21st death anniversary

by Prof Kolitha H. Sellahewa

I consider it an honor and privilege to write an article of appreciation in commemorating the 21st death anniversary of Deshabandu Alec Robertson falling on December 31, 2023.

Alec Robertson was a high caliber Buddhist scholar whose demise has left a void in our society which is still palpable despite the passage of over two decades of his passing on Dec, 31, 2002 at the age of 74 years. This loss is felt alike among ordinary folk as well as Buddhist scholars amidst whom he shone like a beacon given his intellect and the profound knowledge of the Buddha dharma.

If I were to take you back in history it is interesting to note that he was born to a Catholic Burgher family. And one might wonder how Alec Roberson became a Buddhist scholar of international repute after an upbringing in such a background.

Fate seems to have driven him towards his destiny. In his early formative years his father was living in Dodanduwa and he usually accompanied his father whenever he made an occasional visit to the famous Dodanduwa island hermitage which was in close proximity to his father’s place of work. This was the reclusive abode of two German scholarly monks Gnanathiloka and Gnanaponika Maha Theros. Such encounters though rare, seems to have made an impact in the mind of young Alec. His thirst for the Dhamma was thus awakened.

His father was a free thinker and had an interested in comparative religion. And he had many books at home including books on Buddhism which young Alec read avidly, and he embraced Buddhism while still in his teens, and this was through conviction grounded on a sharp intellect.

It is said that opportunities arise for those treading towards a goal though it is only rarely that we make use of such opportunities. But Alec Robertson was different. He made every effort to put into good use all such occasions. And these opportunities did unfolded in abundance when he was living and working in Colombo.

His quest to learn the Buddha dhamma opened very vividly in front of him with his association with several scholarly erudite monks of yore like, Venerable Palane Vajiragnana, Narada, Piyadassi, Kassapa and Soma theros, all of whom were incumbent monks of Vajirarama temple: which is reputed to have trained so many scholars of Buddhism who were very competent in disseminating the Dhamma across the length and breadth of this country and the entire world. Most of them were monks and Alec Robertson was one of the select few among the laity.

It is around this period that Alec Robertson met late Prof Gunapala Malalasekera who was a scholar of Pali.

Given all these opportunities, of seeking guidance from erudite scholarly monks, mastering the Pali language, his own inherent capabilities and an unwavering effort Alec Robertson relentlessly pursued to master the Buddha Dhamma and acquire a deep understanding of all the three pitakas in its pristine purity.

He did not have degrees in Buddhism nor did he follow any post graduate courses in Buddhist universities. He resorted to study the Suttas in depth, and was, essentially a self-made Buddhist scholar; par excellence.

Alec Robertson was also endowed with a very good memory and a knack of clear presentation. These rare attributes, complemented with a profound knowledge of the Dhamma which he practiced and experienced made him a highly sought after speaker in a wide array of Buddhist fora. He had that charisma and a personality that drew crowds whenever and where ever he delivered a talk.

These talks were not confined to the affluent few in the city of Colombo, he ventured to do so with his mastery of both the Sinhala and English languages in the outstations as well, often using public transport in his young days to reach these distant venues. Such was his deep commitment to propagate the Dhamma.

Those who were privileged to listen to his talks still remember him for the eloquence and clarity of presentation, and not merely the depth of knowledge. His vibrancy captured the audience. How he answered any question that was raised was a sheer delight to watch, as the answers were prompt, precise, simple and relevant to clarify any doubt in the listener’s mind without an iota of ambiguity. The discussions that followed a talk delivered by him; or anyone else in a forum that he chaired was an absolute revelation. He in fact encouraged questions and discussions. All these reflected Alec Robertson’s strong memory and ability to extract and apply appropriately from an enormous resource pool of knowledge. It is perhaps his Wisdom and not merely knowledge that enabled the execution of such feats with seemingly effortless ease.

On a personal note, I remember how initially as a schoolboy and subsequently as a medical student I listened to his talks at Maitriya Hall during the Saturday talks conducted under the auspice of the Servants of the Buddha. And he in fact, commenced participating in these meetings of the Servants of the Buddha while attending school and became its assistant secretary at the tender age of 21 years. He was then its secretary, and eventually took the Servants of the Buddha to lofty heights by beng its president for 30 consecutive years without any interruption. The Society itself has been in existence for 102 years.

My father was very impressed with Alec Robertson and made it a point to come to Maitriya hall whenever he spoke. I too along with my siblings had to accompany our parents more on compulsion rather than any strong desire to learn the dhamma as our interests as youth were on the mundane. But once I entered the Maitriya hall and Alec Robertson started his talks I was listening to his free flow of words virtually riveted to my seat, and that, was simply awesome. And his sharp, crisp voice continues to resonate within me.

Many years later, now as a doctor I followed my father’s footsteps and made it a point to follow these talks of the Servants of the Buddha at Maitriya hall whenever time permitted. On one such occasion Alec Robertson approached me and realizing that I was a doctor wanted me to be interviewed by him in one of the regular Buddhist forum programs he was conducting at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) of which, he was initially a director and later chairman.

I found that request very intriguing and was wondering what a novice like me could talk with a doyen of Buddhism in a Buddhist forum of the SLBC which was more or less exclusive to Buddhist scholars which I was not, nowhere near, very far from that. But that encounter made me clearly see the personality and magnetism of a truly great human being. His seemingly very casual and gentle persuasion was yet so powerful, that I could not say no and I did end up stepping for the first time in my life to a studio at the SLBC.

And, there was Alec Robertson; and the way he chaired that forum was simply amazing. He made me feel so relaxed and I found myself talking with effortless ease sharing my experiences based on the questions raised and I never realized the time passing by. At the end of it Alec was thoroughly impressed in the way I spoke even though my knowledge of the Dhamma was miniscule, and as the chairman, he was so clever that he compensated brilliantly for any lack of my knowledge.

Alec Robertson’s commitment to disseminate his knowledge and experience of the Dhamma was not confined to his talks he published extensively. Very useful articles were written in Buddhist journals both locally and internationally and a plethora of articles to newspapers. One such feat was to contribute an article in English to the Annual Buddhist Journal “Vesak Sirisara” every year over a period of two decades without any interruption.

So let us remember this great son of Sri Lanka, Deshabandu Alec Robertson, who was elevated to Parliament by President Premadasa, as a scholar of Buddhism and an eloquent, erudite presenter who had so much of wisdom and foresight with a deep commitment to alleviate the suffering of mankind by propagating the teachings of the Buddha in a simple and practical way aligned to the simple contented life style he led himself. He is no longer with us but the legacy he has left behind will remain for a very long time to come.

And I believe that the greatest tribute we could do in commemorating his 21st death anniversary is to make every effort to transform this catastrophically unstable society the world over to a stable peaceful society by using the simple modalities of Non-Violence and Truth which are achievable by adhering to the “pancha sila” which is the very quintessence of the solution Alec Robertson had detailed so eloquently. And its implementation both at individual and collective levels should transcend all man made barriers which are nebulous and discriminative.

May he realize the supreme bliss of nibbana with the least delay?

“Sabbe saththa bawanthu sukithatha”