Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. Ambedkar is credited with sparking the conversion of untouchables to theravada Buddhism.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. Ambedkar is credited with sparking the conversion of untouchables to theravada Buddhism.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. Ambedkar is credited with sparking the conversion of untouchables to theravada Buddhism.
Ambedkar:Bodhisatva Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar 14 April 1891 6
December 1956), also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, revolutionary and a revivalist for Buddhism in India. He was also the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. Born into a poor Mahar (considered an Untouchable caste) family, Ambedkar spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna the categorization of Hindu society into four varnas and the Hindu caste system. He converted to Buddhism and is also credited with providing a spark for the conversion of hundreds of thousands of untouchables to Theravada Buddhism. Ambedkar was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1990. Opposition to untouchability:As Ambedkar was educated by the Princely State of Baroda, he was bound to serve it. He was appointed as Military Secretary to the Gaikwad but had to quit within a short time. Thereafter he tried to find ways to make a living for his growing family. He worked as a private tutor, as an accountant, and established an investment consulting business, but it failed when his clients learned that he was an untouchable. In 1918 he became Professor of Political Economy in the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai. Even though he was successful with the students, other professors objected to his sharing the same drinking-water jug that they all used. .At this hearing, Ambedkar argued for creating separate electorates and reservations for untouchables and other religious communities.In 1920, he began the publication of the weekly Mooknayak (Leader of the Silent) in Mumbai with the help of Shahaji II (18741922), Maharaja of Kolhapur. Ambedkar went on to work as a legal professional. In 1926 he successfully defended three non-Brahmin leaders who had accused the Brahmin community of ruining India and were then subsequently sued for libel.
Swami Vivekananda: Swami Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as
Narendra Nath Datta, was born in an affluent family in Kolkata on 12 January 1863. His father, Vishwanath Datta, was a successful attorney with interests in a wide range of subjects, and his mother, Bhuvaneshwari Devi, was endowed with deep devotion, strong character and other qualities. A precocious boy, Narendra excelled in music, gymnastics and studies. By the time he graduated from Calcutta University, he had acquired a vast knowledge of different subjects, especially Western philosophy and history. Born with a yogic temperament, he used to practise meditation even from his boyhood, and was associated with Brahmo Movement for some time. Awareness of Lifes Mission: After establishing the new monastic order, Vivekananda heard the inner call for a greater mission in his life. Founding of Ramakrishna Mission: Soon after his return to Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda accomplished another important task of his mission on earth. He founded on 1 May 1897 a unique type of organization known as Ramakrishna Mission, in which monks and lay people would jointly undertake propagation of Practical Vedanta, and various forms of social service, such as running hospitals, schools, colleges, hostels, rural development centres etc, and conducting massive relief and rehabilitation work for victims of earthquakes, cyclones and other calamities, in different parts of India and other countries.