Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
02 July 2017
Churning
Jaffna Water
On
Australia Day 2012, his Honor Justice Ariyanayagam stated in Mallakam District Court,
in Northern Sri Lanka, that he would not have lawyers conducting their own
Courts outside the official Court system. That showed insight into lawyers
taking over power from the Judges. The Opposition in that case stated that the
Affidavit submitted by my husband was not valid due to my husband signing the
Affidavit that states that he was in Jaffna, when he was in Australia ! My
husband’s presence in Sri Lanka, could have been easily proven by asking for certified
copies of relevant pages of his passport. But the Judge did not need such ‘evidence’.
The judge asked me as to when my husband had arrived in Sri Lanka and as to
when he left. I stated the dates. The judge asked me a second time – a little
bit later and I gave the dates again. That was when the accusations by the
other side got returned against them through strong words of discipline by the
Judge. On Australia Day, we celebrate the arrival of British – and the British are
common to both Australia and Sri Lanka – especially through Administration and
the Judiciary where English law is the base of legal structure. I focused on
that before leaving to participate in the Court Proceedings in Northern Sri
Lanka and the return that day was uplifting.
Yesterday,
I was reminded of that when I was
referred to work the by some Diaspora Leaders
in the hope of developing healthy Administration in Northern Province of Sri
Lanka, through the following email message:
[I read your blogs with interest. With the recent upheavals at the NPC,
I believe more analysis and focus is required on the level of corruption and
the administrative failure instead of the political fallout.
I
wonder whether you have seen this link:
Thought
it is useful information to supplement your analysis.]
As per the reality in Northern
Sri Lanka where the Judicial system has become more and more disconnected with
the educated folks there was at least one Judge who delivered decision as per
the ‘facts’ submitted by me. I believe that this ‘connection’ happened due to
my Belief in Legal Administration being stronger than the belief of the other
side lawyer – who was clever but was not true to the Northern Legal system as
it exists today.
Likewise, one needs to either
consciously know the current structure of Northern Provincial Council of Sri
Lanka (NPC) OR go deep enough to become the unseen force that would negate new
and amateurish forces that often seek quick outcomes towards which they ‘pay’.
Their relationships are like current accounts with a bank – Cash in and Cash out
at the same level. The Media is not an outsider to this game. The article I was referred to as mentioned
above, was written by Dr. Rajasingham Narendran and was published by Colombo
Telegraph on 10 February 2016.
[Among
the issues raised by the Provincial Councilors are the issues relating to
water, fisheries and agriculture. The ‘Jaffna River’ river project has to be taken
forwards to enable converting the lagoon system in the peninsula into fresh
water lakes. The Americans made the Missouri- Mississipi River flow in reverse,
when there was a need to do so! As pointed out by Eng. O.E.D. Mendis only a
three KM canal needs to be cut to enable the fresh water accumulated in the
Elephant Pass reservoir, to flow in to the Jaffna lagoon system. I am convinced
this can be done using volunteers. Every Jaffna man and this country has a
stake in making this dream come true. Further, at least the overflow water from
the Irranaimadu tank should be made to flow into Elephant Pass reservoir, until
the Mahaweli system is connected to the Irranaimadu tank. The quality of well
water in the Peninsula will improve as a result and 11,000 acres of addition
land will become available for agriculture. Inland fisheries and tourism
potential of these lagoons can be exploited creating productive employment.]
In 2015, ‘The River for Jaffna’ project was
discussed with me by a Lankan of Sinhalese origin. Ref: River for Jaffna –
Program or Project? at WWW.austms.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/
But back then no one seemed to be interested in even
discussing the issue. It took the excitement of Politics to be of interest to
many juniors in Public Administration.
The problem usually is lack of depth of understanding
of the issue at root level – on the users’ side through politics and on the technical
side through Administration. Back then no one from grassroots level to
represent the users’ side seemed to be part of the team. Now there seems to be
enough politicians and media involved but no bridge between the Technical
experts and the Human Resource Representatives of grassroots power. The easier
way to present my view is the Court system in Northern Sri Lanka – where there
are many Technical experts – including from Colombo but not enough Truth from
litigants in relation to the experience of the problem – in their homes’ free
environment.
Technical knowledge through which credits are
claimed often lead to hoarding of money and status when there are not heirs to
share such credits with. When earned credit is foregone natural structure
develops. When we keep travelling through that natural structure – we reach the
destination of Truth. One needs to keep to that pathway even when one is marked
a failure – to naturally manifest that Truth in the form and at the level the
problem was experienced.
NPC is such a manifestation of the struggle for
Independence by the Tamil Community of Sri Lanka through many pathways. The
first job of the NPC is to PLAN as to which of the needs of the People to whom
Jaffna has been home and will be home are to be given priority to and at Global
level to include the sacrifices of all concerned. Recently our daughter said about
her husband who won the University Medal – that that medal was NOT given out
every year – but only when a student meets the consolidated standards of the
whole Faculty. Development of Jaffna has to include contributions from the past
not only in relation to ‘River for Jaffna’ but more about the connection
between grassroots users and high level technical thinkers – so they work
together to produce the Nectar of Peace – as in the Legend of the Milk-Ocean. All
those driven by money are the Asurar / those driven by brawn power and all those driven by experiencing Truth are
the Thevar / Divine beings. Both have to churn as detailed below:
Freedom
of Thought – Chapter 10 of Naan Australian
[In the above legend – the rod
used to churn the ocean is Mount
Mandara. It is reported that this
mountain in India, is composed of fragmented stones but the whole is one
single structure. To me, it symbolizes many memories in One intellectual structure
developed from Truth. Hearsay and mere knowledge would give us many structures
requiring us to consciously switch from one to the other. That is the outcome
through assimilation. Closures by completing the experiences are necessary for
consolidated thinking.
The mountain personifies Puthi / Intellect. In the churning process it has to turn one
way first and the other way next to surface the whole Truth. In the legend, the rod is placed on the back of a Turtle and
the Turtle is said to be Lord Vishnu on earth. To me that meant that the
Puthi/Intellect needed to have Truth as its base.
The rope used to turn the rod is King
serpent Vasuki representing our mind which needs to be worked so that hearsay of the idle mind, would not override our Puthi / intellect. As my Guru says rope may seem like a snake in the dark if the mind carries fear of snakes or is
generally low and depressed.. Work leads
to knowledge of what it really is and this overrides the memory of fear.
At Mulawa prison, on the night I was threatened with
enforced medication – by doctors at Caritas at St. Vincent’s Hospital – my cell
mate who was high user of drugs was suffering from similar fears. She said to me that her twin sister was
murdered and that she feared that ‘they’ would come after her also. I slept on the pullout bed close to the door
- so this young lady felt less uncomfortable.
Even then she said they were coming through the door. To me, pleasure drugs and all intoxicants weaken
the brain’s ability to discriminate. They give one false elevation and hence
loss of steadiness and weakened coordination
between the brain and the body.
This young lady - a heavy drug
user, carried the fear of the loss of her twin and hence her inability
to connect the physical observation that
the door was shut, to the reasoning part
of the brain which would have concluded that we were in a prison where ‘they’
could not come.
Those who fill their minds with
imagined pleasures also weaken their discriminative ability. Unearned benefits become imaginary benefits
unless one pays the cost of gratitude – to do which one reduces one’s own
status in administration. Once gratitude
is paid and is accepted – two become one – and the strength of mind of one is
also the strength of mind of the other.
To me, this is the core purpose of
family, institutions and government structures using subjective powers. Once relative becomes family, we would
comfortably step into each other’s shoes to know their pleasures and pain as
ours. This is not the sum nor the multiple but has exponential value.
Subjective powers work well when
the person in the senior position takes responsibility and/or the person in the
junior position is grateful. Without this we need to change over to the
objective system of democracy or risk becoming separated and scattered. Dr.
Gareth Evans, currently the Vice Chancellor of the Australian National
University, said in his international capacity that the Sri Lankan Government
had the Responsibility to Protect. (R2P).
The question is whether Dr. Evans first recommended this to his own
colleagues - including the Vice
Chancellors of other Australian Universities who used Police force to attack
someone they assessed to be a junior citizen – a migrant from the same Sri
Lanka whose government was criticized by Dr. Evans.
When we are able to step into
each other’s shoes comfortably and naturally – beyond our birth relatives – and
beyond our families – we are able to access universal energies. Let’s say I feel for a person who is the toilet
cleaner at the University or a domestic help in Vaddukoddai area. The feeling
of Oneness helps me feel the Energy that these juniors in terms of work
positions feel due to their regular work. Towards this the work they do must be
natural activity for them. Likewise my work needs to be natural for me. Then the sharing happens at energy level. This
to me is the core purpose of electing through majority vote with its subjective
powers. ]
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