ENGMOHAN

Karl Marx , one of the great thinkers of 20th century, is popular around the world as father of communist idealogy. His "Communist Manifesto" , "Das Capital" and "Theories of Surplus Value" unmistakably divided the intellectual world into two parts. Yet, he is a misunderstood philosopher. Here is an extract from the book "Buddha or Karl Marx" written by Dr B R Ambedkar:  Marx's contention rested on the following theses. They were:-  1. That the purpose of philosophy is to reconstruct the world and not to explain the origin of the universe.  2. That the forces which shape the course of history are primarily economic. 3. That society is divided into two classes, owners and workers.  4. That there is always a class conflict going on between the two classes.  5. That the workers are exploited by the owners who misappropriate the surplus value which is the result of the workers' labour.  6. That this exploitation can be put an end to by nation...

Buddhist literature is vast. Very few daring explorers have delved deep into the ocean of Buddhist literature to understand the Dhamma. Ambedkar is one of the very few who have truely understood the essence of Buddhism. Here is an extract from one of his books:  Excerpt from the book "Buddha or Karl Marx" written by Dr B R Ambedkar:  Tenets of Buddhism: 1. Religion is necessary for a free society.  2. Not every religion is worth having. 3. Religion must relate to facts of life and not to theories and speculations about God or soul or heaven or earth.  4. It is wrong to make God the centre of religion.  5. It is wrong to make salvation of the soul as the centre of religion.  6. It is wrong to make animal sacrifices to be the centre of religion. 7. Real religion lives in the heart of man and not in the shastras.  8. Man and morality must be the centre of religion. If not , religion is a cruel superstition.  9. It is not enough for morality to be the...