Mahinda College

Mahinda College
"ඛිප්පං වායාම පණ්ඩිතෝ බව"
Location
Galle Sri Lanka
Coordinates	6°03′00.5″N 80°12′55.2″E / 6.050139°N 80.215333°E / 6.050139; 80.215333Coordinates: 6°03′00.5″N 80°12′55.2″E / 6.050139°N 80.215333°E / 6.050139; 80.215333
Information
Type	Government School
Motto	Khippam Vayama Pandito Bhawa Meaning: ("Strive hard and be wise")
Established	1892
Founder	Colonel Henry Steel Olcott
Principal	Mr. P.M.G. Gamini Jayawardhane , SLEAS
Staff	175
Grades	1 to G.C.E. (A/L)
Gender	Boys
Age	6 to 19
Enrollment	3750
Pupils	Mahindians
Color(s)	Black and Gold
Publication	Sahasa Magazine
Affiliation	Buddhist
Alumni	List of Mahinda College alumni
Website	http://www.mahindacollege.lk

Black and Gold

Mahinda College is a Buddhist boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. The school was established on March 1, 1892 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. Today it is a national school, which provides primary and secondary education across 13 grades. Mahinda College is regarded as the leading Buddhist school in Southern Sri Lanka.

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, a retired United States army officer was in search of truth. He studied various philosophies and listened to the sermons of various religious dignitaries. But his inquiring mind did not find an answer. In his search he came across a comprehensive report of the Panadurawadaya. It was a report of a religious debate between Buddhist monks and Christian clergy. Olcott appreciated the contentions of the Buddhist monks and started corresponding with the outstanding Buddhist monks of Ceylon. This correspondence eventually led him to visit Ceylon.

Col. Olcott landed in Galle on May 17, 1880 in the company of Madame H. P. Blavatsky. They became Buddhists at the Wijeyananda temple in Galle. Olcott and Blavatsky were grieved at the treatment the Buddhists, their institutions and the religion received at the hands of the colonial rulers and the Christian hierarchy. They identified that the greatest danger came from the proselytization of the children of Buddhist parents through education. To combat this they founded the Buddhist Theosophical Society and set about opening up Buddhist English schools. He opened up the B.T.S. English school at Pettigalawatta on September 15, 1880. This school had a short existence and later with the arrival of Dr. Bowles Daly (LLD), an Irish clergyman and a theosophist, Mahinda College was opened on March 1, 1892 at Pedlar Street in Galle Fort. The school was named after Arhant Mahinda Thero, the Buddhist monk who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka.