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Podi Hamuduruwo: A visionary priest with the Dhamma, people and nation in his heart
View(s):Devotees attending the Gangaramaya Temple at Hunupitiya in Colombo in the 1960s noted the presence of a tall young monk of pleasant countenance in close attendance to the chief priest, the Venerable Devundara Wachchisara Nayaka Hamuduruwo.
This was a time when Venerable Wachchisara was losing his sight and tended to rely more on the young monk to help him with physical movement as well as conveying the Chief Priest’s thoughts on spiritual as well as practical matters of administration at the temple to the Dayaka Sabha.
Ven Galboda Gnanissara Thera, or Podi Hamuduruwo, as he was by then frequently addressed, looked after the day-to-day matters of the temple while pursuing his studies at Vidyodaya.
The vision and steely determination of later years were as yet formative. Venerable Wachchisara, in his wisdom, believed the time had come for more exposure of the priesthood to a changing world, and that was indeed a necessity for an exposition of the Dhamma.
Podi Hamuduruwo was sent to England to spend time at the London Viharaya. Podi Hamuduruwo returned to Sri Lanka with a vision for Gangaramaya to be the prime place of worship in the capital city and to also be a centre where all communities could meet informally and exchange views, not only on matters spiritual but temporal as well.
With a constantly evolving dialogue between the temple and people at all levels, the need to help with the practical problems of society was first expressed in the setting up of a vocational training centre to provide basic knowledge and instruction on selected areas of work to facilitate employment.
The temple premises were also undergoing change, and with it a vision for an annual perahera for Colombo city. A traditional religious procession was planned to emulate the historic Kandy Perahera in Colombo.
Podi Hamuduruwo’s vitality and energy increased the activities of the temple, including a place of rest for pilgrims to Kataragama and the construction of the Sima Malaka on the Beira Lake to serve the ordination of monks in Sri Lanka as well as those from neighbouring countries.
The Sima Malaka is symbolic of the trust and confidence that Ven. Gnanissara created among other communities. The construction of the Sima Malaka was endowed by S.M. Moosajee, whose family were long-time residents in the vicinity of Gangaramaya.
Mr. Moosajee commissioned Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s renowned architect, to conceptualise and design the Sima Malaka. It was well known at the time that Mr. Bawa did not take kindly to suggestions, even entreaties affecting his planned architecture.
Podi Hamuduruwo was one of the very few who succeeded in persuading Mr. Bawa otherwise, at least on a few aspects of the design of the Sima Malaka, though it led Mr. Bawa to laughingly quote Shakespeare to Podi Hamuduruwo and us, repeating Henry II’s famous complaint against Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”
Podi Hamuduruwo, who had his own keen sense of humour, was happy to share Mr. Bawa’s quote with his dayakayas.
A natural acumen helped Podi Hamuduruwo to change the Gangaramaya from a lakeside retreat to a vibrant religious and community centre.
His path was not without controversy, but a late evening contemplation at the Bo Maluwa is key to the essential serenity of the Gangaramaya.
Many years of ill health deprived the Gangaramaya and Sri Lanka of the services of an extraordinary personality. His presence prevailed during that time, and may it continue to do so, though unseen, in the years to come.
A Dayakaya
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