Saturday 22 August 2015

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 22 Aug  2015



British Tamil is not Sri Lankan Tamil
Australian Sinhalese is not Sri Lankan Sinhalese

There is much talk about Political solution for Tamils of Sri Lanka. According to the latest media news ‘The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) says it will seek the full support of the international community, including India, to help implement the legitimate demands of the Tamil people through a negotiated political solution.’ To my mind that is more a message / warning to the Government of Sri Lanka that GTF would use global social power to get the outcome it seeks. Such powers are strongly emotion based and unless such is based on Belief – they are of negative value in terms of  Self-Governance. Using others outside Tamil Eelam confirms lack of confidence in one’s own qualification to lead a group towards self-governance. In fact it could be leading from the frying pan into the fire.  If an ethnic group claims to be Sovereign in its own rights – it would not show others’ support in its structure.
This kind of hypocrisy was  demonstrated also by an Australian Sinhalese who responded to my email under the subject heading ‘Australian Winning Sri Lankan Elections?’ with a blunt message through the picture below without any explanation.
 The wording in that picture is in Sinhalese and my knowledge of Sinhalese did not extend that far. Mine is more for social integration with those who cannot speak English the common language in Sri Lanka or Tamil as well as I.  Given that the response was copied to all in that particular email of mine – I took it as the responder using my structure to publish his own work. Hence I tried to read the message behind the ‘Sinhala picture only’ message by using google. I was taken to a website which described itself as a ‘Forum for All Sri Lankans All over the world.’ Then followed a conversation with the above mentioned responder in pure Sinhalese. Likewise, the Global Tamil Forum is pure British Tamil and not Global Tamil.
Yesterday the parallel in the Sri Lankan Political group – the Tamil National Alliance was confirmed. It started with a message from a well educated Australian of Sri Lankan origin sharing with us, the following message to a Tamil Politician:
Congrats on your resounding victory in our Tamil Homeland. 
High time the TNA joins the mainstream of government and show their leadership in co-operating with GOSL to get some concessions for our people in the North and East. Being within the system is more desirable than confrontational politics which will take us nowhere. Hon.PM Ranil is a reasonable person to approach and we must get at least one ministerial post in GOSL and try to reduce the armed presence in the Tamil homelands. Since the rail and roads have now been built and many Sinhalese have invested in the North and East, it is up to you to look for investment in the Sinhala areas, reciprocally. There are great opportunities left unexplored, like education, tourism, sports, fisheries, livestock, vegetables, fruits, chilies,  Palmyra and other products. Our people are very intelligent and hard-working and have suffered a lot in the past. Vocational training is much needed in Tamil Areas. I have been to Jaffna and Batticaloa several times and I can see the potential and enthusiasm of the people. There are many Sinhalese who are trying to help and you should invite them to come and see the potential by having workshops and seminars. Our cricketers are most willing to help.
We need the co-operation of all clergy, politicians, academics, universities, professionals, students and also investors from Colombo and overseas to help you all. Hope you will take this advice seriously. Don’t take a back seat. Let’s get up and go. Very best wishes.

I felt the urge to respond to the above person – not because we always agreed with each other – but because he has demonstrated ‘independence’ in terms of status. Such a person would identify with the core value rather than agreement or disagreement – win or lose. This Sri Lankan leader sought participation above status.
 In that consciousness I responded as follows to the group covered by that email:
Thank you for sharing your valuable feelings with us. There are signs of an educated leadership in Sri Lanka which has become possible due also to the strong mental involvement by the likes of you.

In terms of TNA I believe Tamils as a community have to maintain their independent status and cooperate at policy level. This is best achieved through Leader of the Opposition position going to a Tamil. Such confirms our Equal participation in Politics without losing our Diversity.

Love
Gaja

The response to it was:
Agree that the TNA should lead the opposition. Excellent idea. Hope the UNP will agree. GOSL needs some educated politicians.

The Politician responded as follows:
‘Thank you very much Professor, for your wishes and very valuable thoughts.’
I wrote this morning about this leader who leads another group within the Diaspora ‘I am responding because of  those who have shown valuation and those who never disrespected me as a person. Professor leads that part of this group. I am not ‘back’ as active member of the forum. I am expressing my observations on this specific topic. You are one of those who demonstrated lack of respect for me as a person.

In the global group – the initiator of the  discussion with the Politician  is the ‘cow with the bell’ as we say in Tamil. Like those with minority status - I was the cow without the bell. This cow without the bell has included the above TNA Politician in her regular emails for many months now. But to date there has been no response from this TNA Politician to this cow – not even after knowledge that this lesser looking cow is respected as an equal by the cow with the bell.
The judgment by me is that the above TNA Politician in his ‘natural environment’ will NOT consider the ordinary voter without status bell – to be part of him or of equal status to him - once he gets his seat in parliament. To that extent it is a job won and not an ownership right to demand on behalf of his group. There is a Tamil saying that we must not forget the pathway we travelled through, once we reach our destination. Those who are genuinely fighting for equal rights for a minority group  would always identify with minority (cow without bell) as a priority. Others would enforce their way as the above Sinhalese forum which says it is for all Sri Lankans effectively enforces Sinhalese – as if Sinhalese = Sri Lankans.
I have had this experience many times at Vaddukoddai – where the first declaration of Political (i.e. Emotions based) Independence was first made in 1976. Given that it was made in Vaddukoddai – Vaddukoddai is the Political Capital of Tamil Nation within the country Sri Lanka. The law and order of Vaddukoddai is very weak now if not for a few folks like myself. When law and order of the current generation is weak that expression of  independence is weak, unless the Political Declaration was strongly based on belief and the currently active  generation believes in those who made the declaration and/or the land where such was made. As I wrote today to a Diaspora group during discussion of  Reaction v Response ‘The other day when I was critical of my husband’s emotional reaction – but confirmed that I too reacted he quickly said ‘so you too are emotional!’ I said ‘Yes but I override it through my Truth within which takes me to the steady path’. Those who are yet to find Truth are limited to emotional reactions.

The latest example in Vaddukoddai was through caste based reverse discrimination. A guy from Vaddukoddai suburb who kept claiming that their village was disenfranchised until my active involvement in their village – started demonstrating his claim for ‘individuality’ and therefore freedom from supervision by me – the very same person he calls ‘Ammah/Mother’ and whose feet he touched in reverence until this recent episode when he claimed he sought ‘individuality’. The more I tried to explain the right course of action the more active was his reaction in opposition. One of the topics under issue was that he wanted to place the picture of Hindu Deities in his work area within his allocated area within our training center. He brought that picture and the oil-lamp without seeking my approval. I did not say anything even though I was upset that he was investing in separation. I am a Hindu and we own and manage the Hindu temple in his home village within Vaddukoddai District. There too – Shiva-Shakthi are represented in Trident form as Vairavar-Kali. Yet at out Training Center at Vaddukoddai junction I naturally had no religious representation and if I had felt the need for it – I would have chosen representation of all religions. I am a strong believer of the Divinity of Sathya Sai Baba and yet I consciously override His name being mentioned in our Bhajans (Sai Bhajans) out of respect that majority in that area are not devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. The above guy who until recently represented us at the temple – started also arguing with me when I mentioned some breaches in time order in temple functions. To me Nallur Murugan temple is the best example for time order. Ultimately – when I felt I could not go anymore in explaining to him – I realized that his demonstration of belief included expressions of his own desire to be equal to Vaddukoddai folks. I ended the argument by showing the way to separate from our Management – so he could demonstrate his ‘individuality’ as an Equal.  To me – every Tamil or Sinhalese who claims  equal position to a Sri Lankan would need this separation through time and/or distance - to confirm their independence and diversity to that extent under one banner. If they are not truly independent and they would not be if they forget the benefits enjoyed as Sri Lankans – as the above guy did in our case – they are confirming their lack of independence and are confusing physical freedom with true independence.  They are actually employees to the extent they remain active within the broader  structure. This is also the case with TNA as well as GTF
It is reported that TNA leader  ‘Mr. Sampanthan expressed confidence that the new government elected at the recent general election would find a satisfactory political solution to the ethnic problem.

The above confirms that TNA continues to be part of Sri Lankan structure and not Tamil Eelam structure. If this is not officially acknowledged – they are actually being employed by Sri Lankans and do not own in full their positions in parliament.
Under the circumstances it is time voters and citizens without high status treat these politicians as ‘facilities’ and not expect them to lead their voters to independence – for these politicians for whom Tamil voters voted overwhelmingly but without belief would turn against them when they fail to receive their benefits as expected. The above mentioned village – was considered high-risk area for this kind of reverse discrimination which was turned towards Sinhalese Government. If I do not keep my distance and thereby recognize this above mentioned person as an Equal Outsider – the caste-based discrimination knowledge would become emotional force against me. Likewise at Sri Lankan level.
Through all this – I received an uplifting email all the way from France which said:
[Who is the Sri Lankan diaspora lady]
While googling to know the background of this responder I came across the following:
Naan Australian /  Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam.  2014
  USD 205.90   (DKSLK-1759  ( HBD ))

 DK Number:, DKSLK-1759
ISBN:, 9789556583755
Title:, Naan Australian /
Author:, Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam.
Imprint:, Pannipitiya : Stamford Lake, 
Physical Desc.:, 1093 pages ; 23 cm
Year:, 2014
Price:, USD 205.90

The interesting part of the above is the price – which is officially AUD 50.  But it is published at its Dharmic value of USD 205.90. That really gave the response to the above question by a Global Tamil.

Further search on the above Tamil led me to listening to a couple of speeches by Chief Minister of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. In the earlier speech – Mr. Wigneswarn refers to Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurthi who is described as follows by Wikipedia:
Jiddu Krishnamurti was a speaker and writer on philosophical and spiritual subjects. In his early life he was groomed to be the new World Teacher but later rejected this mantle and withdrew from the organisation behind it. His subject matter included psychological revolution, the nature of mind, meditation, inquiry, human relationships, and bringing about radical change in society. He constantly stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche of every human being and emphasised that such revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religious, political, or social.’

Mr. Wigneswaran referring to Mr. Krishnamurthi’s advice to prevent using examples but to focus on the underlying philosophy. But then I came across this other speech which was interpreted differently by various groups as being inappropriate. In that Mr. Wigneswaran urges to voters to vote for those with certain qualities – as defined by him. Mr. Wigneswaran did not name the party / individuals who qualified but one could identify them to be the TNA leaders. A case of ‘Do as I say and as I do?’ – which brought down former Premier of New South Wales the Hon Nick Greiner. Politicians have to be specific in terms of giving form. Governors have to be philosophic with least form. After I identified with this conflict, I received from a Diaspora group the following:

Cockroach Theory- A beautiful speech by Sundar Pichai.

Aug 12, 2015

A beautiful speech by Sundar Pichai - an IIT-MIT Alumnus and Global Head Google Chrome:
The cockroach theory for self development. At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady.
She started screaming out of fear.With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but . . . it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant. Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?
He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies. I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.
More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story:
I understood, I should not react in life.
I should always respond.
The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.
A beautiful way to understand............LIFE.
Person who is HAPPY is not because Everything is RIGHT in his Life..
He is HAPPY because his Attitude towards Everything in his Life is Right..!!

Senior SolidWorks Specialist at CAD MicroSolutions Inc

My response included the following:

I note also that the story below refers to ‘women’ against the male waiter  - as if women are more emotional and therefore reactive while  men are less emotional and therefore more responsive.

True – but emotions based on belief are never wrong. Like in politics, we just need time to know the other side. In this cockroach example – the other side is that it was unhygienic for the cockroach to be there in the restaurant in the first instance. The women through their reaction were sending that message. The waiter by reacting to the fear of status downfall also could be taken as reacting. He ought to have apologized and owned the problem for his action to qualify as response.

Some in this forum use bad words like cockroaches. Only a few have taken ownership of the problem and responded in my matters.’

Are the Tamil Political Leaders claiming and confirming in action -  Separation – reacting to Sinhalese Political Leaders who made that claim first through physical possession/occupation?  Where are the responders and believers who need no definition? In that first speech referred to above Mr. Wigneswaran mentions that the group that challenged him was a ladies’ group. So is this writer!
Using Hindu example – Shiva depicts consciousness of Truth. Shakthi depict the Energy. This Energy is accumulated through accepting lesser status than the Leader in Partnership for the same level of contribution. Minorities who have lesser status than their partners in leadership – accumulate Energy which is the natural force that works the Structure that represents the Form of Truth. Every Shiva temple would communicate this message to the true believer.


No comments:

Post a Comment