D S SENANAYAKE ANSWERED THE CALL

The power of motivation is often invisible. But this is the root of a manifestation. It works for us anywhere anytime. The work we  do as ‘service’ and the sacrifices we make for the Common Good – accumulate as ‘intelligence’ and mature as ‘wisdom’. Wisdom spreads itself. The media has ‘freedom’ to publish the truth or just report as it ‘saw’ and ‘heard’ at the time and place of manifestation. I believe that I have bound myself by this law in sharing with the groups I feel part of.  My book ‘Naan Australian’ got carried to National Library of Australia through such an invisible force. Likewise, when I stayed at Galadari Hotel in 2004, to celebrate the 25^th Anniversary of Air Lanka, I responded to the Daily News report ‘The relevance of Ahimsa’ of the keynote address by Justice C. G. Weeramantry, former Vice President of the International Court of Justice. My response was published on 01 November 2004. But I did not know about it – the same way I did not know that my book ‘Naan Australian was with National Library of Australia. I discovered later when I google searched  my name. The significance was the ‘timing’.  On 01 November 2004, I was sent to Prince of Wales hospital by Waverley Local Court – to be tested for mental instability. That experience is in chapter 25 of my book which includes the following:

[Dr. Peter Vaux – who was the senior Registrar of the psychiatric unit of Prince of Wales Hospital to which Magistrate Gilmour sent me  on 01 November 2004, wrote to the Courts – that the matter needed to be resolved legally and that I was mentally stable. Dr. Vaux said to Jodi who was interviewed as a family member – that I was like Gandhi.  During the interview I shared with Dr. Vaux my experience with Sathya Sai Baba and how the holy powder had materialized on my picture of  Him.  Dr. Vaux smiled and said he had knowledge of such materializations.  Dr. Vaux asked me also ‘So, what did you do when you went to see the Vice Chancellor? Just sat there and waited?’  I smiled and said I sat there and read the books I had taken with me.  To me at that time – this was the value of my work for the Hospital system when I was Revenue Manager of South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service.  It was because I had invested in that system by doing more than what I was getting paid for – that I was able to share as a common owner with Dr. Vaux who to me was also an owner and not mere employee. An owner is higher than an employer who is higher than an employee. At the UNSW – the Chancellors were owners but the Vice Chancellors were mere employers. An employee contributing more than is required by her/his position is likely to become an owner more quickly than an employer who does less than her/his duties.  Hence they were the ones who required my approval to enter the area that I was occupying as an owner in that University.  ]

 

 The Commonness that worked for me was not only Australian Health Service – but the Judicial power of the position held by Dr Weeramantry who declared that Gandhi’s power was higher than his. That consolidated power worked to prevent further injustice by the Court to itself.

To my mind, the appointment  of Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister was due to such power.

The ABC reports as follows – under the heading ‘Sri Lanka names Ranil Wickremesinghe new PM in bid to address growing crisis

[Ranil Wickremesinghe, a political veteran who has been prime minister of the island nation five times before, faces the daunting task of leading his country through its worst economic crisis since independence.

a political veteran who has been prime minister of the island nation five times before, faces the daunting task of leading his country through its worst economic crisis since independence.]

Each true investor in Sri Lanka would reason as per her/his logic. They would all merge to work the system and address Sri Lanka’s current needs. Mine is as follows:

[In June 2019, I booked to stay at Galadari Hotel. On 29 June 2019 I posted the following:

‘Recently I said to a Lankan journalist that I paid my respects to Mr D S Senanayake every morning of my stay here at Galadari hotel. Then the young journalist said that Mr D S Senanayake also had favoured his son Mr Dudley Senanayake above Mr SWRD Bandaranaike who then broke away from the UNP to form the SLFP. I stated that I had no knowledge of that but that the UNP seemed more of an heir of the British system which was more easy for me to follow due to my own background……..

The above account of ‘what happened’ contradicts the ‘judgment’ by the young Lankan journalist and cleared the status of Mr D S Senanayake in my mind. I concluded that the young journalist lacked the ‘experience’ to identify with the truth. If the young journalist had respected Mr SWRD Bandaranaike as his elder - then he would have stated the parallel of my appreciation for Mr D S Senanayake. Instead by finding fault - the Lankan journalist  was taking senior position above Mr D S Senanayake. This is a serious risk with those who lack the experience but enjoy ‘freedom of expression’. 

 

By genuinely respecting seniors and elders - we bring them into ourselves. Knowledge without experience blocks this merger with the past. Truth is experienced. Fact is a starting point or destination of that travel through truth. To the extent Mr D S Senanayake and I believed in the British heritage - we become ‘common’. To majority Tamils whose higher education is of heritage value - the likes of  Mr D S Senanayake would be part of that heritage. Here in Colombo CBD when I go to places like Pagoda Restaurant where I had quality food but tightly budgeted - I have the positive deja vu experience. It is positive because I can now afford much more than I did as a student. But the quantity is still the same - due to my age. But the feeling of financial affordability is great. The past experience where I lived within my budget supports my current feeling of true ‘freedom’ from desire. ]

 

Recently, sensing that Kumar Sangakara was being promoted as a political hero – by merely joining the protestors – I strongly opposed it and invoked UNP power. This power is well accepted in Jaffna and I shared this through my article headed ‘UNP Blessed in Northern Sri Lanka’  - published on 15 August – India’s Independence anniversary.

 

When the UNP did not win seats in the 2020 elections I was downhearted and confused as to what went wrong? But now I realise that we needed to go through the pain to become independent of our past. UNP divided due to lack of respect for global minded elders like Mr Wickremesinghe. This in a way freed us from thuggery during UNP rule.

 

The LTTE deprived us from exercising our votes in 2005 which brought Mr Rajapaksa his victory as President. The whole Northern and Eastern provinces failed themselves and their politicians due to fear of LTTE.  Many took defeat as ‘failure’. Mr Wickremesinghe has ‘staying power’ and a Tamil coalition with UNP would confirm that Sri Lanka’s ethnic divide belongs to the past

To me, it was no coincidence that the Peaceful Protestors assembled in front of the old Parliament where the statue of Mr D S Senanayake is.