"Buddha always called his way to salvation the 'Aryan Path'. "- says Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Discovery Of India , while writing about "What is Hindusism"(Page 74).
If Buddha had held "Aryan" which means Noble in Sanskrit, in such a high esteem, will it pass muster if anybody says Aryan Invasion Theory as being correct or calls Aryans Invaders of Dravidian India. All these Western theories(AIT) are nothing short of a great conspiracy who termed Aryans , a race. Those of us who hold Buddha as a fighter against Brahminical hegemony tends to unnaturally convert him as a crusader against Vedas and Vedantas.
I would like to give few counterpoints and leave the rest to the best judgment of the readers of this post:
1)Buddha accepted Kapila's Sankhya Yoga's principles of this metaphysical arrangement of the world including the universe but without accepting its Prakriti and Purusha connections, as they are not easily verifiable. Kapila rishi, according to Swami Vivekananda, is the first and foremost profound psychologist in the world ,who has also been eulogised by our Vedas as the grandson of Brahma and whose theory also finds a reflection in Greek philosophy.
In the words of Swami Vivekananda“there is no philosophy in the world that is not indebted to Kapila.”
If Buddha's philosophy rests on Kapila Muni's theory then is it anti-vedic?He also got the name of Sakhyamuni from this stand point only.
2)Buddha's own words on Rama,the son of Dasaratha: The following is an excerpt from Dasaratha Jataka (no. 461) of the Jātaka-book
"The Master(Buddha) having ended this discourse, declared the Truths, and identified the Birth: "At that time the king Suddhodana 3 was king Dasaratha, Mahāmāyā 3 was the mother, Rāhulā's mother 4 was Sītā, Ānanda was Bharata, and I myself was Rāma-paṇḍita."
Buddha revered Ramayana and that is why he chose to visit Sri Lanka many times.
In Divurumpola, which is considered as Hindu holy spot where Sita Mata did Agni-Pariksha, a sapling from Boddhi tree from Anuradhapura was planted here as a mark of respect. This is a holy place for Buddhists also and a Buddhist temple has also been built here.
Similarly Kelaniya temple built in memory of King Vibhishana originally, has become a Buddhist temple and in Buddhist traditions, Vibhishana is crowned as King by Buddha instead of Rama.
3)Thailand which boasts itself as being Buddhist still names its monarch as Rama.Thailand 's native Ramayana, which is called Ramakein has its origins in Dasaratha Jataka narrated by Buddha.
4) Buddha also accepted the hindu concept of rebirth based on one's own karma and expounded on the laws of karma based on Cause and Effect cycle.He even praised and identified who is a True Brahmin in his Dhammapada.
Buddha, who did not accept the abstract concepts of Vedanta with respect to Atman, and the unquestioned authority of Vedas & its animal sacrifice rituals, never deviated from the path of Charanam, Dharma,Sangam and Vinaya, which are the tenets of Sanatana dharmam as a way of life.
He was as devout as Kapila Muni and was a true Kaivalyarthi as propounded by Bhagavat Gita. That is why Poet Saint Jayadeva following Suka Rishi's Bhagavata Purana, called him an avatar of Vishnu. Even the great Adi Sankara subtly accepted Buddha's concept of Pure Consciousness.Ahimsa and agreed that the path to Salvation is through Self-enlightenment i.e Gnana marga by giving up all the worldly desires. He only condemned Buddha's Sunyata concept but complemented and supplemented it with Poornatva of Purusha/Brahman based on Vedanta.Like different schools of thought and philosophy in Sanatan Dharma , Sankara and Buddha schools are accepted as ways of life,even though both are held up against orthodox schools of Hinduism . Was Adi Sankara not accused "pracanna Buddha"i.e both are in the same side of Sanatan Dharma which included Charvaka and Nastika schools also!!!
That is why Buddha is also truly a Guru in our long lineage of Guru Parampara.
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