Anagarika Dharmapala:

Catalyst of social upliftment

Anagarika Dharmapala’s life work connected to missionary zeal in the propagation of Buddhism. He established The Maha Bodhi Society and his efforts to restore the holy places where the Buddha trod in North India has received emphasized attention. Almost ignoring his contribution towards his efforts to make people in India and Sri Lanka more self confident in their quest towards a better life. He inspired them to keep their heads high in the attitude to their colonial masters. He spelled out lofty standards of conduct for Buddhist laity and clergy.

Born into a family that was prosperous by all standards, his siblings were extremely gentle and had sharpened their knowledge on the doctrinal side of Buddhism. His early upbringing stamped in him a deep awareness of the Buddhist doctrine. Unlike his siblings he had that rare quality of possessing “fire in his guts”.

Buddhism and gentlemanly upbringing, gave his stature the pangs of anger in seeing his countrymen’s failure to rise up to meet the challenges of daily life due to decades of subservience under colonial masters - as the complex challenge that he faced. It must be admitted that he did not possess the magnetism that Mahatma Gandhi exercised in having millions following him wherever he went clad in a poor man’s dhoti, upper torso bare and possessing nothing by way of a magnetic personality that Anagarika possessed.

Comparison with Gandhi

Gandhi was an extraordinary person with amazing power to attract and influence people as well as the masses though devoid of the tricks of public men. Anagarika lacked this magnetism of the Mahatma but his anxiety to bring about a social revolution to uplift the downtrodden was equally great.

The efforts that Anagarika made to reach out to the people had little response from the masses. It is doubtful as to whether in his lifetime his efforts at transformation of society from subservience to self confidence was received by the masses in the same way that realization dawned in the period after his death. It is possible that the standards of conduct that he advocated were so very high that those who heard him were possibly disillusioned into expecting to fail even before they would try out to practise what he preached.

Even in his efforts to restore the ruined edifices in Gaya, Sanchi and Varanasi, and the assistance he sought from his countrymen was never forthcoming except by way of a trickle. He expressed immense sorrow over this indifference. It was a lady from Honolulu - far removed from the centre of his activities - who donated generously towards meeting the cost of restoration of places of Buddhist worship in India.

Swaraj movement

The dawn of the twentieth century saw the ground swell of the Swaraj movement and Mahatma Gandhi spelling out his Sathyagraha campaign of non violence. In 1919 the Indian movement towards Swaraj gathered momentum after the massacre of 380 unarmed people and wounding another 1200 at Amritsar where a public meeting was held, even though such meetings were forbidden. General Dyer ordered the army to open fire at the meeting.

Loss of life of innocents was the turning point in the Indian attitude to the colonial masters. Here in Ceylon the riots of 1915 and how the colonial government reacted to it in panic, incarcerating innocents in jails without trial, shooting to kill indiscriminately under martial law and the years of repression that followed enforcing a scorched earth policy - all these injustices were first hand experience of Anagarika.

It would be of interest that his sibling Edmund Hewawitharana was rough handled, jailed in Jaffna prison under inhuman conditions and there he passed away. It took the colonial government a decade to realize that this man was innocent of any crime - leave alone rioting against the state - and the Governor made a belated apology to the family.

The gentleness that Anagarika inherited was blended with that anger in his heart as a result of the bitter picture that unfurled before him in the injustices that the colonial masters heaped upon the populace in both India and Ceylon. It is possibly this experience that moulded him to acquire an angry frame of reference.

In the disturbed period of 1914/15, Anagarika was in India and was spared torture and death that others like him suffered at the hands of the colonial masters. Delegated to perform certain tasks, Dr C A Hewawitharana was to say on January 10, 1914 “The Sinhalese peasant from time immemorial has been a landholder with duties and responsibilities of ownership. But the force of economic conditions is gradually driving the peasant into the class of a daily labourer.

Though such a state of things may bring a little money into his hands the peasant loses his ideas of moral responsibility. We have to consider the means of making him a responsible citizen. One of the best means is by establishing home industries. Attempts are being made to revive the weaving industry in Rajagiriya and Panadura. Next month the Maha Bodhi Society is sending a boy from the village to Japan to study an industry. Another idea I have is to make the poor man a corporate proprietor considering the impossibility of elevating each person unit to manage a large enterprise.

Diversion of energy

Village games should be revived giving rise to healthy rivalry among associations to shine in athletics. If these are done, the energy that goes to waste in gambling, drink and crime would soon be converted into healthy channels of cooperation and activity.”

Elsewhere Anagarika Dharmapala was to say, “The Sinhalese are the most loyal people of the King and the Government of the country. But the English papers say that you should be loyal not only to the Government but also loyal to the planter and the missionary.

The English planter and the missionary are fellow subjects just as you are, and we should treat them like equals and not like your lords. In your dealings with them be always just according to your traditions, but let there not be any cringing servility.”

It would be recalled that during the Riots of 1915, when the arm of colonial law enforcement under martial law was inadequate to quell the riots that spread from the Western Province to Sabaragamuwa and the Central Province and there was the possibility that it would spread further, planters of British nationality were grafted as army volunteers to keep the peace in the planation areas.

Trigger happy young planters, devoid of supervision and alien to ways of the villager saw in every face an enemy rioter and shot them at sight. This dastardly crime committed by planters was taken up by Armand de Zoysa - a brilliant and painstaking writer of repute who - himself a foreigner - took on himself the heavy tasks of exposing these atrocities. He made repeated representations to the Home Government and though belated the offenders were stripped of their Army rank and deported unceremoniously.

Though Mr Creasy of Julius and Creasy fame made legal representations to the Colonial Government to overturn the Government order, in fairness to the authorities, they stood firm not to rebind the order.

Armand de Zoysa was indeed a warm friend of Ceylon and if not for his indefatigable efforts to expose the truth of the situation behind the Riots of 1915, the Home Government would have continued to act on inaccurate information on the happenings of the time. Incidentally Armand de Zoysa was the father of Doric de Zoysa the reputed lecturer in English at the University of Ceylon, and a pillar of the Left movement.

Every reaction is action caused. Anagarika turned out to be an angry man in a hurry to achieve what he had planned for India and Ceylon expeditiously. He achieved what he did achieve due to his powers of persuasion he exercised with Government authorities in India and a few generous and wealthy benefactors of the Maharajah stature. That progress was slow due to lack of funds. No doubt he was an angry man. At a meeting in Calcutta in 1917, he was to say “The modern Buddhists have forgotten India and their hearts have run dry towards the suffering of others... Ceylon has failed to respond for the present owing to great distress in the Island brought on by the decline in trade owing to the war.”

Western philosophy

In October 1919, he was to speak at length on the apathy of modern Buddhists. “The Bikkhus of Ceylon have no virility, neither do they show enthusiasm to spread the Dharma. Their knowledge of western philosophy and science is nil. They exist but their life is not one of service.” The message is clear, abrupt and spot on, but fails to deliver it with tact and with a wrapping of diplomatic niceties of language. Even holy men have clay feet. This was the unhappy failing of Anagarika.

Helpless to steer State policy in the direction that he desired so as to ameliorate living conditions of people worldwide, he would spell out his dream targets towards a solution thus “After the war (1st. WW) England has come out strong with the help of armies of democracy. Her soil is sacred because she gave refuge to freedom fighters - Rousseau, Voltaire, Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi, the Russians who fought for liberty.

The British labourer has now to fight the autocrat. The strikes that broke out... show that he was badly treated. He has now come to realize his position... he is not going to sit still now that he has seen human energy is greater in value than gold. To educate the ignorant masses in all countries is the work of the philantrophist. The priest, autocrat and the capitalist have been the obstacles of human freedom.”

It would be of interest to examine Anagarika Dharmapala’s star contribution at the Parliament of Religions. Swami Vivekananda from India spoke up for Vedanta and Anagarika Dharmapala stood up for Buddhism.

The presence of these two holy men from the East created heated controversy among the Christian representatives who felt insulted at the very thought that Christianity was not acceptable to humanity as the only acceptable religion. So as the ensure authenticity of review of Dharmapala’s address, it would be best to harness on the spot review by reporters who were present at the meeting. The “Times” of Iowa September 29, 1893 had this to say - “Rev Joseph Cook maintained that a universe that was not created was “unpardonable nonsense.” The reply was that it arose out of the Bishop’s ignorance.

Dharmapala addressed on “The world’s Debt to Buddha” His peroration was a pretty thing as a Chicago audience ever heard. Demosthenes never exceeded it.” The “Critic” October 7, 1893 wrote “The most impressive figures at the Parliament were the Buddhist priest H Dharmapala of Ceylon and the Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda. Dharmapala said, “If theology and dogma stand in your way in search of truth put them aside. Learn to think without prejudice, to love all beings for love’s sake, to express your convictions fearlessly, to lead a life of purity and the sunlight of truth will illuminate you.”

The most tangible result of the congress was realization of the impertinence of sending half educated theologians to instruct the wise and erudite Orientals. It is necessary to realize that we have quite as much to learn from Buddhists as they from us.”

Lucy Monroe. Chicago October 3, 1893

There is no doubt that Anagarika Dharmapala was a trail blazer who made a lasting contribution for the revival of Buddhism and stamped on the Sinhala people the realization that with a proud history of three millennia, there is no room for apathy but the nation must survive chalking out a path of spiritual and material progress.

- V L S Jayasekera