Why Buddhism Is More Relevant In Today’s Strife-Torn Society

28 Nov, 2018 19:55 IST|Sakshi
Lord Buddha

By Ravi Valluri

“Whoever sees me sees the teaching,” said the Buddha.

Siddhartha was the son of King Suddhodana of the Sakya dynasty and Maya Devi. Maya passed away soon (exactly a week) after the birth of her son and he was then raised by the father andPrajapati, the sister of Maya.

The story of Buddha’s birth is enveloped by portents of his extraordinary greatness. He would not be just a king of the Sakya dynasty but the emperor of the world prophesised Asita, the sagacious one. Canki, the chief priest of the Sakya dynasty, was perhaps too scared of King Suddhodhana, so he exhorted the ruler to encumber the free movement of the young one so that he was not awitness to misery.

It is believed when Maya Devi was pregnant she dreamt of giving birth to a white bull-elephant with six tusks. According to tradition the white elephant signified the mount of Indra, the king ofGods, and also the displacement of any impediments. The elephant is also an attribute of Lord Ganesha (son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati).The elephant in Buddhism signifies serenity, stolidity and power.

It is also believed that the king and foster mother did not have any conjugal relationship. Siddhartha transformed into Monk Gautama and then into Buddha the Awakened or the Enlightened One. It is a remarkable journey of this unique personality, who perhaps can be called the greatest psychologist ever to set his feet on the planet.

Siddhartha, Gautama or Buddha – choose whatever you may to call him – veritably pealed the human mind like one peals an onion and analysed why man suffers and then enunciated and unravelled the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to provide succour to the distraught human mind.

Upon awakening, or realising the eternal truth, the Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath to a small group of five disciples.

Buddhism, along with Jainism, and the Charvaka philosophy were among 62 heterodox sects that struck roots in India when Aryanism/Brahmanism/Hinduism became too ecclesiastical and orthodox, and was unable to provide solutions to the day to day muddles of the citizenry of that period.

Buddhism is not based on the belief or precept of God, nor does it have a set credo, creed, a central papal authority or a universally accepted scripture. This aspect is quite similar to the pantheon of Hinduism, except where the seeker believes in the holy trinity of Brahma,Vishnu and Mahesh along with their consorts.

Buddha was perhaps the first to lay emphasis on the formation of associations or sanghas. With the passage of time, sanghas have mushroomed in multitudes across the world.

Be it Rotarians, Free Masons, the Alcoholics Anonymous or any charitable or philanthropic organisation, the concept is that of the formation of a sangha. In the sangha, members share their problems, do some soul searching and seek redressal to their set of problems and misadventures in life.

Another lasting contribution of Buddhism has been a recognisable symbol called the stupa. The stupa also refers to the summit. Sacred relics of Buddha and his principle disciples have been discovered in these summits (during the ancient times) and the texts referred to also symbolise burial mounds. “The only permanent thing in life is impermanence,” said the clairvoyant Buddha and over a period of time, Buddhism branched off into Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana (the thunderbolt), the Tibetan and Zen variants. Buddhism, too, became exclusive in its approach and attitude, quite like Hinduism, and left the shores of the country. The death knell of Buddhism was inflicted by Adi Shankara (the founder of Advaita philosophy of Hinduism) through his well thought out, scholarly and esoteric debates.

In the current  day  of  strife, Buddhism  is  re-emerging  as a philosophy, a way  of life, with several  celebrities endorsing  it and the  common  folk  attempting  to  practice  it  through  an emphasis on mindful breathing, observation of the self, meditation and the techniques of Vipassana. The cardinal truism is laying stress on positivity and efficacious thoughts.

“In order to carry a positive action, we must develop here a positive vision,” says H.H. the Dalai Lama. The Buddha was born two thousand five hundred years back at Kapilvastu. Today Siddhartha is once again being rediscovered. The Wheel of Karma, the cyclical karmic cycle and the synodic pattern of valleys and peaks never ebb. Buddha’s noteworthy contribution to humanity is compassion. Compassion in truckloads is required as a palliative where several truckloads of militants and misguided individuals are inflicting enormous damage to humanity.

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