SatyaGuru

The Buddha, Guru Ghasidas (a Satnami saint from the Chhattisgarh state of India), and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (founder of modern India and creator of its constitution) were instrumental in developing a society based on equality, peace, justice, and liberty. What follows is a brief history of each of these icons.

SatyaGuru does not assert any religion. Buddhism, as seen by SatyaGuru, is a philosophy for living a meaningful and happy life.

The Buddha

AS A CHILD, Siddhartha--the Buddha--was troubled by some of the same thoughts children today have. He wondered about birth and death. He wondered why he got sick and why grandfather died. He wondered why his wishes did not come true. He also wondered about happiness and the beauty in nature.

Because the Buddha knew what was in the hearts of children and humankind, he taught everyone how to live a happy and peaceful life. Buddhism is not learning about strange beliefs from faraway lands. It is about looking at and thinking about our own lives. It shows us how to understand ourselves and how to cope with our daily problems.

Life in the Palace

Buddhism is one of the major philosophies in the world. It began around 2,500 years ago in India when Siddhartha Gautama discovered how to bring happiness into the world. He was born around 566 BC in the small kingdom of Kapilavastu. His father was King Suddhodana, and his mother was Queen Maya.

Soon after Prince Siddhartha was born, wise men predicted he would become a Buddha. When the king heard this, he was deeply disturbed, for he wanted his son to become a mighty ruler. He told Queen Maya, "I will make life in the palace so pleasant that our son will never want to leave."

When he was 16, Prince Siddhartha married a beautiful princess, Yasodhara. The king built them three palaces--one for each season--and lavished them with luxuries. They passed their days in enjoyment and never thought about life outside the palace.

The Four Sights

Soon, Siddhartha became disillusioned with palace life and wanted to see the outside world. He made four trips outside the palace and saw four things that changed his life. On the first three trips, he saw sickness, old age, and death. He asked himself, "How can I enjoy a life of pleasure when there is so much suffering in the world?" On his fourth trip, he saw a wandering monk who had given up everything he owned to seek an end to suffering. "I shall be like him," Siddhartha thought.

Renunciation

Leaving his kingdom and loved ones behind, Siddhartha became a wandering monk. He cut off his hair to show he had renounced the worldly lifestyle and called himself Gautama. He wore ragged robes and wandered from place to place. In his search for truth, he studied with the wisest teachers of his day. None of them knew how to end suffering, so he continued the search on his own.

For six years, he practiced severe asceticism, thinking this would lead him to enlightenment. He sat in meditation and ate only roots, leaves, and fruit. At times, he ate nothing. He could endure more hardship than anyone, but this did not take him anywhere. He thought, "Neither my life of luxury in the palace nor my life as an ascetic in the forest is the way to freedom. Overdoing things cannot lead to happiness." He began to eat nourishing food again and regained his strength.

Enlightenment

On a full-moon day in May, he sat under the Bodhi tree in deep meditation and said, "I will not leave this spot until I find an end to suffering." During the night, he was visited by Mara, the evil one, who tried to tempt him away from his virtuous path. First, he sent his beautiful daughters to lure Gautama into pleasure. Next, he sent bolts of lightning, wind, and heavy rain. Last, he sent his demonic armies with weapons and flaming rocks. One by one, Gautama met the armies and defeated them with his virtue.

As the struggle ended, he realized the cause of suffering and how to remove it. He had gained the most supreme wisdom and understood things as they truly are. He became the Buddha, "The Awakened One." From then on, he was called Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Buddha Teaches

After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city of Benares and shared his new understanding with five holy men. They understood immediately and became his disciples. This marked the beginning of the Buddhist community. For the next 45 years, the Buddha and his disciples went from place to place in India spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their compassion knew no bounds; they helped everyone along the way--beggars, kings, and slave girls. At night, they slept wherever they were; when hungry, they would ask for a little food.

Wherever the Buddha went, he won the hearts of the people because he dealt with their true feelings. He advised them to not accept his words on blind faith, but to decide for themselves whether his teachings are right or wrong, then follow them. He encouraged everyone to have compassion for each other and develop their own virtue. "You should do your own work, for I can teach only the way," he said.

He never became angry or impatient or spoke harshly to anyone, not even to those who opposed him. He always taught in such a way that everyone could understand. Each person thought the Buddha was speaking especially for him. The Buddha told his followers to help each other on the Way.

Once, the Buddha and Ananda (a disciple) visited a monastery where a monk was suffering from a contagious disease. The poor man lay in a mess with no one looking after him. The Buddha, himself, washed the sick monk and placed him on a new bed. Afterward, he admonished the other monks. "Monks, you have neither mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look after each other, who will look after you? Whoever serves the sick and suffering, serves me."

The Last Years

Shakyamuni Buddha passed away around 486 BC at the age of 80. Although he has left the world, the spirit of his kindness and compassion remains.

The Buddha realized he was not the first to become a Buddha. "There have been many Buddhas before me and will be many Buddhas in the future," the Buddha recalled to his disciples. "All living beings have the Buddha nature and can become Buddhas." For this reason, he taught the way to Buddhahood.

The two main goals of Buddhism are getting to know ourselves and learning the Buddha's teachings. To know who we are, we need to understand that we have two natures. One is called our ordinary nature, which is made of unpleasant feelings, such as fear, anger, and jealousy. The other is our true nature, the part of us that is pure, wise, and perfect. In Buddhism, it is called the Buddha nature. The only difference between us and the Buddha is that we have not awakened to our true nature.

Guru Ghasidas

GURU GHASIDAS (1756-1836) was the founder of the Satnami community in Chhattisgarh. He was born in the village Girodhpuri in the Raipur district. During his lifetime, the political atmosphere in India was one of exploitation. Ghasidas experienced the evils of the caste system at an early age, which helped him understand the social dynamics in a caste-ridden society and reject social inequity. To find solutions, he traveled extensively in Chhattisgarh.

Ghasidas deeply resented the harsh treatment and continued searching for the truth (satya). It is said he announced "satnam" after years of tapasya (meditation). After spending six months in the Sonakhan forests meditating, Ghasidas returned and formulated path-breaking principles of a new and egalitarian social order. The Satnam Path is based on these principles.

Guru Ghasidas, through Satnam principles, initiated a socio-religious order, which rejected the premier position of Brahmins and completely demolished the exploitative and hierarchical caste system. This new order was a challenge to the brahminical social order, and it treated all human beings as socially equal. According to the Satnam Path, truth is God and there is only one God, which is nirgun (formless) and anant (infinite). Ghasidas realized the link between dominance of Brahmins and idol worship; therefore, Satnam rejects any form of idol worship. Ghasidas also had a holistic vision and felt systemic reforms to remove social injustice and inequality would remain inadequate and incomplete without reforming the individual. This underlying principle led to the prohibition of liquor and nonvegetarian food for the followers of the Satnam Path. Additionally, Guru Ghasidas formulated principles that reflected his love for animals and his desire to put an end to cruelty toward them.

Several widely heard and accepted myths have been built around Guru Ghasidas. These myths attribute supernatural powers and stories to him, such as his ability to revive the dead, as he is believed to have done with his wife and son after their death.

Guru Ghasidas has been accepted as a visionary social reformer, and the high number of Satnam followers is a testimony to this fact. At present, there are millions adhering to the principles of the Satnam Path. The Satnami tradition also lives on in the form of a vast collection of panthi (folk) songs, commonly sung by groups during street processions. Many panthi songs vividly describe Guru Ghasidas' life.

Dr. Ambedkar

*BHIMRAO RAMJI AMBEDKAR was born in the British-founded town and military cantonment of Mhow in the Central Provinces (now in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth and last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai Murbadkar. He belonged to the Hindu Mahar caste and was treated as an untouchable and subjected to intense socioeconomic discrimination. Although able to attend school, Ambedkar and other untouchable children were segregated and given no attention or assistance from teachers.

Of his brothers and sisters, only Ambedkar succeeded in passing his examinations and graduating to a bigger school. In 1898, Ambedkar's family moved to Mumbai, where Ambedkar became the first untouchable student at the Government High School. Although excelling in his studies, Ambedkar was increasingly disturbed by his segregation and discrimination. In 1907, he passed his matriculation examination and entered the University of Bombay, becoming one of the first persons of untouchable origin to enter college in India.

Ambedkar's first marriage was arranged the previous year to Ramabai, from Dapoli. In 1908, he entered Elphinstone College and obtained a scholarship of twenty-five rupees a month from the Gayakwad ruler of Baroda for higher studies in the USA. By 1912, he obtained his degree in economics and political science and prepared to take up employment with the Baroda state government. His wife gave birth to his first son, Yashwant, in the same year.

Pursuit of Education

A few months later, Ambedkar was selected by the Gayakwad ruler to travel to the United States and enroll at Columbia University with a scholarship of $11.5 per month. Arriving in New York City, Ambedkar was admitted to the graduate studies program in the political science department. In 1916, he was awarded a PhD for a thesis he eventually published in book form as The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India. His first published work, however, was a paper titled "Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis, and Development." Winning his degree and doctorate, he traveled to London and enrolled at Gray's Inn and the London School of Economics, studying law and preparing a doctoral thesis in economics. However, the expiration of his scholarship the following year forced him to temporarily abandon his studies and return to India amidst World War I.

Returning to work as military secretary for Baroda state, Ambedkar was distressed by the sudden reappearance of discrimination in his life and left his job to work as a private tutor and accountant, even starting his own consultancy business that failed owing to his social status. With the help of an English acquaintance, he won a post as professor of political economy at the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai. He was able to return to England in 1920 with the support of the Maharaja of Kolhapur, a friend, and his own savings. By 1923, he completed a thesis on the problem of the rupee. He was awarded a DSc by the University of London, and finishing his law studies, he was simultaneously admitted to the British Bar as a barrister. On his way back to India, Ambedkar spent three months in Germany, where he conducted further studies in economics at the University of Bonn. He was formally awarded a PhD by Columbia University on June 8, 1927.

Fight Against Untouchability

As a leading scholar from the scheduled castes, Ambedkar had been invited to testify before the Southborough Committee, which was preparing the Government of India Act 1919. At this hearing, Ambedkar argued for creating separate electorates and reservations for those in the scheduled castes and other communities. In 1920, he began the publication of the weekly Mooknayak (Leader of the Silent) in Bombay. Attaining popularity, Ambedkar used this journal to criticize orthodox Hindu politicians and a perceived reluctance of the Indian political community to fight caste discrimination. A speech at a depressed classes conference impressed the local state ruler, who shocked orthodox society by dining with Ambekdar and his untouchable colleagues. Ambedkar exhorted his Mahar community to abandon the idea of subcastes, and held a joint communal dinner in which the principle of segregation was abandoned.

Upon his return from Europe, Ambedkar established a successful legal practice and organized the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (Group for the Wellbeing of the Excluded) to promote education and socioeconomic upliftment of the depressed classes.

He was highly critical of the practice of untouchability in Indian Muslim Society, lending credence to the view that he was not exclusively against Hindus or Hinduism, but was speaking of reforming social evils. In 1926, he became a nominated member of the Bombay Legislative Council, and by 1927, decided to launch active movements against untouchability. He began with public movements and marches to open up and share public drinking water resources. He also put up a struggle for entry into Hindu temples, forbidden by upper-caste communities. In a conference on December 24, he condemned the ancient Hindu classical text, the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu), for justifying the system of caste discrimination and untouchability.

Poona Pact

By now, Ambedkar had become one of the most prominent untouchable political figures of the time. He had grown increasingly critical of mainstream Indian political parties for their perceived lack of emphasis for the elimination of the caste system. Ambedkar criticized the Indian National Congress and its leader, Mahatma Gandhi, whom he accused of reducing the untouchable community to a figure of pathos. He also criticized the Salt Satyagraha launched by Gandhi and the Congress. Additionally, Ambedkar was dissatisfied with the failures of British rule and advocated a political identity for untouchables, separate from both the Congress and the British.

Ambedkar's criticisms and political work had made him very unpopular with orthodox Hindus, as well as with many Congress politicians who had earlier condemned untouchability and worked against discrimination across India. This was largely because these 'liberal' politicians usually stopped short of advocating full equality for untouchables. However, Ambedkar's prominence and popular support among the untouchable community had increased, and he was invited to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931. Here, he sparred verbally with Gandhi on the question of awarding separate electorates to untouchables.

When the British agreed with Ambedkar and announced the awarding of separate electorates, Gandhi began a fast-unto-death while imprisoned in the Yeravada Central Jail of Pune in 1932. Gandhi's fast provoked great public support across India. Fearing a communal reprisal and killings of untouchables in the event of Gandhi's death, Ambedkar agreed under massive coercion from the supporters of Gandhi to drop the demand for separate electorates and settled for a reservation of seats. Ambedkar later criticized this fast of Gandhi's as a gimmick to deny political rights to the untouchables and increase the coercion he had faced to give up the demand for separate electorates.

Political Career

In 1935, Ambedkar was appointed principal of the Government Law College, a position he held for two years. Settling in Bombay, he oversaw the construction of a large house and stocked his personal library with more than 50,000 books. His wife, Ramabai, died the same year.

Speaking at the Yeola Conversion Conference, Ambedkar announced his intention to convert to a different religion and exhorted his followers to leave Hinduism. In 1936, Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party, which won 15 seats in the 1937 elections to the Central Legislative Assembly. He published his book The Annihilation of Caste the same year. Attaining immense popular success, Ambedkar's work strongly criticized Hindu religious leaders and the caste system in general. He protested the Congress decision to call the untouchable community "Harijans" (Children of God), a name coined by Gandhi. Ambedkar served on the Defence Advisory Committee and the Viceroy's Executive Council as minister for labor.

Between 1941 and 1945, he published a large number of highly controversial books and pamphlets, including Thoughts on Pakistan, in which he criticized the Muslim League's demand for a separate Muslim state. With What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables, Ambedkar intensified his attacks on Gandhi and the Congress, charging them with hypocrisy. In his work Who Were the Shudras?, Ambedkar attempted to explain the formation of the Shudras (i.e., the lowest caste in hierarchy of the Hindu caste system). He also emphasized how Shudras are separate from Untouchables. Ambedkar oversaw the transformation of his political party into the All India Scheduled Castes Federation, although it performed poorly in the elections held in 1946 for the Constituent Assembly of India. In writing a sequel to Who Were the Shudras? in 1948, Ambedkar lambasted Hinduism in the The Untouchables: A Thesis on the Origins of Untouchability.

Ambedkar was also critical of Islam and its practices in South Asia. While he was extremely critical of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the communally divisive strategies of the Muslim League, he argued that Hindus and Muslims should segregate and the State of Pakistan be formed, as ethnic nationalism within the same country would only lead to more violence. He cited precedents in historical events such as the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and Czechoslovakia to bolster his views regarding the Hindu-Muslim communal divide. On the other hand, he questioned whether the need for Pakistan was sufficient and suggested it might be possible to resolve Hindu-Muslim differences in a less drastic way. He wrote that Pakistan must "justify its existence" accordingly.

Architect of India's Constitution

Ambedkar was an exemplary jurist and scholar. Upon India's independence on August 15, 1947, the new Congress-led government invited Ambedkar to serve as the nation's first law minister, which he accepted. On August 29, Ambedkar was appointed chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, charged by the assembly to write free India's new constitution. The text prepared by Ambedkar provided constitutional guarantees and protections for a range of civil liberties for individual citizens, including freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability, and the outlawing of all forms of discrimination. Ambedkar argued for extensive economic and social rights for women and won the assembly's support for introducing a system of reservations of jobs in the civil services, schools, and colleges for members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, a system akin to affirmative action. India's lawmakers hoped to eradicate the socioeconomic inequalities and lack of opportunities for India's depressed classes through this measure, which had been envisioned as temporary on a need basis. The constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, by the Constituent Assembly.

Ambedkar resigned from the cabinet in 1951, following the stalling in parliament of his draft of the Hindu Code Bill, which sought to expound gender equality in the laws of inheritance, marriage, and the economy. Although supported by Prime Minister Nehru, the cabinet, and many other Congress leaders, it received criticism from a number of members of parliament. Ambedkar independently contested an election in 1952 to the lower house of parliament, but was defeated. He was appointed to the upper house of parliament, in March 1952 and remained a member until his death.

Conversion to Buddhism

In the 1950s, Ambedkar turned his attention to Buddhism and traveled to Sri Lanka to attend a convention of Buddhist scholars and monks. While dedicating a new Buddhist vihara near Pune, Ambedkar announced he was writing a book on Buddhism, and that as soon as it was finished, he planned to make a formal conversion to Buddhism.

In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist Society of India. He completed The Buddha and His Dhamma in 1956, although it was published posthumously.

Ambedkar organized a formal public ceremony for himself and his supporters in Nagpur on October 14, 1956. Accepting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk, Ambedkar completed his own conversion. He then converted an estimated 380,000 of his supporters. Taking the 22 Vows, Ambedkar and his supporters explicitly condemned and rejected Hinduism and Hindu philosophy. Ambedkar completed his final manuscript, The Buddha or Karl Marx, on December 2, 1956.

Death

It is said that Ambedkar died in his sleep on December 6, 1956, at his home in Delhi. Since 1948, he had been suffering from diabetes. He was bed-ridden from June to October in 1954 owing to clinical depression and failing eyesight. He also had been increasingly embittered by political issues, which took a toll on his health.

A Buddhist-style cremation was organized for Ambedkar at Chowpatty beach on December 7, attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters, activists, and admirers. He was survived by his second wife, Savita Ambedkar, who was a Brahmin but converted to Buddhism with him. His wife's name before marriage was Sharda Kabir. Savita Ambedkar died in 2002.

A memorial for Ambedkar was established in his Delhi house at 26 Alipur Road. His birth date is celebrated as a public holiday, known as Ambedkar Jayanti. He was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna in 1990. Many public institutions are named in his honor, such as the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport. A large official portrait of Ambedkar is on display in the Indian Parliament building.

Ambedkar versus Gandhi

Ambedkar was criticized by his contemporaries and modern scholars for his opposition to Gandhi, who had a more positive, romanticized view of traditional village life in India and a sentimental approach to the untouchables, calling them Harijan (children of god) and saying he was "of" them. Ambedkar rejected the epithet "Harijan" as condescending. He tended to encourage his followers to leave their home villages, move to the cities, and get an education.

Legacy

Ambedkar's legacy as a sociopolitical reformer had a deep effect on modern India. In post-Independence India, his sociopolitical thought has acquired respect across the political spectrum. His initiatives have transformed the way India looks at socioeconomic policies, education, and affirmative action. His reputation as a scholar led to his appointment as free India's first law minister and chairman of the committee responsible for drafting a constitution. It is because of his profound understanding of India's history and his research into India's ancient democratic traditions that India is a democratic republic with one of the fairest and most equitable constitutions in the world.

Ambedkar's work guaranteed political, economic, and social freedoms for untouchables and other ethnic, social, and religious communities of India. He believed in the freedom of the individual and criticized both orthodox casteist Hindu society and exclusivism and narrow doctrinaire positions in Islam. His polemical condemnation of Hinduism and attacks on Islam made him unpopular and controversial, although his conversion to Buddhism sparked a revival in interest in Buddhist philosophy in India.

Ambedkar's political philosophy has given rise to a large number of scheduled caste political parties, publications, and workers' unions that remain active across India, especially in Maharashtra. His promotion of the scheduled caste Buddhist movement has rejuvenated interest in Buddhist philosophy in many parts of India. Mass conversion ceremonies have been organized by scheduled caste activists in modern times, emulating Ambedkar's Nagpur ceremony of 1956.

*Adapted from Wikipedia

"My social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. My philosophy has roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha."

-Dr. B. R. Ambedkar