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Heralding
truth, sanity and harmony in turbulent world It is in this
scenario to give room to sanity, harmony, truth and resolution resulting
from compromise and conciliation, that Islam will be practising
with the advent of the Ramazan fast. Fasting has
been ordained in Islam as in all religions existing in the world.
In Hinduism, fasting is practised in different forms during special
festivals like Mahasivarathri and on Fridays. This practice has
been in existence for over 4000-5000 years. Buddhists fast
and the priesthood do fast during the afternoon to practise abstinence
from food and drink. This has been in existence for over 2500 years. Jews and Christians
including orthodox Jews and Coptics also fast during certain periods
and this has been in existence for over 2000 years. Ramazan
fast Ramazan fasting
has been prescribed by Allah during the month of Ramazan for Muslims
to desist from the intake of food, drink and water during the time
the sun is prevalent over earth during the day - a period of approximately
12 hours. Every human
being is expected to keep away from food, drink and water during
these 30 days and also to inhibit his or her desires of passion,
love, sex and prevent these thoughts, acts and sights. He or she is
supposed to refrain from these acts to understand what his less
fortunate brethren would be undergoing through poverty. He is also
supposed to indulge in good deeds, good words and good thoughts
in practising the Salaath prayers and the recital of the Holy Quran.
By performing these acts he becomes closer to Allah and follows
Allah's commandments during these 30 days. Exemption The significance
of the fast is that it results in pangs of hunger, thirst, and dehydration,
feelings of sleepiness, loss of concentration, memory, and acuity
of vision, hearing and gustatory sensations. Ramazan fasting begins
at sunrise and ends at sunset where one can eat and drink after
a hard, rigorous day of fasting. To sustain
life and property Muslims are supposed to eat and drink after breaking
fast with a date and water to satiate the dry tongue and throat
which have been parched during the arid day of fasting. This is
followed by a meal which allays the pangs of hunger. Another meal
has been ordained in Islam called Sahar where Muslims could get
up in the morning to partake in a meal to satisfy their hunger and
thirst and go through the ordeal of fasting during the day. It is noteworthy
that religious beliefs, prayers, reading of the Holy Quran and charity
to the poor in the form of Zakath is best practised during the month
of Ramazan by every Muslim. In this Zakath 1/40th of one's wealth
is to be bequeathed during this month of charity to the less fortunate
people of the community. Therefore it is during Ramazan that levelling
of social beings occurs as is ordained in Islam. Ramazan fasting
is thus a disciplined and organized type of fasting bestowed by
Allah upon his beings. It is also noteworthy that Allah revealed
to Prophet Muhammad the first verses of the Holy Quran. Further
Charity and Zakath is to be observed during this month. Islam is made
up of five pillars, namely, -Kalimah or
the belief in Allah as a monotheistic God with Prophet Muhammad
as a last seal of Prophets. -Salath or
five times prayer - Subu, Luhr Asr, Magrib and Isha ordained on
every Muslim Ummah to practise on every day of his life, a rigorous
principle. -Zakath or
charity to the less fortunate people in the form of money. Food
and other belongings to the time of 1/40th of capital wealth to
be bequeathed to the less fortunate Muslims in the community. Fasting during
the month of Ramazan is compulsory for every man, woman, or child
with exceptions from dawn to dusk for approximately 30 days. Hajj - A visit to Mecca and the performance of Hajj if one has the health, wealth and the ability without encumbrance once during one's lifetime. The
15th death anniversary of Fr. Michael Rodrigo OMI falls today These words
of Fr. Michael Rodrigo reveal the distinctive mark of his life and
work. His commitment to his Master Jesus Christ emerged through
his love and commitment to his people, which sets him apart as a
model of costly discipleship. These thoughts
come to one's mind on the occasion of the 15th death anniversary
of Fr. Mike, as he was known to those who were close to him. His
life was similar to that of his Master, Jesus Christ, for he too
sacrificed his life for the cause of the marginalised and dispossessed
people of rustic Uva he worked with. It was a commitment
borne out with his involvement with situations that called for effective
love and concern. That was the reason why he opted not to proceed
to Paris where he was offered a prestigious post in a university
there. Not for him the glamour and glory of a life of relative luxury.
For that was not the way his Master lived and died. This comes out
so well in a poem he wrote called "Guswind for my Flame"
which reveals the desire of the disciple to be one with his Master. "Were
I the oil Fr. Mike's
call is traced back to Bishop Leo Nanayakkara's invitation to him
to be engaged in his mission at Sevaka Sevana in Bandarawela in
working out a programme of contextual theology for ministers in
his diocese. Having carried out this apostolate in the best possible
way at his command he took another step in the direction of identifying
totally with the suffering of the people of the villages of Uva.
For this purpose he set up Suba Seth Gedera in Alukalawita in lower
Uva, from which he evolved his action/reflection process that became
his philosophy of life. It is in this
context that we wish to present below in his memory this Love Commandment
drawn by him from a wide range of Biblical sources which encapsulates
Fr. Mike's own vision and mission until his untimely death in the
hands of an yet unknown assassin on that fateful day of November
10, 1987 thus: The love
commandment The question
is: What is The Great Commandment in the Hebrew Bible? It is that
"you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your strength." What does Jesus
do to it? It is an example of the creative exegesis of Jesus which
is typical of Him. He starts off with the Deutronomic command and
to this he adds another text "Love your neighbor as yourself",
a text from Leviticus 19: 18, which although found in the Hebrew
Bible is not given much importance. Jesus is doing
a number of things here. Firstly, what is significant is that Jesus
has brought 'love of neighbour' on par with the love of God. Secondly, Jesus
generalises the concept of neighbour. Neighbour in Leviticus 19:18
in the Hebrew Bible is a fellow Israelite. Four different Hebrew
words are used; brother, a companion, a son of your own people and
neighbour. Love does not extend outside this. Later on in a Leviticus,
Hebrew Bible this is extended to what is called 'stranger' a category
quite frequent in the HB. "You shall love the stranger as yourself."
A stranger is a refugee; someone who has come to live in your tribal
territory. It might be a fellow Jew, a Gentile or someone adopted
by you and therefore part of your people. These are three
categories of people who are powerless, hence specially loved by
God - the widow, the orphan and the stranger. This would be the
limit of love in the Hebrew Bible. If you love your neighbour, you
will love the refugee. However, there is no injunction that you
have to love the gentile and those outside your people. The Hebrew
Bible says that you must love God, and Jesus says you must love
God and love your neighbour. When we come to the early Church, to
the followers of Jesus you find a surprising and remarkable change.
You could read the whole New Testament (NT) and apart from these
references you will not find a command to love God. The great Deutroromic
text is not mentioned again in the NT. The Love of God is rarely
spoken of. It is always connected with love of one's neighbour.
Matthew's theology in 19:19 "love your neighbour as yourself".
in Romans 13:8-10 all other commandments are summed up in the one
commandment. "You shall love your neighbour as yourself ".
In Galations 5:14 'the whole law is fulfilled in one word. "You
shall love your neighbour as yourself and in James 2:8-12 the law
of the kingdom is 'you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart... with all your soul and all your mind, and the great text
of the New Testament is "Love your neighbour as yourself'.
When you speak
of 'Love of God" it sounds beautiful but it could mean nothing.
Jesus fills it with deep meaning when he shifts the emphasis of
the Great Commandment to love of neighbour. In the first
epistle, John gives us very clearly what love is. The basic statement
is that 'God is Love' Let us love one another, for this love with
which we love one another, comes from God. This is an important
theological statement. Do we realize that whenever there is genuine
love, there is God? Effective love
today calls for a change of structures - which are oppressive to
people making them victims of the system. Here we are no longer
dealing with individual change - but rather with structural change
dealing with patterns of relationships, the way wealth is distributed
and power exercised. In effecting structural change one has to have
alternate models to replace the unjust society where millions of
children are dying of endemic malnutrition and disease. The sharp
increase in unemployment causes deterioration in the quality of
life e.g. the phenomenon of street and abandoned children. The system
dehumanises people, breaks up families, destroys cultures and disrupts
the relationships between humanity, the land and nature. It undermines
the moral fabric of societies, increases prostitution, unemployment
and delinquency. Can we be complacent when this iniquitous system
continues to destroy precious lives everywhere in the world but
particularly in the third world? There who wish
to meditate on the profundity of this Love Commandment of which
Fr. Mike was the living personification, would do well to emulate
his life which was unique in more than one way. For, the Cross of
Jesus and of Fr. Mike are seen as the sorrowful way leading the
humans to the path of righteousness. Jesus' cross and that of Fr.
Mike signified the crossing point of divine and human hopes. Therefore
in the new polis of peace, there will be an overcoming of death,
tears, grief, crying and pain. Peace is not
mere absence of war. It is love, justice and liberation that creates
fullness of life for the people and the overcoming of the power
of death. On
a voyage of names
Jafna
(1681). "The very ancient Tamil settlement, and capital of
the Tamil kings on the singular peninsula which forms the northernmost
part of Ceylon. The real name is, according to Tennent, Yalpannam,
and it is on the whole probable that this name is identical with
the Galiba of Ptolemy." Ferguson comments:
"The Tamil name for Jaffna is not Yalpannam, as Tennent spells
it, but Yalppanam." No references
from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka are given. The earliest
is by Knox (1681:1): "On the North end the chief places are
Jafnipatan, and the Island of Mannar." Lunka (1840?).
"Sanskrit Lanka. The oldest name of Ceylon in the literature
both of Buddhism and Brahmanism also 'an island' in general."
No historical
evidence of any kind is presented. An early but perhaps not the
earliest reference in English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka
is by Major Forbes from Eleven Years In Ceylon (1840:II.253): "
. . . which furnished a conqueror to Lanka, and fixed on it the
name of Singhala." Negombo (1681).
"A pleasant town and old Dutch fort north of Colombo; formerly
famous for the growth of the best cinnamon. The etymology is given
in different ways. We read recently that the name is properly Tamil
Nir-Kolumbu, i.e. 'Columbo-in-the-water.' But according to Tennent
the ordinary derivation is Mi-gamoa, the 'Village of Bees;' whilst
Burnouf says it is Naga-bhu, 'Land of Nagas,' or serpent-worshippers."
No references
from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka are given. The earliest
is by Knox (1681:2): "On this side also is Negumba." Palmyra Point
(1859). "Otherwise called Point Pedro, a corruption of the
Portuguese Punta des Pedras, 'the rocky cape,' a name descriptive
of the natural features of the coast. This is the N. E point of
Ceylon, the high palmyra trees on which are conspicuous." Ferguson comments:
"It is hardly correct to say that Palmyra Point is 'otherwise
called Point Pedro:' the two are distinct though close together." H-J2 gives
the earliest reference from English literature pertaining to Sri
Lanka, by Tennent (1859[1977]:II.981): "The coast trends still
farther north at Point Palmyra, a promontory some miles to the westward." Point de Galle
(1681). "A rocky cape, covering a small harbour and a town
with old fortifications, in the S.W. Ceylon, familiar to all Anglo-Indians
for years as a coaling-place of mail-steamers. The Portuguese gave
the town for a crest a cock (Gallo), a legitimate pun. The serious
derivations of the name are numerous. Pridham says that it is Galla,
'a Rock,' which is probable. But Chitty says it means 'a Pound,'
and was so called according to the Malabars from ' . . . this part
is the country having been anciently set aside by Ravana for the
breeding of his cattle.' Tennent says it was called after a tribe,
the Gallas, inhabiting the neighbouring district." Ferguson comments:
"The writer just mentioned (Tennent) has been entirely misled
by Reinaud in supposing that Galle could be the Kala of the old
Arab voyages to China; a port which certainly lay in the Malay seas
. . . 'rock' in Sinhalese is gala; whereas the native name for Galle
is Galla; a 'cattle-pen' moreover is gala. It is difficult, therefore,
to decide what the origin of the name is." No references
from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka are given. The earliest
is by Knox (1681:1): "To the South is the City of Point de
Galle." Putlam (1803).
"A town in Ceylon on the coast of the bay or estuary of Calpentyn;
properly Puttalama: a Tamil name puthu-(pudu?) alam, 'New Saltpans.'
Ten miles inland are the ruins of Tammana Newera, the original Tambapanni
(or Taprobane), where Vijaya, the first Hindu immigrant, established
his kingdom. And Putlam is supposed to be the place where he landed."
Ferguson comments:
"As to Tammana Nuwara being Tambapanni and Puttalam being the
port at which Vijaya landed, we think Mr. Henry Parker has disposed
of this idea satisfactorily." No references
from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka are given. The earliest
is by Percival (1803:83): "Putallom, which lies not far distant,
is remarkable for its salt-pans." Serendib (1859?).
"The Arabic form of the name of Ceylon in the earlier Middle
Ages." No references
from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka are given. Perhaps
the earliest is by Tennent (1859[1977]:I.466n): "Sinhala, with
the suffix of 'diva,' or 'dwipa' (island) was subsequently converted
into 'silan-dwipa' and 'seren-diva,' whence the 'Serendib' of the
Arabian navigators and their romances." John Barth
provides several enigmatic contemporary references from fiction
in The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor (1992), such as: "It
had occurred to him to sail with me to the place called Serendib,
which every sailor had heard legends of but which none he knew had
ever visited." Trincomalee
(1553). "A well-known harbour on the N. E. coast of Ceylon.
The proper name is doubtful. It is alleged to be Tirukko-natha-malai
or Taranga-malai. The last ('Sea-Hill') seems conceived to fit our
modern pronunciation, but not the older forms. It is perhaps Tri-kona-malai,
for 'Three-peak Hill.' There is a shrine of Siva on the hill, called
Trikoneswara." No references
from English literature pertaining to Sri Lanka are given. The earliest
is by Knox (1681:1): "On the East side Trenkimalay." |
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