Born in opulence, kind at heart, moved by the pain and sorrow around , Siddhartha(Later Gautam Buddha) gave up all worldly pleasures which he inherited as Prince and embarked upon a journey in search of truth. The journey, which was full of pains and miseries but which brought with it the sweet success of self-realization and reward of eternal bliss.

The word "Buddha" is a title and not a name really came as a surprise to me as I had always mistaken it for the name. It means 'one who is awake' in the sense who is 'woken up to reality'. It was first given to a man who was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal 2,500 years ago.

According to the traditional sources he had a cloistered upbringing but was jolted out of the complacency on understanding that life includes the harsh facts of old age, sickness, and death.

He left home to follow the traditional Indian path of the wandering holy man, a seeker after truth. He practised meditation under various teachers and then took to asceticism . Eventually he practised austerities so severe that he was on the point of death- but true understanding seemed as far away as ever.

Finally,he decided to abandon this path and to look into his own heart and mind. He sat down beneath the pipal tree and vowed that 'flesh may wither, blood may dry up, but I shall not rise from this spot until Enlightenment has been won.' After forty days, the Buddha finally attained Enlightenment. A lesson for todays restless souls I believe.

During the remaining 45 years of his life he traveled through much of northern India, spreading his teahing of, the way to enlightenment. This teaching is known in the east as the Buddha-Dharma- the teaching of the enlightened one. Travelling from place to place, the Buddha taught numerous disciples, many of them gained enlightenment in their own right. They, in turn taught others and in this way an unbroken chain of teaching has continued, right to the present day.

Buddha did not claim to be a God and he has never been regarded as such by Buddhists. He was a human being who became Enlightened, understanding life in the deepest way possible. Concluding in one line I can say that The life of Gautama Buddha is a unique lesson in transforming our needs and desires to a higher version where we just want to give more and more and expect nothing. However it pains me a little bit to see that his message has been lost somewhere.