Happy the karma which brought me to thy shores - Col. Henry Steel Olcott

by Justice P.H.K. Kulatilaka

[- Part 3]

It was in his second visit in April 1881 that Col Olcott launched his Education Fund. He undertook to visit the villages in the Maritime Provinces in a fund raising campaign. Finding transport was extremely difficult.

He had to use all sorts of conveyances i.e ‘ ramshackle little hacknay jutka and ekka, drawn by a single pony or bullock; to the common country cart with its huge wheels… to roughly built boats covered with arches of dried palm leaves but with neither bench or cushion, to elephants carrying us in their howdahs…’. He described the hazards he faced while journeying through jungles in the nights.

He spoke of how his sleep was broken by ‘the ear splitting sounds of the jungle insect world, the horrid yelp of the jackal pack, the distant noise of the wild elephants pushing through the cane groves and the mosquitoes swarming about him with their exasperating drone’. It is interesting to note that he neither made any adverse comment nor find fault with anyone for these situations he had to face. Col. Olcott was a genial, kindly person, a lover of humanity.

Discomfort

In his diary account he said that as he could not tolerate the discomfort any more, he set his ‘Yankee ingenuity’ to work and built a two wheeled travelling cart on springs which could give ample accommodation for four people had lockers projecting from the sides for holding table- furniture, and a small library.

It was so novel and convenient mode of transport that even after a lapse of 15 years it had been used by Anagarika Dharmapala, Leadbeater, Powell, Bunbery and other workers engaged in the Buddhist Revival movement.

In his diary accounts Col. Olcott spoke with nostalgia his trips to Ratnapura to raise funds for his Education Fund. One Solomon Fernando had given permission to ‘dig a little piece of ground’ for what he could get out of it for the Fund. Interestingly he himself had handled the spade first. It started raining and coolies took over. He was able to collect few cat’s eyes but unfortunately there wasn’t a single stone of any commercial value. This single incident portrays the enthusiasm and the strength of character this Great American possessed in achieving his ambition of setting up an Education Fund to put up schools to educate hitherto neglected Buddhist children.

Col. Olcott mentioned of an unusual incident he faced in Ratnapura. A Baptist missionary headed by ‘a grinning black catechist’ had come to his lodgings for an intellectual wrestle up on the respective merits of Buddhism and Christianity. He commented,

‘They retired sadder. If not wiser men’.

River journey

Around 11 p.m. the party rented a paddy boat to do a river journey to Kalutara along the Kalu Ganga. The agreement was for the exclusive occupancy of the boat for the Colonel and his men. As they were about to leave despite their protests the captain let come aboard 25 men.

Col. Olcott hurriedly disembarked, engaged another boat and pushed off. He came to know later that there had been a plot to rob him of his money and if necessary even to ‘despatch’ him and those villains were notoriously bad characters from Pettah. What an escape?

On 1896, April 16 Col. Olcott with his ‘old colleague and friend Dr. Peeble accompanied by a Bhikku undertook a trip to a remote village in Rambukkana. This was then a caste ridden village and the Salvation Army was having a field day. Dr. Peeble opted to have an elephant’s ride where as Col. Olcott travelled in the ox-cart. Dr. Peeble was clutching at the back of the guide who sat in front of him and trying to balance himself to the elephant’s stride. Col. Olcott recapitulated, ‘there was not a bone in my body that did not feel as if it had been passed through a threshing machine’.

Journey

It was such a gruelling journey. There was a large audience to receive him. In his discourse Col. Olcott quoting Vasala Sutra made them to understand that, not only was Buddhism free of caste distinctions, but that Buddha, himself, had denounced it as an unnatural and unwarrantable social injustice. He made the acknowledged headman of the ‘outcastes’ to bring him a glass of water, held it up before the people saying ’I drink this water as a Buddhist who protests against the falsehood that have been spread among you about our religion’.

Convention

I quote from a writing on the memorable Convention of 1880 made by his contemporary young Anagarika Dharmapala which was published in The Buddhist of 13. 06. 1990 It is to the following effect.

‘The address of Olcott made a deep impression on the whole assembly. From this meeting dates the present revival of Buddhism. Compare the present state of things with that of that date and it seems almost a dream. We now have Buddhist schools opening everywhere, thousands of Buddhist children taught their religion, two successful journals established, a movement commenced for the resumptions of family names, 80,000 copies of Buddhist books printed and sold Wesak day joyfully observed and feeling of brotherhood linking all together.

What a glorious work for one American Buddhist to have done’. Premier Buddhist Schools in the island Ananda, Mahinda, Rahula, Dharmarajah, Maliyadeva and Musaeus were founded by him. In each of these institutions Olcott Memorial Halls were put up to honour him. Col. Olcott genuinely loved the people as was evident from what he said of them;

‘I saw the people as they are, at their best; full of smiles, and love, and hospitable impulse and have been welcomed with triumphal arches, and flying flags, and with Eastern music, and processions, and shouts of joy. Ah, lovely Lanka, Gem of the Summer Sea, how doth your sweet image rise before me as I write the story experience among thy dusty children, of my success of warming their hearts to revere their incomparable religion and its holiest Founder. Happy the karma which brought me to thy shores. [chapter xxi of Old Diary Leaves].

Concluded

The writer is former Director, Sri Lanka Judges Institute.