Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on May 15, 2011.
Swami Bhaskarananda reflects on the life and influence of Gautama Buddha from the standpoint of Vedanta, presenting him as a great Hindu saint and world teacher rather than as a figure wrapped in legend. He outlines the historical Buddha’s early life as Siddhartha Gautama, raised in comfort in the republic of Kapilavastu, and describes the transformative encounters with old age, sickness, and death that awakened in him a deep fear of impermanence and a longing to overcome suffering. Swami recounts Siddhartha’s great renunciation, his rigorous but ultimately ineffective ascetic practices under famous teachers, and his discovery of the “middle path” that led to enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. He then explains the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path in simple terms, emphasizing Buddha’s practical focus on the cessation of suffering rather than on speculation about God.
The talk highlights Buddha’s major contributions: founding the first organized monastic order for both men and women, teaching that spiritual illumination is possible even without a theistic framework, and challenging the rigid caste system by defining a true “Brahmin” in ethical and spiritual terms. Swami shares anecdotes that reveal Buddha’s patience, humility, and skill in dealing with criticism and hostility. He concludes by noting how Buddhism once spread widely in India and then declined, yet Hinduism ultimately came to honor Buddha as a divine incarnation, just as it reveres other great world teachers.
