Author: Dr. Jayanta Acharya
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.70798/Bijmrd/03050022
Abstract: Swami Vivekananda and Gautam Buddha, two great men who shook the world with their thoughts and actions and lived this land for others over a period of 25 centuries. Lord Buddha, the driver of religion, possessed of supernatural powers, overwhelmed the world with his teachings of compassion and detachment. On the other hand, Swami Vivekananda spread the philosophy of Vedanta, the ancient sacred scripture of India, worldwide and showed the path to human liberation. The lives of these two great men were surprisingly similar in many aspects. Both the wandering monks spent every moment of their lives for a noble purpose. The main reason for Swamiji’s Buddhist passion was his deep respect for Buddha. According to Lord Buddha, the main cause of all our physical and mental suffering is ignorance or “Avidya”. Due to this ignorance or “Avidya”., rebirth occurs, and in this rebirth, we have to suffer the suffering of this world. According to Buddhism, only if the causes of suffering can be removed, the action called suffering will no longer arise. Buddha mentioned the path through which people can acquire knowledge or wisdom and remove ignorance or “Avidya”. For this, Gautama Buddha spoke of 8 paths, which are known as the “AshtangikaMarga” or “Eightfold Nobel Path” in Buddhist philosophy. Swami Vivekananda gave special importance to this AshtangikaMarga or “Eightfold Nobel Path” and followed it in his spiritual journey. He promoted this path as an important way to eliminate suffering and realize the truth of life. Buddha Vivekananda’s philosophy emphasizes the elimination of suffering and the importance of action. As a solution to this, Swamiji emphasized neo-vedanta philosophy.
Keywords: Ashtangika Marga, Buddhism, neo-vedanta philosophy
Page No: 206-211