ஹிந்து தெய்வங்களை வணங்கும் சிங்கள அரசியல்வாதிகள்

புத்தமதம் மன நிம்மதியை தராததால், ஹிந்து ஆலயங்களையும், குருமார்களையும் சரணடைகிறார்களோ சிங்கள அரசியல்வாதிகள்?

Serendipity



Sinhalese Buddhist politicians and Hindu gods

This column does not get involved in matters spiritual or theological but the headline two Sundays ago in a weekend paper under the double decked headline: "Ranil holds two-day pooja in India worshipping Hindu gods," which so far had gone uncommented, we thought cried out for a comment.

The article was by a former journalist guru of ours in the mid '60s - H.L.D Mahindapala with whom we still maintain very cordial relations despite his abode being now in Melbourne. Our comments are not intended to defend or criticise Ranil Wickremesinghe who is well able to defend himself. Our intention is to go into the issue of the worship of Hindu gods by Sinhala Buddhist politicians.

The thrust of the argument in the article - despite the many pot shots taken at Wickremesinghe - is that the UNP Leader 'had prayed at the Lord Krishna temple at Guruyayur (South India) and 'had closed-door sessions for two days with the well known astrologer Parappanangadi Unnikrishnan Panicker...' for an 'Ashtamangalya Prasnam' (astrological pooja for knowing what is in store in the coming days).

We will not go into the issue of whether the worship of gods is acceptable or not in Theravada Buddhism or the variety of Buddhism now being practised by Sri Lankan Buddhists, be it Mahayana, Tantric or any other form. Being mere journalists, whom the Defence Ministry pundits recently said are not even competent to comment on military strategies or armament purchases - corrupt or not - we will not venture into Buddhist metaphysics or Hindu theology.

But we are competent to say quite confidently that Sri Lankan Buddhist politicians and in fact the vast majority visit Hindu kovils, worship Hindu gods and make solemn vows in times of distress and also consult Hindu astrologers.

President Rajapakse himself

It was not very poya moons ago that President Mahinda Percy Rajapakse on a visit to India also visited and prayed at the holy shrine in South India. Readers will remember the incident if they recall reports about some unrest caused among devotees of the temple following allegations made that the Sri Lankan President's entourage that entered the temple included a Christian - some one very near and dear to the President. It is a rule of the temple not to permit non-Hindus to worship there. It appears that Buddhists are pass‚. The incident has been forgotten as most such incidents do.

Mahinda Rajapakse is from the Medamulane village in the Deiyange Rate - god Kataragama's country - and would undoubtedly be a devotee of the god. History has it that the legendary King Dutu Gemunu - whom many politicians want to be considered as his reincarnation - had worshipped at the Kataragama shrine before he commenced his march from the south to storm the forts of King Elara at Anuradhapura.

Kataragama

Buddhists outnumber the Hindus and adherents of other religions worshipping at Kataragama. When the Sinhala Only Act was moved many Sinhala Buddhist politicians journeyed to Kataragama to seek the god's assistance for the successful implementation of the act. Cynics say that the god in his holiest of holies had whispered to the Sinhala Only supplicants: But I am a Tamil god! And does anyone say that Mahinda Rajapakse does not have astrological advisors telling him what the future holds?

President Premadasa

Mahinda Rajapakse appears to be following in the footsteps of President Ranasinghe Premadasa who worshipped every conceivable god of every faith that he came to know of. A dear departed friend at my club, a punter, described Premadasa as one 'Who placed - win or place bets - on all the horses on the betting card.'

By this he did not mean any disrespect to gods of any religious pantheon. My friend's gods were the horses and jockeys in the British and European courses and his rice and curry as well as his whisky and soda or his arrack with water in leaner times depended on his gods out there.

There are similarities between Rajapakse and Premadasa such as TV crews and press cameras covering every angle of Presidential of Presidential devotion probably for historical record and of course, public consumption. Ranil Wickremesinghe, however plays it different. He goes to temples and kovils sans publicity units as he has done recently in South India. Little wonder that the gods and the public are not much enthused about him.

All the gods in Premadasa's pantheons could not help him The Sun god, Suriya Theivam blew him up to bits at Armour Street junction. But such acts do not deter devotees and Buddhists retain faith in Hindu gods.

Before Premadasa and Rajapakse there were the Senanayakes and Bandaranaikes. Senanayakes were traditional Sinhalese Buddhists and worshipped at temples and kovils. We covered Dudley Senanayake placing the pinnacle (Kotha) on the Kirivehera for The Observer shortly before his disastrous rout in 1970.

Bandaranaike, scion of the leading Protestant Christian family, became a Buddhist and Christians accused him of selling out his faith for political power. He worshipped at Buddhist temples and Buddhist monks, Buddhism being one of the props of his celebrated 1956 victory. He however did not make a show of worshipping at Hindu temples.

His wife Sirima Bandaranaike was a staunch Buddhist and worshipped Hindu gods. During the latter part of her life she was a well known devotee of Sai Baba who is described as an avatar of many Hindu gods.

Sai Baba

During her time as well as that of the UNP under J.R. Jayewardene and Premadasa, Sai Baba attracted the Sri Lankan powers that were, by the hundreds if not thousands. Presidents, presidential advisors, cabinet ministers, army generals and other top brass in the services, leading public servants, press barons and baronesses and of courses arms dealers and racketeers, all flocked to Puttaparthi where Sai Baba held Bajans.

An Indian journalist told me that he (Sai Baba) was far more popular in Sri Lanka than in his native India. Since everybody who was somebody in the Lankan political firmament - government and opposition - were fanatical devotees, it made me wonder to what extent he could or was influencing government policy and decisions.

As an editor of an independent newspaper we physically felt the power of Sai Baba. When widespread allegations of misconduct and misdemeanours of him appeared on the internet, I was firmly told: 'Not one word. That's how power of gods prevails over power of puny newspapermen and freedom of the press!'

The don who challenged the gods

This article would have a gaping hole in it if no reference is made to one person who dared to take on the gods openly in the 1970s and even the '80s: Prof. Carlo Fonseka. He took on the biggest of them all, god Kataragama. He made his laboratory attendant walk burning embers barefooted before a howling mob of devotees to prove that the secret fire walking at Kataragama and elsewhere was nothing spiritual.

'It is the thickness of the sole and not the soul,' he argued. He strung up a youth with hooks passing through his skin on ropes suspended on a ceiling and made him eat a piece of meat which was considered sacrilegious and quaff a glass of arrack shouting: Vidyawata Jayawewa - Victory to Science.

But time brings about change and now a mellowed Prof. Fonseka leaves the Kataragama god in peace. Instead he has declared war on the Greek god Bacchus - the God of Wine and under the Drugs and Alcohol Abuse Act he is thwarting young future adherents of Bacchus from quaffing a glass of the cup that cheers at big matches and even little brats puffing off their fathers' cigarette butts inside toilets.

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