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| Sunday, 20 November 2005 |
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Remembering Aldous Huxley by Ananda Wijayaweera All the spiritual leaders for thousands of years have asked people to be good, loving, peaceful and joyous. Aldous Huxley (1894-1963). Well-known English novelist, essayist and critic too preached the same qualities. Aldous Huxley has written many novels dealing with non-attached individuals and all his fiction since the mid-1930s typically contain each a character who is an exemplar of non-attachment. When a forest fire destroyed Aldous Huxley's home in California in 1961, two years before his death, all his material possessions including all his manuscripts, all his letters and books were also destroyed. Only thing that was saved was a novel 'Island' that he was working on. It was in his possession when the fire broke out and he was away from home at the time. Although the fire destroyed all his material possessions it could not reduce his spirit. He did not become disconsolate. He endured the loss with detachment. The most he said was something with a sense of humour. "It is odd to be starting from scratch at my age with literally nothing in the way of possessions, books, mementoes, letters, diaries. I am evidently intended to learn a little in advance of the final denudation, that you can't take it with you. Here was a man who lost everything and who did not have a shelter to 'cover' his head. Aldous Huxley died on 22.11.1963 the same day as that of the assassination of President Kennedy in USA. Huxley was born on July 26 1894 and his writing carrier extends from 1916 to the end of his life (22.11.1963). It is said that term 'non-attachment' was coined by Huxley himself in his book 'Ends and Means' in 1937, to denote specifically an attitude of disinterestedness in material things, an attitude of detachment in the face of material loss alongside of an attitude of interestedness in charitable activity. Although Aldous Huxley was famous as a great writer, he was not an ordinary writer. He was a philosopher loved by everyone because he practised loving kindness and non-attachment. Ye-hu-di Men-u-hin, US violinist has said 'Huxley's voice was the gentlest melody, ennobled beyond hate, violence and prejudice." T.S. Eliot who knew Aldous Huxley personally described Huxley's character as "gentle and lovable". (T.S. Eliot, British poet, playwright, Nobel prize 1948). According to Denis Gaboi, "Aldous Huxley was in the first place a modern saint and only in the second place a great literally artist." Stephen Spender, English poet and critic "He was really charitable and good." These and so many other opinions witness to the character and nature of Aldous Huxley. The greatest thing was that Aldous Huxley was a simple man who was not attached to material things. Although Huxley was not labelled as a Buddhist he preached what the Buddha preached 2560 years ago. |
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