- Tamanna Kavdia
“Silence the angry man with love. Silence the ill-natured man with kindness. Silence the miser with generosity. Silence the liar with truth.” ~ Buddha
Lord Buddha whose original name was Siddhartha Gautama was a spiritual teacher, a religious leader, philosopher, and a meditator who lived during the times of 5th to 4th century in ancient India. The religion of Buddhism was founded by him.
The general meaning of the term “Buddha” is the “Awakened One”. It means for someone to be awakened from the sleep of ignorance and being able to see and understand things as they truly are. It is believed that Buddha is a person who is not occupied by any mental restrictions and is impartial, the one who embraces all living beings without any discrimination. Siddhartha became Buddha but that does not mean he was a god, he was a normal human being whose profound insights inspired the whole world.
The festival of Buddha Jayanti or the Vesak day is celebrated to recognise and appreciate the birth of Lord Buddha, the enlightenment that he got, and also his death, which is known as Mahaparinirvana. His whole life is celebrated on this day.
Around 9% of the world population follows Buddhism out of which 99% is present in the Asia-Pacific region. It is celebrated in Nepal, India, Thailand, North and South Korea, Singapore, Myanmar, China, Indonesia Hong Kong, and all places which consist of the Buddhist population.
Buddhists believe that Lumbini which is present in the western Terai plains of Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. He was born in a royal family and it is believed that he had taken seven steps and had uttered a timeless message to humanity at such a tender age. It is said to happen in the “Sal grove” which at present is the focal point of Lumbini Garden. The widely followed beliefs state that Maya Devi who was the queen of the Shakya king Suddhodhana of Kalpvastu had given birth to Prince Siddhartha while she was passing from the Lumbini Garden on the auspicious day of the full moon or what is known as “Vaishaka Poornima” in the Hindu calendar, around 623 BC. Before birth, the belief is that the queen had bathed in the sacred pond or Pushkarini and had also taken the support of a tree branch while giving birth to the infant.
However, at the age of 29, he left his family for the quest of enlightenment after witnessing the cases of human suffering outside the royal walls. He realised that death is the ultimate truth and therefore went on to renounce his family and kingdom to find the eternal truth. He became the enlightened one while performing meditation under a sacred tree at Bodhgaya, presently in the Indian state of Bihar, and passed away at the age of 80 in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. The Hindu followers believe that he was the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
This year the festival will be celebrated on May 7, 2020, and will mark the 2582nd birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. The festival is majorly celebrated across the famous Buddhist sites, mainly, Bodhgaya, Kushinagar, and Sarnath where Buddha gave his first sermon. Various Buddhist regions like Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Northside of Bengal are among the Indian states where celebrations take place.
This festival is extremely peaceful and uplifts one’s soul towards calmness and positivity. During the course of the festival, prayer meetings are organised, recitation of Buddhist scriptures is performed followed by group meditation, sermons, religious discourses, processions, and the worship of the statue of Lord Buddha. At the birthplace of Buddha, Bodhgaya, the famous temple of Mahabodhi is decorated with flowers and flags to get a festive look. Prayers are also organised under the Bodhi tree where he gained his enlightenment. A number of fairs are organised in the state of Uttar Pradesh in Sarnath where his relics are taken out for the procession. The Buddhists gather from various regions to attend the talks by monks and recite the verses. In some temples, the statue of baby Buddha is displayed which is placed in a basin with water and flowers and the people there pour the water over the statue which symbolises new beginnings and purity. The major teachings of Buddha are inclusive of giving alms to the poor which is extensively followed during this festival. Animals that are caged are also set free as Buddha believed in giving respect and care to all living creatures. As far as the dress is concerned, the usual white is worn by people. Kheer, a sweet rice porridge, is served which also has a story behind it, referring to Sujata who was a maiden who offered Buddha a bowl of milk porridge.
In different Indian states, this festival is known by different names. In the state of Sikkim, it is celebrated as Saga Dawa. In the capital city of Gangtok, the festival is followed by a procession of monks who carry their holy book around the whole town, starting from the Tsuklakhang Palace Monastery. Monasteries all over the state also have dance performances along with the processions. In the national capital, New Delhi, the National Museum of Delhi displays the mortal remains of Lord Buddha for public viewing. The Tibet House in Delhi also holds a special exhibition during this period. Talking about other countries, in South Korea, the holiday is in the form of the Lotus Lantern Festival and is best observed in Seoul’s Jogyesa Temple. People in Sri Lanka decorate their homes with paper Lanterns and the Ganagaramaya Buddhist Temple in Colombo hosts the festive activities. In Malaysia, the devotees perform the ritual of “Sunning Buddha” where the monks place the sacred Tibetan Buddhist painting “Thangka” in the sun to absorb its powers and the power is believed to promote health, harmony, and peace. Therefore, the Vesak day is celebrated in different manners around the world based on their cultures and is also dependent on the type of calendar they subscribe to which beautifully marks the diversity of this festival.
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