Pure Inspiration

Ven. Pannipitiye Upasama and Nimal Sonnadara – 118
Sometimes we used to ask about his childhood. He mentioned that he
did not like the work in a farm as there was animosity towards
animals and he stated as a child that this was not his place. His mother
used to say to him, ‘What would happen to you when you grow up
without knowing the farm work?’ One day he was asked to slaughter a
chicken. He recalled the experience as devastating and he determined
not to do it again.
After World War I, he saw the wounded and destitute coming to his
village looking for food. There was so much suffering. He told me of a
person known to him saying that he had nothing to worry about as he
was a wealthy owner of an insurance company. But after the war he
lost everything and was on the road like everyone else. His teacher,
whilst serving in the Army, went to help a wounded enemy soldier
who asked for some water. While giving help, he was shot in his eye.
He suffered a lot and was in agony with the pain. So the teacher asked
him not to join the Army and even suggested his parents encourage
him in his studies.
He happened to come across the Bhagavad Gīta (a Hindu religious text)
and this appealed to him as it encouraged compassion, similar to what
he practiced on the farm toward animals. As a child he liked the Army
uniform (probably because of past lives inclination). He also liked to
be in the woods alone and he had migraine headaches from childhood.
He once had a distant friendship with a girlfriend. When she intended
to strengthen this friendship by introducing him to her parents, he
explained that his inclination was to lead a spiritual life and he wished
for her that she would meet a partner, which indeed happened later on.