Jaffna- “Exorcising the Past and Holding the Vision” An autobiographical reflection by Neville Jayaweera
I> REVIEW ONE by R. M. B Senanayake, courtesy of The Island, 24th September 2014
We may ask the question what it is that Neville Jayaweera wants to convey to the public and to posterity through his autobiographical reflections? Direct or first-hand experiences of events impart a special depth as opposed to the third hand reports of the same events. Those of us who were Jayaweera’s contemporaries in the CCS in the 1960s, such as I, can confirm that his narration of those experiences in Reflections is generally a correct portrayal of the history of those times. One might not share all of his views, but his work is a sparkling revelation, full of spiritual substance, candour and intellectual depth.
What impressed me most in Neville Jayaweera’s (NJ hereafter) Reflections was his inherent sense of justice and fair play and, as Susil Sirivardena says in his Preface, his granite-hard commitment to conscience and humanistic values, He was influenced entirely by the Buddhist concepts of avijja (ignorance of things as they are) the yatharthaya and maya (illusions) and concludes that “within Buddha’s epistemology there is no room for ethnic divisions, for nationalisms or even for patriotism.” Continue reading
