Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 05 March   2016

"Konamalai is the abode of our Lord Shiva, where despite the wrong beliefs and evil efforts of the Jains and those that follow Theravada, the rearing waters of the sea scatter on the shore sandalwood, ahil, precious stones and pearls — all of value high, for where he settled".

6th-7th century CE hymn, Pallava kingdom - Tevaram of Trincomalee - Sambandar, Tevaram. Reign of Mahendravarman I  (Wikipedia)

Is Sri Lanka for Sale?

As I watched on Qantas flight to Sydney, the film ‘Truth’ (2015) my mind kept going to Cardinal Pell’s difficulties – especially due to the Media. The question is whether the expression of Truth of one reporter is greater in value than the investment made in a position by millions of People. Truth is absolute and is Sovereign. Truth manifests Itself one way or the other, to maintain Its own Sovereignty and therefore all those who have invested in Truth more than in ‘rights’ in themselves and wrongs in others.

 Does a reporter – (in this instance Mary Mapes of  CBS News) – have the right to manifest what s/he thinks s/he believes to be the  Truth,  to the Public? How does one measure Truth? As they say in Tamil – if one sees the Stone one does not see god and one who recognizes god does not see stone. In this instance one who sees ‘ fact’ does not recognize Truth and v.v. Truth is important for ‘internal’ Peace and fact is important for external harmony. Truth is self-regulating and fact is relative as per the structures/pathways through which such fact is born.

Licensed Media organizations have the duty to ensure that they do not release facts outside their Due Processes – which connect them to each other and to the wider world. When they do release in breach of such principles that lead to ‘Sovereignty’ and it damages the Sovereignty of even one member of the public – such manifestations no longer represent the Truth.

In the above case, the Truth discovered by  CBS News ought to have been through its own Due Processes and until identified with by the American Public – free of particular institutional influences -  it does not become America’s Truth. It could of course be the Truth of CBS News which has the potential to spread Itself to wider Public. Such Natural sharing is often interfered with by the timing of  reports. In the above instance for example, voters would have voted for or against Mr. George W Bush – to the extent they included CBS work one way or the other in their minds. The vote is really for or against CBS and not Mr. Bush – the Politician. Mr. Bush the member of the National Guard, should not be tested through the criteria of the new position – the President of United States of America. In a reliable system, only Truth is carried beyond position boundaries – defined by place and time. When a Presidential Candidate is measured by the past – and the recruiters are allowed to do so – the whole Institution/Nation fails the test of Equal Opportunity and therefore Democracy.

A nation is entitled to harness the Truth of all its People. In Democracy, during voting time – those People are those who make up the current form of the nation and not yesterday’s. Yesterday’s People and their contribution would of course influence from within – but they should not be brought out to be measured through current measures.

Such manifestations of  internal influences of Faith – happened in the case of Sri Lankan Tamils – not once but twice at the Political level. In both instances the Tamil Parties became the Leading Opposition in Parliament – despite being a small minority of the population.

As per my discovery, this happens only when the realized ownership of that Land – is stronger than the claimed ownership.  The latest confirmation came through Trincomalee – through Ceylon Today article ‘Sampanthan’s concern over China’. As per this article:

[Leader of the Opposition R. Sampanthan who generally speaks on the North and East political and humanitarian issues in his capacity as the Leader of the Tamil National Alliance, for the first time has expressed his concerns over the attempts made by China to have a foothold in Trincomalee with the construction of a coal power plant in Sampur located in the region.

The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force of Britain identifying the natural harbour of Trincomalee as the best location to build their Naval and Air bases had first named the natural harbour area China Bay.]

To my mind,  the Hon Sampanthan as Leader of the Opposition in National Parliament has the duty to manifest his Truth in this matter on behalf of his electorate and all those opposing the  Government in this issue. This would uphold the democratic rights of all citizens using faith above conscious discriminative thinking. The article reports:

[Apart from the construction of Air and Naval bases in Trincomalee, the British also constructed several giant oil tanks in the region to store fuel for its ships and aircraft. The oil tanks of Trincomalee could even be considered as an engineering marvel.
Being a dignitary born and bred in Trincomalee, Sampanthan, in the backdrop of Sri Lanka and India intending to enhance regional cooperation through an Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), as the Leader of the Opposition has mentioned about China's attempt on setting up a coal power plant in Sampur area in Trincomalee.

Addressing a group called 'Green Trincomlee' which has launched its protest against the setting up of the coal power plant in Sampur, Sampanthan has said that China was trying to make its presence felt in Trincomalee by setting up the Sampur coal power plant and warned the attempt would create an adverse effect on environment in the region.
Sampanthan also praised the present government for releasing 818 acres of land in the Sampur region, for the people who had been displaced from the area in the past.]

The EQUAL position of Leader of the Opposition when taken in Parliament is confirmation of common belief of half a Sovereign Nation. Truth when manifested at a particular time would divide Itself into two Equal halves. Praising the Government confirms collusion with the government in breach of the Duty of Mr. Sampanthan – the Leader of the Opposition in National Parliament. This could happen when not enough investment has been made in the issue to match the Government. The Government itself could be under ‘influence’ of others outside Sri Lankan mind. If so, that would be the parallel of CBS news interfering with ‘free and fair’ elections.

As per the above report:

[As far as regional politics is concerned Trincomalee had been a 'hotspot' when India was first involved in the North and East ethnic issue in the early eighties. When global politics was centred around the 'cold war' between the former USSR and the US, India being a close ally of the former Soviet Union had its concerns over US involvement in the Sri Lankan issue and was eying the British built oil tanks in Trincomalee.]

Often money/tangible property becomes influencing factor in nations where human relationships  are weaker than money based relationships. Money is a good measure of Equality when we translate direct from ownership rights to custody. The question here is – what did Sri Lankans receive as quid pro quo, from all these ‘externals’ ‘taking’ a share in Sri Lankan property through the Government? Property without feelings of ownership leads to Sri Lanka becoming an orphan.

 To me, as a Hindu – Trincomalee is Sri Lankan beyond calculations – due to Thirukoneswaram. It can be shared only with fellow believers. My belief in that small space of Land is of far greater value than idle claims of ‘rights’ – be they by majority or by physical possessors. Truth and therefore faith is not limited by the physical blocks. It communicates Itself from heart to heart.