It has been said that Buddhism came as a reaction to the corruption of the Vedic ideals that were governing the Indian society. The Vedic ideals which were governing society till then had become conventional and lost their inner force. As we have seen in the earlier chapter, the caste system had a high and noble goal; but now it tended to become hereditary, rigid and inelastic. At the same time the teachings of the Vedic Rishis were being applied in a more and more ritualistic and mechanical manner.

As already seen, Indian society was graded in such a way that all men could participate in a full life according to their stage of evolution under the control of Dharma. As and when one was ready, one could take up the full spiritual life at the appropriate time. Life was not divided into the "spiritual life and the ordinary life" for it was a gradual ascension into spirituality.

But now with the weakening of the Vedic ideals, spirituality waned and the fulfilment of life became an excuse for the uncontrolled indulgence of desires and worldly satisfactions. A temporary period of negation was therefore necessary. Buddhism with its exaggerated stress on the unreality of this world and worldly desires seemed to satisfy this need. In sum, Buddhism came as a reaction to the lowering of the Vedic ideals.

However, Buddhism by its exaggerated emphasis on quiescence and self-abnegation, unwisely created a division in society; it created two distinct classes - the monk and the layman,