BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM

“Again, I repeat, Shakya Muni came not to destroy, but he was the fulfilment, the logical conclusion, the logical development of the religion of the Hindus.”-Swami Vivekananda

Buddhism and Hinduism are two of the most ancient religions in India. With the present day media craze of “intolerance” and the rising trend of getting “offended” at the smallest of the comments by the most untrustworthy of the sources, it may not be irrelevant to elucidate on the beautiful relationship that these two ancient religions share since the oldest documented historical records.

HOW BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM ARE ONE AT THE SOURCE

It may not be irrelevant to say here that the relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism is, in many ways very similar to the relationship that existed between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus Christ was a Jew and Shakya Muni was a Hindu(the Vedic religion). While Christ was rejected by the Jews and was crucified, Hindus not only accept Shakya Muni but also worshiped him as God.

However the basic difference that lies in the fact that Shakya Muni came to teach nothing new. Similar to Jesus, he came to fulfill and not to destroy. Only, in case of Jesus, the old people of the Jews didn’t realize his greatness or purpose while in case of Buddha his own followers weren’t able to understand him in many cases. Just like the Jews didn’t recognize the fulfillment of Old Testament in Jesus Christ the Buddhists didn’t realize the fulfillment of the truths of Hindu religion through Lord Buddha.

THE PROBLEM OF DISCRIMINATION

The Hindu religion is broadly divided into two parts:

• The ceremonial and
• The Spiritual

The monks mainly study the spiritual part of the religion. In that, there is no caste,no discrimination and no stratification on any grounds-the lowest and the highest become equal here. As a matter of fact there is no caste system in religion; it is an entirely social institution. 

Shakya Muni was himself a monk and the one with a heart large enough to bring out the Vedas from the control of the elite educated few and provide their access to the masses. He was the first to bring in the concept of proselytisation  and the concept of missionaries was his innovation.

The greatness of the master lies in his empathy for all, his unselfish love for the downtrodden, the ignorant and the poor. In fact when some of his learned Brahmin disciples wanted to translate his work into Sanskrit, he clearly objected. He was very clear on the fact that he was for the poor and the masses and not for the few educated or rich elites. It may be noted that Sanskrit was no longer the language of the common people at that point of time and its use was confined within the educated class only. It is therefore not surprising that even today most of his works is available in the vernacular of the period.

THE STOP-LOSS BUTTON

But one thing needs to be understood that no matter what philosophy you propagate, what metaphysics you prove we couldn’t fail to realize that as long as

there is such a thing as death in the world, so long as there is such a thing as weakness in the human heart, so long as there is a cry going out of the heart of man in his very weakness, there shall be a faith in God.

The disciples of the great master propagated the highest philosophies among the crowds but at the same time took away the concept of eternal god that was so dear to the people of the country. The result was unfortunate and Buddhism lost its hold in the country of its birth in a very small span of time.

But Hinduism also lost something dear. The infinite zeal for reformation , the wonderful sympathy for all, the excellent leaven that Buddhism brought to the Indian population suffered a huge setback. There was a time when the Indian society was rendered so great by the infusion of these values that a Greek Historian was bound to admit that there existed not a single liar or unchaste person on the holy land of Indian subcontinent.

THE ETERNAL BOND

Hinduism and Buddhism cannot survive without one another.The Hindu cannot stand without the heart of Buddhism while Buddhism will lose its flavor without the brain of the Vedic Hindu. The growth of these religions is the essence of Indian enlightenment and a separation between the two is a definite route to downfall- the reason why Indians have been repeatedly subdued by the foreigners and conquerors.

Let us then, as the Cyclonic Hindu said, join the wonderful intellect of the Vedic Hinduism with the heart, the noble soul, the wonderful humanizing power of the Great Master.

 (Based on the lecture delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago on 26th September, 1893, “Buddhism, the fulfillment of Hinduism”)