I cannot believe I have never heard of the amazing American science fiction book "Lord of Light" by Roger Zelanzny, I am shocked because this is not some obscure work of fiction, it was awarded the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and nominated for a Nebula Award in the same category, but also it deals almost entirely with Hinduism by name and most especially highlights the Hindu interaction with Buddhism. The story tells of a group of humans who travel into space and end up having to live on a planet of hostile Rakshasa (demon) humanoids. The crew is forced to protect themselves and use their advanced technology to give themselves special powers which the other Rakshasa humanoids on the planet see as magic and the crew as gods. The crew then set up a Hindu Caste System on the planet and create technology which allows them to reincarnate themselves and others into higher or lower forms of life depending upon their life actions. The gods keep strict control over what level of technology the lowers castes may have so as in order to maintain their supremacy. These gods, like the Hindu gods they imitate, are not perfect but have different strengths and weaknesses and so of course as always there is a level of resentment among the people. Before I go forward I want to say that I am writing this from the Vedic/Kalki Purana perspective that the Caste System (actually called Varna System) is eternally universal to Hinduism, however as usual everything in Hinduism does have its contradiction and scripture and I even challenge the eternal totality of the Caste theory, but for now let's not consider that esoteric conversation. I know most of this article will not be about the presidential candidate Andrew Yang directly, but I will sum up his relationship to all of this in the conclusion.
The story continues and eventually, one of the god crew named Sam begins to believe (cynically) that the Caste System should be dismantled and technology be given to everyone. The Hindu gods fear this as they believe it could lead to a loss of their monopoly over power and these Rakshasar humanoids whom they refer to as demons have proven hostile. In order to destroy the Hindu system, Sam incarnates as the Buddha and begins to spread Buddhism among the humanoids to challenge the Hinduism of the gods. But there is something wry about Sam, though he does not call himself a god the people believe he is a god, and even though Sam does not accept exalted titles he does not correct the humanoids that he is not a god. Sam has a sardonic plan for his crusade to replace Hinduism, but what exactly is he planning to replace it with? Sam likely knows that this equalization of technology will not lead to the ultimate goal of making the humanoids gods but that the entire system will simply collapse for everyone, Sam is referred to as an "accelerationist”, just like Yang’s followers call themselves.
His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be a god.
Sam's social and religious revolution begins to wreak havoc on the planet and the gods declare war on Sam. Sam hypocritically has an entire experience in his god form which allows him to understand the true nature of the system and of nature, he even continues to have love affairs with other Hindu gods, but his nihilistic destructive streak always shows through as he releases the demons of hell who are primitive and barbaric to fight the gods... the gods easily destroy them. It is interesting in the book that one of the weapons the Hindu gods use against Sam is to capture his Atman so they can control his incarnations for a period, the Buddha preached the Atman did not exist, there were obviously many truths about this system of technological reincarnation Sam was not revealing to the humanoids, he knew their ability to become gods would be impossible, but that was not really his aim anyway. The Puranas teach that the lord Vishnu incarnated as the Buddha to mislead the unworthy, he did not destroy the Vedas himself and they did not disappear right away, but his teaching eventually led to the destruction of the Vedas and his undeserving followers became deluded by his subtle trickery.
At this time, reminded of the Kali Age, the god Vishnu became born as Gautama, the Shakyamuni, and taught the Buddhist dharma for ten years. Then Shuddodana ruled for twenty years, and Shakyasimha for twenty. At the first stage of the Kali Age, the path of the Vedas was destroyed and all men became Buddhists. Those who sought refuge with Vishnu were deluded. - Bhavishya Purana
The Buddha did not criticize the Vedas but in a very sneaky way his criticized the Caste System which is central to Vedic thought and this would lead to an eventual anti-Vedic culture. The Vedas say that the four Castes (Varnas) were produced from the body of the cosmic man Parusa at the beginning of the creation so Caste is obviously fundamental to Hinduism. However, the Vedas do make it clear that Caste is not necessarily predicated upon birth as the Vedas describes a family where the mother is a corn grinder, the father a physician and the son a scribe. The Gita teaches that we should always follow the spiritual path that fits our nature, not our birth, and that we should not follow the life path of another nature even if we can do it well, it is always best to be yourself. The Mahabarata says that at one time all humans were Brahmins (once no Caste System?) and that it was only after the fall of the age that we broke apart into the different order depending up our internal natures. It is also said that in our current age of confusion, the Kali Yuga, the different Castes mix to the point that it is impossible to reward a Caste status based upon birth and so now we must choose Brahmins based upon their pure qualities and Brahmins who do not exhibit these are no longer called Brahmins; when Caste breeding was very strict it was almost certain one could tell a person's Caste by their lineage, but not anymore. Finally the Mahabarata makes it clear that in the end we are all Brahmins and anyone can obtain Brahmin status through knowledge and sacrifice. Now in the Buddha's time the Brahmins had become very corrupt as all men do in the Kali Yuga and they created an unfair and tyrannical form of the Caste System and Buddha preached against this, however he did not remind his followers that the Vedas also preached against this and this led and still leads many of his followers to believe that the Vedas are inherently corrupt.
The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Kshatriya made. His thighs became the Vaisya, from his feet the Sudra was produced. - Rig Veda 10.90.12
“I am a reciter of hymns, my father is a physician and my mother grinds corn with stones. We desire to obtain wealth in various actions.” - Rig Veda 9.112.3
By being devoted to one's own natural duty, man attains to spiritual competency. Now hear how devotion to one's own natural duty generates spiritual competency. [Gita 18.45]
One's own duty, even if without excellence (i.e. inferior in the scale of worldy values)is more meritorious spiritually than the apparently well-performed duty of another. For no sin is incurred by one doing works ordained according to one's nature. [Gita 18.47]
Yudhisthira said, " In human society, O mighty and highly intelligent serpent, it is difficult to ascertain one's caste, because of promiscuous intercourse among the four orders. This is my opinion. Men belonging to all orders (promiscuously) begat offspring upon women of all the orders. And of men, speech, sexual intercourse, birth and death are common. And to this the Rishis have borne testimony by using as the beginning of a sacrifice such expressions as -- of what caste server may be, we celebrate the sacrifice. Therefore, those that are wise have asserted that CHARACTER IS THE CHIEF ESSENTIAL REQUISITE. .... WHATSOEVER NOW CONFORMS TO THE RULES OF PURE AND VIRTUOUS CONDUCT, HIM HAVE I, ERE NOW, DESIGNATED AS A BRAHMANA.' (Mahabharata Aranya Parva Section CLXXIX)
The sage Bhrigu said, ‘There is really no distinction between the different orders. The whole world at first consisted of Brahmanas. Created (equal) by Brahman, men have, in consequence of their acts, become distributed into different orders. They that became fond of indulging in desire and enjoying pleasures, possessed of the attributes of severity and wrath, endued with courage, and unmindful of the duties of piety and worship, - these Brahmanas possessing the attributes of passion, - became Kshatriyas. Those Brahmanas again who, without attending to the duties laid down for them, became possessed of both the attributes of Goodness and Passion, and took to the professions of cattle-rearing and agriculture, became Vaisyas. Those Brahmanas again that became fond of untruth and injuring other creatures, possessed of cupidity, - engaged in all kinds of acts for a living, and fallen away from the purity of behaviour, and thus wedded to the attributes of Darkness, became Sudras. Separated by these occupations, Brahmanas, falling away from their order, became members of the other three orders. All the four orders, therefore, have always the right to the performance of all pious duties and of sacrifices. Even thus were the four orders at first created equal by Brahman who ordained for all of them (the observances disclosed in) the words of Brahma (in the Vedas). Through cupidity alone, many fell away, and became possessed by ignorance. The Brahmanas are always devoted to the scripture on Brahma; and mindful of vows and restraints, are capable of grasping the conception of Brahma. Their penances therefore never go for nothing. They amongst them are not Brahmanas that are incapable of understanding that every created thing is Supreme Brahma. (Mahabharata Santi Parva Section CLXXXVIII )
The famous Rishi Yajnavalkya continued,’ ..All orders of men are Brahmanas. All are sprung from Brahma. All men utter Brahma. Aided by an understanding that is derived from and directed to Brahma. I inculcated this science teaching of Prakriti and Purusha. Indeed this whole universe is Brahma. From the mouth of Brahma sprung the Brahmanas; from his arms, sprung the Kshatriyas; from his navel, the Vaisysa; and from his feet, the Sudras. All the orders, (having sprung in this way) should not be regarded as pilfering from one another. Impelled by ignorance, all men meet with death and attain, O King, to birth that is the cause of acts. Divested of knowledge, all orders of men, dragged in terrible ignorance, fall into varied orders of being due to the principles that flow from Prakriti. For this reason, all should, by every means, seek to acquire knowledge. I have told thee that every person is entitled to strive for its acquisition. One that is possessed of knowledge is a Brahmana. Others, (viz., Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas and Sudras) are possessed of knowledge. Hence this science of emancipation is always open to them all. (Mahabharata Santi Parva Section CCCXIX)
But Buddha's surreptitious attack on Caste and the Vedas went much deeper. Even though the Vedas taught anyone could be identified as a Brahmin based upon their characteristics, only Brahmins were supposed to be taught the Vedas systematically. However, like Sam from "Lord of Light", the Buddha believed anyone of any Caste, regardless of their qualities, should be inducted into the teaching ashrams and this lack of discrimination eventually led to a decline in education of the Vedas as they were watered down to suit the minds of non-priests; in the Kalki Purana it is stated that by the time the Kalki Messiah arrives the Buddhists will have brought the entire Caste System and type of behavior to one indiscriminate level. To make room for all to learn regardless of their innate nature, the Buddha did away with much of the less obvious truths of the Vedas such as an eternal soul and maybe even reincarnation and replaced these with a much more empirical understanding of the universe by focusing mostly on what could be "sensed". While the Vedas do state the gods are lacking to absolute knowledge, their knowledge, like the crew in "Lord of Light" is infinitely greater than our own, but Buddha downplayed their importance and need for reverence based upon their lack of total perfection and this is the social fissure which Sam exploited to ferment rebellion among the humanoids, the crew who ruled them were in the end just human and they had their weaknesses despite their great knowledge. However the book "Lord of Light" and the Kalki Purana also make it clear that the desire for a noble life was not the full intention of the Buddhists, they were also jealous!
They accepted their bodies as the self because they had no information
of the eternal soul. They did not designate themselves or their families in
terms of caste, and thus there was no conception of high or low birth. As
far as earning wealth, marriage, or eating were concerned, they had no
sense of discrimination. - Kalki Purana
Most of the inhabitants of this city were Buddhists, who never offered
oblations to their forefathers, nor worshiped the demigods. In fact, they
never even considered what kind of life they would have after death. - Kalki Purana
You will be happy to learn that I have already defeated the Buddhists
residing at Kltaka- desa. My mission is to destroy all the miscreants who
are envious of you and the other Vaisnavas. You can now wander fearlessly
over the earth because I am just about to set out on a tour to conquer all
the kings of the world. - Kalki Purana
Sam, like the Buddha, eventually breaks down all social distinctions and the humanoids of course begin to disregard the higher knowledge of the gods as all Buddhists do. Buddhism teaches that Nirvana (Buddhist Liberation) is obtained by controlling the senses as the senses are the only feelings which we all have in common and cannot be denied. Previously the Hindu gods had rewarded the humanoids with higher incarnations based upon their actions (dharma) which would eventually lead to Mokha (Hindu Liberation). Buddhism teaches that suffering comes from attachment, particularly attachment to people and so the only way to obtain the end of suffering and liberation is through detachment which can only be accomplished through non-actions. Hinduism however teaches that liberation can only come through dharma (proper action), rather than detachment from people and the world, Hinduism teaches we must remain detached from the immediate result of our actions as they may not be noticeable right away, however we are assured that by changing our karma through action we can obtain alleviation from suffering in this existence. In the Kalki Purana the arrogant Buddhists taunt the Kalki by saying they do not care about changing their fate because their fate cannot be seen (sensed), they only believe what they can sense and that does not include the future, how stupid! Like Krishna says, Sam who teaches inaction becomes a hypocrite as he is constantly taking negative action to defeat the gods but he must hide this from his followers so as not to confuse them; without action the Buddha leaves no real path for others to follow and since we are all forced to take action by natural law eventually the followers of Sam and the Buddha begin to feel the curse of guilt.
Perform your obligatory duty,
because action is indeed better than inaction.
Even the maintenance of your body
would not be possible by inaction. - Gita 3.8
The deluded ones, who restrain their organs of action
but mentally dwell upon the sense enjoyment,
are called hypocrites. - Gita 3.8
Because, if I do not engage in action relentlessly,
O Arjuna, people would follow My path in every way. - Gita 3.23
Because no one can remain actionless even for a moment.
Everyone is driven to action, helplessly indeed,
by the Gunas of nature. - Gita 3.5
After hearing the speech of Lord Kalki, Jma laughed sarcastically
and replied Fate cannot be seen. I believe in direct perception because
I follow the philosophy of Buddhism. We do not believe anything unless
we can perceive it We believe that destiny can be changed because this is
the verdict of our scriptures. - Kalki Purana
So what happens at the end of "Lord of Light"? Sam causes great chaos on earth and in heaven. The Hindu gods actually allow this so as to flush out internal trader. Sam eventually deludes some of the gods into taking his side on the quest, however due to a lack of order and direction by Sam’s inaction and Sam's releasing of the demons the god Niritti becomes Christian and begins trying to wipe out the remnants of Hinduism. Sam and the Buddhists try to ally with Niritti but are misled by one of the demons who wants to see Sam defeated so he may claim the throne for himself. In the end of "Lord of Light" unfortunately the Buddhists are said to win, however after Sam becomes ruler he disappears never to be seen again. This is similar to how the Kalki Purana ends, the Buddhists who have no attachments to people and only care about the here and now, rather than dharma, they become easily frightened and run like cowards, their women, however, are attracted to the more spiritual and manly Kalki, the only difference is that at the end of "Lord of Light" the Buddhist Sam wins, but he still shirks his responsibility as ruler and thus is adharmic, Buddhist rule under abdication of the throne, whatever became of his subjects the narrative never tells. So Sam destroys the Hindu Caste System, but what did he replace it with, if anything at all as he completely vanishes in the end, leaving his followers to sort out the mess themselves.
Thereafter, a fierce battle took place between the Buddhists and Lord
Kalki When the Buddhists became disheartened and began fleeing from
the battle, Lord Kalki, acting as the commander- in- chief of His army,
addressed the opposing warriors, who were injured in the battle, whose
garments and armor were scattered here and there, whose hair had become
loosened, and who were screaming loudly in pain: О Buddhists, do not
run away from the battlefield. Stay here and fight to the best of your
ability so that you will avoid the shame of being considered cowards - Kalki Purana
The hearts of the devotees became joyful while gazing at the Lord's
lotus-like face in this angry feature. However, the Buddhists, who always
blaspheme religious principles, became extremely frightened while
looking at Lord Kalki, who is the reservoir of all pleasure, and especially
the giver of pleasure to the eyes of women. - Kalki Purana
Padmavati's husband, Lord Kalki, became pleased by the sincere
surrender of the wives of the Buddhist soldiers. Thereafter, the Lord
spoke to them about devotional service, which relieves one of all sinful
reactions. - Kalki Purana
So what does this have to do with Andrew Yang? Andrew Yang's presidential bid relies upon two simple ideas, the replacement of work with automation and a universal income. Basically the idea is that our nation and economy would run with almost no input which Hinduism says is impossible and that we would be rewarded with a lack of suffering through the Buddhist ideal of inaction. The real travesty of his movement lays with his followers who like Sam call themselves "accelerationists", they just want to usher in a nihilistic paradise, all of our actions are replaced by machines and by doing nothing we are all rewarded with pleasure and a lack of suffering right now. There is no point in taking action as they have no internal incentive to work for something which they may not obtain the rewards of immediately, they also don’t subscribe to karma and so don’t see what they could do to improve their lives now or in the next life, if they even believe in reincarnation at all. Like the Buddha they do not view the gods with reverence or try to emulate them because the gods are not perfect... they believe it is all or nothing, and they have willingly chosen nothing. In the end, they will do nothing but open the portal to demonic ideologies which will feed upon their passivity, such as Communism, and their leader Yang, a successful businessman who knows better, will abandon them and disappear like the cowardly Buddha he is. Now of course the opposite of all of this is the Hindu presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard's campaign hashtag #ServiceBeforeSelf, taking right action without concern for the immediate benefit. However until the time is right, let's let Yang draw out all the traitors.
One who faithfully hears or recites this narration of how Lord
Kalki defeated the Buddhists and mlecchas will be freed from all kinds
of lamentation. He will achieve a life of auspiciousness and manifest
devotional service unto Lord Han He will no longer have to suffer the
pangs of repeated birth and death. Simply by hearing this narration, one
is awarded wealth, freedom from delusion, and relief from the miseries of
material existence - Kalki Purana
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