Sunday Times 2
Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera; the epoch maker
View(s):The sober and serene yet lion hearted Venerable Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera, our national hero has passed away, leaving a huge void that cannot be filled for several generations. It is no exaggeration to state that he was not only a national hero of our times but also a national treasure as well as a national icon.
Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera was a friend, philosopher and guide to all irrespective of colour, creed or community
He was indeed an illustrious successor to several generations of great national heroes of the calibre of Ven. Wariyapola Sumangala, Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda and Anagarika Dharmapala of yore. Ven. Sobhitha Thera led a pious, simple and dignified ordained life. In a highly conspicuous consumption oriented environment he set an example to both the sangha and the laity by leading a frugal and environment friendly life. As admonished by the Buddha he restricted himself to the Sivpasaya or the four basic requirements of mendicant monks namely, pindapatha (food), chivara (robes), senasana (shelter), and gilanapachchaya (medicine). He did not indulge in luxuries such as air conditioning, sports utility vehicles, imported furniture and storeyed mansions.
Ven. Sobhitha Thera was a popular and much sought after preacher. His deep base voice was distinctive. His oratorical skills were exceptional. His sermons were eagerly awaited as they displayed clarity, depth and meaning. In fact he stood tall among the few bikkhus who practised what they preached and preached what they practiced. He dedicated his life to the service of humanity guided by buddhist teachings, socialistic ethics and egalitarian principles. He was a tireless social reformer and social worker who remained anonymous all his life. He stood for truth, democracy, justice and fair play in monolithic steadfastness. He was a great national minded patriot who shunned ethnic and religious extremism. Even though he demonstrated a dominating personality he was lovable and much loved by the people. In his pursuit for justice and fair play he was not only brave and upright but also insistent. That was his nature and no one was bothered about it. He won the hearts of all Sri Lankans. He was respected not only by the Buddhists but all other religious groups in Sri Lanka. He was indeed a friend, philosopher and guide to all and sundry irrespective of colour, creed or community.
He was widely known as the peoples priest. His passing away is indeed an irreparable loss to the country. Taming of the exceptionally erudite and the most vociferous Bikkhus has been for long a national pastime of our political leaders. Bikkhus are lured into submission by bestowing various titles and positions as well as substantial offerings in cash and kind. Ven. Sobhitha Thera belonged to that rare breed of Bikkhus who rejected such dirty offers outright. Moreover, he was of the firm conviction that Bikkhus should not dabble in party politics as it would restrict their ability to think and act freely according to their conscience. He surmised that a principled approach where a right or wrong is clearly distinguishable is feasible only if one were to remain non political. He was both allergic and averse to harassment, injustice and victimization. It is this natural instinct that made him take the vanguard in the movement for the vindication of historical injustices caused to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and Chief Justice Shiranee Bandaranayake.
It will be pertinent to recall the circumstances leading to the establishment of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) by Ven. Sibhitha Thera in the aftermath of the war as a platform to agitate for good governance, democratization, social justice, accountability and transparency. The 30 year separatist terrorist war of attrition, mayhem, death and destruction ended in May 2009; hopefully never to return. The large mass of the people who made many sacrifices and suffered untold hardships looked forward to the dawn of an era of milk and honey coupled with greater democratisation and liberalisation. However, what happened was quite the opposite. While more hardships were being heaped on the people the Rajapaksa family took irrevocable steps to tighten its stranglehold on the power base and move swiftly to autocratic rule through the crafty passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. Adding insult to injury the poor taxpayer’s money was indiscriminately diverted to mass infrastructure projects such as ports sans ships and airports sans planes. In particular, Ven. Sobhitha Thera was deeply concerned about the breakdown in law and order, the dismemberment of democratic institutions, the spread of social injustice and inequality and the breakdown of peaceful coexistence among different ethnic and religious groups. The non political and non violent stance adopted by Ven. Sobhitha Thera to combat this national malaise was the establishment of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ). The movement relentlessly campaigned for the abolition of the Executive Presidency, reintroduction of the 17th Amendment, abolition of the preferential voting system, elimination of bribery and corruption, reduction of the cost of living and ensuring a fair wage structure for both public and private sector employees.
Representatives of a large number of civil society organizations, trade unions, Non Governmental Organizations, eminent persons, lawyers, academics, retired senior public servants etc. rallied round Ven. Sobhitha Thera under the NMSJ banner. From around March 2014 there were plans for the premature holding of a Presidential Election towards the end of the year. The incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was to stand election for the third consecutive term. This quite naturally enraged the NMSJ which activated a do or die campaign to oust the Rajapaksa regime. I am happy to have had the opportunity of being actively involved in putting the nuts and bolts together to bring about the almost impossible yet revolutionary regime change. For many of us it was a cat and mouse game. We knew that we were under surveillance. Yet, we were prepared to run the risk of earning a free ride in the infamous white van. The NMSJ brought together a multidisciplinary team of experts from diverse fields ranging from administrators, lawyers and academics to constitutional and human rights experts. The regular discussions held at the Naga Viharaya Temple were free, open and fruitful. Quite unlike many of our all knowing political leaders who brushed aside the advice of senior officials; Ven. Sobhitha Thera listened to every comment and opinion very patiently and respectfully. Consequently, when the much sought after common opposition candidate made his appearance the NMSJ was ready with the draft constitutional amendments as well as campaign strategies and priority programmes.
Finding the common candidate with the required credentials and the backing of the widest cross section of the opposition was the biggest challenge before the NMSJ. Meanwhile the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa would have been smacking his lips in the firm belief that Ranil Wickremasinghe would be as usual his easy prey. It is in this scenario that Ven. Sobhitha Thera along with the NMSJ master minded the strategy of the surprise common candidate Maithripala Sirisena in close consultation with Ranil Wickremasinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga. The final outcome of this master stroke is now history. It is Ven. Sobhitha Thera who changed the course of history. He was indeed the prime mover who liberated our beleaguered nation from the shackles of a virtual dictatorship.
Yet for all, in the aftermath of the presidential election of January 8, 2015, the 100 day programme proclaimed by the minority UNP government began to reel and creak to the thorough disappointment and utter frustration of the architect of the silent revolution Ven. Sbhitha Thera. Naturally, Ven. Sobhitha Thera was deeply concerned and worried about the much publicized yet unfinished agenda. Unfortunately, what has been accomplished is only a fraction of what was promised and tragically it is only a minute fraction of what was expected. In fact his last days were spent in deep contemplation about the shattered expectations of the NMSJ. In a corrupt, criminalised and communalised social and political environment Ven. Sobhitha Thera has been a ray of hope and a source of inspiration to all right thinking people. The best tribute that can be paid to this great warrior and national hero is to courageously uphold the values he stood for with a view to the restoration of that utopian political culture in which honesty, justice and fair play would prevail.
May Ven. Sobhitha Thera attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.
K.H.J Wijayadasa was former secretary to President R Premadasa