In Hinduism, Buddha is often mentioned as the 9th avatar of
Vishnu. We celebrate Buddha's birthday - "Vaisakhi Purnima" or
"Buddha Jayanti" - which falls on May 25, 2013 - with this
article on the Buddha's relation with Hinduism, his reform
movements and his refining of Hindu beliefs. Buddha, as we know,
began his meditation as a Hindu. He was awakened with a new
enlightenment only to denounce Hinduism and emerge as the
founder of a new religion. Therefore, to understand Buddhism
fully, one should not separate it from Hinduism; while at the
same time view it separately from Hinduism. Buddha's way of life
was "the golden mean" and a relief from the pagan stigmas and
caste system prevalent in Hinduism. Jesus had the same
relationship to Judaism as Buddha to Hinduism. Both Hinduism and
Judaism are ethnic and non-missionary traditions, and are
characterized by an element of segregation between the castes
and races, unlike Buddhism and Christianity. Swami Kriyananda
compares Buddha's position relative to Hinduism