Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

05  July 2017                                          

The Risks in Premature Devolution of Power

A 62-year-old woman pleaded guilty of providing accommodation to a LTTE woman suicide bomber who detonated an explosive laden suicide jacket targeting the escort of President Maithripala Sirisena when he was serving as Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Minister in 2008 was sentenced to two-year-suspended imprisonment by Colombo High Court, today. 

The accused Selvakumar Welamani, a mother of five children was sentenced to two-year-imprisonment suspended for ten years by Colombo High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe.] Daily News

The Sri Lankan Militants’ stated goal was Separation from Mainland. The Tamil Politicians’ stated goal was Equal Opportunity to self-govern and not be ‘told’.  Had the militants been successful they would have formed Military Government. The Jaffna Tamil under such governance would have lost dignity as an Educated person – capable of self-determination. Truth saved us from such deterioration. Excessive opposition leads to this kind of deterioration. Excessive opposition could be prevented through structures and positions based on our Truth and our Truth alone. Devolution of power from an apparently  higher structure requires us to base our new devolved structure on our Truth.

Taking the above example of Mrs. Welamani Selvakumar, I ask the question as to which is her true position- the one as mother of civilian children or the provider of accommodation to militants? Yesterday, I quoted Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe as follows:

[But for others, specially those who have been directly affected in the North and East, those amongst the two fighting forces, and those lacerated by battle and bombardment, the war still remains a festering abscess. Life remains a daily struggle: to deal with loss – the loss of life, of family and loved ones; of occupations, positions, possessions, inheritances, and heritage. And most crucially, the loss of self – in body and mind]

Does the above matter,   confirm that Mrs. Welamani Selvakumar lost focus on her position as mother to accommodate militants who probably were the only government known to her in that area, at that time? If yes, did Welamani fail as a mother and therefore contributed negatively to Natural Governance in her home area? Did she also contribute to rape and theft in her home area by failing in her duty to complete her experience as mother? More importantly, does she now ‘blame herself  those close to her’ for her current plight? If yes, her punishment is merely to satisfy the letter of the law and Welamani is stronger than she was as a mother prior to this experience. If no and Welamani pleaded guilty to escape punishment – then she is one of the weakest links in our society that seeks to be self-governing.

Not only those who are punished but also those who punish are affected by their judgments. Under LTTE, if Welamani had lived in multicultural area and accommodated Armed  Personnel – Welamani would have been given the death punishment. That was the only way the Militant Leaders  could lead their groups. The justification comes from their own sacrifices to achieve self-determination at their level.

It is not our job / duty to find fault with either side through the official system. It is very much the duty of every person affected, to seek within and find out why they were affected adversely. Often such inward seeking happens due to real pain. The end of that journey is self-determination.

Tamils who participated in the struggle would identify with the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution as the net value of all those who struggled for self-determination. Tamils had the advantage of ‘showing’ this to the world on the platform of Equal Opportunity. This outcome is possible largely due to India’s physical and cultural proximity to Sri Lanka’s North. Whether it be militants or government, the official system would support us only to the extent we have invested in it – consciously and/or habitually. Our Truth will take us to the appropriate environment to manifest this investment.

Tamils outside North & East – adjusted to their minority status and carried on with life and often enjoyed self-determination at home and in community groups – as is happening now in other nations – especially in the West. The 1983 pogrom in Colombo happened due to the Government’s failure to protect its citizens by immediately bringing in the Armed Forces. By that time, the militant structures were in place to embrace those whose self-respect was damaged. Militant Recruitment was at its highest after  the 1983 pogrom through which we learnt that the Government had lost control over reactionaries using animal force.

By 1983, Buddhism foremost was firmly part of the Sri Lankan Constitution. The core value of Buddha’s life is Harmony through Renunciation and Ahimsa / Non Violence.  By making Buddhism part of the law,  the  Government ran/runs the risk of return punishment through the pathway of Truth – expressed in the form stated by the custodian of power.   To invoke that Truth at a place at a particular time – one does not need to be a Buddhist. One needs to be practitioner of Ahimsa through Renunciation. If not for Buddhism being included as part of the Law, this return would have been limited to the Government punishing the militants.  

The power of returning the karma through Buddhism and therefore against majority supported by Buddhism foremost rests more with non-Buddhist who practices Renunciation towards living within what s/he already has.  Once we react at the level of the other side abusing power, we lose the power to return their karma through their own pathway.  I realised this through my own Australian experiences after renouncing my earned opportunities and internalizing the pain. This helped me become member of a group that has renounced at the higher level, to remain independent at the lower level. The rest happens to confirm that we have reached the ultimate destination of Truth where Independence is Naturally enjoyed. The then Vice Chancellor of the University of NSW and the then Prime Minister lost their positions for reasons that cannot be determined through the laws of their institutions. They belong in the Acts of God category. Their weakest practice was Equal Opportunity Principle. By presenting my Truth through that Law, despite knowing that I would be marked a failure by the Judicial system – I invoked the past karma of those positions that they held. Now I enjoy making the Natural connections between Cause and Effect in all my home-environments and sharing the wisdom with those seeking to be independent in that environment.

I believe that all of us come with our past karma – be it positive or negative in our current environments. Those who use the horoscope pathway would identify with this. Others could also determine this through practice of current laws and acceptance of defeats towards maintaining one’s independence – including the fear of punishment. When we lose consciousness of outcomes we identify with the guna / trait / force that pushes us to express ourselves and/or manifest an outcome. When we lose consciousness of others in our environment – we go deeper and identify with the motivational Energy. By the time we reach this depth – we lose consciousness of rights and wrong along the way. That’s when we are reborn without those blemishes.  

As per my experience at the University of NSW, faculties sought devolution from Central Administration largely for control over allocation of funds and the status those funds could buy. This happened with the Militants also. The motivation was Control and not Independence.  When Provincial Councils manage with what they have and produce outcomes that confirm their independence – we would know that they are honouring the Militants who were influenced by those promising  ‘freedom’ which at the surface level – separates us from the whole and / or our own local past.

Those of us who have invested in the Common system have the duty to complete that experience – before claiming separation. Mr. Wigneswaran, the current Chief Minister of Northern Province,  is the Political example that the People of North have elected for this purpose. If Mr. Wigneswaran fails in this duty – he fails the Tamil Community of Sri Lanka – taken at the consolidated level. It was the Energy of the Common Tamil that facilitated Mr. Wigneswaran to have this job. Mr. Wigneswaran needs to groom his heir towards taking over the position or facilitate one who seeks to continue with this heritage to learn from him.