GAYA – For the first time in nearly two decades, Buddha Purnima, the most important event of the Buddhist calendar symbolizing the holy triple coincidence of same summer full moon day birth, enlightenment and salvation passed off without any protest and slogan shouting by the neo Buddhists demanding total control over Bodh Gaya shrine strengthening the impression that the movement for 'liberation' of the Mahabodhi shrine has considerably fizzled out.
The Buddha image in the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya.
From swamiji1.wordpress.com
On one occasion, the neo Buddhists, even entrenched themselves inside the shrine occupying the temple sanctum refusing to move out till their demand for shrine hand over was met. Panicky officials had to work hard to persuade the agitators to leave the shrine in the name of Buddha and his teachings.
Mahabodhi Temple stupa. From www.allposters.com
According to Bodh Gaya researcher Rajiv Kumar, the movement became half dead the day Surai Sasai, the monk having Japanese origins joined the Temple Management Committee under the same 1949 Act, whose repeal was the focal point of the neo-Buddhist movement. Sasai's decision to join the 'Hindu-dominated committee' also created fissures within the movement with Bhadant Anand distancing himself from Sasai. This was the biggest tactical mistake committed by the movement leadership.
Another reason, according to Kumar, was that the movement did not have a local support base and agitationists had to be brought from Nagpur in train loads. Any movement with no or little local support cannot have a long life. Moreover, with Sasai joining the establishment, funding of the movement too became a problem. Sasai, it may be recalled, renounced his Japanese citizenship to preach Buddhism in the land of its birth (India).
Bhadant Anand, general secretary of the All India Monks Association fighting for Buddhist control over the shrine, told TOI on Monday that the movement was not fizzling out. It was very much alive, claimed Anand. Asked about the conspicuous absence of the movement leaders and followers on the all important Buddha Purnima occasion, Bhadant Anand said it was a legal battle now as the SC was seized with the shrine management issue.
Earlier, former governor RS Gavai and Acharya Kishore Kunal, chairman of Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts, jointly worked out a formula for the final resolution of the issue. The Gavai-Kunal formula envisaged altering of the shrine management committee to make it Buddhist majority and reduce Hindu participation in the shrine management to minority. The formula also favoured making the post of shrine chairmanship faith neutral against the existing arrangement under which only the Hindu DM of Gaya can be the committee chairperson. Gavai's transfer grounded the formula implementation.