Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

http://austms.blogspot.com.au/

14 March  2020

Thesawalamai & Power of Women

The basic difference between the Common Secular law and Thesawalamai Law in regards to our issue was/is  the separation of powers between males and females due to the structure that allocated different responsibilities to the two groups. Women were thus largely homemakers and men went out to earn money. The two sisters of my husband and his  brother Yoganathan who lived and died as a bachelor, claimed equal share despite having received dowry. My husband Param sought to apply Thesawalamai law – according to which brothers inherited the inherited wealth of the father and also unmarried brother. To defend his rights was also to respect Thesawalamai and therefore the Jaffna ancestors who gave us Thesawalamai Law. The courts of Northern Province of Sri Lanka failed to uphold this principle and granted the distribution on Equal basis.  But we inherited the wisdom of the architects of  Thesawalamai law which has been in practice for centuries. The customary practices of Jaffna Tamils was codified by the Dutch in 1707.

But the sisters who had custody over bank documents, chose to apply their own thoughts to first ask that the whole be written in their name and when Param refused, they claimed Equal share.

If that were the truth – then that would have been healthy for the whole family. Other members of the family may not have understood but through their own truth they would have identified with such distribution. Given that the two sisters actually demonstrated different pathways of thought, one is entitled to conclude that the request was not based on truth but as per their own law of convenience. It is the parallel of the Sri Lankan government’s Provisions in the Constitution – that Buddhism was the special religion (Article 9) and  also Equal religion [Articles 10 and 14(1)(e)]. Sovereignty will show equal status when manifested as more than one visible outcome. When Buddhism is afforded foremost status – this if based on truth would allow only One manifestation – a Buddhist looking value. Only the CEO is thus permitted to publish results where there is no devolution of power.  But to uphold truth – the highest junior who contributed to the manifestation needs to be internally celebrated as being Divine.

Through  his Daily Mirror article ‘Should Bhikkhus play an active role in politics?’ Mr Lionel Wijesiri presents the following picture in his mind:

[When the Government forces won the war against LTTE terrorism, the victory offered a tremendous boost and momentum to the growth of political Buddhism. Some Buddhist monks were involved in the war, not in the front, but actively conditioning the mindset of the soldiers, politicians and Buddhist public. A radical section of the monks transformed this victory into an unshakable concept that Sri Lanka belongs to Sinhala Buddhists and that they are the sole owners of this island. The political Buddhism became a power to be reckoned with. They were in a position to make or break Governments. They justified their campaigns against radical Muslims as legitimate actions to protect Buddhism and there were a number of instances when they went berserk. ]

Real Buddhist clergy are visible leaders in Buddhism. When they become part of the political group, like good mothers they become invisible  governing forces to those outside the politically governing group. Like in Hinduism where mothers are venerated as Shakthi/Energy, they have to be venerated as those above the human structure. But as confirmed above by Lionel – they actually competed with the political leaders to takeover power. THIS strongly contributed to Muslim Clergy like the Easter Bombing leader Zahran Choosing similar path in reaction.

As per Wikipedia about this group:

[Security forces found five pairs of white skirts and blouses in the safe house. Investigators found that the militants had bought nine pairs worth Rs. 29,000 on 29 March. Intelligence officials warned that this may be an attempt to launch an attack on Buddhist Temples using women posing as Buddhist devotees.]

One who foregoes the physical pleasure is naturally raised to the higher level which would ensure the rights of all level members in a group. Muslims in Sri Lanka who are bound by their own law of marriage and marry girls under the age of 18 – have the duty to protect their wives as if they were their daughters. A wife is a combination of mother and daughter and a husband is a combination of father and son. Employing these women, most of whom would have been under the influence of their men – amounts to brainwashing. It is the parallel of politicians being used to express Buddhist looking outcomes.

To be faith based, both sides of  the manifestations must be within the one faith. In the case of Easter Bombings the Buddhist political mind and the Muslim political mind were led by males ‘foremost’ leaders. In his article headed ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the Sri Lankan response’ Mr Harsha Gunasena confirms his interpretation of the UN report in this regard as follows:

[The Special Rapporteur appreciates the intervention of Office for National Unity and Reconciliation and the Civil Society, for religious harmony. He emphasised the importance of reforming the Muslim marriage and divorce law and pointed out that Bhikkunis are not permitted to have their ordination name on their National Identity Cards whereas Bhikkus are allowed.]

Both are to address discrimination of women which when prolonged leads to brainwashing. This was also a major reason why there was a high proportion of women in the Suicide Squad – the Black Tigers within the LTTE. I worked with the father of one such lady who killed herself in combat. Once when I went to Mankerni in Batticaloa, one of the community leaders said that when they saw me they thought I was a Karum-Puli (Black Tiger). I went alone and they were at that time caught between Northern Tigers and Eastern Tigers – whose leader Karuna Amman had joined the then Government headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Suppressed juniors who think independently become high performers when they feel free. High level of junior caste combatants were also in the LTTE. They were high performers because they were ‘free’ to fight without fear of lawful repercussions. LTTE leader Prabhakaran was  their king who recognized their natural skills to defeat by showing power. They were brainwashed by the promise of freedom from their past life which was dull and boring. It was easy for them to get brainwashed that they were fighting for the independence of the whole community. To be true -  Prabhakaran’s wife and daughter ought to have been the first to become Tigers. The Community also recognizes them as ‘boys’ and this further demotes women’s role outside the home.

This applies also to Easter Bombing leader Zahran’s group as well as the current President – Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s group dominated by men. One who sings Sri Lanka Matha (Mother Sri Lanka) needs to demonstrate respect for women – visibly as 1^st leader or confidentially as Buddhist power in Sri Lanka.

Thesawalamai recognized gender based Equality.  Those who believed in those elders and/or practised Thesawalamai with faith would never be defeated by any foreign power.