Gautam Buddha who the world revere as Lord Buddha was not a theologian and never endeavored to promulgate a religious dogma or doctrine. On the contrary, the Buddha was a liberator, a spiritually enlightened proponent of freedom from hate, delusion and fear. His teaching revolved around ahimsa, promotion of harmony, equality, kindness and love. His goal was to help as many beings as possible live in equanimity and harmony. Most importantly, the Lord Buddha's teachings were aimed at finding the root cause of the sorrows and freeing the sentient beings from suffering, the philosophy that a Moradabad based philanthropist and educationist Arvind Goel has strived hard to imbibe in the prevailing era.
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On the occasion of the Buddha Purnima that celebrates the birth of the founder of Buddhism, it is imperative to know how Goel has silently walked into the footsteps of the Lord Buddha to alleviate the sufferings of the downtrodden and have-nots.
Deeply influenced by these teachings,Arvind Goel from Moradabad is of the firm view that we all must commit ourselves to follow the principles of universal love, compassion, and equality as shown by Lord Buddha - ‘The Enlightened One’. No wonder! This 'Gautam' of the present times is often seen walking on the empty streets at night, identifying the miserable and comforting the tired souls sleeping on the roadsides and footpaths, by providing them with food and blankets. A large number of old-age homes and the shelters for the poor constructed by Arvind Goel all over Moradabad and rest of the state is a practical application of the Buddha's teachings of non-violence, for Goel believes that if you let a man die on the road and you have not done anything to save him, you are somewhere responsible for his misery and death. This inaction is akin to a form of violence against the underprivileged lot in society.
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Lord Buddha lived 2,500 years ago when the idea of a civilized society was still in a nascent stage but his teachings are as relevant today as they were two millennia before. And Goel's noble thoughts and actions are a living manifestation of those teachings that aim at making this world a better place. At a time when hundreds are losing lives on the warfront in Ukraine and Russia, Arvind Goel has been voraciously appealing for the restoration of peace and harmony, for it is peace that the Lord Buddha promotes and not war. Happy Buddha Poornima to one and all.
