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Shabd–Braham Shabd Braham E ISSN 2320 – 0871 International Research Journal of Indian languages 17 December 2019 Peer Reviewed Refereed Research Journal Anagarika Dharmapala: The Early Revivalist of Modern India Poonam Bhartiya (Researcher) Gautam Buddha University Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India Abstract “Anagarika Dharmapala was a prominent Buddhist revivalist of modern India. He was born in Sri Lanka and completed his life journey in India as a Buddhist monk and activist. He was influenced with Theravada movement in Ceylon and joined Theosophical Society. He read to Edwin Arnold’s ‘Light of Asia’ and decided to go to Bodh Gaya. When he saw the ruined condition of Buddhist sites at then he had to decide to revive Buddhist sites. He established Maha Bodhi Society as the main official institution of Buddhists. He collected resources and support for the Bodh Gaya temple and to encourage different Asian countries to make a representation of Buddhists. He traveled to different places of India to aware people about Buddhism and also to help poor villagers. In this paper I used historical research methodology which is based on collection of data from secondary sources. Keywords - Theosophicals, Mahabodhi Society, Maha Bodhi temple, Renewal of Indian Buddhist places. Introduction After the foundation of Theosophical Society Anagarika Dharmapala was born at 17th in New York in 1875, H. S. Olcott and H. P. September, 1864 in Ceylon or Sri Lanka. He Blavatsky they were embraced in Buddhism was the hero of Sinhalese Buddhists in May, 1880 in Galle. Anagarika movement. His childhood name was Don Dharmapala became Theosophist at early David Hewavitarne. His name Dharmapala age and very much influenced with Mime. means the ‘Protector of the Dhamma’ or Blavatsky. After some time Dharmapala ‘Defender of the Faith’ and ‘Anagarika came to Adyar (Madras) with the intention of means ‘the innovation’; in Pali it means studying of Occultism, and then Meme. ‘homeless’. Dharmapala was a real Blavatsky motivated him to study of Pali for Bodhisattva of modern period. His ancestors the good of humanity, and she gave him her 2 were belongs to Gogama1 community. He blessings . He returned to Colombo and was influenced by the struggle of Sri Lankan began faithfully carrying out his oath and Buddhists with those rules which were after some time he leaves his home to created by British government for superiority become a Brahmachari. of Christianity in all over the island. The Journey to revival of Buddhism people of Ceylon were afraid to show Anagarika Dharmapala took oath for re- themselves as Buddhist due to European establishing and promoting Buddhism as a imperialism dictatorship. In Ceylon Buddhist world religion. The question of Maha Bodhi reform of Theravada tradition was started in Temple was a religious matter and the 19th century. Lots of Buddhists from different British Indian government was always countries undertook Buddhist education in avoiding such kind of issues after mutiny of Sri Lanka and devoted their life to promoting 1857. Dharmapala was very much concern Buddhist revival movement. He traveled and about imperialistic thoughts and their worked for Buddhism and spends his life as intentions. So he wanted to collect sympathy homeless wanderer and finally took and attention of World on this matter. He Pabbajja or lower ordination at 13th July also wanted to secure financially for legal 1931 from Ven. Boruggamuwe Rewatha issues. He wanted to unite Buddhist world Thero and received the name Bhikkhu as for revival of most sacred place of Buddhists Devamitta Dhammapala. at Bodhgaya. He conducted his journey to Japan, Koria, China were with the objectives This paper is published online at www.shabdbraham.com in Vol 7, Issue 2 21 Shabd Braham E ISSN 2320 – 0871 International Research Journal of Indian languages 17 December 2019 Peer Reviewed Refereed Research Journal of collection of finance and support for Dhamma and revival of Bodhgaya temple6. Bodhgaya temple and other Buddhist sacred He also has a problem that he did not want sites. to be a sectarian and Japanese Buddhism America and European countries divided in to particular eight sects. So he Anagarika Dharmapala visited America to have faced quite difficulty. During his last participate World Religious Congress as a visit to Japan he called for delivering lecture representative of Buddhists. He returned to on Anti-Westernization. He was master on Colombo via Europe. He also went to that. After this he became famous in Japan. London and met to Edwin Arnold and His last visit to Japan in 1913 was less established Pali Text Society in London. influenced with religious aspect but for 7 Japan society oppressed by colonial power . He traveled to Japan and appreciated great Japanese author Kazushige Yamakawa 8 diversity of Japanese Buddhism and self presents detail account of his visit to Japan . developing nature of Japan as a model of Revival of Buddhism in India Asian civilization. The objective was to take In 1887 Anagarika read articles written by his attention toward Bodhgaya matter. His Edwin Arnold which were published in visit to japan in different years (1889, 1893, Telegraph newspaper of London, explain 1902 and 1913) has systematic objectives about the miserable condition of Maha Bodhi and challenges also. Richard Jaffe gives Shrine. He also read ‘The Light of Asia detail description of Japanese who traveled (1889)’ written by Edwin Arnold on Buddha’s during this period and by the efforts of life as an epic poem. It was translated into Anagarika Dharmapala3. In 1889 he visited Japanese with the name ‘The Sun Rises’ or 9 to Japan with Theophist C. Olcott as a ‘Sun Rises comes’ also . He had decided to Theosophist but in this journey he was go to Bodhgaya. Anagarika Dharmapala’s hospitalized and could not do anything. family followed Buddhism very intensely and During his second visit (1893) he tried to he found the same seeds. His visit to raise fund traveled by train one place to America and meet with Mme. Marry Foster another place in Japan delivered lectures in Honolulu. The meeting was very and meetings to peoples. He wanted to rewarding. He found a big fund (10 lacks) for spread awareness of sacred Buddhists revival of Buddhism because he helped her Places in India and their poor conditions. He husband to go out from depression by the tried again and again and also take a treatment of Buddhist meditation. Later Bodhgaya status with him to Japan for their Anagarika Dharmapala visited Indian realization that India is not a Mythical place Buddhist place with a Japanese priest nd (as they understand) and it deserved to be Kozen Guṇaratana. On 22 January 1891, treated all Buddhist as sacred4. During his he reached at Bodhgaya. Babu visit to Japan he also criticized to different Upendranath Basu drove him over to habits of the Japanese monks. He also Sarnath, where the Lord Buddha had explained about the Japanese monks who preached his First Sermon and very took liquor. He was impressed with disappointed to see that there was no one to 10 Japanese progress and their religious preserve Buddhist sacred place . After prosperity but he frittered over the way the entering in Maha Bodhi temple he feels Japanese practiced Buddhism. He says, divine. He explains the condition of Maha “They have made Buddhism to suit their own Bodhi Temple with a lot of emotions and taste and convenience”5 takes oath to take care of sacred place. After During his third visit to Japan in 1902 He seeing of sacred site he had to decide to planned to business with in Japan and start work for revival of Buddhism and its Ceylon and urge to his father for it for sites in India. Early period he went to earning of sufficient money to propagate Calcutta and started his work here. He This paper is published online at www.shabdbraham.com in Vol 8, Issue 2 22 Shabd Braham E ISSN 2320 – 0871 International Research Journal of Indian languages 17 December 2019 Peer Reviewed Refereed Research Journal associated with Sharat Chandra Das, who institution enriching the cultural life of the was famous for his travels in Tibet, and for Banglalese and its founder justly deserved his knowledge of the language and religious the gratitude and esteem of the whole literature of that country. During this visit he province”14. Later period the Mahabodhi met to Narendra Nath Sen. Who was the Society organized a world Buddhist editor of the Indian Mirror and also a Congress at Calcutta University on 15th and Theosophist. Narendra Nath Sen was 16th January, 1949. sympathetic with Buddhism his Indian Mirror The establishment of ‘The Maha Bodhi worked as a vehicle to popularization of Society and an United Buddhist World’ and Buddhism with the concept of fusion of an English news paper in 1911 were for Hinduism and Buddhism. There was not a drawing Buddhists in to a pan-Asian large number of Buddhists in Calcutta that community linked to the supporter of time except of few Arakanese and Chinese Buddhism from European and American Buddhists. Anagarika Dharmapala delivered Countries. The Maha Bodhi Society was his first lecture at Albert Hall Calcutta titled also celebrated Buddha festivals like ‘Buddhism in its relations with Hinduism’ Dhammacakka festival or the Anniversary of under the presidency of Narendra Nath Sen. the “Turning of the Wheel of Law" at Sarnath He says that, by religion, race, traditions, on the full moon day of July. According to literature Sinhalese are the related to the Steven Kemper, “To make United Buddhist Aryans of Gangetic valley. He says that “our World he was connected with western Buddha was born in India and future Buddha civilization like British imperium, Theosophy Maitreya is expected to take birth not in and Christianity”15.
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