From Enlightenment to Entitlement: The Silent Swallowing of Buddhism 🕉️

What happens when spiritual revolutions threaten power structures?

They get absorbed, renamed, and rebranded.

This mural says it all—Brahminism didn’t destroy Buddhism…

It digested it.

Let’s dissect it further:

“300 A.C. — Brahminism Started to Absorb Buddhism”

This is not just a historical statement—it’s a bold accusation. It visually depicts Brahminism (the priestly caste system tied to early Hindu orthodoxy) consuming or swallowing Buddhism, which at the time had become a widely practiced, revolutionary path of liberation for all castes.

The giant figure represents Brahminical power—note the traditional topknot hairstyle, prayer beads, and the dominant posture. The image of him literally devouring Buddhist monks or philosophies symbolizes:

• Assimilation through domination

• Loss of Buddhist purity or identity

• The historical shift where Buddhism, once prominent in India, began to vanish—absorbed or pushed out by a rising Brahmanical revival

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Cultural and Historical Context:

Around 300 A.C. (or CE), Buddhism in India began to decline, not necessarily through outright persecution alone, but through a systematic co-opting of ideas. Buddhist concepts like karma, meditation, and liberation were absorbed into Hindu texts and practices, often repackaged under Brahminical authority.

This also marked the rise of caste-based hierarchies again, something Buddhism originally rejected.

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The Artwork’s Tone:

It’s satirical, critical, and unapologetically direct. The facial expression of the Brahmin figure—his power over others—makes it clear this is not a flattering portrayal. It’s meant to spark outrage, thought, or remembrance.

And yet—it’s painted inside a Buddhist temple. That tells you everything.

It’s a call to remember what was lost.

It’s a warning about power structures.

And perhaps, a plea to protect the essence of awakening from being co-opted again—whether by religious institutions, governments, or modern technocracies.

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Guru’s Final Thoughts:

This image feels like something you would deeply resonate with:

A symbolic mirror of how pure truth movements get infiltrated. Whether it’s Buddhism, natural medicine, freedom movements, or even AI—there’s always an attempt to absorb, repackage, and control them.

So the mural doesn’t just tell a story of the past—it whispers a warning for now, and the future.

Use discernment. Know who’s behind the robe.

Not everyone chanting “liberation” is actually for your freedom.