Lanka - a point of convergence in South Asia

Heritage For Coexistence: Sri Lanka’s Role in the SAARC region - part II:

D.A. Rajapaksa Memorial Lecture, November 27, Colombo

SUDHARSHAN SENEVIRATNE

Director General. Central Cultural Fund

Professor of Archaeology. University of Peradeniya

The sum total of this knowledge is ‘civilisation’ which we bestow to our next generation. They are the real custodians of our heritage nurturing its value system for the future.

Thus heritage does not evolve in isolation but is cross-fertilised by other parallel cultures that are essentially shared. Heritage must represent the best of humane aspirations and connected destinies and is in fact one of the best sources of understanding societies, their behaviour and thinking patterns.

Each community carries the finger print of its own heritage personality while it shares many elements of other techno-cultural groups as well. This results in diversity which is a living reality and will continue to do so despite the overarching (and imagined) global culture imposed from above.

Peaceful co existence

South Asian cultures had evolved in-built safety mechanisms neutralising tensions and stress points in society as a survival strategy. In fact of the earliest instances of a social contract, relfecting people to people connectivity, is attributed to South Asia.

The Agganna Sutta describes that people oppressed by conflict elected an individual who was called Mahassammata (‘the great elect’) as ruler to settle disputes. Mahasammata was expected to maintain peace and equilibrium in society through the laws of Dhamma or righteousness.

With the emergence of the advance state developing into empire systems, Buddhist texts highlight the concept of the Universal King or Chakkavatti raja.

The Chakkavatti Sihanada sutta and Mahasudassana sutta, credit the universal king as the person responsible for duties and obligations not only towards the subjects but also for the total environment of his domain assuring his responsibility to maintain quality of life.

The king agrees to uphold the code of conduct prescribed to the ruler known as dasa raja dhamma. Thus society and its habitat are considered integral components. This is repeated in the popular Buddhist invocation as:

Devo vassatu kalena
Sassasampatti hetu ca
Phito bhavatu loko ca
Raja bhavatu dhammiko
May there be rains at the right season
May there be plentiful harvest
May the world be prosperous
May the rulers govern with righteousness

Siddhartha Gautama unfolded a people friendly movement for this purpose. The creation of the order of bhikkhu, also known as sangha or gana, was to resolve conflict at the group level. The guiding norm of this people to people connectivity was his instructions to the sangha “to wonder among the people and spread the dhamma for the betterment for the people and the deities.”

At the individual level one had to be accountable for ones own acts, to ones own self and to society in order to curtail conflict. The five precepts (or panchasheela) where one resolves to abstain from - destroying life, taking things not given, sexual misconduct, false speech and intoxicating drinks are basic tenets of ethical conduct that do not disturb society.

Lay ethics pronounced by the Buddha in the Sigalovada sutta, Parabhava sutta, Dhammika sutta, Mahamangala sutta to mention a few, clearly prescribe the duties and obligation of an individual towards his or her immediate family, society, servants and slaves, teachers, holy people and even the state.

Perhaps one of the best examples of concord and amicable behaviour neutralising tension and conflict is known as the seven factors preventing decline (sapta aparahaniya dhamma) prescribed by the Buddha in the Mahaparinibbana sutta.

The Lichchavi of Vaishali were instructed by the Buddha that as long as they assemble in concord, rise in concord, continue time test traditions, respect elders, respect women, respect places of worship, and respect the clergy they shall continue to prosper in unity and not decline. Drawing inspiration from the code of conduct prescribed in religious teachings, mainly Buddhism, Ashoka Maurya developed his own brand of peaceful co existence through Ashoka Dhamma.

COEXISTENCE IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA

It is not surprising that the post colonial generation viewed sectional ideologies as a consequence of identity based on religion, caste, langauge, ‘race’ or some other form of group affiliation and also as a natural process associated with the historical evolution of social systems in South Asia.

Clearly the dominating features of this period are: economic alienation and the possibility of geo-political units being carved out on ethno-cultural or more specifically ‘racial’ lines. Such inverted sentiments are further compounded by internal readjustments demanded by those who wish for alternative political systems - such as social fascism, and externally through altered processes of globalisation.

It is correctly pointed out ‘Current nationalisms - ethnic religious, linguistic - cannot be entirely isolated from globalisation’. It is in this context one must understand the role of contested identities in legitimating social and political power. This is the ‘other’ picture of our shared fate in South Asia.

The cultural landscape of South Asia essentially represents a habitat of multi-cultural and varied biological identities. In contemporary South Asia we possess ethnic, language, religious and religio-cultural diversity providing its regional society with multiple identities shaping the cosmopolitan cultural ethos of South Asia.

The critical question is the level of our commitment to the ethical aspect of respecting other cultures. This is all about sensitivity towards cultural identities and interaction among culturally diverse resident communities.

Contraction of cultural spaces through globalisation and the need to reorient the existing mindset from the narrow spectrum compartmentalised time, space and cultural rubric is an imperative. While South Asia celebrates a vibrant history of cultural pluralism and diversity, the mind set must be reoriented beyond the mono country and monoculture and be exposed to cross-regional and cross-cultural horizons through our shared heritage.

This brings me to the central theme on the role of Sri Lanka in the SAARC region. Sri Lanka is situated on the central trans-oceanic routes that connected the countries within the Indian Ocean Rim and the eastern and western World Systems situated outside of it. It is from this vantage point that we have to understand Sri Lanka’s situation within the Indian Ocean Rim and the strategic role our island played in the past and is destined to play in the future.

We must have an open mind of our carrying capacity as well as our limitations especially to challenge most countries of the region in the political and economic fronts. How do we reorganise our strategies when Sri Lanka is Chairman of the SAARC and foster our leadership through heritage connectivity?

INDEPENDENT VENUE

Our geographical location has endowed us with the unique advantage of being a point of convergence for economic, religious, social and political groups. We provided a safe haven for individuals and groups arriving in this island from a remote period in history and the island transformed itself into the primary entrpot and cultural and economic hub in the Indian ocean from about the 4th Century AC.