450 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
These virtues one must practice to his utmost capacity. That is why they are called Paramitas (States of Perfection).
Such is the gospel the Buddha enunciated as a result of his enlightenment to end the sorrow and misery in the world.
It is clear that the means adopted by the Buddha were to convert a man by changing his moral disposition to follow the path voluntarily.
The means adopted by the Communists are equally clear, short and swift. They are (1) Violence and (2) Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
The Communists say that there are the only two means of establishing communism. The first is violence. Nothing short of it will suffice to break up the existing system. The other is dictatorship of the proletariat. Nothing short of it will suffice to continue the new system.
It is now clear what are the similarities and differences between Buddha and Karl Marx. The differences are about the means. The end is common to both.
VI EVALUATION OF MEANS
We must now turn to the evaluation of means. We must ask whose means are superior and lasting in the long run. There are, however, some misunderstandings on both sides. It is necessary to clear them up.
Take violence. As to violence there are many people who seem to shiver at the very thought of it. But this is only a sentiment. Violence cannot be altogether dispensed with. Even in non-communist countries a murderer is hanged. Does not hanging amount to violence? NonCommunist countries go to war with non-Communist countries. Millions of people are killed. Is this no violence ? If a murderer can be killed, because he has killed a citizen, if a soldier can be killed in war because he belongs to a hostile nation why cannot a property owner be killed if his ownership leads to misery for the rest of humanity ? There is no reason to make an exception in favour of the property owner, why one should regard private property as sacrosanct.
The Buddha was against violence. But he was also in favour of justice and where justice required he permitted the use of force. This is well illustrated in his dialogue with Sinha Senapati the Commander-in-Chief of Vaishali. Sinha having come to know that the Buddha I preached Ahimsa went to him and asked:
“The Bhagvan preaches Ahimsa. Does the Bhagvan preach an offender to be given freedom from punishment ? Does the Bhagvan preach that we should not go to war to save our wives, our children and our wealth ? Should we suffer at the hands of criminals in the name of Ahimsa.?”