1264 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
at all. But if it has to pass, at least this portion of it, clause 4, must not pass in any case. You know, Sir, and Dr. Ambedkar also knows very well, that Buddhism was preached by Lord Buddha to undo the hold of the Vedas. But the Vedic religion did not perish. Hardly a few years have passed since the advent of Pandit Nehru’s rule and Dr. Ambedkar’s coming into office and the Vedic principles are sought to be repudiated. Do they not think that such laws should not be passed ? Nobody in the country would accept this law.
Shri Syamnandan Sahaya : Babu Ramnarayan Singh is perfectly right.
Babu Ramnarayan Singh : How could they dare to say that things that have been in existence since times immemorial, since the beginning of the earth and the creation of the Sun and the Moon should now no more be followed ? Wherefrom did they get this right ? Buddhism was preached to overthrow the Vedic religion. Other religions including Islam also came. All came and fell, but Vedic religion is still there and would remain as such. No one can destroy it and it is an improper and absolutely misguided effort that is being made to efface it. It gives me pain that such things are brought in our Parliament. As our friend Thakur Das Bhargava just said religion and the rules of good conduct were determined by the Veda and the Smriti:
Veda, Smriti, sadacharah
Atmanstushtireva cha,
Etachchaturvidhah prahus-
Sakshaddharmasya Lakshanam.
The definition of Religion is four-fold ; Veda, Smriti, Sadacharah (good conduct) and Atmatushti (self-satisfaction).
Rules of good conduct were thus fixed in accordance with the Vedas. But simply that was not enough. It was also to be seen that what the Vedas prescribe, what they command, should also be there in the shastras, Vedas set down the path of religion and the Shastras supplemented them. But that was not the end all. The rules incorporated in the Vedas and supported by Shastras should be observed in the conduct, manners and actions of the good people. That is what was meant by the rules of good conduct. But nobody was bound as to their observance simply for the reason that they were laid down by the Vedas and Dharma Shastras and also followed by good people. In the last, he was to see how far his conscience, his knowledge of good and bad, agreed with them. After consideration of all these factors, his duty was to be finally determined.