On October 14, 1956 - Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din - Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur. (It is said that more than half a million followers converted along with him, effectively reviving Buddhism in India. 87% of Buddhists in India are Ambedkarite Buddhists.)
I've always struggled with why Babasaheb chose to convert his religion, rather than give up on religion completely. It is understandable that he left Hinduism, a religion that gave him so much pain and suffering throughout his life. But why choose Buddha's eightfold path?
I look at the world from the lens of atheism - all religion is bad. Babasaheb, on the other hand, said that people are unable to live without religion. The solution is a good religion, not an abolition of religion.
It is, to a very large extent, true. My vegetarian diet, for example, is dictated by the religion I was born into. I may have become an atheist, but can I change my diet? Never. Disgust for meat is baked into my bones. So you never truly leave a religion, because it's practices have already become your way of life by the time you are aware enough to leave.
On 15 October 2021 comes the news of Nihang Sikhs brutally murdering a man suspected of having the intent of committing sacrilege. Already, I hear murmurings of how all religions are violent. Is Buddhism completely non violent? One only has to look at Sri Lanka or Bhutan to know that it is not.
Yet, Buddhism as practiced in India in contemporary times is closer to pure non violence than any religion anywhere in India. There is not one loony Buddhist preacher that I've heard of; not one mainstream or fringe monk demanding violence.
Babasaheb chose wisely.
I've always struggled with why Babasaheb chose to convert his religion, rather than give up on religion completely. It is understandable that he left Hinduism, a religion that gave him so much pain and suffering throughout his life. But why choose Buddha's eightfold path?
I look at the world from the lens of atheism - all religion is bad. Babasaheb, on the other hand, said that people are unable to live without religion. The solution is a good religion, not an abolition of religion.
It is, to a very large extent, true. My vegetarian diet, for example, is dictated by the religion I was born into. I may have become an atheist, but can I change my diet? Never. Disgust for meat is baked into my bones. So you never truly leave a religion, because it's practices have already become your way of life by the time you are aware enough to leave.
On 15 October 2021 comes the news of Nihang Sikhs brutally murdering a man suspected of having the intent of committing sacrilege. Already, I hear murmurings of how all religions are violent. Is Buddhism completely non violent? One only has to look at Sri Lanka or Bhutan to know that it is not.
Yet, Buddhism as practiced in India in contemporary times is closer to pure non violence than any religion anywhere in India. There is not one loony Buddhist preacher that I've heard of; not one mainstream or fringe monk demanding violence.
Babasaheb chose wisely.