Api okkoma rajavaru

Politicians, regardless of party, colour and ideological persuasion, are a superstitious lot. They are among those who habitually consult astrologers, palmists, crystal-gazers, numerologists, clairvoyants and others who such fortune-tellers. They need to know what the stars portend. They need to consult these soothsayers before every major decision whether it is about contesting, crossing party lines or deciding which of their grand toilets they should use in the morning. Ok, I am being a bit unfair with that last one, but you get the point: politicians need oracles like they need to breathe and as much or more than they need astute political analysts or on-the-ground organizers.

Going to an astrologer is like going to a doctor, I think. We all believe we know best what’s wrong with our bodies and minds. We therefore believe we know what the best medicine is. The problem is, not everyone is a qualified doctor. To be on the safe side and to secure peace of mind, we need some qualified person to concur with both diagnosis and prescription. I know people who regularly consult doctors. They don’t have a family physician; they have a team of doctors. They know that if they ask enough doctors, one of them will agree with their analysis of ailment and suggest the preferred course of treatment.

People have aspirations. They have egos. These things inhibit the employment of reason. People prefer to indulge in the timeless and fascinating thing called dreaming. This is where the astrologer becomes the principal ally of the politician; consult a certain number of them and you are more or less guaranteed that one of them will say what you want to hear. I think this is why we have so many people wanting to be President of this country. There are just too many people who have what is called ‘raja yogaya’; blessed with a planetary configuration that indicates a crowning.

The problem is, there’s just not enough room at the top. People also tend to forget that ‘king’ (or ‘queen’) is more a metaphor than anything else. I don’t know anything about this subject but common sense tells me that what a raja yogaya indicates is that the person blessed with it is likely to reach the pinnacle of his/her chosen field.

The average person who is endowed with a raja yogaya on the other hand views it in terms of the crown that is perceived to be the most prestigious and powerful: the office of the Executive Presidency. Not only do they not understand that it is possible to read it as metaphor, they fail to recognize that even in a political sense there are all kinds of crowns, there are kings (rajavaru) and there are lesser kings, those that rule over regions or sectors (sometimes called yuvarajavaru). So a rajayogaya could, theoretically indicate in the modern political world, a governorship, chief minister of a province, a cabinet portfolio or even a chairmanship in a pradeshiya sabhava.

Let me explain this a bit. There’s a person whose horoscope indicates that he would someday become Chief Justice. Now he can choose to study law and work himself up the relevant ladder in the judicial system and get there. Let’s think a little. Imagine someone in the year 2500 BC having the identical horoscope. Possible, theoretically, right? Well the astrologer would not say in solemn tones, ‘this boy will someday become Chief Justice’, would he? What it means then, is that the person with this horoscope would (if these things have any truth in them), end up as the one who distinguishes right from wrong, legal from illegal, moral from immoral etc. To do that and to be recognized as such a ‘distinguisher’, theoretically, one does not have to be the Chief Justice of the country. The same goes for the ‘raja yogins’ I should think.

I was wondering about crowns and kings. We don’t really live in a polity where those who deserve the crown wears it, but raja yogas are not about crowning the deserved. I think Ranil Wickremesinghe is a king, a lesser one of course than Mahinda Rajapaksa (as of now and by all indications that status is unlikely to change) but he does have a decent (I know, that’s subjective) crown: Leader of the United National Party. Sarath Fonseka was a king and a highly respected one at that: Army Commander. Velupillai Prabhakaran was called ‘Sun God’. Well, ‘demon’ would have suited him better, but I have heard that even the underworld has a king and one who wears a crown. Prabhakaran was a ‘king’ in a way, we must admit.

We’ve had many kings in our remembered history. Gamini Haththotuwegama was King of Street Theatre. Simon Navagaththegama was the King of the Sinhala Word, I would say. Martin Wickramasinghe was the King of Sinhala Literature. Mahagama Sekera too, a King of Literature, perhaps King of Modern Sinhala Poetry. Premasiri Khemadasa, King of Sinhala Opera.

Chitrasena, King of Dance. Freddie Silva (King of Laughs). Jothipala (King of the Common People’s Rhythm). D.S. Senanayake (King of Agricultural Revival).

There are others kings and queens. I think Victor Hettigoda is a king. The ‘Siddhalepa Vedamahattaya’ after all controls 80 percent of the market for ayurvedic products. Other living kings would be Pundit Amaradeva (King of Voice), Nanda Malini (Queen of Voice), Vajira (Queen of Dance), Lester James Peries (King of Sinhala Cinema), George Keyt and Sarlis Master (Kings of Painting), M.J.M. Lafir (King of Billiards), Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne (King of Sarvodaya), Dr. P.A. Kiriwandeniya (King of Thrift and Credit Cooperatives), Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe (King of Engineers), Gamini Fonseka (King of Acting), Dr. P.R. Anthonis (King of Surgeons) and numerous others.

Then there’s ‘PB’, Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Punchi Banda, who lives in Veherayaya, off the Thanamalvila-Wellawaya road, an ex-JVPer from the ‘71 insurrection who has built three village tanks, has enough rice stocks to last seven seasons, grows all kinds of vegetables and medicinal herbs, is an astrologer, an ayurvedic physician specialising in treating snake bites and is leader and king to all the farmers in the area. There are countless other such kings, I believe.

In general, the true kings and queens are those who recognized what they were good at and give their hearts and minds to the noble task of achieving perfection and putting their skill at the disposal of the common people. So if you really want to salute a crown, don’t look at politician. There are for the most part ego-maniacs, wannabe kings, but in reality only mirror-gazers obsessed with their faces. Pretenders to the throne, nothing more.

Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer who can be reached at uncommoncandidate@gmail.com.