Miracle phenomenon of nature of what?

by Wilkin D. Abeygunawardena

It was the last week of September, 1960. A holiday had been declared the following day in commemoration of Mr. Bandaranaike's tragic death. With an additional day in between a long weekend was in the offing. Ruminating as to whether there was nothing else on the cards but long sessions of bridge to fill the vacation, I dozed off to a peaceful afternoon siesta. It was rudely shaken with someone bawling in my ear 'Wilkin, get up you lazy lubber'. As I slowly opened my eye in a semi conscious state my bosom pal Robert Weerasiri stood there watching my reluctance to get up, as ordered. He yanked me out of bed shouting 'we have to go, no time to lose'. I saw two other buddies of mine Walter Cabral and W. P. N. de Silva who had made themselves comfortable on my bed, half pushing me out of it. I asked timidly 'where we are going?' 'Never mind where, just pack a bag.'

These irritating liberties piled on upon an innocent man who loves his peaceful nap, which conduct with different persons would find suitable reactions, become a confirmation of camaraderie among close friends, and the only possible response was to grin and bear. So I grinned and bore.

A few minutes later, bidding my mother farewell with a feinted strict admonition not to wait for me till I come back she had an annoying habit waiting late without dinner for my return making me feel heartless and guilty - we were off. W.P.N. had recently been appointed a judge and acquired a gleaming new car and Walter was at the wheel. On the way W. P. N. disclosed that our trip was to Mahiyangana to christen the car.

We reached Haputale by twilight and put up at the old R.H costing a mere Rs. 25 per head. Early morning we started off and reached Mahiyangana by 9.30 a.m. In those days there was no milk white cetiya, no pinnacle at Mahiyangana like what we see now. There was a vast sandy plain and at its farther edge stood this huge mound in its pristine state. Trees with gnarled roots and bushes had grown on its hoary body over the centuries. The mound was huge and awe-inspiring and one could see that no human hand had touched it for thousands of years.

In my minds eye a colossus, a statue, in stone of an old man with flowing grissly bear and wrinkled body lines, seated beside the mound would have blended man and nature in this scene so serene. On the far side of the mound (which must have been the original cetiya) was primeval forest, home of the Veddah. Not a soul was to be seen. Only earth and nature and stunning silence in peaceful harmony.

All of a sudden I heard Robert shouting 'Wilkin, Wilkin look up'. I raised my eyes to Wilkin I saw a big orb of gold. It had appeared vertically above the centre of the mound far up in the sky, glittering and glowing in indescribable beauty, on the periphery of this golden orb were segment upon segment of colours purple and blue, red and green shimmering in rolls against the background of the pale blue sky.

As we gazed entranced by this wonderous spectacle the crimson merged into the blue, all glowing in new brilliance. So it stood for quite a long time. Then the blue started merging into the green and shimmering as before in a new emerald glow, the other segments of colours moving to the periphery. Colour changes in outer bands were simultaneously taking place, crimson, chrysoprase and sapphire. In the center it was as if golden mist was pouring out in rolls emanating from some invisible fount. In the circlet of the central orb special brilliance constantly glowed, lighting the circlet as if by a hidden ray piercing the centre. But we did not see any rays.

The whole vault of the sky from horizon to horizon was a pale blue with not a single cloud. But after about half an hour, a lone cloud came sailing by and passed below the phenomenon of colours lighting up each segment with a new iridescent radiance. For long we watched this dance of colours.

As the physical failing of pain in the neck was getting the better of me, I cricked my head back to the horizontal and after some vigorous nodding rested my head at eye level and contemplated the serene stillness around us.

May be fifteen minutes passed before I looked upward again. Lo and Behold! The orb of gold directly above the dagaba had turned into dazzling sapphire and the gold had become a band about the now central sapphire blue.

The emerald, the chrysoprase, the crimson and the royal purple too, had moved into outer segments but far less marked that the central glowing sapphire. It was the hidden ray piercing the centre of the orb that was so enchantingly attracting. So it was for a long time.

Almost imperceptibly the central orb turned from sapphire to emerald and the glow and glitter held for a long time in the emerald green. Long we watched this wonderous spectacle.

About two hours had now gone by and the sun which was only half way up the sky when we came was now nearing the zenith. The phenomenon was beginning to fade and we fell to discussing. Robert, true to the injunction to the Kalamas to analyse and investigate from all angles before accepting things at face value proffered the suggestion whether it could not be a refraction of the light ray. I countered that the phenomenon continued at the same spot, that is vertically above the middle of the dagaba for about two hours, while the sun's rays had moved about fifteen degrees in the hemisphere: Secondly, there was no pinnacle, no jewel, nor crystal to refract the sun's ray - only a bare huge mound of earth. I also questioned why it appeared only directly above this mound and nowhere else in the whole wide world.

Many years later on a trip to Nuwara Eliya when thick fleecy mist was welling up from the vast valleys and gorges on to the road I instantly recalled those colours pouring out in rolls in Mahiyangana but here the mist was only snow white. As we slowly wended our way to the vehicle, we met the secretary of our District Court with his family whom we urged to hurry up and see this spectacle although now fading, but he told us later that he was too late.

The ancient book says that when God Sumana Saman (Kings were also given the appellation of "god" and he could well have been the king of the region) requested the Buddha for relief, the Buddha lightly ran his palm over his hair and presented Sumana Saman with the loosened lock which instantly emanated Buddha light there from. I set down this episode which I have related above at the insistent urging of my friend. D. H. Suraweera who adverted to the fact that the Rajavalliya records similar happenings at

Mahiyangana a millennium ago. About two decades after our experience I read an article in the newspapers that a similar phenomenon had appeared in Japan, a country where Buddha relics also reside. Our experience coincides with the 2500th year of the events in the Buddha's life.

On a later trip to Mahiyangana we asked the old priest there about any such happenings. He told us frankly that he had never witnessed a similar sight, but that once some upasikas had come rushing to him early morning and reported the Buddha light emanating, but he too was too late.

I record this episode because of the four of us present on that day, only Robert and I (both octogenarians) are living to tell the tale, Walter and W. P. N. having passed their span. I would like to know from others who may have had similar visual experiences at Mahiyangana or elsewhere and from historians and scientists more details recorded or what they have to state, I have heard of such happenings occurring at Anuradhapura when the crystal on the pinnacle was set, but they were momentary flashes but explicable otherwise.

I have also witnessed another rare phenomenon of nature - the full circle of a rainbow from Belihul Oya when the upper semi-circle was visible against the background of the sky and the lower half in the vast gorge of the Samanala Wewa valley below. This however, has no religious connection.