Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

05 June 2019

CARDINAL PELL & CARDINAL MALCOLM RANJITH

I am in Colombo and feel very much at home, despite the changes due to the Easter bombings. Now I identify with more strongly than before, that my personal investment in commonness protects me from the disorders of others. In the morning I listened with belief to Kanthasashti Kavasam – a prayer  that invokes protection by Lord Murugan. When I say Lord Murugan, it is the Common form of all those who invested in the Absolute through this philosophy that Murugan represents. The form is Murugan. The philosophy is Absolute.

I believe that having shared in the pain of victims of the war between Tamil militants and the government’s armed forces and having accepted the exceptional checks during the time my community was isolated – I had developed a certain degree of immunity to such checks. It so happened that I walked into a Muslim restaurant close to my Airbnb accommodation. I did not sense any unusual tension in that part of Colombo where it was business as usual. I invested in that area as a student living in a Catholic hostel. To the extent I received less benefits than my costs while living in this area this area has become my home area.

Buddhist monk Rathana Thera is reported to have been supported by Catholic Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith in dismissing Muslim political leaders. What an Achcharu! (pickle). When our ‘shows’ of particular culture in support of our own and/or  against a diverse/opposition culture exceed the limits set by our Belief – such shows confirm Radicalization. Where a Muslim is punished relatively more than Buddhist leaders for such radicalization it is Radicalisation that punishes the place where such excess happened. The two religious leaders colluding against Muslim leaders has happened in Kandy. This automatically places a curse on those governed by Kandyan  customary law.

Place / Land is the common factor in democratic politics. Buddhist monk Rathana Thera is a politician. If the fast was for political purposes as per his belief in politics – then the fast would have been in front of National Parliament in which the monk is a member. Radicalization promotes emotional extremism towards which those indulging in it isolate themselves – so there is no competition but sole-power as militants usually claim to have. The monk has demonstrated that he was feeling left out of the hottest issue in Sri Lanka and about Sri Lanka – Muslim radicalization. He was empowered by Catholic leader who also confirms ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  Even Justice Wigneswaran confirmed being infected by it when he became politician. Not one of them loves Sri Lanka. All of them are attached to their current forms due to which they enjoy relatively more benefits than the common believer.

On my way to the airport in Sydney – the cab driver who claimed to be a Christian asked me about my religion and when I said I believed in rebirth he explained that Christians did not believe in rebirth. I then said – ‘Isn’t rebirth confirmed by Easter Sunday?’ He said he would get back to it later but did not. But he not only charged me within the minimum I expected but also brought me the trolley from its stand. That was commonness. I thus reduced the risk of radicalization of Sydney.

The Easter Sunday attacks directly affect largely Christians and Muslims. The commonness in them relative to Hinduism and Buddhism is that they do not demonstrate  belief in rebirth. One wonders whether that is why the attacks happened on Easter Sunday – when Christ was reborn by His own will. In Hinduism we say that there is no rebirth to the soul that has merged completely with Divine Universe. As the taxi guy tried to explain to me – Christians who have sinned stay in hell until ‘judgment day’.    To my mind, when we judge ourselves we are independent of judgment by others. THAT is when we resurrect ourselves by our own Will.

One needs to ask the question whether Cardinal Ranjith now believes in rebirth as preached by Buddhism? Can two religions with fundamentally different policies merge naturally as One? Or is this a clear act of abusing power for more political benefits?  Many of us Australians do not know whether Cardinal Pell is guilty of sexual abuse or is guilty of negligence of Administrative duty? With time – our uncorrected wrongs become common and then they are called sins. Had there been separation of powers between religion and secularism – Cardinal Pell may not have been put through this misery. Cardinal Ranjith seems to have not learnt from Australian Catholics. Did the two form a natural coalition against Buddhists & Hindus who by policy  believe in rebirth?