Friday 16 February 2018



Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

16 February 2018                                    



Who Divided Sri Lanka?

In response to my letter to the Hon Navin Dissanayake, MP, Minister of Plantation Industries, Sri Lanka,  under the subject-matter  ‘Tamil Political Grouping in the UK’ – I received the following response:

[Inheriting the LTTE philosophy of Separation rather than realizing Independence within one Common structure of Administration. The philosophy of separation did not come from LTTE as it goes behind it since Suntharalingam.]

My response was:
 To be intellectually  valid and be reliable pathway to Independence, the Constitution needs to be Common to those who are culturally different . Speaking without  analysing  I state that  the Hon Suntheralingam’s philosophy as registered within me is ‘One Language Two Nations’. That One Language policy was the LTTE’s in common with the SLFP’s. Buddhism foremost is another form of Sinhala only. There is a huge difference between LTTE policy and the Hon Suntheralingam’s philosophy
To Administer on Equal footing, we need Common Law. If you are Buddhist – you are bound by Article 9. As a Hindu I am bound by Articles 10 & 14 (1)(e ) of the Constitution. How can we be Administered under one structure? I am open to learning.’

The question that keeps surfacing is whether or not ‘Buddhism foremost’ Article in the Sri Lankan Constitution, has active life? The Constitution being the mother of all laws, would need to confirm ‘Self-Balance’ as a whole – like in a Balance Sheet. Truth confirms balance anytime anywhere. When a Balance Sheet, on the face of it, fails to confirm Equality between Assets and Liabilities plus ownership – we know that there has been some error in processes. The processes through which laws are to be applied, confirm Energy at the Source. They are like Lakshmanan Line:
[ “Lakshmana Rekha, in modern Indian parlance, refers to a strict convention or a rule, never to be broken. It often refers to the ethical limits of an action, traversing which may lead to undesirable consequences. Example of use: Constitution is very clear on the roles of the Judiciary and the Legislature, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said; both should not cross the Lakshman Rekha.”] Wikipedia

As per the Hindu Epic Ramayanam – historically common to Indians and Sri Lankans – this line was drawn by Lakshmanan - the younger brother of Rama. It represented Lakshmanan’s Divine Energy to protect someone who stayed within those lines. It was drawn to protect Rama’s wife Seetha who was also divine but at that time Seetha’s mind was weakened by her human concerns for her husband’s safety. Seetha was imprisoned by Ravana because Seetha crossed that Lakshmanan Line – which effectively was Protecting Energy – at that place at that time.

I drew such a line around our temple in Northern Sri Lanka towards protecting the Temple from vandalism. The gardener who for selfish reasons overrode my orders about not allowing any cows to graze within temple boundaries – suffered physically and financially – after disobeying my orders. When his daughter asked me for help  – I said to stop tying the cows within temple boundaries – for I felt that that was the reason for their woes. To the gardener with little direct practice of law – and who was used to ‘freedom’ when he did not see the lawful owners, my orders would have seemed like Article 14 (1) (e ) of the Lankan Constitution which entitles every Lankan to - ‘the freedom, either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice or teaching’. In the case of the gardener it was to graze his animals in the garden which he was able to enter and leave without approval.

Like the Parliamentarians who are the custodians of power to Administer the Nation – this gardener who also got paid for his work, demonstrated that he had developed the thought that the temple compound was ‘his’ – so much so that sometimes even when I was physically present – he tied the cows to graze within the temple compound until I disciplined him. Now, after stopping that habitual practice of grazing the cows,  the family is slowly recovering from the debilitations.

To majority Sri Lankans, the Constitution is a status symbol of their country’s civilization. To some it is a work-tool. It is a source of Respect only to a few. These few would keep drawing the Lakshmanan Line, to manifest their Energies to protect the Nation.

The Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976 was such a line by Tamil Politicians. The ‘Sinhala only’ legislation lacked the belief based Energy to be a Lakshmanan Line. ‘Buddhism foremost’ provision in the Constitution would be Lakshmanan Line only where majority are Buddhists and the leaders have raised their investment in Buddhism to Energy level.

Even without Articles 10 and 14 (1) (e ) in the Constitution, non-Buddhists who genuinely practice their respective religions would be ‘free’ in their minds – so long as they stayed within the boundaries of their Belief. On the other hand, Buddhists who use Article 9, consciously or otherwise,   to enforce their thoughts on non-Buddhists – would lose their ‘mental freedom’ – which then requires other avenues through which to maintain balanced mental order.  That is the way the theory of ‘Oneness of Soul’ works.

Lakshmanan Lines confirm Divine Energy developed through renunciation of earned pleasures and benefits. In a nation where Hindus are minorities by law, but feel deep belief through practice of their religion within their own Lakshmanan Lines, the Separation of Powers happens naturally. Those who disrespect these Boundaries of Belief  are invaders in the Ledgers of Natural Justice.

The Sri Lankan Government that seeks to keep ‘Buddhism foremost’ provisions in the Constitution, for political purposes, needs to do relatively more for non-Buddhist areas  to fill the ‘gap’ through time and money to balance the books. Otherwise, the natural divisions would continue – so long as non-Buddhists stay within their own Lakshmanan Lines.

The LTTE did step outside the Lakshmanan Line drawn by the Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976.  But indiscriminate punishment of Tamils, by Government forces, resulting in ‘enforcements’ beyond Boundaries of Belief – worsened the imbalance to debilitate areas Administered by ‘Buddhists’ to divide into smaller and smaller groups of governance.

Once we know that we are not bound by common belief it is better for us to not Administer but let karma happen. This works in any institutional setup – starting with the family and workplace.

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