Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (14th April 1891 - 6th December 1956) DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Volume No. : 4 Compiled by VASANT MOON Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Govt. of India Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar : Writings and Speeches Volume No. : 4 First Edition: Education Department, Govt. of Maharashtra: 14 April, 1979 First Re-Printed by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation: Jan, 2014 Second Re- Printed by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation: August, 2019 ISBN: 978-93-5109-175-2 Price: Rs. Cover Design: Debendra Prasad Majhi Monogram used on the Cover page is taken from Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar’s Letterhead. © Courtesy: Secretary Education Department Government of Maharashtra. ISBN (Set): 978-93-5109-171-4 Price: One Set of 1 to 17 Volumes (20 Books): Rs. Publisher: Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India, 15, Janpath, New Delhi – 110 001 Phone: 011-23320588, 23320571 Public Relation Officer Mo. 85880-38789 Email: [email protected] Website: http://drambedkarwritings.gov.in The Education Department, Government of Maharashtra, Bombay-400032. For Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee Printer: M/s Aravali Printers & Publishers Pvt. Ltd., W-30, Okhala Phase – 2, New Delhi – 110020 Collected Works of Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar (CWBA) Counselling and Collaboration Dr. Thaawarchand Gehlot Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India and Chairperson, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Shri Ramdas Athawale Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Rattan Lal Kataria Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Ms. Nilam Sawhney Secretary Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India Shri Surendra Singh Joint Secretary & Member Secretary, DAF Shri Debendra Prasad Majhi Director Dr. Ambedkar Foundation Dr. Brijesh Kumar Co-ordinator (CWBA) Dr. Ambedkar Foundation PREFACE It is a matter of great happiness that Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, on demand of the readers, is getting the Collected Works of Babasaheb Ambedkar (CWBA) English Volumes on venerable Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions re-printing for wider circulation. Dr. Ambedkar not only dedicated his life for ameliorating the conditions of deprived sections of the society but also his views on inclusiveness and Samajik Samrasta continue inspiring national endeavour. Dr. Ambedkar Foundation is deeply indebted to Smt. Rashmi Chowdhary, the then Member Secretary and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for her personal efforts, constant monitoring for setting the stage and giving a shape of this re-printing version of publication, under the guidance of the Chairman, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation and the Hon’ble Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. It is hoped that the Volumes on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s contributions will continue to be a source of inspirations for the readers. (Debendra Prasad Majhi) Director New Delhi Dr. Ambedkar Foundation z:\ ambedkar\vol-04\vol4-02.indd MK SJ+YS 24-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 1 Riddles in Hinduism An Exposition To Enlighten the Masses By B. R. Ambedkar M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc, LL.D., D.Litt., Barrister-at-Law. z:\ ambedkar\vol-04\vol4-02.indd MK SJ+YS 24-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 3 TABLECONTENTS OF CONTENTS MESSAGE v PREFACE Pagevii 1. Introduction .. 5 PART I—Religious 2. Riddle No. 1 The Difficulty of Knowing why one is a 13 Hindu. 3. Riddle No. 2 The Origin of the Vedas—The Brahminic 16 Explanation or an exercise in the art of circumlocution. 4. Riddle No. 3 The Testimony of other Shastras on the 19 origin of the Vedas. 5. Riddle No. 4 Why suddenly the Brahmins declare the Ve- 25 das to be infallible and not to be questioned? 6. Riddle No. 5 Why did the Brahmins go further and 28 declare that the Vedas are neither made by man nor by God ? 7. Riddle No. 6 The Contents of the Vedas: Have they any 37 moral or spiritual value? 8. Riddle No. 7 The turn of the tide Or How did the Brah- 53 mins declare the Vedas to be lower than the lowest of their Shastras? 9. Riddle No. 8 How the Upanishads declared War on the 62 Vedas ? 10. Riddle No. 9 How the Upanishads came to be made sub- 67 ordinate to the Vedas? 11. Riddle No. 10 Why did the Brahmins make the Hindu 71 Gods fight against one another? 12. Riddle No. 11 Why did the Brahmins make the Hindu 80 Gods suffer to rise and fall? 13. Riddle No. 12 Why did the Brahmins dethrone the Gods 99 and enthrone the Goddesses? z:\ ambedkar\vol-04\vol4-02.indd MK SJ+YS 24-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 4 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 14. Riddle No. 13 The Riddle of the Ahimsa . 108 15. Riddle No. 14 From Ahimsa back to Himsa . 113 16. Riddle No. 15 How did the Brahmins Wed an Ahimsak God to a 117 Bloodthirsty Goddess? 17. Appendix I The Riddle of the Vedas . 128 18. Appendix II The Riddle of the Vedanta . 151 19. Appendix III The Riddle of the Trimurti . 161 20. Appendix IV Smarth Dharma and Tantrik Dharma . 176 21. Appendix V The Infallibility of the Vedas . 183 PART II—Social 22. Riddle No. 16 The Four Varnas—Are the Brahmins sure of 189 their origin? 23. Riddle No. 17 The Four Ashramas—The Why and How 205 about them. 24. Riddle No. 18 Manu’s madness or the Brahmanic explana- 215 tion of the origin of the mixed castes. 25. Riddle No. 19 The change from Paternity to Maternity. 226 What did the Brahmins wish to gain by it? 26. Riddle No. 20 Kali Varjya or the Brahmanic art of sus- 233 pending the operation of Sin without calling it Sin. 27. Appendix I The Riddle of the Varnashram Dharma . 236 28. Appendix II Compulsory Matrimony . 262 PART III—Political 29. Riddle No. 21 The Theory of Manvantara . 275 30. Riddle No 22 Brahma is not Dharma. What good is Brahma? 281 31. Riddle No 23 Kali yuga—Why have the Brahmins made it un- 288 ending? 32. Riddle No 24 The Riddle of the Kali yuga . 307 33. Appendix I The Riddle of Rama and Krishna . 323 z:\ ambedkar\vol-04\vol4-02.indd MK SJ+YS 24-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 5 INTRODUCTION This book is an exposition of the beliefs propounded by what might be called Brahmanic theology. It is intended for the common mass of Hindus who need to be awakened to know in what quagmire the Brahmins have placed them and to lead them on to the road of rational thinking. The Brahmins have propagated the view that the Hindu civilization is Sanatan, that is, unchanging. This view has been reinforced by a good many of the European Scholars who have said that the Hindu civilization is static. In this book I have attempted to show that this view is not in accord with facts and that Hindu Society has changed from time to time and that often times the change is of the most radical kind. In this connection, compare the Riddles from Himsa to Ahimsa and from Ahimsa back to Himsa. I want to make the mass of people to realize that Hindu religion is not Sanatan. The second purpose of this book is to draw attention of the Hindu masses to the devices of the Brahmins and to make them think for themselves how they have been deceived and misguided by the Brahmins. It will be noticed how the Brahmins have changed and chopped. There was a time when they worshipped the Vedic Gods. Then came a time when they abandoned their Vedic Gods and started worshipping non-Vedic Gods. One may well ask them—where is Indra, where is Varuna, where is Brahma, where is Mitra — the Gods mentioned in the Vedas? They have all disappeared. And why, because the worship of Indra, Varuna and Brahma ceased to be profitable. Not only did the Brahmins abandon their Vedic Gods but there are cases where they have become the worshippers of Muslim Pirs. In this connection one glaring case may be referred to. In Kalyan near Bombay there is a famous Darga of Pir called Bawa Malangsha on the top of a hill. It is a very famous Darga. Every year a Urs (pilgrimage) is held and offerings are made. The person who officiates at the Darga as a priest This is a seven-page manuscript, with corrections in Dr. Ambedkar’s handwriting. Last few paras are additions in the handwriting by Dr. Ambedkar to the typed script.—Ed. z:\ ambedkar\vol-04\vol4-02.indd MK SJ+YS 24-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 6 6 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES is a Brahmin, sitting near it, wearing the clothes of Muslims and receiving monies offered at the Darga. This he did for the sake of money. Religion or no religion what the Brahmin wants is Dakshina. Indeed the Brahmins have made religion a matter of trade and commerce. Compare with this faithlessness of the Brahmins the fidelity of the Jews to their Gods even when their conqueror Nebuchadnezzar forced the Jews to abandon their religion and adopt his (religion)1. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, ordered the princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar, the king had set up.