Opinion
Sir Cyril de Zoysa, a man of great munificence
By Most Venerable Karagoda Uyangoda Maithri Murthy Maha Nayaka Thero
(Master of Education)
President, Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha
Acting Supreme Maha Nayaka, Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Nikaaya
(Today, 26 Oct., 2023 marks the 127th birthday of Sir Cyril de Zoysa, a man of great munificence who lived in Sri Lanka, once as President of the Senate too. This presentation is in commemoration of his birth.)
If ever there was a person who throughout a lifetime cultivated qualities of devotion, discipline, generosity and wisdom, who was endowed with an immensely dignified personality, who displayed uncompromising self-confidence, who was imbued with knowledge and foresight, who was fortified by a full blown sense of patriotism and keen business acumen, and above all, bearing the character of a most amiable lay Buddhist devoted to the Sambuddha Sasana, who in recent times had fallen from the skies as it were, upon our resplendent isle, such person was none other than Sir Cyril de Zoysa.
Sir Cyril’s birthplace was the historic Welitota in the township of Balapitiya in South Sri Lanka which had earned encomiums as being the land of the valiant. His parents were Solomon de Zoysa, Notary Public and Harriet de Zoysa. Born on the 26th of October in the year 1896, he had his education at St. Thomas’ College, Matara, Richmond College, Galle and Royal College, Colombo. He was successful at the Cambridge Senior Examination in 1916, gained admission to the Ceylon Law College, Colombo, studied the Law and commenced his professional career at the Balapitiya Courts. Very soon, he moved to Kalutara Courts and started practising as a Proctor, which was the turning point in his life.
The Kalutara Bodhi Premises
Sir Cyril, who spied an ancient Bo Tree near the railway line close to the Kalutara Courts made it a part of his routine to visit the place every day in the evenings after Court work, perform the prescribed rites, offer flowers and light little clay lamps as was the long tradition. Then, this Bo Tree was in an undeveloped and highly unprotected state. The British Government Agent of Kalutara had issued orders that the performance of rites and rituals at the Bodhi premises shall be abandoned. For this reason, the Bodhiya stood alone and deserted. As a clever young lawyer and a devout Buddhist, Sir Cyril, ignored such orders and engaged in the performance of the traditional rites and rituals, with added vigour. Seeing this, the Buddhist community rallied round him and fearlessly engaged in worship and homage to the Buddha. Sir Cyril went on to purchase with his own private funds the official residence of the white Agent of the Government, which was perched upon the knoll or mound opposite the sacred Bodhi Tree, and also the Kachcheri premises, (Kachcheri being the office complex of the present day District Secretary /Government Agent). He then commenced the work of constructing a Chaitya or great sepulchral monument, likened to the work of the Great Creator Architect, Vishvakarma, in the Hindu pantheon.
For this purpose he established in 1951, the Board of Trustees of the Kalutara Bodhiya and had caused the construction of the premises designed to attract and inspire with devotion, passers-by along Galle Road. The Chaitya, with a circumference of 300 feet and a diameter of 95 feet, has the unusual feature of an open space within its inner chamber. Sir Cyril had the great good fortune to commence the work of the Chaitya in 1964, complete it all by January 1974, place the pinnacle upon the crest of the Chaitya and make this offering to the Maha Sangha. It is with infinite devotion that he invested his wealth, energy and time in this venture. Today the premises of the Kalutara Bodhiya has been transformed into a sacred place of great beauty, attracting honour and respect from millions of Buddhists and non-Buddhists the world over. The Bodhiya indeed represents the prime fruit among all the fruits that Sir Cyril’s wholesome actions have yielded.
The Business World
Sir Cyril who formed a private Bus Company by the name of ‘Swarnapali’ later changed its name to South Western Bus Company and expanded its services from Colombo to Matara, Tissa and Kataragama. At the time, this was the largest private Bus Company in our country. In 1956 when the Bandaranaike Government nationalised bus services Sir Cyril handed over the buses belonging to his Company only after repairing them all and having the tanks brimful with fuel. In the same token, it is in the cause of public welfare that he handed over to the Government all Depots and Service Centres that belonged to his Company.
It was with all goodwill towards public welfare that he started a Handloom Textile Project in the land where his parental home stood in Balapitiya, his birthplace. This gave rise to job opportunities for hundreds of people while it was successful in squirting out top quality textiles and garments fit for the local market and the foreign market as well. He started a number of rubber-based industries, rubber being one of the main economic resources in the Kalutara District. This led to the creation of thousands of job opportunities for youth. He was thus successful in having the country earn a sizable volume of foreign exchange too.
Politics and Social Service
In the year 1941 Sir Cyril became the Chairman of the Urban Council, Kalutara. At a later stage he was appointed to the Senate which was then popularly known as the Upper House. Here he served as Vice President for six years and as President for eight years making a name for himself as a man of unblemished character in the world of politics, forthright, honourable and dignified, which clearly reflected his political acumen.
Sir Cyril de Zoysa who became the Chairman of the Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) took the initiative to construct the YMBA Building in Colombo Fort, using part of his own personal funds too. He ensured that much of the income generated by this Building was used for the provision of services rendered by the YMBA. It was by popular choice that he was called upon to chair a large number of organisations such as the Sri Lanka Law Society, the All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress, the Sri Lanka Scout Association and the Parama Vignaanaartha Sangamaya . He was the founder of Kalutara Vidyalaya and Kalutara Balika Vidyalaya.
Sir Cyril organised the Kataragama Kirivehera Restoration Society, became its first Chairman and reconstructed the historic Kirivehera Chaitya. He went on to provide much of the infrastructure required for the sacred premises of Kataragama by building the required network of roads, Pilgrims’ Rests, Alms Halls, etc. It is along with the restoration of the Kirivehera that the majesty and the ancient glory of the sacred Kataragama premises too were restored. At this time these sacred premises of Kataragama did not have electricity. The Electricity Board, too, had neither the capacity nor the means to make provision. At this juncture Sir Cyril came forward to meet this need. He gifted a generator with sufficient capacity to provide power to the entirety of the sacred premises at Kataragama; and what is more, he undertook the responsibility of paying for its maintenance. We should never forget that it is due to Sir Cyril’s magnanimity that Kataragama has developed and progressed to this extent.
The Amarapura Bhikku Samagree
It is to the Most Venerable Madihe Pannaaseeha Maha Nayaka Thera that Sir Cyril first revealed his firm determination that Bhikkhus of the Amarapura Sector who were organised by way of twenty-two sectors, separately from one another, should come together as one organisation. Later on, Sir Cyril himself provided all facilities including transport facilities for Maha Nayaka, Anunayaka and Lekhakadhikari Theras of the Amarapura Sector, who were spread out all over Sri Lanka, to meet together to discuss this subject. It is as a result of this that the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha was formed in 1966. Accordingly, the massive force and the giant energy that stood behind the chain of activities that comprised the screen behind which the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha was created, was none other than Sir Cyril himself.
Conclusion
The Government of Great Britain conferred a Knighthood on Sir Cyril de Zoysa who had provided large-scale services in the cause of the Buddha Sasana and also in other fields – national, religious, social, educational, political, etc. This knighthood is the “Knight of the British Empire (KBE)”. Its shortened form in English is ‘Sir’ and in Sinhala ít is Srimath. This is how Cyril de Zoysa came to be addressed in English as ‘Sir Cyril ’ and in Sinhala as ‘Srimath Cyril da Zoysa’.
Sir Cyril who provided such large-scale services lived for 82 years and passed away on the 2nd of January 1978.
The Present and the Future
I hold in high esteem the dedication of Deshamanya Ajita de Zoysa, the incumbent Chairman and of other members of the Kalutara Bodhi Trust who continue unbroken the tradition of providing services in the same manner as did Sir Cyril. Chief among such services are the Programme of Training Teachers in the Dhamma Schools; the Programme of the Annual Provision of Text Books for Student Bhikkhus in all the Pirivenas in the Kalutara District; the Programme of granting scholarships to Student Bhikkhus preparing to earn the qualification of Praacheena Panditha, in the Districts of Kalutara and Galle; the Bodhignana Library Project; Homes for the Aged and Homes for Children. Moreover, the Bodhi Trust gives very generous donations for the development of Viharasthana or residential quarters for monks; for preserving the good health of monks; and to subsidize the costs of funeral ceremonies. In the active discharge of all these duties it is Ashan de Zoysa, Member of the Board of Trustees, who plays a very active role, on behalf of the Chairman. I see this as a very good omen for the future. I perceive the past of this most munificent generation in Sir Cyril de Zoysa, the present in Deshamanya Ajita de Zoysa and the future in Mr. Ashan de Zoysa.
Today, Deshamanya Ajita de Zoysa is the President of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikayabhivurdhi Dayaka Sabha, Vice President of the Sri Lanka Ramañña Maha Nikayarakshaka Sabha, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Colombo YMBA, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Musaeus College, which is a popular Buddhist Girls’ School. The efforts made by Deshamanya Ajita de Zoysa to uphold the Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha set up initially with the support of Sir Cyril de Zoysa and to continue the social services initiated by Sir Cyril in the same original way, are most commendable. Furthermore, the Honorary Chairman repeatedly emphasizes the need for the Amarapura Sector and the Ramañña Sector to come together and work in unison. To this end Sir Cyril acts with dedication to extend his unstinted support. He filled in the vacuum evident by the lack of an Office for the Amarapura Sangha Sabha, by constructing a three-storied office complex at No. 70, Galle Road, Wellawatta, Colombo 6, using his own private funds, and made an offering of this to the Sasana on 16th August 2020. It was named the Srimath Cyril de Zoysa Anusmarana Mandiraya (Sir Cyril de Zoysa Memorial Building), by way of honour and respect extended to him by the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Nikaya.
It is our belief that on this day when we commemorate Sir Cyril de Zoysa’s 127th birthday he watches all these activities through the power of paranormal perception and extends his blessings to us all. May he attain the eternal peace of Nibbana.
by Dr B.J.C.Perera
MBBS(Cey), DCH(Cey), DCH(Eng), MD(Paed), MRCP(UK), FRCP(Edin),
FRCP(Lon), FRCPCH(UK), FSLCPaed, FCCP, Hony FRCPCH(UK), Hony. FCGP(SL)
Specialist Consultant Paediatrician and Honorary Senior Fellow,
Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Joint Editor, Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health
In an age of unprecedented global development, technological advancements, universal connectivity, and improvements in living standards in many areas of the world, it is a very dark irony that child food poverty remains a pressing issue. UNICEF defines child food poverty as children’s inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in early childhood. Despite the planet Earth’s undisputed capacity to produce enough food to nourish everyone, millions of children still go hungry each day. We desperately need to explore the multifaceted deleterious effects of child food poverty, on physical health, cognitive development, emotional well-being, and societal impacts and then try to formulate a road map to alleviate its deleterious effects.
Every day, right across the world, millions of parents and families are struggling to provide nutritious and diverse foods that young children desperately need to reach their full potential. Growing inequities, conflict, and climate crises, combined with rising food prices, the overabundance of unhealthy foods, harmful food marketing strategies and poor child-feeding practices, are condemning millions of children to child food poverty.
In a communique dated 06th June 2024, UNICEF reports that globally, 1 in 4 children; approximately 181 million under the age of five, live in severe child food poverty, defined as consuming at most, two of eight food groups in early childhood. These children are up to 50 per cent more likely to suffer from life-threatening malnutrition. Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood – the third issue of UNICEF’s flagship Child Nutrition Report – highlights that millions of young children are unable to access and consume the nutritious and diverse diets that are essential for their growth and development in early childhood and beyond.
It is highlighted in the report that four out of five children experiencing severe child food poverty are fed only breastmilk or just some other milk and/or a starchy staple, such as maize, rice or wheat. Less than 10 per cent of these children are fed fruits and vegetables and less than 5 per cent are fed nutrient-dense foods such as eggs, fish, poultry, or meat. These are horrendous statistics that should pull at the heartstrings of the discerning populace of this world.
The report also identifies the drivers of child food poverty. Strikingly, though 46 per cent of all cases of severe child food poverty are among poor households where income poverty is likely to be a major driver, 54 per cent live in relatively wealthier households, among whom poor food environments and feeding practices are the main drivers of food poverty in early childhood.
One of the most immediate and visible effects of child food poverty is its detrimental impact on physical health. Malnutrition, which can result from both insufficient calorie intake and lack of essential nutrients, is a prevalent consequence. Chronic undernourishment during formative years leads to stunted growth, weakened immune systems, and increased susceptibility to infections and diseases. Children who do not receive adequate nutrition are more likely to suffer from conditions such as anaemia, rickets, and developmental delays.
Moreover, the lack of proper nutrition can have long-term health consequences. Malnourished children are at a higher risk of developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity later in life. The paradox of child food poverty is that it can lead to both undernutrition and overnutrition, with children in food-insecure households often consuming calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods due to economic constraints. This dietary pattern increases the risk of obesity, creating a vicious cycle of poor health outcomes.
The impacts of child food poverty extend beyond physical health, severely affecting cognitive development and educational attainment. Adequate nutrition is crucial for brain development, particularly in the early years of life. Malnutrition can impair cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Studies have consistently shown that malnourished children perform worse academically compared to their well-nourished peers. Inadequate nutrition during early childhood can lead to reduced school readiness and lower IQ scores. These children often struggle to concentrate in school, miss more days due to illness, and have lower overall academic performance. This educational disadvantage perpetuates the cycle of poverty, as lower educational attainment reduces future employment opportunities and earning potential.
The emotional and psychological effects of child food poverty are profound and are often overlooked. Food insecurity creates a constant state of stress and anxiety for both children and their families. The uncertainty of not knowing when or where the next meal will come from can lead to feelings of helplessness and despair. Children in food-insecure households are more likely to experience behavioural problems, including hyperactivity, aggression, and withdrawal. The stigma associated with poverty and hunger can further exacerbate these emotional challenges. Children who experience food poverty may feel shame and embarrassment, leading to social isolation and reduced self-esteem. This psychological toll can have lasting effects, contributing to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety in adolescence and adulthood.
Child food poverty also perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality. Children who grow up in food-insecure households are more likely to remain in poverty as adults, continuing the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. This cycle of poverty exacerbates social disparities, contributing to increased crime rates, reduced social cohesion, and greater reliance on social welfare programmes. The repercussions of child food poverty ripple through society, creating economic and social challenges that affect everyone. The healthcare costs associated with treating malnutrition-related illnesses and chronic diseases are substantial. Additionally, the educational deficits linked to child food poverty result in a less skilled workforce, which hampers economic growth and productivity.
Addressing child food poverty requires a multi-faceted approach that tackles both immediate needs and underlying causes. Policy interventions are crucial in ensuring that all children have access to adequate nutrition. This can include expanding social safety nets, such as food assistance programmes and school meal initiatives, as well as targeted manoeuvres to reach more vulnerable families. Ensuring that these programmes are adequately funded and effectively implemented is essential for their success.
In addition to direct food assistance, broader economic and social policies are needed to address the root causes of poverty. This includes efforts to increase household incomes through living wage policies, job training programs, and economic development initiatives. Supporting families with affordable childcare, healthcare, and housing can also alleviate some of the financial pressures that contribute to food insecurity.
Community-based initiatives play a vital role in combating child food poverty. Local food banks, community gardens, and nutrition education programmes can help provide immediate relief and promote long-term food security. Collaborative efforts between government, non-profits, and the private sector are necessary to create sustainable solutions.
Child food poverty is a profound and inescapable issue with far-reaching consequences. Its deleterious effects on physical health, cognitive development, emotional well-being, and societal stability underscore the urgent need for comprehensive action. As we strive for a more equitable and just world, addressing child food poverty must be a priority. By ensuring that all children have access to adequate nutrition, we can lay the foundation for a healthier, more prosperous future for individuals and society as a whole. The fight against child food poverty is not just a moral imperative but an investment in our collective future. Healthy, well-nourished children are more likely to grow into productive, contributing members of society. The benefits of addressing this issue extend beyond individual well-being, enhancing economic stability and social harmony. It is incumbent upon us all to recognize and act upon the understanding that every child deserves the right to adequate nutrition and the opportunity to thrive.
Despite all of these existent challenges, it is very definitely possible to end child food poverty. The world needs targeted interventions to transform food, health, and social protection systems, and also take steps to strengthen data systems to track progress in reducing child food poverty. All these manoeuvres must comprise a concerted effort towards making nutritious and diverse diets accessible and affordable to all. We need to call for child food poverty reduction to be recognized as a metric of success towards achieving global and national nutrition and development goals.
Material from UNICEF reports and AI assistance are acknowledged.
By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
The colossal failure of not a single opinion poll predicting accurately the result of the Indian parliamentary election, the greatest exercise in democracy in the world, raises the question whether the importance of opinion polls is vastly exaggerated. During elections two types of opinion polls are conducted; one based on intentions to vote, published during or before the campaign, often being not very accurate as these are subject to many variables but exit polls, done after the voting where a sample tally of how the voters actually voted, are mostly accurate. However, of the 15 exit polls published soon after all the votes were cast in the massive Indian election, 13 vastly overpredicted the number of seats Modi’s BJP led coalition NDA would obtain, some giving a figure as high as 400, the number Modi claimed he is aiming for. The other two polls grossly underestimated predicting a hung parliament. The actual result is that NDA passed the threshold of 272 comfortably, there being no landslide. BJP by itself was not able to cross the threshold, a significant setback for an overconfident Mody! Whether this would result in less excesses on the part of Modi, like Muslim-bashing, remains to be seen. Anyway, the statement issued by BJP that they would be investigating the reasons for failure rather than blaming the process speaks very highly of the maturity of the democratic process in India.
I was intrigued by this failure of opinion polls as this differs dramatically from opinion polls in the UK. I never failed to watch ‘Election night specials’ on BBC; as the Big Ben strikes ‘ten’ (In the UK polls close at 10pm} the anchor comes out with “Exit polls predict that …” and the actual outcome is often almost as predicted. However, many a time opinion polls conducted during the campaign have got the predictions wrong. There are many explanations for this.
An opinion poll is defined as a research survey of public opinion from a particular sample, the origin of which can be traced back to the 1824 US presidential election, when two local newspapers in North Carolina and Delaware predicted the victory of Andrew Jackson but the sample was local. First national survey was done in 1916 by the magazine, Literary Digest, partly for circulation-raising, by mailing millions of postcards and counting the returns. Of course, this was not very scientific though it accurately predicted the election of Woodrow Wilson.
Since then, opinion polls have grown in extent and complexity with scientific methodology improving the outcome of predictions not only in elections but also in market research. As a result, some of these organisations have become big businesses. For instance, YouGov, an internet-based organisation co-founded by the Iraqi-born British politician Nadim Zahawi, based in London had a revenue of 258 million GBP in 2023.
In Sri Lanka, opinion polls seem to be conducted by only one organisation which, by itself, is a disadvantage, as pooled data from surveys conducted by many are more likely to reflect the true situation. Irrespective of the degree of accuracy, politicians seem to be dependent on the available data which lend explanations to the behaviour of some.
The Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey has been tracking the voting intentions for the likely candidates for the Presidential election. At one stage the NPP/JVP leader AKD was getting a figure over 50%. This together with some degree of international acceptance made the JVP behave as if they are already in power, leading to some incidents where their true colour was showing.
The comments made by a prominent member of the JVP who claimed that the JVP killed only the riff-raff, raised many questions, in addition to being a total insult to many innocents killed by them including my uncle. Do they have the authority to do so? Do extra-judicial killings continue to be JVP policy? Do they consider anyone who disagrees with them riff-raff? Will they kill them simply because they do not comply like one of my admired teachers, Dr Gladys Jayawardena who was considered riff-raff because she, as the Chairman of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation, arranged to buy drugs cheaper from India? Is it not the height of hypocrisy that AKD is now boasting of his ties to India?
Another big-wig comes with the grand idea of devolving law and order to village level. As stated very strongly, in the editorial “Pledges and reality” (The Island, 20 May) is this what they intend to do: Have JVP kangaroo-courts!
Perhaps, as a result of these incidents AKD’s ratings has dropped to 39%, according to the IHP survey done in April, and Sajith Premadasa’s ratings have increased gradually to match that. Whilst they are level pegging Ranil is far behind at 13%. Is this the reason why Ranil is getting his acolytes to propagate the idea that the best for the country is to extend his tenure by a referendum? He forced the postponement of Local Governments elections by refusing to release funds but he cannot do so for the presidential election for constitutional reasons. He is now looking for loopholes. Has he considered the distinct possibility that the referendum to extend the life of the presidency and the parliament if lost, would double the expenditure?
Unfortunately, this has been an exercise in futility and it would not be surprising if the next survey shows Ranil’s chances dropping even further! Perhaps, the best option available to Ranil is to retire gracefully, taking credit for steadying the economy and saving the country from an anarchic invasion of the parliament, rather than to leave politics in disgrace by coming third in the presidential election. Unless, of course, he is convinced that opinion polls do not matter and what matters is the ballots in the box!
By Prof. Kirthi Tennakone
ktenna@yahoo.co.uk
Thoughtfulness is the quality of being conscious of issues that arise and considering action while seeking explanations. It facilitates finding solutions to problems and judging experiences.
Almost all human accomplishments are consequences of thoughtfulness.
Can you perform day-to-day work efficiently and effectively without being thoughtful? Obviously, no. Are there any major advancements attained without thought and contemplation? Not a single example!
Science and technology, art, music and literary compositions and religion stand conspicuously as products of thought.
Thought could have sinister motives and the only way to eliminate them is through thought itself. Thought could distinguish right from wrong.
Empathy, love, amusement, and expression of sorrow are reflections of thought.
Thought relieves worries by understanding or taking decisive action.
Despite the universal virtue of thoughtfulness, some advocate an idea termed mindfulness, claiming the benefits of nurturing this quality to shape mental wellbeing. The concept is defined as focusing attention to the present moment without judgment. A way of forgetting the worries and calming the mind – a form of meditation. A definition coined in the West to decouple the concept from religion. The attitude could have a temporary advantage as a method of softening negative feelings such as sorrow and anger. However, no man or woman can afford to be non-judgmental all the time. It is incompatible with indispensable thoughtfulness! What is the advantage of diverting attention to one thing without discernment during a few tens of minute’s meditation? The instructors of mindfulness meditation tell you to focus attention on trivial things. Whereas in thoughtfulness, you concentrate the mind on challenging issues. Sometimes arriving at groundbreaking scientific discoveries, solution of mathematical problems or the creation of masterpieces in engineering, art, or literature.
The concept of meditation and mindfulness originated in ancient India around 1000 BCE. Vedic ascetics believed the practice would lead to supernatural powers enabling disclosure of the truth. Failing to meet the said aspiration, notwithstanding so many stories in scripture, is discernable. Otherwise, the world would have been awakened to advancement by ancient Indians before the Greeks. The latter culture emphasized thoughtfulness!
In India, Buddha was the first to deviate from the Vedic philosophy. His teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra, were adherents of meditation. Unconvinced of their approach, Buddha concluded a thoughtful analysis of the actualities of life should be the path to realisation. However, in an environment dominated by Vedic tradition, meditation residually persisted when Buddha’s teachings transformed into a religion.
In the early 1970s, a few in the West picked up meditation and mindfulness. We Easterners, who criticize Western ideas all the time, got exalted after seeing something Eastern accepted in the Western circles. Thereafter, Easterners took up the subject more seriously, in the spirit of its definition in the West.
Today, mindfulness has become a marketable commodity – a thriving business spreading worldwide, fueled largely by advertising. There are practice centres, lessons onsite and online, and apps for purchase. Articles written by gurus of the field appear on the web.
What attracts people to mindfulness programmes? Many assume them being stressed and depressed needs to improve their mental capacity. In most instances, these are minor complaints and for understandable reasons, they do not seek mainstream medical interventions but go for exaggeratedly advertised alternatives. Mainstream medical treatments are based on rigorous science and spell out both the pros and cons of the procedure, avoiding overstatement. Whereas the alternative sector makes unsubstantiated claims about the efficacy and effectiveness of the treatment.
Advocates of mindfulness claim the benefits of their prescriptions have been proven scientifically. There are reports (mostly in open-access journals which charge a fee for publication) indicating that authors have found positive aspects of mindfulness or identified reasons correlating the efficacy of such activities. However, they rarely meet standards normally required for unequivocal acceptance. The gold standard of scientific scrutiny is the statistically significant reproducibility of claims.
If a mindfulness guru claims his prescription of meditation cures hypertension, he must record the blood pressure of participants before and after completion of the activity and show the blood pressure of a large percentage has stably dropped and repeat the experiment with different clients. He must also conduct sessions where he adopts another prescription (a placebo) under the same conditions and compares the results. This is not enough, he must request someone else to conduct sessions following his prescription, to rule out the influence of the personality of the instructor.
The laity unaware of the above rigid requirements, accede to purported claims of mindfulness proponents.
A few years ago, an article published and widely cited stated that the practice of mindfulness increases the gray matter density of the brain. A more recent study found there is no such correlation. Popular expositions on the subject do not refer to the latter report. Most mindfulness research published seems to have been conducted intending to prove the benefits of the practice. The hard science demands doing the opposite as well-experiments carried out intending to disprove the claims. You need to be skeptical until things are firmly established.
Despite many efforts diverted to disprove Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, no contradictions have been found in vain to date, strengthening the validity of the theory. Regarding mindfulness, as it stands, benefits can neither be proved nor disproved, to the gold standard of scientific scrutiny.
Some schools in foreign lands have accommodated mindfulness training programs hoping to develop the mental facility of students and Sri Lanka plans to follow. However, studies also reveal these exercises are ineffective or do more harm than good. Have we investigated this issue before imitation?
Should we force our children to focus attention on one single goal without judgment, even for a moment?
Why not allow young minds to roam wild in their deepest imagination and build castles in the air and encourage them to turn these fantasies into realities by nurturing their thoughtfulness?
Be more thoughtful than mindful?
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