The article that appeared in ‘The Sunday Times’ of 10/5/2009 on the aforesaid topic, as a Vesak contribution by Sarath N. Silva, Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, was enlightening and most opportune in the present political situation in Sri Lanka.

The Chief Justice’s article also virtually coincided with a TV program on the Indian NDTV channel shortly before Vesak day, where the well-known commentator and Group editor of NDTV Ms. Barkha Dutt interviewed Ms. Priyanka Gandhi the daughter of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and concluded the interview by saying ‘Priyanka, what you have just spoken is amazing!’ Priyanka’s remarks remind one of Sangamitta, the great Indian messenger of peace and harmony to Sri Lanka, and her dedication to the teachings of the Buddha on Maithri and the inexorable Law of Karma, where every action of ours has an equal and opposite reaction on us sooner or later, sometimes after an inexplicable lapse of several years or even life-spans.

What was amazing about Priyanka’s statement was her confession of her present state of mind in relation to the assassination of her father Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. She had stated earlier at the interview that she was naturally angry and furious with the whole world when she heard about the assassination of her father and that this attitude continued for some time. But now after years of contemplation she had only a feeling of compassion towards the so-called killers and conspirators responsible for her fatherassassination. She said she visited Nandini, one of the conspirators, who had already served 17 years in jail and experienced a feeling of sympathy for her suffering. She said that it was her personal spiritual reaction now, but that the Indian Government would be bound to act according to the requirements of the law.