The
Bodu Bala Sena appears peeved. They allege that the Cardinal of the Roman
Catholic Church is more powerful than the 33 Senior Prelates of the Maha
Sangha, the senior most Monks of Theravada Buddhism.
One
must ask why such a perception got a hold of
the BBS which looks for ways to attract the attention of the Buddhists,
while at the same time attempting to vilify other Religions, both of which are
extremely disingenuous acts.
The
link above appears at first reading to corroborate this allegation, as the senior
priests in the Catholic Church have appealed to the First Lady, herself a
Catholic, to intervene and STOP the proposed KATANA Casino Complex.
It
is time we remove ourselves from this unnecessary griping of religious
favoritism and face the facts. There is NO question that the Buddhist Clergy in
Sri Lanka have extremely powerful political leanings one way or another, and
this affects the thinking of the mostly Buddhist population, and the BBS and
Sihala Ravaya, the more recent incarnations of the extremist factions (they
somehow vehemently deny this tag as their measure of fundamentalism and
extremism differs from my own) seem to further enforce this truism.
When
something does not go your own way you find answers. Often it is against your
opponent that you label the blame for your own incompetence or inability to
influence opinion. It is important that when the religious engage in politics,
that fewer people listen to them or take notice and their power is diluted. The
Cardinal on the other hand takes a principled stand on matters and it is a
unified voice of the Church unlike the fractious Buddhist Clergy and obviously
has more impact and the Govt. does listen as they represent a large voter base
that they wish to canvass. (there are inevitably differences within the Church that they try to keep internalized for the sake of unity.)
Unlike
with the Muslim vote that often is only given to Muslims, the Catholic vote
given to Catholics is spread more evenly amongst the political divide, and is
therefore up for grabs, and those not in the Catholic belt are not obliged to
vote on religious but only party lines. These fundamental differences mean that
the courting this voterbase ensures a more receptive audience for their needs.
It
is time this fundamental point is appreciated by the boorish Ven Galagoda
Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who in my opinion does not do his cause any good, nor
his faction or faith. He is a one hit wonder, and will fade away when his
audience tires of him, but is likely to cause a lot of damage to the unity and
security of the citizens in Sri Lanka while he is in a position to vent his
spleen.
We
then come to the real issue in Sri Lanka, namely that of the inclusivity and
belonging of all races so that we may live in harmony. This is something that
is becoming increasingly distant, and in playing the race card, using these
splinter groups like the aforesaid are attempting to alienate and by that force
them to seek greener pastures or flee the Country, depending on your point of
view.
History
has shown that regression does not pay. The world is moving in one direction
and it appears that our leaders wish to stay in power by moving in the opposite
direction as that is the only means by which they can convince an audience
ignorant of reality, where their loyalties lie.
In
a progressive world, where we embrace new technology and change, something that
we MUST do if we are to survive, where 2.5M of our citizens live overseas, as
opportunities are greater for them there than here, we cannot entertain
regressive ideas of fear of being overrun by other races, religions and ideals.
If we had closed borders where there was limited interaction with the outside
world, I can then understand the logic of not wanting to be influenced by other
traditions to preserve ours.
Many
of those advocating a negative mindset are those who fear change, fear the loss
of their power, and even more are unable to convince the masses that their
position is the more believable. In short the losers. So we must choose between
the losers, and the thinkers and wonderers that wish for a better society from what
we have.
I
take it that our society is in need of improvement not further destruction. There
is a simple solution, namely exploration of the mind by way of visionary education,
that allows for reasoning, questioning, and rationalization, and NOT the acceptance
of what elders say. If by this process, it reinforces what elders say that is fine,
but not by blind adherence of faith. This concept challenges religion as we know
it as it questions faith, but faith can be reinforced by a rational process of the
mind, and not by blind adherence to teachings.
It
is time to ditch the fear of the unknown and begin a fondness for life. You will be surprised as to how quickly your inbuilt prejudices disappear and wonder what made you a majoritarian with a minority complex. It applies equally to all races and religions when you place your position on this Earth before nationhood, race and religion, which are all transient in the scheme of importance and only meant to stifle progress.
Man can live merely by the application of the Rule of Law, in a just and equitable manner, nothing else matters.
Many would say that this is pie in the sky day dreaming, but I know it is inevitable, and I am just trying to speed this up, and remove some of the potential for conflict in the interim, with violence.
Just imagine what SL will be like 25 years hence. Let us get there without pain and suffering, because we will get there no matter what. The current path is through pain and suffering, and so we must aim to do so without.
2 comments:
your call for education reform which encourages critical thought, rationalization, and reasoning will lead to a population that is forever arguing -- which is what sri lanka is today. i can think of few other countries in which people will try to rationalize their position regardless of how wrong it is. if the sky is blue, someone will argue until their face itself is blue, that the sky is purple. this is sri lanka.
what i recommend in addition to your ingredients for a successful education system is creativity. creativity goes beyond just talking and includes a doing aspect which is necessary. in addition, creativity, along with necessity, is the mother of innovation which is what improves society and makes it more livable for everyone.
ethics is another ingredient that must be incorporated into sri lankan culture. it is already taught in the temples, media, etc. but the public is not absorbing the message. most likely because the household is the greatest teacher, and it is in the household where the seeds of dishonesty, manipulation, avarice, etc. are taught in so many ways, which you can elaborate more upon in your blogs.
imagine if sri lankans were a population of intelligent, creative, and ethical people. the island would truly become a paradise rather than what it is today which is more akin to a bucket of crabs each trying to tear the other one down as it tries to move higher in the bucket.
Good discussion. And Anon 1 brings up a good point. But we should also ask why are we so argumentative without being creative? IMHO, it is an intelligent people's reaction to our teaching system which teaches us by rote learning rather than teaching us to think carefully and clearly, and also logically and ethically. Our education system is very highly flawed.
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