Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

12 November  2020

 

 

 

Being Common Sri Lankan

Dushan Perera, of Iceman group of companies forwarded a video clip about a University of Jaffna student confirming that she felt quite safe in Jaffna. The young lady is from Southern Sri Lanka and stated that she enjoyed Tamil films and thus developed the interest to go to Northern Sri Lanka. I felt deeply touched and felt that my contribution to commonness in Jaffna has also contributed to this. I wrote to Dushan:

[You are part of the reason why that student feels safe in Jaffna]

I believe that that young lady carries with her deep belief in her tradition, through her environment in Southern Sri Lanka. The deeper one’s belief, the less visible the physical form. Hence the saying that when two become one, the language of communication is ‘silence’. With such depth, one would be attracted by the diversity in a multicultural area. That is the message of natural creativity through union of man and woman.

Dushan facilitated students from Jaffna to be trained at Iceman in Kandana http://www.austms.org/news_and_events/Iceman_News.pdf

Many  were new to Colombo and those who expected easy life as they knew in Jaffna dropped out. But those who came with deep cultural roots in Jaffna, successfully integrated and brought all of us much joy. This personal experience helps me appreciate the role that Jetwing is playing in Jaffna. I believe I became a part of Air Lanka of global standards due to my own deep rooting as a Jaffna Tamil. In multicultural Colombo, I became lateral owner for the same reason. Likewise here in Australia, towards which I had to first serious oppose and eliminate the superiority culture of some.

During the war years, I became Common Tamil to share my own feelings with folks in North and East who were more or less isolated in their local areas. A Common Tamil is one who is merged with Tamil elders. Those who are driven by current outcomes are yet to be common. One who transcends time based distancing will comfortably become common in multicultural areas and in areas where a different culture is in majority. The Universal power of Truth does the work for us. Hence Universal Franchise in democracy which transcends both time and cultural differences due to separation.

Those who fail to appreciate this Universal value of commonness tend to separate wherever they go. Whether it is between Republicans and Democrats in America or between Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, one is an alternate pathway to the other. When one sets out to kill the other, it leads to killing our own in our culture. This happened in both Sinhalese as well as Tamil cultures in Sri Lanka. It is usually manifested when the authority is premature and therefore unearned. Some Armed Militants who killed politicians seek to come to politics later. They need the blessings of a political elder or a cultural elder to successfully merge the two through their truth. Otherwise they would be separating forces in politics – as is the case currently in Northern Sri Lanka. Those officials who deviated from the lawful path to ‘win’ will also be separating forces wherever they go. They may become President or Judge to their people – but the karma would follow them. Karma – be it positive or negative – is the Universal Franchise.

During the recent American Presidential elections, there were divisions within the Tamil Diaspora in the USA – due to this karma. It is to eliminate such separation karma that the Electoral College system exists. This system eliminates the votes that carry separatism forces. In a Court of Law, irrelevant facts are eliminated so the truth of the matter is raised to the level to which the law has been raised. Likewise, lower level expectations included in the ‘Popular Vote’ are eliminated by the process of law – so the remainder  would merge with the truth discovered through the judicial pathway.  That is how the Universal Franchise works in Democracy. Every place and time where this is achieved becomes source of absolute power which empowers believers naturally. This is governing power. One who achieves this lives in and emanates peace.