My Story
Added on: 23-02-2009
As a child, I was very religious. In fact, my father used to say that, as the tradition goes in Sri Lanka, when my time of birth was handed over to the high priest of the temple to cast my horoscope, the high pries had asked me to be enrobed when the time is right. My father had, of course, refused. During the regular temple visits, it seems that I had the habit of stretching on the floor in order to salute the monks.
So religious was I, until I discovered science!
Through my teens, I was a technological evangelist. I used to deride and laugh at everything religious. When I was doing my "O" levels in science, Buddhism was introduced as an extra subject. This was a brazen heresy, in my opinion at the time. When the time came for a term test, I organised a boycott. In the event, I still remember scoring 3 in the test, while my best friend, a Catholic had scored much higher than me, as was the rest of the class.
So much encouragement for a budding revolutionary!
Eventually, university came. I enrolled to do science. My path to salvation, and the discovery of all answers to life, universe and everything started.
The euphoria lasted a short time. By the second year, having listened to the lectures, particularly to organic chemistry lectures, my view towards science began to take a different turn.
A sense of futility began to dawn on me. I went through a period feeling let down.
All by accident, I came across a book titled "Philosophies of India" in a library. That threw me the life line I was searching for and awakened a dormant spark...
What it all means to me?
Many things, all beneficial.
"Come and see!", is how Lord Buddha introduced his teachings to the world.
It can be your turn...