The Buddha: The 'First Rebel in The Realm of Spirituality'

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 2 August 2024 One of the most beautiful words in Sanskrit is 'Iish-Parangmukh.' It was coined by the great Sanskrit poet Ashvaghosh of Saket (modern Ayodhya) in his epic poem Buddha Charitam, composed in the early second century CE. The word describes the Buddha as beyond Theism and Atheism as the Buddha never wasted his time on the futile debate as to the existence or non-existence of a god. So, the Buddha cannot be called an atheist, agnostic or a believer. He transcends all man-made words and states of mind. By the way, the loose equivalent of the Sanskrit word 'Iish-Parangmukh' is 'apatheist'. Canadian sociologist Stuart Johnson coined this word in his study of indifference to religion amid secularization published in 1972. The late philosopher Robert Nash popularised it in the new millennium. Unlike atheism or agnosticism, apatheism doesn’t describe any particular claims about the nature of god or god’s existence. Since apatheism reflects a lack of interest, few people will apply that label to themselves. Most who actively think that god and religion are irrelevant would label themselves as atheists or agnostics. That being said, it would be fair to say that apatheism is one of the most common attitudes in modern culture. Coming back to the Buddha's beliefless state of mind, it must be said that he cannot be pigeonholed into any category. Buddhism, not believing in any god, heaven and afterlife, never called Buddha a prophet or a messenger. He's seen as the Epitome of Bodhisattva. “Bodhisattva” is a key idea in Buddhism. The word is constructed from the Sanskrit root Bodhi, meaning “awakening” or “enlightenment,” and sattva, meaning “being.” The core meaning of the word is “a being who is on the way to becoming enlightened.” Buddha was DECEITFULLY integrated into Vaishnavism through its mythology in the Vaishnava Puranas, where the Buddha is considered as the ninth avatar of Vishnu. According to the Agni Purana, Vishnu assumed this incarnation on earth due to the daityas defeating the devas in their battles. In short, the Buddha was a 'godless enlightened' (Iishwar-Virhit Pragyapurush, according to Kedarnath Pandey, better known as Rahul Sankrityayan). It's worthwhile to note that the Buddha's moral code doesn't stem from any god or divinity. A widespread and ingrained belief that morality comes from religion and religiosity gets a jolt because Buddha basically preached a philosophy, which in essence is atheistic. The Buddha's silent and non-belligerent iconoclasm is a constant thorn in the flesh of all religions and religionists. A religious and god-intoxicated mind can never fathom the kernel of Buddha's godless teachings. Nor can it empathise with the profundity of 'Bodhisattva.' That's why the Buddha is called the 'first rebel in the realm of spirituality.' ------- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/buddha-rebel-realm-spirituality/d/132848 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism