Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

15 November 2021

 

CORONA VIRUS - NATURAL

The 2004 Tsunami was considered a Natural disaster in Sri Lanka. The ethnic war was considered to be human disaster by most Sri Lankans – especially the government and the Armed militants. Then we got the Pandemic – which thus far has qualified as a Natural Disaster. As our immediate past Premier Ms Gladys Berejiklian  said during her sharing with us, the virus ‘had its own mind’. To my mind, this is the reason why the cause that the human mind can deal with has not been published in acceptable scientific form. This morning as I read Dr Asoka Dissanayake’s following statement, I recalled another academic who stated that the conflict I had with  the Director of Finance was ‘Philosophical’ : Asoka said

‘It is difficult to define philosophy, since they juggle with words of their own creations which two of them will never agree.’

In my case the academic who used that excuse was juggling with words. Given that I thought my work had been valuable to that academic I felt deeply hurt that he did not take a stand as per the value to him. By enduring that pain without retaliating I accumulated corporate intelligence through my insight into academic conduct as well. That to me is Ultimate Reality. Asoka goes on as follows:

[Coming to religion the brain has no dedicated portion even in a Meditation Master's indulgence in a is self deluded state of trance or ecstasy. That brings me to the question "Does man need a religion for  survival?".  My Opinion is a big NO…….. But the Coronavirus has exposed the vulnerability of all religions including Buddhism (below the belt argument of me is that the Pirith Reciting has not ameliorated the pandemic).]

My response was as follows:

[Asoka, to my mind science is also a religion. We call its destination Truth instead of God. In science, the value is Absolute. With god as destination -  we call the pathways ‘religion’. The question is whether Buddhism is science or god based pathway]

To identify with the reason why we get or did not get the disease – one needs to go into oneself – as per one’s own known science / religion. A believer would get the intelligence at the depth of her/his belief. This would not work for others in the same way, with that intelligence as the destination. It could even be a Natural war against abuse of science. Pirith chanting would not work for those who do not believe in Buddhism. Those who believe would identify with why they were affected the way they were. Likewise in terms of Economy.

As per the Sunday Observer Editorial -  A bold new direction:

[As expected, the Budget allocated a significant sum for defence. Sri Lanka cannot afford to let the guard down as there are multiple threats to national security from transnational terrorist networks (as seen in the Easter Sunday attacks), transnational organised crime, maritime poaching, sea piracy, illegal migration, people smuggling/trafficking, drug running, cybercrime and white collar crime. Indian investigators also believe that attempts are being made to revive the LTTE which was militarily crushed in 2009. All these require enhanced surveillance on land, sea and air. Our Security Forces and Police/STF must maintain constant vigilance. They also have the added burden of playing a leading role in pandemic and natural disaster mitigation efforts.]

Which of these are natural and which are man-made? Take for example the LTTE contingency. If the LTTE were believed to have been ‘crushed’ in 2009, that same mind would not believe that there was a need for allocation of resources specific to the LTTE. Also if the caution was against LTTE and not the Tamil community in common – a proportionately larger allocation than the cost of the armed war would be needed. The more natural the problem is – the uncontrollable would the manifestations be, due to it having its own mind. Given that the above section of the budget has not included specifics against Tsunami, Floods etc. one is entitled to conclude that LTTE is a natural disaster to the Government. In contrast, Singapore’s Head of State presented the clear policy in positive approach to racial diversity –

[Lee, in a social media post, said that the Members of Parliament "firmly rejected attempts to use Singaporeans' fears and anxieties to divide and weaken us."Singapore must remain open and welcoming to foreigners, he said, adding that it "bodes well" for Singapore's future. ng, Parliament passed a motion by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on securing Singaporeans' jobs and livelihoods, after a 10-hour debate that started on Tuesday afternoon and carried on past midnight.

Parliament also rejected a competing motion by the Opposition, who called on

government to "take urgent and concrete action to address widespread anxiety among Singaporeans on jobs and livelihoods caused by the foreign talent policy".

Lee said that the 10-hour debate in Parliament was important.

"At stake were not just our policies on foreigners, but the values of our society, and our confidence and resolve to face an uncertain world, and chart our way forward together.

"Foreigners who live and work here contribute to our economy and society.

They are very much a part of our local community," the Channel News Asia quoted the Prime Minister from the Facebook post.

After the debate on foreign labour, a motion on securing Singaporeans' jobs was passed in Parliament.

"Our policies on foreign workers have created many jobs and opportunities.

Still, Singaporeans are anxious and concerned about competition from the foreigners working here.

We are addressing these concerns and the problems caused by having a large foreign population in our midst.

"If we turn inwards and become hostile to them, it would ruin us as a global hub and cost us investments and jobs," Lee added.] New Indian Express

 

There is a component of race factor which has its roots in the caste system. This morning I highlighted the reality as follows –

As per my discovery – taking Vaddukoddai as a whole – the discrimination by the senior caste equalises the reverse discrimination by the junior castes. It is important that during this time we become as commercial as possible so that caste is not hijacked to defeat ethnic diversity. Promoting the special skills of junior castes would, I believe help us bring about this equality. At the moment we are focusing on this in the Toddy Tapper community of Thunaivi – where folks are specialising in Karate and Theru Koothoo such as Kaathavarayan Koothu To  the extent we are reluctant to use Affirmative action to  negate the advantage that senior castes have, we need to keep our distance and not desire for quick positive-looking outcomes.  One Tamil Diaspora leader wrote in response Mr Lee’s speech –

‘a chip off the old block not an ordinary bloke’

My response was – ‘It is politically correct in terms of wider world’s goodwill. He is clever and I think he does care. The old block accumulated rich heritage in India where families paid tribute when he left his mortal coil. He may have been driven by economic progress but the effect was this oneness with India’s workers. That is a rich heritage to the son who obviously respects his father.’

This is also the Business Unit approach in Democratic Resource Management which has the effect of eliminating unjust discrimination – often due to discreet values that have gone obsolete

The deeper we go the less controllable an issue becomes. At the level of Truth it has no form and is naturally independent of us. Be it racism, casteism or a disease – the more we neglect it – the more natural it becomes. At that level – the problem mutates to complete its path and it is futile to plan against it. If we respect its independence we would observe and prevent return.