Maharashtra OBC Outfit to Hold Mass Conversion to Buddhism

[icy]

Buddhism is finding its root in India.

An organisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Maharashtra will conduct a mass conversion of five lakh OBCs to Buddhism in 2016.
 
"We will conduct the mass conversion at Nagpur in October 2016," Satyashodhak OBC Parishad activist Hanumant Upare told PTI here today.
 
"We had declared our intention in 2011 at Parli Vaijnath in Beed district. We were originally Buddhists. This is the real ghar vapsi," Upare said.
 
So far, about 7,000 OBC people in Maharashtra have registered for the "ghar vapsi" campaign, he said.
 
"While finding out about our roots, we came to know that we are 'nagvanshi'. It proves that OBCs were originally Buddhists. So we have decided to return to our home. This is not conversion. This is the real ghar vapsi," he said.
 
The outfit began its mission to reach out to OBCs by personally visiting homes of those desired to return to Buddhism, besides holding small rallies, group discussions and conclaves, he said.
 
"We were forced into Hinduism in the 19th century, but the caste system always considered us 'shudras'. The present social set up does not reward us as it should. The only way is to break out of the system," he said.
 
In 2015, the OBC outfit's activists plan to reach out to every tehsil of Maharashtra with their message and a statewide conference would also be called to push the agenda, he said.

http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/Maharashtra-OBC-Outfit-to-Hold-Mass-Conversion-to-Buddhism/875060?
 

[Kim Hyun Jae]

I don't mean to be rude but one cannot convert another person to become a Buddhist. Converting someone into Buddhism is not logical for its written in the Lamrim, that we can take up to 12 years to check out our lama or guru.

These OBCs were lucky to be able to trace back to their roots of their original beliefs ie. Buddhism before the arrival of Hinduism. They do not need to be converted back to Buddhism. All they need to do is revive back their practices in Buddhism.

[Matibhadra]

They do not need to be converted back to Buddhism. All they need to do is revive back their practices in Buddhism.

They cannot revive the Buddhist practices of their ancestors without taking Buddhist vows, which is a case of what is called “conversion”.

No one is born a Buddhist. One needs to take Buddhist vows in order to become one.

Jews and Hindus believe that they, and only they, are born Jews or Hindus. But these are non-Buddhist beliefs, which are at the very basis of their respective narcissistic, racist, exclusivistic ideologies.

Islam, on the other hand, believes that everyone is born a Muslim, and therefore that acceptance of Islam is a mere reversal to one's “original condition”.

Funny enough, this makes the Dzogchen ideology, which preaches a “return” to an “original state” somehow akin to Islam. This might point to the non-Buddhist, Manichaean, even Zoroastrian, roots of both Islam and Dzogchen (both Bön and Nyingma).

For Buddhists, on the other hand, there is no original state for beings in samsara except for the root afflictive mind, ignorance. Therefore, one needs to get rid of such an original state, not to return to it, in order to achieve liberation and enlightenment.

Believing in such an “original state”, as Muslims and Dzogchenpas believe, implies rejecting the stages of the path, the essence of the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, and of his foremost expounder, the Second Buddha, Manjushri Je Tsongkhapa.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Muslim Dalai is also an enthusiastic Dzogchen practitioner, and is always intent on destroying the pure Buddhist, Gelugpa tradition of Je Tsongkhapa.

[MoMo]

In the history of humanity, often when a conflict occurred the losing party will be compelled to take new form of believes or rules from the victor. They will also be labelled or classified as certain categories under the new ruler, usually of a lower cast to perform lowly duty. The label of “Other Backward Classes” already signified of derogatory intention.  As Matibhadra mentioned: 

They cannot revive the Buddhist practices of their ancestors without taking Buddhist vows, which is a case of what is called “conversion”.

No one is born a Buddhist. One needs to take Buddhist vows in order to become one.

Without going further into this issue, it only smell politics as a group of oppressed folks in India is telling their Hindu ruler that they’re unhappy with the treatment they’re getting in its society and declared the wish to break free from it!
This has nothing to do with spirituality but solely an economic or political issue. 

[Matibhadra]

Without going further into this issue, it only smell politics as a group of oppressed folks in India is telling their Hindu ruler that they’re unhappy with the treatment they’re getting in its society and declared the wish to break free from it!

Then, according to you, the supreme human aspiration for freedom, dignity, and equality is reduced to a mere case of “smelling politics”. Congratulations.

This has nothing to do with spirituality but solely an economic or political issue. 

This is precisely the argument used by the racist, ultra-nationalistic, “Hindutva” Indian politicians against the Dalits wishing to convert to Buddhism.

Indeed, Hindutva politicians try to dismiss and denigrate the Dalits' wish to convert to Buddhism as a mere “economically or politically motivated” move.

According to them, as according to you, only remaining under the oppression of the Hindu caste system would be a “highly spiritual” attitude. Congratulations again.

Actually, what has nothing to do with spirituality are the racist, supremacistic, exclusivistic, pseudo-religious worldviews, such as those of Hinduism and Judaism, brazenly used as tools to bring people under submission, oppression and exploitation.

Indeed, transvestite as “religions”, such ideologies were designed solely for the political and economic advantage of their creators, at the expense of “outsiders”, call them “outcastes” or “goys”.

Getting rid of such poisonous worldviews has nothing to do with economics or politics, but with human dignity, a concept you are obviously unused to.