Eulogy for Dinesh Chandimal

From: email Lalith Perera. April 11, 2014, 6:11 pm  On 10 July 2011 I wrote to The Island to salute Angelo Mathews for the brilliant strategic prescience and incredible generosity of spirit with which he egged on young Dinesh Chandimal to the heights of greatness during his maiden appearance at the Lord’s cricket ground in London. In the event, Chandimal achieved every batsman’s dearest dream and crowning glory, namely, a century at Lord’s in his maiden appearance. When he cruised to his century in a blaze of glory, Angelo jumped to high heaven with delight as though it was his own achievement. It was a manifestation of altruistic joy induced by maithree or love. Angelo & Chandimal I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting either Angelo or Chandimal but from their public persona they are both immediately and immensely likable young men. Their manifest behaviour in relation to others in the cricket field indicates that they are also very lovable individuals and capable of receiving and giving love in return. If proof were needed of Chandimal’s capacity to dedicate himself to a cause greater than himself, it was evident in the magnanimous way he endorsed Lasith Malinga’s captaincy of our team in the last two T-20 matches. In the event, all parties triumphed—Lasith, Chandimal, the team, the country and we the people. In the fitness of things, Chandimal the current captain of our T-20 team carried the trophy when the heroes returned home. Hypothesis What induced Dinesh Chandimal to behave so magnanimously and generously? Let me offer a hypothesis for your critical consideration. English poet H.W. Auden wrote: "Those to whom evil is done/ Do evil in return." Given the fundamentally co-operative social behaviour manifest in human tribes, I think it is even truer to say that : " Those to whom good is done / Do good in return." Chandimal achieved greatness at Lords` owing to the magnanimity and generosity he received from a member of his team in 2011. Admittedly at some risk to the welfare of his team and his motherland, Angelo Mathews almost drove Chandimal to greatness. In that situation Angelo with supreme confidence in the reliability of his judgment risked the country’s good for Chandimal’s glory. If pressed Angelo with the benefit of hindsight would no doubt say that he was sure that there was no risk to the country at all. (The question is whether he had the right to be sure. Fortunately, Angelo is a marvelous all-round cricketer and not a philosopher grappling with epistemological problems. So he did what turned out to be best and right for all concerned. Great leaders are like that!) But to return to my hypothesis: Chandimal knew that at least on one occasion his personal glory received priority over the country’s welfare. On this occasion therefore Chandimal must have felt something like a moral imperative to put the country’s welfare above his own and he did so. In the event we all triumphed. Model The nobility and generosity of Chandimal’s behaviour were both exemplary and infectious. I have always believed that our cricket team in which meritocracy reigns, should be our model for building our nation. Race, language, religion, class and caste are irrelevant in cricket. Only merit counts. The country knows it. So when our cricket team triumphed, merit triumphed and the whole country spontaneously rejoiced. Politicians On the day after our T-20 victory, I attended a seminar on National Unity organized by my friend and comrade Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara. It was graced by the presence of H.E. the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In his speech President Rajapaksa noted with great satisfaction the manifestation of national unity spontaneously evoked by our victory across the whole country. In a very inspiring speech the President greatly appreciated the contribution made by our cricket team to national unity. Exemplifying behaviour calculated to promote national unity himself, he spoke in Tamil also, fluently and at length. He must have communicated effectively with the large number of Tamil compatriots in the main hall of the BMICH because his speech evoked spontaneous applause from them from time to time. Speaking in parliament on the same subject, Minister DEW Gunesekera freely conceded that our cricket team had done more than politicians to promote national unity in our country. His was a generous and well deserved tribute. He said that our cricketers showed the way the country could and should go towards national greatness. Young Dinesh Chandimal provided a splendid example of how one can devote oneself to a cause greater than oneself. Bravo, Chandimal! Carlo Fonseka

Lee Kuan Yew's final thoughts?

 

email forwarded by Krishnar Ragupathy

Reply-To: Zong Hong Lim <lzhann@yahoo.com>

Choosing When To Go by Lee Kuan Yew 

Life is better than death. But death comes eventually to everyone. It is something which many in their prime may prefer not to think about. But at 89, I see no point in avoiding the question. What concerns me is: How do I go? Will the end come swiftly, with a stroke in one of the coronary arteries? Or will it be a stroke in the mind that lays me out in bed for months, semi-comatose? Of the two, I prefer the quick one.

Some time back, I had an Advanced Medical Directive (AMD)) done which says that if I have to be fed by a tube, and it is unlikely that I would ever be able to recover and walk about, my doctors are to remove the tube and allow me to make a quick exit. I had it signed by a lawyer friend and a doctor.

If you do not sign one, they do everything possible to prevent the inevitable. I have seen this in so many cases. My brother-in-law on my wife’s side, Yong Nyuk Lin, had a tube. He was at home, and his wife was lying in bed, also in a poor shape. His mind was becoming blank. He is dead now. But they kept him going for a few years. What is the point of that? Quite often, the doctors and relatives of the patient believe they should keep life going. I do not agree. There is an end to everything and I want mine to come as quickly and painlessly as possible, not with me incapacitated, half in coma in bed and with a tube going into my nostrils and down to my stomach. In such cases, one is little more than a body.

I am not given to making sense out of life --- or coming up with some grand narrative on it ---other than to measure it by what you think you want to do in life. As for me, I have done what I had wanted to, to the best of my ability. I am satisfied.
------------------------------------------------

       An editorial team from The Straits Times comprising Han Fook Kwang, Elgin Toh, Zuraidah Ibrahim, Chua Mui Hoong and Shashi Jayakumar (an administrative Officer on secondment to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy) asked the questions below.

Q: You have said before that you consider yourself a nominal Buddhist. Would you still describe yourself as such?
A: Yes, I would. I go through the motions and the rituals. I am not a Christian. I am not a Taoist. I do not belong to any special sect. 

Q: When you say "rituals”, what do you mean?
A: On set days you've got to give offerings to your ancestors --- food and so on. All that is laid out by the servants. But it will go off after my generation. It is like clearing the graves during Qing Ming. With each passing generation, fewer people go. It is a ritual. 

Q: Where do you draw your comfort from, if not from religion?

A: It is the end of any aches and pains and suffering. So I hope the end will come quickly. At 89, I look at the obituary pages and see very few who have outlived me. And I wonder: How have they lived? How have they died? After long illness? Incapacity? When you are 89 you will think about these things. I would advise that if you do not want to be comatose or half-comatose in bed and fed through a tube, do an AND. Do not intervene to save life. 

Q: The number of people who do this in Singapore is still very low, for some reason.

A: Well, because they don't want to face up to it.

Q: Are you in favour of  euthanasia, which some countries have legalised?
A: I think under certain conditions where it is not used to get rid of old people and it is a personal decision of a man taken rationally to relieve himself from suffering, I would say yes, like the Dutch. So in my AMD, I am in fact saying: "Let me go."

Q: If a grandchild of yours comes to you and asks you what a good life is, what do you say to him?
A: I have grandchildren in their 20s. They don't ask me what a good life is. They know what it is. There's been a change in the physical world they live in, the people they meet, a change in generations and different objectives to what people do in life.

Q: Are you saying that it is not possible to influence young people these days?
A: No, you can influence the basic attitudes from the day they are born to about 16 or 17. After that --- sometimes earlier --- they have a mind of their own and they are influenced by what they see around them and by their peers.

Q: You spoke about not believing you would meet your wife in the hereafter. Do you not hold out such a hope, even in your quieter moment? Is it not human to do so?
A: No, it goes against logic. Supposing we all have a life after death, where is that place?

Q: Metaphysical, perhaps?
A: So we are ghostly figures? No, I don't think so. 

Q: How often do you think of' Mrs Lee?
A: I have an urn with her ashes and I have told my children to put my ashes next to hers in a columbarium, for sentimental purposes.

Q: And hope? 

A: Not really. She's gone. All that is left behind are her ashes. I will be gone and all that will be left behind will be ashes. For reasons of sentiment, well, put them together. But to meet in afterlife? Too good to be true. But the Hindus believe in reincarnation, don't they?

Q: It is in the Hindu creed, yes.
A: If you lead a good life, you come out in a better shape in the next world. You lead a bad life, you become a dog or something.

Q: So do the Buddhists.
A: But they are not so sharp in their conceptions of the hereafter.

Q: Is your routine these days very different compared to when you were still in Cabinet?
A: Of course. The pressure is not there.

Q: But you are somebody who has always coped very well with pressure.
A: Well, the pressure of office means a decision has to be made. And when several decisions come at the same time, you've got to look at the questions carefully and decide. Once you have decided, you cannot backtrack. It is a different kind of pressure.

Q: Do you miss having that sort of pressure?
A: No, no. Why should I miss it? I have done my share.

Q: And would you say you miss attending Cabinet meetings, and the opportunity to interact with younger ministers?
A: No, I think the time has come for me to move on. I am 89. Compared to my world and the reference points that I have fixated in my mind, the map of Singapore --- the psychological map of Singapore --- has changed. I used to visit the housing estates. I used to know people from the residents' committees well. I interacted with them. I had a good feel of the ground. Now I do not have that. I have to go by reports, which is not the same thing. So I have to leave it to the people in charge who do go around.

Q: Do you regret the decision to step out of government shortly after the 2011 general election?
A: No. How can I carry on making decisions when I am losing the energy to make contact with people on the ground? It requires a lot of physical energy. The mental effort does not bother me because I have not had a stroke nor am I going into dementia. But I lack the physical energy. Before this interview, I had a light lunch, did my treadmill routine and then rested for 15 minutes. I did not need that in the past.

Q: So you have no unfinished business that you had wanted to...
A: No, I have done what I had wanted to do. I gave up my duties as prime minister to Gob Chok Tong. I helped him. He passed them on to Lee Hsien Loong. It is a different generation now. So my contributions are less meaningful --- except when they want to go back on dialects.

Q: How is your health, if I may ask?
A: I was recently hospitalised after experiencing what the doctors said was a transient ischaemic attack. But I have since recovered fully and have returned to work. If you take into account the fact that I am in my 90^th year... the doctors have told me there is no benchmark for people of that age.

Q: You set the benchmark. So you are reasonably happy with your physical and mental state at the moment?
A: No, you have to accept the gradual decline in your physical abilities. So far the mental capabilities have not declined, which has happened to some of my friends. I am grateful for that. I think it is largely due to inherited genes. But the physical ageing --- you cannot stop it.

Q: Your mental faculties --- could that be due to your mental habits as well? You are someone who has kept himself mentally very occupied and interested in what is happening.
A: Yes, of course. And I keep on learning new words and phrases in Chinese, so that I am forced to. It is like playing mahjong.

Q: Have your dietary habits changed over the years?
A: Well, I no longer eat to my heart's content. I stop before I am full. I also try to eat more vegetables and less protein.

Q: At an interview with The Straits Times when you turned 80, you said one worry you had was the narrowing window that people who are ageing tend to have, and that it gets smaller and smaller, that would be the end of existence. Is that something that you still think about --- keeping that window open?
A: Yes. Otherwise I would be sitting alone. Why should I meet you and talk to you?

Q: Are you afflicted by loneliness sometimes?
A: You have to distinguish between loneliness and solitude. I had a friend who was one of the brightest students in Cambridge. He is dead now. His name was Percy Cradock. He had a wife who was Danish and had diabetes. She had lost two legs. Percy used to say: "I enjoy my solitude." And I said: "Get hold of the computer and go on Google. You can get all the poems that you have read and enjoyed, purple passages from works of literature. You just type in the keywords. It will come out.” And he did.

Q: What newspapers  or Internet sites --- do you read regularly?
A: I read The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobai.  I used to read Berita Harian also but now I don't. I used to be very good with my Malay but it is not necessary now that most Malays in Singapore speak English. I follow closely on the Internet news on Singapore, the region, China, Japan, Korea, America, India and Europe. The Middle East --- occasionally. Latin America --- almost zero, because it is not relevant to us. Too far away.

Q: What particular Internet sites?
A: Google. I prearrange for news from the various regions to be automatically passed on.

Q: What books or movies have you read or watched recently? 
A: I do not watch movies.

Q: And books?
A: Usually I read biographies of interesting people. I am not attracted to novels --- make-believe, or recreations of what people think life should be.

Q: Any recent one that you enjoyed particularly?
A: One on Charles de Gaulle. France was lost. He was a nobody. He went to London and said: "I am France." And he went to Algiers and told Alphonse Juin, who had obeyed the Vichy government and was in charge there: "As a Marshal of France, you ought to be ashamed of yourself." That was a pretty bold man. And he walked back to Paris, of course, with the Allied troops having cleared the way for him.

Q: What are your foremost preoccupations these days? What are the things that keep you awake?
A: I think our changing population. With an overall fertility rate of 1.2 --- we have no choice but to take in migrants. It is difficult to get Singaporeans to change their mindsets. The women are educated. They want a different lifestyle, not to be stuck with early marriages and children. They want to travel first, see the world, enjoy life and marry later, by which time they will have trouble having children.

Q: Any hopes for Singapore?
A: Well, the hope is that it will keep a steady course and uphold all these institutions which make it different from the rest of the region.

Five regrets people make on their deathbed.

Email forwarded by Sivaraja. 

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality.

I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again. When you are on your deathbed, what  others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before .........

Irish birth control.

email sent by Lesley Sirimanne

Mrs. Donovan was walking down O'Connell Street in Dublin when she  met up with Father Flaherty. The  Father said, 'Top o' the mornin'  To  ye! Aren't ye Mrs. Donovan and   didn't I marry ye and yer' Hoosband  couple 'a years ago?' She replied, 'Aye, that ye' did, Father.' The Father asked, 'And be there  any  wee little ones yet?' She replied, 'No, not yet, Father.' The Father said, 'Well now, I'm  going to Rome next week and   I'll light a fertility candle for ye' And  yer' hoosband.' She replied, 'Oh, thank ye, Father...'  They then parted ways.. Some  years later they met again.  The  Father asked, 'Well now, Mrs. Donovan, how are ye these days?' She  replied, 'Oh, very well, Father!' The  Father asked, 'And tell me, have ye' any wee ones yet?' She  replied, 'Oh yes, Father!  Two  sets of twins and six singles, Ten wee ones in all!' The Father said, 'Oh, that's wonderful! And how's yer' loving hoosband doing?'  She replied, 'E's gone to Rome  to  blow out yer' fookin' candle!'

The car and its driver.

'Karunakaran' a member of the 'batch of 1960 entrants' was working as an Obstetrician - Gynaecologist in the UK. The car he was driving had a rear-end collision while stopped at a traffic light. When he looked in the rear-view mirror he saw a pretty female behind the wheel of the car. Her male companion hurried to confront 'Karu' who was preparing for an altercation. Imagine his surprise when the well built male companion said ' Sorry chum for the accident. The car which banged into you belongs to my wife and she is not the one driving the car'.. 

Being married.

"J. K. S. Weerasekera"
Cc: 
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 08:05:11 +0530
Subject: FW: Hit By A Car

Read on… If you are married. Happy Sinhala and Tamil new Year!

jksw

Husband’s call:

"Honey it's me. I don't want to alarm you but I was hit by a car as I was leaving the office. Paula brought me to the hospital. 

The blow to my head was severe. Fortunately it did not cause any serious internal injury. However I have three broken ribs, a compound fracture in the left leg, and they may have to amput…………………..."

Wife’s Response:  "Who is Paula?"

And if you find that hard to believe, you've never been married.

CHARLES SCHULZ PHILOSOPHY

(This is marvellous!! Scroll through slowly and read carefully to receive and enjoy the full effect.) The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.  1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.  2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.  3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.  4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.  5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.  6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners. How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.  These are no second-rate achievers.  They are the best in their fields.  But the applause dies.  Awards tarnish.  Achievements are forgotten.  Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one: 1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.  2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.  3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.  4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special... 5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with. Easier? The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money...or the most awards.  They simply are the ones who care the most. Pass this on to those people who have either made a difference in your life, or whom you keep close in your heart, like I did. 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow somewhere else! ''Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!"

Accidents, the chancy world.

From: "J. K. S. Weerasekera" 
Subject: FW: Fw: People with sheer bloody luck!

4 ½ minutes. Motor vehicle near accidents.

jksw

From, 2014 12:39 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Fwd: Fw: People with sheer bloody luck!

  

4 minute you tube presentation interesting

   

http://www.utrend.tv/v/lucky-people

THE BAGPIPER'S TALE.

email forwarded by Gallege De Silva:-

Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow 
that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life.

    As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral 
director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family 
or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the 'back and 
beyond'.

    As I was not familiar with the 'sticks', I got lost and, being a typical 
man, I didn't stop for directions.

    I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently 
gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and 
crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt bad and apologised to the men 
for being late.

    I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was 
already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.

    The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played 
out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like 
I've never played before for this homeless man.

    And as I played Amazing Grace, the workers began to weep. They wept, I 
wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and 
started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

    As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never 
seen anything like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for 
twenty years."

Clever Jury

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "J. K. S. Weerasekera"

Jury... The Jury... In a criminal justice system based on 12 individuals not smart enough to get out of jury duty. Here is a jury to be proud of...........  A defendant was on trial for murder. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no corpse. In the defense's closing statement, the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch.  "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom."  He looked toward the courtroom door.  The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on eagerly.  A minute passed.  Nothing happened.  Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that you have a reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed, and I insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury retired to deliberate.  A few minutes later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty.  "But how?" inquired the lawyer.  "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." The jury foreman replied: "Yes, we did look, But your client didn't."

Hands free phone India

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "J. K. S. Weerasekera" 

Ain’t they comfy!

jksw