“A   great  judge  must be  a man with a spark of greatness to start with;  his job is the applied practice of wisdom and justice  and these may not be borrowed from  any of the calf-bound books, but must spring from the man himself”.  So said a former  Attorney  General  and later Chief  Justice of Sri Lanka.

Mr. T.W. Rajaratnam,  retired Supreme Court Judge, was  honoured  by the  President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the 42nd anniversary of Pakistan’s Independence.

He was conferred the Civil Award  “Hilal –e-  Quaid -E- Azam” for his meritorious services to Pakistan as well as invaluable contributions in championing the rights of individuals in third world countries.  This is a high civil award in Pakistan and conferred only upon eminent  persons who have distinguished   themselves  by rendering  exceptional services in their respective field of activities.

Mr. Tellipalai  Wanarajah Rajaratnam  is an Old Boy of Trinity College, Kandy,  and the son of the  late Mr. D.C. Rajaratnam, a leading proctor  in  Jaffna.  He is a classic honours  graduate  of the London University  who was admitted to the Bar as an advocate  in 1948. In 1951 he left for England where he was called to the English Bar from Lincoln’s Inn.  He practiced  as a  Barrister in London for a short  period, having joined the Chambers of  Mr. Glyn Blackledge  Q.C.
On his return to Ceylon he  resumed  practice at the unofficial Bar, mainly on the Criminal sides  in both the original and Appellate  Courts.   Among the cases he appeared in were the  famous Sathasivam  murder case,  and the Bibile MP murder trial.  Besides, he appeared  in several cases as junior to Mr. H. Sri Nissanka( king’s  counsel) He was at one time vice- president of the Ceylon  Classical  Association.  At the  Ceylon  Law College he edited  the college  magazine. He had contributed several articles on different  topics to the national dailies  which are of a high standard. His articles under the headline “Hulftdorp – the other side”   which appeared in the Sunday Observer  were very interesting and greatly appreciated by everyone.   He was also  a member of the Criminal Justice Commission.

He is a polished and elegant  speaker.   He has a puckish sense of humour.  With his sense of humour he was  relating the story to a friend,  of how he came to be the chief guest at a seminar of the Sri Lanka    Women Lawyers Association on the theme   “The Dissabilities of  Women  under Law and Practice”.  The  secretary of the Association had gone into his Chambers  and extended the invitation.  The chivalrous male that he is, he had accepted . Then, in the same breath she had told him how relieved she was – because the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General , both of whom had been asked, had refused-(for good reasons, no doubt!) So, he was being asked to fill the breach.  Mr. Justice Rajaratnam  found a moral in the story-“ No woman” he said “ was ever known for her judgement,  and  no woman  could keep a secret”

Once, when he delivered a lecture  on  “ Justice  in  The  Labour  Tribunal”, he said the majesty of the Law was in it’s enforcement,  beauty, in it’s simplicity,  justice in it’s fairness  for the social good,  and service  in it’s concern for the employer, the employee and the state.

In one of his articles under the headline "Towards a Socialist Philosophy", he said that humanity  awaits a society which is socialist in structure,   and socialist in spirit, where socialism is both a philosophy and a religion.  For the sustained happiness of man a socialist philosophy  needs a new dimension  which can come only from  a dialectical religion.  Only a dialectical religion  can be grafted to a dialectical  philosophy  for the ultimate happiness of man.

He went on to  quote Lord Buddha, and said that the Buddha was  a people’s philosopher, and his message was a down to earth simple one to be understood by the common man.  He said the Lord Buddha’s message does not carry any threat – it is a message to be lived by men, and not preached by pundits.

He further said, that to a world lost in error, and beset by illusions of time, the greatest need today  was  loving kindness. As the light of the moon was sixteen times stronger than the light of the stars in he sky, so  loving  kindness was sixteen times  more efficacious in liberating the heart  than all the religious accomplishments taken together.

Mr. Rajaratnam  served  Sri Lanka  in different capacities  with  unsurpassed distinction  and unsullied honour.

The death of  former Supreme Court Judge, Tellipalai  Wanam  Rajaratnam MP., after a prolonged illness marks the end of a distinguished legal, academic and political career. In his  diverse  fields of activity, he displayed a deep commitment  to liberal democratic  values and to social justice. His passing away is therefore a tremendous blow to those who cherish those values.

His legal career was a continuation of the traditions of a family of leading  Jaffna and Colombo  lawyers. After completing  his  secondary education at Trinity College ,Kandy, the late Justice Rajaratnam  obtained degrees  in Western Classics  and Law  from the University of London.  He was called to the English Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in  August  1948. He rapidly built a nation-wide criminal and labour law practice in Sri Lanka. His forte and  favoured  aspect of  the law was criminal law.
The late Justice Rajaratnam’s approach to the law was marked by the same  reformist  and  progressive tendency which featured in other aspects of his career. One of his  primary  concerns  was the need for the law to be simple and accessible to the ordinary citizen. He felt that law and the administration of justice should not be the (monopoly?) of the legal profession. His rapidly expanding practice was curtailed by his appointment as a Commissioner of Assize in  1972. He continued in that capacity until 1978 in this important phase of his career. His judicial career was characterized by incisive legal  judgements  and uncompromising spirit. His career was unceremoniously   interrupted by the reconstitution of the Supreme Court in 1978.

Unable to resume  his legal advocacy due to his former judicial appointment,  trade union activity, politics and scholarly pursuits took centre stage in the late Justice’s career. He had  for many years been actively concerned about the plight of industrial and estate workers. He published two books- “A  Manual of Industrial Law” and “ Plantation Worker’s Manual”.  Both these authoritative books were designed to educate  ordinary  workers in the complexities of industrial law and labour tribunals. He became a regular contributer to journals on legal issues, particularly on questions of access to justice.

What is perhaps the most remarkable instance of the late Justice Rajaratnam’s  determination to uphold liberal values  and the rule of law was his book-“The Bhutto Trial”:his legal study of the trial of Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar  Ali  Bhutto, is the only one of it’s kind, and is critical of the reasoning of the Pakistani  Supreme Court.  The idea for the book emerged totally fortuitously  during a visit to Pakistan for a conference.  He was honoured  for his international efforts to uphold  the rule of law by becoming the only Sri Lankan to receive  Pakistan’s highest civilian award  “Hilal e-Quaid-E-Azam”  in 1989.

In  1989, Mr. Rajaratnam’s views  found a larger forum  as he was nominated to the parliament by the S.L.F.P.  Rajaratnam was not seen as a parochial, partisan figure, and  his nomination to Parliament……………..as a national figure in Parliament, he overcame  the challenge of his failing health to become a spokesman  on trade union rights, civil liberties and minority rights. He often raised the level of debate above narrow party political lines.

One of Mr. Rajaratnam’s  memorable qualities was his acerbic  wit  and  self –effacing sense of humour. He often remarked  that the honours he received  were due to his way with women, because the world’s first  female head of government and the Muslim world’s first female Prime Minister had both honoured him.

From  The Pakistan Times,  Monday April 3, 1989

VISITORS’   GALLERY : MAVERICK   JUDGE   FROM  SRI  LANKA Shahid Ali, Karachi.

Mr. Justice (Retd) Rajaratnam  from Sri lanka , who is visiting Pakistan to participate in the International seminar on The Legacy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is one of the few foreign jurists  who  have made in depth studies of the Bhutto Trial. His findings were published last year in the form of a 288 page book entitled- “A Judiciary in Crisis?- The trial of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto”.

Mr. Rajranam did his bar from the Lincoln’s Inn, and practiced law for many years  before joining the judiciary. He served as a judge of the Sri Lanka Supreme  Court from 1970 to 1978, when, under the new constitution  promulgated by  Mr. Jayawardene  the judiciary was reorganized.

Mr. Rajaratnam is a sprightly old man and he attributes his enthusiasm to the rule of law to his rebellious heart. “ I was a maverick on the Bench” he proclaims with pride.  This self acquired title has a story.

He was hearing a human rights  petition  during Mrs. Bandaranaike’s  premiership. The Chief Justice suggested to him that it would be inadvisable to give a verdict that might embarrass the lady in power. He was told that his chamber would be locked and he could be prevented from entering the court room. But Mr. Rajaratnam  stuck to his guns and declared that he could deliver his judgement in a corridor  on the court premises.  In times of stress, the judges had a special duty to assert their right to give independent  judgements,  he said.  And he won a point not only for  himself  but for the entire Sri Lankan Judiciary.

The story does not end here. Mrs. Bandaranaike repaid the defiant judge by nominating him as one of her party’s representatives in the  present  Parliament.

However, Mr. Rajaratnam  is extremely critical  of the Sri Lankan Judiciary’s performance during the years of the “ long Parliament” (1977-88) “ The huge majority  Mr. Jayawardene’s UNP had won in the 1977 elections,”  says Mr. Rajaratnam, “ was used by it to weaken itself-it took actions  that raised grave  constitutional  crises”.

The former judge refers to  Article 161-E of the old Constitution whereby the life of the Parliament should have ended not later than six years after the polling. But instead of new elections by 1993, the Parliament extended  it’s tenure for another five years. The issue was raised  before  the country’s Supreme Court  which declined to give a ruling on the ground that it had no jurisdiction on the matter. The country was deprived of the benefit of the wisdom of the court in its moment of crisis.

The extension of the Parliament’s life, through a referendum, became one of the factors  that  gave rise to agitation and violence in Sri Lanka. He makes it a point to emphasize that all the crises Sri Lanka has faced in the recent years erupted after July 1983 – when the normal term of the Parliament elected in 1977 was to end.
For instance, the youth(between 20  and 28 years of age) became restive. They were entitled to vote in 1983. Denial of this right pushed them into the politics of violence.  Mr. Rajaratnam likens  the  journey  of Democracy between 1983 and 1988 to a flight in rough weather. “ The plane ran into air pockets quite frequently, and ultimately  crash- landed in December 1988” he says.

Asked about the Sri Lankan political crisis, Mr. Rajaratnam  is quite categorical in his assertion that one of the principal reasons of the political disturbances was the breakdown of the rule of law.  The Chief Justice and two other judges were arraigned before a parliamentary committee,  thus  compromising  the status of the judiciary as an independent organ of the state.  The report of the parliamentary   committee  was  highly controversial.  Then, with the court’s   judgement   on  a human rights petition  which resulted in Mrs. Bandaranaike losing  her civil rights, a fundamental  human right was denied.

As regards the spread  of  violence in Sri Lanka over the past few years, Mr. Rajaratnam says:  “ You cannot prevent terrorism by resorting to oppressive laws.  We had our Prevention of Terrorism Act and their emergency regulations. The net  result  was  that  terrorism  escalated.  Then a military solution of a political issue was attempted. That too, was bound to fail. The plain fact is that oppressive laws offer no solution to a political problem. The rule of law  can  only  be  enforced  through normal laws.”

Mr. Rajaratnam is specially  keen to focus attention on the political implications of the 1977 elections in Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka.  "We  were moving towards an order based on  equity and social justice.  The trend towards escaping from American bondage was clear. After July 1977, there was a complete swing to the Right". He    leaves  the  people  of the region to draw their own conclusions.

The passing away of T.W.Rajaratnam has removed from our midst  a noteworthy personality  whose life, it may be said,  was characterized by  independent thinking and a fearless expression of views.

“ Wanam”,  as he was popularly known, was a person of wide interests, who took a keen interest  in issues of national importance.  He stood for the rights of individuals, and championed the victims of injustice and oppression. So great was his zeal in this  respect  that he even wrote a book to draw attention to a miscarriage of injustice in Pakistan.
As a student of the classics he was more noted for his quick grasp of facts and  ideas  than for a memory  for detail.  He once told me, who was a  batchmate  at the then University College, that what he aimed at was to acquire the gist of what he read rather than load himself with knowledge. Perhaps he was right in this, because mere  knowledge  can  often be inert or unproductive.

In politics he was  inclined  towards the Left and though a Christian, he was deeply interested in Buddhist  philosophy. Such was his open- mindedness.

Another trait that was noticeable in him was his humility; a quality  that  was  evident even when he held the exalted office of a Supreme Court  judge. It may be said of him  that he could “... walk with kings, nor loose the common touch.”
What one may remember most about him is his geniality of manner and the warmth of his friendship. He took an abiding interest in his friends and, while discussing a problem, would always give his sincere and valuable suggestions.
Men of Wanam’s stamp are rare.  One wishes that there were more like him in our public life.

Q:IS  THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION   SERVING  THE  COMMUNITY?

A: System 0f “social jurisprudence” needed to serve changing conditions in the country, by K.N.CHOKSY, PC.,MP 

Lawyers have functioned as a body of professionals in Sri Lanka for approximately  150 years. As professionals  working in the practice of the law they have overall served the community well.

Both historically and constitutionally,our society has had an organized legal system to administer laws, decide upon disputes  between citizens and adjudicate on the rights of the State against subjects, and vice versa.
As a body, lawyers have by and large acquitted this vocational role adequately.  Lawyers have served their clients causes, advancing or defending their rights.  As practitioners, our standards have been as good as any where in the Commonwealth.  These Directive Principles are most instructive.  Legal  jurisprudence  places undue emphasis on individual rights and liberties.

In recent times, our profession has been open to the criticism that our crusade for the protection of individual  human rights has overlooked the wider interests  of the maintenance of  law and order.

We are also wont to demand the extension of the jurisdictions of the  Courts  in every sphere of human activity – what lawyers term "judicial activism".  This brings the criticism that the Courts are not realistic in their conceptions, and insensitive to the difficulties of the administration.  The System we then bring about is one that is over-sensitive to individual rights and undervalues the importance of individual  duties  and obligations. Indiscriminate emphasis on these legalistic principles and opposition and unfruitful   protracted debate even on common national issues,  and that a system should be evolved  where the peoples’ representatives  with different opinions  would have the opportunity of  collaborating  fruitfully and producing  practical results on national issues.

Lawyers as an organized profession have perhaps the best training and competence to evolve  acceptable and workable solutions to these problems  that are actively engaging  the nation within our constitutional and  social framework. They  will  not serve  the community adequately for the future without these broader activities.

For centuries, lawyers  have painted  the conventional picture of justice  blind-folded, with sword in one hand and scales held aloft in the other. But should justice be blind any longer? Should we not remove the blind and make justice see realities?
What of the dismissed employee who has to wait years to obtain redress from an errant employer?  And the unfortunate widow who has to go through cumbersome  testimentary  procedures  to be able to utilize the husband’s assets for the welfare of the family, although there is no dispute?  What about a deserted wife’s rights?

Whilst lawyers cannot forge a legal system that is perfect, the public expects a system that is just, expeditious,  and shorn of technicalities of procedure.  Otherwise the common man will turn round and say that the system that we have provided  does  not serve society’s requirements.  So the legal profession , in order to serve the community in the future, must work towards a more effective system.

A: TODAY ONLY THE RICH GO TO  COURT by T.W. RAJARATNAM SLFP.

Yes, but in a very limited way. There were times when lawyers assisted in the administration of justice  and in the maintaining of the rule of law. Today, that is not the case, One of the direct results of this is that today only the rich go to court. This is not surprising as on an average a competent  lawyers fee for an appearance in court is Rs. 5,000/.  If an ordinary man is in court today it is because he is languishing in court. Of course part of this is due to the cost of living and inflation.

It is also well known that in the case of the labour tribunal, it is only the rich companies that are in court.  An employee cannot have an expensive  counsel  nor can he afford to keep the case in court through all the law’s delays.

We  have ,in this country, the complete collapse of the rule of law. Litigation expenses are fabulous. Then there are the law’s delays. There are 23,000 appeals pending in the  Appellate  Court  for disposal. Maintenance cases form quite a sizeable number  and some of them have been pending for over 5-6 years.

Earlier, lawyers did not contain themselves  to fighting cases but also fought for  causes.  The last of these great lawyers I believe,  was S. Nadesan, QC.  I know of cases where he appeared free of charge or even paid and maintained his client.
In one instance, I remember being retained as a junior counsel  to Nadesan  in an election petition case which was filed against Tamara Illangaratne. The case went on in Hultsdorp for over a month. Nadesan, who was not paid a fee for appearing, appeared because he felt  an election victory for the Illangeratnes  of Kandy was a progressive step in the political context of that time.  Mrs. Illangeratne won the case and was awarded substantial costs.  I was paid Rs. 50/= a day  by Jack Kotelawela- and a dinner at the Free China Hotel.  When the costs were paid  Mr. Nadesan came to the YMCA  and gave me the princely sum of Rs. 750/=, a sum  I had never before handled in my life – and gave the rest of the money to Mrs. Illangaratne. Such was the nature of the man.

In the Bracegirdle case  a galaxy of lawyers appeared free of charge  to uphold  the principle that the British Government  could not order  the deportation  of Bracegirdle.

In more recent times  some lawyers have paid with their lives  for appearing in human rights cases.

Of course,  in every profession  one finds people with different philosophies. It cannot  be said, however, that lawyers have not contributed to the laws’ delays.  As much as members of the clergy,  universities  and other institutions have not behaved in a manner in keeping with  the high standards expected of them, the same can be said of lawyers. Perhaps it is a  crisis of our time.

Pakistan Day was  celebrated  with full  fervour  and enthusiasm  by the Pakistanis living in Sri Lanka  at a ceremony held at the residence of the High Commissioner  of Pakistan in Colombo, on Thursday.

The day’s proceedings started with a recitation from the Holy Quran followed by the hoisting of the National Flag. During the flag hoisting ceremony the National Anthem was played and sung by all Pakistanis in chorus.

The High Commissioner of Pakistan  Mr. Mir Abad Hussein read out the messages to the nation from the Pakistani President  Mr. Ghulam  Ishaq  Khan, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan  Mohtarma  Benazir  Bhutto.  A delegation of the Sri Lanka – Pakistan Association  also called to offer their felicitations  to the Pakistan high Commissioner at his residence.

The ceremony ended with a  joint prayer for the Founder of  Pakistan  Quaid –e – Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah  and those who Laid down their lives during the struggle of Pakistan. Solidarity with the people of Jammu and   Kashmir for their just struggle for their right of self determination  in accordance with the United  Nations  Resolution was also expressed.

In the evening the High Commissioner hosted a reception  on the beautifully illumined lawn of the High Commission.  The reception was  attended by a large number of people including Ministers, members of parliament, members of diplomatic missions and the elite of the city. Minister Thondaman  represented the Sri Lanka  government.

The High Commissioner on this occasion, on behalf of the President of Pakistan  decorated the Justice(Retd)  Mr. T.W.Rajaratnam, MP,  with Pakistan’s  High Civil award- Hilal –e- Quaid-e-e- Azam  which Pakistan’s  President had  conferred on him on the Independence Day of Pakistan in August 1989.

Sri Lankan Parliamentarian and former  Supreme  Court  Judge T.W.Rajaratnam  was honoured by the people of Pakistan and Prime Minister  Benazir Bhutto’s  Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) when he was invited to join a panel of international dignitaries to address a seminar  held to mark the tenth death anniversary  of former Pakistani  Prime Minister  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Mr. T W Rajaratnam (SLFP) speaking in Parliament yesterday  on the votes of the Ministry of Justice  said that  President Premadasa  had been fair in the appointment of judges.

He also said that the Presidential system  safeguarded certain interests of the minorities He said  “ Mr. A.C.S. Hameed  said that the President does not interfere in considering the seniority of judges.  I endorse his view.  He has been fair in appointing  members to the Judicial Services Commission.  Judges who had given decisions against the Government  have also been included in the Commission.  The only other Prime Minister who acted in this manner was S.W.R.D  Bandaranaike.
I am not a legal luminary, but I am a legal firefly.  I am also proud to be a sacked judge. I was sacked by the dharmishta  government of   President Jayawardene.

The law’s delay is a commom  problem. Thousands of Appeal Court cases have not been disposed of.The rule of law has collapsed. This is  a matter for  concern”.

When one speaks of Jathika  Chinthanaya, I remind myself first that I am neither a Sinhalese nor a Buddhist and, therefore, I must examine myself to give an objective point of view.

I however, accept Buddhism as a great philosophy which treats mankind as one entity. It makes no difference between man and man; it teaches a universal philosophy. The adherent of the Jathika Chintanaya  must examine the question whether their philosophy takes away something from this  perennial  and universal  philosophy.  Secondly, they must ask the question  whether  Buddhism is intended exclusively for the Sinhalese.  Is their philosophy divisive?

I have heard it said that  the Jathika Chintanaya is a fundamentalist, chauvinistic  movement.  But these derogatory  remarks  are not arguments. What is important is tolerance, and understanding by those propagating the Dhamma. There must be a realization that the Dhamma is Buddhism  and no movement should  damage the Dhamma.

Jathika Chintanaya  must be consistent with  humanism.  If it is not, it is contrary to the Dhamma. Secondly, the Sinhala  race must not alienate the friendship of other races in the country. It is counter productive  for the Sinhala race to exclude the wisdom of  co-existence with other races The world is shrinking day by day, and nothing must be done to build fences around one particular race.   Banning the drinking of Coca  Cola is among those in the philosophy of the Jathika Chintanaya,  which I approve.  It is one of those drinks that fail to give any nourishment, and what’s more- can be a danger like other sweet drinks-to one’s health.  On the other hand, if the drinking of Coca Cola is banned hundreds of people will be out of jobs! Today, with a free run for profit motivation, the Tanha  of the businessman has increased. Unbridled Tanha  creates  “perethayas, and it is not wrong to say that our economic system  is generally controlled by “perethayas” and,  strange as it may seem, the  unrest and disturbances  in the country and outside is due to the sense of insecurity on the part of the super rich.  For the greater happiness of the greater number,  man  must unite to fight oppression,  and not allow chauvinism to stand in the way of unity  and concerted  effort  to defeat  the capitalist  super rich class.

The lessons of history are that  chauvinism  and  fundamentalism  have only contributed  to enormous profit making by arms dealers  and drug peddlars.  The seats of learning must be exclusively devoted  to the acquisition  of knowledge.

Former   Supreme    Court   Judge  Testifies  to   SOCIALIST   HUMANISM
Humanism is the philosophy of the Soviet People. The concern for the well - being  of their fellow citizens, the respect for equality  as well as upholding and consolidating Justice are shining examples.
The basis for the development of a society is justice and equality. And this is evident in the rapid development of the Soviet  Union  which is a multi -national  state.
Law and Justice is administered by the people. The most interesting factor is that rehabilitation programmes are conducted in respect of minor offenders.
The Soviet Union is a peace- loving country that really works for the cause of peace. But it should be said that in the face of imperialist  manoeuvres  the strengthening of defence capabilities are necessary.

These observations were made by T.W.Rajaratnam, former Supreme court judge at a meeting held on Monday the 12th October,1981 at Colombo.

T.W.Rajaratnam,  who is  a vice – president of the Lanka – Soviet Frienship League, was a member of the delegation which visited the Soviet Union together with Shelton Ranaraja, Deputy Minister of Justice.

The meeting was presided over by T.B. Subasinghe, President of the  Sri Lanka – Soviet Friendship League. Rajaratnam said that he was interested in the Soviet Union from his undergraduate days in the University of Ceylon   (Colombo) His first visit  to that country cleared all  doubts and confirmed all that had been said about the Soviet Union.

Retired  Supreme Court Judge  T.W. Rajaratnam  makes a strong case against fundamentalism  whose roots go back to ancient times, and calls on the religious and rational  to fight these tendencies. This is an excerpt  of an article by him. 

When discussing  Religion and Rationalism  two questions have to be considered.  One, whether Rationalism and Religion can co- exist, and two, if so, does Rationalism subject itself  to some qualifications  and modification,  and likewise, does Religion also subject itself to some qualification  and modification First, let us have some sort of consensus on the meaning of the terms “Religion” and “Rationalism”.

Religion means a belief in, or acceptance of a persuasion or philosophy, which does not (more often than does) exclude the supernatural.  On the other hand, Rationalism is also a philosophy, if not a persuasion which propounds the theory that reason is the foundation of certainty in knowledge, and reason is the ultimate authority.
In practice, Rationalism seeks to explain what may appear to be supernatural  in a way consonant with  reason.  Where reason ends, belief begins.

Hinduism is not one religion. It is the history, content and practice of many religions and thought  ranging from animal worship to the highest Vedanta  philosophy.  It is polytheistic and monotheistic, it is rational and irrational, it is superstitious and non  superstitious.

It embraces Theism, Atheism, and Agnosticism. It is natural and  supernatural.   It embraces all religious thought. It is both a religion and a philosophy. It has everything and nothing, so to speak, on its  Menu Card, and you can take what you like, or leave it.

It culminates in Man being God himself, going beyond the concept of Man being made in the image of God.  It includes the concept of Man being God himself, and also the concept of God  being man. It is symbolic and non symbolic. The Rationalist sees the rational meaning  behind the symbol,  and the believer  sees the idol as the reality.  When one says he is a Hindu, it is far  too general  a term.

In Hinduism, there is the animal worship, the Brahmin cult, the caste tyranny, and the priestcraft.  There is  fundamentalisam  on the one hand, and the highest tolerance on the  other.

Buddhism grew on Hindu soil. It was the intellectual flower  that blossomed on a Hindu soil. The Vedanta philosophy is the spiritual flower that grew of Hindu soil.

Though Christianity did not grow on a Hindu soil, The message of Christ is the message of Love, a message of Universal Love  which, significantly is the message in the essence of the intellectual  and spiritual flowers,  that is to say the essence of  Buddhism and the Vedanta  philosophies.

Whether it is the Fatherhood of God, or the Brotherhood of Man, as preached by the Prophet, mankind belongs to one family,  and man is involved with man.

The Dhamma is a perfectly rational philosophy. Is it possible for a Rationalist to quarrel  with the Four Noble Truths, And the Noble Eightfold  Path? The Rationalist, if he does not like the term Noble can call these concepts as the Four  Rational  Truths, and the Eightfold Rational Path to Peace of Mind. Surely a Rationalist is not averse to peace in the world, and peace of mind!

Why should a Rationalist quarrel with  the message of  Christ and the Sermon on the Mount? Why should the Rationalist quarrel with the concept of Divinity of Man as expressed in the Vedanta  philosophy?

If he does not accept the concept of Divinity  let him amend it to the concept of the Dignity of Man.  What is irrational in the teaching of the Prophet to the society of his times?  The essence of all these  teachings  is rational. It is Love and Humanism.

Is that something that cannot  co-exist with Rationalism and the Social Sciences?  We are asked by the teachings of the Buddha  to be compassionate and kind.  We have been told that greater than the building of temples, lighting of lamps and offering of flowers, is one kind act to a fellow human being.

We have been told to take a lesson from the bee which collects and keeps in reserve only that much honey  from the flower that is sufficient for its sustenance, lest it damage the flower, and we are advised not to take from society more than we need, for the sake of the preservation and stability of society.  Is there anything  irrational in all this?

Christ told the crowd who wanted to stone the fallen woman to death because she had sinned:  “He amongst you who has not sinned, let him cast the first stone”  Christ did not make a difference between Jew and  Gentile.

Was it not Love and Reason that  motivated  these great  teachers? They had no vested interest to protect.  What is irrational in the Brotherhood and the Way of Life preached by the Prophet in his words of wisdom?

Fundamentalists,  on the other hand, in every religion, have no use for the essence and spirit of the teachings of the masters.  Rationalists can see them in the course of history as the cause of wars, bloodshed and horrible crime.
These wars are invariably self motivated  to safe guard their  vested interests in established society.

The revolution of October 1917 in Russia  where comparatively  only a few were killed  is still called a  Bloody Revolution,  whereas  religious wars  continue to be called  Holy Wars and  Crusades   despite the casualties running into millions over the years, keeping man in bondage, ignorance and suffering.

Fundamentalists  survive and thrive on the ignorance of people, whom they keep brainwashed  with their theories, and it is true that Fundamentalists largely contribute to man’s inhumanity to man. It helps the oppressors to continue the oppression of the oppressed  with the help of the oppressed  whose ignorance, superstition and fear  of the supernatural are exploited by these so called religious purists.  Ignorance, fear,  superstition  and the  supernatural  are the old timeless weapons of the Fudamentalists  to avail themselves of the help of the oppressed themselves...

Voltaire said, we must not discard religion without finding a substitute for it.  We will not venture to convert Mother Theresa to Rationalism without  religion.  Just as religion can breed the fundamentalist,  Rationalism can also breed a fundamentalist and a fanatic.

We must not throw out the baby with the bathwater.  Religion must drive out the fundamentalist. It must be a concerted effort. The Rationalist can help in this noble endeavour.