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| Sunday, 6 July 2003 |
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Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Was Christ's sacrifice a remedy for sin ? - a response This refers to an article by A. Abdul Aziz in the Sunday Observer of June 15, wherein several verses from the Holy Bible were cited to bring into question whether the sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross could redeem man from punishment. I would like to state that, sinners fall into two categories; those who have repented and those who have not. Christians believe that the former category will receive forgiveness by virtue of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The verses cited by Mr. Aziz refers to the latter category of sinners. Christ's forgiveness for the repentant is demonstrated when he said to the thief on his right "Today thou shall be with me in paradise:" Luke 23:43. Christian faith is shrouded with mystery from the very existence of One God as three persons, birth of Christ and to his death and resurrection. Trying to unravel the mysteries of faith by taking verses from the Bible in isolation will strike a blank and serve no positive contribution. On the contrary, pecking on religious beliefs may only attract cheap publicity. Catholics are also of the view that the word of God is not confined to what has been written in the Bible alone but to what has been said through tradition and inspiration through generations. The futility of confining oneself to the words of the Bible alone is amply demonstrated in John 21:25 which states "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written". The letter of Abdul Aziz brings to mind the words of Jesus on the Cross, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do (say)" and the prayer of the repentant sinner. "Nothing in my hands I bring simply to the cross I cling". D.C. Sosa, Negombo I had the opportunity to meet Minister Milinda Moragoda, although I did not know him personally. The timing of this meeting was crucial, as the government had levied a heavy tax on a Mitsubishi Rosa donated by the Princess Diana Fund of the UK that was converted to a Mobile Workshop and Service Unit, in order to take the services of the Jaipur Foot Limb Programme to thousands of amputees as well as the physically handicapped living in remote areas who cannot come to Colombo due to financial constraints or due to lack of awareness. On bringing this to the notice of the Minister at this forum, he did not try to defend the actions of the government, but instead promised to help the Society to carry on with this essential service of providing prostheses and orthoses to thousands of disabled living throughout the country. It was a business forum where, he was the chief guest and after the meeting he came upto me and simply said "meet me at the Ministry at 11a.m. tomorrow." Knowing politicians I was quite sceptical. Nevertheless I was there at 11.00 a.m. To my amazement right on the dot, the Minister was not only free but had summoned a support group, to discuss and put in place a system for the smooth functioning of the mobile workshop. I was indeed quite impressed by the expeditious and efficient manner in which he not only found a solution but put a system in place. We need more of his calibre representing us in parliament, irrespective of party politics. Kalyani Ranasinghe, President, Colombo Friend-in-Need Society. Callous attitude of hospital staff My father Dr. R. M. L. Fernando,(a medical professional) was warded at the National Hospital, Colombo. He was in Room 9 of the Class 1 section (5th floor). I visited my father in hospital on June 13, evening. He asked me for some water to drink as he was without a drop of water for three hours. He had rung the bell about 40 times but was later informed that the bell was not functioning. If the bell was not functioning the patient should have been informed accordingly. He could have brought his own bell from home. The nursing staff told me that it was not their responsibility to provide such care for patients. They said that we should have obtained the services of a special attendant. My father had the services of a special attendant in the night. He did not like to have a special attendant during the day only to give him the bed pan, to empty it and to give him water. My father has passed away. But I hope that the authorities will take steps to ensure that better care is provided for patients at the National Hospital and that such incidents will never recur in future. Rohan Fernando, Mt. Lavinia. Spiritual secret for sound sleep Say: He is Allah the one and only, Allah the eternal absolute, He begetteth not, nor is He begotten, And there is none like unto Him. (Sura 112, Ikhlas, Holy Quran) Breathing is the process whereby air is alternatively drawn into the lungs and then expelled from them. As a result Oxygen is taken into the body and Carbon Dioxide is released from it. At different times, we are subject to all sorts of worries like anxiety, fear, stress, shock, trauma, etc. It is natural that everyone would like to be free from them. Sound sleep eludes us under such circumstances and I would like to share with you how I am able to achieve sound sleep. My secret of spiritual sound sleep evolves around "Allah", the life giving breath inspiration and expiration. Before going to sleep, I recite my usual prayers and then breathe the word "Allah" until I fall asleep without my knowledge. The word "Allah" has to be breathed thus; you inspire or inhale air to the lungs with "AL" until your lungs are full to the maximum and then with "LAH" gradually exhale the air. It is very important and essential, the word Allah has to be pronounced without a break. This breathing has to be done repeatedly with much patience, perseverance with sincerity and faith to derive the full benefit. I am now over 80 years of age. It is only recently that I was able to learn the mystery of the life-giving breath Allah. I am thankful to Almighty Allah for blessing me with the long life and it is only in His hands my last breath also depends. Al Haj M.L.M. Jabir, Dehiwala Congested channel consultation centres Channel consultation by consultant physicians, surgeons etc., is very common at various medical institutions, particularly at reputed private hospitals in the city. Of course the consultant cannot be blamed for this tremendous service. They have won the confidence of patients perhaps while serving at various wards in state hospitals. The patients amidst several hardships are compelled to obtain medical advice and attention from these consultants as they have established a close rapport with them in respect of one's history in a particular ailment. Most consultants call over at channelling centres after an extremely strenuous day's work to see their patients. Most doctors invariably arrive late as they have to attend to their duties in state hospitals until evening and due to traffic congestion. In relations to the high cost of living the consultants too from time to time have increased their consultation fees. However, it is unfair for the authorities of channelling centres to increase their institution fees accordingly. Their present charges ranges from Rs. 60 to Rs. 100 per patient, although the services offered have not relatively improved. The facilities offered at most of the channelling centres are deplorable and much to be desired. The patients who patronise are devoid of adequate comfortable waiting facilities similar to what is available for OPD patients at state owned hospitals. For parking space a particular busy channelling centre levy a charge of Rs. 20. They are unable to provide sufficient parking facilities to cater to the needs of a huge number of patients. They cannot find remedial solutions. The authorities of reputed nursing homes which provide channelling centres should adopt remedial measures to combat overcrowding. They are never content with the adequate revenue they derive by means of institution fees from patients. I strongly suggest to the relative authorities where congestion is predominant to discuss with the consultants with many patients to shift their channelling to an alternate venue where space for patients as well as for parking are readily available. There are certain reputed consultants who have over 50 patients a day. If this suggestion is implemented congestion will be minimised to a great extent. The authorities of course may not like to accede to this suggestion as they prefer to maintain their monopoly over other similar institutions at the expense of the sufferings of the patients. Could this typical Sri Lankan tradition be broken? Sunil Thenabadu, Mt. Lavinia. In view of some of the things that are happening in the world around us today, I think, the following quotation from Lin Yutang from his book "Between Tears and Laughter" might give some food for thought to the readers. "Every age has its buffoons and the buffoons make you laugh. Great men make great mistakes and small men make small mistakes. Then the great men love to point out the small mistakes of the small men, while they do not want to have their great mistakes pointed out by the small men. A mistake is something which is the privilege of the great men to commit and of the small men of this earth to point out after they are dead. Death comes and the buffoonery is over and we take the historical view." "Dead men tell no tales and answer no arguments, and dead censors delete no pages from the books of posterity; so let them have the pleasure of deleting them now. We can already smile at the mistakes of Neville Chamberlain and of all the League of Nations officials in the decade, because now the mistakes are irretrievable and pointing them out indicates a fine historical sense." "The great thing about teaching history is that we must teach history but must not let history teach us." Arul, Colombo 13. |
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