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| Friday, 28 January 2005 |
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Scholar of rare calibre Palingu Maga (Crystal Path)
Within the small number of pages it attempts to give the reader some idea of the person and his contribution to many fields in which he had taken an interest. Prof. Amarasinghe's role as a scholar, historian, archaeologist, patriot, poet, well-known jurist, critic in many areas has displayed his competence. He has earned three Ph. D's in three different areas. Though he is a devoted Catholic he has got a thorough knowledge of Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy and spends time to clarify some issues important in the history of Sri Lankan Buddhism. One of his such researches is into the life and contribution of Ven. Sitinamaluwe Dhammajoti Mahathera. In spite of this Elder's contribution to Buddhism in that period, much of his life was not known not even his lay name! Prof. Amarasinghe's research has revealed much of relevant details. Prof. Minivan P. Tilakaratna of University of Kelaniya has appreciated this work. Then again he has come out with new theories and thereby solved the controversies. There was a belief among people in Sri Lanka that it was Ven. Totagamuwe Sri Rahula's dead body that is introduced as St. Francis Xavier of Goa. Prof. Amarasinghe solved the problem by proving Ven. Rahula's dead body was cremated. Then again he was able to show when infant Jesus was born the Sri Lankan King Bhatiya was there to pay respect to him. With regard to classical Sinhala there is a big controversy regarding the authorship of "Kavsilumina". On the basis of his study he came with a theory that it was Kassapa V. With regard to the "Selalihini Sandesaya" he thinks that it was written not by Ven. Totagamuwe Sri Rahula but one of his disciples Ven. Sumangala. The "Gira Sandesaya" according to him also was written by him. The popular belief that Asokamala was a candala (outcaste) girl he rejects. With regard to some obscure words which have baffled the students he has been able to suggest possible meanings. Several prominent personalities have assessed his work. Prof. Senarat Paranavitana has in fact in one of his letters in 1972 says the following: ".. I would like to recommend and certify with pleasure that this young learned gentleman who possesses a knowledge immeasurable by current standards of examination is quite suitable for the Archaeological department or for any other government institution for that matter in connection with scholastic service particularly that of research." Prof. T. B. H. Abeyasinghe of Colombo University says that he would "Make a lasting contribution to studies on the history and classical literature." Archbishop Rt. Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Cardinal Cooray also has expressed his evaluation about his scholarship. He has approached grammar in a philosophical way. This is a trend that we come across as a modern trend in Western philosophy. This we see among philosophers like Ludwig Wittgenstein. His forth-coming publication "Sinhala Pali Dhatu Manjusa" will be an interesting contribution to Sinhala and Pali. It is edifying to find that Prof. Amarasinghe is a good Catholic coming from a devoted Catholic family maintaing good relationship with Buddhists. Here one is reminded of an advice given by Emperor Asoka of India. It runs as follows: "One should not honour only one's own religion and condemn the religion of others, but one should honour others' religions for this or that reason. In so doing one helps one's own religion to grow and renders service to the religions of others too. In acting otherwise one digs the grave of one's own religion and also does harm to other religions. Whosoever honours his own religion and condemns other religions, does so indeed through devotion to his own religion, thinking, 'I will glorify my own religion.' But on the contrary in so doing he injures his own religion. So concord is good. Let all listen, and be willing to listen to the doctrines professed by others.' Prof. Amarasinghe appears to be a Catholic following this piece of advice. In addition to all these he has very wisely planned two projects, which would lead to the development of knowledge. One is the establishment of the Dharmapala Olcott Memorial International Research Foundation. Among other things what is done here is they select suitable recipients who have done a considerable service to their respective fields and honour them by conferring degrees as a mark of acknowledgment. This is important as it draws the attention of the public to those who have done a big service to society. The other one is the establishment of Knowledge Resource Bank. This is the first of its kind. This provides facilities for those who are keen on gathering knowledge. For these two projects he deserves utmost praise from everyone. The volume carries a valuable study by him on a topic having contemporary relevance: A Legal Analysis on Forcible Conversion which must be read by those interested in the problem. On reading the account of his activities one is reminded of an ancient Sanskrit saying that the scholar is honoured everywhere. Its truth has been proved once again. But there is another saying which says an individual could be an expert only on one field. This with the evidence of his contributions Prof. Amarasinghe has disproved. - Dr. Senarat Wijayasundara, *************** A legacy to posterity A time-bound cavalcade of contemporary issues The entire set of seventy-two articles that constitutes this volume is a reproduction of all the editorials that were originally written by Fr. Oswald B. Firth OMI, the then Director of the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) for the Social Justice, the monthly English journal published by the CSR, in his ex-officio capacity as its Editor, which were all written between May 1995 and January 2003. This set of editorials approximates to a sort of an ongoing commentary of the kaleidoscopic train of events of much societal significance that took place during that particular period. The present set of editorials under review has dwelt on a host of separate, though sometimes inter-related, issues of contemporary significance which were an authentic reflection of and also a response to a wide gamut of issues, whose range and variety bear testimony to the highly problematic nature of the Sri Lankan polity that had by then assumed volatile proportions. That they were essentially intended to be, wherever possible, problem-solving in character is demonstrated by the fact that in almost all the concluding paragraphs of these editorials there was a search for solutions to the problems that had been posed by the Editor himself. In this regard, he has succeeded, more often than not, by coming out with pragmatic, down-to-earth answers that are worthy of note even by the relevant authorities. Also, these editorials have had the penchant to be forthright to the point of being forceful enough to make the readers sit up and take note of their contents in an attempt to disturb their conscience by shaking off their smug complacency, if they had any. As was once remarked by Rt. Rev. Bishop Frank Marcus Fernando of the Chilaw Diocese with reference to the role of Social Justice on the occasion of the publication of its 100th issue, the present set of editorials too is not "a collection of lullabies, platitudes and stereotypes that lulled people to sleep. (They) have been an alarm that went off at unexpected moments disturbing the slumber of quite a few". Moreover, the punch, panache and pungency that often enlivened the columns of his editorials had an elan that engrossed the attention of their readers who often looked forward to absorb their contents avidly. Also, his marshalling of relevant factual data and subjecting them to objective social analysis brought about a maturity of outlook and an evenhandedness that enhanced the image of Social Justice. Another characteristic feature of these editorials was their two-pronged thrust - one that had an appeal to the intellect of the readers through a well-defined, cogently couched line of logical arguments and the other that evoked a response with emotive overtones that had the capacity to motivate them to take a firm stand on matters that deserved such resoluteness. From an overall point-of view, the conceptual underpinning of this entire set of editorials was based on the norms of social justice that formed the quintessence of the credo of the CSR since its inception. Motivationally, there was an underlying urgency to embark on a process of consciousness-raising aimed at rectifying the iniquitous character of the socio-economic (dis) order of our society. Ideologically, this set of editorials seems to have an imperceptible yearning for the possible emergence of an alternate society that is suffused with egalitarian values of sharing and caring towards which the editor of Social Justice and its publisher, the Centre for Society and Religion, have consistently striven as an integral part of their committed vision and mission. Although this volume is titled "A Time-Bound Cavalcade of Contemporary Issues," the significance and topicality of this set of 72 editorials in it cannot be encased within the narrow confines of the 92 month period during which they were first written, which therefore cannot necessarily be 'time-bound'. As such, their relevance could be extended to provide valuable source material on matters of contemporary interest not only to present-day scholars and researchers but also to those who at some future date as well would want to glean from them the fluctuating fortunes of a beleaguered nation. To that extent, this set of editorials would have served a valuable purpose as legacy to posterity by its author. |
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Produced by Lake House |
This is a felicitation volume issued in appreciation of the
contribution made by Prof. Risiman Amarasinghe. It is edited by Prof. Rev.
Fr. D. Shelton Perera and Ven. Dr. Sitinamaluwe Sudhamma Mahathera.
