Lest We Forget

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 19 January 2015

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Tamil Independence

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”  ― Mark Twain

To my mind, the purpose for which I was born was to realize my sovereignty. I felt this most strongly on 10 August 1998, which experience I shared through Naan Australian – Chapter 11:

“On Monday, 10 August 1998,  Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC telecasted  through its 4 Corners Program an interview with Ms Pauline Hanson. It was Nallur Festival time. Nallur is the Kingdom of  Lord Muruga established by  Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka. As a child I grew up under the Divine influence of Nallur Murugan – Hindu Deity with six faces - personifying our five senses plus our surface memory. ……. Laterally – when we use values developed beyond Australian borders – and go to the next level laterally – we become Regional. Once we go beyond Regional borders and access the values developed by those beyond those borders – for example Sri Lankan values by Australians and v.v. – we become global and have the power to influence at global level. We are also affected by damages to our investments in global values.

On Monday, 10 August 1998 such a damage was caused by the interview with Ms Pauline Hanson who said words to the effect that Asian migrants should go back to their home countries if we could not be like her group. I felt the powers of  Democracy very strongly during that period of Nallur Festival. As per our Hindu Legend, Lord Muruga renounced all His ancestral wealth to uphold the system of Democracy needed by younger members of the family.  As per the Legend,  Muruga and His elder brother Ganesh were offered a special mango as prize if they came first in the race to go  around the world. Muruga who travels on the Peacock – flew around the world and observed with His six faces – to claim the prize mango.  In the meantime, Ganesh the elder of the two – went around His parents – claiming they were His world.  Muruga got upset and hence His renunciation. As per the Legend, Muruga  stood on Palani Hill in South India – from where He has aerial / 360 degree view. Hence my belief that Muruga represents  the Power of Democracy.

That night after watching Pauline Hanson’s show on ABC – I felt restless. I got out of bed in the early hours of the following morning and wrote my letter of resignation (from the University of New South Wales) stating words to the effect that after Pauline Hanson’s accusations – I had lost hope of a favorable solution to the Racial Inequality problem here in Australia. I do believe now, that I had to respond as per MY feelings  which would be different to someone else’s on this issue.  Some would have just forgotten about the program after they watched it. Some others would have thought that Ms Hanson was being unfair. But I felt very strongly hurt and I believe it was because of my investment in Democracy and Equal Opportunity values at the deepest level – of Oneness. Hence I received what happened through that Humanitarian level – feeling as part of the group/s Ms Hanson was referring to. This was habitual of me especially after coming to Australia – where my professional qualifications were not recognized.  Hence I generally took my place with the junior workers and got promoted through performance. In the process I connected to the junior workers as if I was part of them and hence felt ownership at that level.

In Australia, the citizen has the greater responsibility to maintain the connection between the top and the bottom, due to the facility to self – manage up to a point – a point higher than in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, the responsibility to maintain the connection is greater for the Government due to its autocratic structures. Democracy is Sri Lanka, including in war torn North – is largely limited to election by majority vote.  It does not extend to Public Administration using Discriminative Thinking of the issue.

It is the law of Nature that anything physical has two equal sides.  This is confirmed by Newton’s third law according to which there is an equal and opposite force to every force that is exerted on a physical body.  Discriminative thinking requires our brain to do work to separate  right from wrong – using the appropriate  principle or value as the middle line. The common principle or value that best fits the outcome is the path (cost)  through which the outcome was produced. That path is the law. When an outcome could be so divided – into equal and opposite parts,  the dividing measure – principle/law/rule is the right one that would give us the balance of Justice.

As per  Hinduism this value is registered through our third eye – and develops our insight.

When the two equal and opposite parts are arranged vertically – we can see only one part at a time. Hence there is a time based division and at any one time we see only the part at the top. Given that the other part is not apparent – but is known to be below the top one (as in the root of a tree) – we need more brain power / knowledge / memory to recognize it. This exercises our brain and until it is manifested – the unseen lower part is the one that carries the greater force/energy. This is the ‘interest bearing investment’ element due to time delayed enjoyment.  This is also the higher value in higher education. It is also the higher value in marriage and families. We all know this intuitively but often fail to see the higher value in our mind’s eye – when we are in haste to enjoy the seen benefits.  The ultimate is the merger to become One.”

I appreciated even more strongly, the value of my sharing, when this morning I received a further email in relation to the question ‘What is the Tamil Problem?’.  The relevant sections of the email and my responses are:

1.      Statement by Sinhalese leader: [Eelaam struggle began in 1923 with Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam]

Response by me: His descendant Professor Arunachalam Sathananthan must be carrying some of those genes. Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was a high intellectual achiever. He would naturally have known that all men and women were born Equal in terms of global relativity. It is therefore understandable that he would have fought to preserve this sense of Equality so that we as a nation did not stagnate at the political level.  To my mind that is the emotional level. Below is an excerpt from the article by Mr. Sam Wijesinha who was Secretary General of Parliament:

‘It was around this time that D. R. Wijewardene, who had recently returned from Cambridge with a Degree in Law and as a Barrister, persuaded Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam to resume his political activities.
As a result, he delivered a memorable address on April 2, 1917 at the Masonic Hall in Colombo, presided over by E. J. Samerawickrema, President of the Ceylon Reform League, on "Our political needs". It was a historic occasion at which, with remarkable lucidity and precision and in an orderly and methodical manner, he crystallized the arguments for self-government.
The address bore the hallmarks of mathematical precision and of classical education. Sir James Pieris, President of the Ceylon National Association said: "Although there were several advocates for political reform in Ceylon, people awoke to the necessity of persistent and organized agitation only after Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam delivered his address."
Sir James asked young men who were studying politics to read this lecture and other cognate publications by Arunachalam and see for themselves his deep and sincere convictions. Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam's words of exhortation on that occasion were coupled with words of caution. To a generation which was repudiating all spiritual values and sinking deeper in the mire of materialism, he proclaimed the contrary gospel that life finds fulfilment in service and that governance is essentially a spiritual and moral activity. Transgressing that creed brings grief.
In his "Message to the Country" published by his friend D. R. Wijewardene in the very first issue of the Ceylon Daily News of January 3, 1918, he declared:
In our zeal for political reform, we must be on our guard against making it an end. We seek it not to win rights but to fulfil duties to ourselves and our country. People have a distinct task to perform. Our youth will seek their own well-being. They will work in unity so that all the intellectual forces diffused among men may obtain the highest development in thought and action. With our youth inspired by such ideals, I look to see our country rise with renewed splendour to be a beacon light to all lands."

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was able to foresee in 1917 the disaster resulting from making politics an end. Any nation with such a citizen – is a rich nation indeed.

2.      Statement by Sinhalese leader: [This evolved to the 1931 demand for 50:50 representation when in reality the Tamil representation in terms of population was 70:30]

Response by me: The 70:30 is a political end.  The success of governance is known when power is common and therefore seen to be equal. Hence 50:50 – which is another form of devolution.  Another great mind that any inclusive nation would be enriched by

3.      Statement by Sinhalese leader: [In reality It was the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act & not the Official Language Act that Tamils opposed. This act was brought in by SWRD in 1957 to garner the low caste votes]

Response by me: Most Tamils known to me have no knowledge of Prevention of Social Disabilities Act.  We  remember clearly the opposition to Official Language Act. So you confirm that Sinhalese also had caste problems. Whichever way we look at it – the power to make law was abused to buy  votes and therefore was used for political end. The whole nation suffered due to this abuse.  All covered by the law need to be EQUAL before that law.

4.      Statement by Sinhalese leader : [We return to caste/class once again]

Response by me: Not me and those associated with me. We have paid our dues to diffuse the caste karma which was accumulated  through use of caste to reduce another’s status. THAT was also a political end .  Tamils who supported LTTE likewise paid their dues and got independent of their caste genes.  Anything relating to the physical – without the other side is political. Just yesterday we found that someone had taken one slipper – which could not be sold during the auction due to the other one missing. The person who took that cannot use it without the missing half. But this community is so used to taking anything that seems to be not possessed by the owner that they would not have thought about the missing other side. Taking is in their genes. Likewise those who rule by politics would return to obsolete caste and class systems  because they have the one-sidedness  in their genes.

Sri Lankans of all ethnicities using the obsolete past are carrying the genes of political rule in them. The past needs to be carried as the Truth discovered back then and not applied as is in our current environments.

So long as a group is conscious benefits through  majority power – the governments formed through majority would be driven by politics and would not rise to the higher level of Administration that produces wholesome outcomes. Often democracy fails to serve such communities as they tend to be  not free of their attachment to subjective powers. Governance by majority rule is one sided and hence lacks the force of Truth to rise to the higher level that covers the ‘other side’.  This other side should include the higher mental powers of minority who govern themselves and/or are investing in such self-governance. Many sections of the Tamil Community continue to invest in self-governance in one form or the other.

In the Sri Lanka Guardian article ‘Tamil Issues and Maithri’s Good Governance’ the author states ‘Though 84% of his vote base is in the south, Maithripala polled way higher than Rajapaksa in the North and East. Some people have said that this means he’s somehow running a separatist government, which is nuts. It actually just means that he represents all Sri Lankans.’  The author is unable to differentiate between the values of Tamil vote for Sinhalese and the Sinhalese vote for Sinhalese, respectively. The Tamil vote in a divided environment is a governance vote with  tertiary/wisdom  level value. The Sinhalese vote is a political vote at primary / emotional level. They cannot be ‘counted’ at the seen level except to decide as to who forms government. Where a Tamil votes for a Sinhalese – by crossing the ethnic divide that has been firmed up over time – such a voter is governor of the whole at his level of operation.  In terms of  status all such governors are Equal to the President elected by majority race.

If Mr. Sirisena who crossed his own party line in the name of Justice – fails to appreciate this – then we would have more problems under his rule than we had  under Mr. Rajapaksa’s. If such is the case Mr. Sirisena brings with him his share of the common karma of  injustice during the previous regime. The mind committed to Truth, would rise to the higher order of thought. Truth is the root and the higher mind is height of the person  supported by such Truth.