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Professor Sudatta Ranasinghe Memorial Oration 2013 Cultural Nationalism: Boon or Bane?

Professor Sudatta Ranasinghe Memorial Oration 2013 Cultural Nationalism: Boon or Bane?. W.A Wijewardena. Sudatta Profile.

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Professor Sudatta Ranasinghe Memorial Oration 2013 Cultural Nationalism: Boon or Bane?

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  1. Professor Sudatta Ranasinghe Memorial Oration 2013Cultural Nationalism: Boon or Bane? W.A Wijewardena

  2. Sudatta Profile

  3. Joint learning take-away from Vidyodaya University“All phenomena are impermanent, continuously evolving, what is evolved is neither the same nor different from the original”

  4. The nature of ‘isms’

  5. ‘Nation’ not natural but ‘man-made’

  6. Sanskrit Spread to East and West from Central Europe (6000 BCE)

  7. Origin of Languages from a Mother Language Iran Indo-Aryan Languages Central Asia Old Sanskrit 6000 BCE in Central Europe India Indo-European Languages West European Languages

  8. Nationalism • Mythological Origin • We are “Superior and all others are Inferior” • Fear of being “preyed” • Defensive action • Defense changes to offensive • Nostalgic “glorious past” • Regulate “human behaviour”

  9. Embodiment of culture to nationalism

  10. People under ‘sleep’ all the time are vulnerable to ‘cultural shocks’

  11. India’s Hindutva Movement claiming India for Hindus

  12. Capture of Public Policy by “Cultural Nationalists”

  13. Rich Sinhala Culture with many borrowed elementsW.F Gunawardene: “More than 2000 Rakshasha words” Sinhala Vaag Vidya MuladharmaRev Hisselle Dharmarathana: “Sinhala contains a good many number of Tamil Words” Sinhalaye Dravida BalapemJ B Dissanayake: “So many Portuguese, Dutch, English and Malay Words” Sinhala Jana Wahara

  14. Achievement motive, toleration, humbleness and modesty key to innovation and progress

  15. Amartya Sen: “It was indeed a Buddist Emperor of India, Ashoka, who in the 3rd century BCE not only outlined the need for toleration and the richness of heterodoxy, but also laid down what are perhaps the oldest rules of debates and disputations with the opponents ‘duly honoured in every way on all occasions’” The Argumentative Indian

  16. Amartya Sen: “The most powerful defence of toleration and the need for the state to be equi-distant from different religions came from a Muslim Indian Emperor, Akbar”The Argumentative Indian

  17. The Buddha’s Advice to Bhikkus in Brahmajala Sutra in Deegha Nikaya“Do not get offended when others talk of ills of the Buddha; nor should be elated when they talk wells of the Buddha; Evaluate whether they are right or wrong and tell them they are right in this respect or wrong in this respect”

  18. The Buddha’s advice to Bhikkus in Avaasa Shobana Sutra in Anguttara Nikaya: A Bhikku will shine his monastery if he – 1) Learns more and more Dharma2) Retains them in memory3) Gains ability to relate them to other in one’s own words

  19. 4) Reflects on them continuouslyand 5) Sees beyond those Dharma

  20. Boon or Bane?

  21. The End

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