JUN-20 BOUDHIK YOJANA
Jun 7 – 2020 Samachar Sameeksha
The construction of a grand temple on Ram Janmabhoomi has started from today (26 May), announced Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.
The Mahant made this announcement after performing a puja at the newly built makeshift temple structure which now houses the Ram Lalla idol. This new structure built out of fibre and is located at Manas Bhawan.
Earlier the work on removing debris and land levelling was underway at the site. It was during this process that a five-foot Shivaling, seven pillars of black touchstone, six pillars of red sandstone and broken idols of Devi-Devtas were discovered.
Also, the lockdown and the Corona crisis have not prevented devotees of Lord Ram from making donations to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, which is responsible for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
A sum of Rs 4.60 crore has been deposited in the two accounts of the trust during the lockdown period.
This is a moment which comes once in a lifetime or in a millennium, when a new system is evolving out of the ruins of old. Reconstruction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya will be an epochal event in Hindu renaissance.
It will be complete only when all desecrated, dilapidated or temples turned into other places of worship are reclaimed and restored in their past glory. Only then will the Pran Pratistha of Hindu soul be complete.
Further Reading: 1) Hindu Temples: What Happened to them? By Sita Ram Goyal 2) The Ayodhya Reference: Supreme Court Judgement
Jun-14-2020 Hindu Samrajya Diwas
Hindu Samrajya Diwas or coronation of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is one of the 6 Utsav celebrated by RSS. It was an epochal movement in the medieval history of India. After a millennium long struggle against Islamic invaders a Hindu king was being coronated.
Context
It had been almost 950 years after the first attack on Sindh in 712 CE. Delhi Sultanate had been for 580 years after the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan. The rulers in Delhi had changed but they professed same alien faith and were inimical to anything Bhartiya. The invasion reached Deccan or South in 13th century under Allauddin Khilji and his generals reached till Madurai. The first bulwark against these barbaric invasions was Vijayanagar Empire in 14th century which stopped the onslaught for two centuries. However battle of Talikota destroyed the mighty empire and even the capital Hampi was plundered. A long lineage of saints was born during these times who gave the required leadership during these dark times and provided succor. However the dire situation has been described in their literature and in one of the couplet Samarth Ramdas describes “He is unhappy because he cannot find a single soul who is happy, a man does not have enough to eat, he does not have enough to sleep, there is nobody who can lead during these difficult times”. In a similar vein Saint Tukaram says “O God, where are you sleeping, come fast and help.”
Struggle
Shivaji Maharaj took oath at the temple of Raireshwar in 1646 to fight and establish Hindavi Swarajya. He was dismissed as a youthful rebel who did not know what he was getting into. But slowly and surely the movement gained strength. Initially it was freeing territory from Adilshahi, a Deccan Sultanate but slowly the challenge was against Mughals, the biggest empire in Asia. His kingdom spanned a continuous territory including Western Maharashtra and Konkan. It was a thorn in the free run of colonial powers not only like Mughals but Portuguese, English, Dutch and Abyssinian Siddis. The movement went from strength to strength and defeated mightiest generals in India like Afzalkhan, Siddi Jouhar, Shahistekhan, Kartalabkhan etc. Initially the movement relied heavily on guerrilla warfare but after 1670, Hindu armies were trumping the Mughal armies in open grounds.
Need
It cannot be proved conclusively who was the inspiration behind Rajyabhishek. Historical sources point towards multiple inspiration like Jijamata (Shivaji Maharaj’s mother), Balaji Awaji (his secretary), Gagabhatt (priest of the ceremony) and Samarth Ramdas. An authority like Samarth Ramdas seems to be the most likely inspiration behind the coronation ceremony. All competing forces of Shivaji Maharaj had a legal Sultan so had the authority to confer titles, prizes, land i.e jagir, contracts and carried a legal authority. A misconception had taken root that in Kaliyug, only a Yavan or Muslim can be a ruler and Hindus won’t have political authority.
These Sultans had conferred the tile of Raja on several local chieftains who plundered the local populace and Shivaji Maharaj was considered equal to them. Although people loved him as a chief, there was no legal authority supporting him and hence for any civil matters they considered Adilshah or Mughals as authority. To clear this dichotomy and instill confidence among Hindus, a need was felt of a grand coronation as per Vedic rituals. A grand ceremony was held at Raigad, presided by Gagabhatt and probably attended by twenty thousand people, Shivaji Maharaj was coronated on 6th June 1674 early morning hours.
Significance
Bharat has a history spanning over 8 to 10 millenium and several empires have been formed and dismantled. Emperors have been crowned who extended their borders and created mighty empires of the known world like Maurya, Gupta, Chola, Pandyas, Rashtrakutas and several others. What stands out in the coronation of Shivaji Maharaj to make it an important event in history and also a festival for RSS ?
When Shivaji Maharaj was asked about his mission, he is said to have replied “To free the land from Manasarovar to Kaveri from slavery of foreign rule”. He was a king who was described as Dillindra-pad-lispava (king who aspired to rule from Delhi). There was a definite pan-India vision which was inspiration for the movement. Hence even after demise of Shivaji Maharaj, movement turned a small kingdom into a mighty empire and produced a galaxy of leaders like Sambhaji Maharaj, Bajirao Peshwa and others. In 1757, Marathas reached till Attock, and even made the Mughal emperor as their pensioner. It was not a regional movement as British and later Marxist historians described it.
Another important aspect of the movement was Shivaji Maharaj always described “Hindawi Swarajya is created as per God’s will.” He firmly believed that it was God’s work and instilled the same in his followers. Everyone who was fighting for independence had a firm commitment that he was performing his Dharma. They were not fighting for a king or creating a kingdom for Bhonsale dynasty but they were fighting for Dharma. Hence even when Aurangzeb landed in Deccan and used all his might, tortured and killed Sambhaji Maharaj, his successor Rajaram Maharaj died untimely, struggle continued for 27 years and ended with death of Aurangzeb. It is an ideal example of Tatva being bigger than a human being and winning over all odds.
Further reading: 1) Shakakarte Shivaray by Vijay Deshmukh 2) Raja Shivchatrapati by Babasaheb Purandare 3) Yugapravartak by H V Sheshadri 4) Hindu Padpadshahi by V D Savarkar
Jun-21-2020 Atmanirbharta
Prime Minister in his address to the nation has given a clarion call to the nation about Atmanirbharta. It is as if he has set the cat among the pigeons with multiple interpretations of the vision being discussed and debated. It can be loosely translated as Self Reliant. Whenever we discuss the term, it is only thought in economic sense and not about it’s multi-dimensional nature.
Post 1991, Self-Reliance or Swadeshi has been considered a bad word. It was seen as a reactionary thought which was anachronistic in globalized world. In early 2000, World Bank published a report that “rampant globalization will be disastrous for the World.” In 2007, G-20, group of 20 large economies of the world accepted that “one size fits all” model of development will not work for developing countries. Post start of the current decade, champions of globalization i.e EU and US are themselves adopting policies for promotion their own industries. “Be American, Buy American” has been a slogan since 1980s.
Self-Reliance is not only about goods and services but in a deeper context about the model of development itself. RSS, SJM and other nationalistic organizations have clearly stated “Modernization is not Westernization”. Western economic models i.e Communism and Capitalism consider a human as a bundle of physical desires. The whole world revolves around satiating the desires of human beings, hence it has led to ecological imbalance and rapid erosion of human values. These models have developed in an environment of abundant capital and scarce labor but Bharat is a land of scarce capital and abundant labor. Western models focus on centralization while Bhartiya or Hindu economic model is decentralized.
Pre-colonial Bharat was a land of independent village republics. Every village was self-sufficient and exported surplus to neighboring regions or even foreign lands. In 1820s, Bharat’s share of world production was 19% and world trade as 18% against 2% currently. Village based industries, local artisans produced all products possible in the world. As a case in point, Indians produced steel in small furnaces in villages which was referred as wootz steel. This steel was superior to British steel of early 19th century.
Self-Reliance extends to social areas as well. Although our Constitution is unique and has several first to it’s credit. However with passage of time it seems to be out of touch with our cultural ethos. Our legal system is a complete copy of British and its incompatibility has become a major blocker to our development. Our Executive and all its branches are centralized in a capital and hence finds itself out of touch with ground reality.
Post-Independence, Rishi Aurobindo prophetically said “Lets give a year leave to all students and we should think what type of education we want for our children.” Ignoring this prophetic seer, our education system has not been able to educate millions of Indians and arm them with life skills. A knowledge creating society of the past has turned into a knowledge consuming society with little to claim in field of innovation. Over reliance on a foreign language has reduced the importance of local languages and destroyed the system of imparting education in mother tongue. All educationists are of the same conclusion that mother tongue is the best medium of education.
Atmanirbharta in all fields is the need of the hour to make Bharat “Vishwa Guru”
Further reading: 1) Third Way by Dattopant Thengdi 2) Works of Acharya Dharampal 3) S Gurumurthy lectures on Youtube
28-Jun-2020 Katha: Pa Pu Guruji
Shri Guruji was the second Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was born on 19 February 1906, in Ramtek city near Nagpur. Guruji’ was not his original name. His full name was Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar. His father’s name was Sadashivrao and his mother was Lakshmibai. They lived in Nagpur. In his childhood, Shri Guruji was called lovingly as Madhu. Eight progenies of his parents before him had met a premature death. Those days, Nagpur was a province of modern Madhya Pradesh. His father was a teacher. The atmosphere in Madhavrao’s house was pious and religious. Right from his childhood, his mother would wake him up with devotional songs, rendered in her melodious voice. This left a deep cultural imprint on him. He would cherish her songs very fondly, when he grew older.
Since his father was frequently
transferred around the country, he attended a number of schools. Golwalkar
studied science and apolitical as a student. As an adolescent, he developed a
deep interest in religion and spiritual meditation. Guruji Golwalkar
enrolled in Hislop Collage, a missionary-run educational institute in Nagpur. At
the college, he was reportedly incensed at the open advocacy of
Christianity and the Anti-Hindu sentiment. Golwalkar left Hislop College
for BHU in Varanasi, receiving a B.Sc degree in 1927 and a master's
degree in biology in 1929. His students called him "Guruji" because
of his beard, long hair and simple robe, a practice later continued in a
reverential manner
by Swayamsevaks.
In BHU, the huge repository of invaluable books in the library,was as if waiting to quench his thirst for knowledge. Madhavrao started reading the books, through and through, one by one. One day, his toe was bitten by a scorpion, but he very casually cut that portion of his foot, dipped that foot in potassium permanganate solution and resumed his study. Amazed at this, one of his friends asked, “How do you manage to study despite such severe pain?” Madhavrao replied, “Well, the scorpion has bitten my foot, not my head!” Later on, people have many a time witnessed his tranquil tolerance under most excruciating physical pains.
From August 1931, Madhavrao began teaching at Banaras Hindu University. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya noticed his talent and his deep affection for the students, selflessness and grew fond of him. It was through a Swayamsevak from Nagpur, Shri Bhaiyyaji Dani, who was sent there as a student by Doctorji that Shri Guruji came into contact with the Sangh. He also became the Palak (guardian) of that Shakha. In February 1933, on the expiry of his teaching term, Shri Guruji returned to Nagpur and by 1935, completed his study of law.
Having seen Shri Guruji from closer quarters, Doctorji tried to maintain contact with him. Recognizing his extraordinary working capacity and intellectual talents, he started delegating greater responsibilities to him. By now, it was very natural for his parents to think of his marriage. Shri Guruji’s mother put forth the proposal for his marriage and said if he decided against marrying, their Golwalkar family lineage would cease to exist – he being the only surviving son. Shri Guruji replied, “In the present situation it is necessary, that, for the welfare of the society, if the family lineages of not only me, but several others like me are terminated, I am not in the least worried.” The debate over his marriage ended then and there.
Guruji was a very spiritual person and left for Sargachi when Doctorji was thinking about entrusting him with more and more responsibilities. He immersed himself in the service of Swami Akhandananda, who was quite old and indisposed. Shri Guruji would daily bathe him, wash his clothes, offer him tea and meals, and put him to bed. Often Shri Guruji would sit through the night at his bed-side and serve him. About six months passed in this manner.
One day, Swamiji told Amitabh Maharaj, “It seems that Golwalkar would work in association with Dr. Hedgewar.” On an auspicious occasion he was given Deeksha by Swami Akhandananda. As a mark of his memory, Swamiji gave his personal belongings like Kamandal and instructed him to never cut his hairs or beard. After a short while, in February, 1937 the revered Swamiji left his mortal coil. Later, Shri Guruji spent some time in Ramakrishna Ashram, Belur Math and then along with Amitabh Maharaj returned to Nagpur.
In Nagpur, Shri Guruji’s, life took an altogether new turn. In Doctorji, he saw a personality intensely motivated and dedicated to the nation. On being asked by some gentlemen on the subject, Shri Guruji replied, “Like spirituality, organization of the Nation has also been my inclination from early days. I believe that I would be in a better position to achieve it successfully being a part of the Sangh. Hence, I have dedicated myself to the activities of Sangh. In the light of the insight and practical approach of Swami Vivekananda, I think my decision is appropriate.” Shri Guruji was also closely observing Doctorji, who had put his heart and soul into this work. From 1938 onwards, Shri Guruji identified the work of Sangh as the sole mission of his life. In the close company of Doctorji, he focussed his entire attention on the activities of Sangh.
Shri Guruji was engaged constantly in providing guidance to the Sangh and the nation in one way or the other. Guruji was Sarsanghchalak for 33 years and made RSS one of strongest social-cultural organization in the World. Its membership expanded from 100,000 to over one million, and it branched out into the political, social, religious, educational and labor fields through 50 sangh parivar organizations. The RSS extended to foreign countries, where Hindus were recruited into organisations such as the Bharatiya Swayamsevak Sangh or the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS). There was a subtle, important shift in the RSS worldview.
Param Pujaniya Doctorji, brought the life stream of Param Pujaniya Guruji, who was on a spiritual path to Liberation (moksha), for the service of the people of Bharat. Thus, he (Dr. Hedgewar) carried to fulfillment the mission he had started to unite, organize and strengthen the Hindu society.
Further reading: 1) Shree Guruji by C P Bhishikar 2) Complete Works of Shree Guruji 3) Bunch of Thoughts
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