| by Nimmi Gunasekera
( October 28, 2012, Colombo, Sri
Lanka Guardian) After a late night, while asleep in a cottage in a town nestled
in the otherwise peaceful central mountains of Sri Lanka, I was woken up – or
rather jolted out of my skin, at the wee hours of the morning by a blast of
pirith blaring in my ears. Loudspeakers at their full volume shattered the
peace of the early morning in this sublime town. My immediate reaction to this
was one of indignation at the abrasive intrusion of this act into our lives,
but also the implications of this burst of noise on the patients in the
Government Base Hospital which was a mere stone’s throw away. The loud chanting
of pirith followed by a Buddhist sermon continued for several more minutes, by
which time no living townsman would have been asleep. Blaring religious
messages, stanzas and music over loudspeakers is no isolated phenomenon in this
country today and is, sadly, not peculiar to this town. It pervades the island
far and wide. Nor is this phenomenon confined to Buddhist messages – Islamic
prayers, and Hindu music all take their turn in rudely interrupting the quiet
of people’s lives today.
As a practicing Buddhist myself,
I find the blaring of the ‘Buddha’s word’ on loudspeakers totally unnecessary,
if not outrageous. We live in times, when access to a religious environment or
to spiritual information is easier for even the poorest amongst us, than ever
before – be it by visiting a temple, finding a book, or turning on the radio or
television – which can be done in one’s own time, and in the privacy of one’s
own space without causing distress and disturbance to others. Besides, it
reflects the very antitheses of the Buddha’s teaching which was to turn away
from noise and clutter – to calm one’s mind to be in the present moment, and
reflect wisely on the way things are. Having grown up in a deeply religious
home, I find the chanting of pirith or listening to a good sermon soothing,
serene and uplifting, and would strive to seek it myself, but I would not wish
to have this at the expense of others’ privacy or of polluting the environment.
It is an obtrusive act, disrespectful of those of other faiths, and those
otherwise inclined at the time to hear it, and it disturbs the environment.
Those who promulgate this practice may be of the belief that loud messaging
will make the population at large more spiritually aware – this is not likely
in a country where religion and spirituality is abundantly available to those
who wish to seek it. The Buddha himself is said to have preached only to those
whom he thought had minds which were ‘ripe’ enough to receive and understand
his message. This ear- splitting messaging serves no one than to do injustice
to the philosophy of the Buddha.
Noise pollution has implications
far greater than being mere irritation – on the very health of the people of
Sri Lanka. Health consequences of elevated noise levels include hearing
impairment; sleep disturbances, and stress-induced health conditions including
heart disease. Even changes in the immune system and birth defects have been
attributed to noise exposure. It also forms a part of a loud and boisterous
culture – which we must abhor. I am writing this is to appeal to those
concerned to take action to arrest this growing menace, or at least regulate
times, periods and places where religious or for that matter any kind of ‘loud
speaking’ can be done, if it must, for, if it goes unchecked it will pollute
the environment of this country to the extent of causing irreversible damage to
all life on the island, and turn us into a noisy and uncouth nation of people.
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