Piety in Sri Lanka seems only for show. Rarely are gifts given anonymously. A donation be it publicly shown or anonymously given is still one of great merit, especially if this can enhance the quality of life of another living being. In my opinion it is more meritorious if it does not involve any show. After all if one believes in a supreme being it is he only who needs to know what you do, how you live and what you think and your reasons for helping one less fortunate. So no show is needed.
In politics, there is a need to be seen DONATING. Often it is for personal publicity. We see individuals who make it a habit to have each donation publicized in the press so many people can see. One such person is today apparently under investigation, as to the sources of his donations, to ascertain if there is some illicit source or unsavory one that is providing the funds. The state maintains that all such giving even if they are charitable, the sources of the funds must be disclosed, and to whom they are distributed. This giver has vehemently refused to provide accounts, saying that he receives funds from private well wishers and he distributes the self same funds to those we see in the papers, nothing more nothing less!!
Whilst that may be true, when a person in the public eye does this, transparency is called for even though the Govt. which is demanding this, is in an even worse situation and uses ill gotten gains, such as wholesale daylight robbery to give the proverbial 10% of illicit earnings as donations, to salve their conscience.
Such is the nature of giving and receiving, and I would hazard a guess that a lot of money that is given to temples in Sri Lanka are ill gotten gains, looking for some merit in the afterlife! And not really some earned income that is given for charitable purposes. I am not sufficiently well versed in philosophy to define this type of giving, though I will not fault the recipients for taking the funds, as they are none the wiser in knowing the sources of these funds, especially when they are given by highly influential people and some who are very wealthy.
We have a huge governance issue, as I have heard that LTTE funds have now been purloined by some Govt. highups and not handed over to the state as they should. Some of this money is finding its way to temples. Just imagine, extortion money from Diaspora, helping to build a Chaithya in some temple. My blood curdles at the thought. Anyway this is the result of our society failing to question, and taking at face value, that many people who are crooks get respect in our society as they are seen to be giving large sums to worthy causes. This happens the world over too
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