Appreciation
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He lived and preached the Dhamma
The first death anniversary of Deshabandu Alex Robertson, the well-known preacher, writer and broadcaster in Buddhism, fell on December 31. Born in Gampola on October 30, 1928, he passed away on the last day of 2002 at the age of 74 years. His working life was mainly devoted to the Buddhist cause to propagate the Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha, through talks, participation in discussions, writing of books and articles in Buddhist journals and newspapers and broadcasting. Born to a Christian family, Mr. Robertson became a Buddhist by intellectual conviction at the tender age 13 years. His father though born a Christian later became a free thinker who studied the Dhamma and had many books on the subject. The young Robertson seized the opportunity to read these books and convinced himself of the Buddhist identification of the central problem of life as Dukkha and the way to overcome the problem by following the priceless Noble Eight Fold Path. He had four sisters and two brothers, and the latter followed in his footsteps and became Buddhists. Propagation
of Dhamma Mr. Robertson was first the Assistant Secretary and then the Secretary of the society, and subsequently its President for 30 years from 1969 to 1998 when he relinquished office due to declining health but continued as advisor until his demise. In the 1950s and 1960s the late Ven. Kasappa Thera (formerly Dr. Cassius Pereira), presided over the evening meetings of the society. Mr. Robertson acknowledged the training and guidance given to him by the Ven. Kasappa Thera in an article titled 'In the Service of the Buddha' in the 75th anniversary souvenir of the society released in 1997. Mr. Robertson who was Editor of the souvenir stated that the training he received at the Servants of the Buddha stood him in good stead in preaching the Dhamma at home and abroad. At the meetings of the society, he always emphasised the importance of discussion. He often quoted the words of the Buddha as recorded in the Mangala Sutta:"Kalena Dhammasavanam Kalena Dhamma-sacacca" Etam Mangalmuttamam To
hear the Dhamma at the opportune moment This
is a supreme blessing. His knowledge of the Dhamma was deep and profound and together with his remarkable memory enabled him to respond extremely well to questions and observations In his younger days, after the weekly meetings of the Servants of the Buddha at Maitri Hall, he and a few friends of the Dhamma, such as the late Egerton Baptist, a well-known Buddhist scholar and Dr. Rienzil Piyasena, an expert on nuclear medicine and now Vice-President of the Servants of the Buddha Society, would proceed to the Vajirarama Temple room of the Ven. Soma Thera.Those who gathered in his room would continue to discuss relevant matters late into the night with the learned monk. Broadcasting For several decades he was a participant in one of the most popular Buddhist radio programmes, the 'Buddhist Forum' that goes on the air for 30 minutes at 8.00 p.m. every Tuesday evening. At the Buddhist Forum, Buddhist scholars discuss various aspects of the Dhamma. In the 1950s and the early 1960s, the Forum had distinguished personalities as Chairmen. They included the late Prof. K.N. Jayatilake, Prof. of Philosophy of the University of Ceylon, the late Siri Perera, Q.C., a Buddhist leader who was the President of the Colombo YMBA and Dr. Rienzil Piyasena, who served in the International Atomic Energy Agency of the UN in Vienna, Austria. Participants in this Forum included at that time Mr. Robertson, the late S.R. Wijayatilake, a former Judge of the Supreme Court and the late Austin de Silva, a dedicated Buddhist worker. Mr. Robertson became the Chairman of the Buddhist Forum later and continued to perform that task, except for brief intervals, until his death. This covered a period of two and a half decades. In 1979 he joined the SLBC full time as a Programme Organizer for Buddhist activities and remained so until his retirement from public service in 1988. Writer He also contributed articles to Buddhist journals and newspapers, on the Dhamma. For the Buddhist Annual, Vesak Sirisara, he contributed articles on a variety of subjects over an unbroken period exceeding 20 years which could be published as a useful Buddhist book. Parliament Mr. Robertson was selected to represent Buddhism and Buddhist cultural affairs. Thus, he became a Member of Parliament and served the supreme legislature of the country from 1989 to 1994. Rajah
Kuruppu President, The
man behind the artist Reggie Candappa After a few years at Lake House, Reggie was offered and accepted the task of starting up the Grant Advertising Agency and was instrumental in making it one of the leading advertising agencies in Sri Lanka. I have many happy memories of my association with Reggie as I succeeded Bernard as Printing Manager when he left Lake House to become the Government Printer. If my memory serves me correctly Reggie, myself and two other colleagues used to meet regularly at the Hotel Metropole in the Fort andspend a few hours chatting and consuming a fair amount of beer with our lunch. I emigrated to Australia in 1971 and usually met Reggie when I came back to Sri Lanka on holiday. Reggie only came to Australia once with his wife, Therese, and had dinner at our home. Whilst at Lake House, Reggie also associated closely with Donovan Andree who used to bring to Ceylon several exotic shows, such as The Harlem Blackbirds and the Ice Show, to name a couple. Reggie did the artwork for the advertising, leaflets and tickets for these shows. Donovan also sent Reggie to Egypt to audition two belly dancers who were to perform in his nightclub, 'The Copacabana'. I lost touch with Reggie after 1996, in which year I paid my last visit to Sri Lanka and was unaware that he was not in good health.
May he rest in peace He
guided one to knowledge, enlightenment and achievement S.H.A. Wadood, the former Principal of Zahira College, Matale, was a legend in his lifetime, moulding the lives of generations in his inimitable style. He will always embody the ideas and ideals of education. He was living testimony to the power of education. A selfless teacher, he resembled the Greek teachers of yore -- true philosopher and free-thinker who guided one to knowledge, enlightenment and achievement. He was a living example of the motto of his school, 'Live in Light'. He stood head and shoulders above the rest, making pigmies of his peers. He could have been anything he chose to be, for when he passed out of the portals of the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in its halcyon days, graduates were scarce. Instead, he chose to be a teacher in his modest hometown of Matale. He was a multifaceted personality. Sportsman and sports administrator, the study of nature, anthropology, and the pursuit of fine arts and the humanities were a passion with him. Literature was second nature to him. It is difficult to define him because he defied description. The truth in the expression, 'Men who deserve monuments don't need them' was depicted in the life of this magnificent man. May he be granted eternal bliss. Zavahir Majeed
Khema Aunty hailed from a respected family of devout Buddhists and dedicated educationists in Walpola, Matara. She was trained as a teacher of English, Sinhala and Buddhism. She later took part in the Colombo University's English teacher training course and passed with distinctions. For Khema Aunty, teaching was not a mere vocation. It was a truly noble task - a sacred duty and her charges she considered as her own children, who had to be nurtured and educated, not merely taught subject matter. She served in the Ministry of Education for a considerable period and taught in many schools including Lindsay Balika Vidyalaya and Bauddha Balika Vidyalaya in Mount Lavinia, where she was a Sectional Head. Although she had ample qualifications to be appointed a Principal, she retired prematurely and took wing to the Maldives, where she served in the Ministry of Education for a couple of years. Upon her return, she helped the underprivileged youth of the south by teaching them English through programmes conducted by the Southern Development Authority and the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau. She also taught English to undergraduates at both the Ruhunu and Open Universities. During the latter part of her life she devoted all her energies to social service. The temple was never far from her thoughts. For most of her career, she taught Sunday school at many temples, including the Raja Pushparama Temple and Dharmendhraramaya in Mount Lavinia and the Siri Mangala Temple in Walpola - her village temple. Dilan Fernando |
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