Tribute to a Great Anandian
Dr. Buddhadasa Bodhinayake
By Dr.
Tilak S. Fernando
Three
years ago, on the 4 March 2015, Dr. Buddhadasa Bodhinayake had to answer the
inevitable call from above, at the age of 75, in London. This tribute is, therefore,
devoted to this great personality (an old boy of Ananda College), on his third
death anniversary, for the great service he rendered to humanity as a prominent
paediatrician attached to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo,
as well as bolstering his career up to emeritus status at retirement, in the
field of psychiatry, attached to the UK's National Health Service.
Born in
Bentota, to parents who were both teachers in a suburban school, Buddhadasa
Bodhinayake succeeded as an exceptional scholar, from the time he joined the
Ananda College, Colombo, and reached the peak in his career (medicine) to
become a man of the world! His school record, as President of the Literary
Union (both English and Sinhala), within a single academic year, still
remains intact. He bagged the junior, senior, and open college oratorical
championships in school, and shone as the only Anandian to win five all-island
oratorical championships, plus a Gold Medal from the United Nations.
As an
undergraduate, 'Bodhi' fought against university sadistic practices of ragging
by senior students, who traumatised new comers, both physically and mentally,
and formed the first Sinhala Student Union called Tri Sinhala Sanvidhanaya, under the aegis of the late Ven.
Baddegama Wimalawansa Thero, Ode' Temple, Maradana.
Upon graduating from the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, in 1969,
he underwent his internship at the Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital, under the
supervision of the late Dr. P.R. Anthonis, the Founder President of Ceylon
College of Surgeons, and the eminent paediatrician, Prof. M.H. Hamza.
The young
doctor Bodhinayake suddenly suffered from hepatitis that forced him to go on
Medical-leave. However, upon his recovery from the illness, 'an inadvertent administrative bungling'
at the Medical Council, compelled the President of the Medical Council to
request him to repeat his internship, which he rejected. This trivial matter
was allowed to blow out of proportion and became a public issue, ending up in
the National Newspapers (Daily News). Dr. Anthonis and Prof. Hamza, having
gathered the injustice meted out to this newly qualified medical doctor
buttressed Bodhi's stance; the late Dr. R.B. Lenora consented to assist him
financially, and S. Nadesan, QC, offered free legal advice, should the case
continued up to High Court status. Nevertheless, the President of the Medical
Council stuck to his guns by referring to a Government Circular. The young
Bodhinayake responded to the uncompromising act by leaving the President's office
stating: "I would rather distribute
newspapers from the Colombo pavement than repeating my internship again".
Sinhala Youth Organization
This
incident tempted young Bodhinayake to get involved in backstage politics, thus
forgetting medicine momentarily. The birth of the Sinhala Youth Organization
(SYO) was the result of such dramatics, with the cooperation and assistance
extended to him by the late Dr. Sivali Ratwatte, Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thero, and
few other individuals in 1970. The idea of the Organization was to set up a
campaign to topple the existing government, and to get Mrs. Sirimavo
Bandaranaike, elected as Prime Minister in a new Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
government.
When Dr. Sivali
Ratwatte introduced Buddhadasa Bodhinayake to his sister, Mrs. Bandaranaike,
she asked him a direct question whether Bodhi could galvanise the youth into
action, as there was only a breathing space left before the general election.
With an affirmative answer, young Bodhi immediately went into action and sought
support from the national newspapers, numerous Buddhist monks, and several
other Sinhala Organizations to execute an effective campaign, out of the newly
formed socio-political wing of the SLFP, SYO. The Sinhala Youth Organization
appointed Dr. Sivali Ratwatte as the President, while Nimal Siripala De Silva
and Elle Gunawansa Thero became founding members of the organization.
When Mrs.
Bandaranaike became victorious at the 1970 elections, she consulted Buddhadasa
Bodhinayake and offered 'whatever
position he desired' in her new Government. Everyone expected that he would
consent to be the new Minister of Health, but Bodhinayake wanted only one thing
from Mrs. Bandaranaike - to get his internship regularised. The Minister of
Health, W.P.G. Ariyadasa, immediately attended to it, with the blessings of
Mrs. Bandaranaike and advice and guidance from the Attorney General.
Dr.
Bodhinayake continued his medical practice to become one of the most popular Paediatricians
in the country. As a young Paediatrician, he became interested in Anorexia
Nervosa, and ended up publishing his first book in Sinhala, after an intensive
research, on the psychology of children titled Daruwage Heti Therum Ganna
(understand your child). He also published several papers on Anorexia Nervosa
and Adolescent Medicine in Sri Lanka, between 1975 and 1980 (UNESCO
Publications). All these helped Dr. Bodhinayake to Chair the first UNESCO
International Symposium on Health in Paris, and to act as Chairman of the State
Advisory Board on Scientific literature. He became the youngest Asian to win a
UNESCO award in 1966 based on original scientific writing. He also launched and
published the first 'Science Magazine' called 'Vidya' that lasted for 25 long years.
National Advisory Committee
At the end of the JVP insurrection, Mrs. Bandaranaike appointed
a three-member National Advisory Board, which included Dr. Bodhinayake, A.J.
Rajasooriya, the Head of the CID, and another official, to deal with the young
rebels who were in remand custody.
A popular
broadcaster Karunaratne Abeysekera afforded Bodhi to enter the broadcasting
arena through his popular children's programme, Lama Mandapaya. This experience helped him to record over one
thousand broadcasts on radio and TV over a period of 25 years. Despite many
claims about the ball-by-ball cricket commentary in Sinhala, by various
journalists, Buddhadasa Bodhinayake held the record as the first-ever
broadcaster to experiment this task from the Oval Cricket Grounds, during
Ronnie De Mel's tenure as the Director General of Broadcasting. E.R. Erathne at
the Official Language Department helped Bodhinayake in the use of appropriate
Sinhala words in his live cricket commentary.
Dr.
Buddhadasa Bodhinayake and eminent science fiction writer, Sir Arthur C.
Clarke, were buddies in Sri Lanka. The duo jointly authored the first book on
space in 1961, titled Oba Vennek Handata Yai (someone like
you will go to the Moon). Subsequently, Sir Arthur persuaded Bodhi to immigrate
to the UK and encouraged him by offering his (Sir Arthur's) house in North
London for the family's accommodation. As Sir Arthur Clarke had decided to live
in Sri Lanka, his brother, the late Fred Clarke, was entrusted to look after
the Bodhinayakes. Finally, Bodhinayake family became the proud owners of Sir
Arthur C. Clarke's house at Nightingale Road, North London N22.
In the UK
In the UK, Bodhi was extremely fortunate to have been chosen as
a trainee at The Royal Free-University College-Friend rotation, as he landed in
London, where there was a Royal Free Anorexia Nervosa Unit. Within a year, he
was promoted as a Registrar, and later became a Senior Registrar at St.
Bartholomew's North Middlesex, Hospital, and Worley Rotation.
Branching out to Psychiatry, Buddhadasa Bodhinayake became the
Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Tutor to mould postgraduates at Barking
& Bentwood Hospital and conducted, in excess of nine annual symposia;
trained more than 120 postgraduates during a period of 12 years. Finally, he
was appointed a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1990.
On his
pre-retirement, due to ill health, he was conferred the Emeritus Status by the
North East London Mental Health Trust. Dr. Buddhadasa Bodhinayake has gone on
record as the only Sri Lankan to serve on the Editorial Board of the recognized
International Review of Hospital Medicine, which has been the primary
periodical journal for hospital-based medicine for decades.
The writer
was a close friend of Dr. Buddhadasa Bodhinayake in London. During one of our
intellectual conversations, Bodhi explained to the writer how he made reference
to, and practised meditation in his psychiatric lectures, as a therapy for over
20 years in the UK successfully. Being an ardent Buddhist, he firmly believed
in the theory that concentration of the mind was always beneficial to an
individual.
At first,
however, the term 'meditation' in psychiatry managed to raise some eyebrows
amongst the senior medical professors in the NHS. Some even took it as a pun
for discussion, because even eminent psychiatrists were made to disbelieve so,
and meditation was regarded as an alien topic in the Western medical mindsets.
Ostensibly, it has now become acceptable with more and more applications coming
out to the world in the medical press about the advantages of meditation.
His alma mater, Ananda College, offered him the opportunity to
visit the College again, with an invitation to be the Guest of Honour at the
Ananda College Prize Giving in 1993. That was regarded as an opportunity, on
the part of the Ananda College, to uphold and recognize this old boy, in the
presence of an audience of 2000, consisting students, teachers, and guests. Up
to the end of his lifetime that recollection remained in his memory as the
biggest achievement in his life.
tilakfernando@gmail.com