This week, The Sunday Morning Brunch reconnected with Dr. Senerath Dayathilake, a spectacular personality who, despite his vast panoply of internationally renowned accolades, is spoken of much lesser than deserved locally.
Recognised for his multidisciplinary expertise in cognitive psychology, Buddhist psychology, neuroscience, and biophysics, Dr. Dayathilake has thus far been recommended for the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2006, Lagrange-CRT Foundation Prize in 2009, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science of the Franklin Institute in 2010, and Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science in 2010. Above all, he has been nominated no less than 10 times for the Grawemeyer Awards (five awards presented by the University of Louisville to individuals who are exceptional in the fields of music, education, ideas in improving world order, religion, and psychology, usually presented to individuals like Nobel laureates and world leaders).
Dr. Dayathilake, with his never-ending thirst for knowledge and arsenal of new ideas to restore the best possible world order, spoke to us in an exclusive interview about Sri Lanka’s ability to move forward towards education reforms that could potentially place us on par with high-rankers such as Finland and Japan. With the disclaimer that his ideas are in no way politically motivated, he added that Sri Lanka is met with a great and rare opportunity to reform our education system with the current leadership we have.
Following are excerpts of the interview.
Elaborate on the studies you have conducted to gain such knowledge on education systems of the world.
My background and multidisciplinary scholarly specialisations primarily circulate around one thing: Mind and behaviour, which is ultimately located in the brain. Through my specialisations, I had the privilege of gaining a better understanding of the brain’s functions on the human mind and behaviour, and many of my research work too primarily focuses on that (including the internationally acclaimed research paper titled “Nature of Human Intelligence”).
Likewise, what I define as a good education system is a system that integrates the fundamental workings and understandings of the human mind and behaviour.
What is the true purpose of education, according to you?
The modern definition of education is that it’s purpose is to mould a student into a specific specialised field in order to pursue a career in the future. One might say that they do a job to earn a living. Why do you earn a living? To survive. What is the purpose of life? Is it money? Your personal property?
My personal belief is that it is happiness and good wellbeing.
If we take simple examples into account, look at Steve Jobs. He was worldwide renowned, and had the wealth and knowledge in the world. He might have also been happy and satisfied with what he had accomplished. However, he lived a short life.
There is no one who has not heard of Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop”. However, due to various factors, he was unable to lead a happy life and he too passed before his time.
Dhammapada Verse 204 reads “arōgyā paramā lābhā, santuṭṭhiparamaṃ dhanaṃ” (good wellbeing and happiness are the most important things in life). This is the fundamental rule that applies to everything in life. The question is, how far has our education system prioritised these tools of life?
For my research paper titled “The Evolution of Human Intelligence”, I have conducted research on the limitations of human intelligence and how to overcome those drawbacks. Intelligence, according to my personal definition, is the ability to live the best life for the longest period of time in happiness, with the best possible standards of wellbeing.
Let us take into consideration a computer system and the human brain. The computer system, once infected with a virus, is faced with gradual deterioration and ultimately collapses. The human brain is much more complicated than this example. Similarly, however, when it is preoccupied with negativity and “mind poisons” (kleshas), mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, delusion and depression, the human too ultimately ends up ruined and dismantled.
How do we unlock our full potential of intelligence that enables a better product of the education system?
Meditation is an excellent remedy. Mind you, I am not at all speaking in a purely religious sense. Around two million Americans are currently practising the meditation practice non-religiously and experiencing its great results.
However, meditation is not as simple as a virus scan or an anti-virus guard of a computer. The brain is a complex structure with 100 billion neurons in the cortex of the brain itself. One neuron consists of 2,500-25,000 axons. But it is one of the best parallel answers to get rid of “mind poisons” that inflict the brain, enabling not only happiness but also good wellbeing.
What are your thoughts on Sri Lanka’s current education system?
Us, as a country very self-righteously like to claim that our system is one of the best. I challenge you to recall a lesson you learned for your Ordinary Level (O/L) examinations. I doubt you remember anything you learnt. Most of what the students learn then, we do not even apply anymore. So an “A” in one of those subjects doesn’t guarantee true knowledge. Our goal has not been met.
The main aim of education is to indeed aid in the pursuit of a career. However, a totally feasible education with true intelligence garners the best of happiness and total wellbeing.
Is our path to education correct? The World Health Organisation (WHO) report suggests that 43% of school students are under the condition of severe stages of “stress” that lead to the final stage of depression. Sri Lanka’s staggering suicide rates were once at 653 a year and 50% were below the age of 20. Is it illogical to draw a connection to the success of our education system in this manner? It shows that our current approach to education is not successful. The students who are under it are unhappy.
A look at today’s student population also shows rampant numbers of diabetic patients. To qualify as successful in our current education system, students have to compromise in their sleep schedule, and physical activity is not prioritised. There’s rabid levels of malnutrition among students. The students, therefore, are also not experiencing optimum wellbeing – that is two of life’s most important jewels lacking.
What are the major flaws you see in our education system?
The true meaning of intelligence is not recognised by many in the country. There are numerous definitions of intelligence. Educational psychologist Howard Gardner, who won the Grawemeyer Prize in 1990, for which I myself was nominated, introduced the “Theory of Multiple Intelligence” which talks of eight types of intelligence: Linguistic, logical/mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist.
Furthermore, I would like to stress that our education system does not teach our students sufficient emotional intelligence. There are highly “educated” and qualified individuals in society with credentials in front and after their names on paper. However, their emotional intelligence is null.
Emotional intelligence is a long-term good. It is far-sighted and good for not just the students, but also for those around them like their families, teachers, as well as society at large.
What can Sri Lanka learn from the world’s best-ranking education systems?
The most successful primary education system is in Finland. They do not conduct examinations till the age of 13. The child is not exerted and pressured but is rather allowed to learn freely. There is a great sense of happiness and curiosity that is cultivated. The most important elements to consider in the creation of an education system is nature and the due nurturing, and Finland has succeeded in the cultivation of both, creating a motivated student body.
However, we should also note that these countries utilise the latest technology in their endeavours and the best we can do is look at our own roots and resources we already have.
It is not that Sri Lanka has always been this way. We have a proud history of ancestors who built 40,000 lakes in this country, the best medicinal practices, and so on. Our ancestors created wonders such as the Sigiriya and the great lakes through their good health and strength as well as their own happiness and vitality. Happiness is fundamental for curiosity and self-learning, and we should revive it again.
We are also lacking strong, trained professionals with good knowledge to enhance the longevity of our education. I have come to understand through my experiences that there are enough and more teachers in the country without even the knowledge of what a basic “mind map” is. There is a large gap and disparity between the teaching methods and the ways of knowledge retainment and learning of the students. Parotting is encouraged instead of analysis, constructive criticism, and practical application.
Explain to us how inculcating meditation into our education system brings about best results.
It is scientifically proven that the mediation practice improves the memory drastically; plays a role in enhancing better understanding and also grasping and absorbing subject material and concepts; and improves vitality and peacefulness among students. It is also proven to boost emotional intelligence and even prevents and reduces the risk of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and dementia. On the contrary, our country is presently in a miserable state.
In PubMed, the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics, which is also maintained as the database of the Entrez system of information retrieval at the US National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, there are approximately 17,750 researches on mediation and its psychological implications. It is disheartening to note that not a single Sri Lankan scholar is mentioned or involved in this work.
The total research cost for all this work is granted, probably more than Sri Lanka’s GDP. This is the level of dedication of foreigners without the added advantage we have. It is almost as if we are going backwards in time in terms of progress in education. Our investment is truly wasted.
Do you really believe that Sri Lanka has the potential to rank among Finland and Japan in terms of education?
The most forward-thinking countries of the world are dominated by the UK, Japan, Germany, Singapore, and South Korea and we are only at 59th. With regard to the world’s happiest countries, Finland, Denmark, and Switzerland take the cake and Sri Lanka trots behind at 170th.
Sri Lanka has the potential to maybe reach even greater heights than Finland to increase the feasibility of education and positively impact our own economy in equal measure, but we have a long way to go.
We are treading on a gem of a country with prosperous golden soil; rivers patterned perfectly islandwide, enough and more lakes, and plentiful rain; perfect climate; and a dazzling history. Like I said, if we analyse our roots and realise the added advantage we have and execute it properly, this country may give rise to a 100 Charles Darwins and at least 10-15 Einsteins in the years to come.
Intelligence and knowledge can prevent wars and eradicate chaos, and cultivating happiness takes us one step closer towards that goal. Happiness is all we have. Even on our deathbeds, it is not money or our property that we take with us. If we do not have happiness, what is the point of having lived so long a life?
Anyone interested in getting in touch with him are welcome to contact him on his personal mobile 0712244455/0777173971
and
via email: klsenarathdayathilake@yahoo.com
Main Image © LOREN JOSEPH ON UNSPLASH
