A wild dream

Dr Tilak S Fernando

After watching the collapse of the Sri Lankan cricket team at Asian Cup finals against India, I went to sleep and started my night prayers in bed. How long I was up, I could not remember, but felt a sudden 'lift off,' and I was floating in the air! Was it a dream or my subconscious mind playing a trick? But I went further until I was in a peaceful surrounding. I stood in front of a gigantic gate studded with exquisite jewels. I became curious. Then I witnessed some extremely tall people, clad in white, carrying a three-pronged weapon. I walked towards the gate at snail's pace when a soft spoken figure approached me and whispered to me.

"Are you a journalist from Sri Lanka?" I mumbled: 'Yes in a kind of way.'

"Good! He exclaimed. 'We cannot depend on some of your newspapers and journalists down there these days. It's the Almighty's wish that you are here today to witness something spectacular, and relate to your people objectively.

Do you know that you have just entered Heaven? I am the Archangel", he introduced himself.

"My God.....!" I nearly screamed and froze with fear.

"Don't worry child, you have company today from your land, he said pointing at a partly grey haired man in a European suit looking lost. "Sire, why is he here today? I know this person; he does quite a lot of globetrotting but did not expect Almighty to invite him to Heaven.

"My child, it's going to be an extraordinary interview Almighty has ever given to a mortal prior to his death. All Merciful wants to get His message across to your people making you an instrument".

"Your beautiful island was created by Almighty. Therefore, the Good Lord has a special interest in your land, that's why he crushed the terrorist element when it was touching on danger line. He does not want your 'paradise island' to be destroyed by terrorists or any half-baked politicians.

Perplexed I asked: "Then why has Almighty called this person to heaven Sire?"

"My child, "This mortal does not conform to Almighty's rules although he brags about being a Christian. He does not follow the concept of 'love thy country' or accept win and loss like pitch and toss either. Instead keeps on uttering nonsensical statements all the time which annoys the Almighty".

"My Child this chap has been praying to Almighty for over 14 years persistently troubling the Almighty to help him win the hearts of his people. Poor guy is suffering from a grave mental disorder. Almighty ignored his requests all along but decided to call him here despite His heavy schedule to put some sense into his thick head"

I could see the mortal walking up to the portal of Heaven. Archangel hurriedly concealed me in a hideout so that I was able to witness what was going to take place.

God's administrative centre was beyond description with layers of shiny golden floors. Statues and pictures of all religions found on earth were dazzling. I was advised that God encompasses the whole universe in the form of vibrations but only a fraction of a micro atom of His power would take the shape in that instance in the form of an insignificant light to soothe our human eyes.

The massive reception hall had giant size television screens of unimaginable sizes tuned into all the countries in the world. Scores of Angels constantly monitored at every millisecond and each screen zoomed in and out in rotation.

Archangel pressed a button, at once a huge screen focused on Sri Lanka. I could see flashes of Batalanda graves, massacring of STF men, meetings between Solheim and Prabhakaran, Central Bank explosion, destruction of Kandy Dalada Maligawa, AirLanka bomb blast, Kollonawa oil tanks on fire, Prabhakaran rounding up civilians to form human shields and killing his own people and his final stages of knuckling under like a beaten dog.

In a flash, a blinding light projected with intensity. The light adjusted itself to suit our human eye and perched on a golden throne deflecting a multitude of laser beams ejecting pictures of Buddha, Jesus, Lord Shiva, Prophet Mohammed and Lord Vishnu, a full spectrum of religious leaders known to man on earth.

"How long do you wish to take people for fools? Do you realize that you cannot fool them all the time, including your own party members?" A rather authoritative voice amplified from God's light which stunned the guest. I watched like a frightened mouse.

"You have always been negative and critical of your government's effective actions; you forgot that it was my wish to annihilate terrorism and discourage division of any kind. Didn't you see the difference between terrorists and innocent civilians who suffered in the hands of the so-called bastions of their own kind?"

"As a senior politician and a leader of a political party I always wanted you to act and behave like a decent gentleman and a responsible leader and not to be a harebrained like Lucifer.

What happened to your always maintained label of 'Mr Clean"? When there are so much of allegations of corruption against you why do you keep behaving like an incorrigible schoolboy?"

"I know your sole aim is only to grab power and you don't care about your own members of the party. It is your utter selfishness that you go about like a cross-wired robot even after I gave you brains at first and influenced your uncle to give a portfolio in his Cabinet to make a ruler out of you. It was my wish for you to thrust forward and serve your country in a dignified manner. But you shamelessly let me and your country down.

Don't you know that only pure hearts are allowed to enter my Kingdom? That megalomaniac is now paying back for what he did to my people in your paradise island, and I will never allow him to raise his ugly head again". "What has happened to your image of 'Mr. clean? Just ask yourself about the silly game you have been playing to hang on to the party leadership when everyone dislikes and blames you. Poor lamb, I feel sorry for you, as you are also a child of mine".

"Remember, you cannot throw about your arrogance all the time and fool all the people all the time. Diehards in your own group are waiting to give you the knife from behind and not the leadership any longer. Therefore, I want you to get back and behave like a true patriot and stop uttering nonsensical statements. Forget about your hidden agendas forever. If you try to cover up your sins by occupying the hot seat of the party I will never allow it. Just think what happened to that tyrant who tried to be too smart. He tried even to outsmart me, so I have to send him to where he deserved for his ruthless acts".

"I want you to know that a young man is now treading your path and posing a threat to your leadership. Even his father keeps on praying to me endlessly via saints seeking my blessings to help his son emulate him and take over from you".

"Remember I had to call you here, despite all my other vital tasks, to save you from disintegrating as a politician and to warn you. Consider yourself lucky that your prayers were granted at least in getting an opportunity to get personal advice from me, a rare opportunity given to a mortal ever."

"If you continue to disobey my commands you are going to ruin your life down there and afterwards. Your latest joke of reading Dhammapada, when you are distressed, is not going to help you either. Just remember that my son."

I could see the human face in the presence of God's luminosity getting flushed. It appeared as if he wanted to utter something but except an open mouth and a rolling tongue inside his mouth I couldn't hear a single word coming out.

Next moment God's sparkling tiny light lifted up and vanished at rocket speed with a huge thud making a spectacular spectrum of conspicuous colours. I jumped out of the bed to the screaming sound of my alarm clock.