Themes

1891–1956

Inspirations and Influences

Three gurus, three ideals, a great teacher, three patrons, and the people he inspired

Ambedkar absorbed in reading in his large library. Undated.
Ambedkar absorbed in reading in his large library. Undated. — Photo: Unknown author · Public domain (PD-India) · Wikimedia Commons

Nobody becomes who they are alone. Dr. Ambedkar was shaped by thinkers from India’s past, by a great teacher in New York, and by a few generous people who helped a poor student when it mattered most. He was also careful to say who his heroes were. In turn, he became an inspiration for millions.

“A devotee of Gautam Buddha, Kabir and Mahatma Phule”

On 28 October 1954, about 25,000 people gathered at Purandare’s Stadium in Naigaum, Bombay. They had come to honour him for completing sixty years. A police report of his reply survives. It records that he said “he was a devotee of Guatam Buddha, Kabir and Mahatma Phule and worshipper of learning, self-respect and character” 1.

This is a police officer’s summary, not his exact words. Marathi accounts of the same speech, translated by The Mooknayak, say he called the Buddha his first and greatest guru, Kabir his second and Phule his third 2. The scholar Eleanor Zelliot also records that he named these three as his gurus 3.

A modern sculpted relief titled "Inculcated in the Kabirpanthi Tradition" at the Statue of Social Justice memorial in Vijayawada. It is an artist's depiction of his family's link to the teachings of the poet-saint Kabir.
A modern sculpted relief titled "Inculcated in the Kabirpanthi Tradition" at the Statue of Social Justice memorial in Vijayawada. It is an artist's depiction of his family's link to the teachings of the poet-saint Kabir.Photo: Anandajoti Bhikkhu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Buddha

He first met the Buddha in a book. When he passed an important school exam, the writer Dada Keluskar gave him “a copy of his book on the life of the Buddha” 4. In 1954 he said that this book made a great impression on him, and that he had followed the Buddha ever since 5.

He named his house Rajgriha and his first college Siddharth, after places and names linked to the Buddha 3. In a radio talk in 1954 he explained that his ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity came from the Buddha:

“My philosophy has roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my Master, the Buddha.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, “My Philosophy of Life”, All India Radio, 3 October 1954 6

Two years later, on 14 October 1956, he became a Buddhist at Nagpur (see the chapter on Buddhism).

Kabir

Kabir was a poet-saint of the fifteenth century who mocked caste and empty ritual 3. Bhimrao grew up with Kabir. Both his father’s and his mother’s families followed the Kabir tradition, whose followers set aside caste rules 7. The Marathi account of his 1954 speech says he linked his love of Kabir to his father being a Kabirpanthi 2.

Kabir stayed with him to the end. On his last night, 5 December 1956, he walked to his bedroom singing a song of Kabir 7.

Krishnaji Arjun (Dada) Keluskar, a Marathi writer and social reformer. According to the Commons description, he presented young Bhimrao with his own biography of the Buddha at a felicitation held when Bhimrao passed his matriculation examination in 1907. Undated photograph.
Krishnaji Arjun (Dada) Keluskar, a Marathi writer and social reformer. According to the Commons description, he presented young Bhimrao with his own biography of the Buddha at a felicitation held when Bhimrao passed his matriculation examination in 1907. Undated photograph.Photo: Unknown author · Public domain (PD-India) · Wikimedia Commons

Jotirao Phule

Jotirao (Jotiba) Phule (1827–1890) was a social reformer from Pune. He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (“Truth-Seekers’ Society”) in 1873 and was the first Hindu to run schools for “untouchable” children 3. He died a few months before Bhimrao was born.

Dr. Ambedkar dedicated his 1946 book Who Were the Shudras? to him:

“Inscribed to the Memory of Mahatma Jotiba Fule (1827—1890) The Greatest Shudra of Modern India who made the lower classes of Hindus conscious of their slavery to the higher classes and who preached the gospel that for India social democracy was more vital than independence from foreign rule.”

— Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, dedication of Who Were the Shudras? (1946) 8

Learning, self-respect and character

The same 1954 report says he worshipped three things: learning, self-respect and character 5. Followers often call these his three “deities”. He told the crowd that learning was essential for anyone who wanted to progress in life 5.

These ideals run through his whole life. In 1924 he founded the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha, a society to help the “excluded” communities, with the motto “Educate, Agitate, Organise” 9. Education came first. Self-respect meant refusing to accept insult, even in religion: he would not let Ramabai stand far from the temple at Pandharpur as an “untouchable” 7. Character, for him, was what made learning useful to others.

A Mughal painting of the poet-saints Kabir (left) and Ravidas (right), dated 1625, in the National Museum, New Delhi. Kabir's teachings were followed in Ambedkar's family, and Ambedkar named Kabir as one of his three gurus.
A Mughal painting of the poet-saints Kabir (left) and Ravidas (right), dated 1625, in the National Museum, New Delhi. Kabir's teachings were followed in Ambedkar's family, and Ambedkar named Kabir as one of his three gurus.Photo: Unknown author · Public domain (PD-old-100) · Wikimedia Commons

Other people he honoured

His book dedications show whom he admired:

  • His parents. The Problem of the Rupee (1923) honours their “sacrifices” for his education 10.
  • Three saints. The Untouchables (1948) honours Nandnar, Ravidas and Chokhamela, “three renowned saints who were born among the Untouchables” 11.
  • His first wife, Ramabai. See the chapter on his family.

John Dewey and Columbia

At Columbia University in New York (1913–1916), he studied with the philosopher John Dewey. Dewey taught that people can improve their society step by step, keeping what is useful and dropping what is harmful 3. Dr. Ambedkar quoted him in Annihilation of Caste (1936) as “Prof. John Dewey, who was my teacher and to whom I owe so much” 12.

In 1930 he wrote that his best friends had been Columbia classmates and “my great professors, John Dewey, James Shotwell, Edwin Seligman and James Harvey Robinson” 3. Savita Ambedkar remembered him happily imitating Dewey’s classroom habits thirty years later 3. On 5 June 1952 Columbia gave him an honorary Doctor of Laws and called him “a great social reformer and a valiant upholder of human rights” 7 13.

Mahatma Jyotirao Phule (1827–1890), the social reformer from Maharashtra whom Ambedkar named as one of his three gurus. Undated; the source of the image is unknown.
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule (1827–1890), the social reformer from Maharashtra whom Ambedkar named as one of his three gurus. Undated; the source of the image is unknown.Photo: Unknown author · Public domain (PD-India, PD-US-expired) · Wikimedia Commons

Three patrons

K. A. “Dada” Keluskar, a teacher and Marathi writer, met the boy reading in a public garden. He lent him books and introduced him to the Maharaja of Baroda 7. Years later, Dr. Ambedkar asked the Baroda government to give the old man a pension 7.

Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Maharaja of Baroda, gave him 25 rupees a month at college 7, and in 1913 a scholarship of £11.50 a month for three years at Columbia 14. Dr. Ambedkar dedicated The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India to him “as a token of my gratitude for his help in the matter of my education” 15.

Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur fought caste barriers in his own state. He helped Dr. Ambedkar start the paper Mook Nayak (“Leader of the Voiceless”) on 31 January 1920 7. At a conference at Mangaon in March 1920, Keer reports, Shahu told the crowd: “You have found your saviour in Ambedkar” 7. He also lent money for Dr. Ambedkar’s return to London that year 9.

The people and movements he inspired

  • Volunteers and organisers. Young men such as Babu Hardas L. N. of Kamptee near Nagpur organised meetings and volunteers for him. The official volumes call Hardas an “admirer and devoted follower” 16. Hardas is credited with the greeting “Jai Bhim” (see the chapter on symbols). He died in 1939, and the Samata Sainik Dal still holds a yearly fair in his memory at Kamptee 17.
  • A political party. In September 1956 he decided to replace his Scheduled Castes Federation with a new Republican Party 18. His followers formally organised it in October 1957 3.
  • A Buddhist society. In 1955 he registered the Buddhist Society of India, which his family and followers carried on after him 19.
  • A religious movement. By the 1961 census, India counted 3,250,227 Buddhists, up from 180,823 in 1951. Most were new Buddhists who followed him 3.
  • New voices. In 1972 young educated Buddhists formed the Dalit Panthers, and a powerful new “Dalit literature” grew in Marathi 3. Kanshi Ram later founded the Bahujan Samaj Party 3.
  • Popular art. Calendars and posters still place him beside the Buddha, Phule, Shahu and Kabir 20.

Where sources disagree

  • The words of the 1954 speech. The only English record is a police summary 5. Fuller wording, such as “my first guru”, comes from Marathi accounts and later translations 2. Round Table India dates the “devotee” line to his “Diamond Jubilee celebrations” without a date 21. BAWS shows these were the same event.
  • “Three deities”. We did not find the word “deities” in an English primary source. The police report says “worshipper of” 5.
  • When Keluskar gave the Buddha book. Pritchett says 1907, after matriculation; Zelliot says 1908 22 3. Dr. Ambedkar himself linked it to an earlier exam, the “English Fourth Standard” 4.
  • The Baroda money. Keer gives 25 rupees a month for college. Pritchett gives £11.50 a month for Columbia. These were two separate grants, not a conflict.
  • Republican Party founding date. BAWS records the September 1956 decision 18; Zelliot gives October 1957 for the formal start 3.

Read more

Sources

  1. BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, pp. 504–505 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  2. The Mooknayak en.themooknayak.com ↗ ↩
  3. Zelliot, From Untouchable to Dalit, p. 225 archive.org ↗ ↩
  4. unpublished preface to The Buddha and His Dhamma franpritchett.com ↗ ↩
  5. BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 505 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  6. BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 503 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  7. Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, pp. 7–10 archive.org ↗ ↩
  8. BAWS Vol. 7, dedication page Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  9. Pritchett timeline, 1920s franpritchett.com ↗ ↩
  10. BAWS Vol. 6 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  11. BAWS Vol. 7, p. 235 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  12. BAWS Vol. 1, p. 79 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  13. Pritchett timeline franpritchett.com ↗ ↩
  14. Pritchett timeline, 1910s franpritchett.com ↗ ↩
  15. BAWS Vol. 6 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  16. BAWS Vol. 17 Part III, p. 15 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  17. The Wire, 2026 thewire.in ↗ ↩
  18. BAWS Vol. 17 Part II, p. 152 Read this page on the site · Official PDF ↗ ↩
  19. Indian Express, 2013 indianexpress.com ↗ ↩
  20. Columbia University Libraries exhibitions.library.columbia.edu ↗ ↩
  21. Round Table India roundtableindia.co.in ↗ ↩
  22. Pritchett franpritchett.com ↗ ↩

Key dates in this chapter

  1. Dada Keluskar gives him his book on the life of the Buddha (Zelliot says 1908) source
  2. Signs the Baroda State agreement to study at Columbia University source
  3. Starts the paper Mook Nayak with help from Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur source
  4. Mangaon conference, Kolhapur State: Shahu Maharaj predicts he will be an all-India leader source
  5. The Problem of the Rupee is dedicated to the memory of his father and mother Writings & Speeches
  6. Annihilation of Caste quotes 'Prof. John Dewey, who was my teacher and to whom I owe so much' Writings & Speeches
  7. Who Were the Shudras? is published, inscribed to the memory of Jotiba Phule Writings & Speeches
  8. The Untouchables is inscribed to the saints Nandnar, Ravidas and Chokhamela Writings & Speeches
  9. Columbia University awards him an honorary Doctor of Laws source
  10. All India Radio talk 'My Philosophy of Life': liberty, equality and fraternity, from the Buddha Writings & Speeches
  11. Purandare's Stadium speech: devotee of the Buddha, Kabir and Phule Writings & Speeches
  12. The Republican Party of India is formally organised by his followers source
  13. Young Buddhists in Maharashtra form the Dalit Panthers source
See the full timeline →
Cite this page

“Inspirations and Influences: Three gurus, three ideals, a great teacher, three patrons, and the people he inspired.” Prabuddha Pathak — Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, in his own words, prabuddhapathak.com. https://prabuddhapathak.com/themes/inspirations/

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