Alasinga Perumal

Who was Alasinga Perumal?

Alasinga Perumal was a propagator of Vedanta and an ardent supporter of Swami Vivekananda. Born in an orthodox Vaishnavite family at Chikkamagalur of Mysore, he took his education in Madras. After obtaining a B.A. degree in science he started his career as a school teacher.

Around 1890—1891, he got the information of the upcoming Parliament of the World's Religions of 1893. Alasinga and his friends felt this could be a wonderful opportunity for them to present the ideals of Hinduism and Vedanta to the world. In December 1892 Vivekananda went to Madras and when Alasinga and his friends met him, they immediately felt that Vivekananda was the best candidate to represent India in the Parliament. He and his friends worked to collect money for Vivekananda' journey. In August 1893, Vivekananda informed Alasinga from America about the financial troubles he was facing at that time. After receiving this information, Alasinga borrowed 1000 from a merchant, and even sold his wife's gold ornament to collect money for Vivekananda.

In 1896, under the inspiration of Vivekananda, Alasinga started publishing a religious journal Brahmavadin.