Inspiring life sketch of Fr. Mercelline Jayakody

Pansale Piyatuma
The Reverend Father of the Temple
Author: Somasiri Kasturiarachchi
M.D. Gunasena Publishers, Colombo 11

Review: Dr. W. G. Weeraratne

BIOGRAPHY: Somasiri Kasturiarachchi's latest illustrated biographical treatise is devoted to present a readable and inspiring life sketch of Rev. Father Mercelline Jayakody in the words of the Rev. Father himself.

Rev. Father Mercelline Jayakody who passed away in 1998 aged 96 years was a unique and versatile cultural maestro of the twentieth century in Sri Lanka. He was dearly loved and admired by cultured Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Islamites alike.

Rev. Father Jayakody inherited the age old traditional Sinhala culture from his parents. His father, Don Joseph Jayakody, was a devoted Christian and a reputed Ayurvedic physician who practised his noble trade among the village folk.

Rev. Father Jayakody tells us that his father possessed a set of age-old noble values that penetrated all human-made barriers of caste, creed, power and position, and that he himself was greatly influenced from childhood by his father's thoughts and behaviour.

His mother was a pious woman from a reputed Buddhist family in Sandalankawa, who became a convert to Christianity after her marriage.

Rev. Father Jayakody, though he received a western oriented thorough English education subsequently, was inclined to go deep into his cultural roots and heritage, being inspired by his mother and maternal grandmother, and this inspiration gave him the courage to delve deep into the life and times of Gotama Buddha.

Devotional hymns

Rev. Father Jayakody tells us that in the past, Christian devotional hymns were composed, trained and sung by alien Christian Fathers, in an alien language, to suit alien tunes, and that he ventured to compose Christian devotional hymns in Sinhala, in 1934, to suit local tunes and local tastes.

"These Sinhala hymns became so popular in no time among the local church-goers", he says, that he came to be popularly designated as the "song composing Ven. Father". His expertise to play the piano, the violin and several other musical instruments, added immensely to is great popularity as a hymn composer and superb musician.

In the present treatise Father Jayakody reminiscences that it was a precious opportunity he got, when he was invited by then Hon. Minister of Finance, who subsequently became the first Executive President of Sri Lanka, to train the group of girls from the Musaeus Buddhist girl's school in Colombo, to sing the National Anthem - "Namo namo matha," composed by the reputed poet and musician Ananda Samarakone, at the first official Independence Day celebrations held at the Independence Square in Colombo in 1948.

Rev. Father Jayakody ends this note saying that the present principal of the Musaeus girls' school, Mrs. Nita Kumari Pilapitiya (Nee. Nita Kumari Tennekone) is one of the group of girls who sang the National Anthem that day.

Punishment transfer

Father Jayakody mentions that when one avenue became obstructive to him, several new avenues became open to him and hence, in early nineteen fifties he got the opportunity of going to India, to train himself for 2 years at Shantiniketan, the world famous aesthetic studies university, set up by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

The Rev. Father adds here that when he returned to Ceylon after two years training, he was given a punishment transfer to a college in Jaffna.

His six years sojourn in Jaffna was very fruitful and happy, says Father Jayakody. During this period he had travelled about extensively in all the five islands of the Jaffna peninsula, visiting Hindu temples and Kovils and learning about the lives of the people there.

"The valuable information I gathered in my travels in the Jaffna Peninsula and the intimate knowledge I accumulated through my mingling with people from all strata of society in the Peninsula enabled me to write a series of lively articles in English to the "Times" newspaper during that period", recalls Father Jayakody. In 1956 Father Jayakody was back in Colombo as a teacher at St. Peter's College, where he taught for six years.

Music lover

Father Jayakody further reminiscences that it was during this period that Mr. Lester James Peries the reputed film artiste and director visited him and invited him to compose several songs for his forthcoming Sinhala Film 'Rekava'.

The invitation was willingly accepted by Father Jayakody and Rekava was released to the film going public with five lovely songs composed by Father Jayakody, which songs have become extremely popular with music lovers, up to date.I commend Mr. Somasiri Kasturiarachchi for compiling this short biographical treatise of Rev. Father Mercellene Jayakody, in the words of the Rev. Father himself.

I came to know Mr. Kasturiarachchi in 1999, when I was making arrangements to hold a public ceremony at the Library Services Board Auditorium to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the late Professor Emeritus G. P. Malalasekera, the Founder Editor-in-Chief of the English Medium International Encyclopaedia of Buddhism.

Mr. Kasturiarachchi told me that he possessed a large collection of rare photographs depicting Professor Malalasekera's private and public life and that he could arrange for a display of these photographs for the occasion and, that photographic display gave an additional lustre to that occasion.

Mr. Kasturiarachchi is a Sinhala Medium writer who has up to now written over thirty books that are very popular, specially among schoolchildren and teachers.

The writer is Editor-in-Chief Encyclopaedia of Buddhism

The Sage of Koggala:

Celebration of his life and creativity

From the cradle
Glimpses of Sri Lankan culture
portrayed at the Martin Wickremasinghe Museum of folk cult ure
Photography - Sarath Perera
Design and layout - Somachandra Peiris
Text - D.C. Ranatunga
Published by The Martin Wickremasinghe Trust

Review: Mallika Wanigasundara

It is an exciting and fascinating volume on the Koggala museum of folk culture, which also epitomises the life, work and times of Sri Lanka's most remarkable and perceptive creative genius Martin Wickremasinghe. Lovingly he assembled the nucleus of this collection and what it stands for must gently sink into you.

The rich variety of artifacts, household objects and other items throw enchanting glimpses of a cultural kaleidoscope in which is embedded Martin Wickremasinghe's great affection, belongingness to the village of Koggala, and identification with that culture, and heritage now past. There is an all-pervasive nostalgia which many of us of an older generation must feel and wish the readily imitative younger generation would appreciate.

D.C. Ranatunge's simple, flowing text weaves, in and out of Wicramasinghe's books Gamperaliya, Madol Duwa etc. and materials in the museum depicting the lifestyle and value system in an era so tranquil, so spacious and gracious in its love of beautiful things - which are now commercially and unemotionally mass produced.

The museum houses many of the elements of that lifestyle and the volume pictures the way life went on.

Rice the staple food and the paraphernalia that was used for its cultivation and its preparation; the farmers who produced the rice; the fishermen who grappled with the nets; the unique decorative art that embellished the commonest of household goods and utility items and constructions even like the 'ambalama', the wayside resting place - the giraya [nutcracker], the heppuwa [betel tray], the oil lamps the pettagamma [a large wooden box] ; the jewellery box, the teepoy.

All these and the beautiful wood carvings bear witness to the highly developed skills and craftsmanship of the workers in wood, metal and clay. Not least the production of masks, drums, temple paintings and murals, Buddhist images, puppets and indigenous dancing.

Cultural heritage

Part of this cultural heritage is the ola leaf on which the Dhamma and other literary works, medicine and other disciplines of knowledge and learning were recorded preserving proof of the use of a written language from very ancient times.

The museum is eminently illustrative of the manner in which the social fabric was bound together, creating a sense of identity and discouraging social alienation. And one of the most binding factors are the delights of New Year festivities illustrated in the volume.

This is the ethos which impacted on the childhood, adulthood, life, beliefs and thinking and the creativity of this unusual mind.

So from this societal background and universal insight the great writer left for us a great wealth of his work: fact and fiction- novels and short stories, anthropology, biology, evolution, comparative religion, linguistics, Buddhist literature, philosophy, children's stories, literary criticism, poetry, history, travel, etc.

The folk culture he described so clearly and vividly in his literature recreates another kind of life, something of which is depicted in the folk museum so dear to his heart. The volume gives you glimpses of the charming village of Koggala washed by the sea and touched by the lake.

Pictured is the core of that lifestyle the temple, a serene refuge where human beings can seek tranquillity from the turbulence of life, even for a little while. It was and remains the linking bond between the travails of daily life and spiritualist heartland that every individual seeks.

Artistic genius

Ranatunga's text is enriched by references to Ananda Coomaraswamy and Robert Knox and their responses and appreciation of this way of life and the artisitic genius of the people.

Symbols and models depict the remarkable distinction of a highly developed civilisation, the cornerstone of which was the hydraulic technological expertise centred round the tank system and its culture. There is a model of the bisokotuwa [the valve pit] a unique mechanism which regulated the flow of water from the tank into the canals.

Buddhist artifacts, images and caskets, symbols and replicas such as that of a Bodhi tree and symbols of mythical beliefs such as the insignia of the ancient Naga clan describe the content and contours of that civilisation that gave birth to this nation.

One of the spacious halls houses the "Hall of Life" which is a collection of furniture, objects which Martin Wickremasinghe used daily, the books he read and collected, paintings and sketches, awards and other memorabilia including letters and hand-written manuscripts.

Tissa Abeysekera, reputed film director and writer discusses in his essay "The changing village" the rural environment of Koggala in which Wickremasinghe grew, matured and flowered.

Abeysekera reproduces an opening passage from Gamperaliya which evokes what that space and time was like. He comments on Wickremasinghe's observations on the landscape, the poetic sensibility with which the writer approaches his descriptions and the lucidity of his style.

Abeysekera says: This was both the womb and the cradle of Martin Wickremasinghe's genius. Its essence flows through his creativity and lies like a memory in the texture of all his work.

Abeysekera refers to Wickremasinghe's frequent return to the phenomena of impermanence, change, transition of Kogggala which was never the same again after the war, leaving that receptive and sensitive intellect imbued with a sense of nostalgia and a certain wry acceptance of reality. Yet, when you visit the Koggala museum and the Wickremasinghe home you find that the Wickramasinghe Trust has recreated something of that pastoral tranquillity in that intensely green eight acres.

Sage of Koggala

"The Sage of Koggala" by Professor K.N.O. Dharmadasa draws a profile of the range of the intellect of this genius and throws insights into his thinking. Wickremasinghe guided the Sinhala reader on how he could appreciate the artistic value of Sinhala Classics.

He translated into Sinhala free verse the Pali Theri Gathas and drew attention to the social realities and psychological complexities reflected in Buddhist literature, says Prof. Dharmadasa. He also pointed to the artistic beauty and anthropological significance of folk poetry, enabling the local reader to understand it the better. Prof. Dharmadasa touches on Wickremasinghe's great sensitivity to the rural background.

Wiclremasinghe wrote both in Sinhala and English-1391 books and articles. At the end of the volume you have a list of this work. Joseph Needham a kindred spirit, a great British intellectual, scientist, researcher in the fields of sociology, anthropology, psychology, biology, bio-chemistry technology, culture, philosophy, etc. said this of Martin Wickremasinghe: "One of the most outstanding of Lanka's intellectuals, a truly original thinker and writer in literature and social studies".

I offer my salutation to the Sage of Koggala, with such thoughts as one might discuss seated in the evening before the door of the philosopher's home, looking across the Colombo countryside, as the sun sets in the West.

Truly thrilling spiritual reading

Women of Power and Grace
Author: Professor Timothy Conway

Review: Jayantha Senevirathna

BIOGRAPHIES: Professor Timothy Conway engages in an eloquent and scintillating conversation of nine astonishing, inspiring luminaries of our time in his book "Women of Power and Grace". This is the third revised edition, 2007, published as an Editions India imprint for South Asia by Stone Hill Foundation Publishing, G-309 Panampilly Avenue, Panampilly Nagar, Cochin 682 036, Kerala, India.

The remarkable nine women featured in this important book certainly live up to the subtitle of being "astonishing and inspiring luminaries." In fact, they are amazing heroines for our troubled era, showing us the real promise of being able to live individually and collectively beyond fear, anger, greed, and corruption in peace and cooperation.

Women of Power and Grace, now appearing for the first time in a South Asian edition, includes 180 pages of lively biographies, 120 pages of riveting wisdom teachings, 40 photos, and high-end production values.

The illustrious female spiritual masters featured here include four Hindu women, one Muslim, and four Christians. For Buddhist readers in this country and elsewhere, author Timothy Conway has promised a sequel to the present book: More Women of Power and Grace, featuring women like the Theravada Buddhist meditation master Dipa Ma of Assam and the humble servant of humanity, Buddhist nun Cheng Yen of Taiwan.

The author himself, before coming to India for the first time in 1980, was ordained for a short but intense time in upper Burma as a Theravada bhikkhu, doing the traditional forest ascetic practices and vipassana meditation methods under the renowned saint Taungpulu Sayadaw.

Incisive book

Here in this incisive book Dr. Conway has brought a deeply satisfying blend of intelligent scholarship, open-minded inquiry, and warm-hearted appreciation for his nine subjects. Each woman is featured in a distinct, stand-alone chapter. The introduction invites us to start with any chapter we prefer.

Many readers will want to go straight to the last and longest chapter, on Mata Amritanandamayi, the famous "Hugging Mother" of Kerala. Amma was in Sri Lanka in February 2007, sincerely thanked by President Mahinda Rajapaksa for her building of 100 homes and charitably serving Sri Lankans so badly hurt by the tsunami.

The tireless Amma, a winner of the Gandhi-King award and many other honours over the years, has freely and courageously given her healing hugs to many thousands of Sri Lankans. They are among the estimated 26 million people who have found their way into the embracing arms of this "world teacher."

The chapter here on Amma is a lyrical presentation of her harrowing but triumphant life and her ongoing phenomenal work of mercy. "Her stamina alone is clearly a divine miracle," writes Conway.

The reader finds a treasure-trove of over 50 pages of Amma's potent spiritual counsel - including her enlightened views on liberation or nibbana, love, service, meditation, suffering, ego-tendencies, unattachment, nonduality, and her own unbounded spiritual nature.

Amma wisely instructs us in the path of Universal Motherhood as the only real solution to our psychological, social, and environmental ills.

The other women figured in this book can also powerfully impact our lives through their deeds and teachings, and are no less interesting or provocative in challenging us to go beyond mediocrity to excellence, as the author suggests.

Original innocence

We learn of the prodigious Anasuya Devi of India's Andhra Pradesh, and her utterly non-dual teaching on "original innocence"; Shyama Mataji and her 23-hour-a-day devotion to spiritual mastery; and Anandamayi Ma, also of north India, the widely beloved "teacher to the teachers."

Hazrat Babajan was another really fascinating female adept of the subcontinent; she abandoned her life as a princess in Afghanistan in her youth, soon venturing into India where she lived well past one hundred years in age, her last decades mainly spent powerfully blessing the crowds while seated under a certain neem tree in Pune.

The four Christian women profiled in this page-turner are Italian-born saint Frances Cabrini, founder of 67 charitable organisations in the United States and elsewhere; German mystic laywoman Therese Neumann, who transformed her extensive pain incurred by stigmata into a means of helping and healing others; and two quite interesting Russian women, the wildly and wondrously behaving "Holy Fool" Pelagia, and the courageous Maria Skobtsova, a former communist who emigrated to Paris, where she served the poor and needy, eventually helping save a multitude of Jews from the Nazi holocaust-and willingly going to her death in one of the camps as an inspiration to her suffering friends.

With so many reports of uncanny anomalies and wondrous miracles occurring in the lives of these women, the author has provided an informative and persuasive appendix on the paranormal, including many scientific references in the extensive endnotes.

Timothy Conway has created a tremendously rich Internet resource at www.enlightened-spirituality.org on the world's faiths and holy persons, with many essays emphasizing both "mystical spirituality" and "engaged spirituality." He is currently finishing a two-volume book project on India's sages, including not just Hindu sages of diverse sects (Advaita Vedanta, Kasmir Saivism, Natha Yoga, etc.), but also Buddhist, Jaina, Sant, and Muslim Sufi sages.

We look forward to reading more of his work. In the meantime, the new, updated edition of his Women of Power and Grace makes for truly thrilling spiritual reading. As several reviews of this book on the Internet have rightly claimed, the exemplary lives and powerful messages of the women featured here could easily transform your life!