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| Sunday, 2 November 2003 |
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Labour problems during Buddha's time by Padma Edirisinghe Today our streets, especially Colombo's streets are lined almost everyday with workers holding up placards over some grievance or other. Some scapegoat Karl Marx's Das Capital for this state of things rationalizing that it was his theories that set up employees against their employers who provide them their daily sustenance. But take solace in the thought that labour problems go back even to Buddha's time and had existed even in the abodes of the Thathagatha himself. Had I not read all about in the text "Ananda nada" that attributes its source to the Tripitake I would have had second thoughts on reproducing the narrative here. Buddha was acknowledged the supreme religious leader in the vast terrain around the Ganges and one would think that finding a suitable personal attendant among the clergy for Buddha was a very easy matter. But it just was not to be. Several strange and unsuitable characters filled the post till Ananda thera was chosen finally. Impulsive Thera Nagasamala, with his mania for short cuts was one such. Buddha was on his way to a house of a Brahmin for a very salutary matter. Nagasamala dutifully walked behind Him. Finally they came to a four-way junction, a Hatara Man Handiya as we lankans say. The Great One walked right ahead. Now spoke Nagasamala. "Lord, aren't we on our way to Attaka Brahmana's abode?" The Buddha asked what bothered him about it Sir, you are taking a long route. There is a shorter way to the left" The Buddha said he preferred to take the longer route, as the shorter route was full of pitfalls, and just walked on. "Then sir your lordship go that way. I will go this way". And the monk walked to the left. Needless to say that was the end of the career of Nagasamala as the chief personal attendant of the Buddha. The cessation of his services was officially announced by Sariyuth thera and Sunakkanta thera was appointed to the post vacated by an impulsive and irresponsible worker. But the new attendant Sunakkantha had an undesirable habit of feeling drowsy, come twilight. He was useful only during day time to Buddha who till midnight laboured in many ways for the betterment of the humans. Sometimes Buddha would cry out "Sunakkantha! Sunakkantha!" when some need arose but the personal attendant was in his own dreamworld, oblivious of his duties. Now Sariyuth thera again took up matters and appointed six personal attendants by name Nagika, Upavana, Chunda, Sagatha, Radha, and Meghaya. Everybody now felt that the problem was solved. But there were too many cooks to boil the soup of the conghee. All the six got into the habit of idling due to the surfeit of labour and also a habit grew where each of the six expected the other to do the assigned work. Maximum leisure they felt was their right and never considered giving priority to the service assigned to them. Fulfilling their rights by others they always expected but always remembered to forget the duties expected of them. They also developed a habit of devolving the duty on another. For example Nagika would go to Upavana and say, "I boiled the water for the Great One to bathe yesterday too. I cannot repeat it today. You do it" And Upavana would say, "Chunda has been without work the whole day. Let him do it'.So though no trade unions existed in North India at this time to encourage the bickerings the messy state went on. Spiritual Meanwhile the Buddha's fame spread wide and far, Northwards upto the Himalaya range, Westwards to the states fringing Sindu (Indus) river, states as Camboja (not the present Cambodia - though some scholars opine that the present Cambodia was named after this state during the days of the Indian colonial empire building), Gandhara and Kuru Rata, Westwards upto the boundary states at the base of Vindhya hills as Anga and Magadha and southwards upto Kalinga desha on the banks of Godavari river. Almost whole of the sub-continent seems to have been spiritually awakened by the teachings of king Suddhodana's son, who gave up a crown for the russet hued robes of a wandering mendicant to retrieve his brethren from the whirl of suffering. The spread of fame naturally meant more followers that ranged from crowned heads to ordinary masses and a solution of filling the much important post became an urgent matter. In fact the problem weighed heavily on Buddha himself as the following announcement transpires. "I am now of a very elderly age, almost on the threshold of old age. I need somebody who would look after me sincerely and systematize the increasing work load. The monks who held my chief attendant's post so far have not acted upto their role. They have been always self - centred thinking only of themselves. Some suggest to me short cuts that I abhor". This declaration was followed by Ananda thera volunteering to fill this role and the story ends happily unlike our labour problem stories that seem to go on and on with no solution in sight but only fanned further by very responsible persons who should know better. And if we wish to connect this tale of 6th century BC further to our own 21st century AD. We must pause at the statement that displays Thathagatha's abhorrence of short cuts. Short cuts along highways as the Blessed One declared are full of pitfalls. Some zig zag their way through forests full of wild beasts or suddenly an unpassable ford or ravine will show up and block the way. So it is always wiser to take the accepted long route. Short cuts are now always being shown on our mini screen - short cuts to prepare a tasty dish and so forth. A packet is opened up and contents are thrown into the utensil and in one or two minutes, like the things that the magician pulls out of his hat a gorgeous meal is laid on the table for the husband and kids who respond with foolish happiness at the wizardly feat of the wife or mother. "Nagasamala, there are pitfalls along the short cut". It is a very revered voice and it seeps in across a time passage of nearly 26 centuries and from a distant land mass on the slopes of the majestic hills of the Himalayas. |
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