Recently we celebrated Buddha Purnima. Buddha Purnima, also known as Buddha Jayanti is a day that marks the birth anniversary of Gautama, the Buddha. He is the founder of Buddhism. Though there are no documentary evidence it is believed that this was the day on which Buddha attained enlightenment.
He was the Man. All of us know the story of Gautama, the Buddha. I am not venturing into that story. Gautama, the Buddha was 30 years old. He was the crown prince of one of the richest kingdoms in the world. His father spent his entire life in expanding the kingdom for the benefit of his son. He also consolidated the kingdom so that his son will not have any problems. Gautama was married to a beautiful wife, had handsome children. It was also said that he was having 4 palaces – summer palace, winter palace, spring palace and rain palace. The summer palace used to be cool. Buddha never knew the harshness of summer. The winter palace would be warm. Buddha never knew the harshness of winter either. Every conceivable comfort Gautama, the Buddha was given. After all, he was the crown prince and the only son of one of the richest kings in the world.
I am not going into the story… but on a fine day, Gautama decided that he should embark on a self-discovery journey, to find himself. He left his child, wife, father, mother, riches, gold, kingdom and all the luxuries behind. He simply walked out. He was afraid that if they do not find him in the palace, an intense manhunt will be launched throughout the kingdom. The secret agents will search for him and he will be traced and be brought back to the palace. So, Gautama decided cross the borders of his kingdom that very night.
Today, in order to leave behind anything, we think a thousand times. We are attached to our possessions. It could be wife, child, house, native place and mathrubhumi. We all are attached. Disowning/ leaving something is both a mental and physical impossibility. Our attachments are with a silly thing to everything – to mother, to our wife, to books, to telephone, to home etc. I wonder at the courage of Buddha. He never looked back. Neither wife or the child nor the father nor the riches nor the kingdom or the people…nothing could stop him. He was unattached.
Overnight Buddha found himself in the wilderness…in the forests of Bihar. This region of Bihar is where Buddha roamed about. That’s why this place is called Vihar. Now, Bihar. Hot, dusty, mosquitoes, rainy, no water and no food. You have to drink from a river or a pond. No clothes to wear. This overnight change Buddha faced it courageously. That’s why I say He was the Man. The real man. A man with guts. And we…did I say Hijras?
Because this is the day on which he attained enlightenment allow me to summarize his enlightenment into the 4 Nobel truths:
1) There is suffering in the world.
2) This suffering has a cause.
3) This suffering can be ended.
4) How this suffering can end.
Buddha says the cause of our suffering is Attachment…attachment to mother, father, property, books, telephone, plants, animals etc. I wonder if we can ever attain nirvana. That’s why I say … Buddha, You are the Man.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
