This
article was published in the newspaper Ceylontoday,
2015-01-25
By
Bro. Glen Jalendran Ceylon today Mosaic
Beyond shattering the darkness of ignorance
The human race is distinguished from the
rest of creation by its superior intellect and thirst for knowledge. Knowledge
of the science of friction which sparked within primitive man gradually ignited
the light with which man began to perceive the nature of life and what lies
beyond, shattering the darkness of ignorance. What enabled man to shatter the
darkness of ignorance, to ponder about the unknowable, to achieve profundity in
thought and progress in science and technology was his innate desire to know. Therefore,
one is justified in affirming what attracts people to academia is this innate
desire. One key contributor to academia is the Roman Catholic Church. This is
true of both the local church and the universal church.
The human race is distinguished from
the rest of creation by its superior intellect and thirst for knowledge.
Knowledge of the science of friction which sparked within primitive man
gradually ignited the light with which man began to perceive the nature of life
and what lies beyond, shattering the darkness of ignorance. What enabled man to
shatter the darkness of ignorance, to ponder about the unknowable, to achieve
profundity in thought and progress in science and technology was his innate desire
to know. Therefore, one is justified in affirming what attracts people to
academia is this innate desire. One key contributor to academia is the Roman
Catholic Church. This is true of both the local church and the universal
church.
The Catholic Church of Sri Lanka has and
continues to produce masterminds and brilliant intellectuals to serve in the
vineyard of the Lord. As a key contributor in producing such priests, the
National Seminary, which pre-existed as the papal seminary for more than sixty
years, stands tall and celebrates Her Diamond Jubilee this year in forming the
priests of Sri Lanka. The Seminary operates as the final destination in
priestly formation and consists of brothers reading for Theological and
Philosophical studies. Although the seminary operates as one single unit under
the able and prudent leadership of Very Rev. Fr. Elmo Dias, yet the department
of philosophy is directed by Rev. Fr. Ajith Fernando and is located outside the
premises of the department of Theology. Rev. Fr. Ajith Wellington OMI
facilitates the academic programme of the Department of Philosophy in the
capacity of the Head of the Department of Philosophy. For the past sixty years,
the Seminary has produced men of integrity, lovers of wisdom and above all
priests of God. Among them are many who have excelled and set benchmarks of
mammoth standards in terms of intellectual superiority. Yet, one stands out
distinctly in the field of philosophy as a revered trailblazer to all
seminarians, and is remembered to this day with a great sense of love and
respect. His name is Rev. Fr. Harold Panditharatne. Fr. Pandith, as he was
affectionately called, was born on the 9th of March 1926 to Mr. Edwin Arnold
Panditharatne and Anna Maria Fernando who lived in Pitipana. Together with his
five brothers and sister, Father Panditharatne was brought up with a lot of
parental love and sound Christian direction. The father of the revered priest
was originally from Seeduwa and worked in the capacity of a station master. His
job kept him busy and often away from the family, so the mother played a vital
role in bringing the children up. It is said that she fervently insisted on the
children being faithful to their religious activities, such as attending mass,
daily prayers, reciting the Angelus and so on, so much so, that they even got
into the habit of praying the Angelus wherever they were, regardless of
whatever they were doing when it was time for the prayer. Such was the early
Christian discipline given to the priest. In the year 1943, while he was
schooling, Fr. Panditharatne tragically lost his father. His mother was
burdened with the responsibility of feeding and educating her six children by
herself, with the eldest (Dr. Lionel) who had just entered the medical faculty.
One would be right in thinking that this would have been very traumatizing for
the entire family, especially the single mother. However, the divine provider
was kind to them and supported them in this difficult time. As a young boy, Fr.
Panditharatne was a strict brother to his siblings, especially when he was
playing the role of a teacher to them, but was a gentle friend to them when
they played cricket together or pretended to celebrate the Holy mass. It is
said that the young boy was an exceptionally talented hunter, and swimmer. He
often took his brothers and sisters when he went hunting with his trusty
'catapult', which he later replaced with a pellet gun. He is also remembered
for his skills as a soccer player. Fr. Pandith was a brilliant student and
always at the top of the class. His uncle who was an ex-Seminarian coached him
in the English language. The young man who later became a great philosopher
completed his primary education in Maris Stella College, Negombo with a first
division pass. It seems as if the seed of vocation to serve the Lord as a
priest was planted in Fr. Pandith from his early days; the close association of
his uncle who was an ex-seminarian may have helped this desire to take shape.
However, Fr. Pandith decided to join the formation program for priests at St.
Aloysius Minor Seminary Colombo-08. Fr. Pandith was asked to read for his high
school certificate examination and was enrolled at St. Josephs College,
Colombo-10. In his days at the college, the now Josephian displayed great
intelligence and stood out as an extraordinary, brilliant student. He gained
the respect and love of both the teachers and the students and was adored as
'the scientist'. He continued and completed the said examination well. Although
he was selected to continue his studies in the university, the then Archbishop,
Archbishop Masson found Fr. Pandith best suitable to continue his studies in
the Sacred City of Rome. With dreams of becoming a holy Catholic priest, and
with a firm hope of doing justice to the trust placed on him by his superiors,
the young seminarian began his journey to Rome by ship waving good bye to his
family, who had come to send him off to the distant land of the Pope. There too
Fr. Pandith displayed superior intellectual insight and distinguished himself
from the average student. He was never unnoticed and just like in his school
days as a Josephian, here too, he received the title 'il filosofo' which
translates into 'the philosopher'. Referring to his memories of Fr. Pandith at
the Felicitation of his 70thbirthday, Archbishop Emeritus Most Rev. Nicholas
Marcus Fernando states; "I can never forget the pride that swelled in me
as a fresher at the Urban University in Rome, on the opening day of the
academic year, when the dean of the faculty of philosophy began his introductory
lesson by speaking about the best student he had ever had under him in all his
teaching career in Rome. That student was none other than our own Fr. Harold
Panditharatne. He had made his mark as a very bright and keen student of
philosophy from his early years. From then on until the present he has remained
the same bright scholar who was spotted and spotlighted by his mentor and
admirer, Professor Farbo.
Fr.
Pandith was indeed a great person who gave recognition to us as Sri Lankans by
way of his contribution in philosophy, so much so, that his works are still
referred to and introduced by professors even after three decades. Fr. Pandith
went on to complete his licentiate in sacred theology, licentiate in
philosophy, and obtain his Doctorate in philosophy, defending his thesis,
"Hegel's concept of Indian philosophy" in Collegio Urbano di
Propaganda Fide, Rome. Meanwhile, he was ordained a priest in October 1950.
Subsequently he was sent to Birkbeak College, University of London where he
obtained his second Doctorate in philosophy defending his thesis; "The
Metaphysical Problem of existence as involved in the dialectical and
sense-datum analysis of sense experience"; after which he returned to his
motherland.
Soon after
returning to Sri Lanka, Fr. Pandith was appointed to the tutorial staff of St.
Peter's College Colombo-04 where he served in the same office for a period of
about five years. Later, he assumed duties as the student librarian at London
Bible College, England, Associateship of the library Association (A.L.A),
England, and as the assistant librarian in the University of Sheffield,
England. On returning to Sri Lanka, he was again appointed to the tutorial staff
of St. Peter's College Colombo-04. Simultaneously, he was a lecturer in logic
and scientific method at Aquinas University College, and assumed duties in the
academic staff of the National Seminary, Kandy where he conducted lectures in
Logic and Scientific Method, Epistemology and Religious Languages. He was
entrusted with the role of dean of Philosophy (1972-1984 and 1991-1992) and was
later appointed as the librarian of the seminary - a very crucial and rare
office which is directly involved in the moulding of the National Seminary. He
also served as a lecturer at the Colombo International School (C.I.S) after his
period as Rector. Although Fr. Harold Panditharatne served many offices which
moulded many in ways which would have enriched their lives in whichever path
they chose, his most significant contribution was the period of seven years
which he served as Rector of the National Seminary, Ampitiya. The National
Seminary of Ampitiya which is dedicated to Our Lady of Lanka has stood tall for
over 120 years - first as the Papal Seminary, later as the National Seminary.
Many great priests have led this institution and all priests of the Mother
Church have at some point called this place home. However, amidst all the rich
history, Fr. Pandith is remembered as the first diocesan Rector of the
Seminary. When the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka took over the
responsibility of the Seminary in 1972, Fr. Jim Cooke OMI was nominated Rector.
But, on him being named provincial of the Oblates, Fr. Pandith was requested to
fill the vacancy of acting rector, in February 1974. In May of the same year,
he assumed duties as the Rector of the National Seminary of Ampitiya to remain
in office for a period of seven years.
Fr.
Pandith was 48 years old when he took over and had already been residing in the
Seminary for about a year and half in the capacity of a Professor in
Philosophy. Even in this time, though it was an era of challenge and
retaliation in the minds of the students in terms of the relevance of the study
of philosophy in priestly formation, Fr. Pandith firmly countered this view and
was determined to enlighten his pupils. At the commencement of the academic
year on September 18, 1972, Fr. Panditharatne had chosen "The place of
Philosophy in the formation of the future priests" as the topic for the
'lectio brevis' with the aim of demonstrating his response to the prevalent
mindset of the students. One could surely assume that he would have made a
convincing argument and converted the sceptics.
The now Rector, although in a very
responsible and busy office, decided to continue his teaching. He is remembered
as a teacher possessing an uncommon ability to teach with zest and to make the
lessons enjoyable and come alive. In fact it was during the Rectorship of Fr.
Panditharatne that the National Seminary was affiliated to the Urbaniana
University, Rome. The Seminary has many cherished memories of Fr. Pandith - his
presence among the Brothers in the Seminary, the long walks he would take with
his black umbrella under his arm and many more, but the most significant memory
he left behind was his love of reading. It is said that he often spent many
hours even till early morning reading books on theology and philosophy. Although
the prevalent notion that seminary life and its formation seems removed from
the activities of the average person and the seminary is a world on its own,
Fr. Pandith especially proved otherwise. He was deeply concerned about the
Seminary's immediate neighbourhood and extended his affectionate service to the
rest of the country. The shelter provided to the refugees (over 1300 in number)
during the riots in July 1977 and the aid in rehabilitation for the victims of
the cyclone which struck Batticaloa in the following year are only the tip of
the iceberg of the service Fr. Pandith extended to his wider community. The
final Days of Fr. Pandith was spent in the facility for elderly priests. He
departed this world in the year 1998 leaving a legacy of memories and his
superior intellect for us to marvel about.
To perpetuate the memory of this epitome
of intellectual erudition, "The Rev. Fr. Harold Panditharatne Memorial
Oration" was inaugurated in 2013 by the present Rector of the National
Seminary, Very Rev. Fr. Elmo Dias who was also a student of Fr. Panditharatne.
It is only fitting that we honour this great son of the Sri Lanka Catholic
Church every year on the 28th of January, the feast of the Greatest Catholic
scholar of all times, St. Thomas Aquinas. This year the Memorial Oration will
be delivered by another erudite scholar of international fame, Prof. Maithree
Wickramasinghe.
Prof. Maithree Wickramasinghe, the
professor English of the Department of English at the University of Kelaniya,
was also Head of the Department of English. She was educated at Musaeus
College, Colombo. She graduated with a degree in English Honours from King's
College, University of London, and has a Masters in Women's Studies from the
University of Colombo. She was a recipient of a Gender Equity in Commonwealth
Education PhD Studentship conferred by the Institute of Education, University
of London and received her doctorate from the University of London, UK. She has
also been a short-term research fellow at the Women and Public Policy Program
of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, University of Harvard, USA. She is
the founding Director of the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of
Kelaniya. She started her teaching career at the University of Peradeniya and
has been a visiting lecturer at a number of Institutes including the M. A.
Programme in Women's Studies at the University of Colombo. She is currently
Visiting Professor at the School of Education and Social Work, University of
Sussex, United Kingdom.
The title of the 2015 Memorial Oration is "Feminism and Gender
Studies: a Revolt in thought, a Revolution in Academia, and a Reformation of
the Academy." She is one of the best in the Country to talk about this
particular issue. She has contributed her expertise on gender and women's
studies to various local and international organizations including the Centre
for Women's Research (CENWOR), the Women's Education and Research Centre
(WERC), the Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC), Practical Action, CARE
International, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Association
of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
