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THE CULT OF ASCETICISM & RENUNCIATION
to its founder in the list of the legendary Avatars of Hinduism. The superstitious practices of Hinduism corrupted and caused the downfall of Buddhism. But the vanquished was avenged by the fact that its most characteristic feature-monasticism-passed on to the triumphant religion. The hero of the conquering host, Sankaracharya himself, was the founder of the most powerful and abiding monastic order.
Critical investigation will bring into light the fact that behind the apparent prosperity of the Buddhist era, there operated similar social forces as promoted the abnormal phenomenon of monasticism in the period of decay and decline of the Roman Empire. Meanwhile, recorded history as well as social science warrant the assertion that the great majority of the Buddhist monks, and later on Hindu Sadhus and Sanyasis, must have been recruited from the masses of peasants and artisans rendered destitute and desperate by all the factors indicating a severe social crisis, namely, decay of the roots of the established economic system, the resulting decline of industry and trade, pauperisation of the masses, increasing burden of taxation and various other forms of extortions, and political oppression. Before the establishment of Buddhism as the State religion, propagandists of the new faith-Bhikkhus-travelled from village to village, preaching to the poor, destitute and the outcastes. Old records show that the majority of
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