Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
01 March 2018
Astrology
and Ancestors
Cousin
Ravi rang me to check on some details about our Great-grandfather A M Pillai.
We had consensus about how we identify with someone in an old group photo even
though we were not born then. That is the way of feelings. The current book I am
writing is largely for family – especially global minded family. One of the discoveries
shared is the role of faith in our life. Hence institutional structures that
promote regular investment in common faith.
There
has been strong criticism of Sri Lankan Airlines’ management since the new
government came into power in 2015. But I identified with the root problem back
in 2004. Part of that experience is included in my book as follows:
[When we
say ‘thank you’ to a service
provider, we complete the outer form of
that experience. When we feel ‘thank you’ – we merge with that service provider and/or the position through
which the service was provided. Such completion at the deeper level promotes us
in our mind, to the higher position in that relationship. To my mind
I often got lesser monetary reward than others in most institutions I
was part of, due to me lacking subjective influence over those who had the
authority. But I accepted that probably
due to me being usually ‘junior’ in family. I was ‘senior’ with most of the
students in school where my grades were high. I was well accepted by the teachers
probably due to my acceptance of their senior positions and my ability to
demonstrate respect for them, due to my family structure. That was an inherited
value. This extended to workplace acceptance of seniors by position. I now realise that even though some of the
seniors were not deserving of that respect the real person/s who developed the
position and / or caused for it to be developed, was / were merging with me.
THAT is the beauty of the system of
Truth. The position of Chairman of
Airlanka / Sri Lankan Airlines, is one
of them.
In 2004, I was included in the ‘Pioneers’
group to celebrate Airlanka’s 25th year anniversary. I was accommodated at Galadari Hotel and the then
current Management team arranged for us to be picked up from the airport and taken to Galadari hotel. I had a chat with driver Gamage on Buddhism and included this in my
response to Justice C G Weeramantry ‘s article
published by the Daily News:
The relevance of Ahimsa - a
rejoinder (Appendix)
‘I
read with interest, the excerpts from the keynote address by Justice C. G.
Weeramantry, former Vice President of the International Court of Justice, when
he spoke about the Relevance of Ahimsa on World Peace Day. You captured this in
the Daily News on 04 October - two days after Gandhi's birthday……’
The main celebrations organised by Sri Lankan Airlines, happened at Bentota
and we learnt that the Pioneers would get their plagues from the juniors whom
they trained. Mine was to be from Yasmin Packeerally. By then we had had smaller celebrations as
per the Airline’s culture – and seniors then current, complimented their
seniors present at the occasion. Hardly anything was said about those who were
part of the Senior Management Team in 1979 – especially, the then Commercial Manager Mr.
Colin Martinus who to my mind is the best Commercial Administrator known to me,
the then General Manager Mr. Kulasegaram who valued me enough to want
me to be transferred from Commercial Division to Finance which was part of his
portfolio and the then Chairman, Capt. Rakitha
Wickramanayake. I felt really upset by
this and hence refused to go on stage to accept my plaque. I wrote to the rest
of the team about how I felt. I believe
that I felt so deeply because by then I had had the bitter experience at the
University of NSW where even some beneficiaries of my work lacked the courage
to uphold my ‘provider’ status in Democratic Financial Management system. By
then the University was operating in ‘de facto’ mode for Resource Management
systems. To my mind, this is a serious
damage due to unjust discrimination.
Such discrimination weakens the positions that form the hierarchical
structure and eventually collapses the merit based system. Today, Sri Lankan
Airlines stands accused of such collapse.
Now I realise that in
my mind, Air Lanka meant:
1.
My
independent deservedness to be included in the Management team being trained by
Singapore International Airlines
2.
The
minds of all those with whom I merged during that experience
3.
The
money and status benefits that I received due to that employment.
The minds of those
through whom I merged – included the above three – especially in terms of
structures. The more we identify with a
senior in the common structure, the more we become that senior person and/or the position. Sometimes, when we learn that we are by
contribution to the structure more eligible than the occupant, we choose to
leave – especially when that is not recognized by that senior or those above
that senior with higher responsibility. To my mind, the Hindu legend of ‘prize
mango’ depicts this message]
I
carry AirLanka as an ancestor and hence my AirLanka will never fail me. Even if
there is no recognition for AirLanka in
wider world, AirLanka will live within me and form part of the heritage that I share
with my descendants of faith.
It
took others 15 years to identify with the problems that I highlighted in 2004 –
by connecting to the roots. That is ownership power. Sri Lankan leaders who believe
in Astrology would know that the horoscope is about our ownership in positives
as well as negatives in previous lives. Through death – we get our balance
restored. But when we invoke the past – we go back to that net value of old credits
or debits. Air Ceylon died and was
reborn as AirLanka. But once the
Singapore Airlines Leaders left –the Sri Lankan Government stepped into their
positions but the positions did not empower them.
I
wrote on 26 October 2017:
[Hence the direct interference of a member of
the Government amounts to acting in breach of the fundamentals of Commercial
structures as well as the structure of the elected Government itself.
Continuing with this kind of mismanagement would lead to
Sri Lankan Airlines becoming more and more like Air Ceylon – under which
structure, staff were slaughtered by their seniors to appease politicians.]
Had
enough leaders in AirLanka continued to carry Singapore
Airlines Management values as part of their heritage – we would have prevented
this deterioration.
I do
not know very much about the current leaders of Sri Lankan Airlines. But I do
know that the positions that I invested in will continue to bring me peace and
joy – as if AirLanka was still alive. It is for me and all to those to whom our
seniors back then are our ancestors today.
Daily Mirror
article ‘Why?
Oh! Why?’ confirms the essence of the above as follows :
[The
senior purohita long aspiring to wear the prime ministerial mantle rang up his
astrologer - a fair one – soon after his latest disappointment.
Highly
dismayed and dejected that the much coveted plum job was almost within his
reach this time round when it was suddenly snatched away, the man turned to the
faithful astrologer for solace. After all, numerous Poojas and other
rituals conducted on her advice and guidance should produce some result, he
thought.
He wanted to know why certain bigwigs who held out hope for him let him down at the eleventh hour. “Why? Oh! Why?” he lamented.
The woman who got on the defensive had explained quoting chapter and verse that his own misconduct had sent all her settings awry. As the woman began giving a list of his faults and foibles, the purohita had rung off saying that they could discuss all that later, they say.]
Those who carry
their ancestors within as part of themselves do not need Astrology to know why
their expectations failed to materialise. All they need is to be true to
themselves.
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