Buddha Purnima and the politics of convenience

Political waters are known to be treacherous. Often all it needs is a sneeze off guard to fill rivals' sails with winds, letting them soar past you. This effect is amplified by words uttered without a thought about their repercussions. BJP leaders from Maharashtra, Pankaja Munde and Shaina NC, should know this better than most others given how their Buddha Purnima messages on social media have drawn the ire of many who have taken umbrage to them calling Buddha the ninth incarnation of Vishnu.

All have little Buddha inside,to be realized.
Buddhism originated in ancient India.Puranic texts,mention him Avatar of Vishnu #BuddhaPurnima — ShainaNC (@ShainaNC) May 21, 2016

In keeping with the newer depths trolls find to plumb, reactions ranged from the acerbic to abusive. Many of those reacting swear by the Buddha and carry the flag of the Ambedkarite movement, that sought to rehabilitate millions of oppressed Dalits from the throes of Hinduism's orthodoxy to the refuge of Buddhism.

While several questioned this “appropriation” calling it another ploy to link everything to an ancient Hindu umbilicus, there were others who called it undermining of Buddhist thought and ideology. Yet others want to know why the Buddha then hadn’t figured as a deity in the Hindu pantheon.

In all fairness, while it is another story that several of our politicians seem to open their mouths only to change whichever foot was in it earlier, in this instance the duo have been unfairly accused of appropriating the Buddhist legacy as a subset of Hinduism. There is at least one piece of historic evidence to back this argument.

Jayadeva, the 12th Century poet is much revered for his works. The most monumental of his works, Geet Govinda (Krishna through verses), forms the mainstay of Odissi performances and influences the motifs of the patachitra paintings. The Dashavatar Stotram, one of the best-known hymns penned by Jayadeva, depicts Vishnu born as Buddha to condemn the pompous ceremonies and animal sacrifices that religion seemed to have been reduced to. This text predates Ambedkar's renunciation of Hinduism by almost 800 years, reflecting the then prevalent belief, that Buddha was the ninth incarnation of Vishnu.

Interestingly, while the most widely accepted ten incarnations of Vishnu include Krishna as the eighth incarnation, Jayadeva’s Geet Govinda deems Krishna as the central figure, and instead anoints his foster brother Balarama as the eighth incarnation.

One takeaway missed by most Dalit rights activists is that while the text itself is a testimony to divided opinion over which deities form the ten incarnations, Buddha has unambiguously figured across all versions as the last known incarnation of Vishnu.

Doesn’t this also underline the dynamic, flexible and accommodating nature of Hinduism itself? While no thumb rule applies to the Hindu way of life, Buddhism has come to be acknowledged as a distinctly different way of life.  And, in any case, why can’t the outraging ideologues see that the voices making such a claim about Buddha are far outnumbered by Hindus who couldn’t care one way or the other.

As for Buddha’s absence in the pantheon of Hindu deities, this is quite unlike the uncelebrated Varaha (boar) avatar or the kurma (tortoise) avatar. Institutionalised Hinduism seems to have made concerted efforts at 'letting go' of an avatar who questioned its commercialisation and silence on inequality.

Those claiming Puranic origins of Buddha  negate his journey on the rational path leading to salvation (moksha). Worse, they don’t even realise that Ambedkar too embarked on a similar journey to break the shackles of casteism and millions followed him. The other extreme, in all historical incorrectness, usurps this moment to further polarise.

Increasingly such positions and position-takers, both, seem driven more by the politics of convenience than principle or ideology. Why else would those who unfailingly question Rama’s chivalry as someone who deserted an innocent Sita, conveniently leave out the plight of Yashodhara and Rahul, Gautama’s wife and son, who faced the same plight? 

Dalit ideologues and scholars, whose sense of entitlement is not entirely misplaced in the recent Buddha Purnima episode, could also do with a little introspection on the justice their community has meted out to the 22 vows Ambedkar prescribed to all those accepting Buddhism. The first five of these renounce every practice and belief of the Hindu religion, explicitly including the one that Buddha is a Puranic incarnation. The rage and rationalism of the thought leaders exerting practice of these vows seems to wane by the time they get to the 13th oath of compassion and kindness for all living beings, falling prey to the reverse hate speech echoing cacophonies of social balkanisation.

Pankaja Munde and Shaina NC may have merely raised a historically validated point on a politically incorrect day, but this does beg the question— why is no party ever complete without uninvited party poopers? Party poopers, who may or may not practice a religion they’ve been raised in, but target others religiously.
 

The writer has worked as a journalist with a national television network for eight years and is a communications professional. Opinions expressed are entirely his own and do not reflect those of any organisation, group or other individuals.