24  December 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

GTF DOCUMENT  PROPOSES DOWRY

 

‘It emphasizes on adhering to international obligations and pursuing an independent foreign policy to position Sri Lanka among peaceful, democratic nations globally. Additionally, it envisions a reconciled Sri Lanka that learns from its history, ensuring measures like accountability to prevent past suffering.’ – ‘Simplifying A ‘Himalayan Task’ : GTF & Bikkhu Group’s Commendable Approach ‘by KKS Perera

 

There is a distinct difference between the Dowry to daughters and Muthusum to sons in the Jaffna Tamil customary law of Thesawalamai. Whilst the money value of Dowry tends to be greater than the  money value of residual wealth inherited by the sons, the Equal Opportunity principles  are upheld at total level, through time and place. Time in terms of sons and place in terms   of daughters who have to adjust to new culture of the husband’s family.

Applying that to the community , those who emigrated to other countries, taking their money wealth from Sri Lanka, are like the daughters. Those who stayed back and/or leave behind their money wealth in Sri Lanka, are like sons, with first right to the Tamil Heritage and its development.

Mr Perera states about the reception to GTF:

‘These receptions might suggest a potential shift in attitudes or a willingness to engage in dialogue and reconciliation efforts, given the sensitive historical and political context surrounding Tamil diaspora organizations and their interactions with Sri Lankan authorities.’

 

Historical approach would be strongly influenced by our respective karmas. Political approach would be strongly influenced by Democracy of global standards. Hence international obligations, would need to be the responsibility of the Diaspora and Reconciliation needs to be the responsibility of Tamils residing in Sri Lanka.

Given that Buddhist Monks are leading this initiative, it might be an opportune moment to balancing the higher position afforded to Buddhism in the constitution. This is needed by Buddhists who benefit from taking senior position above religious minorities.

The essence of the inequality is residing as part of the political karma. Equal footing is essential in a democratic structure. The fundamental rights section guarantees Equal rights on the basis of belief. This is in natural opposition with Buddhism Foremost article in the constitution. If therefore a Buddhist parliamentarian takes higher position over a non-Buddhist parliamentarian, on the basis of religion, the result is damage to the democratic structure of the Parliament, by the parliament. Thus autocracy and democracy are in continuous conflict with each other within the parliament. This structural damage spreads exponentially through those who believe in the respective parliamentarians.  In Democracy, there needs to be separation of powers between two diverse cultures. With devolution of powers, this mental separation could be achieved. This has to be through Politicians and not Buddhist monks,

 

 

 

22  December 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

 

HINDU BRAHMINS V BUDDHIST MONKS

GTF & BUDDHIST CLERGY

 

Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth. – Mahatma Gandhi.

 

On 17 March 2021, I wrote under the subject matter ‘GTF vs LTTE.  On 19 December 2023, I was referred to the article headed ‘GTF-monks’ Himalaya Declaration: Asgiri Chapter backs imprecise yet progressive objectives’

 

It came to me through a Tamil Diaspora Elder. Another Elder responded ‘Imprecise is the accurate  term’.

The former concluded ‘Against this backdrop, the Siam Sect’s Asgiri Chapter’s Supreme Sangha (Buddhist clergy) Council’s Secretary Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Thera yesterday (18) told The Daily Morning that the Asgiri Chapter will not obstruct any efforts which are being taken to restore national harmony and reconciliation, and that therefore, the said declaration will also be supported by the chapter in spite of the parties who drafted it, only if it does not harm the coexistence and territorial integrity of the country.’

I responded to this as follows:

“Our former PM John Howard often used the word ‘coexistence’. I rejected it then and do so now. We need to merge as sovereign communities  or relate through common laws and principles. Coexistence sounds lifeless and seems to promote ‘sitting on the fence’ attitude.”

Below are some excerpts from our discussion with those who contribute to Commonness:

Common Tamil Elder:   It would be good to have good relations with the Buddhist Monks, as most have good qualities, and are trustworthy compared to politicians. I remember Uncle X who was a good Buddhist as well as having a very open mind.

Perhaps at last we can move forward towards cordial and peaceful co-existence.

I knew so many Buddhists at University, sports and at work, never having any conflicts. We Sri Lankans are friendly and connected by similar religions.’

 

Gaja: Monks are the parallels of Brahmins. Brahmins promoted caste based discrimination due to their desires. When that force was beyond their control, it produced its enemy in the form of  Sinhalese politicians. Otherwise, the junior caste would have resorted to reverse discrimination and it would have seriously damaged our investment in higher education. In the case of Buddhist monks the risk is promoted by ‘Buddhism foremost’ policy. Given that both – Brahmins and  Monks claim to be close to the ‘absolute’ when they ‘cheat’ the ‘opposite return is also close to absolute. Hence GTF does not have the capacity to naturally offset  the exponential spread of the almost absolute return of Buddhism foremost. In fact by dealing directly with the monks, they are disadvantaging the secular part of the Tamil community. LTTE on the other hand is promoting investments in temples. If GTF has merged with LTTE, then the resulting war would be like Hamas v Israel

Common Tamil Elder: You have made very valid points , Gaja.  I am in agreement with most of your points of view; as per my understanding the majority of the organizations in the Tamil diaspora - post July ‘83 - had been sympathetic towards the causes of Tamil militancy: not only the LTTE , EROS, EPRLF even the other minor groups, had diaspora associations allied to them, though the LTTE supporters dominated influencing diaspora organizations. As far as I had been given to understand the members of the GTF were a bunch of vacillating individuals , shifting their alliances and varying their policies regarding Tamil self determination: the members of the Forum seemed a more affluent lot than the other associations with greater mobility. The members of the British Tamil Forum have always been more steadfast in their stand concerning Tamil aspirations . The rest of the diaspora lot who had been supporting the LTTE , subsequently shunned the GTF .

 

Gaja: Thank you Aiya. You state :

 

[The members of the British Tamil Forum have always been more steadfast in their stand concerning Tamil aspirations]

This is confirmed by my knowledge. With LTTE, I have deep intelligence by living with them as part of them. They inform me from within

Common Tamil Elder: Thank you for your opinion, Gaja.

Gaja: Thank you for your analysis

 

Common Tamil Elder: The Brahmins are selfish, inventing castism to put themselves above other professions, when the advaita principle clearly puts everyone on the same level as Atmas.

 

Gaja: Yes. When we realise the  formless, we appreciate the Oneness of the Soul. But where majority in the whole, are primary level thinkers we need competition and therefore two sides through which to realise the whole. Sports are examples of this. Hence in Democracy, Equal status for Opposition. But the catch is to invoke the invisible power of our ancestry through the vertical pathway. Brahmins became ritualistic and ‘forgot’ that the junior castes were part of themselves. Hence they lost insight into their own juniors. To the extent Junior caste folks were true to their own forms of God, they get separated by Truth itself. But when we realise their truth, their insight into juniors gets restored and they become One whole. There are many such seniors amongst Tamils.

 

Common Tamil Elder: Buddhist Monks on the other hand arose from the rejection by the Lord Buddha of the false inequality among humans.

Gaja:  Thus they became Buddha’s Opposition. Hence they empowered genuine Tamils who opposed the Buddhist government.

 

Common Tamil Elder: I am personally against any terrorist organization starting another civil war, when a peaceful approach tallies with Buddhist and Hindu principles.

Gaja: Some wars prevent Terrorism.

 

Common Tamil Elder: The Bhagavad Gita of course dwelt on DUTY and GOD's will.

Gaja: Duty arises when we have a structure. Structure forms naturally when we make sacrifices of earned benefits.

The sacrifices we made become our intuitive intelligence. When this happens, there is natural restructure of our system. The pathways through which we made  those sacrifices become the protecting armour/kavasam. Karnan was born with such kavas am. Every morning  I pray to Sun to help me protect my opportunities and also to render me the Energy to work those structures. My husband’s senior at the workplace,  (he was of Hungarian origin) said to me at the hospital that I was like the sun around whom the family revolved. Our daughter and Param were hospitalised after a vehicle knocked them down at a pedestrian crossing. I relied on that ‘certificate’ to sustain me through that trauma. This strengthened my structure.

 

 

Common Tamil Elder: The Pandavas under Lord Krishna tried all peaceful methods before resorting to War.

Gaja: Hence the natural restructure that upholds the values espoused through  Bhagavad Gita

 

Common Tamil Elder:  Just my opinion that another Civil War will damage all credibility of the minority Tamils, and make us outcasts in Sri Lanka.

Gaja: No one but ourselves can make us outcasts according to Advaita.

 

Common Tamil Elder: The World in this Kali Yuga too readily tries to solve all problems with force.

Gaja: Hence it is necessary to use intellectual/educational power to Oppose and prevent us sliding down to Asura level, while claiming status as intellectuals.

 

Common Tamil Elder: LTTE investments in temples seem hypocritical, as are the investments in Buddhist Viharas in the North East.

Gaja:  This in essence means you are against GTF partnership with Monks.

If you observe impartially, you will note that most in North are Vairavar / Kali temples .

‘as are the investments in Buddhist Viharas in the in the North East’

Not if they have merged Buddha with Muruga, and Kaliamman.

 

Common Tamil Elder:  It would be best if both sides invested in the knowledge of their respective Religions such as AHIMSA.

There is no room for PRIDE and VIOLENCE, promoting the concept of separation.

 

The Elder then referred us to the Sri Lanka Guardian Editorial ‘Himalaya Declaration: Bridging the Chasm Between Rhetoric and Reality’

I then thought of Nilantha Ilangamuwa, the founding editor of Sri Lanka Guardian, who valued my articles to regularly publish them.  In its own way that past investment drew my attention to the line ‘The Himalaya Declaration emerges as both a lyrical ode to the stunning landscapes of Nagarkot….

Then as is my way, I looked up Wikipedia and found the following:

Situated in a strategic location, Nagarkot was an ancient fort of the Kathmandu valley built to monitor the external activities of other kingdoms. Later, it became a summer retreat for the royal family before becoming popular as an international hill station.’

This meant it protected the then leaders through ‘intelligence’ about outsiders. Then I felt the intuitive urge to look up Nagar and the following came to me from NAGAR.org:

‘Nagars are believed to be one of the oldest of the Brahmin groups. Historians claim the origin of Nagars to be purely Aryan, having come to India from Southern Europe and Central Asia. They migrated through the Hindu Kush to either Trivishtapa or Tibet; later through Kashmir and settled around Kurukshetra.’

 

It was intuitive intelligence, invoked by a service oriented group of Sri Lankan Elders of Tamil origin. Kurukshetra is the birth place of  Bhagavad Gita . I felt that Lord Krishna was blessing our group of Elders.

 

12  December 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

 

MAJORTY RULE & MINORITY INTELLIGENCE

 

Knowingly or otherwise, the more I used the law, to oppose majority rule, the more secure I felt within. Gradually I realised that I felt more intelligent, when I opposed illogical majority rule. They often seemed illogical due to lower level of investment, relative to mine. This was a key issue that led to the ethnic war in Sri Lanka. I am a minority in both my home nations – Sri Lanka & Australia. My family invested in Education as a priority. The following Wikipedia account confirms this at community level:

 

‘In 1969, the Northern Province, which was largely populated by Tamils and comprised 7% of the population of the country, provided 27.5 percent of the entrants to science-based courses in Sri Lankan universities. By 1974, this was reduced to 7%’ ……

‘The policy of standardization was a policy implemented by the Sri Lankan government in 1971 to curtail the number of Tamil students selected for certain faculties in the universities. In 1972, the government added a district quota as a parameter within each language’

Whoever sought majority to be ‘seen’ as leaders, had enough ‘intelligence’ to work out this policy. But, they failed to appreciate that as a group, their intelligence was equal to that of their Opposition. That is the law of Democracy. Hence Equal Opposition. Those who believe in Democracy, would naturally respect and facilitate Equal Opportunity.

 

This meant that as individuals, each member of majority group had to be less intelligent than a member of minority who felt ownership in Sri Lanka, through an alternate pathway, to the government. This was in fact facilitated by the government through ‘Buddhism foremost’ article in the 1972 constitution.  The quota system also was introduced in 1972.

Given that Lord Buddha is a realised soul, the ‘Buddhism Foremost’ power would have had to be offset by lower intelligence per member, to Equal the polarised power for Sri Lanka to maintain her sovereign power. By claiming the benefits of Democracy, but failing to facilitate Equal Opportunity to express the Opposition, the government kept losing Democratic power. But true Buddhists, completed the cycle at lower level, through JVP rebellion. According to Wikipedia:

‘Chinese diplomats allegedly contacted North Korea, which supplied weapons and ammunition to the JVP.’

Thus, the fundamental requirement of self-sufficiency, to claim ‘sovereignty’ was damaged by majority group in 1971. Standardization and quota system made were ways of compensating the majority, out of minority’s pocket.

But Buddha was present, and was sharing his soul /sovereign  power with all Sri Lankans.  So Long as ‘Buddhism foremost’  article  is present in the Constitution, minorities who believe that Sri Lanka is their ‘home’ will be more intelligent than an individual member of majority group that relies on majority power. This is true Democratic power.

All that minorities have to do to be more intelligent than majority is to maintain their sovereign power, even if they are minority of one.

Hence, Gandhi who was Sovereign said ‘Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.’ Truth is Sovereign.

 

 

 

09 December 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

 

 

 

SOUL POWER OF WAR

I decided to share my own feelings on remembering the dead, when I found the article headed ‘THE ONLY ME TAMIL’, written  on 16 September 2022. https://austms.blogspot.com/2022/09/httpaustms.html.

 

That article begins as follows:

‘Significant number of Diaspora Tamils claim that the ethnic war, using weapons was due to Racial Discrimination. I also attributed Racial Discrimination as the reason for the pain I felt at the University of NSW. I fought on that basis in courts of law. They all dismissed me.’

 

The difference between the Tamil Diaspora claim and mine is that mine is direct experience, and the reasoning is also mine. The judgment is a conclusion of the reasoning.

 

The conclusions in the Sri Lankan ethnic war are being written by various political groups, including local groups but not limited to them. Why is it important to honour our dead? What happens if we make a profit out of it?

When we die, we become of heritage value. Some positive and others negative. When we value the person through positives, we inherit the positives. If we fail to value them, and we are indebted to them, we inherit their sins. Hence it is better to memorialize than not to.  

As per Economy Next article ‘Sri Lanka FM hits out at double standards of Western nations on human rights’

 

“What we advise is people can do memorialization. We don’t have an issue with that. Even the parents of Prabakaran (LTTE leader) can have a remembrance event for their son. But don’t glorify LTTE,” he said.

“Memorializing your loved ones, we have absolutely no problem. But glorifying a banned terrorist organization which brought violence to this country, which sent a generation of Tamils backward, we don’t want a repeat of that. No one wants that.”

 

I disagree and Oppose the above claim. It is the Fundamental rights of those Tamils who believe in the LTTE, to memorialize them.  It is a fundamental right to so mourn, as per article 14, of the Sri Lankan Constitution:

 

14. (1) Every citizen is entitled to – (a) the freedom of speech and expression including publication; (b) the freedom of peaceful assembly; (c) the freedom of association;

 

Belief is the essential requirement to qualify to practice the fundamental right. It must be practiced within the sovereign borders of one’s belief. If it interferes with the practice of an alternate faith, it is proven to be less than belief.

Minorities who exercise their right as per the law, are honouring the political ancestors who gave us those laws. If we allow those laws to die, or worse, kill them by overriding them through likes and dislikes of majority, that is like disrespecting those elders, many of whom are also dead.

 

Referring to the LTTE as ‘terrorist organization’ confirms that the government does not believe that the LTTE is dead. Hence the fear.

The weapon of minority is to believe in the law and adherence to the law.

If minorities react to majority, they would also be equally unlawful as majority.

Majority is linear measure. Truth is invisible and its spread is exponential.  Hence when majority fail the law, minority need to oppose it through the invisible, time based pathway. The closer we are to the Absolute, the stronger the exponentiality of the spread. Those driven by the physical would need majority rule. If minorities also seek visible power, they become separatists.

 

Minority who resorted an intellectual solution in 2018, defeated the government elected by majority. If affected Tamils take Court action, when arrested  for practising their faith, the merged spirit of the Hon G G Ponnambalam who demonstrated belief in Equal Opportunity, and the Hon J R Jayawardene would complete the Sovereign circle of Sri Lanka. Time based power is power of One. It would defeat majority power when belief is the base.

That is how tradition, practised quietly defeats visible linear power of majority.