Unparalleled Legacy
Six years of unflinching courage, tenacious labor, and endless spiritual seeking transformed a human into a Godlike figure — Siddhartha became Buddha, an awakened one. His opposition against the most cherished concepts prevalent — Vedas (specifically the Karma Kanda section), Soul, and God — earned him the Nastika label including an undeserved blatant hostility and resentment during formative years of Buddhism, but could not deter him. Although Hinduism thrived thereabouts 1500B.C, culminating in the subsequent Upanishadic era, by Buddha’s period it suffered degeneration owing to the religious spearheaders’ obsession and incompetence; penance, sacrifices, shallow erudition, regurgitation of scriptures, and blind emulation of rituals. In that regard, the destructive criticism on the part of the Nastika schools/religions, undoubtedly Buddha’s contribution stands out, obligated the orthodox Hinduism to organize themselves on a rationalistic basis. During the Axial age (circa. 800 B.C – 200 B.C), the rise of the Nastika had triggered the establishment of the Astika schools(six schools accept the Vedas’ authority) which played an instrumental role in steering Hinduism towards the right direction, earlier somewhat strayed.
Buddha is celebrated and worshipped because of his attempts in bringing out the society entrenched in the mires of mechanical rituals, appalling caste system, and rampant violent sacrifices. Defying a decadent system that favored unearned hereditary privileges, he revolutionized the awakening of human consciousness asserting, “Everyone can be a Buddha”; virtually synonymous with “ Everyone is entitled to Brahman”. In other words, the Upanishadic Brahman/ Moksha corresponds to Buddhist Nirvana; both free individuals from the bondage of Samsara (the cycle of rebirth). His audacity in challenging the rigid system opened up spiritual doors to people from every walks of life, previously the prerogatives of the priestly class. Popularizing the Shramana tradition Buddha bestowed everyone the right to the metaphysical Brahman, or for that matter liberation (Moksha or Nirvana). This tradition was largely akin to Martin Luther’s (Protestant Reformation) initiatives, dismissal of “middleman”, against the corrupted Roman Catholic Church of the 16th century that sold indulgences under the pretext of hell and heaven.
A living embodiment of Satchitananda (pure being-consciousness-bliss), so great that Hindus hardly could ignore, thus conferring him the title of Lord Vishnu’s Avatar, regardless of recalcitrant Buddha’s downright rejection of Vedas’ authority. Meanwhile, there is no dearth of fanatics, always on the lookout for some minutiae to prove the greatness of their religion, exuding self-aggrandizement unabashedly claims the magnanimity of Hinduism to having accepted the Buddha. Such claims reek of cheap machination, megalomania, and political fervor; a personage who transcended all phenomenal boundaries, duality, and dichotomy would not seek any validation nor endorsement. Truth to tell, Siddhartha’s Nirvana(a mystical experience) and teachings corresponded to esoteric teachings permeated throughout the great Upanishads, unsurprisingly; dismissing him would have amounted to denying the clandestine spiritual wisdom of Hindu religious scriptures altogether. Buddha’s legacy is unparalleled among the greatest spiritual and religious figures the Indian subcontinent boasts, the likes of Nagarjuna, Gorakhnath, Adi Sankara, Meera, Kabir, Mahavir, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and others.
The Second Coming
The all-time-greatest Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s magnum opus ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ brilliantly imagines the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, albeit during Spanish Inquisition. Infuriated, disconcerted, and exasperated over Jesus’ return, the Grand Inquisitor taking him under detention starts the interrogations with an unimaginable question, “Why have you come to trouble us?” How would things unfold if Buddha were to return — The Second Coming — his homeland and confront all the Nepalese?
Considerable energies are wasted unnecessarily, to generate a momentary conceited ecstasy and toxic glory affirming shared citizenship with him, ever readiness to go tooth and nail over the “claiming right” — the right to claim Buddha belongs to us. Repetition of the mantra as to his birthplace with some agitated-emphatic air — displaying a detrimental nationalist attitude flagrantly throw pejorative insults to denigrate neighbor’s claim — has been a widespread norm or strategy to evade the responsibility of wholeheartedly striving in his footsteps. Hijacked by political motives, little do we care to explore Buddha’s timeless teachings, let alone live in accordance with them or become a Buddha ourselves; when willingness to die for Ram Mandir suffices, nobody asks whether you lived like Ram or not. Regrettably, we must have stooped, expediently exploiting him as a face-saving card, presumably to conceal our inferiority complex that stemmed from an inability to achieve anything remarkable all these years. In the Second Coming, such desperation and naivety must disenchant and disgust Buddha, all the more because of our incompetence in not being able to solve more important issues like the draconian caste system that he condemned and attempted to abolish 2500 years ago.
To awaken one dichotomy and duality no longer exist; good and evil, pain and pleasure, friend and foe, all transcended. Yet Buddha would have felt astonished or dejected, noticing the unbelievable resemblance of all-pervading suffering, greed, enmity, conspiracy, envy, and so on between the 6th century B.C and the 21st century A.D. These human adversities may send him to vertigo, perhaps to depression, leaving him discontented and dubious as regards the potency of his teachings and Philosophy. Have the timeless teachings centered around — Dhamma or Eternal Law — sprung up from six years of labor meant for human welfare become obsolete and irrelevant in the 21st century?
No, not at all. The infallible teachings, undoubtedly, are potent and relevant, as they have transformed people, elevating human consciousness, albeit the number is quite unsatisfactory. In these 2500 years, Buddha must have been cognizant of the grim reality, trusting humans more than they deserve; the bar too high for many to aim at or take a shot. This fact, to most of us, is a difficult pill to swallow.
Interestingly, as soon as the attainment of Nirvana radiated his being, the Samsara was overcome, all past residual Karmas were worn out, rendering him unable to take new birth; therefore the Second Coming is impossible. Leaving no stone unturned, he relentlessly spread his invaluable message for 45 years and left hoping the future world will strive for the same goal of Nirvana or Awakening. However, accustomed to slumber and ignorance, his return may exasperate us like Dostoevsky’s Jesus did to the Grand Inquisitor, and thereby force us to reveal our hidden thoughts: “Why have you come again? We can celebrate you as a history, but not yet ready for your wisdom”.
Path Ahead
The mobilization of different platforms to propagate the idea of Buddha’s identity and replenish animosity against neighbors over their hubristic claims is an insignificant and infinitesimal task compared to much higher noble causes characterized by the discussion, dissemination, exchange, and following of Buddha’s legacy. Buddha barely cares for trivial territoriality and our spiritual growth is his sole concern. Materialization of his vision — curing society of the abhorrent caste system, and elevating human consciousness replete with peace, love, compassion — should overpower our expedient toxic pride fuelled by obsessed utterances of the “Buddha was born in Nepal” mantra.
Although our external world has witnessed a dramatic transformation with all sorts of technological advancement, internally we are as vulnerable as 2500 years ago. Endeavoring and aspiring towards Buddha’s — The Arts of Living — the unnecessary fear of isolation, loneliness, mental breakdown, megalomania, stress, depression, greed, hostility, lust, violence, and hatred could be kept at bay. Buddha does not promise false hopes, fake blessings, or futile consolations, far from it; expecting spirituality to cure death, sickness, and loss is not a reasonable thing. Rather, it enables us to reconcile with inevitable existential realities, developing resilience and clarity. And more importantly, let’s not forget the fact that innumerable Buddhas can be born, like Siddhartha’s metamorphosis into Buddha, provided that we courageously venture on our spiritual journeys.
