Tattva

Chhatrapati Shivaji was the 17th century Hindu King who inspired and organized the native people for the fight against the Moguls and five Sultanats (Shahas) –foreign invaders who had conquered Bharat to loot its wealth and intellect and to destroy its ancient culture and civilization.  After 36 years of fighting, Shivaji established the ideal kingdom with rule of law, a Hindu kingdom, rather than a kingdom under his own name.  His coronation as a king took place in 1674 A.D. on the Jyeshtha Shukla Trayodashi (13th day of the bright half of Jyeshtha Maasa) day at Raigarh in Maharashtra. His kingdom was known as “Hindavi Swaraja” (Sovereign Hindu State). Shivaji set an example for all Hindus that they belong to the same faith and should be a united force. His coronation day is therefore celebrated as Hindu Sangathan Diwas (Hindu Unity Day). In 2008 this day falls on June 15th. Read the rest of this entry »

Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12th, 1863. Every year, this day is celebrated all over India and across the world as National Youth Day in reminiscence of Swami’s motivating message to the youth of India. Growing up as a young man, Narendranath Dutta (as he was known at birth), acquired many attributes of a strong leader and quickly commanded the respect of many of his peers. Curious about whether God could be known intimately, Narendranath found himself seeking the sage of Dakshineshwar, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Read the rest of this entry »

M.S. Subbalakshmi was a woman who dedicated her whole life to music. Her singing spread divine happiness and peace to millions of hearts around the world. Her melodious voice and devotion were praised by many people, including ones with high fame like Mahatma Gandhi and Helen Keller. All throughout her life, she was given titles, such as “queen of music,” “nightingale of India,” “songbird of springtime,” “a musical genius,” and “a divine being.”

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 Arthashastra, written by Kautilya (also known as Chanakya), is an ancient treatise dealing with the governance of a country. Chanakya was a very learned scholar at the Takshashila University (an ancient Hindu university, located in present-day Pakistan) and the acharya of Chandragupta Maurya. He had mastery over political science, economics, accounting, and governance, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Maurya dynasty. Apart from Arthashastra, Kautilya wrote several other books such as Chanakya-Sutras (Rules of Science) and Chanakya-Rajanitisastra (Science of Government Policies).

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The years of Indian slavery to the British brought forth some of the finest blood our country had to offer to the world. One such giant, shining like a sun amongst that kingly constellation of super-heroes, is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar—Veer Savarkar, as he is better known. Born in 1883 and fondly known as the crown prince of the Indian revolutionary movement, Savarkar was a prodigy. At the tender age of fourteen, he shut himself in his room and swore before the image of his family deity that he would never rest in peace until he had won India’s independence back from the oppressive British rule. Instead of playing games with his classmates, he preferred discussions with his uncles about the swords inherited from his family’s service with Peshwa rulers of Maharashtra. Read the rest of this entry »

Sambhaji Raje Bhonsle (May 14, 1657 – March 11, 1689) was the eldest son of Chhatrapati Shivaji – founder of the Maratha Empire, and succeeded him as the Chhatrapati i.e. a Maratha Emperor, after Shivaji Maharaj’s death in 1680. Sambhaji Raje was born in a crucial phase of Hindu history and in spite of his gigantic sacrifice for saving the Hindu Dharma; he is relatively unknown compared to his father. As we celebrated his 350^th birthday this May, this article is a small Shradhanjali (tribute) to the memories of this great warrior-ruler.

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Tanaji Malusare (तानाजी मालुसरे), also known as Simha (Lion), was a renowned warrior and military leader in the army of Chatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhonslé, founder of the Maratha Empire in 17th century India.Tanaji was one of Shivaji’s closest friends; the two had known each other since childhood. In 1670, at Shivaji’s request, he pledged to recapture the fortress of Kondana near Pune. According to many accounts, he received the summons at his son’s wedding, and immediately left the festivities.

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This article is a review of the book ‘Relevance of Kautilya for Today: Dr K.S. Narayanacharya’ By M.V. Kamath.

One of the saddest aspects of our educational system today is the near total neglect of our ancient history and the deliberate disconnect with our thinkers and philosophers. It is as if our “secular” scholars are ashamed of their own past. Vedic mathematics is laughed at. If authentic claims are made that such concepts as gravitation and the value of pi were common knowledge centuries ago eyebrows are raised. Kalidas, Panini, Bhasa, Bana, Varahamihira and Bhartrahari remain faint memories.

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Abhimanyu (अभिमन्यु) is a hero in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. He was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, the half-sister of Lord Krishna. Abhimanyu spent his childhood in Dwaraka, his mother’s city. He was trained by his great warrior father Arjuna and brought up under the guidance of Lord Krishna. He fought bravely in the epic war of Mahabharata and single-handedly destroyed many warriors from the Kaurava forces.

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Pt. Upadhyaya (September 25, 1916 - February 11, 1968) is well known for his idea of INTEGRAL HUMANISM - the concept which is deeply embedded in Indian Psyche. While he was a student at Sanatan Dharma College, Kanpur, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1937. He dedicated himself to full-time work in the RSS from 1942. Deendayal Upadhyaya was a man of soaring idealism and had a tremendous capacity for organisation. He started a monthly Rashtra Dharma, a weekly Panchajanya and a daily Swadesh. In the field of politics and economics, he was pragmatic and down to earth. He visualized for India a decentralized polity and self-reliant economy with the village as the base. Read the rest of this entry »