By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando

Ronald Senaratne in action with an Indian Actress

Ronald Senaratne was a self-made psychoanalyst. He became popular among the Indian folk in London especially, who believed in ‘Chakras’ in the human body, which are various focal points. He travelled to the U.K. for the first time in 1988. News spread among the Sri Lankan and Indian communities about a mystic practitioner’s presence in London. 

His Unique Technique

He adopted a unique technique by walking into ‘Indian Corner shops’ in London and studying the Cashier’s eyes, to reveal a recent incident the Cashier had experienced. Ronald placed his thumb on the Cashier’s forehead next and said something else to confuse him! When the Cashier wanted to know how it was done, Ronald touched the victim’s right thumb with his right hand and revealed another problem of the Cashier. Afterwards, he said: ” I am a psychoanalyst, and if you need any more information, the reading will cost you £10/-“  So, those who were convinced paid and got individual readings. Ronald managed to live in England out of the money he earned out of such assignments. Seemingly he became a regular visitor to London as his clientele grew. Ronald visited Germany, the US and France when his clients sponsored him. He had no problem obtaining a visa to other countries because of his sponsorships.

First Meeting

The writer first met him at the  MCC Cricket Grounds at  Lord’s. During the  initial conversation, the writer gathered that at the age of 15, Ronald had researched into the universal powers of pre-historic Hela Yakka that developed over generations covering Ravana, Vibhishana , Pulasthi etc. Through meditation he acquired how the invisible forces helped him to energise his subconscious mind. That led him to  develop a unique way of touching various Chakras in a recipient’s body.

He also acquired knowledge through Ramayana and folk stories in Sri Lanka. He seemingly developed a unique technique of touching various chakras in a person’s body to come out with the recipients’ problems. This experience of tapping into the invisible forces helped him energise his subconscious mind. A book on  Astral bodies and human aura by Lombasam Lomba  further helped him delve into palmistry, psychic reading, hypnotherapy, clairvoyance, and numerology and use in his day-to-day activities.

In 1979  he worked in Laksala  (Fort) Branch and was chosen as the  Sri Lankan Representative to represent Laksala in the Frankfurt International exhibition. He proceeded from Franckfurt to France and met with the Sri Lankan Ambassador, Tissa Wijeratne, who introduced him to many personalities in Paris.

Contact with British politicians

En route to Sri Lanka, via England, he was introduced to the Leader of the then Liberal Party, the late Jeremy Thorpe, through a friend of Tissa Wijeratne. Tissa Wijeratne’s friend also introduced  Ronald to the late Dame Margret Thatcher. He predicted that  Mrs Margaret Thatcher  would become ‘the Prime Minister of England with a landslide victory and would hold that position  for over ten years!’

During the U.K. elections in 1979, Margret Thatcher won a landslide victory for the Conservative party. She was elected as the Prime Minister and continued for over ten years. Later she wrote a personal note to Ronald appreciating his latent talents. He always complimented  Thatcher akin to the Ancient Mariner in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem – ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.’

Concerning Jeromy Thorpe, Ronald prophesied that the opposition leader in the British Parliament would get involved in an embarrassing court case, but it would be acquitted of all allegations. Nevertheless, Ronald could see Jerome Thorpe’s political career would be in danger!  A few years later, Ronald prediction came true, and  Jeremy Thorpe faced trial on a scandalous homosexual accusation. Although he was acquitted, he lost his party leadership and disappeared from the political scene forever. Jeromy Thorpe, too wrote to Ronald, much after the court case, thanking him for his predictions.  Ronald used such letters to his advantage and exhibited those to whoever was cynical about his tactile approaches.

Ronald Senaratne predicted that Sirimavo Bandaranaike would lose her political and social freedom and equality when J.R. Jayawardena,  as President of Sri Lanka, imposed a complete ban on her civil rights. Despite her losing her case, Ronald Senaratne also predicted that she would shine again in politics. Later, she became the Prime Minister again.  

 Psycho-analytical sojourns

The accurate predictions on two staunch British politicians encouraged Ronald Senaratne to delve into the subject in a much deeper sense, thereby developing new contacts in many parts of the West, especially in the US. He received invitations to visit foreign countries with a promise to afford him free board and lodging. That enabled him to see the West, India and the US annually. He called such travels psycho-analytical sojourns.

Tactile phenomenon

With an unpredictable tactile phenomenon, he could divulge many controversial facts in front of the recipient’s eyes, irrespective of one’s social background, that shocked many seekers and became  dumbfounded in front of him.

His motto was, “seeing is believing“, “touch is fascinating and real“, and “practical experience is nature consciousness”.

tilakfernando@gmail.com