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Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thera’s first death anniversary falls today
When Nena Pahana went dim
D.C. Ranatunga
Driving home in the evening exactly a year ago, listening to the radio, I couldn't believe what I heard on the headline news. 'Soma hamuduruwo has expired in Russia', the newsreader said.

How could it happen, I wondered. A few weeks earlier, he had come home the day before he left for Russia to say he was going and would be back in ten days. He thanked me for having gone through the proof of a little booklet on the Dhamma he had written in English, copies of which he was taking with him for distribution there.

One year after his death, Soma Hamuduruwo is still very much alive in the hearts of people. While we await the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to go into his death, there is much discussion on the tremendous service he rendered to build a better society - a society following Pansil, the five basic precepts enunciated by the Buddha.

For several years, he covered the remotest villages in Sri Lanka explaining these precepts since the non-adherence to these, particularly addiction to liquor, was dragging society to low depths. Poverty was rampant, crime was increasing at an alarming rate, morals were deteriorating and values were eroding.

What Soma Hamuduruwo asked everyone to do was to lead a simple, good life. He told men not to waste money on kasippu because it affected family life. Lack of money to support the family, constant quarrels, deteriorating health, malnutrition - these were all due to the carelessness of the breadwinner. Many were reformed and families were thankful to him for his great service.

Viewers still gather around their TV sets to listen to his Nena Pahana programmes that are being repeated, just as they did when he appeared live and answered many a question from viewers.

Addresssing a media gathering at the Vajiraramaya a few days before he left for Russia, Soma Hamuduruwo blamed the government for freely issuing permits to open liquor shops. "The government wants to earn more money and also to please their business henchmen. But what happens in the process? It only saps the little money in the hands of the average man. This shows that the government has absolutely no concern about the morals and values in society," he said.

He posed the question whether a government exists to protect the country or to destroy it. "A government elected by the people should work for their welfare. But how many governments elected after Independence have done this? What every government did was to promote immorality," he added.

Going back to the days of colonial domination, he pointed out that what the British did was to ruin our nation. "Did they give cigarettes and arrack free to our people because they loved us? No - they had a long term plan. It was easy to move the people away from the temples when they were poor. Then they could be converted by giving them money. This is how they laid the groundwork for the fundamentalists to reap the harvests today."

How can we reverse this trend? A massive Buddhist revival and anti-fundamentalist movement was his answer. Soma Hamuduruwo made a decisive address at a mass rally of the Sangha held at the Maha Maluwa of the Sri Dalada Maligawa on September 14, 2003, the first after the passing away of the Most Venerable Madihe Pannasiha Maha Nayaka Thera. It was just a few days before he left for Russia. Did he have a premonition of death, many wondered after listening to the recorded speech, first made public at the commemorative meeting at the Sri Vajiranana Dharmayatanaya to mark the completion of three months after his death.

In a lengthy address which took him over an hour, Soma Hamuduruwo reminded the gathering of what Anagarika Dharmapala had predicted - how one day the Europeans would go away leaving behind a set of kalu suddas to rule this country exactly the way they wanted them to, forgetting about the traditional customs and values, building churches and kovils beside the temples and silencing the Buddhist monks. "Haven't his words come true," Soma Hamuduruwo asked. "Family planning has resulted in the dwindling of the Sinhala Buddhist families. A Buddhist mother would tell you that bringing up two children is a big problem. A Muslim mother would gladly bring up even a dozen children. She would not grumble. For a country to prosper, we need a younger generation."

He touched on various national issues. Referring to lottery tickets, he said that these are being bought by the innocent Sinhalese people wasting the few rupees they earn. He asked whether there is a single Sinhalese person who has become rich through lottery tickets. "It was a case of falling from the frying pan to the fire. It only taught them gambling. And then for the last fifty years we were living on loans. How long are we going to pay back these loans? We may never be able to repay, yet foreign donors will continue to give us loans because they know that then they can dictate to us and keep us under their clutches."

Appealing to the Buddhist monks to lead the people, he said that there are still Buddhists who, though being poor, will not yield to the pressures of numerous parties to be converted to other religions. "At least go on pindapatha taking the alms bowl with you. It will help the people to acquire merit and change for the better. It will protect Buddhism. Don't feel shy to go on pindapatha. Even the Buddha did it."

Referring to conversions, he said that it's happening in villages, in towns, in the universities and even in hospitals. "Go to the Maharagama Cancer Hospital and see what is happening. Certain officials identify patients who are recovering and scare them. They ask them to pray to God and get well. Once they are cured, they are converted. They offer milk packets to the poor patients and convert them."

He blamed the monks for not visiting patients and offering them solace at least once a week. He insisted on the need to build up Buddhist unity and protect the rights of Sinhala Buddhists. He appealed to the armed forces to do the right thing and not to yield to pressures from politicians "who will be in power for five or six years and move away". He was confident that the armed forces had a deep affection towards the people and would protect the country without allowing it to be divided. "This is the only country we have. What will be the plight of the Sinhalese if we are going to lose our heritage and our rights?"

This is how he concluded his talk. "When we start exposing these one by one, there will be threats on our lives. Yet how can we keep silent and be traitors? We are bound to be destroyed soon. Even otherwise, I may die of a heart attack tomorrow. When or where is not the criterion - death is death. The difference is how death would come to you, where and when it would happen. Even if I were to die tomorrow, I feel satisfied that I have told you what is going on around us. Very often, I see death in front of me. Yet I am not afraid to speak the truth.

"I must tell you one thing. If my death is not a natural one, you may be able to know who did it and why it happened. So I believe you will have your eyes and ears open to see what happens."

These words will, no doubt, echo and re-echo during the hearings of the proposed Commission of Inquiry.

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