Talk:Mimamsa-Karmamarga:Nyaya and Mimamsa:Buddhism and Indian Society
By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami
In my opinion, at no time in our history did Buddhism, in the fullest sense of that religion, have a large following in India. Today, several Hindus who are members of the Theosophical Society celebrate our festivals like other Hindus and conduct marriages in the Hindu way. There are many devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsa practising our traditional customs. Śrī C. Rāmānujācārya, Anna (Śrī N. Subrahmaṇya Ayyar), and some others are intimately associated with the Rāmakṛṣṇa Mission, but they still adhere to our traditional beliefs.
When great men make their appearance, people are drawn to them for their qualities of compassion and wisdom. In the organizations established after them, our Sanātana Dharma is followed with some changes. But a large number of the devotees of these men still follow the old customs and traditions in their homes.
Many regard Gāndhījī as the founder of a new religion (Gandhism), and look upon him as greater even than Avatāra-s like Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. But in their private lives, few of them practise what he preached—for instance, widow marriage, mixing with members of other Jāti-s, and so on. People developed esteem for Gāndhījī for his personal life of Ātman-sacrifice, truthfulness, devotion, and service to mankind. But applying his ideas in actual life was another matter.
It was in the same way that the Buddha had earned wide respect for his lofty character and exemplary personal life. “A prince renounces his wife and child in the prime of his youth to free the world from sorrow”, the story of Siddhārtha, including such accounts, made an impact on people. They were moved by his compassion, sense of detachment, and self-sacrifice. But it did not mean that they were ready to follow his teachings. They admired the Buddha for his personal qualities, but they continued to subscribe to the Varṇāśrama system and the ancient way of religious life with its sacrifice and other rites. Contrary to what he wished, people did not come forward in large numbers to become monks, but continued to remain householders adhering to Vaidika practices.
Emperor Aśoka did much to propagate Buddhism, but in society in general, the Vaidika Dharma did not undergo any change. Besides, the emperor himself supported the Varṇāśrama Dharma, as is evident from his famous edicts. But for the Buddhist Bhikṣu-s (monks), all householders followed the Vaidika path. Though they were silent on the question of Īśvara and other deities, some books written by great Buddhist monks open with hymns to Sarasvatī. They also worshipped several gods. It is from Tibet that we have obtained many Tāntrika works relating to the worship of various deities.
If you read the works of Śrīharṣa, Bilhaṇa, and so on in Sanskrit, and Tamil poetical works like that of Ilango Adigaḷ, you will realise that even during times when Buddhism wielded influence in society, Vaidika customs and Varṇāśrama were followed by the generality of people.
Reformists today speak in glowing terms about Vyāsa, Śaṅkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, and others. But they do not accept the customs and traditions I ask people to follow. Some of them, however, come to see me. Is it not because they feel that there is something good about me, because they have personal regard for me, even though they do not accept my ideas?
Similarly, great men have been respected in this country for their personal qualities and blameless life, even though they advocated views that differed slightly from the Vaidika tradition, or were even radically opposed to it. Our people, in any case, had long been steeped in the ancient Vaidika religion and its firmly established practices and, until the turn of the century, were reluctant to discard the religion of their forefathers and the vocations followed by them.
Such was our people's attitude during the time of the Buddha also. When his doctrines came under attack from Udayanācārya and Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, even the few who had first accepted them returned to the Vaidika religion.