The biggest challenge is overcoming a culture of factionalism and criticism among political parties. How can we foster a cooperative political environment and create a constitution that promotes justice and collective development?
by Sunil Jayaratna
Today, the National People’s Power (NPP) is spearheading the great mission of ushering in a renaissance in Sri Lanka. They are presenting a young leader, full of humanity, as the candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The book “The Monk and the Philosopher” documents a dialogue between Jean-François Revel, a renowned Western philosopher and scientist who later became a monk, and his son, Matthieu Ricard. This book offers invaluable lessons, highlighting that the root of modern economic, social, political, cultural, and environmental problems is the lack of a spiritual approach to life.
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| An employee in a Sri Lankan government [File Photo] |
The book further demonstrates that solutions to these problems can be found in the teachings of Eastern Buddhist traditions, including those of the Dalai Lama. It emphasizes the need for a Buddhist philosophical approach, considering the inadequacy of efforts made to find solutions through Western political ideologies such as Marxism and democracy.
From this book, it is evident that capitalist globalization or the neo-liberal economic system, closely linked to consumerism, will not lead to sustainable development and world peace. Instead, it will widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor, leading to the collapse of human security and global stability, making the happiness expected from material development a myth.
Currently, it is impossible to predict when the war between Israel and Palestine will end or when the conflict between Ukraine and Russia will cease. According to Amnesty International, there are armed conflicts in more than 140 countries worldwide. The United Nations reports armed conflicts in nearly 110 countries. These conflicts contradict the dreams of building a united world.
It is clear that these conflicts are caused by the selfishness of leaders who are greedy for power, wealth, and comforts. The destruction they cause to human lives, property, and the progress of mankind is incalculable.
The essence of the idea is that solutions to the world’s problems should begin with changes in one’s personal spirit. The message of the Buddha, and that of the recent sage Jiddu Krishnamurti, who conveyed a similar message in a different way, are discussed in this book. In my opinion, this book sheds light on a society wild with thought. It is available in bookshops for six hundred and fifty rupees and provides the ideological foundation required for a peaceful, compassionate, and vibrant social transformation that we Sri Lankans aspire to.
“Obviously, the companies that make bombs are very happy with their profits, and they make money by selling prosthetic limbs to those who lose their legs to landmines. In Kabul, Afghanistan, one out of sixty-five people killed by landmines every month is a child. Ten million of those mines are for destruction. IBM companies also manufacture parts for these mines, and many such companies engage in their traffic and computer trade, producing goods with 10 to 15 hours of labor. One third of the manufactured goods in China come from such camps. Harry, a Chinese opponent, has been engaged in such research for six years. He advises against importing products produced under such conditions. What kind of leaders would you want for your child if they came from the proceeds of the sale of such items? True values come from within. Anything else is just a mask. I always tell newspaper reporters that it is a very good deed to show the true situation by focusing on the disgraceful behaviour of states. Politics has nothing to hide. We should continue to talk openly about the prison camps in those countries until communism in Asia is completely gone. Before World War II turned into a world war, leaders talked about events as if they were unaware of them. It’s like the current leaders are behaving.”
A Sri Lankan who is alert to the above discussion should not be surprised by the way Sri Lankan leaders are doing business with China and making profits. The inhumanity hidden beneath the superficial humanity of some powerful capitalist countries is clear from these discussions. It is evident that the existence of China, which has succumbed to the competition of economic globalization, shows an equally severe inhumanity. However, a socio-political leadership that can establish a neutral, sovereign, multilateral, friendly foreign policy, not aligned with the capitalist or socialist camps, is essential in dealing with the current world.
If we adopt such an international approach, it is evident that an honest and spiritual leadership rich in humanity is essential to turn a just and fair society full of economic prosperity into a practical reality rather than a hypothesis.
Such leadership and social force can create a society with a clear vision and direction. Through this, we can achieve economic prosperity, sustainable development, happiness, and human security. The beginning of building a united nation is the strong commitment and unity of those who believe in strength in unity, peace, and prosperity. While discernment and correcting mistakes are necessary, those noble goals cannot be achieved by merely punishing and hating the guilty, and blaming each other.
What this country needs now are sons and daughters of the earth who truly love all the world’s animals and the land. It does not need the label “Buddhist” or “Sinhalese”. It is not concerned with divisions of ‘Tamil’, ‘Muslim’, ‘Christian’, ‘Hindu’ or caste. What is needed is a people’s society that treats all ethnic groups as members of the same family, values animals, rivers, streams, seas, and the environment, looking at them with great love and kindness, and treats everyone humanely, distributing resources fairly. It is a society that does not greedily consume others’ resources, exploit others, or view animals and plants as objects for consumption.
The biggest challenge we face right now is how to rid ourselves of a culture where political parties join different factions for their own benefit and criticize each other. As a country, how can we create a political culture where leaders and people work together for common development and good? How can we create a constitution for that? And how can we establish a peaceful society ruled by justice and dharma?
Which is the enlightened people’s force ready to build the country by ousting the corrupt and greedy regime led by an inefficient, power-hungry family and their associates? How can we strengthen the NPP and appoint a young, energetic leader full of humanity as President? How can we bring about a renaissance that revives the buried potential of our nation?
These are the challenges facing progressives in today’s political arena. How can we overcome these challenges and leave a prosperous state and land for future generations of Sri Lanka? The critical moment has come for all of us to consider our responsibility. Neglecting this responsibility will lead the country into a dangerous and risky situation, potentially becoming the weakest state in the world, burdened with debt. The time has come for us to act on our consciousness. Over the next month and a half, we should reflect on past experiences and make decisions based on the future of our children, not personal gain.
G.A. Sunil Jayaratna is an Attorney at Law with a distinguished academic background. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (B.A. Hons), a Master of Laws (LL.M), and a Master of Arts in International Relations (MA IR). Additionally, he has earned a Certification in Human Rights from Strasbourg (C.HR Strasbourg).
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