“Message of Buddha can help to solve our problems in the right perspective”- Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Buddha was single religious figure who deeply influenced Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, , Indias first Prime Minister in his entire life .While his distaste for religion in public life may be well known he was actually deeply influenced by one religious figure, in whose teachings he often found intellectual solace is “ Buddha”. He wrote in ‘Discovery of India’ that ,The story of Gautam Buddha has influenced me from my childhood. That influence was two-fold. First, it influenced me as a story and secondly, I liked the scientific attitude reflected therein, the scientific and ethical attitude. Nehru said,The Buddha was a revolutionary in social matters as well as in philosophical/spiritual traditions of his time. With strong reasoning and alternative ideals of love, sympathy, cooperation, etc. he combated social discriminations, injustices, and various inequalities. After twenty five centuries, when Pandit Nehru was very much involved in the India’s freedom struggle, witnessing discriminations and injustices of the ruling elite, certainly the contributions of the Buddha would provide him great inspirations. Pandit Nehru precisely appreciates the great contribution of the Buddha. In his own words “Buddha had the courage to attack popular religion, superstition, ceremonial, and priest craft, and all the vested interests that clung to them. He condemned also the metaphysical and theological outlook, miracles, revelations, and dealings with the super-natural. His appeal was to logic, reason, and experience; his emphasis was on ethics, and his method was one of psychological analysis, a psychology without a soul. His whole approach comes like the breath of the fresh wind from the mountains after the stale air of metaphysical speculation.”I thought of his message which apart from its religious significance was a message of tolerance, a message against superstition, rituals and dogma. It was a message essentially in scientific spirit. The Buddha asked no man to believe in anything except what could be proved by experiment and trial. All he wanted men to do was to seek the truth and not accept anything on the word of another even though it be of Buddha himself. That seems to me the essence of his message.... The influence of Buddha on Nehru invariably showed in his worldview. His foreign policy always looked to evolve equations of peace and their sustainance. It aimed at resolution of conflict. On November 28, 1956, Nehru said, It is essentially through the message of Buddha that we can look at our problems in the right perspective and draw back from conflict and from competing with one another in the realm of conflict, violence and hatred. Many such references are included in the handbook taken out by Nehru Museum and Library. Professor V P Dutt, a well-known foreign policy commentator, remarked in the discussion, He had a temper for peace. It was only his temper for peace that led directly to the principles of Panchsheel and Non-Alignment.
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 03:47:31 +0000
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