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THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN DETERMINING BUDDHA'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS SOCIAL PROBLEMS
DR. (SMT.) M. K. SATYARTHI*
A study of the background factors of the formation of Gautama Buddha's attitude towards the-then problems concerning many aspects of life has been a fascinating subject for scholars. R. S. Sharma states that the material conditions of the period of emergence of the Buddha is solely responsible for the origin of Buddha's attitude towards socioeconomic problems. 1 But there are certain psychological factors also which may be held responsible for the formation of Gautama Buddha's attitude towards social problems. Henry Clay Lindgren rightly holds that “The behaviour of individuals may be studied in terms of the attitudes, values, beliefs and habits, characteristic of certain individuals or of individuals in general. Social psychologists are likely to be more interested in individuals in general, because they are interested in human behavior in general. An understanding of the general principles of human behaviour enables us to make better predictions about individuals whereas an analysis of a behavior of a single individual may yield date relevant only to that individual''2. It may be mentioned that there are certain incidence in Gautama Buddha's life which would be useful for the purpose under review. Gautama Buddha lost his mother when he was of ten days only. His step mother left no stone untured in providing all the requisite facilities for his development. But he did not develop in the way his parents wanted to be. His attitude towards women seems to be prejudiced in general. Psychologists hold that “prejudice has beljefs that are established prior to the revelation of the pertinent objective facts and that by their strength
* Department of Psychology, M. D. D. M. College, Muzaffarpur. 1. R.S. Sbarına, "Material Background of the Origin of Buddhism",
Das Capital a Centenary Volume, Peoples Publishing House (P)
Ltd., Delhi, 1966, pp. 63-69. 2. Henry Clay Lindgren, An Introduction to Social Psychology, 2nd
Edn., New York, 1973, p. 9.
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