20th anniversary of the Revolution of the Mora Tree:

Sacred site of historic artefacts

by Kumarasiri HETTIGE

There are ample evidence to prove that Sri Lanka's culture could boast of traditions extending beyond 2500 years. Although the values of this proud culture had fluctuated over the years the Sri Lankan bhikkhus should invariably get the honour of protecting it for centuries. It is an accepted fact that the Maha Sangha were the forerunners of the Sri Lankan nation and culture.

Ven. Rahula Thera

Only a few Bhikkhus are engaged in national missions with far reaching environmental importance having ventured beyond the traditional timetable of the Bhikkhus who are expected to devote their lives and energy for religious and social duties of Buddhists.

Treasure

This article is written on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the revolution initiated by a bhikkhu Priest who is engaged in such a national mission.

It is indeed doubtful whether there is anybody in Sri Lanka today who is not aware of Asia's biggest pink quartz deposit belonging to the pre-historic era of 550 million years ago and the biggest Na forest located in Sri Lanka.

This national treasure that has attracted the attention of the whole world was a mere forest reserve in the Mahaweli 'H' Zone just two decades ago.

Namal Uyana

It was, then known as Galappalle Lunugal Debala and Na forest. At a time when the present National Namal Uyana was being stripped of her natural beauty by the relentless onslaught of illicit timber dealers and hunters, this area attracted the attention of Ven. Rahula Thera residing at a close-by temple at Ranawa as a result of some information passed on to him in a dream.

When Ven. Rahula Thera visited the site described in the dream he was able to catch the sight of not only Na trees but also some ruins of an ancient Buddhist place of religious worship, including a bodhi chamber, dagaba, statues etc.

A special object that caught the eyes of Ven. Rahula Thera who had a natural inclination for nature was a stone receptacle filled with water that was carried in a small stream flowing along the forest.

Ancient dagaba

While these legacies of nature were there on one side, a historic Buddhist sacred place was also there on the other side. The Buddhist ruins were scattered all over the place. The bio-diversity of the site was enhanced with the presence of mammals, reptiles, fish, birds and numerous species of plants. They were really pleasing to the eyes as well.

Challenging task

Ven. Rahula Thera had never entertained any misgivings about fulfilling his duty in performing the challenging task of identifying this site not only as a magnanimous creation of the mother nature but also as a centre which gave prominence to the martial capabilities of the ancient Sinhalese It was a meditation centre for the Bhikkhus with all the facilities necessary for the achievement of their goals in meditation and preserving the site safely and securely with a view to presenting it to the future generations.

Emboldened by this attitude the Thera ventured to act as the veritable defender of the site having set up a camp on a Mora tree at a height of about 40 feet from the ground on March 28, 1991, disregarding the grave dangers posed by venomous reptiles and other wild beasts including wild elephants.

However, it was no easy task for a bhikkhu. He had to face the wrath of illicit timber merchants as well as inhuman hunters.

Pink quartz

In spite of the various undesirable elements who had got together to drive away Ven. Rahula Thera from the site, his conscience did not allow him to shirk the responsibility of preserving the sacred site consisting of numerous historic artefacts, for the benefit of future generations.

Pink quartz deposit

The biggest pink quartz deposit in South Asia and the largest Na forest in the island that caught the limelight of the people as a result of the revolution on the Mora tree launched on March 28, 1991 have attracted the keen attention of the whole world today. At a time when national parks of our country, which have been declared world heritages and named after the white imperialists who had no love for indigenous culture or the environment, the National Namal Uyana is the only plot of land at national level which is identified by an indigenous name that is in keeping with our culture.

Great insight

Rahula Thera was rewarded with the Presidential Environment Award in 2004, the Sri Lanka green Award and also awards from the Sri Lanka Ramanna Sect and the Sri Lanka Amarapura Sect. for his valuable noble deeds, proving the point that there are still grateful people in this island.

Thanks to his great insight he took action in 2003 to hand over this national treasure to the Department of Forests with a view to ensuring State protection for the site. The chairmanship of the National Namal Uyana Conservation Trust is presently graced by Namal Rajapaksa, MP. It is expected that he will render yeoman service for the maintenance and development of this national treasure in view of the fact that the President is a national leader who was born and bred in the natural environment of a village in the Ruhuna. While expressing my heartiest greetings on this occasion of the 20th anniversary of National Namal Uyana, let me also express my best wishes for long life to Ven. Rahula Thera who is engaged in a great national endeavour in protecting and preserving the national environment.

The writer is co-ordinating Secretary to the President (Parliamentary affairs) and Secretary to the Jathika Namal Uyana Development Trust.