Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 September   2021

Indicators v Proof

There is a Tamil saying – Penn Puthi, Pinn Puthi / the intellect of the woman is hindsight. I was reminded of this when I read the email headed :

‘Rajini Rajasingham Thiranagama : Unforgettable Symbol of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tragedy’

The note from a Medical Professor stated:

‘Please read the story of this brave woman Dr Rajini who laid down her life for a cause. A very sad story.’

My response was: I doubt that you would have felt this way if Rajini had been part of this group. Yours to my mind is a kind of blindsight in hindsight

The above response was based on my own independent assessment of the above person through my truth, given form through the above Tamil saying. My search for current form took me to this:

[Blindsight is defined by the Oxford Concise Dictionary as "Medicine: a condition in which the sufferer responds to visual stimuli without consciously perceiving them," implicitly referring, of course, to human patients. The historical origins, however, stem from animal research and neuroanatomy. ]

That is the medical explanation. Mine was cultural. Since I do not need to prove myself to others – the cultural base is enough for my purposes. This is the purpose of developing Performance Indicators.

The Morning Editorial headed ‘Police state or policing the State?’ – to my mind is also based on hindsight. It states for example:

[The reality is that every government has failed to deliver what it promised. If it were the contrary, by now, Sri Lanka would be a First World country. Instead, the country finds itself going deeper into a hole with each government it elects. If a finger is to be pointed, it has to be at the state sector, which, instead of standing its ground, has become servile to political masters as a result of its backbone being systematically crushed every five years or so by a so-called mandate.]

Hindsight as per my discovery is ‘effects-driven’ which is also the way of animals which need stronger physical abilities than humans with higher intelligence. The Morning was in existence when this government was elected. If this medium was cause-driven it would have educated the voters as per the Truth it has discovered about Sri Lankans.

Take for example the quote:

‘If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.’

And the explanation:

[Over 200 years after these prophetic words were uttered by French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte, providing a rare insight into his own philosophy that helped overcome challenges military might simply could not, the words are as relevant today in the local political context as they were when first spoken. In essence, it all boils down to telling people what they want to hear and making promises that are never intended to be kept, with the sole intention of gaining power.]

The problem here is that Napoleon Bonaparte was French and of another era. To be cause-driven – the editor needed to show a Sri Lankan example or at least a Sinhalese example. The Tamil Sri Lankan ancestor is Saint Yoga Swami who said ‘Summa Iru’/Be Still. But then Swami is not Globally recognised like Napoleon Bonaparte. So, Sri Lankan voters did not have the blessings to vote for one with steady mind.

Many of us identify with others’ pain through what happened. But the experience needs to be given form through our own measures / the measures we believe in. When the measures are common we have contributed to 50% of Commonness. Likewise when the experience is common. When both are close to 50% there is no need for express promises and agreements. Hence Be Still.