How a brilliant Indian polymath founded a monastery of anarchism in California
In short: Lala Har Dayal was a scholar who turned down a prestigious civil service career to lead a global revolution. From industrial unionism in the United States to secret intelligence operations in Berlin, his life was a radical journey that bridged the gap between anti-colonial activism and deep Buddhist philosophy.
Born in Delhi in 1884, Har Dayal was a polymath who excelled in Sanskrit and earned scholarships at Oxford. By 1911, he had moved to the United States, where he immersed himself in radical politics. He served as a secretary for the Industrial Workers of the World and founded the Bakunin Institute of California in Oakland, which he famously dubbed the first monastery of anarchism. His vision for this group included the total abolition of private property and the coercive power of government.
His revolutionary work extended to organizing Punjabi Sikh farmers in Stockton, California, who were already disillusioned by British rule and Canadian hostility. This activism eventually led to his arrest by U.S. authorities in 1914. After fleeing to Switzerland and then Berlin, he became a key figure in the Indian Independence Committee, collaborating with German intelligence during the First World War. His life remained marked by constant movement and intellectual output, even as he was barred from returning to India by the British government.
In his later years, Har Dayal shifted toward profound academic inquiry. While living in London, he authored 'The Bodhisattva Doctrines in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature,' a thesis that earned him a doctorate in 1932. The work explored the evolution of Buddhist thought, incorporating influences from Greek art and Christian ethics. He died in Philadelphia in 1939, shortly after delivering a lecture. While his death was officially natural, some of his associates, including Lala Hanumant Sahai, suspected he had been poisoned, adding an enduring mystery to the end of his extraordinary life.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Har Dayal
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