God as Political Philosopher

by Kancha Ilaiah

Demystifies Buddha as a man and not a god and as India's first social revolutionary, critical of the caste system.

Genres: Philosophy, Buddhism, Nonfiction

244 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2001

About the author

Kancha Ilaiah (5 October 1952) is an Indian activist and writer. His books include Why I am not a Hindu, God As Political Philosopher: Budha's challenge to Brahminism, A Hollow Shell, The State and Repressive Culture, Manatatwam (in Telugu), and Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of Spiritual Fascism. He is a member of the Dalit Freedom Network and a major figure in the movement against the Hindu Caste System.

Reviews

[Viji (Bookish endeavors) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this book is about
This book shows Buddha as a political philosopher and not as a religious leader. It tries to prove that what Buddha tried was to bring forth a progress in the society of that time. Buddha as a social reformer is not unknown to us,but showcasing him as a political philosopher is a point which haven't been discussed so far.
The author put forth enough evidence to substantiate his claim. He describes the life of Buddha's disciples in the Sangha. He shows that there was a well-developed form of democracy and equality in that community. He also took active interest in the progress of the status of women and gave them also membership in the Sangha even though after initial hesitation.
The author claims that Buddha should be considered as a pre-cursor of the theory of social contract and thereby an intellectual forefather of Hobbes,Locke and Rousseau. He also compares Buddha's social philosophy with that of classical Western thinkers like Socrates,Plato and Aristotle. He compares Buddha's political philosophy(which he carefully extracts from various sources) with that of Manu and Kautilya and says that Buddha's thoughts were much noble in comparison with that of the others.
what I felt about the book
The author has presented a good hypothesis and has given ample reasons for it. It is a nice change from the way Buddhism has been read till now.
When I read this book I thought about W.T.Stace who once said that indian philosophy is all about flowery language and mystical experiences and has nothing concerning life in it. If only Stace had read this book..!
HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED.

[Mridula]

This book very powerfully argues that reducing the legacy of Buddha to a religion does not do justice to his political and ideological philosophy which had developed to counter the sedimentation of caste-based oppressive society under hinduism. Most people that I personally know (upper caste hindus) practice buddhism in conjunction with Brahminical Hindu rituals, thereby appropriating the political force that emerged as an anti-thesis to the brahmin's rationale of organising the society. I totally recommend this book to anyone who is remotely interested in Buddhism or even exploring the roots of democratic thought in ancient Indian history.

[Palden G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Kancha does an excellent job in the demystification of Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha. In this book, he tries to humanize Buddha and contextualize Buddha's socio-political thoughts through a systematic investigation of ancient Indian political thought. Though some of the claims, in an attempt to establish Buddha as an ancient Indian political thinker, seem rather too strong, he does have textual evidences to support his assertions. In some ways, this book is an advance on Dr. Ambedkar's contributions to the study Buddha's socio-political philosophy.

[Kracekumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the original works came out of India. The outlook of Buddha as a political philosopher shines a light into early values Buddha and his teaching to the society and it’s functioning.

It was surprisingly to see, Ambedkar had quoted the sangha’s parliament structure and essence in constitutional debates.

Always refreshing and insightful to read works around Buddha.

[Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s one of the most illuminating books I’ve read on Buddha and his thoughts on organization and justice. It also highlight what a radical revolutionary he was for his time, and how much the contemporary power structures of his time sought to destroy Buddhism because of its defense of lower class people in society.

For a western audience the full weight and gravity of the arguments might be hard to grasp, but for anyone with exposure to the caste system of India, it will make sense quite fast.

Modern western views of Buddha have separated him from his political message of equality against oppression and the vital energy of his mission and movement. Buddhism is weirdly viewed as slightly suicidal or self hating, but this book makes the argument that the mission of Buddha was very different from that interpretation.