Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 17 April  2015

Consolidating  Beliefs Against Death Penalty

Today is Myuran Sukumaran’s birthday – and sad though it is to think of him in a prison allocated to those sentenced  to death – in another way this must be the most valuable Birth Anniversary that Myuran must be experiencing. One who truly believes in himself is unaffected by death but would know that his soul is eternal.  If Myuran is a Christian he would know that in his mind,  he is  with the Lord now that he has repented and redeemed his soul – as per HIS assessment of the needed remedy.  If Myuran is a Hindu – he would know that he would come back in another body with a higher mind that would help others in need of support and refuge.

From the point of Myuran’s loved ones – to the extent they love Myuran more than they did 10 years ago – this experience has been invaluable. As per the consolidated value of Myuran in Community and Australian Nation – not many have had this kind of elevated sharing. All those who have ‘volunteered’ support – including quietly through their belief – have contributed to this elevation.

As per Christian system – ‘Ask and you shall be given; Seek and you shall find; Knock and it shall open’ – is the order of Body, Mind and Soul levels of operation. To my mind the body level is emotional; the mind level is through discriminative thinking by seeing the ‘other side’ mentally and the soul level is through Belief. Once we invest deeply in an issue – we are in  Belief. At that level there are no active thoughts. At that level there is just identity. We take this with us beyond death of the body.

One who operates at the surface level to cause a true believer pain and loss – is incurring the opposite karma which cannot be redeemed in this life. They are deeper than wrongs and become sins. Likewise Rights that are higher than the system level become Spiritual Merits /Saintly Energies. In Bali’s main religion -  Hinduism – these are recognized as Paavam / Sins and Puniyam/Spiritual Merit  respectively. Both are taken with the soul into one’s next life. Those with more Paavam than Puniyam are reborn as those  driven by the physical (the first group of the Christian grouping)  and those with net Spiritual Merit become Guarding & Guiding Spirits – the third category  in the above Christian grouping.  I would like to call them Satanic Forces  and Saintly Forces respectively for this purpose.

Those who generate more Satanic force than Saintly  force  in this life are reborn without deeper protection of the system of Natural Justice. I believe that Lord Krishna said to do our duty and leave the returns to Him – for this reason. Genuine contribution – as if the other is a part of us – is of eternal value – and this value is with us as Saintly Force. Where one knowingly or otherwise takes earnings of another for selfish reasons – for her/himself and for her/his group’s pleasures  – and fails to right the wrongs even when the opportunity arises -  that person accumulates  Satanic Force.  This  cannot be redeemed by mere ‘right/merit’ in current life. It can only be redeemed by Puniyam / Spiritual merit/Saintly Force  earned  by the person and or belief  in someone who has such Puniyam/Spiritual Merit/Saintly Force. The support shown from all over the world for the Bali 9 leaders confirms that their wrongs have been righted and that they are able to invoke the Spiritual Merit/Saintly Forces in this issue from all directions. They are not offenders any-more and have earned the right to be freed from prison – leave alone freed from the death penalty.

I was asked why I was speaking more for Myuran than for Andrew Chan. To me they are common victims in need of  Saintly Forces.  But as a Tamil and a Hindu I am able to invoke the Guiding Spirits of those who followed these pathways more quickly than through the secular system. In other words – I am able to invoke the Hindu and Tamil Saintly Spirits more quickly through my own deep investment in these cultures.  In addition – as a family elder I feel strongly with Myuran’s mother and his paternal grandmother whom I am very fond of.  To the extent I have contributed to commonness in our families – Myuran is naturally entitled to my Energies in this. They work naturally for him to the extent of our common belief. Many in Myuran’s family have also demonstrated respect for the positions my husband and I hold professionally. These are part of our common investments in ‘systems and structures’ and leaders have the duty to share their status with those in need.

As per news reports :

 [Indonesia’s Attorney-General’s office is continuing to suggest that the executions of 10 drug traffickers, including the two Australians, will be carried out after an Asia Africa Summit concludes in Indonesia on April 24.]

 If this report is true – then the executions carry a high component of ‘hearsay’ based judgment. One who acts as per belief would not be concerned about who is looking. Duty would not wait for others. This indicates that the Indonesians are not confident that they are doing the right thing. Given that the penalty is one’s life itself – one needs to be sure that it is belief based and that it is by someone who has Spiritual Merit in this issue. Mere abstinence from pleasure of drugs and / or trading in drugs  does not render one the Spiritual Merit needed to impose death sentence on those who have wronged – even on someone who is a mortal sinner. One who is so punishing has to have earned Spiritual Merit / Belief that s/he is Divine in this regard.  Let’s see what Islam says about Capital Punishment.  I found two messages from the Quran by searching the internet :

...If anyone kills a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed all people. And if anyone saves a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all people" (Qur'an 5:32)

….  "...Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does He command you, so that you may learn wisdom" (6:151).

To my mind, the category under which drug traffickers are sentenced to Death – would fall under the following:

‘for spreading mischief in the land’.

This ‘mischief’ would vary in form as per time and place/land. But to qualify under this category – it must of such a nature that the victim/s have  died as a direct result of this action by  the perpetrator/s – not may die but have already died – as in murder. The measure is damage to the body resulting in  an eye for an eye. The victim could be an individual who is already dead and/or the killing of the brain of the Common citizen directly due this action of the Perpetrator. The action here was taking it to Australia from Bali. Indonesian authorities do not have jurisdiction over Australia. Hence on the basis of belief – only a Balinese Hindu has the authority to decide whether this qualifies as ‘mischief’ for Bali. No belief based punishment could be imposed on a non-Muslim by a Muslim in a country where religion is closely linked to the law. This includes Jihad / Holy war against those of a different belief.   A Holy war needs to be based on Common Belief. Our Belief is the real authority. No belief no authority. Once we believe we have eliminated the wrong – we are free of the crime. One is entitled to kill to defend life but that entitlement is only in one’s territory of belief.  This is one’s HOMELAND.  This homeland is by belief and not by law when it comes to the job of the Creator.

No human law can punish beyond the body (which includes the brain). The LAND is the land of the Authority concerned – the law enforcement officers; Judiciary and finally the President in this instance. Where the Land has been subdivided and there is a clear difference in the pathways of belief – which is Muslim land v Hindu land – then the happenings in Bali cannot be punished by Muslim leaders where one is taking on the role of God. Every Belief based action is as a messenger of God. Bali is Hindu and cannot fall under Muslim belief based laws.

In Sri Lanka, the Dutch honored the Customary laws of various cultures within Ceylon/Sri Lanka and hence Jaffna Tamils have Thesawalamai Law where the Common practice in other parts of the nation are different to the practices in Northern Ceylon/ Sri Lanka. Bali is the parallel of Jaffna and hence laws relating to drug issues – need to be based on Hindu belief as interpreted and expressed by Balinese. As per my interpretation – an official  has the duty to pardon and bless where an offender has demonstrated genuine repentance. Any residual weakness in the offender is then covered by the leader / monarch / president. Ultimately we must judge as per our belief.  Others can take us close to it but cannot do that for us. Hence one who uses the death penalty must believe that the perpetrator and the judge are One.

The matter being escalated to the Constitutional Court confirms the strength of belief that the legal team feels empowered by. Whatever happens on the outside – these two young men have earned their higher place in the Spiritual world of Belief. Each one of us who believes in their transformation are their true judges and they ours.

Finally, the Islamic law says ‘Justice and law’ – both must be present for one to take the life of another. Belief that one is upholding the Truth is the root of Justice. One who fails to believe would not deliver Justice – even if s/he were most knowledgeable in law. One without knowledge of law – but with strong belief is the higher judge.