Last year, there was another discussion about the 13^th Amendment. Should we activate or delete it? Those who were in hiding or were silent during the Aragalaya were once again being openly malicious. They changed their old masks for new ones. In our society, fiction has again become a reality. More people believe false and fake evidence while ignoring hard evidence. The ICCPR has become an instrument to control dissent and suppress unpopular opinions.

The monks and extremists who supported Sinhala-Buddhist centric ideologies, who were in hiding or had retreated during the Aragalaya, once again chanted that "devolution can only happen over our dead bodies." It was unfortunate to see all the Mahanayake Theros of the Buddhist Nikayas collectively express their unwillingness to support the devolution of power.

People with erotomanic delusional disorder believe that another person (often someone famous or important) is in love with them, even though there is no evidence to support this belief. People with grandiose delusional disorder have an inflated sense of self-worth, power, knowledge, or identity. They may believe that they are special or unique, or that they have special powers or abilities. Individuals with delusional disorders marked by jealousy tend to believe that their spouse or sexual partner is being unfaithful to them, even though there is no evidence to support this belief. People with somatic delusional disorder believe that they have a physical or medical condition, even though there is no evidence to support this belief. People with persecutory delusional disorder believe that they are being harmed, mistreated, or spied on by someone or something. They may complain repeatedly to legal authorities about their perceived persecution. A mixed type of delusional disorder is one in which a person experiences two or more of the above types of delusions.

Delusions related to grandiose ideas and beliefs, especially religious content, can cause fear and anxiety in communities. For example, someone with a grandiose delusion may believe that they are the reincarnation of a religious figure or that they have the power to perform miracles. These beliefs can be disruptive and harmful, and they can lead to conflict with others.

As Carl Jung says, with a truly tragic delusion, ‘these theologians fail to see that it is not a matter of proving the existence of the light, but of blind people who do not know that their eyes could see. It is high time we realised that it is pointless to praise the light and preach it if nobody can see it. It is much more needful to teach people the art of seeing.'

Chandraguptha Thenuwara

July 2023