Vol. 17, Part III · pages 586–590

557BUDDHA OR KARL MARX You do not send the child to school on a day and then withdraw the child home and expect the child to grow into learning, to get education. The child has to go to School every day, sit there for five hours and study constantly. It is then, and then alone that the child gets somewhat saturated with what is called knowledge and what is called learning. Here the monastery is not a state. The Bhikkhus do not call the people to the monasteries on any single day and deliver sermon to them on some subject or moral education. I have never seen it. I went to Ceylon and I told some people that was particularly anxious to see how the Bhikkhus preach. They told me that they have got ‘Bona’, Bana some word they use which, I subsequently learnt meant, ‘Vanaka’. They took me at 11 O’ clock to one place, to small little square thing as big as this, a table and I sat on the ground. A Bhikkhu was brought in. Several men and women brought water and washed his feet and he came up and sat there. He had a fan with him, you see, Gods only know what he said, of course, he must have preached in Singhalese. It was not more than two minutes, and after two minutes he departed. You go to Christian Church, what happens ? Every week people assemble there. They worship, and some priest delivers a sermon on some subject from the Bible in order to remind the people what Jesus told them that they should do. You will be probably surprised, to know that 90 per cent of Christianity is copied from Buddhism both in substance and in form. You go to Rome, see the main Church and you will be reminded of the big temple which is known as ‘Viswa Karma’ at Berut. Vishabigne, who wrote a book on Buddhism, and was a missionary in China, had expressed his great surprise as to how this similarity occurs between Buddhism and Christianity. So far as the outlook, he dared not say that the Buddhist copied Christian, but he would not admit that the Christians copied Buddhism. There is so much of it, I think time has turned and we must now copy some of the ways of the Christians in order to propagate our religion among the Buddhist people. They must be made aware, every day and all time, that the Buddha’s Dhamma is there, standing by them like a policeman to guard lest they

558 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES should go the wrong way. Without that this religion will remain probably in a very decadent state. Even now that I find it even in the Buddhist countries, its condition is very decadent. But its influence is there. No doubt about it. I wanted to tell you one very interesting epilogue which I saw in Burma. I went to Burma. I was called for the Conference and they took me to show how they were going to reconstruct the villages. I was very happy. I went with them and the Committee had planned to reform the village. Their streets as usual were crooked, bent here and there, nothing systematic. So the Committee put down iron pillars and lined ropes that this street must go this way. In good many cases I found that the lines drawn by the Committee went across a piece of land which was owned by a private individual. When I went and saw and I asked them, “How are they going to manage ? Have you got money to pay for the property that you are going to take ?” They said, “Nobody wants money.” Everybody said, “If you want it, take it.” Why is this ? Why in my country there would have been bloodshed if you take a little piece of land from somebody without giving him compensation. But there it is, why ? Why were the Burmese so free with their property ? Why did they not care for it ? It is because the Buddha has taught “Sarvam Anityam.” Everything you see, is impermanent. Why Tight for impermanent things ? It is all right if you want the land, take it. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I do not think I can continue any further, nor is it necessary for me to do that. I just wanted to give you a point of view from which to look at. Do not be allured by Communist successes. I am quite confident that if we all become one tenth as enlightened as the Buddha was, we can bring about the same result by the methods of love, of justice, and good will. Thank you very much.”1 zz 1. : Report of the 4th Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, Kathamandu, Nepal.

APPENDIX—I Gandhiji’s articles on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s proclamation of Conversion In an article published in the Harijan, dated October 26, 1935 under the title “On Its Last Legs” Bapuji observed : “Some critics have not hesitated to observe that it was preposterous for me to claim, in answer to Dr. Ambedkar’s threat to accept some other faith rather than die a Hindu, that Untouchability was on its last legs in spite of Kavitha. Indeed, Kavitha itself supports my claim. Kavitha had gone on ever since its birth living peacefully till an over-zealous worker, not knowing his own limitations, had put up Kavitha Harijans to dare to send their children to local school, though he knew that there was opposition from some Kavitha Savarnas. He had hoped, as had happended elsewhere, that Harijans had successfully asserted their right to send their children to public schools. But Kavitha Savarnas showed that they had not recognised the time spirit. “Only a few years ago the Kavitha incident would have attracted no notice. There were very few reformers then. The few were to be found mostly in towns and cities. Now, thank God, their number is increasing and pesently every village will have its quota. But a few years ago Harijans could not be induced to resist Untouchability on any account whatsoever. It was part of their faith as it was of Savarnas’ faith. These columns contain sufficient evidence of the weekly progress made by the campaign against Untouchability. Phenomenal though the progress has been, Kavitha and the like show that it has not yet affected the majority of Savarnas in many places. The fact is a varning to the reformers and the Harijans that much has yet to be done before the hard hearts of Savarnas are melted. “Let it be further observed that it was Savarna reformers who advertised the Kavitha tragedy and gave it an all-India importance. I have agitated Savarna conscience more than it was angered the Harijans. I have to note with shame and