Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

28 November  2020

 

 

 

WHO IS A TERRORIST?

Yesterday was celebrated as Great Heroes Day  by some Tamils. In return what do they get? Mr Wigneswaran, a Tamil Political leader, states in his Colombo Telegraph article ‘Why Are Tamils Trying To Remember The Terrorists & Separatists?’ explains his interpretation as follows:

[A man kills a person. Similarly another man kills a third person. One is brought before Courts under the normal criminal law. Another is brought under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in Sri Lanka. Who decides this? The Sinhala State of course! When the State wants, it would call a person Terrorist or a simple criminal according to its whims and fancies. The fact is both killed someone.]

That leads one to seek the definitions of ‘FACT’ & ‘Terrorism’. Wikipedia provides the following:

“A fact is an occurrence in the real world. The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability—that is whether it can be demonstrated to correspond to experience…. Experience is the process through which conscious organisms perceive the world around them.”

“Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentional violence for political or religious purposes”

The Sinhalese armed forces had to accept the government’s description of the LTTE actions as ‘Terrorism’. They would have become traitors if they had assessed rights and wrongs as individuals. In fact such extremes are needed to survive in a battle field. Hence the saying ‘All is fair in Love & War’.

Love is exponential and divine. In war, death is highly probable. If we die, what we did until then will become virtues or sins as per the truth in every experience. They then become exponential values. To make them virtues , we conduct ceremonies, largely religious ceremonies. These are then made exponentially positive  to the extent of our belief.  The way we relate to them then is that they are gods/Thevar.  Heroes’ day memorials also would make them gods/ancestors  who would bless their heirs.

If  LTTE killed its enemies, the enemy needs to kill the LTTE in war. That is the way of Dharma. Such a soldier would be great hero to the LTTE’s enemies. If that soldier dies in battle – truly believing in the word of her/his government – s/he becomes god to the people who were protected by the government. If s/he pauses to think about rights and wrongs at that time, s/he is likely to lose the courage to kill the other as an Equal. This is why they say that one must think that the Guru is always right. The guru of that soldier is her/his government.

The question therefore arises as to whether the Tamil combatants who died in the war were also gods of Tamils? If they are,  then Democracy is the enemy of Tamils. The reason is that the LTTE unjustly opposed and killed Politicians who were elected by the Tamil People. It was unjust because those politicians were unarmed and were not fighters. In the Great War of Gurushetram the minority side did kill their Gurus and family elders. But that was between those of the same culture bound by common laws as  implemented by the Gurus and Family Elders. All those who fought in that war as per the laws and/or their truth – were heroes. They came from both sides. Likewise in the Sri Lankan war.

When the LTTE killed Tamil Politicians, they killed also the Vaddukoddai Resolution which gave policy level form to the work  and sacrifices made by Tamil politicians until 1976. Tamils became Equal Opposition in National Parliament in 1977. To my mind, that confirmed the blessings of gods.

When they were killed by the LTTE, the LTTE became demons to all those who believed in those Tamil Politicians and / or the system of democracy.

I do not consider the LTTE to be terrorists. Nor do I consider them to be the saviours of Tamils. As per my experience with them – they themselves did not claim to be so.  One group within them said that they were wondering whether I was Gandhi or Krishna. Our pathways to independence were /are  different. Any politician who endorses them has to have positive political karma that is greater in value than the positive political value of all the Tamil politicians that the LTTE eliminated.

Tamil politicians did not take an eye for an eye. Between the Army and the LTTE –  the fight was between two equals who were not bound by common law. Just because some members of the  Armed Forces acted in breach of the law, does not mean that the two sides became Equal in law. Truth alone makes them naturally Equal. To the extent the LTTE empowered themselves by the Equal status developed  by other Tamils in their own fields they were/are heirs of those Tamils. To the extent they opposed such Tamils, they separated themselves as an Opposition to Democratic Tamils.

Any person who celebrates LTTE as war heroes, will inherit their strengths. But they would also be culturally demoting themselves to mafia rule that LTTE followed. Such folks in Jaffna would not be able to access the forces of Democracy that many of us continue to share with Jaffna and Sri Lanka.

If the strength of those who value LTTE is greater than that of Democratic Tamils – then war will be invoked by them.  That is the leadership demonstrated by the likes of Mr Wigneswaran and others who give preference to Armed Heroes over Democratic leaders who have inherited Vaddukoddai Resolution. That is fine – so long as they do not claim Genocide. There can be no Genocide between two Equals.

 

 

 

 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 November  2020

 

 

 

QUEENS OF TAMIL NATION

A Truly Independent Person would look within for Truth and then identify with others’ Truth through her/his Truth. One who depends on Others’ mistakes is a relative dependent on those  others to complete the picture. Such a person is not yet independent.

The five Pandava brothers in the Hindu Epic Mahabharatham were recognized as Great Heroes. Yet when their wife Throupathi   was to be stripped naked in the King’s palace, they could not prevent it. Why? – because their obedience to elders became ritualistic and out-dated. As per that legend, Lord Krisha supplied endless sari confirming that He was the ultimate Judge and Authority. Krishna later stated that He did not stop what happened because what had to happen must be allowed to happen. But when a believer pleads, the Universal Power manifests Itself to protect Its believer. Before pleading to Krishna, Throupathi   pleaded with the King – stating that she was not a substance and that her husband had no right to  place her as a stake. The king was blinded by his attachment to his son.

I believe/d that the above happened if not as a single incident – as a regular occurrence  at that time in India and that the above was the consolidated form of a wife being treated as a ‘substance’ .  The local version (Northern Sri Lanka) of this as it happened to me in 2013, is in the Appendix. Later when I learnt about Vithiya Sivaloganathan’s rape and murder in 2015 and 6 year old Regina’s rape I knew that I had done right by speaking up which was on behalf of all women in that area. Like Throupathi I had courage of my truth.  Like Krishna supplied endless sari, Swami Sathya Sai Baba provides endless wisdom of why something that bothers me has happened. Hence I write on the basis of my own painful experiences – so all in our group will be protected.

Yesterday, a common Sri Lankan wrote to me in response to my article ‘ OBAMA & LTTE ‘

[Be that as it may, a majority of right thinking Sri Lankans will accept the fact that for the country as a whole to do well, there should be equal rights and privileges to all Sri Lankans. 

Our problems of the past hinges on that. The sooner our Leaders realize that the better for Sri Lanka. ]

 

My response was [True. Wherever we are able to we need to take the lead]

 

During JVP uprising in Southern Sri Lanka Ms Premawathi Manamperi was also stripped naked in the Holy area of Kathirgamam:

[On 5 April 1971, JVP insurrection started and Kataragama was a center of insurgent activity. The small Kataragama police station, under Sub Inspector Udawatte was attacked several times by insurgents and the police withdrew from Kataragama. Colonel Derrick Nugawela was appointed military coordinating officer, Hambantota District on 11 April 1971, began organizing the military units in the area to counter the insurgents and reestablished government conrtole in the district. Having entered and established control of the town of Tissamaharama, a platoon of troops from the Gemunu Watch held by Lieutenant Alfred Wijesuriya, a volunteer officer moved on Kataragama on the 16 April under the orders of Colonel Nugawela. They entered Kataragama and established camp at the Kataragama Pilgrim's Rest with limited opposition. Inspector Udawatte and his policemen were ordered to move into the army camp, as the police station was damaged in the attacks. On the 16 April Inspector Udawatte and three police constables came in a jeep and arrested Premawathie at her home. That day several girls, including Premawathi, who were believed to be involved with the rebels were arrested.

Premawathi was tortured through the night to no avail revealing nothing about her activities. Infuriated the lieutenant made Premawathi take off her clothes and walk across the town nude while been beaten by him and another officer. Finally stopping near a post office, the officers opened fire on the girl and buried her alive. They returned on two separate occasions to finish her off. She ultimately died from a bullet to the head from a rifle of an unknown soldier.] Wikipedia

The Hambantota District which is the home area of Rajapaksas carries the above sin committed during the time the first Woman Prime Minister in the world was heading the government.  UNP leader  J R Jayawardene  politically took benefit from the above Tragedy

[Her murder attracted national attention and was a major issue addressed in the 1977 election. UNP candidate J. R. Jayewardene discussed the attack in great detail and condemned Sirimavo Bandaranaike's handling of the crime to discredit his opponent.]

To the extent J R Jayawardene  profited from the weaknesses in the Armed Forces – it became his legacy – which manifested in 1983.

To the extent the  LTTE profited from the 1983 pogrom it shared in the above karma which resulted in LTTE reporter Isaipriya being put  through similar treatment as Premawathi. To my mind, the LTTE which blocked Tamils from voting in  the 2005 Presidential Elections so Mahinda Rajapaksa of Hambantota would win, became part of the forces that shamed Isaipriya whom they failed to protect.  During the 2009 battle, when some girls escaped the LTTE custody I learnt that they went into hiding and could not be part of the civilian community in Vavuniya – because they could be identified through their short hair – cut by force by some sections of the LTTE.

Nimal Vinayagamoorthy – an LTTE heir – invites through his Colombo Telegraph article ‘Maveerar Naal – ‘The Need For A Collective Memorialization In Tamil Eelam’ –  claims as follows:

[This day helps promote the Tamil community’s social recovery from the violent conflict, and bring to light the injustices and discrimination the Maaveerar and us as a population have been through. Hence, Maveerar Naal is a Tamil National memorialization day which must to accepted and respected. It is a public day and needs to be observed at a public place to grieve someone very dear. ]

 

If unjust discrimination is the measure – then Tamil women of junior castes are the queens who lead this Tamil Nation. To my knowledge I am the only Tamil who has questioned the Tamil Leaders – from LTTE to Judges including one who turned Chief Minister. One who has transcended relativity is the truly independent leader. All others are relatives of such leaders in the group.

 

 

 

 

Appendix – Excerpt from Naan Australian – Chapter 29

As I picked up my file I said to our lawyer ‘I am really disappointed with you.’ At that moment Mr. Yogendra who was standing next to our lawyer – at the head of the bar-table also looked in my direction – and I said to him in Tamil ‘

  / ‘I am not a prostitute’. So saying, I  walked towards the Public end of the Court. Then I heard our first lawyer Mr. Nadarajah say to me that I was being summoned. I turned around and walked back to the  witness box and removed my shoes. But I did not get on to the box because no one asked me to.  Then the Judge asked me in a stern voice ‘

/ What is this place?’  I was confused. I was wondering whether the Judge was referring to me not being accepted as  a Ceylon Tamil???  I did say

 instead of

in Tamil, when giving evidence.  My mother spoke Indian Tamil as she was born and brought up in Burma.  I was wondering whether I was showing signs of my mother through my IndianTamil for the word Yes.  

is Indian for Yes.   

is Ceylon Tamil.

 

Besides, Swami Sathya Sai Baba came in my early morning meditation and blessed me. Given that Swami was Indian – I may have brought that pronunciation during the court session. All this was running fast in my mind when the Judge said ‘

’ (This is Court house – Don’t you know that you should not show street behavior here in Court? You claim to be educated and sought Administrative authority. But now  through your conduct you have proven that you do not deserve that.  It’s not good enough to say in words. More importantly your conduct must confirm your claim) 

I looked blankly at the Judge for the first part of the above outburst by the Judge. Then the penny dropped – that somehow the Judge had got knowledge of my statement to Mr. Yogendra. It’s often mind reading.

 

So – on top of being effectively labeled as a prostitute and a cheat – I was now being accused of street behavior. I just stared at the Judge.  The woman in me broke down and cried – silently inside. It really was too much at this point for that soft woman within. 

 

Then our lawyer spoke out and said to the Judge ‘I apologize on her behalf but her behavior is understandable given that her second marriage was brought before this court again.’  The Judge immediately showed a smiling face to the lawyer and explained that it was not given consideration.  Our lawyer then said to me ‘You better apologize’ . I looked him straight in the eye said ‘No I won’t. I spoke the Truth. I have no reason to apologize for.’

 

  No one said anything for a few moments and I took my file again – this time from the floor and my bag next to it, wore my shoes and walked away. At the other end of the bar table I bowed to the Judge’s chair  – where my real Lord was seated as per my mind to the extent I spoke the Truth relevant to honor my dead relative,  and walked out of the Court room.

… The woman in me continues to cry and she will cry for a long time to come

 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

26 November  2020

 

 

 

OBAMA & LTTE

The LTTE claimed that they were the Sole Representatives of Tamils. To be true, majority ‘Tamils’ ought to have sought  the physical pathway to manage themselves – especially when there are conflicts.  Thesawalamai Customary Law confirms the level of civilization achieved by us – Jaffna Tamils, as a community. The laws that a group makes and/or practices confirm the height of its culture.  As per Thesawalamai principles, a group has to have an Equal Female head representing at public level, the female heritage of the community, as a diverse & therefore Equal part of the commonwealth and therefore its leadership status. When a daughter marries and takes her dowry with her – she is confirming her Equal entitlement to commonwealth in the completed relationships and hence to begin the new relationships on Equal footing as her husband. This is the basic principle of migration as is practised now but  was discovered and followed by Jaffna Tamils many centuries before LTTE was born.

As a nation, the parallel of daughters who take dowry are those Tamils who migrate to places outside the local Jaffna borders. Those Tamils have the duty to maintain that equal status in the new environments whose surnames they now carry. Hence a Tamil Australian is Equal in status to an English Australian as s/he is to Tamil Sri Lankan. The whole body here is the country. Within that one is entitled to have relationships. Outside that one is taken as equal. If Tamil is that whole, then we need to use common Tamil law to determine the structure of a relationship. To use outcomes produced or only work done as measures is an insult to our cultural heritage.  Death is part of that outcome. One who claims death in combat as being heroic has no right to claim genocide by the opposition. Those who claim genocide have no right to celebrate  Maaveerar / Great Heroes day.

LTTE occupied the whole of the leadership  and eliminated their seniors in the then existing politics. Sinhala King Dutugamunu also overruled his father who was recognized as a brilliant strategist and King Dutugamunu became a separatist.  Anyone who adorned themselves with the status of Dutugamunu or LTTE would themselves become separatists in their current environments. The Eelam that LTTE ruled over was one of the areas that daughters of  Jaffna Tamils by heritage – emigrated to. They have no right to rule over the Common Jaffna community that developed and gave birth to Thesawalamai law . Once separated they are taken as Equals and not as seniors or juniors in the area they left behind.

When LTTE moved to Kilinochchi they had no rights over Jaffna. Yet, the two have remained combined as one district in the 2020 elections also. As per its core character Kilinochchi belongs more to Vanni and not to Jaffna. If this is inappropriate – it should remain single division electorate and not combined with Jaffna. If combined with Jaffna it dilutes the intellectual status of Jaffna that armed rebels left behind.  

These indiscriminate mixing of cultures has led to pro LTTE groups clashing with anti LTTE groups within the Tamil Diaspora. One member of such a group wrote to a Tamil outside his group :

[Myself (Member of parliament for Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam "TGTE")  and 3 other TGTE Volunteers were arrested under the PTA law on 10th October 2018 in front of Oxford Union, when former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe came to address the Oxford Union to State that Sri Lanka was a paradise to live in. We were arrested under prevention of Terrorism Act "PTA" and investigated for over 2 years and the case was dropped with no charges. Also many others were arrested in UK and many other counties under PTA to fight for our democratic rights and we were arrested due to supports of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ("LTTE") and they said it is a terrorist group and we are also terrorists but TGTE is not a terrorist organisation like many other Tamil organisations in UK and other countries but we been labelled as terrorist and try to stop our fight for Justice, Peace and Permanent Solution for People back home in Tamil Eelam.]

The Daily Mirror article headed ‘Obama’s book notes UN failure in Sri Lanka’ gives us strong indicators on how Obama would have acted if he were Sri Lankan President or UK Prime Minister:

[He is referring to the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka during which time he was US President.   
At the time Obama had made a statement in front of the media calling on the LTTE to release trapped civilians and the then Government to stop using heavy weapons.]

TGTE as the heir of the LTTE has the duty to accept that the American government clearly distinguished between civilians and the LTTE. My direct experience with the victims in the camps in 2009, confirms this but unlike Obama I do not have the official status that would make my work attractive to the average.   

If LTTE’s leadership was true and therefore natural – they would not accept the work of those who were not loyal to them. In a natural environment – one gets the level of loyalty that is equal in energy to the level of care by the senior as if the junior is a part of her/himself.  Anything else is an enforcement outside traditional structures.  Where a system is unreliable – our returns come from other sources who have a true need.

At the time President Obama made above declaration, I also released a letter to the LTTE head to surrender to Lord Muruga of Nallur. From then on, whatever happened to the LTTE as part of the Tamil community – is Muruga’s responsibility. As Saint Yoga Swami said ‘Eppavoh Mudintha Kaariyam / It’s already completed issue’ for Jaffna Tamils.

TGTE has the right to claim Equal status for LTTE heirs only. In terms of Jaffna – LTTE itself was one who ‘left home’ to live in another culture. They took rich dowry with them when they shifted to farming area of Kilinochchi. As per Thesawalamai principles – they have no right to claim any ownership rights over Jaffna Tamils, led by intellectual leaders.

In the Epic Mahabharatham, Emperor Dharmar staked himself in a game of dice and lost. Then because his cousin who was his opposition, goaded him,  he staked his wife Throupathi, and lost the game. Throupathi who was insulted in the palace – as if she were a slave – argued that she had Equal rights as Emperor Dharmar and therefore he did not have the authority to use her as if she were a substance.  Many times here in Australia, I recalled that experience when I was insulted.  Our experiences then merge and our minds are then elevated to the higher  common level.  

A Tamil who has failed to discipline LTTE has no right to separate the words of discipline by President Obama as if they  were meant for the Government of Sri Lanka only. If they did so – they would turn their current nations into Kilinochchi’s parallel and not Jaffna’s parallel.

 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

25 November  2020

 

 

 

DEVOLUTION OR CETRALIZATION?

Majority Lankan Tamils known to me said to me that Devolution through a federal structure would solve the ethnic problem. During the early days of the conflict between the government and rebels, I did not have an opinion either way. Then when I joined the University of NSW (UNSW) which was seeking to become more democratic in its management, I set out to structure the systems on the basis of activities that were controlled by the Medical Faculty to which I was assigned at the special request of the then Dean of Medicine. Like the current Lankan President, that Dean also had lived in USA for considerable time. I therefore had someone who appreciated my approach.  But eventually it failed due to those who were attached to the past through its weaknesses,  not wanting the change. When I tried to ‘educate’ and they had no time to learn – I performed a one-sided exit interview and eventually shared my experience through Naan Australian – confirming that the journey was more valuable than the destination.  

The journey becomes more valuable than the destination due to the ‘experience’. When we have the experience, it means that some of our input has become Energy. When we feel positive it means that we have caused at least partially, positive Energy that would spread  itself  in our home environments. When we feel negative – usually through pain – it means we do not have enough positive Energy to offset the negative in us and / or in our home environments. Back then, the UNSW central administrators merely said the words that they needed to improve,  and the faculties said ‘devolution’ . Neither felt the need to become more democratic. After I physically left , their negative karma/energy surfaced as allegations of scientific fraud through which the Vice Chancellor’s job came to an end. Through experience, all of them had the pain that I had felt. That to me was current manifestation of the Hindu ‘Puttukku Mann sumantha Legend’ reported as follows by Wikipedia:

[The Pandiya King ordered every household in Madurai to offer one person for putting sand on the banks of the river Vaigai to control floods. An old lady, who sold puttu (a kind of rice pasta) to make a living, had nobody to send for the flood control work. Lord Shiva disguised as a youth approached the old lady with a deal to do the work for the lady and in return she had to give him puttu every day and hence the name Puttukku Mann sumantha thiruthalam meaning - place (thiruthalam) where Shiva carried (sumantha) sand (mann) for puttu. The agreement was, she need not give him the puttu which is in good shape, but only the leftovers. The old lady agreed. But Lord Shiva, with his magical powers, made each of the puttu she cooked as shapeless unsellable leftover and ate everything. And worse, he didn't do any work in the river Vaigai either but he chose to sleep under a tree. The King, who was supervising the work, found the lazy man and beat him on the back with a cane. Everyone including the king felt the pain in their backs. Then the king realised that the lazy man was Lord Shiva and apologised. Even now, to mark this event, on September 4 of every year, a function is held in the riverbank of Arappalayam and puttu is cooked in every household.]

The way I interpret the above legend is that when the people are ordered to do the work that the government is responsible for – the work would not get done by those who lack the skills and if those who do the job they are trained for are punished, the punishment is experienced by all.

I was reminded of this when I read Ceylon Today report headed ‘Govt should grant us right to self-govern – Wiggy’:

[Wigneswaran said that all the Tamils want is the right to look after themselves in their traditional areas and to govern it the way they want. 

“Acknowledge you have committed immense wrongs to the Tamil community and try to mend your differences with us. All we want is the right to look after ourselves in our traditional areas and govern it the way we want. That is not separation. That is devolution. That gives meaning to the theory of subsidiarity. According to this theory, political decisions must be taken at a local level rather than by a central authority. We do not want outsiders to expropriate our assets and resources. We do not want our lands to be grabbed by outsiders. We want to govern our areas in accordance with our traditions and conventions. We want to do our fishing by ourselves in our traditional areas. We contributed up to 43% of the fish needed in 1983. Now our fishermen are constricted and curtailed from going out to sea by the Navy as well as fishermen from elsewhere,” he said. ]

Mr Wigneswaran was part of the judiciary of Sri Lanka before he became a politician.  He needed the destination of  ‘ Chief Minister’ to undertake that political journey. The milestone he reached though that journey was his position in National Parliament in Colombo. That confirms his motive of Centralized governance. But in words he is claiming devolution:

[That is devolution. That gives meaning to the theory of subsidiarity]

Pope Pius XI – the first Monarch of Vatican shared as follows his wisdom  in subsidiarity :

"Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do. For every social activity ought of its very nature to furnish help to the members of the body social, and never destroy and absorb them."

As per my lay interpretation, it is wrong to generalize that which could be managed locally by a sovereign group, as it is to attribute higher status to a part/body for doing the work that a part/body of lower order can accomplish independently.

During his tenure as Chief Minister of Northern Province, Mr Wigneswaran had the opportunity to identify such groups – for example fisheries activities . If he did so identify – he had the responsibility to submit a proper proposal with support data. This ought to have been tabled in Parliament as part of his budget response.

As per my experience, Thesawalamai law particular to Northern Tamils has become ‘obsolete’ in Jaffna Courts. Mr Wigneswaran did respond to one of my emails in this regard, but his silence thereafter confirmed that he did not have the solutions at common provincial level. To the extent we discuss and search through true experiences of participants  who feel that they have been let down by the system – we would identify with the ‘need’ of the system as if it were our personal need.

Jaffna may have once upon a time been deserving of ‘Devolution’ in certain areas. It certainly is NOT deserving of Judicial independence  in current environment. I believe that Mr Wigneswaran has the duty to Northern Province to write about the success or failure of devolution of Judicial Powers at the level of Provincial High Courts.  Towards this he needs to undertake the travel himself and then make the recommendations through his experience . Truth will then raise it to the power of the whole as if all of us had the experience.

Devolution without such need would result in transfer of abuse of power that Central Government is carrying at the moment.

 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

24 November  2020

 

 

 

CLERGY & POLITICS

 This morning I was delighted to receive an email from a member of the Tamil Diaspora regarding spirituality as experienced by Sai devotee Gautam Sachdeva. I felt that my work in writing the article ‘HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT’ on the birth anniversary of Sri Sathya Sai Baba has been blessed. I noticed that I was yet to forward my mail to that particular group. I sent it after receiving the above mail this morning.

Later I came across the Daily Mirror article headed ‘Is section of Sangha trying to subjugate President?’ by K.K.S. Perera who has shown respect for my work. Mr Perera’s article  was published yesterday. I found some common values even though Mr Perera is a Buddhist and I am a Hindu. This response of mine, shares my experience based interpretations as a Sri Lankan.

Mr Perera quotes:

[Verse 9 in the Yamakavagga of Dhammapada, Anikkasàvayo vattha paridahessati…., The pure are worthy of the yellow robe but not the impure. Whoever, unstainless, without self-control and truthfulness, should don the yellow robe, is not worthy of it. He who is purged of all stain, is well-established in morals and endowed with self-control and truthfulness, is indeed worthy of the yellow robe.”-Buddha ]

My search took me to the layperson’s story – reported as having been related by Buddha about Devadatta who wore clothes out of cloth donated towards alms-giving costs – the parallel of which did happen in Sri Lanka during the 2015 Presidential Elections Ref: Lalith Weeratunga and Anusha Palpita found guilty in Sil Cloth distribution case). The origin of old legend about the negative karma of Buddhist Clergy is reported as follows:

[Devadatta was an elephant hunter in one of his previous existences. At that time, in a certain forest, there lived a large number of elephants. One day, the hunter noticed that these elephants knelt down to the paccekabuddhas* on seeing them. Having observed that, the hunter stole an upper part of a yellow robe and covered his body and hand with it. Then, holding a spear in his hand, he waited for the elephants on their usual route. The elephants came, and taking him for a paccekabuddha fell down on their knees to pay obeisance. They easily fell prey to the hunter. Thus, one by one, he killed the last elephant in the row each day for many days.

The Bodhisatta (the Buddha-to-be) was then the leader of the herd. Noticing the dwindling number of his followers he decided to investigate and followed his herd at the end of the line. He was alert, and was therefore able to evade the spear. He caught hold of the hunter in his trunk and was about to dash him against the ground, when he saw the yellow robe. Seeing the yellow robe, he desisted and spared the life of the hunter.

The hunter was rebuked for trying to kill under cover of the yellow robe and for commuting such an act of depravity. The hunter clearly did not deserve to put on the yellow robe.]

In current Sri Lanka, Buddha Sasana is the yellow robe. Many examples of hunters pretending to be wearing Buddha Sasana have been exposed in Sri Lanka. Mr Perera starts with Mapitigama Buddharakkitha, about whom Wikipedia states as follows:

[Mapitigama Buddharakkitha (1921−1967) was the chief conspirator of the assassination of fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka), S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. He served as the chief incumbent (chief priest) of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, one of the most sacred Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka from 1947 to 1959…..

Buddharakkitha's various notorious acts only surfaced after he was convicted. He was described as a rich businessman who was involved in various high profile businesses. Buddharakkitha routinely consumed whisky, which was an offense for a buddhist monk. He allegedly had a sexual relationship with Vimala Wijewardene MP, Minister of Health and the only woman member of the Bandaranaike's Cabinet in 1959.^[1] Wimala Wijewardene was the sister-in-law of D. R. Wijewardena and the widow of Don Charles Wijewardene, author of The Revolt in the Temple(1953).She was also a grand-aunt of Ranil Wickremasinghe, former prime minister of Sri Lanka.]

Mr Perera’s connection goes as follows:

[Mapitigama Buddharakkitha, always claimed that without him SWRD wouldn’t have come to power. The head priest of historic Kelaniya temple where the Buddha visited 25 centuries ago and according to folklore the place where he enjoyed the refreshing water of the Kelani River., [and remember, “a Maha Naga Rajah” carrying a casket of ‘sacred relics’ appeared on the eve of Presidential Election a year ago?] who financed Bandaranaike’s election campaign in 1956, hated Bandaranaike for refusing to grant illegal favours for his shipping company deals and business ventures in large scale import of provisions devoid of tender procedures. ]

Majority Sri Lankans know that Buddhist clergy and the Sri Lankan government are bound through their umbilical cord connections to the Buddhist institution. As is the way of Nature, when they operate at the primary level, they produce their own opposites. Whether they are internal opposition that maintains Sri Lankan sovereignty or enemies open to external influence is determined not by them but by that opposition, though the strength of their belief.

To the extent, Buddhist clergy influenced political leaders through their status – they naturally developed opposition to Hindu clergy. To the extent that was the Hindu clergy / Brahmins in India, they had the responsibility to use regional structures and not local. By using local structures over which they had ‘control’ they pushed Tamils who opposed through belief, towards India and Muslims towards Middle East. This is also the risk carried by those leaders who are Dual Citizens using local powers.

Mr Perera requests as follows:

[There is a section of Sangha with racist leanings, who think, it’s they who put Rajapaksas on the pedestal, hence they only should call the tune. Rather than endeavouring to have control over the head of state, as a good Buddhist, I would respectfully request for the direct intervention of most venerable Mahanayake Theras as a matter of priority in issuing strict instruction to all chief Nayake Theras on the importance of inculcating Vinaya rules among their junior and senior members and refrain from political affiliations, because even good Buddhists dare challenge Sangha in an obvious incident of violation of the disciplinary rules. Will the president have the courage to discipline Buddhist monks?]

The Lankan President trying to discipline  Buddhist monks is the parallel of Donald Trump trying to discipline the American Armed Forces. They depend on the achievements of these respective bodies – which carry their own excesses.

Neither the President nor the Buddhist clergy is enlightened. They need each other especially because they have chosen to remain ‘domestic’. To the extent they are true to each other, at least in private – their energies would merge and protect those who are true Buddhists and/or v.v. As a true Buddhist – Mr Perera is doing just that. Universal Buddhist Energy will do the rest.

If they publicly ‘show’ opposition, they would invite rebels to show their own powers. Until old excesses are negated – the risk of karma would remain strong. If current efforts are strong – karma will remain passive.