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#shivajijayanti
Today throughout Maharashtra people are celebrating Shivaji Jayanti. Shivaji Maharaj was a very great Kshatriya, who protected the Vedic dharma throughout this great state of Maharashtra. If we really want to appreciate the greatest contribution Shivaji Maharaj gave to society, we must study the most significant parts of his life. The most significant part of his life was not the wars he fought. But rather those experiences which gave him that type of fearless, devotional consciousness in which he was able to live such anexemplary life, in protection to so many innocent people of the world.

Responsibility of Parents

When he was a small, little child, he was very affectionate, with a grateful heart, to his mother. His mother, every single day, would narrate to him, stories and teachings from Mahabharata andRamayana. She understood that this was her first duty as a mother. To give the child milk and other types of food, clothing and a nice house is not a very important function for a mother or father, because the animals are also doing that. It is our duty to provide these things, but it is not very important. The important service of the mother and father is to mould the character of the child into a devotee of the Lord, by teaching the child Sanatana dharma, the highest truth. So he was brought up by his loving mother, nourished by constantly hearing the glories and the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishnaand His devotees. And naturally through hearing these stories in one’s youth, and educated in Vedic dharma, bhakti, tattva, he was developing into a person who had the highest standards of morality, the most compassionate nature and devotion to God. And anything that happened in his accomplishments throughout his life was based on the foundation of his spiritual consciousness that was given to him as a child.

Let there be Shivaji in everyone’s home

In my opinion anyone in Maharashtra who wants to honestly talk about the greatness of Shivaji – they should not be hypocrites. They should raise their child as Shivaji’s mother raised him by constantly letting her child hear the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Srimad Bhagvatam and Hari Katha, and make your child into a great person. But today, parents – they do not want their child to go to the temple to hear Hari Katha. They don’t want to hear Hari Katha at home. They are happy if their child watches nonsense television and listens to nonsense music, as long as they are studying very nicely for their education and exams. And they talk about the greatness of Shivaji. If you want to speak the greatness of Shivaji, don’t be a hypocrite. What Shivaji exemplified in this world, you should follow. Give your children nourishment by association with saintly persons and the hearing and chanting the names and the glories of the Lord. And make your child into someone with real spiritual character.
The empowered king

When he was young, he saw terrible, terrible injustices and persecutions of the mogul rulers of the time. So he stood up to fight against what was against the principles of Sanatana Dharma. And due to his devotion, he gets weapons by the Lord’s own personal servants. And he became very powerful. He became a king, but what kind of king? Not the kind of kings we see today. He was not attached to politics, he was not attached to being king, he was only attached to service to his Guru and Krishna.

Sant Tukaram Maharaj- the real king

He approached that great Vaishnava acharya Tukaram. King Shivaji was such a powerful person, that practically anyone that stood before him had to bow at his feet. But when he came beforeTukaram Maharaj, he personally fell at the feet of this great sage. He worshipped the feet of this great sage Tukaram – in this area of Maharashtra – he led a very simple life. He had no money, no property; he was just a very, very simple Vaishnava, always immersed in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. But this great king, Shivaji, who was conquering all directions, he understood Tukaram is Maharaj. He is the great king, because he has conquered his mind, and he has conquered his senses. And this was possible by Tukaram, because he was constantly hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. Shivaji Maharaj was thinking that all this being king and all this conquering of lands is materialistic and it is too much disturbance. Let me just go to a quiet place and do bhajan. And he presented this frustration of his heart to SriTukaram Maharaj. But Tukaram Maharaj told him, “You should perform your duty for the service of God.”

Bhagavad Gita was spoken in a similar atmosphere. Arjuna was ready to detach himself and become a sadhu. But Krishna instructed him, “You are a kshatriya. Perform your work, but do not perform your work simply as a matter of doing your work. You must do it in a spirit of dedication and love for the supreme LordSri Krishna. Bhagavad Gita does not teach that, work is worship but Work in remembrance of God, in devotion to God, is worship. Any other type of God is only meant for karmic bondage. To follow the path of bhakti does not mean that we should necessarily give up our families or our occupational duties



Purpose of Life

And as our heart becomes purified through the process of association with great souls and hearing and chanting the names and glories of the Lord, gradually all of the godly qualities that are dormant within the soul become manifested in our life. So on this day we should make the holiday or celebration something that is actually useful. The purpose of this human life is to fall at the feet of great souls, hear the teachings of the Lord and chant His Holy Names. And whatever our occupation is, to perform that duty in a spirit of detachment and devotion. What God wanted to speak through the life of Shivaji was not something political; it was spiritual.

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2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 7