Neo Buddhist Movement and Dr B.R. Ambedkar

               

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s path to his conversion in 1956 is marked by signposts or benchmarks which built in his mind both the certainty of Buddhism as a religion for Dalits and for all India, and also as an idea of the kind of Buddhism he wanted to reintroduce to India. In the introduction itself it is important to unravel the contours of his religious journey before looking at his brief biography. His quest can be categorized as follows. a) The intellectual revival of Buddhism in India and the writings of intellectuals, both in India and abroad, on Buddhism. b) The beauty of Buddhism as artistically grand as well as historically of great of great importance. C) The interest in Buddhism among Dalits in earlier generations. D) The relationship of Buddhism to the history of untouchability in India. E) Buddhism as a source of equality for women as well as all humanity. F) The importance of Buddhism internationally and in neighbouring countries. G) a realization of the value of the figure of the Buddha as focus of the new Buddhism. Within this framework let us briefly look into the history of the great icon and constitutionalist Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.[1]

Historical Sketch of Dr. Babasaheb 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 14th and last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai Murbadkar. His family was of Marathi background from the town of Ambavade in the Ratnagiri district of modern-day Maharashtra. They belonged to the Hindu Mahar caste, who were treated as so called untouchables and subjected to intense socio-economic discrimination. Ambedkar’s father’s name was Ramji Sakpal.

Belonging to the Kabir Panth, Ramji Sakpal encouraged his children to read the Hindu classics. He used his position in the army to lobby for his children to study at the government school, as they faced resistance owing to their caste. Although able to attend school, Ambedkar and other Untouchable children were segregated and given no attention or assistance by the teachers. They were not allowed to sit inside the class. Even if they needed to drink water somebody from a higher caste would have to pour that water from a height as they were not allowed to touch either the water or the vessel that contained it. This task was usually performed for the young Ambedkar by the school peon, and if he could not be found Ambedkar went without water.  His native village name was "Ambavade" in Ratnagiri District so he changed his name from "Sakpal" to "Ambedkar" with the recommendation and faith of Mahadev Ambedkar, his teacher who believed in him.[2]

Ramji Sakpal remarried in 1898, and the family moved to Mumbai , where Ambedkar became the first untouchable student at the Government High School near Elphinstone Road. Although excelling in his studies, Ambedkar was increasingly disturbed by the segregation and discrimination that he faced. In 1907, he passed his matriculation examination and entered the University of Bombay, becoming one of the first persons of untouchable origin to enter a college in India. This success provoked celebrations in his community, and after a public ceremony he was presented with a biography of the Buddha by his teacher Krishnaji Arjun Keluskar also known as Dada Keluskar, a Maratha caste scholar. Ambedkar's marriage had been arranged the previous year as per Hindu custom, to Ramabai, a nine-year old girl from Dapoli.  In 1908, he entered Elphinstone College and obtained a scholarship of twenty five rupees a month from the Gayakwad ruler of Baroda, Sahyaji Rao III 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. Ambedkar had just moved his young family and started work, when he dashed back to Mumbai to see his ailing father, who died on February 2, 1913. As a leading Indian scholar, 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 Dalits and other religious communities. In 1920, he began the publication of the weekly Mooknayak (Leader of the Silent) in Mumbai. Attaining popularity, Ambedkar used this journal to criticize orthodox Hindu politicians and a perceived reluctance of the Indian political community to fight caste discrimination. His speech at a Depressed Classes Conference in Kolhapur impressed the local state ruler Shahu IV, who shocked orthodox society by dining with Ambekdar. Ambedkar established a successful legal practice, and also organised the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha  to promote education and socio-economic uplifting of the depressed classes.[3]

By 1927 Dr. Ambedkar decided to launch active movements against untouchability. He began with public movements and marches to open up and share public drinking water resources, also he began a struggle for the right to enter Hindu temples. He led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for the right of the untouchable community to draw water from the main water tank of the town.

He was appointed to the Bombay Presidency Committee to work with the all-European Simon Commission in 1925. This commission had sparked great protests across India, and while its report was ignored by most Indians, Ambedkar himself wrote a separate set of recommendations for future constitutional reformers. In 1935, Ambedkar was appointed principal of the Government Law College, a position he held for two years. Settling in Mumbai, Ambedkar oversaw the construction of a large house, and stocked his personal library with more than 50,000 books. His wife Ramabai died after a long illness in the same year. It had been her long-standing wish to go on a pilgrimage to Pandharpur, but Ambedkar had refused to let her go, telling her that he would create a new Pandharpur for her instead of Hinduism's Pandharpur which treated them as untouchables. His own views and attitudes had hardened against orthodox Hindus, despite a significant increase in momentum across India for the fight against untouchability. And he began criticizing them even as he was criticized himself by large numbers of Hindu activists. Speaking at the Yeola Conversion Conference on October 13 near Nasik, Ambedkar announced his intention to convert to a different religion and exhorted his followers to leave Hinduism.  He would repeat his message at numerous public meetings across India.[4]

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 in the same year, based on the thesis he had written in New York. 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 labour. 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 Hindu caste system. He also emphasised 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:[5]

The Journey Towards Buddhism-

At the Yeola conference in 1935, prominent Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar declared that he would not die a Hindu, saying that it perpetuates caste injustices. Ambedkar was approached by various leaders of different denominations and faiths. Meetings were held to discuss the question of Dalit religion and the pros and cons of conversion. On May 22, 1936, an "All Religious Conference" was held at Lucknow. It was attended by prominent Dalit leaders including Jagjivan Ram, though Ambedkar could not attend it. At the conference, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and Buddhist representatives presented the tenets of their respective religions in an effort to win over Dalits.

Buddhist monk Lokanatha visited Ambedkar's residence at Dadar on June 10, 1936 and tried to persuade him to embrace Buddhism. Later in an interview to the Press, Lokanatha said that Ambedkar was impressed with Buddhism and that his own ambition was to convert all Dalits to Buddhism. In 1937, Lokanatha published a pamphlet  “Buddhism Will Make You Free”, dedicated to the Depressed Classes of India from his press in Ceylon.

In early 1940s, Ambedkar visited Acharya Ishvardatt Medharthi's Buddhpuri School in Kanpur. Medharthi had earlier been initiated into Buddhism by Lokanatha, and by the mid-1940s, he had close contacts with Ambedkar. For a short while, Ambedkar also took Pali classes from Medharthi in Delhi.

Bodhananda Mahastvir and B. R. Ambedkar first met in 1926, at the "Indian Non-Brahmin Conference" convened by Shahu IV of Kolhapur. They met on two more occasions and for a short while in the 1940s, where they discussed dhamma. Mahastavir was objected to Dr Ambedkar's second marriage because his wife was a Brahmin.  Later, his followers actively participated in Ambedkar's Republican Party of India.[6]

Ambedkar's conversion

After publishing a series of books and articles arguing that Buddhism was the only way for the Untouchables to gain equality, Ambedkar publicly converted on October 14, 1956 at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur. He took the three refuges and the Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk, Bhadant bv Chandramani, in the traditional manner and then in his turn administered them to the 380,000 of his followers that were present. The conversion ceremony was attended by Medharthi, his main disciple Bhoj Dev Mudit, and Mahastvir Bodhanand's Sri Lankan successor, Bhante Pragyanand. Ambedkar would die less than two months later, just after finishing his definitive work on Buddhism.

Many Dalits employ the term "Ambedkarite Buddhism" to designate the Buddhist movement, which started with Ambedkar's conversion and many converted people called themselves as "Nava-Bauddha" i.e. New Buddhists.[7]

Basic Difference Between Buddhism and Neo-Buddhism-

Ambedkar introduced a number of innovations in traditional Buddhism.

a)  Stress on Rationalism- The rationalism of the Buddha serves chiefly in Neo-Buddhism to deny the existence of God and Atman. Traditional Buddhism is silent on such matters while in this Ambedkar formulated that Dhamma had nothing to do with God and Soul. This was rooted in the belief of Ambedkar that concept God and soul legitimizes the system of caste. According to Ambedkar ‘atheism’is the key element of Buddhism along with rationality and egalitarianism as its hallmark.

b)  The Social Interpretation of Dukkha- According to Ambedkar Buddha’s gospel is essentially social, so is dukkha, the central notion of Buddhist suffering and sorrow. Ambedkar says that the recognition of suffering is the real  basis of religion. This suffering is wrought by social and economic injustice. Man’s misery is the result of man’s inequality to man. It is what we do to each other than what we do to ourselves. This is a radical reinterpretation as traditional Buddhism believes the root cause of suffering is the misery of desire that we bring upon ourselves.

c)  Reinterpretation of Mahabhinishkrmana( Great Renunciation)- Ambedkar gives a new account ofMahabhinishkramana of Gautama Siddhartha. He contends that the causes for Gautama’s renunciation of princely life are not the legendary four sights.  He found it irrational to suppose that a man of 29 was not exposed to sickness and dying. He suggests that renunciation was the result of Gautama’s refusal to support a Sakya military action against the Koliya tribe in a feud over water rights. Determined not to participate in war, Siddhartha went into voluntary exile. His moral stand lent courage to those Sakya who were opposed to the use of force and  the war was averted. But when Gautama was invited back he said there are many problems other than war that need to be solved. He thought that the cause of conflict was class disharmony and he wanted to find solution to this problem. This idea he took from Dharmanand Kosambi, who in Bhagvan Buddha propounded this theory.

d)  Underplay of the Role of Sangha- Ambedkar played down the role of Sangha in the History of Buddhism. To remove the impression that Buddha addressed to Bhikkus primarily, he stresses that Buddha clearly had the laity in mind. The 5 precepts and the 8 fold paths were addressed to house holders.the Sangha was instituted to show that what he preached  was practical. He observed that there was no Dhamma Diksha for those who wanted to join the Dhamma but not the Sangha. He said this was the cause of decline of Buddhism in India. Ambedkar invented the Dhamma Diksha for the laity. He urged the Bhikkus to learn from Christian missionaries and reach out to the masses.

e)  Aborginal Connections of Buddhism- Ambedkar said that there were a aborgginal group called the Nagas. Subjugated by the Aryans the Nagas became Buddhist. They were progressively marginalized and caste out as the ancestors of the untouchables. But before being outcastes these people propagated the religion. Nagas were behind the spreading of Buddhism. many of his followers believe that tis is the reason why he selected Nagpur for his conversion.

f)  Inclusion of Ambedkar as an Object of Reverence- The inclusion of Babasaheb Ambedkar as an object of reverence is the most visible innovation in practice adopted by his followers. Buddha and Ambedkar in plaster, stone , poster-art and painting, in song, drama, and story, are never without each other. This shows that Neo- Buddhism combines its own tradition with mainstream Buddhism. on every occasion both  figure are garlanded, the Buddha first; incense is burnt and both are addressed before any speech is delivered. Some of his followers consider Ambedkar as Bodhisatva for his role as the savior of Buddhists in India. another effort is to include him in the 3 jewels which becomes 4. I go for refuge to Buddha, I go for refuge to the Dhamma, I go for refuge to the Sangha and I go to refuge to Bhimrao, i.e. Bhimmam Sharanam Gachchammi.

g) Redefining Viharas- Viharas are traditionally the living place of te monks and more of a monastery. But in Neo-Buddhism it is a meeting place for the laity, a place where the image of Buddha can be kept and lectures held on Buddhism. there is no Pujari and no stream of individual worshippers paying homage o the image. The Vihra srves chiefly as a centre for the community to gather as Buddhists. [8]

h)  Lack of Essentials- Ambedkar restricted Buddhists beliefs to this world and this life.the existence of consciousness of the body was denied. Buddhist approach was posited as rational and scientific. Whatever transgressed the authority of experience and reason was considered non-Buddhistic in essence by Ambedkar. Ambedkar sought to eliminate mystical elements such as Dhyana and Sammadhi( meditation). According to Ambedkar, Buddhism is a religion that is rooted in morality. [9]

Placing Neo-Buddhism in Larger Epistemological Framework-

To understand th various facets of Neo-Buddhism we have to analyse various dynamics that propelled Babasaheb to evolve Neo- Buddhism the way he did.

a) Ambedkar’s Understanding of Religion- Ambedkar’s approach towards religion differed drastically from that of his contemporaries. He did not approach religion in a theistic and deistic perspective. He did not approach religion from a comparative perspective. His approach was enriched by the Marxist critique of religion but was not Marxist either. His approach was influenced on one hand by sociological, anthropological and philosophical works of Durkheim, Spencer, Robertson Smith, Dharmanand Kosambi, Dr. P.V. Kane. On the other hand he approached religion from historical evolution perspective and from the perspective of the philosophy of religion. But for him philosophy of religion meant critical application of reason. From historical evolution he traces from the savage society to civilized society. For a long time religious morality determined social fabric but was shattered by scientific revolution where secular morality replaced religious morality in modern times.  So morality became central.

b) Critique  of Hinduism- Ambedkar did not understand Hinduism as a primitive religion but regarded it as a positive religion. Positive religion emerges at a particular time in history; it has its own scheme of divine governance and a definite set of values. He believed the written code is Manusmriti which emerged after the defeat of Buddhism. so it is a historical religion and a revived form of Brahmanism. By making Hinduism historical he was making it come under reasonable scrutiny. He scrutinizes it on the basis of the principle of justice that  was based on liberty , equality and fraternity. He asked whether Hinduism have these aspects. His answer was big no. the varnasystem was the most dehumanizing part of Hinduism that created an ascending order of reverence and descending order of contempt. He found the Ashrama system very unreasonable and negates life. Manu’s code was anti-woman that denied education, equality and freedom to women. [10]

c) Ambedkar’s Construction of Dhamma to Transcend Religion- Ambedkar’s understanding of religion as Historical made him realize that religion works as both Social force and motive force. As a motive force it inspires the individual to act upon an event, to transcend ordinary conditions, to withstand difficulties and accept failure with a sense of detachment. As a social force it gives a community an identity, social security and works as a source of power. He believed for long that a state with written codes in democratic framework can institutionalize morality. But when he realized the limitation of state and religion he formulated Dhamma which is different  from Dharma. Dhamma was the guiding principle of Social conscience. Maintaining purity of life, to reach perfection in life, to live in Nibbana(nirvana), to give up craving, to believe karma is the instrument of moral order is Dhamma. Belief in God, belief in soul, belief in sacrifice, in the infallibity of books is against Dhamma. So he situates morality in the day to day life of the people. Dhamma is a social praxis, it originates in and thrives only through praxis. Ambedkar’s Dhamma rejects religion, demystifies morality and secularises social relations. [11]

d) Religion in the Context of Ambedkar’s Politics- Ambedkar located his politics in opposition to Swarajya and formulated Surajya that dealt civilizing dimension of politics. This enabled him at once inlaunching the politics of Dalit emancipation in the face of the caste system, communalism, colonialism and capitalism. He found Brahmanism in Hinduism destabilizing and developed a serious critique on Brahmanism. Ambedkar realized that Brahmanism and capitalism go hand in hand. So his Dhamma was constructed in accordance with his politics. He defined social in relation to morality. His construction of Dhamma at once was a creative blend of the norms and values of modern civil society and human beings’ eternal quest for communitarian life. His doctrine of Dhamma has helped the secularist discourse in India above the antagonism between tradition and modernity and reason and faith. He showed that the critique of religion can be used effectively for emancipatory politics   by reinterpreting Buddhism.[12]

Conclusion-

We have to accept that the movement of Neo- Buddhism was very innovative and its nature was very modern. Ambedkar is a creative genius in blending religion and reason. With his religion his slogan of ‘ Educate, agitate, organise’ gave the movement a footing that challenged the community to engage meaningfully with the education system. He blended religion and politics very beautifulyl. He gave a new cultural world to the Dalits to engage with. The demographic change that the movement brought about was phenomenal. It helped people to get out of the symbolic and cultural world of Brahminism and could be redefined with the categories of Buddhism and its stress on equality and fraternity. Because of the constitutional role of Ambedkar, the Neo- Buddhists have always respected constitutional means and politics has been parliamentary. They claim that the primitive Buddhism was like Neo-Buddhism and very different from traditional Buddhism. This movement has to be engaged with to understand one of the most important Subaltern social movements of India.

Rev Merin Mathew
Mar Thoma Syrian Church
Guwahati

Bibliography

Goyal, S.R., Buddhism: In Indian History and Culture, (Jodhpur, Kusumanjali Book World, 2004

[1], Dhanajay Keer, Dr Ambedkar :Life and Mission( Bombay: Popular Prakashan,  1971

Queen, Christopher, Ambedkar’s Dhamma: Source and Method in the Construction of Engaged Buddhism, , Edited by Surendra Jondhale and Johannes Beltz(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004

Sumant, Yashwant, Situating Religion in Ambedkar’s Political Discourse. Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India, Edited by Surendra Jondhale and Johannes Beltz(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004

Thomas, M.M, Ambedkar and the Neo-Buddhist Movement. Edited by T.S. Wilkinson and M.M.Thomas( Madras: The Christian Literature Society, 1972

Eleanor Zelliot, “ B.R. Ambedkar and search for a meaningfulBuddhism”, Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India, Edited by Surendra Jondhale and Johannes Beltz(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004),

[1], Eleanor Zelliot, “ B.R. Ambedkar and search for a meaningfulBuddhism”, Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India, Edited by Surendra Jondhale and Johannes Beltz(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 18

[2], Dhanajay Keer, Dr Ambedkar :Life and Mission( Bombay: Popular Prakashan,  1971),12-13

[3] Ibid., 72-77

[4]  M.M Thomas, Ambedkar and the Neo-Buddhist Movement. Edited by T.S. Wilkinson and M.M.Thomas( Madras: The Christian Literature Society, 1972), 64-70

[5]  Keer, op.cit., 276-280.

[6] Ibid, 305

[7]  Thomas., op.cit, 49-53

[8]  S.R Goyal., Buddhism: In Indian History and Culture, (Jodhpur, Kusumanjali Book World, 2004), 243-248.

[9]  Christopher Queen , Ambedkar’s Dhamma: Source and Method in the Construction of Engaged Buddhism, ,Edited by Surendra Jondhale and Johannes Beltz(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 132-136

[10] Yashwant Sumant ,Situating Religion in Ambedkar’s Political Discourse. Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India, Edited by Surendra Jondhale and Johannes Beltz(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 70-76

[11] Ibid

[12] ibid