Knowledge is created or constructed due
to Avijja, based on the Chinthanaya
and relative to the sense organs, mind and the culture of the people, in terms
of concepts, theories etc. One who “knows” through prathyaksha, and not with concepts and theories, that whole knowledge, not just
that of “self” as the “Arhaths” do, is due to avijja, “knows” everything. In my view it is in that sense “Buddha”
was “sarvanna” (who knew everything). Since we are not even “Arhaths” we go on
constructing knowledge but unfortunately the “educated” can only imitate
forgetting absorption and other means of creating knowledge. The absorption of
western knowledge within our chinthanaya and culture when necessary is not
excluded but what harms us is imitation. Though western science has been taught
in Sri Lanka for more than one hundred and fifty years we have not been able to
produce a single western scientist who is worth his salt.
We do not live in isolation as pundits
very often remind us, but what we have to remind the pundits is that by
imitating western knowledge that includes knowledge of development we will only
find ourselves to be mere slaves of the west often bringing misery to the
people. The recent problems that have arisen due to imitating western
development without absorbing into our culture should open the eyes of the not
so educated general public. It is unlikely that the educated will ever
understand this problem as they are in a deep slumber as a result of taking
“knowledge pills” exported by the western countries.
The CKDu (Chronic Kidney Disease
unidentified etiology) remains unidentified as far as western science and
western medicine are concerned, and the patients continue to die in order to
maintain the hegemony of western knowledge. It is said that hundred kidneys
will be transplanted this year (2014) but that is going to be a small
percentage of the patients even if this number of kidneys would be donated by
the public. The government has decided to increase funds to deal with this
problem, but without any creative absorption of knowledge by the western
“scientists” and medical doctors, it is very unlikely that we could expect any
positive outcome. The public funds if not returned to the treasury at the end
of the year would most probably be spent on importing high tech equipments and very
expensive filters of water bringing in additional income to the parties with
vested interests. However, the WHO in their so called report according to a
spokesperson in the ministry of health, but a paper published by four
individuals, two attached to the ministry of health as very high officials, and
the other two attached to the WHO, in an open accessible journal, like all the
western scientists and medical personnel are not in a position to identify the
cause of the Chronic Kidney Disease. Ironically the paper does not indentify so
called drinking water as a cause of the disease.
The Kidney Disease has become a fertile
ground for western scientists and others who are after instant publicity to
come out with their pet theories on the cause of the problem. It appears that
the GMOA led by its President is also in the picture portraying the image of
saviours of patients. The president who does not understand any epistemology or
even western “morals” come out in media as a person in search of “guna’ in
addition to “nena” in western medicine. What he does not understand is that
there is no “guna” dissociated from “nena” and western medicine is neither with
“guna” or “nena” more correctly “guna nena” when viewed relative to Sinhala
culture. Though the western “scientists” are not prepared to accept it the
group at Kelaniya identified arsenic found in agrochemicals as the cause of the
disease together with hard water contaminated with Magnesium and Sodium salts,
and Arsenic “friendly” soil found in the affected areas. They also said that Cadmium
in a vacuum is not the cause though it acts as a catalyst. Cadmium alone is not
sufficient to cause the disease. Now the western scientists and the western
medics, being the imitators they are, are not prepared to accept the “findings”
of the Kelaniya group. If they accept it then in order to eradicate the disease
the government would be instructed to go back to Sinhala govikama giving up agriculture
based on agrochemicals gradually. The western science does not act in a vacuum,
and it is bound with the interests of the Judaic Christian culture.
Western science and medicine together
with western technology are created in Greek Judaic Christian Chinthanaya relative
to the western Judaic Christian culture. They are not dissociated from
capitalism and the multinational companies, and western science, medicine and
technology serve the multinationals in the final analysis. The multinationals
cannot do away with agrochemical based agriculture and western scientists will
find many reasons to tell us that the cause of the so called CKDu cannot be
identified, may be with the present state of knowledge. In western medicine
there are so many criteria that have to be satisfied in order to conclude that
something is a causative factor of a disease, and it would not be difficult for
a group to say in the case of a particular candidate the criteria are not
satisfied and hence it cannot be concluded as the cause of the particular
disease. The multinationals will depend on some report, paper or finding or
what not by a “reputed” scientist or a group of scientists and claim that
agrochemicals are not the cause of the disease. Since knowledge is controlled
by the westerners, under the hegemony of western science the poor Kidney
patients will continue to die.
What is interesting is that though no
group or individual other than the Kelaniya group has pointed its finger
towards hard water (kivul jalaya) there are interested parties who are all out
to import filters to be installed in the affected areas. I would not be
surprised if soon a “reputed” team comes out with the startling new finding
that hard water is one of the causes of the disease. That is the way western
Judaic Christian culture works. The parties with vested interests would ignore
the claim by the Kelaniya group that arsenic is the main cause but cling to the
“finding” that hard water is a cause of the disease. We would even see the
prospect of the same company importing agrochemicals as well as the
filters.
The Kidney Disease, which we call the
Chronic Agrochemical Kidney Disease (CAKD) is the result of imitating the
western development and is a fall out of the “green revolution”. The UNP
introduced the “green revolution” but the present generation of leaders in both
the UNP and the SLFP do not seem to remember that. The present UNP leaders give
the impression that the present government is responsible for the CAKD but the
government spokespersons are not in a position to reply as they also work with
the multinationals.
We witness a similar phenomenon in
respect of powdered milk. Though there are reports of powdered milk imported by
some companies, contaminated with poisonous substances there are western
“scientists” to issue certificates to the effect that the very same powdered
milk is devoid any such substances. These speak volumes for the “objectivity”
of western science and powdered milk will continue to be imported. It is not my
intention to publicize drinking of milk as this again is an imported concept. I
would not go into detail but suffice is to say that the Sinhalas were a milk
eating (kiri kema) nation, in the form of mee kiri (curd) etc. The Sinhalas
drank “kenda” and not milk but we were taken away from that habit by the
English with degrading remarks such as “ada kenda beelada aawey” (are you after
drinking kenda today). Instead of imitating milk or consuming powdered milk the
government should cultivate a habit of drinking “kenda” among the people. In
the case of CAKD there are Sinhala physicians who are capable of curing the
disease, and if the government spends a fraction of the funds allocated to
western medicine to organize veda gedera (clinics) in the areas affected with
the disease and divert the “govi mahathun” from agrochemical based agriculture
to Sinhala govikama the CAKD could be eradicated.
01-01-2014
