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Journalism of Courage
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded an “unconditional apology” from Jaggi Vasudev of the Isha Foundation for a video in which he is seen making a “false” and “insulting” claim that Saint Ramdas was Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji’s guru and that it was Ramdas who gave Shivaji his saffron flag.
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, who is also party general secretary, said, “This is an absolutely false and demeaning story that has no truth. This is not only an insult to Shivaji Maharaj but also to Maharashtra. We want Sadhguru to tender an unconditional apology at the earliest.” Awhad also sought action against him.
In a video posted on Jaggi Vasudev’s YouTube channel, he is seen narrating a story about the Maratha king: “He had a guru, whose name was Ramdas. One day, Shivaji was standing in the balcony of his palace. He saw his guru going house to house begging. Then he thought, what is my guru doing begging on the streets? I am a king, my guru cannot be begging on the streets.”
He added that Shivaji sent a chit to the guru and the next day Ramdas came to the palace. “In this chit, Shivaji had written that I am placing my entire kingdom at your feet,” Jaggi Vasudev said.
According to his narration, Ramdas asked Shivaji what the latter was going to do since he was forsaking the kingdom. “Shivaji said: Whatever you do. I want to be around you and serve you,” he continued. The story went on to claim that both went begging together.
“Later, Ramdas gave him the orange cloth and asked him to use it as a banner. And told him to rule the country. But just know that this is not your kingdom. If you know this doesn’t belong to you, you will own it and you will do the best you can for people… So Shivaji always used orange cloth as his banner,” he said.
Awhad said repeated attempts were being made to defame Chhatrapati Shivaji and Maharashtra. “The state government must immediately take action against the individual,” he said.
The state has witnessed several controversies surrounding Chhatrapati Shivaji and Saint Ramdas with the right wing claiming the latter was the ruler’s guru. Several Maratha organisations have denied such claims by pointing out that there is no historical evidence that the king had a Brahmin guru.
Former Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, too, had landed in controversy for referring to Ramdas as Shivaji Maharaj’s guru.
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