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by Rohan L. Jayetilleke

Reference Ms Padma Edirisinghe's feature 'National resurgence via English education' (Daily News April 3, 2003). Her assertion, "Colonel Olcott by this time had already founded the Theosophical Society with the noble objective of counteracting the activities of European imperialists, who like bulls in the China shop were going on destroying all that was Eastern under the misguided notion that only the European culture should pervade the whole world" is totally imaginative and not based on verifiable historical evidence and also on the observations of Col. Olcott recorded in his diary notes. There is a wrong notion pervading the corridors of time in Sri Lanka, Col. Olcott was a Buddhist wedded to the establishment of Buddhist education in Sri Lanka. As recently said by Dr. K. D. J. Wimalaratne, the Director of the National Archives of Sri Lanka in a public lecture: 'Olcott was only a Theosophist', and nothing less or more.

Col. Olcott's objective of founding the Theosophical Society was to inaugurate a 'universal religion' absorbing meaningful tenants of all religions. In this quest he tried to groom, the Indian Brahamin Cheddi Krishanamoorthy to be the icon of the new order he was envisaging. That too failed miserably.

At the end of Olcott's presidential address to the fourth anniversary of the Theosophical Society (first to be held in India) on 17 November, 1879, he observed: "There is one regret that comes to mar the pleasure of this evening, and somewhat dim, the lustre of all these lamps - our Buddhist brothers of Ceylon are absent" (A Collection of Lectures... delivered in India and Ceylon (Madras 1883 -p. 25).

In order to meet with this requirement according to Olcott, the founders of the Theosophical Society, Colonel Henry Steele Olcott (a lawyer by training and a colonel during the American Civil War) and Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, arrived in Ceylon on May 17, 1880 accompanied by an English Theosophist Edward Wimbridge and five Indian delegates (three Hindus and two Parsees) from the Bombay branch of the Theosophical Society. (H. S. Olcott, 'Old Diary Leaves', 11 (1878-83), 1910 (Madras 1928) pp. 151 et seq.). Olcott who led the Theosophists delegation had not even an iota of an idea, at the time of their arrival, of the role that the Sinhala Buddhists would assign him to or of the role he himself had to play in the re-stabilisation of Buddhism, especially in the littoral, that had come under European influence as from 1505.

Olcott had established contact with Venerable Mohottivatte Gunananda Thera and Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, who had been spearheading Buddhist revival, even before the headquarters of the Theosophical Society was transferred in May 1879 to India from New York. One of the lay supporters of Mohottivatte, John Robert de Silva, was the first Sinhala person to become a 'Fellow' of the Theosophical Society while the headquarters were still in New York (ibid pp. 156-57). When the Society's journal was commenced in July 1879, on the invitation of Olcott, Hikkaduwe and Mohottivatte contributed articles to it and de Silva became the agent in Ceylon.

The objective of the visit of Olcott, he elaborated in the lecture on Theosophy and Buddhism, delivered at Vidyodaya Pirivena about a fortnight after his arrival in Ceylon. He said, "So much for the history of our Society and its principles. Let me now tell you why this delegation has come to Ceylon. While investigations of other religions had been afoot, and learned Hindus and Parsees had begun to assist us, we had made no proper alliance with Buddhists. We felt how great an anomaly this was, for to conduct a Theosophical Society without counting in the Buddhists would be the height of absurdity... Our Society had long been in correspondence with the High Priest Hikkaduwe Sumangala and others, but nothing could be done without organisation and system. We felt... that a branch society must be formed in Ceylon, which should embrace all the scholarship and practical ability among the priests and the laity... And so, after taking everything into account and leaving our business in India, we sailed to Ceylon, and here we are" (Ibid pp 34 and 230).

Olcott never ceased to remind his audience that Theosophy movement had no connection with any particular religion and a week after their arrival in Ceylon at Galle, Olcott, Blsvatsky and the Hindu delegate Damodar K. Mavalankara, as an expedient or a means to end to propagate Theosophy amongst Buddhists embraced Buddhism by reciting the Three Refugees and the Five precepts. (Old Diary Leavesll, pp 167-168 and 371. However, the Buddhists not interested in occultism of Theosophy, received Olcott and his delegates as Western champions of Buddhism and in their tour of the island they were warmly welcomed. A week prior to the completion of the two-month triumphant tour Olcott observed at a gathering of bhikkhus, "You all know the circumstances under which our party of Theosophists visited Ceylon, how we came as private persons, expecting to travel as such, and quietly organise the Buddhist branch of our Society; and how people prevented this by catching us up, as it were, in their arms, and, with one glad shout of welcome that ran from end to end of the island, hailing us as champions of their faith." (Address dated July 4, 1880 printed in The Buddhist of June 1890).

Olcott a year and half later in his presidential address to the sixth anniversary of the Theosophical Society, observed, "During our visit of 1880, the Sinhalese people enmasse gave us princely reception... Triumphal arches, flags flying in every town, village and hamlet; roads lined with olla fringes for miles together; monster audiences gathered together to hear and see us - these evidences of exuberant joy and warm affection astounded us. In India we had been reviled by Christians, so frowned upon by authorities... and so given the cold shoulder by the natives, to stay with whom and work for whose welfare we had come so far, that this greeting of the Sinhalese profoundly moved us to gratitude. We felt a sincere desire to go something, even if only a little, to show them that we were not insensible to such kindness" (Olcott, A Collection of Lectures, p. 121).

In fact, the Buddhists felt that he was their redeemer and sent him as their representative to Colonial Office, to seek redress to the atrocious behaviour of British rulers to undermine Sinhala Buddhist culture. Olcott was issued with a testimonial as regards his representation to the British authorities dated 12th day of the waxing moon January-February in the year B.E.2427 (1183) signed by the following Senior Theros of the Siyam and Amarapura Sects of Ceylon. (Sumangala Nayaka Thero, Sri Sumangala Thero, Dhammalankara Nayaka Thero, Subhuti Thero, Amaramoli Thero, Gunaratana Thero and Dewamitta Thero) (Old Diary Leaves 111, p. 118).

Olcott, during his first visit in 1880, founded two main branches of the Theosophical Society, A Buddhist branch and a non-Buddhist branch.

The non-Buddhist branch or scientific branch which was called the Lanka Theosophical Society, was identified at its inception as 'composed of Freethinkers and amateurs of occult research' (Olcott old Diary Leaves 11, p. 189). This Society had a still-birth, as Sinhala Buddhists and the Maha Sangha were not interested in occultism, which was in conflict with the basic tenets of Buddhism. The Buddhist branch of the Theosophical Society, identified as Buddhist Theosophical Society (BTS) had two divisions within it; a lay division with local sub-divisions and a composite clerical division.

The clerical division was headed by Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Maha Thera, who was also head of the Vidyodaya Pirivena and had members from all the fraternities (Nikayas) in Sri Lanka. The BTS funded Anglo-vernacular schools and also resulted in the absorption of Buddhist laity to revive Buddhism and Buddhist system of education. The leading laymen were Don Andiris Perera; his son, Don Simon Perera; and son-in-law H. Don Carolis, father of Anagarika Dharmapala, Iddamalgoda of Ratnapura, scholar Edmund Roland Gooneratne of Galle, T. B. Panabokke of Kandy, Don Philip de Silva Epa Appuhamy, Don Velon Wikrematilaka, and they (Don Philip de Silva Epa Appuhamy and Don Velon Wickrematillake in the Lakminipahana of 14 December 1864) published an appeal to Sinhala Buddhist to help raise a capital fund of Sterling Pounds 10,000 to set up Vidyodaya Oriental College (Pirivena) under the management of the Vidyadhara Sabha and the Pirivena was established in 1873 under the principalship of Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Maha Thera.

Buddhist education

In Sri Lanka the prophets of the soil are never honoured. In the field of education, the first to re-establish monastic education (Pirivena system) after same was destabilised by European powers since 1505, was Venerable Velivita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja, who set up the first post 1505 Pirivena at Niyamakande, (Embekke, Udunuwara) to train samaneras to be qualified for higher ordination and revitalise Buddhist Pali and Sinhala scriptural studies and finally with the arrival of a Siamese Chapter of highly ordained (upasampada) monks under Siamese Prelate Phra Upali and established the Siamese Sect of Sri Lanka, with the two Chapters Malwatte and Asgiriya Maha Viharas, with Simas (consecrated griunds) at these two viharas and in other Viharas of the island and retrieved Buddhism from the lowest ebb to which it had fallen. This year is the 250th anniversary of Siamese Sect of Sri Lanka, which was established on the Esala Poya day (July/August) 1753.

By the time Olcott arrived in Sri Lanka, Buddhist revival and re-establishment of Buddhist schools had commenced. Being one from Galle I can confess it was not Olcott who organised Galle's Mahinda College but late Muhandiram Amarasuriya of Unawatuna, who had a school's management society called Amarasuriya Buddhist Schools Society, of which the collegiate school was Mahinda College and around 70 Sinhala Buddhist schools and later the next collegiate school Vidyaloka Vidyalaya, Galle. As my mother was a leading educationist of Galle, I am well versed in the educational system of Galle. It was also at Dodanduwa the first Buddhist Anglo-vernacular girls' school, Yasodhara Gehenu Patashalawa, was founded.

(The writer is a retired senior government official and a free-lance writer on Buddhist heritage over five decades).

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