Dearest Darling Friends,
My friend Amit Varde narrated an amazing anecdote the other evening. Listening to him narrate that incident has changed my life.
He shared that Shivaji had a brilliant system of governance through a cabinet system. His cabinet was famously called ‘Ashtapradhans’.
What is mind-blowing is that Shivaji’s father Shahaji gave him this ‘Ashtapradhan’ at Shivaji’s tender age of 8. The idea was, a king needs 8 experts to run his kingdom. These are 8 skilled masters in those 8 fields.
It seems Shahaji told his young 8-year-old son, “Learn everything that you can learn from them. You have 6 years time to be ready to be a king. After 6 years, you should be able to run your kingdom through these 8 pradhans. More importantly, you should master the ability to get work done through these 8 people”.
What is mind-blowing is, throughout his entire life, Shivaji kept this system of ‘Ashtapradhans’. The people in his Ashtapradhans did change. The system did not.
What is mind-blowing is, Shivaji’s father imagining his son to be the king and training his son to be the king from the age of 8!!! What is mind-blowing is to give his son 6 years to be ready to be the king. What is mind-blowing is that Shahaji himself was never a king yet he understood what is required to be a king and made those resources available to his son.
What are modern day parents dream for a child?
- After 20 years of studies, they should be able to get a good job at a decent package!
- The child should become a servant in a company!
- They should have a secure job!
Is something wrong with the millennials or is something NOT RIGHT with the parents of the millennials?
A question I ask myself is, what needs to be done to be a Shahaji kind of a parent?
I am sure, like me, thousands of parents need to know the answers! Do you have the answers? Are you sure you are on the right path?
With love, prayers and exceptional wishes,
naren
Imagine, when we wake up, we are given only what we had thanked for.