20th Death Anniversary of Ven. Soma (on Dec. 12th) A virtuous Buddhist monk who won the hearts of youth

 Soma Thera constantly emphasised that the essence of Buddhism had been suppressed and the mythical beliefs had emerged in the name of Buddhism

• Thera boldly mentioned the necessity in the monks’ intervention when building a righteous society if the rulers were harming the country and the people
• Soma Thera precisely understood the feelings of the youth, their different tastes and preferences, as well as their expectations
• This priest always maintained what needed to be said about the absolute truth; without fear or hesitation

Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Nayaka Thera of Asgiriya stated, “Gangodawila Soma Thera always tried to correct the society. He explained the threat of extinction of the Sinhalese race, the great harm caused by political division and the opportunistic and hypocritical behaviour by them. He emphasised the strength of unity towards creating a righteous society and the importance of political truth in the ruling system.

“Soma Thera boldly mentioned the necessity in the monks’ intervention when building a righteous society if the rulers were harming the country and the people. In this regard he didn’t mean that monks should directly get involved in politics or enter politics as a whole. What happened after his demise was not what he intended,” Dhammananda Thera concluded.
According to Ven Pandith Hakmana Sumanasiri Thera of Maharagama Dharmayatanaya, the Madihe Pannaseeha Mahanayake Thero constantly focused on the steps to be taken immediately for the perpetuation of the Sambuddha Sasana. This priest also spoke of the internal and external dangers that have affected the decline of the Sinhala race.
Talking about Mahanayake Thera’s services in his retirement and those among his student monks in general, Soma Thera had the true honour of bringing the message of Dhamma to the present society through electronic and print media. 

There are several aspects that should be studied when examining Soma Thera’s mission towards the uplifting of the nation and religion. It is necessary to understand how he gained so much popularity and was accepted as a trustworthy monk of that era; especially among the young sons and daughters. He himself once expressed it in this way: “I am not preaching a strange sermon. This is the religion preached by the world’s greatest religious leader, Gautama Buddha, born about 25 centuries ago.”
At a time when important activities such as going to a temple, listening to sermons, and participating in meditation activities were far from the appreciation of some, it was the sensitive youth who actively participated in the preaching activities of Soma Thera. These youth received clear, correct, clean and logical answers to their burning problems from Soma Thera which led them on this path.
Importantly Soma Thera precisely understood the feelings of the youth, their different tastes and preferences, as well as their expectations.
It is important to inquire into the unique preaching style of Soma Thera. With his kind tone, compassionate addressing, benevolence and careful presentation of facts the priest won a place in the hearts of youth.
The people who were clinging to various superstitions were brought out of the darkness with understanding as he  expressed his opinion correctly and boldly to act on a basis of truth; underscoring the virtue of a monk.

There were also times when certain nominal Buddhists, who misused their belief in God and various ideologies and indulged in money-making activities, criticised the teachings of Soma Thera. There were times when mean people tried to insult his reputation and selfless religious activities.
This priest always maintained what needed to be said about the absolute truth; without fear or hesitation. He wrote what needed to be written. His new ideologies presented on the non-doctrinal beliefs by questioning the various religious activities performed with blind devotion helped guide the society in a progressive way. He added a new dimension to the traditional faiths and beliefs that had been rooted in the society for a long time. Even so, he risked his life and broke down baseless ideologies, explaining the truths in Buddhism.
Soma Thera constantly emphasised that the essence of Buddhism had been suppressed and the mythical beliefs had emerged in the name of Buddhism. He often gave the reminder that those who like the Dhamma will progress and those who reject the Dhamma will be degraded.
He had the foresight to see that if the morality of a country deteriorates the progress of that nation would also be hampered. He blamed the rulers who acted as if they were deaf and dumb. He underscored that the Sinhalese race is as an ethnic group would disappear forever in this country. He said that the visible truth was that most of the people in power were degenerating nationalism, knowledge and morals. As an extremely active Buddhist monk, he was of the opinion that protecting Sinhala Buddhists would not only provide a strong foundation to the country that it would also protect the religion.
There were periods when certain forces, taking advantage of people’s poverty, came to rural villages where there were traditional Buddhists and strategically carried out efforts to take them out of Buddhism. If the people in charge of the country had understood the importance of this unethical calamity in Buddhism it would have been possible to avoid this issue. All this happened because the rulers did not respond with understanding, in keeping with the speeches of this Buddhist monk.
Though Soma Thera was once seen as a nuisance and an obstacle to people who worked against Buddhism, the truth revealed by the tributes paid to him by hundreds of thousands of people at home and abroad proved that the path he chose was the right one.
The primary hope of Soma Thera was to see a righteous society that protects the ‘Five Precepts’ taught in Buddhism. The people’s aspirations that arose at the time of his passing away bear witness to the fact that the many religious services that he performed were of great help to mankind. To make those expectations come into fruition, we should reach that path with understanding and respect Him.

Another individual who has so much good to tell about Soma Thera is Sarath Imbulamurei, Secretary/Chairman Gangodawila Soma Thera Memorial Foundation.
When Soma Thera was gaining fame he was accused of traditionalism, but he rubbished these claims. Not limiting his work to charity, seela, and meditation, he created a group comprising wise youth at the Dharmayatanaya, Maharagama. He taught them Buddhist practices in a new manner to help them realise the futility of actions like worshiping Gods for various types of gains. He ignored unacceptable criticisms and built up spiritual strength by isolating himself.
Soma Thera attacked the low and submissive nature of the Sinhalese Buddhists who were immersed in Hindu and missionary theism.
“Although one is a Buddhist by birth” he affirmed “there is no result if the person does not guide his actions accordingly. Thus he created a new Buddhist tradition that gives place to intelligence rather than devotion. He became an indispensable character for newspapers and televisions. The Dhamma answers given to people’s everyday questions through Dhamma discussions were close to people’s hearts. He trained people to listen to sermons continuously for about three hours in a country where people who didn’t listen to sermons for not more than half an hour. Soma Thera’s sermons were interesting enough to listen to for the young generation, who till then only had the habit of gathering around the television just to watch cricket and Hindi movies.
He boldly stated that politicians and party politics were directly responsible for the fate of Sri Lanka; a Buddhist country with a rich history of more than 2500 years. While the country’s main sources of income, economic, education and social plans had been prepared based on the five vices, he emphasised that this destructive political solution should be stopped. He said, “ A country cannot be built by sermons alone when the country’s leaders and ministers systematically sow immorality”.
Soma Thera’s efforts to prevent youth from getting hooked on alcohol and cigarettes were remarkable. Once a hoarding displaying a young woman in a half naked dress seated on a bonnet of a car holding a cigarette was put up in front of a leading clothing shop. Soma Thera showed this picture on a TV and said “this picture promotes undressing than dressing.” It was an indirect promotion luring youth to smoking. Soma Thera’s actions proved much stronger than those who are engaged in tobacco prevention; the priest’s actions resulted in the shop owner apologising to the Thera and removing the hoarding the next day.

It was through the Daily Mirror that he continuously expressed his farseeing thoughts about negative effects of an unrighteous system of rule. The then Deputy Editor of the Daily Mirror Keith Noyahr, is not a Buddhist, but the support that he extended to spread Soma Hamuduruwo’s valuable thoughts was immense and extraordinary.
Soma Thera was very much vigilant on attempts to convert Buddhists to other religions.
He enlightened Buddhists as to how they could be victims of such strategies. He undertook this task tirelessly until his demise. This writer could arrange several media programs for him to enlighten the public about the shrewd tactics of such hypocrites who wanted to destroy Buddhism by converting Buddhists to other religions.
Soma Thera provided all these services out of great kindness and compassion towards Buddhism, Buddhists and the Sinhala race. For the last twenty years, since his demise, there has been no person to replace him or his work.