Comments on: Buddhism in Kerala

By: Manisha Waghmare

Manisha Waghmare — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:31:53 +0000

its good to know people

By: Nalin

Nalin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:46:42 +0000

Good article.but why restrict the scope of this article to Kerala.this Hindu bhuddist war,according to me is still being fought in proxy .just to quote a few examples.try researching the origin of Kashmir dispute.u will find some intreating facts.try researching the politics behind Maoist insurgency in India,one will find some interesting facts.dig deep into the politics of mayawathi ,one will find very interesting facts.arundathi Roy may raise different issues.observe closely.you will find a specific agenda. And a lot more………………

By: dr sajan

dr sajan — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:52:27 +0000

many of our hibdu temples were once budhist shrines. even the name of kodungallur came from after the kodum kola ( the great killing) so its called kodum kolayur, now called kodunghallur. here thousands of budhist people were killed in the past and this palli is taken over by brhamins rogues. in this centuary also to gloryfy that victory, they conduct kavutheendal, and killing roosters etc. the same agenda they will use against the minorities of india.

By: Rajendran

Rajendran — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:02:14 +0000

Nibu,
After reading your response, it is felt that you may nned to look at this in a different angle. For one thing, there is no such thing called “Buddhisum”. The “isum” must have been added for an effect, most probably by westerners. It is not a relegion, but a “Way Of Life”. There are no temples or rituals in the Buddhist way of life, according ot the original scriptures. However, there are many Buddha temples withe large statues of the Buddha. These places where you can go, my be light a butter lamp and meditate. Rituals were never a part of the Buddist way of life. Buddha said ” Never belive in anything untill unless you have understood and experienced it yourslef” .There are no personal gods. Anybody currenlty following any relegion can follow the Buddhist way of life. You need not get converted to a buddhist. If you are Hindu now, you can contine to go to all the temples that you regulerly go.. The beautyof Buddist way of life is that it acknowldeges the Hindu gods as beings in the gods releam. So you can continue to seek their help and blessings. At the same time, in your daily life, try to follow the buddhist practices. However, if you want to become a buddhist monk, then is it different. You need to get attached to a monastry and then find a suitable guru or a master and then practice under him or her.

Thanks and Regards

Rajendran

By: NIBU

NIBU — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:17:35 +0000

I also wanted to convert to Budhism long years before. Glad to find people with same thoughts. But you remember one thing, after conversion you cannot enter in to any of the temples you are worshiping, till from your childhood. All of them in these temples were budhist gods but changed their names and way of worshiping, by the lie stories designed by brahmins. And that is only why they are not permitting non hindus inside temples, to prevent the out flow from their idiotic religion to a religion of love, peace and cooperation.

By: Benny Alex

Benny Alex — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 10:16:02 +0000

ഹലോ ശ്രീഹരി ഞാനും അത് ചിന്തികാറുണ്ട് എന്തുകൊണ്ട് ബുദ്ധനെ പോലെ ഒരു മഹാനെ കേരളം വേണ്ട വിധത്തില്‍ ആദരിച്ചില്ല ?

By: Sreehari

Sreehari — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:34:31 +0000

excellent article……This helped me to find out some ideas about Buddhism in kerala..and finally I want to know how to become a buddhist???

By: Pradeep P R J

Pradeep P R J — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:30:26 +0000

Happened to see this site while searching for something. It is indeed a healthy debate, post-communist Kerala, earlier post-Brahminical, is looking for its identity. Once again, where all are part. People, faith, change with time as history shows, have to.

But I am afraid the obsession with Jainism and Budhism as cults to be reinvented seems a trap. These faiths too must have undergone decay at some point in history how they disappeared, were rejected. How a new model integrating the two evolved what we call Hinduism now, what later became the decadent Brahminical Hinduism. It too has to go, Communism came in to play that role. Though that too decayed as we see. What next is the question.

But here, to equate castes as monoliths is anomalous, there are good and bad people in all castes. Reforms were seldom driven by one caste or other. Look at Communism, most recent, it was by the progressive people of all castes. Yes, some look benefiting but that is on the surface. Deeper turmoil is often not visible. And affluence and social power are not the goal in life for many people, consider tribal ambitions. Next the missionary phase presented a distorted picture of social relations in Kerala, for colonial motives, what has come to be the public discourse now for many who harbor illogical ill feelings. Animal instincts work there.

The saner way for Kerala is, it is a personal opinion, to reassert the culture of first people, tribals and dalits, ecofriendly and simple that. Restore its status up on the prestige scale, what I have been doing wherever possible with all genuineness. And the progressive people of so called upper castes have a duty here. And for isms, Budhism, Jainism or Hinduism, to Communism, these are all institutions with their own priesthood.

The native Kerala spirituality is rooted in Tamil Sidha traditions, of ascetic saints. Where the so called low castes remain in. There are no rituals here, no priests, no institutions, just man and the divine. It lost space when people took to Brahminism, also Christianity and Islam, why deny. As Swami Sivananda Paramahamsar of Sidhasramam, Vatakara said, ‘there is only one matham ( faith ) and that is Eeswara Matham, great men came to take people to that faith but their followers made it religion. Budha did not make Budhism, Jaina Jainism or Mohmmed a religion called Islam… they all gave ways to be humane, in tune with the almighty….’ Or words to that effect.

For the Malayali to reinvent the Sidha traditions is a compulsive need in the vacuum after Communism. Kerala was part of ancient Tamizhagam but during the cultural transitions this root was lost. Sanskrit took the space of Tamil, Brahmins that of Ascetic Saints.How Kerala society is now superficial and hollow. Many of the famous Sidhas were from present day Kerala. And Budha and Jaina(s), it was not one man as history tells, were all Sidhas though not known so. ‘One prophet one book’ religions create divisions why go that road. Even Vedic (Veda based) Priestly Hinduism is the same, where the timeless Sanathan Dharma is without borders. What gives the space for all religions in India to co-exist.

It is an existential search together for all of us Malayalis
Thank you

By: Karthick

Karthick — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:45:26 +0000

Whichever Thomas came to Kerala, it would have been impossible to make a Brahmin leave his privileged position and make him accept an alien religion. This Brahmin conversion is a myth propagated by the christian clergy to a gullible laity. The people Thomas converted was from the Ezhava community. The muslim and christian converts of Kerala are from the Ezhava community who later added the prefix “Syrian”.

By: Nanda

Nanda — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:11:10 +0000

Truely interesting article. But, we may need to spread the truth to the masses to break the bloody slavery enforced by the so called brahmins( currently it is bloodless, but still continues!!!)

Great. Expecting more credible research from you.