THE MAX KORAL KORNER

Hello! My name is Max Koral. I am not unique. I am not perfect, but I am entertaining.  I used to be a doctor, now I need one! When you get to know me better after reading my regular posts in this column, you might even like me!

I want to start by stating that I like observing human nature and love causing consternation with the manipulation of words. Let me give you an example. I was enjoying a meal with friends at a restaurant, and I chose beef chorizo as my starter. I thought it was delicious, but as I was cutting into it with my knife, I dropped a sizeable piece on the floor near my feet.  Of course, I couldn't eat it anymore, but I was anxious not to leave it on the floor as the floor was so clean and tidy. I called the little waitress with a big smile and announced that I wanted to bring to her notice something important. She stood at the head of the table, and as I spoke, her cheery face began to display a worried expression. This, I thought, was because she was anticipating a complaint. She noticed that I was holding a fork aloft with a piece of chorizo stuck in it. I started speaking with no particular expression but with clarity, which I hoped would impress her.

My dear girl, I said. What is perching at the end of my fork is a piece of chorizo which came from a much larger one you were kind enough to place before me on this small white plate you can observe on the table. You probably noted that the plate is now empty and I can state without any ambiguity that the reason for this emptiness is because I ate the contents on it apart from this piece I am now showing you on my fork. You may well ask why I have not consumed the piece I am showing you. Why has this piece of chorizo not been sent to its rightful place which is to my stomach? Is there some deficiency which prevented this small piece of rather sorry looking cooked chorizo not been given its rightful place in the World, which is my stomach? Was it not cooked properly? Did it offend me in some way? Have I developed a sudden unexplained aversion for chorizo? Am I planning to take it home and eat it later? Am I saving it for a loved one at home who has a particular liking for chorizo? The answer dear girl is none of these you will be pleased to hear.

The facts are as follows to the best of my recollection. As only a little time has passed, I can assure you that the facts I now recall are correct and an accurate description of what transpired. As I was cutting this chorizo, which I expected to be as delicious as the fellow chorizos I consumed only a minute ago, this piece which I am holding in my fork, fell to the ground and stood close to my feet on the clean carpet. It was a sorry sight, and if a piece of chorizo could speak, it would have said something like "Why have you discarded me?" If chorizo could comprehend speech, I would have said "Of course not dear chorizo. It was just an accident. You can call me clumsy if you like".  I may not be the brightest but I know for sure that chorizo cannot hear and I did not say anything at all, apart from something like “oh dear”. The question now arises. What do I do now? Pretend it never happened? Push it away under the next table? Pick it up and eat it and risk food poisoning? None of these appealed to me because although I am not perfect as stated at the beginning of this discourse, I am honest and entertaining. I, therefore, plucked up courage and decided to make a clean breast of it and face the consequences. Dear girl, will it offend you if I do not eat this and merely place it on this clean plate now that you know that my not eating it does not in any way indicate that the chorizo was not cooked properly or cooked inadequately. No offence meant and no need to inform the chef that a customer did not appreciate the chorizo.

The girl looked somewhat puzzled and merely said "What?"

I mean to say, so much for honesty and appreciation of food!

Professor Sanath P Lamabadusuriya.50 years of Academic Service to Sri Lanka

A truly illustrious career. We are all proud of our Batchmate. I just read a post about a felicitation ceremony for Lama for completing 50 years of academic paediatrics (on the 1st of April, 2019), held on the 6th of June 2019, by the Faculty of Medicine, Sabaragamuwa University. The felicitation address was delivered by Professor Deepthi Samarage.

She ends her speech thus:-"As a practising paediatrician, he strode the world of paediatrics in our country to greater heights. His academic brilliance, attention to detail, splendid diagnostic skills and unwavering commitment to excellence are indeed legendary.

I fervently hope that I have managed to do the justice to the profile of this spectacular academic
Thank you Prof Lamabadusuriya. I wish you good health and many more years of life to continue your invaluable services for another generation of medical students and little kids".

Please click on the link below to view a Power Point Presentation at the event.

Tribute to Prof. Sanath P Lamabadusuriya

IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?

IS THERE LIFE AFTER DESTH?

If human beings have only one life, I.e., there is no existence after death, the only concern as far as being happy is to find a way to be in that state for as long as possible either continuously or in long bursts till they die as death is inevitable. Even an unhappy life has to be endured only till such time as death intervenes to provide release. In other words, even the worst journey is time limited. If this is accepted, it has many repercussions that follow.

1. It provides a different perspective on end of life decisions.
2. It should enable persons to not worry about death ( apart from concern about how it would affect others who are left behind, possibly fears about the process of dying itself).
3. It would make life activities more urgent and focus the mind on making best use of our lives before it ends.
4. It could potentially lead, at least in some, for a reduction in moral behavior in those who lead moral lives only for fear of repercussions in the next life.

If there is life after death, why is it not obvious? For such a significant truth about lives, why is it so “hidden”? One would reasonably expect a large number  of well documented and well authenticated accounts of previous lives. While there are some such accounts in the literature, they are of questionable accuracy.

But, our recollection of past events even in this life are incomplete and does not stretch back far. Is it then reasonable to expect memories of past lives to persist. 

Even if there was a past existence, if we have no recollection of it at all, is there any point in being concerned with the possibility of a previous life?

If life does continue after death, there are major questions to be answered as to its mechanism. This leads concepts such as existence of “body” and “mind” (or soul), for example, and greater understanding of consciousness, self awareness, self image. 

Basing morality on the basis of rewards or punishments, or the need to please or satisfy supernatural forces who are able to shape our future, is common.

If life persists in some form, is it restricted to the human form or could it be in lesser animals or even in beings which are outside our realm?

If death is followed by passing onto another form of existence, is it a permanent state (good - heaven) or (bad - hell)?

What makes that state desirable or undesirable?

Is there a “life” after death and even if there is, should we be concerned about it?

If human beings have only one life, I.e., there is no existence after death, the only concern as far as being happy in this life is to find a way to be in that state for as long as possible either continuously or in long bursts till they die, as death is inevitable. Even an unhappy life has to be endured only till such time as death intervenes to provide release. In other words, even the worst journey is time limited. If this is accepted, it has many repercussions that follow.

1. It provides a different perspective on end of life decisions.
2. It should enable persons to not worry about death (apart from concern about how it would affect others who are left behind and possibly fears about the process of dying itself.
3. It would make it more urgent to focus our mind on making best use of our lives now.

4. Potentially lead in some instances, for a deterioration in moral behaviour for those who lead moral lives only or mainly because of fear of repercussions in the next life.

If there is life after death, why is it not obvious? For such a significant truth about lives, why is it so “hidden”? One would reasonably expect well documented and well authenticated accounts of previous lives. While there are accounts in the literature, they are of questionable accuracy.

Our recollection of past events even in this life is incomplete. How many of us recall our first 2-3 years of life? Is it then reasonable to expect memories of past lives to persist? 

Even if there was a past existence, if we have no recollection of it at all, is there any point in being concerned with the possibility of a previous life? And if a new life were to follow, why should we worry about it as we wouldn’t be aware of the transition.

If life does continue after death, there are major questions to be answered as to its mechanism. All what we know about the Universe has been through scientific inquiry. As our knowledge advances, the proportion of phenomena attributed to “supernatural” ones, decrease. Science is still advancing and we have not reached the point where all phenomena could be explained. There is very reason to believe that this process will continue and that we will be able to explain many hitherto unexplained phenomena by application of the scientific method of enquiry. The submission that understanding of the Universe can be realised through “thinking” or meditation or introspection is open to question although it forms the basis of many religions. The fact that these Religious teachers who claimed  to have a full understanding of the Universe lived hundreds of years ago when our understanding of the World was relatively miniscule, does not appear to matter as they gained their “knowledge” either through deep thought or alleged divine revealation.

This leads to debate on concepts such as existence of “body” and “mind” (or soul) as separate entities. The body is apparent and visible although it may be undergoing constant change but the mind or soul persists even though that itself may be undergoing constant change. There is a clear and evident connection between who you are now and who you were before but such a connection is not clearly apparent in the case of the mind, assuming of course that there is a body/mind separation. The alternative view is that the mind is something that arises within a living body and the existence of a living body is a sine qua non for the existence of a mind. Consciousness has various meanings but could be included within the broad heading of a “mind”.  

There is also the assumption by many that consciousness, self-awareness and other features of the mind are unique to human beings. This specially applies to human centric beliefs which are common to most religions. The Human centric aspect goes beyond that in some cases to the extent that it extends to the whole Universe. Man is at the Centre and signifies the whole “purpose” of the Universe. From time immemorial, Man has been naturally curious. Man seeks explanations and some Men also seek purpose and it is not surprising that answers to “purpose” are not available as in my view; the question is meaningless unless you are Theist.

Morality could be based on a system of rewards and punishments operating through the need to please or satisfy supernatural forces who are responsible for our outcomes. Morality also could be based on a different system of reward or punishment through a cause-effect system where good acts beget good outcomes although how acts are classified as good or bad is not immediately clear.

If life does persist in some form, is it applicable only to mankind? If it extends to animals, at what level does it operate? Could an amoeba be reborn? Could an animal die and be reborn as an animal? Could animals operate in a cause-effect system?

If death is followed by passing onto another form of existence, is it a permanent state (good - heaven) or (bad - hell)? Does a man who goes to hell suffer eternal damnation? Does a man who goes to Heaven enjoy eternal happiness?

My thoughts on Destiny

My thoughts of Destiny

Destiny is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “The events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future”.

The Collins English Dictionary defines Destiny as “A person's destiny is everything that happens to them during their life, including what will happen in the future, especially when it is considered to be controlled by someone or something else.”

This implies that the future is already determined and is “waiting to happen”.

I find this impossible to accept and if true, terribly depressing as it removes all incentives and promotes an attitude of resignation as “no matter what you do, what has to happen will happen”. Diligence, application, ambition, hard work have no real meaning as all these are attempts to shape the future.

Apart from that aspect, it is just inconceivable that everything that happens in this Universe, including mundane things such as missing a bus, or the number of times you visit the toilet involving billions of people are all part of a script that has been written already. Just imagine the complexity of a World where billions of human beings and billions of animals are just part of a preordained script being enacted day after day. It is so ridiculous and far fetched, it is hard to understand how such a belief is held by a lot of people.

Is the future totally unscripted? Clearly not, as reasonable predictions could be made which have a high probability of occurring but with no absolute guarantee. A heavy cigarette smoker is likely to develop lung cancer or heart disease or both. A diabetic who neglects his illness is likely to reach a premature end. Such examples are many and obvious. At the same time, completely random events occur and these are not predictable. To imagine that Tom was delayed by traffic and thereby missed his flight which subsequently crashed killing all its occupants was all part of a script which had already decided that Tom was not going to die and thereby be had to be delayed by traffic in order to miss the flight takes a lot of fanciful imagination to accept.

There are other aspects to consider too. We are all conditioned by our genetic makeup. Even simple attributes such as height, weight, the colour of eyes and more complex ones such as inherited diseases.

We are all affected by the environment in which we grow up and one could analyse all these factors and make some predictions on the future pattern of life of a child. We are not creatures who are totally free to determine our future, Even when we are under the impression that we are making a free choice, we are already conditioned by our genes, the environment we grew up. Two children of the same age asked to choose between two options, one of which is clearly anti-social may make “free choices” but the child who grew up in a loving atmosphere with caring parents operate on a very different platform from a child from a broken home with alcoholic parents living in poverty.

Even if we move on to a supernatural power such as a Deity, a predestined future does not make any sense. What is the use of prayer and good behaviour if the future is already determined? How can a Supreme Deity be all loving and forgiving if He has already determined the destiny of people? If destiny is not determined by Him, this implies that He is not all powerful and he cannot control events.

It is therefore evident to me that the future cannot be based on a rigid predetermined set of events which are inevitable. But it is perfectly feasible to postulate on possible and probable ways that the future may unfold taking into account factors such as :
Genetics
Family history
Environment.
Built-in longevity if that can be shown, in other words, you are programmed to last a certain length of time (bar unexpected accidents)
Upbringing and parents.
Habits and lifestyle
Exposure to risk factors
Predictable Natural disasters.
Conscious decisions on life events.
Availability or, lack  of, choices:
Living in times and places of danger and in dangerous occupations.


Religion. I have already commented on Deistic Religions.
Karma. A proper understanding of Karma will only show tendencies or probabilities, not an immutable future.

We know of Universal trends such as certainty that the sun will die and that the milky way and Andromeda will collide.

I dream.... Forever

I dream.... forever?

I dream as I often do

Of a planet where humans are free

Free to join hands in caring for our precious abode

Free to be ourselves

while being an integral part of a community

Free to stop searching for a purpose where there is none

Free to love others and be loved

Free to feel the pain of others less fortunate

Free to state our feelings without being judged

Free for our views to be considered dispassionately

Free to receive and understand the views of others

Free to forgive and bear no grudges

Free to let go the burning ember of regret and revenge

Free not to be classified according to birth, belief or bias

An interconnected world permeated by respect and love

A veritable Utopia without the need to commit to a Faith,

Judged on action and behaviour, not on words without meaning

Will I be dreaming forever in this complex world or ours?