BOOK REVIEWS

‘Alien mysteries in Sri Lanka and Egypt, the 4th edition’

Baffling Mysteries of Ancient Sri Lanka in a Book of Miraculous Origin:

“Alien Mysteries in Sri Lanka and Egypt, the 4th Edition” was launched recently. It is authored and published by Mihindukulasuriya Susantha Fernando, the veteran author/publisher, journalist, historian and researcher. It is a very rare book born of an amazing miracle of Ruvanweli Mahaseya, Anuradhapura.

The author was mysteriously inspired in 1996 to crack a 2000 year old Orion mystery shrouding three stupa at Anuradhapura, namely, Ruvanweli, Mirisavati and Jetavana. The mysterious chain of events started, when work began in 1938 on a new pinnacle for the sacred Ruvanweli Mahastupa.

The massive pinnacle was initially made of brass. But it was gold-plated due to the generous patronage of Susantha’s father, the late M.R.E. Fernando of Chilaw. He was a Catholic by birth, whose philanthropy supported several Buddhist and Catholic causes. He even built a Catholic church at Hettipola and conducted the annual feat there.

Exactly one year after the pinnacle unveiling ceremony at Anuradhapura in 1940, Susantha the discoverer was born. Two years later his father passed away. at Chilaw. 56 years later in 1996 Susantha got a sudden inspiration to reveal the Orion mystery of the very same stupa, which his father helped restoring. “

The gilded pinnacle of Ruwanweli stupa was ceremonially unveiled at the summit of the Mahastupa on the Poya Day of January 17, 1940. The august ceremony, known as ‘Swarnamali Abhshekaya’, took place at Anuradhapura with all the glitter and glory of an ancient coronation, which was made colourful with the traditional customs and rituals.

It was attended by a massive concourse of Buddhist devotees and dignitaries led by Rt. Hon. D.S. Senanayake, the Prime Minister and Sir Baron Jayathilake, the Minister of Home Affairs. The late Mr. M.R.E. Fernando was among those invited to the ceremony by the Ruvanweli

Mahasaya Restoration Committee headed by Sir Baron Jayathilake. The book describes the historic event with many photos.

“Alien Mysteries in Sri Lanka & Egypt, the 4th Edition” focuses new light upon the author’s ground-breaking discovery of the mysterious correlations between the ground layout of the three main stupa at Anuradhapura (Mirisavati, Ruvanweli and Jetavana) and the celestial layout of three stars in the Constellation of Orion (namely, Rigel, Mintaka and Bellatrix). Such heaven-ground duplicity or mirror

image of heaven is similar to the Orion phenomenon in the three Great Pyramids of Egypt, namely, the pyramids of Cheeps, Chephren and Myscernius.

Fernando’s discovery has gained commendable credibility by the recent findings of two British scholars, who describe in their “Heaven’s Mirror”, published in London in1998 (after Susantha’s book was first published in 1997) that they too had found Orion phenomenon in the ancient monument of Cambodia, Peru, Mexico, Egypt, based upon the different cults prevalent in those lands at the time the monuments were built.

Susantha conjectures that the Orion mystery discovered by him in the Anuradhapura stupa is nothing but a work of gods (mentioned often in our chronicles) to bring the eternal message of the Dhamma.

The three stupa align themselves with three of the seven stars of Orion, in representing two Buddhist symbols: numbers three and seven. THREE signifies symbolically the Triple Gem, while SEVEN represents the seven steps taken by the Buddha in his infancy.

There are many archaeological, epigraphical and Buddhist mythological references to the numbers THREE and SEVEN. It is an elaborate, thought-provoking subject explained in the book.

“Alien Mysteries in Sri Lanka & Egypt” provides mystery, excitement, wonder and historical insight into the most colorful and curious aspects of two mystic peoples of Sri Lanka and Egypt.

The present publication is an updated, lavishly illustrated version of the 1st Edition published in 1997. The 568 pages of the new book offer enhanced reading pleasure to the reader, because of the well-researched text and over 600 b/w and colour photos, maps and line drawings. There are stunning aerial color photos of the Anuradhapura stupa.

Dr. Keerthi Wijeratne

USA

Mines and Minerals Act vis a vis the Coast Conservation Act

Coastal Zone Laws and Implementation Experience in Sri Lanka Author: Parakrama Karunaratne

The Coast Conservation Act is recognised worldwide as a pioneering piece of legislation. It established the Coast Conservation Department and provided a solid legislative framework for integrated coastal zone management in Sri Lanka, at a time no more than a handful of countries had initiated similar programmes to ensure sustainable development along their coastal areas.

The publication of the book ‘A Review of Coastal Zone Laws and Implementation Experience in Sri Lanka’ by Parakrama Karunaratne is indeed very timely. It takes a much needed look into the Act to assess the legal foundation of Sri Lanka’s coastal management efforts in terms of its effectiveness in supporting the current policy framework and its adequacy to meet future imperatives.

Parakrama Karunaratne, Attorney-at-Law, has previously worked at the Attorney General’s Department in the capacity of Deputy Solicitor General. During his tenure at the AG’s Department, he served as a consultant to the Coast Conservation Department and subsequently as Legal Consultant in several projects including the ADB funded Coastal Resources Management Project.

With a strong insight of the last 23 years of implementation, the author describes how the Act evolved and the thought process that spearheaded the legislation. He provides an in-depth legal analysis of the Act as well as other selected legislation pertaining to the coastal zone.

Ownership of coastal land and use rights are clarified in terms of the Crown lands Ordinance and the Coast Conservation Act. The book highlights specific weaknesses and lacunae in the law and shows how certain subsequent legislation such as the Mines and Minerals Act has undermined the Coast Conservation Act’s legal authority.

The book takes the reader through the first Coastal Zone Management Plan of 1990 and the subsequent revisions of 1997 and 2004 and presents both the rationale for the changes in scope over time and how the successive plans have fallen short of the intentions of the Act.

The permit procedure, which is the key regulatory instrument through which the CCD exercises its mandate for administration, control, custody and management of the coastal zone is dealt with in quite some detail and the author point to several areas for improvement both in the Act and in administrative procedures. Overall, the book treats the subject in a comprehensive manner.

However, some of the arguments made could have been substantiated with actual case law experiences drawn from CCD’s recent experiences in litigation. Some examples of ‘practice’ and practical difficulties encountered during litigation would have improved the book a great deal.

The author argues that although a comprehensive policy framework is available for the management of the coastal zone in Sri Lanka, the legislative framework in its present form is insufficient to achieve the stated policy objectives.

He also explain why in its present form the Act is inadequate and deficient to provide a sufficient legal basis to address habitat degradation and emerging development priorities such as oil and gas exploration.

In the last chapter, the author provides a number of recommended measures to overcome the deficiencies in the key programme areas and enhance the effectiveness of the legislation.

The book therefore offers not only food for thought but is also a ‘call to action’ aimed primarily at the Coast Conservation Department. At a time when the Coast Conservation Department needs to look for new directions and ways to address new and emerging coastal management priorities, this book will undoubtedly be a great resource.

Next to the very lucidly presented arguments and the thorough assessment of the legislation, I find the book of great value for its successful compilation of a large amount of information and arguments contained in various published and unpublished conference papers, plan and strategy documents and administrative records. This is a great service rendered to the new generation of coastal managers.

The book will be of considerable interest to all those wishing to build more effective coastal management programmes, including coastal managers, planners, researchers and university students.

Priced at Rs. 490.00 the book (published by Stamford Publishers) is available at all leading book stores or can be purchased on the internet at lakehousebookshop.com

- Dianeetha Sadacharan

(The reviewer played a leading role in the implementation of the Coast Conservation Act during 1983-1993. Since relocating to the Netherlands she worked as Senior Project Manager in the National Institute of Coastal and Marine Management, in the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.)