Lord Buddha preached his noble dharma on this blessed soil of India, 2,500 years ago, and we Indians, profited by his teaching for more than 1,000 years and guided ourselves by it. And then came misfortunes and calamities and the darkness of night descended upon Buddhism. One of the primary reasons for the decline of Buddhism in the land of its birth was the Brahmanical opposition to the concept of equality of all human beings preached by the Buddha. The Brahmins went all out to defend the caste system in order to cling to their privileges which flowed from it. They on the one hand unleashed a propaganda of hatred against Buddhism, persecuted the Buddhists, and on the other hand they assimilated the good point of Buddhism into their system to win back the masses. Unlike their ancient ancestors who had resorted to vilification of the Buddha in strongest terms, the modern Hindus have shown better understanding. Having realized that the Buddha was indeed the noblest and the greatest religious teacher ever born in India, the modern Hindus have begun to honour the Buddha and also to write favourably about him. This book is the first of its kind in which the author presents and analyses the select writings and speeches on Buddha and Buddhism of prominent Hindu leaders and scholars who lived in the 20th century.
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