One
might ask that if all is Maya or illusion, why would a great Swami
start a kingdom? Such a question shows a profound misunderstanding
of Hindu Dharma. One can only transcend the world by fulfilling
one's Dharma and one's karma, and even if one has done this for
oneself, one still has the duty to others to teach, guide and raise
the world. Let us also look at the example of Samartha Ramdas, who
inspired the great King Shivaji. Unfortunately so far modern India
has created a Prime Minister of this sort of inspiration.
One must remember the example of the
Sikhs as well. Originally a pacifist spiritual movement, they were
forced to take up arms and to adapt a Kshatriya order by the cruel
oppression perpetrated against them by the Muslim rulers of the
time, in which torture and genocide were the rule of the day. In
this way the Sikhs grew and flourished and became a force to be
reckoned with. Unfortunately India as a whole at the time of the
Sikhs did not take up the call for a real Kshatriya revival and even
the Sikhs lost many of their Hindu roots.
What is particularly strange is that
Mahatma Gandhi's policies have become accepted by many people East
and West as representing the original teachings of Hinduism, which
is not always the case. Gandhi himself studied, quoted and, in fact,
took solace in the Bhagavad Gita as the main holy book in his life,
though the Gita promotes the Kshatriya Dharma and honors a defensive
war.
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