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A Review
Dharma Sanskriti Sangam
By Balram Misra
The humans living in parts of the world, threatened and confused by the practiced doctrines of jehad and crusade, must have taken a sigh of relief on knowing that the followers of dharma, dhamma and spirituality-based ways of worships and cultures joined hands and came on a common platform to save the humanity from perpetual onslaught by a few misguided elements. It happened at the Dharma Sanskriti Sangam held in Varanasi from November 25 to 26, which was attended by more than 200 delegates of various pursuits from 18 countries. The common points of all Indian ways of worships like Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Jainism were highlighted and deliberated at the meet.
It is of paramount importance to find the common points among the faiths to establish unity in diversity. We must get out of the man-made hotchpotch of chronological order of different faiths and adopt the common points that seek to ensure a better and livable world harmony. Buddhism and Hinduism have been very close to each other, historically and philosophically, in pursuit of their common goal of general weal of mankind, without any discrimination.
In Samyutta Nikaya, Buddha praises Brahmans of old days, who remembered the ancient way that leads to Brahma. Buddhacharita records his disapproval of sacrifices. The Mundakopanishad speaks of the yajnas. A very close relationship between the Buddhist doctrines and the Sankhyan philosophy has been established by many scholars. The Buddhist scheme of four noble truths, i.e. existence of dukha, cause of dukha, dukha can be removed, there is way to remove dukha (Chatvari Aarya - Satyaani), and the scheme of the four chief articles of Indian medical science, i.e. Rogo, Roga Hetuh, Arogyam, Bhaisshajyam of the Yogasutras show striking similarity. Lalitavistara calls the Buddha Vaidyarajah: Utpanno Vaidyarajah Pramochakah Sarva Dukkhebhyah. Further it says, chirature jeevaloke klesha-vyaadhi prapeedite, vaidyaraat twam samutpannah sarva vyaadhi pramochakah.
The Buddha?s Law of Causation, Patichchasamuppaada (Prateetya Samutpaada), pleads that dukha, the suffering, is the result of avijja i.e. avidya (ignorance). Avijja is non-realisation of soul-less-ness, impermanence of the world, four noble truths, law of causation, and the eight-fold path. The non-realisation causes delusion (moh), attachment (raga) and hatred (dvesha). These are the stumbling blocks in the life of a man, which cause suffering to him. The whole series of the twelve terms constituting the law corresponds the yoga tenet of Patanjali-darshnam, which states that avidya is the ultimate cause of dukha: tadasya mahato dukhasamudayasya prabhava beejam avidyaa. The dukha of Buddhism is just parallel with tapa of the Yogasootra. The four elements of the Brahmaviharas of Buddhism, viz metta, karuna, mudita and upekkha quite resemble with the four elements of the yogasootras viz. maitree (love), karuna (compassion), mudita (joy) and upeksha (equanimity). Various supernatural powers get mention, quite frequently, in the nikayas as well as the yogasootras.
That only recoiling from the world would afford the salvation has been well elaborated by both, the Upanishads and the Buddhist scriptures. Though the theory of karma is common to both, the Buddha gave it a better tinge of free will. Majjhima Nikaya tells that it is not mere birth but the deeds (karma) of an individual that become the criterion for his or her superiority or inferiority. Though everyone is linked up with one?s past deeds, the Buddha added that karma is not to bind the doer for its effects in future to the karma again. It might well be a liberating force also. It is not a pre-destination calling for one?s helpless submission. One always possesses the freedom of will to act, irrespective of his or her acts in his or her previous beings. As Coomaraswamy infers, the past determines the present, but future is always free.
The theory of metempsychosis, which is predominantly common in all faiths of Indian origin, too got a modification by the enlightened one. He advocated that the cause of repeated existence depended on certain causes and conditions (hetu and pratyaya), and not on the God, the creator, not on an eternal substance, and not on some permanent and imperishable soul. Only nibbana or nirvana, could provide freedom from rebirth. To the Buddha it was not the need of consuming the karma of previous life that one had to take another existence, but a positive progress towards the liberation that had the pauses of death and birth as its constituents.
True to the splendidly serene and sober temperament that Buddha was gifted with, he himself does not seem to have outrightly condemned the Vedic texts anywhere, in any way. He founded his way based on reason and logic. He tried to avoid answering questions dealing with existence or non-existence of a supreme power or God. It is generally inferred that he did not believe in the existence of God, but after his passing away he was raised to the Godhead. His image came into being even during his lifetime. We started worshipping him, and to a great extent forgetting his liberating doctrine, and letting it be used as a conduit by some Christian sects to convert our socially neglected brothers and sisters to Christianity.
The hoary ideal of asceticism of the nivratti dharma was tinged by Buddha with rationality of the attitude and realism. That, in due course, got a tinge of pravratti dharma also, and we got another rich branch of knowledge known as Mahayan Buddhism. Let us accept the fact that with the help of their agents, commonly known as the Macaulayputras and Marxputras and some putris also, planted in the fields of academicism, journalism and politics, the humanity-dividing evil-eyed forces have been successful, to a considerable extent, in positioning Hinduism and Buddhism on two differ poles. We must understand their strategy and unite to fulfill our historical commitment of elevating the lot of mankind.
Unitedly the practitioners of dhamma and dharma can become a stronger force to reckon with and protect our planet.
(The author can be contacted at balram73@dataone.in)
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