[Many of Mr. Rajapaksa’s advisers must be on
tenterhooks this week as he heads into one of the biggest gambles of his
political career. When the president opted to hold elections this January, two
years ahead of schedule, he could not have anticipated the challenge that has
leapt up before him: Maithripala Sirisena, the former health minister and
general secretary of Mr. Rajapaksa’s own party, mounted a surprise challenge,
accusing the president of turning Sri
Lanka into a “soft
dictatorship” led by his sprawling extended family.]
 |
Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena identifies auspicious timing for the president’s
political acts. Credit Sanka Vidanagama for The New York Times
|
For
decades, the astrologer, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena, has stood beside the
longtime politician and current president, Mahinda
Rajapaksa, occupying a role that, in this part of the world,
combines the functions of spiritual adviser, political consultant and life
coach. On television, it is not uncommon to see panels of astrologers debating
the fortunes of political leaders, in a format something like that of “The
McLaughlin Group.”
These
days, Mr. Abeygunawardena’s main work is identifying auspicious timing for the
president’s political acts — “10:48 a.m. was a strong time, the bird becomes king,” was one
recent recommendation. But he also weighs in on such details as whether to
submit nomination papers to the election commissioner’s right or left side and
performs rituals in an ornate shrine in his attic, which is bracketed by six
curving elephant tusks.
Many
of Mr. Rajapaksa’s advisers must be on tenterhooks this week as he heads into
one of the biggest gambles of his political career. When the president opted to
hold elections this January, two years ahead of schedule, he could not have
anticipated the challenge that has leapt up before him: Maithripala Sirisena,
the former health minister and general secretary of Mr. Rajapaksa’s own party, mounted a surprise challenge,
accusing the president of turning Sri
Lanka into a “soft
dictatorship” led by his sprawling extended family.
His
defection, along with those of other longtime presidential aides, has turned
the re-election campaign into a white-knuckle affair. Mr. Abeygunawardena has
publicly maintained that the day of the vote, Thursday, will be an “immensely
fortunate” date for the president, though he says he had no role in selecting
it.
Identifying
auspicious times, he said, is “very dangerous work, very risky work,” and, for
astrologers working at his level, potentially career-ending.
“Even
if there is a slight defect, it can result in something bad,” he said. If an
astrologer errs, “the whole thing goes wrong,” he said, noting, “Sometimes
their houses are demolished.”
“I have never received any admonitions,” he
hastened to add, “because I have never given any wrong advice.”
Mr.
Rajapaksa is certainly not the first Sri Lankan leader to engage the services
of an astrologer. Most of his opponents do, too, and some stories floating
around Colombo
Mr. Rajapaksa, who was first elected in 2005, has
shown a rapt interest in what astrologers are saying about him. In 2009, an
astrologer named Chandrasiri Bandara, who wrote a column for a pro-opposition
weekly, was arrested and questioned by the Criminal Investigations Department
after he predicted that Mr. Rajapaksa might be ousted. Mr. Bandara was released
shortly afterward, and he continues to comment on politics, but with
considerably more caution.
State
television recently showed clips in which Mr. Bandara offered the opinion that
recent torrential rains had been unleashed by Mr. Sirisena’s betrayal. In an
interview, he smilingly declined to say which candidate, Mr. Rajapaksa or Mr.
Sirisena, had submitted his nomination papers at a more auspicious time.
“If
I saw which one is better,” he said, “I’ll have to go again in a white van.”
Astrology is part of daily life all over South Asia , where many people believe they are influenced by
the movement of the planets starting at the moment of their birth. H. L.
Seneviratne, a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Virginia Sri Lanka
“There is a theory that the fishermen who go
fishing in the lagoons do not use magic, but the fishermen who go fishing in
the sea, they are full of magic,” Mr. Seneviratne said. “There is so much
anxiety, and to cope with it, there is magic.”
Mr.
Abeygunawardena’s office is decorated with life-size photographs of himself
with the president and a giant framed copy of his own Wikipedia entry. One
celebrity pictured is Mr. Sirisena, who denounced the president in November and
is running against him. Asked about the defection, Mr. Abeygunawardena gave a
small grimace of regret: He said he was close with Mr. Sirisena until he
mysteriously stopped visiting a few months ago.
“I
didn’t expect it and didn’t predict it,” he said of the defection, adding that
Mr. Sirisena’s horoscope was not strong. “The planet Saturn is in his house,
and it’s a bad time for him. A very bad time,” he said. “His house is clearly
spoiled irreparably.”
Mr.
Abeygunawardena forged his relationship with Mr. Rajapaksa in the 1980s, when
he approached the politician with a prophecy. Mr. Abeygunawardena told him he
was the long-awaited Prince Diyasena, the hero who, according to Sinhala
Buddhist legend, was destined to save Sri Lanka 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. , “even if he is at the gym, or doing yoga.”
“The
president, he has such auspicious time and so much power in his planetary
position that he cannot be defeated in an election,” he said confidently. “If
he gives someone else the position, or steps down, or retires, that’s the only
way.”
As
he left the interview, he fished out his amulet — a heavy lump of gold inlaid
with a large gemstone for each of the planets.
“One
request,” he said. “Don’t put in any words that are against the Rajapaksas.”
