- The Buddha Smiles
- The Times of India
The Buddha would have been amused at the headlines describing the
destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statue by the Taliban. The Buddha cannot be blasted nor
can he be bombarded. To mistake the likeness of the Buddha made by human hands and not to
take part in a communion with the essence of the Buddha is to miss the message of
impermanence, non-spirit and suffering of the Mighty Intellect. The artist who visualised
the Bamiyan Buddha would have first invoked, as per tradition, the moods of friendliness,
compassion, sympathy and impartiality. He would not be driven by considerations of
self-expression nor ideas of connoisseurship and aestheticism. The state of mind and the
importance of the idea itself was all important. All these virtues are sadly amiss in the
hearts and minds of those who are breaking ancient monuments in Afghanistan as well as
those who seem to be protesting about such vandalism. In the Divyavadana, Upagupta
asks Mara, who has the power of assuming shapes at will, to take the likeness of the
Buddha. Upagupta bows in reverence to this figure, which shocks Mara. Upagupta says that
he is not worshipping Mara but the person represented by Mara:"Just as people
venerating earthen images of the undying angels do not revere the clay as such, but the
immortals represented therein." The least that can be said about the events in
Afghanistan is that these are the triumph of the slave mentality, the main characteristic
of which is the spirit of revenge. The ideal typical slave is incapable of forgetting,
unable to love, admire or respect. Such individuals constantly impute wrong to others and
perpetually blame the whole world for real and imagined wrongs. They cannot give or
create.
In other words, there are Taliban-like organisations, individuals and
symptoms within India which are as intolerant and brutal as their counterparts in
Afghanistan. The sangh parivar for long has represented and actively promoted this
negative strand in Indian society. Acharya Giriraj Kishore's reaction to the happenings in
Afghanistan is indicative of the cult of hatred and mindless recriminations that the sangh
parivar has promoted. Where were these self-righteous guardians of Indian heritage when
the Babri Masjid was destroyed? If the statues in Bamiyan are `our' heritage, then so is
the Babri Masjid. Instead, the Taliban and the sangh parivar have sought to divide the
world into `us' and `them', between `friend' and `foe'. What is common to both is a very
literal interpretation of Islam and Hinduism, without remotely understanding the essence
of either faith. Also, the sad state of our museums and monuments suggests that our
concern for heritage is extremely superficial. What the Taliban has done in a couple of
days is being systematically done slowly and steadily for the past fifty years. "We
shall not stand on the Buddha's head at Bamiyan, upright in his niche like a whale in a
dry dock", lamented the writer Bruce Chatwin in 1980. Sad indeed. But this gives us
an opportunity to look inwards and set our own house in order.