Narayan Wamanrao Tilak

Narayan Wamanrao Tilak ("alt.": "Narayan Vamanrao Tilak" or "Narayan Vaman Tilak" or "Narayan Waman Tilak"), a noted Marathi poet, patriot and social activist, was a Chitpavan Brahmin from Konkan who left Hinduism to follow Jesus Christ.

Narayan Waman Tilak was born in Karajgaon village in Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra, India on 6th December 1861. Being born as feet first was the cause of his father’s contempt towards him. (Birth of such children, is considered by Hindus as inauspicious or as a bad omen). He was married to a girl named Manakaranika Gokhale (Lakshmibai Tilak) in A.D. 1880.15 years of Tilak’s marriage was largely characterised by moving from place to place because of his service. With the patronage of Appasaheb Buti of Nagpur he started a Marathi magazine ‘Rishi’. Later on he joined in service with the Rajanandgaon Sansthan (princely state in Central Province). Once, travelling to Rajanadgaon in the train a copy of the Bible was given to Tilak by a missionary. Tilak read the Bible just because he had promised to the white man that he would eventually read it. He could clearly see in the teachings of Jesus, the answers to all the things that worried him about religion. In fact he was going to start a new religion himself and was amazed to find the answers he was seeking in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. Then without informing his wife Laxmibai, Tilak went to Mumbai and accepted to follow Jesus Christ on 10th February 1895. This was a terrible shock to Laxmibai and caused separation in the two. Laxmibai who was striving hard to win back her husband to her side, herself became Christian after five years. After accepting Christ and Christianity, Tilak served the church for about 24 years as an "acharya" (priest) teaching and preaching from the Bible the message of Jesus Christ. He started using Indian traditional methods of worship like "bhajan" (devotional worship song) and "kirtan"(sermon delivered in song and poetry) in the assembly of people who believed in Jesus. He himself composed hundreds of devotional songs in "abhanga" and "ovi" (different styles of Marathi devotional poetry) forms. There is not a church, at least in Maharashtra, which has not been blessed by singing Tilak’s devotional songs. His activity of composition was continuously going on even when he was on his deathbed. Tilak was prolific writer and he has more than 2100 poems to his credit, even though in the counting we have considered his epic work ‘Khristayana’ and his long poems as one poem as such. He departed his earthly life on 9th of May 1919.

See also

Channappa Uttangi