29 September 2021
Death
Drive in Sri Lankan Psyche?
Recently there has been active discussion about the concept
of Sitrinpam/pleasure and Pehrinpam / bliss within family and community
circles. As per my understanding, pleasure has limited lifespan but Bliss is eternal.
Hence the worship of Lord Shiva through phallic symbol known as Lingam. To my
mind, the science known as Kamasutra is the way to bliss through the art of sex.
One needs strong discipline to reach that destination.
The above came to mind when my attention was drawn to the ‘DECLARATION
OF COMMON PRINCIPLES OF TAMILS’ included in the Tamil Guardian article ‘US Tamil organisations unite to call for referendum and Sri Lanka to be
charged with genocide ’
The reason for my connection could be the slip made recently
by the current American President who referred to our Australian Prime Minister
as ‘That Fella Down
Under’. There was also the following information from BBC:
[It was 1988 and the then-vice president, George
H. W. Bush, was on a routine visit to Idaho. He was supposed to give a dry
speech on agricultural policy and praise his successes alongside President
Reagan, live on television. Then he said: “We’ve had triumphs. Made some
mistakes. We’ve had some sex... uh... setbacks.”]
Later George Bush
senior’s name was dragged in relation to sexual misconduct.
I interpret these
through my own cultural values that have stood the test of time and place
changes. I therefore identify with secular values more easily than I otherwise
would have:
For example - Sigmund
Freud’s claims - "patient cannot
remember the whole of what is repressed in him, and ... is obliged to repeat the repressed material as a contemporary experience
instead of ... remembering it as something belonging to the past:"
As per my cultural value – pleasure is relative and
therefore at the primary level – one who enjoys pleasure must pay for it one
way or the other. Within family this happens through the barter system. Then it
gets balanced and is healthy. When this pleasure is renounced by the owner –
pleasure transcends to the higher level towards the sweetness of bliss. This is
facilitated through higher positions within the institution for those who
renounce pleasures through self-discipline. But when it is repressed including
by the self towards another enjoyment – it surfaces in a ‘free’ environment.
Both American presidents mentioned above confirmed such repression. The current
President confirmed it in terms of position power where he had to pretend to be
Equal to other heads of states. The true position allocated to Australian head
of state slipped through when he could not remember – and hence the Freudian slip.
As per my culture, pleasure = pain at equilibrium / breakeven
state. More pleasure and less pain leads to instability of the brain. But when
we renounce pleasure or accept more pain than the pleasure we recieve – there is
automatic formation of a structure – which
becomes the container that preserves ‘position
power’. The final destination is ‘ownership’. The power of renunciation is
often carried in laws and Due Processes that connect us to each other. Essential
is the feeling of ownership by the maker.
The above has been known to me for sometime now. But that
which was new was the Death
Drive
principle presented as follows by Wikipedia:
[In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive is the drive toward death and destruction, often expressed through
behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness. It was originally proposed by Sabina Spielrein in her paper "Destruction as the Cause
of Coming Into Being"]
I identified with
the above through my own conclusions about LTTE (Tamil) as well as JVP
(Sinhalese) rebels of Sri Lanka. The above mentioned ‘DECLARATION
OF COMMON PRINCIPLES OF TAMILS’ – given shape by Americans, has been signed by
the following:
Seetharam Sivam, President United States
Tamil Action Group(USTAG)
Meena Ilancheyan, President Tamil
Americans United PAC
Viswanathan Rudrakumaran, Prime Minister
Trans National Government of Tamil Eelam
Rajendra Nadaraja, President Ilankai
Thamil Sangam
Ravi Subramaniam, President World Tamil
Organization
Shanthini Jeyarajah, President North
Carolinians for Peace
Included in the above declaration is the following:
[Noting that the Vaddukoddai
Resolution was adopted on 14 May 1976 by the Tamil United Liberation Front
seeking to work for the creation of an independent State of Tamil Eelam, which
received an overwhelming mandate at the subsequent 1977 Parliamentary
Elections. ]
I have frequently made this connection between cause
and effect in my articles. This measure is now a natural part of me. The TGTE
as per my knowledge claimed to be the heir of the LTTE. The LTTE killed the
parents of Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976. The LTTE thus killed the parents
to occupy the leadership positions through military force. Their heirs carry
that sin. Hence they lack the political credibility to include the above in
their declarations. The Sinhala parallel of the LTTE is King Kasyapa I, known as Pithru Ghathaka Kashyapa (Kashyapa the Patricide).
The LTTE became a self-destructive when we apply Sigmund Freud’s theory :
‘the death drive is the drive toward death and destruction, often
expressed through behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness’
So, how would Tamil culture measure this?
The only suicidal event in Mahabharatham that comes to
mind is that of Prince Abhimanyu who fought as per the rules but was killed outside
the rules of war by the Opposition leaders. But that was not the case with LTTE
who fought ‘free’ of common rules. To the extent their cadre was oppressed –
including through denial of sexual pleasures - they would have developed the
urge to self-destruct. Sex is creative and its opposite death is destructive. Whoever becomes the heir
of LTTE would inherit this self-destructive Energy which cannot be managed by
the new generation – especially those in civilian life.
A good example is Mrs Ambihai Selvakumar
who claimed to honor Thileepan as a Martyr and went on a hunger strike in the
UK. LTTE’s Thileepan followed the local system which was in breach of Sri Lanka’s
laws. Mrs Ambihai Selvakumar
was claiming recognition at UN level – which is wishful thinking. Likewise,
others who keep desiring public credit through LTTE pathway. If they are
successful the loss would be our collective higher intelligence. This then
makes us slaves to those whose status we use towards this. Then Joe Biden is
likely to refer to Tamils as ‘those morons from the underworld.’
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