The Changing Brahmanical Attitude towards Buddhism

Further progress in the development of Buddhism and Hinduism depends to some extent upon the attitude of ‘Brahmanical Hindus’ towards Buddhism and his followers. The importance of this attitude can scarcely be exaggerated in view of the past history of the relationship between Buddhism and Brahmanism.^[1]

It is traditional because its upholders view Buddhism from the standpoint of their own (Brahmanical) tradition which is supposed to be orthodox. Buddhism in this standpoint is regarded as ‘heterodox’. Another reason for calling this attitude traditional is that it has been handed down traditionally from the time of Vaiṣnavite Purāṇa. The Purāṇas treat the Buddha as a heretical teacher of Vedic culture, Lord Viṣṇu himself, assumed the form of the Buddha and taught Buddhism. Modern Indian intellectuals hailing from the Brahmanical Hindu tradition have accepted this view of the Purāṇas, although they perhaps do not subscribe the puranic view that the ‘Buddha avatāra’ of Viṣṇu was a delusive phantom and Buddhism a trick to mislead the ‘demons’.^[2] They want to interpret their ancient heritage and history in the light of its higher doctrines associated with Buddhism and the Vedanta of Śaṅkara’s school. There is a tendency to trace all the great and sublime elements of ‘Hinduism’ to the Vedic tradition.

The great strength of Hinduism is its receptivity and all-comprehensiveness. It cares not to oppose the progress of any other system. Hinduism in Vedic way, is in a self-perpetuating religion, tracing its multi-dimensional development back to the Vedas and Upaniṣads. The Vedic way noted for its constant spiritual re-interpretation, is a way of life which is self-renewing, self-preserving and therefore, for the individual and for the world, may be eternal. Hinduism has been lucky enough to have a galaxy of spiritual interpreters and re-interpreters.

The Indian culture is immemorial and has been basically spiritual. The Vedic sages were capable to view true religion, social organisation, literary pursuit etc. It constitute a highly adventurous expectations to reach the Himalayan height of spiritual perfection that is realising God in one’s own self. In this context people would never remain content by being complacement believers. They made scientific enquires into all aspects of religion. They conducted enquiry into the Dharma, that is social justice, personal morality, different religious practices, politics and so on.^[3] This enquiry is in Dharma they called Dharmavicara and dharmajijñāsa. The sages also conducted scientific enquiry into the nature of ultimate Reality and they called such an enquiry Tattvavicāra. In this process they also felt compelled to carry this enquiry into the reality of the self. They found that man is suffering unendingly from all kinds of limitations and lot of miseries, inspite of his best efforts to avoid them by achieving perfection in executing all his secular and religious activities. They understood that these miseries are bound to grow by leaps and bounds, as long as man has not rooted out and destroyed them by anything other than the correct knowledge of the self, that self-enquiry is the only means. In this manner out of their limitless compassion for mankind, they conducted enquiry into the nature of the self, and the supreme and of their mutual relation and of their relation to the world of objects. This enquiry they called Ātmavicāra, Brahmavicāra and Brahma jijñāsa.

Śrī Śaṅkara was one of those who had made very important and magnificient landmark on the most difficult path of this spiritual adventure and had contributed decisively to this Brahma jijñāsa. In the field of philosophy his contributions are many, significantly original and they have far reaching implications. All researchers including critics of Śaṅkara are indeed unanimous in their assertion that after Śaṅkara, the nature of Brahma jijñāsa has not been the same as it was earlier. Yet it is very significant that the Ācārya never claimed any originality. He emphasised again and again that whatever he said was nothing but the good old Upaniṣadic truth-‘Eṣa Dharma Sanātana’, this is most ancient law.

In Indian philosophical thought, Ācārya made history without knowing that he was making it. His philosophy is so crystal clear and so simple. At the same time Śrī Śaṅkara’s philosophy is subtle and deep, yet so high, vast and profound that volumes may not suffice to exhaust its implications and limitations.

In this chapter, I try to analyse briefly Śaṅkara’s philosophy as found in Bhagavatpādābhyudaya. Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin made so many important refernces to his philosophical thoughts in this book. He illustrates that Śaṅkara turned to Vedas and Upaniṣads to have the perfect knowledge of the self. The philosophy of Śaṅkara is a logical synthesis of the teachings of Upaniṣads by commenting the ‘Principal Upaniṣads’, ‘Brahmasūtra of Badarāyaṇa and Bhagavadgīta. Śaṅkara established the non-dual school of Indian philosophy. In addition to these comments he composed, a number of philosophical and devotional works like Vivekacūdamaṇi, Upadeśasahasri, Sarvavedānta-siddantasaṃgraha etc to discuss his ideas. While sketching the legendary biography of Śaṅkara, Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin has refered to his important philosophical and religious ideas. This chapter is a discussion on those contexts.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Dr. B. K. Chandrasekhar, A History of Indian Buddhism, New Delhi: Murali Lal & Sons, 2011, p.46

[2]:

Ibid, p. 47.

[3]:

Ibid, p. 48.