TRADITIONS AND ALLIANCES - I
A Buddhist monk who is contesting the elections, in an interview given to a Sunday newspaper has justified the action of the aspirant MP monks by saying that in the period of globalisation traditions have to be changed. According to him, the Sinhala Buddhist tradition of Bhikkus advising the kings (presidents and ministers) has to be changed to one of Monks themselves becoming kings. Perhaps he gets encouragement from those born again Christians who have been pushed to occupy important positions in some English language newspapers to utter these statements on changing the Sasana to prepare it for the twenty first century in the Christian era. The monk may have his own ideas on globalisation but he is only embarking on a course of action that the past British governors of Sri Lanka would have had welcomed just as much the present day agents of the non national forces praise the action of the monks. There are some so called post modernists who have taken upon themselves the task of civilising the Sinhala Buddhists following the Europeans who were fond of talking of the "white man's burden" in respect of civilising the non European world. The westerners have certainly civilised the world with aid and aids reminding us of parangi of yesteryear. They do not know that a "civilised" person does not consider the civilisations of others to be low.
Globalisation is only a name given to the present stage of a process of colonisation that began in the fifteenth century. It was in essence, the fifteenth century Europeans who initiated globalisation though it became a phenomenon that could be recognised, only in the last decade of the twentieth century. The western Christian colonialism that began in the fifteenth century had only one objective. As it is known now the western Christians including the Catholics wanted to establish the hegemony of their culture, politics and economics over the rest of the world. One should not come to the conclusion that the westerners were all united in their "project" and that they acted in unison. There were many wars and battles fought among the European nations and the final victory has gone to the Anglo Saxon Christians with the others following, in general, the "standards" set by the former. Globalisation is all about Christianisation of the whole world in culture, politics and economics and the monk who wants to change the traditions of the Sinhala Buddhists due to globalisation is only speaking on behalf of the Christian west. No wonder that the born again Christians are highly thrilled by the adventures of the monks contesting elections. These "Buddhaputras" having taken a step to change the traditions are perhaps now not Bhikkus but monks as the British governors would have liked to call them.
What is most interesting is that the Sihala Urumaya which has become the Jathika Hela Urumaya (incidentally the Sihala Urumaya was referred to as "Urumeeya" by some including born again type scribes) by a kind of metamorphism after the death of Soma Hamuduruwo, was against the Bauddha Rajya just three months ago. Dr. Harishchandra Wijetunga in an interview given to "Irida Divaina" confirms this position of the Sihala Urumaya. Dr. Wijetunga reminds us that one of the reasons as to why an alliance between the Bhoomiputhra Party and the Sihala Urumaya did not materialise was the refusal by the latter to accept the Sinhala Buddhist character of Sri Lanka. However the party after metamorphism seems to have changed this policy as well and the monks who accepted the party when it was offered (pooja) to them, included the Bauddha Rajya as a condition that the President should agree to if they were to contest as partners in the newly found Eksath Janatha Nidahas Sandhanaya. It is not known officially whether the Jathika Hela Urumaya, approves this change, though the monks are certainly for a Bauddha Rajya. It is also not known whether this change on the part of monks came as a result of globalisation.
There are some, including some of the monks begging for votes who think that globalisation is a process that cannot be avoided. In other words what they claim is that the process of Christianisation cannot be avoided in the modern world. We do not believe that western Christian colonialism cannot be defeated and that the monks should play the role of the kings in the present period of Christianisation of the world that goes by the name globalisation. If globalisation cannot be changed what do the monks who aspire to become MPs in a Christian parliament want to achieve through that body? The Bauddha Rajya or the Dhrma Rajya as it is called by the monks could be established only by defeating or at least going against the process of globalisation that began in the fifteenth century of the Christian era. The monks by claiming that during the present phase of globalisation that is identified by that name, the Sinhala Buddhist tradition has to be changed and the monks should become MPs and ministers (the words such as minister, administration are associated with Christian clergy and not with Bhikkus), then they are defeating the purpose of their exercise.
The scribes are interested in finding out the reasons as to why we are against monks contesting elections. These people who probably assume that they are extraordinary think that our mediocrity is the reason for objecting to the aspirations of the monks who are interested in becoming MPs. It is not a so called licit problem either according to "Vinaya". One could say that when we mention the Sinhala Buddhist tradition we drag the licit question in deciding whether the monks could become MPs. In that sense any question on the suitability of a person for a given job or occupation or even duty become a licit problem. We do not insist that the tradition cannot be changed. All traditions according to the Sinhala Buddhist tradition are created by men and women and are not God given. Thus in the Sinhala Buddhist tradition, the traditions can be replaced by others. However, the question is as to the necessity of changing the tradition of Bhikkus remaining as advisors to kings and presidents, at the present moment in the history. Is it because of globalisation as the monk who was referred to above has told a newspaper?
There are some who think that as neither the UNP - LTTE- SLMM (Hakeem) - Thondaman alliance nor the SLFP - JVP - MEP - LSSP - SLMM (Ashraff) - EPDP alliance is capable of solving the problems of the country and further that as both alliances do not consider Sri Lanka to belong to Sinhalas only the monks are justified in contesting the elections this time. It has to be said at the outset this country does not belong to the Sinhalas or the Sinhala Buddhists alone. We have a different view of a Sinhala Buddhist state from some of the monks and others who agitate for a Dharma Rajya only after the death of Soma Hamuduruwo. The Sinhala Buddhist state that we have in mind is not conceptually different from the Anglo Saxon Christian state that they have in USA and UK. They are not secular states by any means though the western political scientists and their imitators in Asia and Africa claim them to be so. We do not reckon that there are any secular states in the world. Most of the so called secular states including that in Sri Lanka are Christian states following the globalisation that began five hundred years ago. This has to be changed in the former non Christian states and it means going against globalisation and not accepting it as the monk referred to above has said.
Further we do not consider that there is no difference between the two alliances mentioned above. The SLFP led alliance though does not stand for a Sinhala Buddhist state as defined by us we find that the national component in that alliance to be stronger than that in the UNP led alliance. In fact there is no national component in the UNP led alliance though there may be Lokubandaras and others who probably are more familiar with some aspects of the Sinhala Buddhist culture. Also unlike the Janatha Mithuro types who became leaders of the Sihala Urumaya we did not support the PA alliance in 1994 claiming that the nation is a dead body (jathiya malakandak). We know that there is not only a difference between the alliances led by the UNP and the SLFP, the 1994 PA alliance is different from the 2004 alliance of the SLFP , JVP and the others.
(To be continued)
Professor Nalin de Silva
>
>
>