Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

04 September  2019

Do We Need Religion?

Why is religion more important in some countries than in others? Is democracy a religion? Wikipedia presents religion as follows:

[Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. However, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion]

To my mind, the source of any pathway that leads the truth of an individual to the truth of that environment – is a religion.

On 05 September 2006, I wrote to the then President of Sri Lanka, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa as follows:

[I read in today’s reports – the following headlines in Lankanewspapers.com ‘Rebel-held Sampur falls to Sri Lanka military’. I am very concerned that the places of worship in the East, including Thirukoneswaram temple in Trincomalee, would be harassed the way Thiruketheeswaram temple which is in Government controlled area is. The people of Sri Lanka are divided not only on language basis but also on the basis of religion. Language is more easily detectable than religion – especially when it comes to Muslims and Christians. When a government fails its people, people turn to God. To the extent Hindus turn to God more than Buddhists do, the answers that flow would benefit Tamils more than Sinhalese – because God is far more powerful than the Sri Lankan government driven by majority opinion.] - http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items06/060906-4.html

Now I am able to not only go freely to Hindu temples in Sri Lanka but also hold discussions relating to their fears and desires. No, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa did not respond to me but lankaweb.com did in action – by publishing my work. This completed our governance at that level. I concluded that respecting religious beliefs was important to the person who took the other side position. That is how sovereignty of a nation is developed – citizen by citizen. The rest is mere theory.

In that communication – I wrote also as follows:

[The enclosed documents which include my complaint against Dr. Sumanathissa funded by your government reveal my discoveries about Australian systems. If I did not care about Australia’s safety more than I care about the goodwill from Australians in power, I would have continued to work to earn money and status here in Australia and there in Sri Lanka. But I choose to openly share my Truth because I care also about those who hurt me. I would like to see leaders of Sri Lanka do likewise. Otherwise the full credit for my work would go to my Hindu culture.]

Dr Sumanathissa – a medical practitioner from Sri Lanka certified me as being mentally ill, while he was in training in Australia. Yesterday, I observed the other side of it when I read the following :

[The head of Australia’s operation to combat illegal maritime migration called upon Sri Lankans to join in efforts to warn of the dangers and long term consequences of attempting illegal immigration by boat. In charge of Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders, Major General Craig who was in Colombo and Negombo today said since the establishment of Operation Sovereign Borders in September 2013, Australia has worked with Sri Lanka to return 204 people from 12 people smuggling boats.] Ausy calls on SL in fight against illegal migration by themorning.lk

The Australian mind that ‘trains’ the Sri Lankan mind now ‘tells’ Sri Lankans – as if they were one group – without borders. The global entitlement comes not through individual countries / religions but through common law structure in which one is senior – or through Truth which is universal power.  

In Australia, indigenous Australians were the first  group who had no knowledge of any other rule when others arrived – by boat. One needs their blessings to preserve the sovereignty of this land. That power needs to be pure of any benefits from other governments. It therefore excludes those who take welfare benefits from the current government. Every owner of this land – has the power to invoke those ancestral powers to protect.

On that basis – it would have been more meaningful for an indigenous Australian  to share her/his feelings through the likes of Major General Craig. If Major General Craig is a descendent of Boat arrivals in Australia – and he has successfully established himself in Australia – then he is part of the community that arrives by boat. It is by accepting this genealogy  that one becomes truly universal. Major General Craig’s position is part of Australian Government structure. To the extent he operates outside his position borders – he actually attracts migrants who would disregard due processes of his government. This would happen more in sea and air spaces where the borders are not visible.

So long as an individual is acting as per her/his truth – there is no human law that has the authority to punish her/him. Including such a person as part of our nation would actually strengthen our global relationships.

Often victims of religious persecution who did not take revenge,  become sources of globalization by a community / society that includes them as its own. Christians and Muslims  in Colombo and Negombo where Major General Craig delivered the message are part of  the current communities in need of immigration – Christians to nations such as Australia and Muslims to Muslim nations that are sovereign through religious path.

Belief helps us function harmoniously as one group. Religion based groups are natural so long as they operate as per their own laws and stay within their own borders. One needs land based divisions – only when there is no grouping strongly bound by religion and/or other sources of belief.  Sri Lanka is apparently a democracy because Buddhism as practiced by Buddhists in Sri Lanka failed to lead them to Nirvana / Absolutism. In democracy – the People must lead the Administrators through their truth. Every person who votes through her/his truth empowers Sri Lanka. Such a voter is a winner irrespective of which side has custody of common resources. No one can actually ‘possess’ the liberated mind.

The seniors have the duty to develop the heritage of their generation – so juniors who respect them would be empowered at structural level. SLFP that has already sub-divided itself confirms lack of reliable structures. This is because they operated to ‘show’ and tell and not to be.

Recently,  a Tamil Diaspora leader – Victor Rajalingam forwarded a clip on a Hindu tribute that starts with ‘Vaan ‘Muhil valaathu peiha….’ and sought to know the origin. There was a response from an American Tamil – Gowri Gowrishanker -  giving reference to the origin being in the sacred text – Kanda Puranam. I  found my own understanding through murugan.org – which gives the following presentation:

[Śri Kumāra Kôttam temple is located in Kāñchipuram, one of India's seven "moksha-puris" or sacred cities where salvation may be obtained. It is just half a kilometre to the northwest of the bus stand, on the west Raja Street at the north end of which is the Sankara Matham and at the south end is the Kachapeswarar Temple.

In this temple, the sacred Kanda Puranam in praise of Lord Muruga was composed by the saintly scholar Kachiappa Sivachariyar. According to the account of Kachiappa, each day he would write his inspired account of the career of Lord Murugan or Skanda, and in the evening deposit his day's work in the mûlasthānam of Lord Subrahmanya at Kumara Kottam. Each night, miraculously, the Lord Himself would modify Kacciappa's manuscript with His own corrections. Hence, the Kanda Puranam is considered to be the absolutely authoritative account of Lord Murugan's career bearing the seal of approval of none other than the Lord Himself.]

I had the parallel  of Victor’s experience when I listened to the praise of our Lord at Nallur – rendered by Rev Prasanna Aiyer. Effectively – one has to go through mentally – the discipline by the original contributor – to have that experience.  Paying our respects to them helps us reconstruct  structure and invoke that Energy. In my own little ways – I write on the basis of such experiences which come with the blessings of the Lord. That was how when the call from publishers Andra came while I was at Nallur – I felt that the Lord had blessed my work – ‘Jaffna is my Heritage and not my Dowry’. My work was the parallel of Rev Prasanna Aiyer’s rendering of Kanthar Anupoothi.

Had I not been a Hindu – I would not have had this experience. This experience comes with its secular aspects – especially in terms of Democracy. This I believe holds true in the case of all believers – who seek at depth. The deeper our experience -  and the less we show for trading purposes – the more common the value. Once it is common – the sharing is natural.

Believing is important for self-governance. Religion is not the only pathway to belief but is the pathway of most with little money wealth.