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13/10/22 07:33 AM IST

Buddhist Conversion Day

In News 
  • Every year Dussehra is also celebrated as Ashoka Vijaya Dashami to commemorate Buddhist Conversion day.
Buddhist Conversion Day 
  • In 1935, Ambedkar, as president of the ‘Yeola Conversion Conference’ near Nasik, announced his decision to renounce Hinduism to contest the Hindu caste order.
  • He advised the members from the depressed castes to leave Hinduism and embrace another religion.
  • After 2 decades, he reached a conclusion that Buddhism is an appropriate choice as
  • It had challenged the Brahmanical caste-based social hierarchies in the past
  • It focused on modern ethical values and a scientific temperament
  • It preached peace and compassion for social coexistence
  • Under the presence of monk Chandramani, Ambedkar and his wife took the Buddhist vows and embraced Buddhism at Nagpur’s Deekshabhoomi.
  • He then recited the three jewels (Trisharan), five precepts (Panchsheel), pronounced the self-crafted 22 vows and renounced Hinduism.
  • Ambedkar called his version of Buddhism Navayana (followers are called neo-Buddhists), differentiating it with the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of Buddhism.
Controversy 
  • The 22 vows refer to a list of pledges Ambedkar had prescribed to his followers after converting from Hinduism to Buddhism on 14 October, 1956 in Nagpur.
  • The vows are divided into three major sections.
    • First part- It pledges to refuse to worship the Hindu pantheon or to follow Hindu religious dogmas (vows no. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 21).
    • Second part- It challenges the authority of the Brahmin priest (vows no. 4, 6, 8 and 19).
    • Third part- The rest promises to follow Buddhist principles.
Source- Indian Express 

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