RECORD CROWDS CONVERGE ON COLOMBO TO TAKE
PART IN THE FUNERAL OF VENERABLE SOMA THAT TOOK PLACE AT INDEPENDENCE
HALL.
By Walter Jayawardhana
reporting from Los Angeles
Hundreds of thousand mostly white clad devotees converged on the capital
city of Colombo from all parts of the country to pay their last respects
to the country’s most popular preacher, Venerable Gangodawila Soma
Thero whose funeral took place at the nation’s Independence Hall
where funerals of national leaders and Prime Ministers had taken place
in the past.
The island’s leading Sinhalese daily the Divaina reported from
Colombo that the crowds that flocked to the capital city in record numbers
to take part in the funeral of the Buddhist monk, who died during a
visit to St. Petersburg December 12, were unprecedented and very much
larger than for similar funerals in the past. The newspaper also published
pictures of white- clad wailing mothers, struck by immense grief along
the streets where the procession moved from the Sri Vajiragnana Dharmayathanaya
to the Independence Square where the funeral took place.
Commenting on the wide spread public grief Sri Lanka’s President
Chandrika Kumaratunga , whose condolence message was read at the funeral
said , the overwhelming respect , demonstrated by the people of Sri
Lanka since his passing away demonstrated the utmost respect the people
, especially the youth both living in the cities and the villages had
for Buddhist monks who showed a path of emancipation very lucidly according
to Buddha Dhamma. Reminding that he was pupil of the late Venerable
Madihe Pannaseeha the President said Venerable Soma expressed what he
learnt from his guru in a more forceful way.
Following the welcoming speech of Venerable Maharagama Dhammasiri,
the opening funeral oration was delivered by Venerable Weligama Gnanarathana
Nayaka Thero. The Venerable Puravidya Chakravarthi Ellawela Medhananda
representing the Siyam Maha Nikaya and Professor Attanganne Sirisumana,
representing the Ramanna Nikaya delivered funeral orations praising
the services of the Venerable Soma to the nation and Buddhism.
Condolence messages from the President and the Prime Minister were
also read.
Just to catch a glimpse of the last journey of a simple but fearless
monk who dared to clash with powerful politicians of the modern governing
elite, thousands flocked along the streets where the golden “ ran
sivige” that contained the mortal remains of him slowly passed.
They endlessly sprinkled it with tons of white flowers. Reports from
Colombo said places like Nugegoda junction were completely blocked by
a sea of heads and the traffic was not moving for hours. Probably as
a reaction to the spontaneous outpouring of public grief, shown all
over the country by hoisting of yellow flags from small huts of the
poor to the huge mansions of the rich state patronage was extended to
the cremation of the Thero.
In the midst of harmonious chanting of “Sadhu” “Sadhu”
among thousands of devotees the remains were placed in the Ransivige
, a speciaaly built decorated chariot of a funeral car, and carried
to Thunmulla Junction in a motorcade. There, thousands of members of
varied Buddhist and national organizations joined the funeral procession.
Liquor shops and slaughter houses were ordered closed throughout the
nation in honor of the late Thero.
Millions more were glued to their television sets witnessing the funeral
apart from the hundreds of thousand people who flocked to the city of
Colombo, to take part in the funeral.
Meanwhile, Lalith Kotalawela , who owns the Ceylinco Group of Companies
and who allegedly supports fundamentalist Christian movements in the
country issued a statement to the newspapers denying rumors and anonymous
posters which, appeared in Colombo alleging that he had some connection
to the late Theros still unsolved circumstances of death. He described
the allegations as vicious and baseless.
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