27/08/2022
Democracy as refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha
1. Democracy as the way of organising society for individual to develop their full potential
In 1941, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar wrote an editorial in Janata in Marathi whose title was the Buddha Jayanti & its political significance. The conclusion of this great article is that if the people in India wants democracy they should chant the great mantra of buddham saranam gacchami, dhammam saranam gacchami, sangham saranam gacchami.
2. Be your own light (cultivation of human personality)
In 1936, while addressing the mass of people, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar encouraged the people in attendance to keep in their minds what the Buddha taught in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta: atta dip bhava (Be your own light/refuge).
3. Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha
This relationship between an individual awakening with democracy by taking refuge in the buddha, dhamma, and sangha forms the vision and mission of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. The Buddha's Dhamma is not a religion as its domain is altogether different from the domain of religion. The Dhamma is nothing but the amalgam of Pradnya and Karuna.
To make an individual realise the full potential through the cultivation of mind is the purpose of Dhamma. This is a central concept which is defined in Buddha's teaching as be your own light.
4. Is it possible to be atta dipa bhav (be your own light)?
While the goal of the Buddhism is to emancipate an individual, the Buddha understood that an individual is a combination of forces around him. This mean that none of us have a separate independent existence. What we experience around us are social, political, economic, and cultural realities. In fact, an individual is conditioned by the world around or society around. There is an indivisible relationship between an individual and society. To be human is to be social. This is the reason why individualism is antisocial.
5. Democracy must fight poverty and social stratification
For the society to be truly democratic, it must be social in essence and form. This is the only form in which the society can promote the liberty of an individual. Hence, the democracy is not just the political in nature. That is why periodic elections and adult franchise as democracy is not the democracy. It is not just related to political form. Democracy in the scheme of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is not just about voting and how the government is formed. Democracy is the way of organising a society. Democracy is the way of liberating individuals from all that enslaves them. Hence democracy is an engagement with poverty, violence, caste structures, and hatred.
Democracy by its definition means the fight against social hierarchy and social stratification. In the context of India, democracy is the fight for annihilation of caste. Unless the caste is annihilated, Indian society cannot become a democratic society and the adult franchise along with periodic elections mean nothing at all if the political democracy is not helping to promote the social democracy.
6.From where would social democracy come? Realising the buddha, dhamma, and sangha
buddha
The locus of democracy is an individual and cultivation of human personality. The high point of this cultivation of human personality (and cultivation of human personality is an endless process) is embodied in the buddha.
dhamma
The human personality cannot be cultivated in isolation as the " isolated" human personality cannot be found. The human personality is therefore cultivated by engagement with the world around us. The world around us is never static. It is always changing, not fixed, and complex of many elements. That is why engagement with this unfixed everchanging world needs constant reconfiguration of the human personality else it will become fossilised and dead. This continuous engagement towards liberation of all (bahujan hitay and bahujan sukhay) is dhamma.
sangha
This process cannot be self- centred or an egoistic project and need collective efforts, hence the coming together (sangha) is essential.
7. Conclusion
It is important in the scheme of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar that each individual takes responsibility of their own emancipation and continuosly engage with all the structures that put a limit on unbound human personality. In this struggle, and struggle it is, an individual needs a lot of strength and discipline. Democracy in its idealised and concentrated form, that is sangha, provides strength, ideal, and mutual inspiration.
That is why Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar encouraged all people in India to take refuge in the buddha, dhamma, and sangha for bringing true democracy.
