Buddha or Gautama Buddha was born to the small feudal king of Sakya clan in Lumbini, Nepal, around 563 B.C. Soon after he was born, he was been observed by several holy men, who opined that Buddha would either be a great warrior or he would turn himself to be a religious teacher. The father was surprised to hear it, as he always wanted his son to be the next ruler of his Kingdom. His life was full of luxuries and since the very beginning of his early years he was trained to ascetic skills and the spiritual discipline of day to day life. A story was told by holy men about Buddha, which we all know as we have read in our history books. It was told that Siddhartha Gautama Buddha had encounter with four people in his early life, which has completely changed his thoughts and outlook towards life. The first encounter was with an old feeble man trembling, second encounter was with an old man who was suffering from his sickness, the third encounter was he was a witness to a funeral procession and lastly he saw a wandering monk who was living an austere life. This instantly made him think that the man’s life is a cycle of old age. Suffering and it ends with death. However, it only finishes with the rebirth of the human being, i.e. life after death.All such incidents left a great impact in his life. However, he married to Yashodhya who bore a son to Buddha, named Rahula, but soon at the age of 29 he decided to quit the worldly pleasures. Thereafter, he left home, leaving behind his wife and son, with the mission to discover the ultimate Enlightenment of oneself and all human beings.
He started his religious and spiritual quest by way of meditation and yoga. His mission of achieving enlightenment was so powerful, that he started meditating under Bodhi Tree at Bodhgaya. He meditated till he got the answers which he had sought. He understood that life is a vicious cycle and it is about ‘life’, ‘death’ & ‘Re-incarnation’. This is the place where he attained the name Buddha which means “the awakening”. This made him wise and helped him to achieve ‘Enlightenment’. All throughout the rest of his life, Buddha was traveling all parts around India, Nepal and Bhutan and around the coast of Ganges. The whole life he gave emphasis on how to discipline ones heart and soul and his path involves the understanding of right speech, ones actions, thinking and living.
