Thoughts on Buddha and Marx: Bhimrao Ambedkar

By Jagath Jayaprakash and Bhimrao Ambedkar

A comparison between Karl Marx and Buddha could be interpreted as a sarcastic remark. This should come as no surprise. Marx and Buddha are 2381 years apart. Karl Marx was born in 1818 A.D., while Buddha was born in 563 B.C. Karl Marx is credited with creating a new ideology-polity—and thus a new economic system. On the other side, the Buddha is thought to be nothing more than the creator of a religion unrelated to politics or economics. The title of this essay, "Buddha or Karl Marx," suggests a comparison or contrast between two such persons separated by such a long period and occupied by such disparate realms of thought. Marxists will readily mock it and scorn the notion of putting Marx and Buddha on the same footing. Marx is so contemporary, whereas Buddha is so ancient! Marxists may argue that the Buddha is unsophisticated in comparison to their master. What can possible comparisons be made between two such individuals? What is there for a Marxist to learn from the Buddha? What can a Marxist learn from Buddha?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jagath Jayaprakash
• Release date: Mar 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215430460

Jagath Jayaprakash

Jagath Jayaprakash is an Academic Administrator by profession and an avid writer by intellectual pursuit. In addition, he publishes Op-Ed Articles on Political history, National security, Cyber warfare, and International relations in Malayalam and English for major media outlets like as Manorama Online, Janmabhumi, Indus Scrolls, Organiser, Kesari, and a host of other prominent news websites.

Book preview

Preface

Despite overwhelming odds, one outstanding person has risen to the occasion to challenge the established quo in every country and age. Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a Bharat Ratna Bodhisattva, is one such. Babasaheb Ambedkar was an original thinker, scholar, jurist, legislator, guiding force and principal architect of the Indian constitution, economist, public policy leader, and development practitioner.

In whatever platform he spoke or wrote, his thoughts were crisp, his beliefs were precise and unambiguous, and his words were unapologetically and unequivocally expressed. The more one studies about Babasaheb, the more one admires his singular brilliance and appreciates his significance and the circumstances behind his upsetting the status quo and seeking disruption by asking for the entire elimination of the caste system.

Babasaheb, unlike anybody else, saw society through the lens of raw force and caste-based inequality. Thus, he fought until his dying breath for the goal of total empowerment for the socially underprivileged. Even while he was in England for the first roundtable conference in 1930, he wrote in a letter to 'Dadasaheb' Bhaurao Gaikwad about how sympathetic the people there were to him and how pleased he was to see them receptive to the untouchables' aspirations.

He emphasised the importance of Dalits arming themselves with education, knowledge, and power in practically all of his writings, lectures, interactions, and gatherings. This, I believe, is a lesson for all Indians, if not the entire globe.

While I feel Babasaheb's life is a message in and of itself, I found some of his perspectives on Communism and China to be very enlightening and fascinating. Apart from Hinduism, he recognised the clear fracture lines in Communism and China and advised everyone to be vigilant and aware of them. Babasaheb, who possessed a personal library of over 30,000 books, was well-read, well informed, and well-read.

In one of his most renowned talks, 'Buddha or Karl Marx? ' he is unflinching in his presentation of the fundamental distinctions between the two. It is worth reading and comprehending. Babasaheb was a devout follower of the Buddha's principles. He imbibed and preached the essence of communism, which he was passionately against. When he spoke of Buddhism, he always referred to it as a scientific religion, not a mystery practice. Babasaheb equated communism with violence, which he demonstrated with great depth, forceful language, and meaning.

"While Buddha would never condone violence, Marxists do. Without a doubt, communists achieve rapid results because when you embrace a method of annihilating a man, he ceases to exist to fight you. Humanity desires the retention of not just economic values but also spiritual values. A permanent communist regime has shown no regard for spiritual principles and appears to have no intention of doing so. Carlyle derisively referred to political economy as a pig philosophy. Carlyle, of course, was incorrect. Man requires material luxuries. However, communist thought appears to be similarly incorrect. Its philosophy appears