31 Jan 2013
Shivaji and Swaraj
The Plague
To rule India, Britishers have made our history look like as if we have always been ruled. They changed our history books, erased the monuments of our rich culture, looted the wealth and transported it to Europe. They used “Divide and Rule” strategy to bring down our self-esteem. This plague still continues…
Before Britishers, we were under the rule of Mughals. People were distressed, going through unimagined torture, conversion, our culture was under threat of getting destroyed. Suffering had become a common day-to-day lifestyle. People had lost faith in their abilities and became servants and mute spectators. Volumes can be written on this account of state of suffering and torture which is still unknown to common readers.
The Oath of Swaraj
A 16 year old boy stood against all this in 17th century. His name Chatrapati Shivaji. He took an oath of “Swaraj” – the land to be ruled by our own people with a just system. The dream of this young boy was looked upon by the people as a joke. Many laughed at him. Why wouldn’t they! The situation of India – a legacy of 5 Sultanates, an ongoing 400 year old tyranny and Mughals had the best army in the world. Taking on to such an onslaught was obviously looked upon as madness. But this child chose the madness for his own countryman. His readiness was result of teachings and values nurtured by his mother through spiritual upbringing. He was inspired by our culture – Ramayana, Mahabharata and also stories of Maharana Pratap, Ramaraja from Hampi.
Rising from the ashes
He started from zero and rose to a phoenix making people wonder. Fight was against one of the best armies of the world. With him – determination and abundant grace! Every fight he fought has become a legend. His army did wonders. He lead from the front sometime entering into army camp of 50,000 with just 400 soldiers and making enemy leave the city in a weeks’ time. Many such happening happened around him.
Later he even lost his 70% of the hard earned kingdom to Mughals and had to give up the fight. He was arrested in enemy stronghold in Agra. He escaped and came back with a bang – regrouped, regained and established more than before within a short period. This feat in history is unmatched, unimagined and unparalleled. Even in this consistent war period he kept his people happy with perfect administration. Besides a perfect warrior, he was a skilled administrator, statesman and the best leader ever.
A Leader with a Vision
He was a visionary who dreamt and created leaders. He raised peasants, farmers, downtrodden and poor people to glory and instilled confidence which changed the course of our history. His army even had 20 to 30 % of Muslim soldiers and able commanders from different states of India. He turned the mice into lions. And for generations to come those lions were ready to die for the cause of country even after he left his body.
The Glory never died
The glory of Chhatrapati Shivaji continued even after his death. Aurangzeb came to conquer complete India till Kanyakumari with the huge army of 5 lac. It is said that his camp was spread across 30 miles. Chatrapatti Shivaji was gone, his son was tortured to death, daughter captured by enemy and commander in chief of army killed. Another son had to escape to Tamilnadu (Jinji). All other kingdoms were rushed over within 6 months. Highly outnumbered to fight against such a huge army with no central leadership, his countrymen still continued fighting for 27 years without giving up changing all equations in the history of India. They had no guarantee of continuous income as a soldier. For them the easiest thing could have been to change the party. But most of them chose to fight. Why? To maintain Chatrapati’s vision, to protect the Indian culture, to protect the human values and more than that to protect the motherland they belonged to. Aurangzeb lost almost everything and died in the end.
Inspiration for many
People have written in length about Chatrapatti Shivaji and his leadership. His vision was of a better India; to regain the values under the guidance of his mother and his Guru, Shree Samarth Ramdas Swami. Chhatrapati Shivaji was not only an inspiration for his country, soldiers and freedom fighters but also outside India example being Vietnam. According to Vivekananda – “Is there a greater hero, a greater saint, a greater bhakta and a greater king than Shivaji? Shivaji was the very embodiment of a born ruler of men as typified in our great Epics. He was the type of the real son of India representing the true consciousness of the nation. It was he who showed what the future of India is going to be sooner or later, a group of independent units under one umbrella as it were, under one supreme imperial suzerainty.”
What Next NOW?
Whenever there has been a downfall or threat to this culture, great leaders under the guidance of spiritual Masters have come forth, fought for the cause and given a call of awakening to the entire nation. Many followed them and offered their services for making the dream into reality. Who were they? They were Volunteers – Volunteers for a Better India.
This was just 450 years back and NOW is the time to rise again to create the history for the Matrubhumi cutting across the barriers of regionalism, religion and caste. The current situation in India- apathy, corruption, distress in farmers, religious disharmony, collapsed pathetic political system with central focus of creating the vote banks is nothing but Divide and rule strategy. We cannot be just mute spectators. We need to become volunteers – Volunteers for a Better India.
Fighting alone with the system will not help but as a group we can bring about the transformation. Why not get inspired from our own history and expand our boundaries and vision to make our country a better place for us and for the future generations.
Let us dream and stand up for the country and let us establish the rule – “For the people and by the people”
For this let us be part of the history in making.Your country needs 1 hr a day from you. Nothing more!
When Grace is flowing in abundance and the victory is obvious I just need to stand up with a “YES” in the mind.
When Grace is flowing in abundance and the victory is obvious I just need to stand up with a “YES” in the mind.
- Volunteer for better India – www.vfabi.org
- Yogesh Jadhav
Yogesh Jadhav is a software Engineer currently working in Sumeru Solutions. He has also taught the Art of Living course in India and Europe. Passionate about History and has studied Chatrapati Shivaji in great depth. More articles to come on his blog http://withyogesh.wordpress.
About Author
yogesh u have touch my heart yar now on words i will work full time for my country and Volunteer For Better India
Thanks dear…VFABI
dis shivaji abolish caste system ?
- Anoop
Yes Anoop, He was the only one that time who has changed the old pattern of higher caste higher post. The positions in his army were based on the merit. There are instances where he himself visited the houses of lower castes and ate food. jGD
Inspiring… Well written.
Am too big fan of Shivaji Maharaj.
Thanks Deep
Very inspiring nd needed desperately at this time.thank u so much.
Great – thanks sukant
Superb article yogesh bhaiyya.
Jai Shivaji.
Thank you abhiramji
) ..still waiting for CST 
amazing article- marathi manus jaga ho….loved the article- very inspiring and so needed right now.
wonderful!! apt to the T!!!
Thanks monica
Very inspiring post..
great
thanks lalita
Good one Dear….you have refreshed out memories…
Thanks sagar
Very timely…I think now we need multiple Shivaji’s to create a better India. Thanks for telling the story of one of my Inspirational Leader of India.
nicely compiled…. I m sure it wil inspire many……….
Indeed I too agree with Raghav. We need many more Shivajis now and let that start from our own self. There is a Shivaji in everyone who aspires for a better India. Nicely written article. The line I loved the most is
When Grace is flowing in abundance and the victory is obvious I just need to stand up with a “YES” in the mind.
Amazing, loved it
This is a great story of how focus and determination can help bring about changes in society. Bhartiya manus jaga ho!!!
Thanks all…….When Master is with us….Everything is possible….and For that matter we need People ranging from different communities and backgrounds…….dropping the idea of local identity to Indian identity….Rashtraniti
..and it is happening 
Indeed. I remembered, Chanakya’s Vision instantly after reading this.
Loved this paragraph.
“Whenever there has been a downfall or threat to this culture, great leaders under the guidance of spiritual Masters have come forth, fought for the cause and given a call of awakening to the entire nation.”
Wow… I remember, similar fire had created, when I was watching Chanakya serial on TV. Really, spiritual Master have created public revolutions time & again so many times. Chanakya’s vision & his ‘Chanakya Neeti’ inspires me a lot, what he had done in that era. Chanakya had created similar revolution to save The Great Indian Culture. He had created the great leader of that time, Ashoka !!
Really, time has come again, Volunteers for Better India are rising again under the guidance of another Great spiritual Master, The Shri Shri Ravi Shankar !! I am really on for it !!
Wow !!!
Even dead will come out of the grave & get inspired to work for Volunteer for Better India, after reading this Article.
Fire is burning inside me now !!
Lets take control in our Hands Now !! Chak De !!
Jai Gurudev.
Very wonderful realistic article ….
Yes dada, u r correct. The current generation has forgotten the glorious history of our motherland. The time has come to make people aware of our rich culture and inspire youth to contribute to regain our glorious past.
We never realize even we can create a history…..Working in present for better India….we surely are a part of glorious History……
WOW quite inspiring and Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai !!!!!!
very well written dear…thanks for sharing…