God Minus – Syalbooks

by Parvin D. Syal

& Harshi Syal Gill

God Minus:

Buddha – The Light of Asia

by Parvin D. Syal & Harshi Syal Gill

While much has been written about Buddha and His philosophy, a dramatic representation of His life is relatively scarce. A one-man show, Buddha – A Fantastic Journey; a musical opera – The Life of Gautam Buddha, are probably rare examples of any attempts to depict Buddha’s life on stage. There is a mediocre You-Tube dramatization for film, but the recent dramatization of His life for TV, produced by B.K. Modi, is perhaps the most in-depth representation of His life and teachings on film.

When God Minus: The Light of Asia was first written by Harshi Syal Gill and Parvin D. Syal, more than 30 years ago, specifically for production in Kenya, numerous challenges were faced by the producers, not the least of which was objection by some Buddhist monks that it would be sacrilegious for a human being to portray the ‘part’ of Buddha. Despite most challenges, however, being overcome, the play never made it to the stage at the time. At present, a ‘dream team’ is being set up as part of the Asian African Heritage Trust to revive the play’s maiden production.

The first draft of the play was presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who was very impressed by it and gave the play His blessing. A historic picture of the inspiring force behind this play, Mr. Ram Swaroop Sharda, and His Holiness, is incorporated in the book; this picture is of His Holiness signing a copy of the original play in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, in India in 1992.

The four-act play was conceived by the writers in an effort not to make the play sound merely didactic and not simply to preach Buddha’s teachings. There needed to be a fine balance between conveying His philosophy and being dramatically entertaining. Therefore, the writers decided to not only tell the story of Buddha’s life, but also to incorporate stories of some of those whose lives were deeply impacted by His philosophy. Thus, the first act starts with Ashoka who, after the battle of Kalinga, questions the validity of war and destruction, and decides to follow the path of Buddha. The first act goes on to dramatize Buddha (Siddharth)’s early, princely life, up to the point where He leaves his wife and palace in pursuit of Truth.

The second act, Amrapali (a court dancer) and the third act, Angulimala, (a killer) tell the story of two characters who embarked on the path of Buddha after realizing the pain and suffering, and the lack of fulfillment, in their chosen lives. These are stand-alone acts, deliberately so, to give producers the freedom to remove them from any production without hurting the essence of the play. Obviously, the writers would prefer the play to be produced in its entirety.

The fourth act picks up from the end of the first, bringing Buddha’s life to the point of Nirvana.

Buddha, as a character, is presented as one who grows from a prince with disturbing questions to one who has attained Enlightenment and therefore utmost serenity. Often, Buddha is not shown as a character at all, but rather as a divine light, symbolic of the divinity He has attained.

He acquires many followers as He spreads the word of Truth, laying the foundation for one of the major religions to the world to this day.