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Samarth Ramdas, the guru of Shivaji Maharaj, advocated a combination of devotion, meditation and military training. Like many of his contemporaries, he did not believe in pacifism, but he believed in social, political and martial activism. According to him, even saints and other renunciants should not withdraw from society or become indifferent to their environment and surroundings but positively engage in reforming the lives of the members of the society actively and, if necessary, even take to violence for its moral transformation.
Shree Samarth Guru Ramdas Swami was a sage of the highest order known for his knowledge of the Parbrahma, his unflinching worship, his unparalleled status as a Guru, his literature, and the tremendous adulation he received from the masses not only during his time but even now.
He was born in a village, Jamb, to Suryaji and Ranoobai Thosar. His original name was Narayan. He lost his father at the age of eight, which turned him into an introvert. He became spiritual at a tender age. Then, at the age of 12 years, Bhagwan Sri Ram himself appeared in front of him and advised him to count the 13-lettered Ram tarak Mantra 108 times at least once a day. Then, Bhagwan Sri Ram is said to have accepted him as his own disciple. The former gave him a new name by which he has been known ever since- Ramdas. Such a thing had never happened ever since Bhagwan Sri Ram, who was an incarnation of Bhagwan Vishnu, had left his mortal body thousands of years ago.
In his adolescent years, he decided not to get married and went to the holy city, Nasik, where he started his worship of Bhagwan Sri Ram which lasted for 12 years. He did it the hard way, many times remaining without food or water for days together. Every millisecond of this time he spent in the worship of Bhagwan Sri Ram. During this time he was constantly guided from within by Hanuman, the greatest disciple of Bhagwan Sri Ram.
After 12 years of extensive Sadhana, he got the blessings of Bhagwan Sri Ram again, and through him, he also got real knowledge. Then, he embarked on a pilgrimage to most of the holy places of India, which he completed in 12 years. During this time, he travelled barefoot. After finishing the pilgrimage, he went back to Mahabaleshwar. Then, at Masur, he celebrated the birthday of Bhagwan Sri Ram, wherein thousands of people took part in religious activities. He started gathering people around him, which was essential for his ultimate goal of establishing the Hindu Dharma in its original form, which was in a shambles because of hundreds of years of Muslim rule in the country. Next year, he found the statues of Bhagwan Sri Ram in the deep waters of the Krishna river near Angapur. He built a temple at Chafal and installed it ceremoniously according to the Hindu tradition. He celebrated the birthday of Bhagwan Sri Ram that year at the newly built temple.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who had spent his whole life fighting foreign Muslim rulers, Shree Shivaji Maharaj, requested Shree Samarth to accept him as his disciple and knowing him thoroughly well, Shree Samarth immediately consented. Shree Shivaji Maharaj, from this time onwards, always took Shree Samarth’s advice in all the important matters. Then Shree Shivaji Maharaj, as a token of respect towards the Guru, offered Shree Samarth his whole kingdom, saying that he would look after it as only a caretaker, but it would belong to Shree Samarth. Shree Samarth was moved by this gesture and praised Shree Shivaji Maharaj but told him that anyhow, he himself, as Parbrahma, was the Atman in Shree Shivaji Maharaj, and hence, this wasn’t required at all.
Meanwhile, according to the wishes of Shree Samarth, 11 temples of Sri Hanuman had been established, and the Head Pujaris were appointed. Shree Samarth then went to Jamb as his mother had passed away. After returning back, he went to Karnataka on a Dharmic renaissance mission. On his way to Karnataka, he established a Math in Miraj and appointed a woman disciple, Venabai, as the head Priestess. On reaching Tanjavar, he was received by Vyankojiraje, the King of Tanjavar. He also told Shree Samarth of his desire to become his disciple, to which Shree Samarth consented. At Tanjavar, one of the very revered religious figures, Pundit Raghunath, also became the disciple of Shree Samarth. After coming back to Sajjangad, Shree Samarth started writing his epic, “Dasbodha”. He also established a temple of the Goddess at the Pratap Fort. Shivaji Maharaj used to visit him frequently for advice, and seeing this disciple’s qualities, Shree Samarth told him the crux of the ultimate knowledge that one has to acquire to merge with the Parbrahma. He then completed the remaining chapters of the Dasbodha. After the death of Shivaji Maharaj, he wrote a letter to the heir to the throne, Sambhaji (Shivaji’s son), which is considered a milestone by even today’s political scientists. With his job of the Hindu renaissance done, Shree Samarth left his mortal body and finally united with the Parbrahma, ending a life which was so multifaceted that without his mention, almost no field can be considered as complete. He left his mortal body at Sajjangad at the age of 73 years.
He preached activism for both the saints and the laity and upheld the view that laziness leads to temporary, ephemeral pleasures, but hard work leads to perennial happiness. He encouraged the youth to revolt individually and collectively against the prevalent ills in society, such as oppressors, aggressors, and looters. He cajoled them to exercise regularly and become physically strong, as the weak are incapable of purging the evils from society. He argued that only the strong and those with a fighting spirit would be able to establish the rule of Dharma or righteousness. They alone can perform their duty towards society, its culture and values and gladly accept martyrdom if need be. The aim of the army of such a youth would be to establish a free and independent society, ‘not for narrow selfish individual gains but for upholding the moral and spiritual principles of society’.
These teachings were based on his observations of the conditions, lifestyle and mindset of the then-Bharatiya society. After attaining his emancipation, Sant Ramdas undertook extensive travels to various pilgrimage centres all over India for twelve years. During these travels, he closely studied the social, political and economic conditions of Indians and noticed their utter helplessness in life. He observed that ‘the frequent floods and famines and the attacks by the Muslims whenever they wished, which were actually helped by our own people, had destroyed the society and social life of the people. Everyone was scared and depressed. From his experiences, he realised that there could be no healthy growth and return of Dharma in society until foreign rule persisted. Based on these experiences, he wrote two books, titled Asmani Sultani and Parachakraniroopan, detailing his minute observations about the common man. These are the only two books in the whole of Sant literature in India which describe and record the condition of the people in those times.
It is reported in Panjah Sakhian and Ramdas Swamichi Bakhar that during his travel through the Garhwal hills, he met the sixth of the ten Sikh Gurus, Shri Guru Hargobind Sahib. In his conversation with the Guru, Ramdas asked, “I had heard that you occupy Guru Nanak’s gaddi (seat). Guru Nanak was a sadhu who had left all material things, a saint who had renounced the world. You possess arms and keep an army and horses. You allow yourself to be addressed as Sacha Patshah, the true king. What sort of a sadhu are you?” Hargobind replied, “Batan faquiri, zahir amiri, shastar garib ki rakhya, jarwan ki bhakhiya, Baba Nanak sansar nahi tyagya, maya tyagi thi.” In other words, “Internally a hermit and externally a prince; arms for the protection of the poor and destruction of the tyrant; Baba Guru Nanak had not renounced the world but renounced maya (wealth/luxury).” It is claimed that these words of Guru Hargobind earned a spontaneous response from Ramdas, who reportedly said, “Yeh hamare man bhavti hai” (This appeals to my mind).”
The above meeting is probably the reason Swami Ramdas highlighted the warrior’s role in society. When he finally settled down in Chafal, he engaged himself in the resuscitation of Hindu culture and values, which had deteriorated owing to several centuries of foreign rule. To bring together the Hindus and spread his teaching among them, he installed a statue of Shri Ram and started celebrating the festival of Ram Janmotsava (birth of Bhagwan Ram) on Ram Navami. He established temples of Hanuman in towns and villages to convey the importance of exercise to the youth and taught them to get together and fight the enemy.
He firmly believed that whenever the nation is in peril and the cultural, moral and ethical values of its people are in grave danger of extinction, spiritual leaders must put their spiritual aspirations and individual effort of personal salvation on the back burner. Till the time such threats are over, they should direct all their efforts to meet the challenges confronting the nation.
He started Samartha, a sect of sannyasins with high moral character and no personal ambition. These sannyasins had an intense desire to change the prevailing conditions of society through political and belligerent means. They were first answerable to God, and then to the society or their nation. He argued that “saints were not those who prayed silently but those who with their piety, knowledge and strength would cast aside their aloofness and help people in distress”. He established mathas or holy places for them. These mathas provided an atmosphere which synthesised social work, politics and spirituality for the benefit of society.
Samarth Guru Ramdas worked actively for the equality of all – men and women. He abhorred the distinctions based on caste and creed and vigorously engaged himself in the task of abolishing the fourfold classification. He reprimanded those who opposed the participation of women in religious, social and political work. He chided such men by arguing that everyone came from a woman’s womb, and those who did not understand the importance of this were unworthy of being called men. He upheld that respecting the role of women and giving them equal status was good for the growth of a healthy society. According to him, granting women equal status as men is a prerequisite for social development. In the mathas established by him he encouraged the participation of women and offered them positions of authority.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was one of his ardent disciples. Shivaji wanted to leave his kingdom and devote himself fully to the service of Swami Ramadas. Once, when Ramadas was on his regular begging sprees, Shivaji dropped a letter in Ramdas’s begging bowl, giving his kingdom to Samarth Ramdas. However, Ramdas told Shivaji that his duty was not to become a sanyasi but to serve the people, rule his kingdom according to Dharma, and protect temples and people from the atrocities of foreign rulers. He asked Shivaji to rule as his regent, to take the gerua chaddar for his banner and defend its honour with his life. He had to think of himself as a trustee and not as an owner. For his acts of commission and omission, he was accountable to God. Shivaji, as a faithful disciple, took the padukas (slippers) of Samarth Ramdas, kept them on the throne, and followed his instructions to the core.