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For seven long years,
Siddhartha roamed in the jungles, underwent severe austerities and
finally, on the Vaishaakha Poornima Day, the supreme light of
Realization dawned on him. He thereafter became Buddha, the Enlightened
One. When he was an itinerant monk, he was called Gautama
and now he became popular as Gautama Buddha. Buddha's overflowing
love for the downtrodden and destitute acted as one of the greatest
factors for social harmony and justice to the weaker sections in the
society.
Buddha's life
abounds in such instances when he honored and upheld the purity and
devotion of the lowliest in the society. Once Buddha had camped in
the kingdom of Bindusara. The king - a disciple of Buddha - honored
his Guru with chariots-loads of royal presents and offerings. The
other disciples also, many of them rich, made offerings to the best
of their ability. At the end, an old and poor woman trekked slowly
to the presence of Buddha, offered a small pomegranate and collapsed
at his feet, Buddha ordered the bell of honor to be rung in her name
for that day, to the utter surprise of the king and his subjects.
The spiritual and
moral forces generated by Buddha have strengthened and enriched
Hinduism and helped to wean it from perversions which had set in at
that time.
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