Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

09  July 2017                                          

From the Jungles to the Capital

[The climactic scene of a conversation around a campfire can do more for accountability and reconciliation than a dozen co-sponsored resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council.] – Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka in his review of the film Demons in Paradise

Since I do not have knowledge of Sinhalese parallel of the Demons in Paradise, the ‘other side of Dr. Jayatilleka’s recommendation would be for Sri Lankan Politicians to sit around the first Parliament  at Galle Face known to majority Sri Lankans, find their Truth within and share each other’s Truth with the Indian Ocean as their witness. It will be good for them to look towards  Galle Face Hotel – built by the British in 1864. The Prime Minister in that environment – the Hon D.S.Senanayake is celebrated as Father of the Nation by this Government.  That becomes a lie when the current holder of that position does not show the qualities of integration, but rather assimilation with Buddhist leaders.

As per the latest reports:

[Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured Sri Lankan's Buddhist monks that the government will not change the foremost place accorded to Buddhism in the proposed new Constitution amid concerns that it is being done to appease the Tamil minority.] Press Trust of India / Business Standard with the following picture:

In this picture – an old lady is paying her respects to kids young enough to be her grandchildren.  The lady respects the robe representing the Buddha in them. But those who do not see Buddha in these kids would treat them as per how they feel towards a common child of that age or treat them in a special way depending on which culture they belonged to. The grandmother of a Tamil child-combatant may even take the ‘opposition’ position to these young kids in robes. Child-priesthood, child-marriage and child-militancy have all been part of our culture at one time or another. Once they are part of the common law, the true power in them – the power which renders Fundamental Rights to users – would work independent of the architects of those laws – the Constitution in this instance.

Most provisions in the Sri Lankan Constitution are not studied intellectually by majority Sri Lankans. Hence it is important for the Constitution to not contradict traditional laws inherited by various cultures over at least three generations. To the extent those traditional laws are likely to contradict each other at group level – they need to be separately structured.

If we look at Buddhism foremost clause without its it becomes the parallel of the provisions in Australian laws which considered Australia to be Terra Nullius prior to the year 1788 by those who did not have the following knowledge:

[For about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups]

As highlighted by Dr. Jayatilleka through campfire example, Indigenous shared their discoveries through Natural pathways and even today, they have the power to invoke the powers of land believed to be their ancestral lands. All Sri Lankans who develop belief as a group including through religion but not limited to religion, have this spiritual power at the place where they developed such belief. To the extent their boundaries were land based one needs to physically go to that land to invoke those powers to the highest level. To those who shared their land with others – as Indigenous Australians did – the reward from Natural Powers that balance the books of Truth – to provide a true and fair view – is the culture developed by later migrants who developed homes in Australia. Those who integrate become global independent of Australians and others who assimilate go through Australian leadership to become global. As per my mind, majority Sri Lankans who have made Australia their home are of the latter group.

The parallel of that in Sri Lanka are those who migrate to Multicultural Colombo from their local areas. I for example migrated to Colombo from Jaffna at the age of 17 to be trained as Chartered Accountant by M/s Sachidananda Schokman Wijeratne & Co where majority partners were Tamils. It now has a global  name Pricewaterhouse Coopers, confirming the quality of the origin. Likewise when I came to Jaffna I evolved culturally as common Sri Lankan due to my Jaffna origin being of high quality. But there are others from remote areas to whom such integration would have been difficult and hence they would have assimilated – Tamils with Tamils, Muslims with Muslims and Sinhalese with Sinhalese  Burghers with Burghers.  Unless therefore, as a group these cultures are not honoured through those leaders – such migrants become ‘general’ individuals without equal  cultural identity.

Most cultures value families and relationships.  Members born to same parents become individuals when they are not bound by positions and the relationships that connect those positions. Animals are not structured to form this kind of mental relationships. It is when we lose consciousness of particular boundaries that we are able to raise ourselves to the higher common level where the boundaries are pushed beyond the immediate grouping. Without such higher structures we would be living like animals to fit the Natural rule of  ‘survival of the fittest’.

The Sri Lankan war between the Tamil militants and the armed forces who had no knowledge of any common law – be it Sri Lankan or UN – was of that kind. When governments including the UN named LTTE – Terrorists – they did so for their own purposes through their own measures. Majority Sri Lankans were unaffected by it. As per the Sri Lankan Government it won the war – as measured by itself. Then it lost the power to ‘discipline’ LTTE and those who belonged to that culture – largely Tamils – to be ‘foreigners’. As is now public knowledge – Indian Politicians trained and supported the militants (which to my mind was for their own purposes). Hence when LTTE was defeated – India was defeated.

Anyone speaking of anti-terrorism measures but at the same time acknowledging that the Sri Lankan Government has eliminated Terrorism – are confirming the potential to show their cleverness in curing Sri Lankans of their Terrorism. Now that LTTE are no longer a threat – such proposals are valid only if such weaknesses are within the official Sri Lankan Armed Forces.

Given that we have had Buddhism foremost provision since 1972 when Sri Lankans  politicians drew up the Constitution – they revealed their own Truth – that they were most comfortable with surface reading and did not worry about the law applying equally to every citizen.

The 1946 Constitution provided as follows:

29. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, Parliament shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Island.

(2) No such law shall -

(a) prohibit or restrict the free exercise of any religion; or

(b) make persons of any community or religion liable to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of other communities or religions are not made liable; or

(c) confer on persons of any community or religion any privilege or advantage which is not conferred on persons of other communities or religions, or

Buddhism foremost clause since the 1972 current Constitution does not have its origin in the above section. Hence Sri Lanka disconnected itself from the values provided for by the above provision – which are global as per their construction. From 1972, Sri Lanka disenfranchised itself from the very West while using their laws. This to my mind is plagiarism.

The way the above Buddhist grandmother pays her respects to the child-monks, users of Roman Dutch and English laws needed to pay their respects to those Western rulers for it to be of higher value. As they say in terms of knife as a weapon – it is  of  positive value when used by a surgeon to cure and negative when used by a murderer to kill.

Buddhism foremost clause is such a tool. When used by a true Buddhist it – the way Lord Buddha would have used his powers – he tool would uplift majority who have the power to elect government. When used prematurely,  close the physical level – it has the effect of abolishing law and order through other pathways for its own survival, in addition to neglecting  the higher Buddhist pathway also. Once our investments are used at the lower level – there is less and often none to be raised to the higher level.

As I pointed out to an emotional level thinker who got excited and showed that excitement through expressions that showed no connection to the cause of his excitement – those who are used to the easier but lower general pathway – have difficulty with the Higher Common Structure. Plagiarism is an offence especially at University level where one is expected to think on their own. When a University graduate uses secondary school mind structure to express her/himself – that person fails the ‘conduct’ test at University level. Likewise Government that uses laws at local community / religious level wilfully and/or due to ignorance. As Dr. David Garlick of the University of NSW said in my matters ‘We are ignorant that we are ignorant’.

There may be good reason for the Prime Minister to promise to keep ‘Buddhism foremost’ clause in the Constitution. Tamils who promoted Tamil Eelam only in Northern Sri Lanka, demoted themselves to the lower level of Sinhala Buddhists. If even one person in North using the Higher Common  Pathway takes a position but is ignored – those who seek the lower pathway while they accuse the others of the same weakness as themselves – lose control of their mind connection to that pathway. When they then come into the vicinity of the higher pathway – they become a negative force. If they remain in the jungles / their local areas of belief – they are harmless. Likewise Buddhist politicians – who use the law against non-Buddhists using the Common Parliamentary power.

Right now, if Tamil leaders, instead seeking  Measure for Measure – identify with how Natural Justice has connected Tamils to real global powers -  including through members of the Diaspora committed to our new nations also – they/ we  would not act to disturb the harmony that is needed to give form to the global community’s presence in Sri Lanka. To forgive is Divine and when we forgive we surrender the issue to God.