Monday, November 9, 2015

Chanakya - His dream of Akhanda Bhaarat(Bharat Varsh)



Chanakya - His dream of Bharat Varsh


. Alexander's invasion on India: Around 326 BC, Alexander, with his extravagant dream of conquering the world, sets out to invade Bharat, which was separately ruled by 16 kingdoms- the key ones being - Gandhar/Takshasila, Kekaya, Magadh and Paurava. As history reveals, from time immemorial, rulers stooped to any level in their quest to gain or retain thrones. Ambi (Takshasila king) joins his forces with Alexander for a shared power model in Bharat. Few rulers like Porus(Kekayraj) fight bravely against Alexander and lose after causing great damage to Alexander's forces. Chanakya realizes the threat Bharat faces and pleads Magadh and other rulers to fight against foreign invasions. However, no one cared for national interest and only protected their kingdoms (janpadhs).  Chanakya is thrown out of Magadh dragging him with his Sikha (lock of hair). He then takes a owe not to tie Sikha until he throws out Magadh ruler Dhana Nanda and unites janpadhs in Bharat. 

Its amazing that we find staggering similarities in past and present. The same Alexander invasion scenario happened during 1000 years of Mughal rule and 200 years of British rule. Selfish people in Bharat vouch for foreigners, turn our own people against us and create inroads for a formidable dynasty rule. The past 60 years have been no different! Isn't it? 

6. United Bharat: Chanakya had a grandiose dream: Unification of janpadhs (kingdoms) for one akhand Bharat, which would have the immense potential to fight any foreign invader. As history documents it, Chanakya is the first Indian who awakened the 'spirit of national consciousness'. Chankaya's conviction belied in rulers rising beyond the narrowness of princely states (janpadhs) and ending fights for the thirst of power and quest of thrones. Selfishness, backstabbing, vested interests - every foul play has been part of Politics. He firmly believed that Nation is important than individual states and rulers and the interest of the states must align with interest of the Nation. Otherwise, states/rulers should not be spared. Gurukuls played a key role in educating individual households to rise and contribute for nation. When Alexander returned leaving behind his Greek (Yavan) forces in Bharat, Chandragupta Maurya, under guidance of his teacher Chanakaya, invaded Greek ruled regions to seize control over Bharat kingdoms, who unanimously accept Chandragupta as their ruler. The final strike comes on Magadh, and a unification of a major part of Bharat is accomplished under Chandragupta rule. Chanakya had a goal- Every step he took in life was headed to achieve that goal. His is a wonderful story of the rise of a underdog who lived for a greater dream.

Look at India post independence. In the name of decentralization we have misused the powers so much that no state/region cares about what happens to nation as a whole - this precisely explains why we can't fight terrorism and having a tough time saving our economy. If history repeats itself, then a lot of answers to our present problems must lie in the past. We should go back to our roots and rekindle that one thing our nation was known for - Our Sanskriti (Culture). Unfortunately, as we copy the Western culture, a majority of us feel that we don't have any culture left to speak about. Infact the word culture itself is a cliche now. The true Bharat Culture is the thread that binds a human to another human irrespective of caste, creed, language or religion. It knows no barriers between hearts of any two individuals and embraces the whole mankind as one family (Vasudaika Kutumbham). A beautiful description of true Bharat Sanskriti in aavailable in Chanakya Hindi T.V.serial

The need of hour for many of our nation's problems is to define and realize what India means to us now. I know this is not simple to answer, because we cannot define our own values as an individual, let alone think about nation. I dare say that many of us don't have any esteem and empathy in us to even qualify as a human. Truth is, we have stopped living with values and morals. As long as we keep fighting and associate ourselves to regions - north, south, Gujarati, Bihari and so on - rather than calling ourselves asBharateeya or Indian first, our national pride will be limited to only Cricket matches. Apart from being responsible citizens, we also need leaders who can instill the Bharat Varsh spirit like Chanakya, Swami Vivekananda and Sardar Vallabhai Patel who contributed immensely for a united Bharat.

 




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