Ravi Jayewardene Simple, austere to the end, he would like to be remembered as the unknown soldier  Ravi taught us how to die. He died like a soldier and mendicant, meditating, having renounced all worldly possessions. He gently declined all the bequests of his father and mother, valuable houses in Ward Place, Dharmapala Mawatha and plantations in Mirigama. He [...]

The Sunday Times Sri Lanka

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Ravi Jayewardene

Simple, austere to the end, he would like to be remembered as the unknown soldier 

Ravi taught us how to die. He died like a soldier and mendicant, meditating, having renounced all worldly possessions. He gently declined all the bequests of his father and mother, valuable houses in Ward Place, Dharmapala Mawatha and plantations in Mirigama. He left the Intensive Care Unit of his own volition.He knew the end was near.He wanted to leave the stage the way he lived without fanfare and suffering. He meditated to the end.

There is a silent and perhaps unknown message in his life.He built his home in Piliyandala with his own funds borrowed from banks. He retained this house.

Perhaps he left a message in this action of his. ‘I leave behind only what I have created with my sweat and toil and not legacies bequeathed  to me by myparents’.

That was the man. The quintessential Ravi Jayewardene. He was an airline pilot and a Captain of the Ceylon Light Infantry.

He was also a crack marksman.Not many people care to know that the Special Task Force that he created liberated this country from LTTE dominance long before the final battles where Prabhakaran was comprehensively defeated.

No one knew of this because Ravi avoided the spotlight.He did not talk about himself.He was the first to visit a battle zone.I remember visiting Kokadicholai with him, when an intensive battle was being waged. He was a prime target not only of the LTTE but also for the JVP. At Kokadicholai the STF was monitoring the LTTE radio transmissions.It was evident that an important man was marching into the battle area, and the LTTE were trying desperately to find out who he was but no one had seen Ravi Jayawardene.

That was his secret! nobody knew who he was.His security was no security! On another occasion NIB reports found that the JVP was working overtime to assassinate him. They had a spy in Ward Place who was trying to monitor his every movement.They finally learnt that he had his lunch daily at the Pagoda with his friend Vohara de Silva. They were planning to assassinate him at the Pagoda.

When Ravi heard about this attempt, he told the STF that he will consciously sit in as the target and he will take on his assassins himself.The STF would not hear of this. He insisted and he felt absolutely confident that he could take on any assassin with his Colt 45,( in fact I would not have liked to be in the assassin’s shoes for anything in this world,with Ravi drawing his weapon and shooting at me). He was going to follow the rules of engagement to the letter.

So they (STF) set up a mock Pagoda restaurant at their training camp and staged an assassination attempt, with Ravi sitting at his usual seat.

Ravi drew his gun and was on the mock assassin before he could even think of firing the first shot. Thus he gave a classic example of leading from the front.

He deeply loved his country and did not agree with his father when the Indo -Lanka accord was to be signed with Rajiv Gandhi. Though JRJ asked him to come for the signing ceremony and the banquet thereafter, he flatly refused.He had dinner with us instead.

Ravi’s most enduring legacy was the example he set to sons of political leaders not only in Sri Lanka but all over the world. He was never seen with his father, never used JRJ’s name, lived a very simple and austere life.

He was loyal and helpful to his friends who came from all walks of life. He shunned politics, knew of the betrayals and the sharks swimming in the political waters. And more than anything else, he knew the impermanence of life. He realised very early that ‘ Paths of glory lead but to the grave.’

He would like to be remembered as the unknown soldier. Brave, fearless and deeply committed to his country.

Goodbye.We, who have known you, will always remember you.

Malinga Herman Gooneratne


 

T.Y. Lee

He dedicated his life to spreading the Dhamma

Singaporean T. Y. Lee was an extraordinary individual. Having a Bachelor of Law and Masters in Business Administration did not stop him from exploring religion and obtaining a Diploma in Buddhism, from a university in Sri Lanka. His journey into Buddhism changed his life altogether.

He left his vibrant business career and spent a more relaxed way of life  happily with his family. He then dedicated his life to sharing his joy of being a Buddhist with others, by showing how it had helped him to miraculously transform into a peaceful and calm individual. He dedicated his time to write books, publish and facilitate translations of his books into several languages which now number several million copies, a feat zealously handled with so much compassion, love and joy to share with others. He also distributed thousands of stickers and book marks on Buddhist values. He gave many Dhamma talks to help others to find freedom from suffering.

Brother Lee was one of the most talented writers I have ever known, being able to present complex ideas in a simple, accessible manner. Among many books he wrote, the most famous was “Anyone Can Go to Heaven- Just be Good”. It has been printed in many languages and distributed free around the world. How much impact this book has on peoples’ lives can be seen from his www.justbegood.net website.

He was inspired to write his third book after returning from a pilgrimage to Sri Lanka and through this book he showed his gratitude to Sri Lankans for the major role they played in protecting, developing and preserving Buddhism. He saw this little island shining bright with the pure Buddha Dhamma and radiating around. He paid his utmost tribute to it by authoring “Island of Light”.This book was a timely gift not only to the Buddhists in Sri Lanka but to all Buddhists around the world.

Even though I was born and raised in Sri Lanka, I was unaware of many of the historically significant, Buddhist-related important events and turning points that took place in that country.

In 2011, we invited Brother Lee to Sri Lanka to award him a title by the then Prime Minister D.M. Jayarathne in appreciation of the services rendered to the spread of Buddhism. Other predominantly Buddhist countries have also formally acknowledged his work. During his short visit he gave a few Dhamma talks at Lake House, Bank of Ceylon head office and at Kothalawala Defence Acadamy making a deep impression on the audience.

Brother Lee could have easily lived a life of luxury, but instead chose a simple and unassuming one, focusing his time and efforts in teaching and spreading the Dhamma. His philanthropy was in giving a large amount of what he had towards the spread of Buddhism. He personally funded the printing and free distribution of millions of copies of his books in various languages all around the world. He travelled extensively to teach the Dhamma too.

Not only his generosity was remarkable but his humility shone out through him in everything he did. He was a living example of a good Buddhist. He can be described as the “Anathapindika” of Singapore of our time, feeding people who were hungry for the Dhamma. He also helped in fundraising for charitable events, leaving a significant impact on various organisations. He has done all these silently, not even revealing his full name and preferring to use only his initials. I have not seen many people as genuine as him, and to me he was a rare, precious gem.

The legacy that he has left behind will be kept in our hearts. His demise is not just a loss to his family and Singaporeans, but also to Buddhists around the world and to mankind. Sri Lankans have lost a man who loved Sri Lanka so dearly. I am glad to hear his wife Sister Susan and his children will continue printing and distributing his books, and continue the work that he valued most: spreading Buddhism. To me, they have chosen the best way to honour him.

May all the merits that Brother Lee has generated by his own good works, and whatever kusalakamma we have shared with him bring him the conditions necessary to attain the ultimate peace of Nirvana as soon as possible!

Venerable Bodhicitta Theri


 

Faizer Mackeen

He worked tirelessly for migrant workers

Faizer Mackeen, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia passed away aged 64. He suffered a cardiac arrest while addressing the Sri Lankan community at an event to mark Sri Lanka’s Independence on February 4, 2017 at the Sri Lanka Consulate in Jeddah. He was rushed to King Faisal Specialist  Hospital & Research Centre and was there another 49 days. His family stood close to him until his final breath. His funeral  took place at Makkah.

His sudden death was indeed shocking and the whole Sri Lankan community in Jeddah sympathized with his family.

My acquaintance with Faizer Mackeen began when both of us participated  in a workshop on ‘Migration & Development’ organized by the International Organization for Migration in Colombo. I was impressed by the way he shared his knowledge and experiences. Since that day our friendship continued till his untimely death.

He hailed from Keselwatte, Panadura and studied at Arethusa College, Colombo 6. He held an MBA and Diplomas in Business Management, Accountancy and Book Keeping. He was very fluent in all three languages. A politician and social worker, he rendered yeoman service to the community irrespective of religion, ethnicity or class. He was a kind, humble and simple gentleman who achieved a reputable position in society.

He represented the  United National Party and held the positions of Opposition Leader and member of the Panadura Pradeshiya Sabha for more than a decade. He contributed immensely to  migrants rights. He participated in several local and international conferences, seminars and workshops related to migrants rights and development. His contribution was instrumental in helping stakeholders learn and deliver a better service to the migrant workers. He had been a member of the expert team who prepared the National Migration Policy for Sri Lanka by the International Labour Organization (ILO). He had been a director of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment on many occasions.

I had the opportunity to closely work under his leadership for nearly five months when he was Consul General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.   He had a thorough  knowledge about Sri Lankan foreign policy, international law, international organizations etc. He maintained very close and cordial relationships with other Consulates in Jeddah and endeavored to participate in national or cultural events organized by the respective missions.  Mr. Mackeen worked to place Sri Lanka as a proud country in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His appointment was an excellent decision taken by the Government of Sri Lanka.

He worked hard  to improve the quality of service provided by the Consulate in Jeddah to the Sri Lankan migrant workers. His vision as the Consul General was to provide maximum service to the Sri Lankan community working in Saudi Arabia. Despite being a former chairman of the Association of Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies in Sri Lanka-ALFEA, he appeared on behalf of workers’ rights whenever necessary. He instructed all staff members to wear a badge of the Sri Lankan national flag while on duty and he personally bought and distributed those badges. At staff meetings, he gave everyone a chance  to express their views and paid attention to their opinions. Interactions at those meetings made us bond like a family in a faraway land.

He was a man of many talents including excellent culinary skills. He was very happy to be posted in Jeddah, Holy City of Makkah which is the most sacred place of  worship for Islam. Although Mr. Mackeen is no more among us, his service to the country, especially to the migrant workers, will be remembered for a long time.

Rohana Konara


 

 Professor Valentine Joseph

Scholar and teacher par excellence

Prof. Valentine Joseph, who had won the hearts and minds of his family, friends and his students is sadly missed. Although he left us on March 15, 2017, memories of what he has accomplished and the knowledge he imparted will remain with us for a long time to come. Humility was a hallmark of his character, and he was a devout Catholic.  Valentine was deeply conscious that there was a vast universe of knowledge yet to be discovered.  It is opportune to recount and celebrate the highlights of one who became a legend in his lifetime in Sri Lanka.

Valentine was born on January 27, 1929 in Penang, Malaysia to his proud parents, Joseph Vendargon, and Jane Joseph.  Following a school education there and a brilliant career later at St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna, he entered the University of Ceylon in 1949.  Having completed a four-year Special Degree course in three years he graduated in 1952 with a First Class Honours degree in Mathematics.Shortly after a brief spell as an Assistant Lecturer, Valentine proceeded to the University of London for postgraduate studies.  He returned two years later after completing research work on General Relativity under the guidance of Professor Felix Pirani, at Kings College, University of London. Prof. Pirani was a highly-respected specialist in Gravitation and General Relativity; he together with Herman Bondi had written a series of articles that established the existence of plane wave solutions for gravitational waves based on General Relativity. Valentine completed his Ph.D. in 1966.

Valentine’s research went into some of the deep and difficult terrain traversed by Albert Einstein himself.  The paradigm shift from Newtonian physics into a new world-view of modern physics based on the Minkowski four-dimensional space-time continuum, Riemannian geometry, the curvature tensor, the associated Einstein tensor, and the stress-energy tensor, was by no means an easy task.  His first major paper entitled “Physical Properties of Some Empty Space-Times” (Cambridge Philosophical Society, 1957 Communicated by H. Bondi) investigated the physical properties of certain non-flat space-times satisfying the field equations for free space. It reviewed the status of Mach’s principle that the gravitational field is completely determined by the distribution of matter in the universe so that a field cannot exist except in so far as it is due to matter.

This paper was followed up with another entitled: “On Apparent Luminosity in General Relativity” (Royal Astronomical Society, 1958 Communicated by F.A.E. Pirani).  In this, he derived a formula for apparent luminosity in an arbitrary space-time, from the conservation equations of the electromagnetic stress-energy tensor for a null-field, by the use of optical coordinates and tetrads. Another paper titled “A spatially homogeneous gravitational field” was published in 1966 by the Cambridge Philosophical Society in 1966. Much later in 1985 Valentine together with D. Lorenz-Petzold published a “Comment on the Bianchi Type-V Vacuum Method”.

My first contact with Valentine goes back to the late 1950s, soon after his return from London, when I had just started on Special Degree course in Mathematics.  Most of us felt he was by far the best lecturer we had in the field of applied mathematics.  He taught us classical mechanics, electromagnetic theory, hydrodynamics, special relativity, as well as tensor calculus for later work on General Relativity.  His lectures which started from elementary principles, and gradually built up to a high degree of complexity, with extreme lucidity, left a deep impression on us.  Likewise, his well-designed tutorials, written in impeccable and straight handwriting, gave us a good grounding of the subject matter.

I owe Valentine a great debt of gratitude for guiding me through the Master’s degree course in Mathematics held in 1970.  He together with Dr. Vaseekaran were my mentors for the subjects which included Special and General Relativity, Riemannian Geometry, Tensor Calculus, and Projective and Differential geometry.  Being the only student that year, I had the benefit of almost individual attention. The examination papers were corrected in London, and I was happy to receive a successful result.  Since then, Valentine had been my friend, philosopher, and guide – for a long span of 50 years.

Valentine was a friendly and sociable person, who also had a good student-teacher relationship. During the time of my M.Sc. examination, he would give me short rides to bus stops.  Once we were driving past a Milk Bar and he stopped and introduced me to yoghurt.  Since then I have been a yoghurt fan.  Another time, after a late-night function, he gave me and my newly married wife, a ride home to Hendela, Wattala.  During one of our home-leave visits from the World Bank, he and his wife Antonia entertained my wife Sheila, our daughter Deepthi and myself for sumptuous dinner at his residence.

My years at the World Bank as an Economist/Senior Economist provided an opportunity to visit bookshops after work, and update myself with the latest publications in theoretical physics, a subject of very special interest to me.  I used to bring Valentine the latest books on the subject, which he appreciated very much.  These books stimulated our discussions on the latest developments in physics. He was quite thrilled to see photos of my trips to the birthplace of Einstein in Ulm, Germany, and of Einstein’s last place of work at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Valentine and I were both highly enamoured with the work of Einstein from our respective teenage years, particularly by his thought process that led to the formulation of the General Theory of Relativity.  We were quite intrigued how Einstein, using Riemannian geometry developed by Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann in the nineteenth century, linked up the curvature of spacetime with the distribution of matter.

How to prepare the younger generation for a smooth transition to modern physics was also a question that attracted his attention. To address this issue, he co-authored a text book in Sinhala, with J.P.D. Dharmadasa entitled “Gathikaya” or Dynamics for the benefit of Advanced Level students, that was published by the Department of Educational Publications in 1994.  An English version was published much later in 2016.

Upon my return to Sri Lanka in 2010, and after giving a few talks at the University of Colombo on Super String Theory, and recent trends in Cosmology, I was invited by Dr. Denzil Rosa, Professor of Physics to conduct a formal 30-hour lecture course in Cosmology for the Master’s Degree course in Physics Education.  The publications gathered during my stay in the US helped me a lot.  Valentine reviewed and commented on the lectures on the General Theory of Relativity, which was of great help.  We enjoyed discussing developments in physics covering topics such as M-Theory and recent works of Roger Penrose.

In Valentine’s farewell speech on September 30, 1994, he recounted the long career spanning four decades, and paid tribute to his teachers, students and colleagues, past and present, for the pleasant memories.  He noted that Relativity is not just a theory, but it is at the very heart of Perception, which is another word for Being.  He said that Perception has a two-fold function: looking, touching, or hearing with one’s immediate senses, and on the one hand, and conceiving with one’s mind on the other.  The former, he said, is called experience, and the latter abstraction.  He noted that they are represented by the initials A and E of the discoverer of Relativity.

Valentine used to say, in half jest, that the Arrow of Time flows only in one direction; it could be slowed down or stopped (at relativistic high velocities) but never be reversed.  Having lived 88 years, with over 40 years of university teaching, his timeline came to an end in the early hours of March 15, or on March 14, 2017 according to US Eastern Standard Time. By a strange coincidence, this day happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday.  In recognition of his long years of high-quality teaching, the University of Colombo made arrangements for the rare honour of viewing his mortal remains on Friday, March 17, at the University premises, preceding the funeral on March 18, 2017.

He is survived by his wife, Antonia, son Umesh, daughter Arulesh, and in-laws Dr. Wije Mariathasan, and Domani Vendargon. He is also survived by his grandchildren and a large extended family.

Dr. Hilarian Codippily

 


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