Siddhartha Gautam, light of Asia

Buddha means enlightened or awakened; one who has got a perfect knowledge. Lord Buddha, originally Siddhartha Gautam, is the founder of Buddhism. He is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He is also called the Light of Asia.

Light of Asia, Gautam Budddha

Siddhartha Gautam was born in Lumbini, Nepal on Baishakh Shukla Purnima in 563 BC. He was a prince of King Suddhodhana and Queen Maya Devi. It is said that his mother died seven days after giving birth to him. Siddhartha Gautam was a child of sharp intellect and curiosity. Against the desire of his father who wanted to keep him in great luxuries, one day Siddhartha crossed the palace wall and came out to know about the ordinary human life. Actually he was in search of knowledge. He wanted to know the mystery of the human sorrow and suffering; especially disease, old age and death. As a matter of fact, he was not happy in his opulent palace. So he left his wife Yasodhara and son Rahula at the age of 29 to lead an ascetic life.

Siddhartha went meditating in different places for many years. After a long meditation under a banyan (Bodhi) tree in Gaya, north India, he found a great knowledge. He found out the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. He was called Buddha then. According to him, the cause of world sorrow and suffering is greed. He believed in the middle way of life -neither renouncement of everything nor attachment to luxuries. Then he started giving lessons to his disciples who formed Sangha or community of monks. His teaching later took the form of a world religion; one of the four major religions of the current world. According to Buddha, the truth of life is peace and non-violence.

Buddha died at Kushinagar, India at the age of 80. It was a coincidence that he was born, enlightened and died on Baishakh Shukla Purnima. He is one of the eminent national figures (Rashtriya Bhrikuti) of Nepal.