Appreciations
View(s):His social service to the public will be his legacy
Ven. Galboda Gnanissara Thera (Podi Hamuduruwo)
He was loved by millions of Sri Lankans here and abroad. And he was also terribly feared by scoundrels and the like.
Before his illness Podi Hamuduruwo was a familiar sight, walking at high speed at midday, his yellow robe billowing in the wind, from the Seema Maalaka to his beloved Gangarama temple. If he found the place unswept, he was quick to take a broom and briskly sweep the fallen leaves away.
Simplicity was his forte.
Religion was no barrier for his friendship with people. He had high esteem for the Christian community and enjoyed with relish Christmas cake and pudding.
He hated narcotics claiming it spread like a cancer and dragged the country down from progress.
Though unassuming in his ways, his very alert mind and clarity of thought helped him deal with diverse situations admirably. At the perahera if an elephant was restless he would come quickly to the forefront. He would deal with the pickpocket roaming the temple in his own inimitable style, making sure he never came again. Patients were never disappointed because he would complete his hospital service till even late in the night.
Ven. Galboda Gnanissara Thera was aware that his successes in foreign countries too created jealousy and wagging tongues. But nothing, absolutely nothing, deterred him from doing his best for the Buddhist populace.
His social service to the public is incomparable – the Kataragama Pilgrims Rest, Vedihitikanda, the Vocational School by the Beira Lake, the Navam Perahera, etc.
This is his legacy.
Ever ready to help anyone at any time, the massive gathering at his cremation was proof of the love people had for him.
Will there be another Podi Hamuduruwo in our lifetime?
Very unlikely.
-Assumpta Alles
Fond memories of you will always be with us
Sarath Fernando
It is three months since you left your loving wife, children, grandchildren, in-laws, and friends. We, your two sisters Shani and Priya knew all along that the time would come to bid farewell to our siblings. Losing our younger brother Dayan was so painful to the three of us, and now, losing you, our elder brother adds more pain to our aged minds. We miss saying “Hello Aiya” on the phone. Your nieces and nephew recall happy memories of the good old days spent with their “Loku Mama.”
You lived in a world of music and left behind a legacy of music composed for the young and the old. Solo pieces for piano, instruments, chamber music, orchestral arrangements, music for the Sinhala Cinema. Dedications for a few near and dear ones are among them. Twenty-nine preludes for piano were composed within one month, during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
A much-loved husband, father, grandfather, relative, uncle, friend and a brother you have been. Life is uncertain and death is certain, we have known all along. With time, we will come to terms and accept that you are no more with us. We all loved you in life. Fond memories of you will always be with us in your absence.
May you be at peace until you attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana!
Priyani Fernando
The house is not a home without you
Piyaseelie Rajapaksha
It is now more than six years since you left us in the early morning of July 1, 2018. You were alright the previous evening except for a mild discomfort of the stomach. I still remember the activities of the previous day. We got up together around 5 a.m. and you went to the kitchen and started making tea. I opened the windows and put on the TV to listen to pirith and ‘Ahi passiko’ Dhamma desana.
We had planned to do some heavy work in the garden during the day and after the work was over you suggested we consult a doctor due to your stomach being swollen due to a hernia. The Doctor was not there but his assistant suggested you get admitted the following day.
That night I awoke around midnight and I instinctively felt you were waiting for me to wake up. You asked me to chant pirith which we had usually been doing as we went to bed. I was perplexed as to why you would make such a request but chanted all the three suttas Maha Mangale, Rathana and Karaneeya metta suttaraya by memory. It seemed that when I was fast asleep you had been in pain and our daughter Sriyani had come and massaged some medicinal oil. Things seemed to ease after that.
When I woke around 4 a.m, I noticed your breathing was different. I called our neighbour who came immediately to drive you to the hospital but alas, you left me.
You always told me you wanted to pass away before me as you did not know what should be done if I happened to die before you. I never responded to this query and you departed so suddenly. Life is miserable without your company. We married in 1965 and lived together for 53 long years. I cannot stop thinking of you especially when alone at home. The house is not a home without you.
My beloved Piyaseelie, you have been a good daughter to your parents, a good sister to your brother and sisters, a good person to your neighbours and relatives, a good mother to your daughter and a very good wife to me. I hope you will be a good human being to all living beings in the universe.
C.A.A. Gunarathne
He built the Sarvodaya family for this age of uncertainty
Dr A.T. Ariyaratne
Ari was a gem of a man rare,
A Sathpurusha with an ethic of care
His serene life was his message, simple, humble
but great –
To be simple is great but to be great is not simple
He embraced Gandhian Sarvodaya ideals
Adapted them to the Sri Lankan cultural values and norms
Commenced at Kanatholuwa and committed to serve communities everywhere
Awakened them from their “culture of silence” , powerlessness and hopelessness
He wanted to tap the goodness in people
He believed poverty is a shame and a
sickness of a civilized society.
Poverty anywhere diminishes
prosperity everywhere
His vision was to change man from self to global- self
A dream pursued with missionary zeal
Harmony with man, nature and peace with soul
Holistic development was Sarvodaya goal sustainable
and sane Won many accolades from here and abroad
He was averse to the present development model
Unsustainable, insensitive to species and wasteful
Climate change and global warming
Pollution and resources declining
Infinite needs in a finite world
Thirst for money, greed for goods and positions
And man is suffering from his craze for modernity and stupidity
One has to understand the deep, deep, meaning of life
and not become a mere Epicurean and consumer
All of us are accountable for fellow human beings’ needs
The big Sarvodaya family built for all is an asset, hope
and opportunity For this Age of Uncertainty
May this beloved humanist attain the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana!
-C. Kariyawasam-
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