ABSTRACT
As if to fulfil this promise of Sri Krishna, Buddha appeared. At the time of his birth, spiritual culture in India was at a low ebb. What was then universally recognized as religion consisted wholly in the observance of rituals and sacrifices, for the people had forgotten the simple fact that religion is primarily a matter of experience and realization. Buddha taught no new religion; rather he restated and reinterpreted the ancient and genuine Vedic faith, infusing new spirit—the eternally new and eternally old spirit—into a religion that existed before man lived upon this earth, and will exist when man is forgotten. Prince Gautama, the name of Buddha before he attained his illumination, was born in 560 B.C. at Kapilavastu in northern India. At his birth, wise men prophesied that either he would become the greatest monarch on earth or, roused by the sorrows of mankind, would renounce the world and become a great religious leader.
