Siddha Buddhagupth Natha (1514-1610) of the 16th century revived Buddhism in India as well as in several other parts of Asia, North Africa etc. after Buddha’s Maha Nirvana. In the 20th century, Buddhism owes its popular influence on the people because of His Holiness Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, the world’s best-known Buddhist and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1989). Before HH Dalai Lama’s arrival in India (1959), Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu of Madras’ (Chennai), Pachaiyappa’s college, along with stalwarts like Anagarika H Dharmapala, M Sringaravelu, G Aloysius, Sahodara Ayyappan and Ayothi Thasar strived for the propagation of Buddhism in India.Dr B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of our Constitution, eulogized Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu as ‘the Prodigy of the 19th Century’.
Being a victim of upper caste oppression right from his childhood, Dr BR Ambedkar was in search of an alternative to the Hindu religion. His guru KA Keluskar gifted him a Marathi book by name ‘Buddha Charita’ in 1908. Having read this book, Dr Ambedkar became more and more inquisitive to know more and more about Buddhism. He began to gather information about Buddhism from different sources. In his quest for answers, he once stumbled upon a book on Buddhism entitled ‘The Essence of Buddhism’ authored by Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu, popularly known as Prof. Narasu or PLN. The book published in 1907 had ‘already created waves across the Buddhist world’.
As Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu was of Telugu origin, Dr Ambedkar contacted Sri Pattabhi Sita Ramaiah of Congress party to know more about Professor Lakshmi Narasu. He was briefed by Sri Pattabhi Sita Ramaiah. He meticulously studied that book. As it was out of print, he published the third edition of the book in the year 1948 as it was the standard book on the Shakya Buddhist Society. In his foreword, Dr Ambedkar has written, “In recent times, many people from different parts of India have been asking me to recommend a good book on Buddhism. In responding to their wishes, I felt no hesitation in suggesting Professor Narasu’s book. I think that it is the best book on Buddhism, that has appeared so far.”
Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu hails from a Kapu family which migrated to Madras (Chennai) from Guntur (AP). He was born in a wealthy family in 1861. His father, Pokala Chellam Narayan Guru, (some have mentioned Garu-an honorific plural affix in Telugu instead of Guru). Sri Chellam Narayan Guru was a prominent lawyer in the High Court of Madras. Professor PLN’s mother hails from a traditional Iyengar Brahmin community. He had a sister by name Andal Ammal. He had three brothers namely Krishna Swamy, Ramanujam, and Bhashyam. May be because of his wife’s influence, Pokala Chellam Naraya Guru gave typical Iyengar names to his issues. Narasu may be short form of Narasimham. In 1911, Professor PLN’s two brothers – Ramanujam and Bhashyam – died in a train accident. Professor Narasu married Rukmini Ammal. She was also very active in public life through a women’s Welfare Association. Narasu had ten children, but only two could survive. His son Venkat died in Paris while he was pursuing his studies. He had a daughter by name Veera Lakshmi. About Veera Lakshmi’s progeny, records are not available for the time being. Prof. Narasu’s wife too died after the death of their son. In 1925, professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu married Ramaratnam Ammal, as per Buddhist rites in the Perambur Viharam.
Pokala Lakshmi Narasu (he had Naidu suffix to his name. As he was against caste system, he gave it up). Pokala Lakshmi Narasu did his BA (Physics) from Madras University’s Madras Christian College. He was 20 years old, when he got his BA degree from Madras University. According to Ramesh (www.the hindu.com/feature/Friday-review/history-miscellany-the-essential updated August17,2016, Chennai), he joined Madras Christian College as an Assistant Professor of Physics. He oversaw Physics and Chemistry teaching for BA students. It was an almost unheard of for someone so young. (Maybe because of his rationalist views, he could not continue in Madras Christian College). He moved to Bishop Hebar college, Tiruchirappalli. From there, he shifted his base to Madras and joined Pachaiyappa’s College in the year 1909. As a professor of Physics, he was at the college for 16 long years. Prof. PLN retired from teaching in the year 1925.
Prof. PLN was joint winner of ‘Jagirdar of Arani Gold Medal of 1892-94’. His main interest as a professor was exact sciences. His papers on the subject have been published in science journals around the world. He had defeated many European and British scholars in debates on the subject. (mr.wekipedia.org/wiki/p-Lakshmi-Narasu). Writing on a textbook written by Professor Lakshmi Narasu, Sri Mangesh Dehiwala, a prominent Human Rights Activist, says, “recently, I have discovered a textbook written by great Narasu on Chemistry. The book is titled as ‘Elementary Science’. This book is amazing and I never felt that the subject matter of Chemistry was so well explained with corresponding experiments. It is thrilling to read a textbook like that. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the pedagogy of science. (velivada.com/2019/07/29/legacy-of-narasu – and revival-of Buddhism-in-India). His commitment to Rationalism, his interest in wireless telegraphy, then in its infancy, and his knowledge in Dynamics was reason enough for him to become well known. He was also interested in Society, Art, Philosophy, History, Culture, and Religion. He was fluent in English, French, Tamil, Telugu, Japanese, Sanskrit and Pali. His magnum opus, The Essence of Buddhism proves this. Mr. Nidhi Sobhana of Round Table India says, ‘he also wrote in Tamil, often in collaboration with VPS Monier and Perambai Manickkam.
Scanning the merits of professor PLN, Sri Anagarika H Dharmapala, while writing an introduction to his much discussed and popular book The Essence of Buddhism says, “The author is a scientist and as such deserves to be heard. Professor Narasu is a product of Western culture. He is a scion of an ancient Dravidian family. He completed his education in Western lore under European masters and is now professor of science in a first-grade college (Read Pachaiyappa’s College). The superstitions of religion he has abandoned for scientific truth, and his studies in the dominion of comparative religion has been accentuated by his observation in the practical daily life of the yogis of South India. (Maha Bodhi Head Quarters, Isipatana, Sarnath, Benares, April 28,1907).
About Professor PLN, Dr Ambedkar has this to say, “Professor Narasu fought against European arrogance with patriotic zeal, with an idolatrous zeal against Sanatanic (orthodox) Hindutva, with national vision with hypocritical Brahmins and an intellectual approach against aggressive Christianity. He did all this work under the inspirational flag (Guidance) of the teachings of great Tathagata Samyak Sambuddha. (1948, foreword to Narasu’s book The Essence of Buddhism).
According to world cat.org, between 1907 and 2019, The Essence of Buddhism saw 53 editions in English and Japanese and was held by 248 libraries across the world. Prof. Narasu’s ‘The Essence of Buddhism’ was in great demand in Japan. It was translated by Czechoslovak’s Foreign Minister Jean Masaric himself in 1916 and considered it as the country’s guiding book.
“Professor Lakshmi Narasu is a priceless product of Modern Buddhist Movement in India” (Nidhin Shobhana of Round Table). Nidhin hobhana further says, ‘he did not lead a quite isolated life in legitimate university spaces. Narasu found himself in the thick of anti-caste public sphere of Madras. He was directly involved in the spread of Buddhism through the South Indian Buddhist Association and its Perambur branch’. He was an important civic personality and was closely Associated with many organizations. He was the Secretary of the Social Reforms Association. He was the honorary secretory of Madras Mahajana Sabha and secretary, National Fund and Industrial Association. He was a fellow of Madras University. He actively tried to interpret Indian History through the Prism of Buddhism. Professor Narasu understands and explains the rise of Buddhism against Brahmanism. Nidhin Shobhana observes, “Such understanding is found in the writings of Dr BR Ambedkar.” Along with stalwarts like T Sringaravelu and Ayothi Thasar, Prof, Narasu founded the South Indian Buddhist Association (Sakya Buddhist Society) in Madras Presidency and invited Anagarika Dharmapala to Madras to inaugurate it in 1890.
He conducted census of Buddhists in Madras. He was amazed to know that there were 18,000 Buddhists living in Madras. He organized four Buddhist conferences in the then Madras Presidency. The very first conference was held in 1917 at Moore Pavilion Peoples Park, Madras. The second conference was held at Bangalore (Bengaluru) in 1920. The third one at Madras in 1928 and the fourth one at Tirupatthur, Kolar Gold Fields, in 1932.
He went to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and publicly took initiation into Buddhism. He then spent his entire life preaching Buddhism. During 1930’s Prof. Narasu was actively associated with Thanthai Periyar EVK Ramaswamy’s Rationalist Movement.
Prof. Pokala Lakshmi Narasu breathed his last on July14,1934 due to heart problems. His body was cremated in a simple Buddhist ceremony in the Mylapore burning yard.
Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu has written four books – The Essence of Buddhism (1907), What is Buddhism (1916), The religion of Modern Buddhist and The Study of Caste, which was written and published during the peak of Narasu’s political and academic career. Professor Narasu published this book at the age of 61, 12 years prior to his death. In his foreword to this book, Prof. Narasu has written: “This book is based on articles originally contributed to a weekly of Madras devoted to social reform. Caste organization crushes the individual under its dead weight and hinders progress by killing all consciousness of liberty.
PL Narasu
367 Mint Street, Madras
2nd January,1922
(Printed at the Vavilla Press, Madras,1922)
Points raised by Narasu finds evidence in the work of EAH Blunt’s ‘The Caste System of North India’, first published in 1931. Narasu observes that, ‘All kinds of professions have always been open to Brahmins. Far from confining themselves to the study of the sacred books they have acted as kings, soldiers, merchants, cooks, agriculturists and labourers (Page 25). Professor Lakshmi Narasu points out that the ‘Iranian Avesta and the language of Vedas are similar. Like Varna system, Indo Iranian society is also divided into four classes – Atharvas (Priests), Warriors, Husbandmen and Artisans. Similarly, the ‘sacred thread’ had great symbolic meaning in the rituals.’ This book is equally popular and has seen more than a dozen editions. This book is considered as ‘a priceless product of the modern Buddhism in India.’
Baba Saheb Ambedkar had a copy of the book The Religion of Modern Buddhist in the manuscript which was later acquired by G Aloysius, the great scholar of the Buddhist Movement in South India. The copy of the manuscript was available with Vasanth Moon. G Aloysius has edited this book. Wordsmith published this book in 2002. (ISBN9788187412052). It contains 318 pages.
In Dr Ambedkar’s Caravan’s post, 30 December 2012, the author says: “Recently, I came across two important articles by prof. Narasu written before a year he died. These articles were published in the English weekly Rationalist, run by the Non-Brahmin Movement under Thanthai Periyar. The first article Individualism appeared in an October 21,1933 edition and the second article Free Enquiry appeared in an October 28, 1933 issue. (Editor: S Ramanathan. Published Every Saturday. Price One Anna.)
“Professor Narasu is the veteran rationalist of South India and an educationist of eminence. He is an advocate of ‘Free Thought’ and an uncompromising opponent of Religion. At the college, his lectures were illuminated with witty hits against popular superstitions. He was 72 years old at that time.” (S. Ramanathan, Editor, The Rationalist Weekly, October 21,1933). Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu is indeed the Buddhist Prodigy of not only the 19th Century but also the 20th Century.
-Dr A B Sai Prasad
D 102 Chartered Coronet, Arakere Mico Layout, L&T South City Main Road,
Bengaluru-560076.
Cell Phone: 9980567541.
Email: dr.saiprasadanantapur@gmail.com
Quotable Quotes from Professor Pokala Lakshmi Narasu’s Oeuvre ‘The Essence of Buddhism’
- Buddhism is a system of philosophy and practical ethics rather than a Religion. (Page 21)
- In Buddhism there are no beliefs which are not the outcome of knowledge. (Page 23)
- Buddha did not say: “You must not trust to yourself. You must depend wholly on me.” (page 29)
- The goal of Buddhism is the freedom from sorrow and suffering. (Page 39)
- The Buddhists were the first to enjoin total abstinence from strong drinks in India. (page 51)
- The fundamental idea of Buddhism is Maitri, Universal love. (Page 61)
- Buddhism does not teach that man is by nature evil. (page 62)
- Between ashes and gold there is a marked difference, but between a Brahmana and a Chandala there is nothing of the kind. (page 71)
- For those who join the Sangha there is no caste. (page 74)
- The purity of blood for which some men stickle is a pure myth. (Page 85)
- Buddha broke down the barriers of caste and preached the equality of all mankind. (Page 88)
- Buddhist religion is a religion of free individuals. (Page 95)
- Nothing can really be more untrue than the identification of Buddhism with any form of Pessimism, (Page 119)
- True religion is not that which turns man into cur, but that which makes him more of a man and removes from him the feeling of dependence. (Page 124)
- For Buddhism life is ‘neither as pretty as rose pink nor as dirty as drab. (Page 125)
(PDF Copy of the book from the library of the University of California)
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* A retired Professor of Hindi from Chennai’s Pachaiyapp’s College, octogenarian Dr A B Saj Prasad is a freelance writer in Hindi, Telugu and English as well as a translator, with fluency in six languages, including Tamil and Kannada, while his mother tongue is Marathi. He has participated in national and international seminars in these languages and is a recipient of Uttar Pradesh Hindi Samsthan’s Souhardha Puraskar. He was also an editor and is actively connected with three Telugu monthlies – Misimi, Supatha (Hyderabad) Sapthagiri (Tirupathi) – and English magazine Bhavan’s Journal, Mumbai.