He is the Loku Hamuduruwo of the temple. He is the Sangha nayaka of the Malwatte Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya in the Western Province. He has been conferred the title ‘Darshana Visharada’, equivalent to a doctorate, by the Asgiriya Chapter. Yet to everyone he is Podi Hamuduruwo. That is how the ‘dayakas’ started addressing him 59 years ago when he was ordained. He was then 11.

On December 14, he reaches 70. As is the tradition in naming a monk at the ordination with the name of his birthplace in front, he is Galboda Gnanisaara Nayaka Thera. He hails from Galboda, a few miles away from Matara.
He was ordained at Gangaramaya in Colombo 2 on November 8, 1954. Being the junior monk of Ven.Devundara Sri Jinaratana Vacissara Thera, everyone called him Podi Hamuduruwo. He has remained at Gangaramaya for the past six decades. His commitment and dedication has made the temple the foremost cultural centre in the city.

Gangaramaya is a busy place throughout the day with lots of visitors – both local and foreign. Though the temple is quite spacious, Podi Hamuduruwo prefers to sit at the entrance on a small chair. He observes everyone coming in and has a word with them as they pay obeisance to him. From here he attends to his correspondence, answers telephone calls, meets people, has his ‘gilanpasa’. Occasionally, he would walk into the shrine room with a visitor, take the relic casket, keep it on the head of the visitor and bless him. Then he would tie a ‘pirithnoola’ on the visitor’s hand. Apart from him, this is a ritual followed by the monk in attendance on every visitor, on his instructions.

In touch with the news: Podi Hamuduruwo at the Gangaramaya last week

In between he ‘gets lost’ to attend to numerous duties in the temple. “I believe in doing the work myself and setting an example to others,” he told me. He described how he maintains the complex of rest rooms he has built at Kataragama for the convenience of pilgrims. “Whenever I go there I give the lead in washing the toilet and cleaning up the room I occupy. I go round to see how the assistants have cleaned the rooms and tell them to have a look how I have done it.” He doesn’t have a room set apart from him to occupy when he goes there. “I just ask for the key of a room I pick up randomly. I can then see whether the rooms are kept clean and I pull them up if I am not satisfied.”

He remembers how he was so moved when a pilgrim to Kataragama came and worshipped him falling at his feet. “He told me that for the first time in his life he slept on a bed at the rest room. I was so moved. I told the assistants to ensure that whoever, of whatever status comes, they should be provided with the most comfortable beds and other facilities.”

He confesses that his philosophy has always been to make the people happy. “I don’t look at someone’s colour, caste, creed or position. As the Buddha has preached, my goal is to make everyone’s life meaningful –rid them of being sad, make them happy, and free them from fear. Everyone should be mentally happy and satisfied. It’s the responsibility of the clergy to mould society as the Buddha has taught us.”

He laments over the sad plight of most parents today. “They don’t get the love of their children. They are neglected. Often they land themselves in an elders’ home. This is because they had not moulded the children properly.” He recalled the days when he was young how parents took great care of their children. “They made them understand the good and bad side of things. They taught them that they should listen to their parents and that they should not lie or steal. I still advise children to respect their parents. But society has changed so much. It’s a pity,” he says.

Podi Hamuduruwo learnt to accept responsibility when he was quite young. He related how he was pushed into a situation where he had no choice. “I had a hard time since I was around 16 years when my Loku Hamuduruwo went blind. I had to look after him and at the same time attend to the temple work. There were some who were manoeuvring to undo what the Loku Hamuduruwo had started. There were others who were instigating people to create problems.

Amidst all that I had to look after him. I wanted to make him feel as comfortable as possible and to make it appear as if nothing was wrong with him. I taught him sign language by which he knew exactly what I meant when I gave certain signals, like how he should avoid a step or be careful where the ground was slippery. All this made me bear responsibility and make decisions,” he reminisced.

Podi Hamuduruwo started CSR many decades before the three letters became the fad in the private sector. He was always involved with the community and did his best to make the people happy and contented. He started a village in Kataragama and settled over a hundred families providing them with all their needs and facilities. In Kotte he set up a home for disabled children. Close to that he built a Home for Elders. He promoted pre- schools in temples where the monks were the teachers. His projects to uplift the standards of monks and temples are varied.

In touch with the people: Tying a pirith thread

He has always been a lover of the environment. “We grew up among nature in the village. Growing a tree is fun. It’s so satisfying to see a plant grow. At the same time it can be a profitable business. I have distributed thousands of mahogany plants over the years for people to grow and earn money. Mahogany has a big demand in the world,” he points out. Even when he is going somewhere he looks at trees and would pick up any seeds or plants which can be grown. “It’s a pity that we have started depending on getting down even the seeds from abroad. We don’t even have a papaw seed to grow today.”

Showing concern about the way we are not making an effort to improve indigenous skills, he recalled the days when Sri Lankans took their expertise in jewellery to countries like Australia and Singapore. “I am trying hard to promote skills through the vocational training centres. We must train our young men and women to learn skills and be self-employed,” he stresses.

Podi Hamuduruwo may not have post-graduate degrees but he has a practical approach to management. Addressing the business community at the Business Today Top 25 awards, he reminded the audience of the Four Elements – Fire, Water, Air and Earth – preached by the Buddha over 2,500 years ago and how we should depend on earth without which we cannot survive. As much as sunshine, water, fauna and flora sustain the earth, the clergy is also essential to obtain valuable advice and guidance and to provide positive vibes, he feels.

“Let us not forget the past. Let us not allow the country to be caught in the clutches of terrorism again. Let us preserve and protect the environment. Utilise your courage and the wealth you earn to make this country prosperous so that the people in this country are protected regardless of ethnic and racial differences and they can live in joy and harmony,” was his message.
With just a week for his birthday, let us wish him long life and strength to serve the people.
‘Chirang jayatu!’