THE Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya near the Bihar capital of Patna is of great significance to followers of Buddhism as Lord Gautam Buddha attained Nirvana here. The temple has been under the control of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act 1949, and BTMC (Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee) manages it. The controlling board of the temple has an equal number of Buddhists and Hindus. Since February, several monks have been protesting against this 1949 Act and want only Buddhists should be part of the board.
The protests have a long history; due to the mixed nature of the controlling body, there has been a gradual Brahmanisation of the temple. One Akash Lama, sitting on the protest, aptly put it, “This is not just about a temple; it’s about our identity and pride. We are putting forward our demands peacefully. Until we receive written assurance from the government, this protest will continue indefinitely.” The protesting monks claim that “the Mahabodhi Mahavihara is being Brahmanised. The influence of Brahminical rituals in the management and ceremonies of the temple is increasing, deeply hurting the faith and heritage of the Buddhist community.”
As such, Indian history is a long story of the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism. Buddhism gives the message of equality, while Brahmanism is based on the birth-based hierarchy of caste and gender. Buddha’s primary message was against the then-prevailing values of caste and gender-based inequality. In due course, Buddhism spread all over and with the embracing of this religion by Emperor Ashok, it spread further and to other countries also, particularly South East Asia. Ashok sent messengers to several countries to spread the message of Lord Buddha.
Buddha also called for stopping the unnecessary sacrifice of animals, particularly cows, in the prevalent rituals. All this hurt the social and economic interests of the Brahmins, who were uncomfortable with the spread of Buddhism.
To their great relief, Pushyamitra Shunga, the ‘Commander in Chief’ of Ashok’s grandson, murdered Brihadratha and came to power and establishing the Shunga dynasty. With this, there was a resurgence of Brahmanism and an eclipse of Buddhism. He “actively persecuted Buddhists… He is said to have burned Buddhist monasteries, destroyed stupas, and even offered rewards for Buddhist monks’ heads, leading to a decline in Buddhism’s influence and a shift in favour of Brahmanism.”
Later, Shankaracharya of Kaladi, a very influential philosopher, argued for Brahmanical philosophy. His period is mired in controversy; it is traditionally believed that he lived from 788 to 820 CE. However, scholars propose earlier dates, with some suggesting a birth as early as 507-475 BC. Whatever it is, it preceded the ‘invasions’ of Muslim kings from the North West.
He aimed to sanitise Brahmanism by getting rid of unnecessary rituals. His focus was philosophically opposed to Buddhist philosophy. Sunil Khilnani writes, “Throughout the subcontinent, he engaged in verbal combat with Buddhist philosophers, who taught as Buddha had, such doctrines as the momentariness of all things and the denial of the existence of the deity.” (Incarnations: India in 50 Lives, p 84, Allen Lane, UK, 2016) Shankar was for the status quo and regarded ‘World as an illusion’. Buddha regarded the world as real, where miseries prevailed, and by implication, these should be addressed and rectified.
Overall, due to these attacks, Buddhism disappeared from the country till Babasaheb Ambedkar converted to Buddhism with a large number of his followers. Earlier, Bhakti Saints also talked of some of the values originating from Buddha, like opposition to caste. Many of these saints were persecuted by the prevailing Brahmanism.
The major transition for equality of Dalits began during the freedom movement with Jotirao (Jyotiba) Phule and Savitribai Phule’s concerted efforts in the area, particularly in education and other social reforms. As these started picking up, the values of Brahmanism were challenged. The reactions of Brahmanism to this emerging challenge came in the political form of Hindu Mahsabha and later more assertively through RSS. These organisations in a way were the expressions for maintaining ‘status quo’ and imposition of Brahamanical values. They upheld Manusmriti as a symbol of their goals.
India is a diverse country and the imposition of caste and gender hierarchy is marching under the banner of Hindu Rashtra, Hindutva, and Hindu Nationalism. The march towards equality was primarily being articulated by Ambedkar through his Mahad Chavadar Talab, burning of Manusmriti and Kalaram temple entry amongst many others. The anti-colonial national movement tried to accommodate the demands of this social change to some extent, while Hindutva politics either openly opposed it or bypassed these issues.
As far as religion’s playground is concerned, this modern counter-revolution led by RSS and company has a multipronged approach. As in the case of the Mahagaya Bodhi temple, they entered the management of temples as a major strategy. The other is to co-opt the Dalits through social engineering and working amongst them and propagating that there should be harmony amongst all castes, Samajik Samrasta. This is in contrast to Ambedkar’s goal of the annihilation of the caste system.
On similar lines, an attempt is also being made to Brahmanise Sufi Dargahs. Baba Budan Giri in Karnataka and Haji Malang near Mumbai are places which are being claimed to be Hindu places of worship. The most interesting example is that of Sai Baba of Shirdi. Yoginder Sikand, in his book ‘Sacred Spaces’ gives a good glimpse of the syncretic nature of Shirdi Sai Baba. But now its Brahmanisation is fairly complete. “Warren, an expert on Sai Baba’s thought, points out: “While Sai Baba was claimed by both Muslims and Hindus, his core approach to God-realisation had a distinct Islamic stance, and he never taught specifically Hindu doctrines and rituals. Sai Baba has, however, been almost completely assimilated and reinterpreted by the Hindu community.”
We are living in strange times where religion is being blatantly used for a political agenda. The Buddha temple is being controlled by a Brahmanical path; the Sufi shrines are being Brahmanised. The agitation by Buddhist monks to restore their sacred place to their norms and beliefs is one such example of opposition to impose the norms that are completely opposed to equality and non-violence as preached by Gautam Buddha.
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Ram Puniyani is an eminent author, activist and a former professor at IIT Mumbai. The views expressed here are personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them.
