Ven.
Maaduluvavé Sobhitha and the Nation
The tinge of saffron is
not very different from that of gold. But one symbolizes
other-worldliness and, the other, the ultimate in worldliness.
In a nation proud of a long civilisational heritage steeped in a
strong element of asceticism that marks both the Theravada Buddhist and
Shaiva Hindu traditions, the social fabric is, today, being torn asunder
by the compulsions of poorly managed capitalism that has engendered a
dominance of the 'robber barons' and concomitant culture of cronyism and
nepotism. The simple beauty of the lines and colours of Theravada
religious edifices is, today, juxtaposed with the gilt-edged Baroque
facades of casino clubs and shopping malls of 'beautified' Colombo.
There is no doubt that it is capitalism that has brought the world so
speedily to the high-tech 'smart' post-modernity that it is today. And
where this post-modernity originated is where advanced capitalism is
best managed - indeed, most managed and regulated. Those local
entrepreneurs who crave for the so-called 'free economy' of capitalism
are shocked at the degree of complex regulation of business and the
economy in the advanced capitalist world, whether it is the US, the EU
or Japan or elsewhere in the 'first world'.
Hence, the new economic philosophy inherent in the policy
pronouncements by economic thinkers in the government such as Harsha de
Silva and Eran Wickremaratne and, most recently, as so authoritatively
expounded in the Prime Minister's statement on economic policy.
'Socialism' as originally advocated may have lost its shine with age,
but the 'social' has entered the lexicon of capitalism thanks to the
earlier success of socialism and social-democracy. Hence, the 'social
market' now embraced by the new regime as the way forward.
These pronouncements are critical in that they show the new
direction, at last, of a recovering Sri Lankan civilization. The country
is moving forward on the stable tracks that well articulated and
institutionally embedded policy implies. It has, thankfully, replaced
the trackless arbitrary government - and corollary plunder and blunder -
that the previous nine years of un-intelligent governance engendered.
Modern civilization is one of large scale and, hence, complex,
societies. Globalisation, by its very scale, is most complex and most
difficult to organise and manage. Continuity, nay, stability, of policy
and strategy are critical for overall social management. Despite all its
'patriotism' and militant heroism, the previous regime fell on its
plunder and blunders.
Autocracy and arbitrary rule cannot sustain capitalist economic
progress. Sustained strategy and policy does so. The fact that the
country is back on this path is the first sign of hope for the future.
The pioneering, nevertheless, simplistic, 'laissez fare' liberalism of
the J.R. Jayewardene years has now matured into a far more socially
sensitive and exploratory 'social market' approach by the new regime.
Clearly, the UNP is the lead economic thinker in the new coalition
government, while the necessary political and ideological balance is
wielded by the coalition partners in the SLFP, the JHU and others.
In this 'social' emphasis, too, must be seen the tempering power of
our traditions; of the critical intelligence, the buddhi, that discerns
sharply the real fault lines that lie between the saffron and the gold -
the spirit of moral suasion versus the temptations of lucre.
Despite all the efforts by the previous regime to hide the twin
disasters of ethnic supremacism and public robbery behind saffron robes,
almost paradoxically, the genuinely redeeming power of the true spirit
of Buddhism has been proven ultimately by the endeavours and inspiring
leadership of a single Thera.
The dominant, largely Buddhist, ethnic community was encouraged by
the then government to narcissistically bask in the pseudo glory of a
war victory ignoring the internal haemorrhage the nation suffered in
this ethnic conflict within the nation. Even as ideologues and cultural
propagandists dished out the pep pills of ultra-nationalism, a lone but
senior voice from the Sangha began to be heard - in the cause of
governance and probity, for civilized reconciliation and political
conciliation over crude triumphalism.
This lone voice, being that of a highly respected Sangha leader, very
soon became the core of a movement - the National Movement for Social
Justice. The Venerable Maaduluvavé Sobhitha, Nayaka Thera of the Naga
Vihara of Kotté, was already well known as a profound and demogogic
preacher, a pioneer in radio 'evangelism' of the Buddhist Sri Lankan
variety and, also, as a social reform activist, who, in the early years
of the 'open economy', stridently spoke for the down-trodden industrial
working class and the forgotten peasantry. His moral conscience prompted
him to criticise, in later years, efforts to impose a political solution
for the ethnic conflict without adequate social consensus.
The Ven. Sobhitha's National Movement for Social Justice and its
clarion call for good governance combined with inter-ethnic justice can
be seen as the historic catalyst that led to the change of tracks for
the nation. His tireless activism against the twin mights of autocracy
and ultra-nationalism is what sustained that visionary leadership that
swayed a nation's conscience. It was his vision, more than that of
anyone else, that revived the social and moral dimensions in national
politics. His tireless campaigning was also his ultimate sacrifice.
Where the nation is today is, therefore, much due to the late Nayaka
Thera. Where we go tomorrow depends on how much we effectively balance
our commitment to social responsibility and moral probity with the
dynamism and temptations of capitalism.
|
