Musings

Voyage of life through centuries

by Padma Edirisinghe

Much is written about voyages, especially those followed the movements aligned to renaissance and monitored by restless and adventurous men of Europe. But much less is written about the grandest of all voyages, ie, the voyage of life simply due to the fact that it is taken for granted.

Anyway, recently I came across an article penned by A.A. Gunatileka, a retired Government Teachers’ Training College lecturer, who having contemplated on this age comes to the conclusion that those who have voyaged long and far should be lauded much more than at present.

Incidentally today along with my pension form I received an afterthought, “Do you like to donate your knowledge to others?” Of course it was one in normal circulation, but it just boosted my ego, sagging with age.

Gunatileka begins his essay by quoting a sloka, seeped here from Bharatha desha.
“Acharyath Pada madaththe, Padang sidya svayang medhayang
Padang sabrahma charuncha, pada kala kramaneyeva

Succinctly put, it relates to the sources of knowledge which are* formal teaching, *from one’s own effort, * derived from one’s peers,* derived from experience.

Hub of knowledge

As you have already guessed, this puts the elder at the top of the list. To put it in modern day parlance, the elderly man and woman by this sloka is promoted to the major hub of knowledge.

In Buddhism,according to the writer a separate word is coined for this pre-eminence of the elderly in intellect. It is Vradapachanaya. Elaborating on the word, one’s life is compartmentalised into four segments, Brahmacharee, grahastha, Sanyasi and Vana prastha.

In the brahmacharee stage, one is engaged in learning and in the Grahastha stage one prepares oneself for life. Hence the latter two stages are the more marked ones in the intellectual field when one has really passed the threshold of elderly age. Now he or she begins to perceive the environment neutrally and is inclined towards scholarly and religious activities, while developing an anathema to satiating pleasures in short cut ways.

Illustrative tales mostly taken from folk literature are given to substantiate facts stated. One is that themed around a frog colony where the elders scent a forest fire developing. They advise the young frogs to leave the pond but they decline arguing that no signs of fire are visible and what is more, that the fire would get doused as it approaches the pond. What next happens next is obvious. All the young frogs succumb to the enveloping fiery flames. What is implied is that long life has made the elderly frogs more far seeing and more wise.

Intellect

A theory has sprung that age dulls the intellect of a person which theory is falsified in many instances out of which are the careers of famous personnel that really flowered late in life. Even the best of Buddha’s sermons are said to be those that were delivered late in life.

Other outstanding men who showed prowess in their particular fields are Bertrand Russel, Michael Angelo and Somerset Maugham. The more brilliant essays of Maugham have been written after he passed 84 years. I Cannot Sleep by Leo Tolstoy, according to the writer, has been written when he was 82 years, an age when most humans regard as the apex period of retirement, either to sleep or wallow in self pity, is the most inviting of pastimes. Martin Wickremesinghe, the doyen of Sinhala literature, though he sailed victoriously even in younger days got energised after 55 leading him to produce his triumphant work Gam Peraliya where he telescopes into three generations. And he was 80 years when he penned Bhavatharanaya, where the Buddha charitha is viewed from a completely new perspective.

Prof. Sarachchandra sped gloriously into his career till very late and so did and still does Pundit and music maestro Amaradeva. Dr. Lester James Peries easily sails into the category long with Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera. Of course, the health factor is very significant and these people have had the luck to maintain their health, including their mental health and memory power. For example, those severely affected with diseases such as Alzheimer’s will naturally find climbing to the top a tough business.

And here is Daya Dissanayake, contributing to the same journal on Voyage of Life.

Cultivated life

“There is a quiet, pure and cultivated life which produces a calm and gentle old age such as we have been told as Plato’s was who died at his writing desk in his 81st year or like that of Isocrates ,who says that he wrote the book called the Panegyric in his 94th year and lived for five years afterwards".

And here I add my own discoveries, Doris Lessing wins Nobel Prize for her book, The Golden Notebook at 88 years.

G.B. Senanayake lost his eyesight as he aged but circumvented the disability by getting a relative to pen his thoughts. Thus Rathriya was composed just five hours before his death!

Prof A.V. Suraweera and Prof. Miniwan P. Thilekeratne wrote appreciations of friends' works the day prior to their deaths. The latter went out to post the appreciation and returned home and died.

Going on to additional work after writing the bouquet, Prof Suraweera according to his spouse, was on the 9th page of a piece of writing, when he took to bed for the eternal rest somewhere in February last year. That page really needs preserving. Were the letters mis-shaped? Were the last thoughts mis-shaped? Not likely. Prof Senerat Paranavithana continued writing till his death at 76.

Ananda Coomaraswamy wrote Time and Eternity at 70. Akira Kurosawa was 85 when he directed the film Chaos. We have our own intimate circle of friends who are still going strong with their pens. Since the list is rather long I omit it here with a quotation from Daya Dissanayake.

“Writers never show signs of ageing. They never retire from life and ultimately they never die”. But there is a bias here. Are the writers the only species who never die? There are so many others belonging to the aesthetic field and even other fields Who Never Die. They always leave something out of the labour of a long life un-impaired by sickness or mental failing or sheer fatigue and laziness that invite them to lethargy and to the bed.

Most of the active men and women shun the bed till they are called for the final rest.