Sobhitha Thera – The Bridge Between Mosque & Temple
Dr Ranga Kalansooriya
The demise of the Most Venerable Maduluwawe Sobhitha Nayaka Thera not only created a vacuum within the social fabric in fighting for social justice, but also symbolized the role of a Buddhist religious leader in creating national unity and ethnic harmony in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the iconic monk told us a story how an extreme nationalistic fundamentalist could become a role-model in creating ethnic harmony and national reconciliation.
I have never seen a funeral of a Buddhist monk before where other religious and ethnic communities took a prominent role to such an extent, not only in respecting the deceased but also in providing facilities to the massive crowd gathered to pay their homage.
If one spent a few hours near the remains of Most Venerable Sobhitha Thera, hundreds of Muslims and other ethno religious representatives could be seen queuing up to pay their respect to this leading Buddhist prelate. They provided bottled water and food for the visiting crowds – who were mainly Buddhists, displayed banners and cutouts expressing their sympathies on the demise of their trusted Buddhist leader.
It was senior journalist Latheef Farook who wrote the first appreciation on Sobhitha Thera just after his death and circulated via social media. Non-Buddhist religious leaders volunteered in mobilizing their communities to pay homage to the prelate and visited Naga Viharaya from every corner of the country.
Why Muslims love Sobhitha Thera so much, I asked N M Ameen, veteran media practitioner and President of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka. “Because he was the only Buddhist leader who stood with us when we were in trouble,” said Ameen. There were extreme circumstances where our community was facing uncertainties (during previous regime). We had no any other person to seek assistance, but it was Sobhitha Nayaka Thera and he openly appeared for our cause, he said. “Other Buddhist leaders would accept our existence and agree to our requests, but they would never appear openly on our behalf. But it was a totally different story with Sobhitha Thera. Therefore, Muslims from all over the country are visiting Naga Viharaya to pay their last respect to this great Buddhist leader,” Ameen added.Read More
