PALMISTRY – PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND OCCULT NONSENSE

Response to Prof. Lamabadusuriya

by Bodhi Dhanapala, Quebec

Professor S.P. Lambadusuriya is a former medical dean who held many high posts in academia, in public life and contributed to pediatric cardiology. He was a Scientific Adviser for Sri Lanka in the Norvatis Foundation. So I was astounded to read an article entitled “Palmistry, a personal experience”, in the Island newspaper dated Sept. 2, 2021 and again in the Sept. 12 Sunday Island.

Occult beliefs and Sri Lanka’s scientific establishment

The co-existence of irrationality and commonsense in Sri Lanka seems to have increased over time. If a child is born even to a “scientifically educated couple”, eg., doctors or engineers, getting a horoscope is a must and the name of the child is also determined by “auspicious” letters given to the parents.

The parents, if they are Sinhalese and subject to urban influences, would rush to a name list made by those who prepare their lists using a dead version of early Sinhalese popularized by an eccentric Pandit and his disciples . The auspicious name lists come from an “Arisen Ahubudu”, a name incomprehensible to ordinary people.

Professor Lambadusuriya would have known Professor Carlo Fonseka who we badly miss in this Abuddhassa Kaley when people are strongly attracted to occult beliefs due to pandemic inspired knee-jerk reactions. Professor Carlo fought against irrationality and absence of reason, mainly in his writings challenging Dr. Nalin de Silva who preached that “Western Science is a chronic lie (Patta Pal Boruwa) perpetrated by the West. Even though Sri Lanka has been nourished by the highly rational Theravada Buddhism which rejected occult belief systems like astrology and palmistry (see “Brahmajaala sutta) as mere Brahaminic myth, they continue to thrive.

Dr. Nalin de Silva is better known for his politics than his attacks on science. He supports revealed truth from the likes of “God Natha” or Vishnu communicated through clairvoyants. In reply to Prof Carlo Fonseka, Dr de Silva once said “let us hear clairvoyants, read horoscopes (පි…න්…..ු) and accept communications from beings not visible to us (……..ු).

Although people like the late Prof. Carlo Fonseka, and others like Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana, Dr Pethiyagoda and also Dr. Upul Wijayawardhana have in recent times taken a stand against irrational nonsense, when someone like Prof. Lambadusuriya writes an article that virtually endorses palmistry, we can hardly fault politicians who rush to Gnana Akka, Eliyantha White or the Tirupathi shrine in Tamil Nadu.

Prof. Lamabadusuriya’s encounter with Ratmalana palmist

Apparently the palmist began by taking an ink imprint of the client’s palm. Is this better than directly examining the palm even with a magnifying glass? Why did he not use a fluorescent ink, or an infra-red lamp, when a differently emphasized set of lines and marks would have shown up?

A medical man knows that there are different crease marks on the skin of different parts of the body – toes, feet, palms, fingers etc. He knows how mere mild fluctuations in the acidity (pH) of the amniotic fluid could change the protein folding and determine these creases or lines in the hand. So, how can chance folding of proteins in response to a mother’s fluid in the womb indicate a pediatrician’s future marriage?

It has been said that the controversial ex-MP Mervyn Silva started as a palmist and clairvoyant practicing under the speaker’s shade tree known as “Pacha gaha” in Galle, and some how manged to convince Mrs. Bandaranaike or one of her advisers that he can predict the future. A consummate con artist who manages to move from the Pachagaha to hold forth in Rosmead Place should not be underestimated. It is a possible that Mervyn Silva did much better that the Ratamalana practitioner.

While a detective is trained in interrogating people, a doctor may not learn how a seasoned con artist can read a client and make him talk, using information drawn from such conversation to spin a yarn that remains in the client’s mind forever. All coincidences drawn in the conversation get reconfirmed. All parts of the story that turn out to be incorrect are forgotten. Astrologers’ ‘accurate’ forecasts are publicized and those that are not, forgotten.

Palmists and astrologers get their clients to talk and gather information enabling a reading likely to be true on at least one or two features: eg. in his young age he had to face a significant illness, had to change his residence, had misunderstandings with parents etc. Then a prediction is made that he will succeed even after facing many odds, will go abroad, and land a senior job at a young age, etc.

Judging by the pre-reading conversation, it will be revealed that the client had “romantic relationships” that didn’t work, but somebody suitable will emerge in the future. The young client may actually now seek partners to make the prediction true! However, the clues from the preamble may have been such that the palmist or astrologer will predict a “traditional arranged marriage” without conflicts.

Dr. Lambadusuriya may have heard of ola-leaf readers in India who will be ready with a client’s palm-leaf horoscope anticipating his arrival. The Hindu Astrologer will even tell your name and other details and send you home astounded. Just as there are optical illusions where you think you saw what you imagined, there are also audio-illusions and ventriloquist tricks where you hear some mumble and think that the other person said it to you. You may be in partial hypnosis. Various researchers investigating these claims of “paranormal” acts have exposed such practices using modern audio and video detecting devices; but only in cases where they are allowed to investigate.

Occult and quacks

The pediatrician’s article comes at a time where Sri Lanka is in the throes of a pandemic. A frightened public is resorting to occult practices and home remedies sold by quacks who thrive selling alternative cures, the most famous being the Dhammika peniya touted as a Kaliamma revelation that won backing from ministers and political VIPs. The claims were publicized by news outlets and TV programs that never followed up with interviews with knowledgeable scientists with the abiity to debunk the quacks.

The State Minster of Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Jayasumana, backed the claim while Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Myanmar (Burma) is reported to have moaned about his inability to get as much Dhammkia peniya as possible. Purveyors of such spurious medicines have made a pretty penny and one worthy had wanted a month to rid the country of covid with a capsule untested by clinical trials.

Meanwhile, other “medical men” of questionable credentials had come forward to push other types of “capsules”, possibly containing Vitamin C and Vitamin D in dangerously high doses, or Ivamectin and other dangerous drugs rejected by the WHO, with no proven effect on Covid or even on common influenza infections.

In France, Dr. Raoult who continued to promote hydroxiquinone as a cure for Covid even after laboratory tests and clinical trials showed it to be ineffective was stripped of his hospital privileges recently. Such interventions don’t happen in Sri Lanka. In fact, such claims may enable appointment as a minster!

[The writer retired recently from his position as the head of the science department of a Quebec Ecole Polytechnique and writes on scientific and sociological topics.]