14 October 1956, Nagpur: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Return of the Buddha to India

14 October 1956—the auspicious day of Vijayadashami. A vast sea of nearly five lakh people clad in white garments had gathered at the grounds on Chandrapur Road in Nagpur, Maharashtra. This was no ordinary public gathering, but the prelude to the greatest bloodless revolution in world history.

Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, embraced Buddhist dhamma (the moral and spiritual path of righteousness) by receiving Trisharan (the Three Refuges) and Panchsheel (the Five Moral Precepts) at the hands of the venerable elder Buddhist monk, Mahasthavir (senior monk) Chandramani. Immediately thereafter, he administered the 22 vows to his lakhs of followers, resolving to walk upon the egalitarian path of the Buddha. This was the historic return to India of Tathagata (the Buddha) Gautama Buddha, who had remained exiled and neglected in his own birthplace for centuries.

Analysing this momentous event in the concluding chapter of his timeless book, ‘Buddha Dhamma and India’, N. Singh writes:

‘Babasaheb Ambedkar’s return to Buddhist dhamma was neither an accidental nor an emotional decision. It was the culmination of his decades-long study, contemplation, and social struggle. In 1935, on the soil of Yeola, he had made the historic declaration—“I was born a Hindu, which was not in my control; but I will not die a Hindu!” Following this, he deeply studied Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism. Yet, in the end, he chose only the dhamma of Tathagata Buddha. Why?
Because the Buddha’s dhamma does not rely upon an imaginary God, heaven and hell, or divine incarnations. It stands firmly on the solid ground of pragya (wisdom), sheel (moral conduct), and karuna (compassion). In the Buddha’s dhamma, human dignity is paramount. Babasaheb liberated the Buddha from the cage of ritual worship and transformed him into a weapon of social justice, fraternity, and scientific consciousness. He named this ‘Navayana’ (the new vehicle)—a new vehicle that is the bearer of modern democracy and human rights.’
— ‘Buddha Dhamma and India’

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Navayana: The Modern Adaptation of an Ancient Truth

In his immortal work ‘The Buddha and His Dhamma’, Dr Ambedkar reinterpreted the Buddha’s philosophy in contemporary contexts:

1. Religion (Dharma) versus Dhamma: Babasaheb clarified that ‘religion’ may be confined to individual salvation or the worship of God, but ‘dhamma’ is social morality. The purpose of dhamma is not to attain heaven, but to establish a just society on this earth.
2. Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity: Embracing the slogan of the French Revolution, Babasaheb affirmed that he had derived this principle not from any foreign philosophy, but from the teachings of his master, Tathagata Buddha. Without liberty, equality is incomplete; and without fraternity, both are meaningless.
3. The Revolutionary Significance of the 22 Vows: The 22 vows taken in Nagpur were, in truth, a manifesto of complete liberation from superstition, belief in divine incarnations (avatarvad), ancestral rites (shradh-tarpan [rituals of offering food and water to the deceased]), and casteist rituals. They bestowed upon the oppressed classes a new self-image, dignity, and intellectual freedom.

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The Relevance of the Buddha and Ambedkar in Today’s India

Today, when hysteria, lynching, hatred, and social polarisation in the name of religion are at their peak in the country, the path of the Buddha and Ambedkar is the only sanjeevani (life-restoring elixir):

• Defence of Constitutional Values: The values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity enshrined in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution are directly inspired by the Buddha’s dhamma. When we defend the Constitution, we are in fact defending the Tathagata’s ideals of compassion and equality.
• The Ultimate Battle Against Casteism: The historically oppressed classes still face caste-based humiliation and violence today. The Buddha’s dhamma lifts them out of feelings of inferiority and grants them the self-respect of ‘Atta Dipo Bhava’ (‘Be your own light’).
• The Era of Science and Reason: In this age of superstitions, fraudulent godmen (babas), and religious racketeers, only the Buddha’s rationalism and Ambedkar’s clarion call—‘Educate, Organise, Agitate!’—can save the youth from going astray.

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Our Duty as a True Buddhist and Citizen

1. Making ‘Atta Dipo Bhava’ the Guiding Principle of Life: Instead of holding out our hands before some miracle, some godman (baba), or some supernatural power, place your faith in your own hard work, your own education, and your own inner strength.
2. Expanding Empathy and Social Fraternity: Eradicate every form of caste, religious, and regional prejudice from within yourself, and come forward to wipe away the tears of the weakest person in society.
3. Spreading Education and Scientific Consciousness: Rather than spoon-feeding your children the bitter draught of superstitions, educate them in science, mathematics, literature, and human rights.

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A Question for Reflection (The Book’s Final Message)

Does the Buddha belong only to Buddhists? Does Ambedkar belong only to Dalits?

The truth is that the Buddha and Ambedkar belong to all humanity! They belong to every human being who wishes to breathe freely, who desires to be free from hatred, and who dreams of equality in society.

To understand the ideological journey of transforming India once again into the India of the Tathagata—an enlightened India (Prabuddha Bharat)—this inspiring conclusion to N. Singh’s book, ‘Buddha Dhamma and India’, must be read by every conscientious human being.