Ambedkar and Gandhi on the Bhagwat Gita
Ambedkar and Gandhi on the Bhagwat Gita
The Bhagwat Gita is regarded as the most sacred religious book in Hinduism. It is also considered to be a book of ethics, championing eternal moral values. It has been translated into various languages. Great thinkers and political leaders, both in medieval and modern period, have been inspired by this book and have also written commentaries upon it. The objective of this paper is to compare the contrasting views of Gandhi and Ambedkar on the Bhagwat Gita. Both Gandhi and Ambedkar, have divergent opinions on the Gita.
What does Ambedkar say about the Bhagwat Gita?
Ambedkar was a champion of the shudras and ati-shudras in our society, therefore his approach to the assessment of Gita is entirely different. He was a severe critic of Hindu religion and society. According to Ambedkar “the Bhagwat Gita is neither a book of religion nor a treatise on philosophy. What the Bhagwat Gita does is to defend certain dogmas of religion on philosophic grounds.” It uses philosophy to defend religion. Ambedkar develops the argument of revolution and counter-revolution for understanding the Gita. His interpretation of the changes in ancient Indian society and a detailed study of the ancient religious books conclude that the Aryan community of the pre-Buddhist era did not have a progressive sense of moral values and it was the arrival of Buddhism that caused a moral and a social revolution in this society. The Aryan community of pre-Buddhist time had many social evils. Drinking and gambling were very common; they had no rules and regulations over their sexual relationships; they had a custom of renting out their daughters to others for a while; they participated in yajna or animal sacrifice; and, their religion was a series of observances behind which there was no desire for a good and righteous life. In short, there was no spiritual content in the religion they practiced. The first great reformer in this society was
The Bhagwat Gita is regarded as the most sacred religious book in Hinduism. It is also considered to be a book of ethics, championing eternal moral values. It has been translated into various languages. Great thinkers and political leaders, both in medieval and modern period, have been inspired by this book and have also written commentaries upon it. The objective of this paper is to compare the contrasting views of Gandhi and Ambedkar on the Bhagwat Gita. Both Gandhi and Ambedkar, have divergent opinions on the Gita.
What does Ambedkar say about the Bhagwat Gita?
Ambedkar was a champion of the shudras and ati-shudras in our society, therefore his approach to the assessment of Gita is entirely different. He was a severe critic of Hindu religion and society. According to Ambedkar “the Bhagwat Gita is neither a book of religion nor a treatise on philosophy. What the Bhagwat Gita does is to defend certain dogmas of religion on philosophic grounds.” It uses philosophy to defend religion. Ambedkar develops the argument of revolution and counter-revolution for understanding the Gita. His interpretation of the changes in ancient Indian society and a detailed study of the ancient religious books conclude that the Aryan community of the pre-Buddhist era did not have a progressive sense of moral values and it was the arrival of Buddhism that caused a moral and a social revolution in this society. The Aryan community of pre-Buddhist time had many social evils. Drinking and gambling were very common; they had no rules and regulations over their sexual relationships; they had a custom of renting out their daughters to others for a while; they participated in yajna or animal sacrifice; and, their religion was a series of observances behind which there was no desire for a good and righteous life. In short, there was no spiritual content in the religion they practiced. The first great reformer in this society was
Bibliography: 1. Pandit, Nalini. “Ambedkar and the Bhagwat Gita.” Economic & Political Weekly. 16 May, 1992. http://www.epw.in/prespectives/ambedkar-and-bhagwat-gita.html 2 3. Gandhi, M.K. The Message of the Gita. Navajivan Publishing House, 1959 -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. 1. Nalini Pandit, “Ambedkar and the Bhagwat Gita” (Economic and Political Weekly - Vol - XXVII No. 20-21, 1992), 1, http://www.epw.in/prespectives/ambedkar-and-bhagwat-gita.html [ 2 ] 3. Nalini Pandit, “Ambedkar and the Bhagwat Gita” (Economic and Political Weekly - Vol - XXVII No. 20-21, 1992), 3, http://www.epw.in/prespectives/ambedkar-and- bhagwat-gita.html [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. 5. Arvind Sharma, “Accounting for Gandhi’s allegorical interpretation of the Bhagavadagita” (Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses - vol. 32 no.4, 2003), 1. http://sir.sagepub.com/content/32/4/449 [ 6 ] [ 7 ]. 7. Arvind Sharma, “Accounting for Gandhi’s allegorical interpretation of the Bhagavadagita” (Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses - vol. 32 no.4, 2003), 7. http://sir.sagepub.com/content/32/4/449 [ 8 ]