Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
02 April 2017
India’s Sai Baba, Jaffna’s Yoga Swami, Kandy’s Saint?
The other day at the gathering of Tamil
Seniors here in Sydney I introduced Mr. Shiva Pasupati, former Attorney General
of Sri Lanka, to a younger senior lady lawyer. My expectations as per my
cultural mind-structure was for the lady to be happy to meet such a leader in
person. But the lady did not even stand up despite all others in that group
standing up. After Mr. Pasupati left the group I asked this lady whom I met
that day for the second time – as to why she did not stand up? The lady
promptly said that she was taught that ladies don’t stand up!!!! I said to her that was Peethal Paranghi /
Broken English culture. It is significant to know that this lady is a Catholic
and that she did not practice law here in Australia. The lady is of Jaffna
Tamil origin. If the lady had been a practicing Hindu of Jaffna – or if she had
attributed credit to her legal profession of Sri Lanka for at least part of her
current social status – the lady would have recognized Mr. Shiva Pasupati as
her senior and shown respect. As per my interpretation – ladies are taken to be
seniors until known otherwise and hence like the queen they did not standup to
shake hands when introduced. I concluded that this lady had profited from the
war and hence her migration to Australia. The lady herself did not have a firm
structure through which to regulate her thoughts, words and actions. Hindus of
Jaffna would pay their respects to Pasupati family and in Sydney particularly
to Mrs. Isha Pasupati and Mr. Samy Pasupati who have been leading the
activities of honoring Saint Yoga Swami of Jaffna. This is a strong foundation
on which the Hindu Community of Sydney comes together through common Sri Lankan
heritage.
Similarly Indian Guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba
who is celebrated including by Christians and Buddhists all over the world. I
have knowledge that most Buddhists of Sri Lanka commonly mention the Mahavamsa
as the source of the Buddhist mind-structure but I have no knowledge of a
Common Buddhist leader of Sri Lanka, accepted beyond her/his local area. Mr.
Upali Cooray states in his Colombo Telegraph article ‘Sinhala-Buddhist Culture & Reconciliation’:
[The “Mahavamsa”
or the Great Chronicle is said to be the main cause for “Sinhala Buddhist
mentality” of the majority community which is supposed to have conditioned the
Sinhala mind about their culture.
Mahavamsa which is not a part of Buddhist scriptures
such as the Tripitaka. It is a poetic narration of Sri Lanka’s history by the
Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Mahanama who lived in Maha Vihara Anuradhapura in late
fifth or early sixth century. Naturally a Buddhist priest is inclined to give
buddhism a prominent position though it is a chronicle on history of Sri Lanka
he was compiling. Therefore It is not unusual for the chronicler to creatively
include substantial fictional and mythical features but what is important here
is many of the socio-political historical facts written in Mahavamsa have been
established correct by other supporting evidence such as Epigraphs, and other
historical data discovered locally and in India. The edicts of Asoka are the
oldest, best preserved most accurately dated epigraphic records of India. The
mystery of these epigraphs was unveiled by James Prinsep in 1837 who deciphered
the asokan Brahmi scripts of epigraphs and identified King “Piyadassi”of the
edicts with king Asoka on the testimony of Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, in which
the title Piyadassi was given to Asoka. There are many more such instances where
Mahavamsa has been used to authenticate historical data discovered in India as
well as Sri Lanka. ]
In other words, majority Buddhists of Sri
Lanka do not separate Politics from religion.
It is important for us to note this at this
juncture when the opinion of Tamil Political leader in National Parliament is
reported by the Nation under the following heading:
‘Power
sharing within a united, undivided, indivisible country – Sumanthiran’
Mr. Sumanthiran states during the
interview:
[On
the question of foreign judges, the wording in the UNHRC Resolution 30/1 on
promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka adopted
on 2015 October 1, is very clear. It has separate categories including judges,
prosecutors, lawyers including defence counsels and investigators.
Internationals are not mentioned in the said Resolution in the
capacity of consultants or as those providing technical assistance. If the
latter was the case, the Resolution would state such. The roles are instead
specified. Any intelligent person can read and understand it. Sri Lanka
co-sponsored the said Resolution not once, but twice. The second time involves
the UNHRC Resolution 34/1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human
rights in Sri Lanka. Both contain the same words. Whatever that is said by
anyone to the contrary, outside the process, elsewhere, the two Resolutions,
commitments are given to the world.]
The essence of the above Resolution could
become part of UN’s Constitution. A reliable Constitution is a combination of
who we have truly been until now and where we aim to be on the basis of our
abilities and commitment to commonness.
To the average person, Reconciliation is
the process through which one side understands why the other side did what it
did, to produce ‘different outcomes’. The respective side’s outcomes when
produced without supervision by any other would confirm their true
Constitution.
The precondition is for each side to
present their outcomes independent of the other and share why they did what
they did when there is difference in outcomes produced under the same
principles. Towards this the two sides
are taken to be ‘independent’ of each other, until known otherwise. Once known
otherwise – the two become Unitary in structure and there can be no room for
reconciliation. They are marked right and wrong under the one structure. The
parties concerned become relatives and the side that gets more rights becomes the Senior.
When there is difference in interpretation, Senior’s interpretation is taken as
right. Where the principles are not the
same then we are foreigners to each other – even when living within one
territory.
Under a unitary state structure – two
nations structure within one country is not possible. The simplest example
through which we could relate to this is our own families. Under Unitary
structure – the oldest couple / parent remains the common head of the family.
The likes of Sathya Sai Baba and Yoga Swami are such examples of Hindu
leadership in the Indian Subcontinent. The Hindu leaders in Thiruketheesawaram
in Northern Sri Lanka state that the orders for their Catholic/Christian parallels come from the Vatican. To them there
is no local Catholic/Christian
leadership to provide subjective leadership. I once read someone’s report that
Chief Minister Wigneswaran’s instructions came from Australia!
Where children show outcomes independent of
the parents – as the above lady demonstrated – it places a ceiling on the subjective
leadership for that group – as happened in Sri Lanka through JVP in South and
LTTE in North. In families – especially migrant families where the parents are
‘attached’ to their past – children often show independent outcomes –
especially where they are ‘ambitious’ to be leaders in the new world. Where
parents also appreciate this and keep their distance – the outcomes would be
reconciled where the two outcomes are vastly diverse. That is the way of
harmonious coexistence even though the two may seem as one family on the
outside. Once children start producing their own outcomes independent of the
parents – they become Equal and different to that extent. Parents who are
attached to their past benefits would tend to cling to their old status and
infuse fear in their children that they – the children would not get the full
credit for their contribution – especially to the new culture that they are now
part of. The solution is independence at the earned level.
This requires also some degree of
separation at the physical level because seniors are likely to get hurt if
disrespected by the juniors who are now independent due to producing their own
independent outcomes without any reference to the seniors. When such seniors
are killed / suppressed (mentally and / or physically) by juniors – it becomes
a curse on the unit. When we as a community attribute credit to those who
developed higher mind structures, we offset the effects of such curse. That is
the significance of religion that is self-sufficient / sovereign in that part
of the world during a particular period.
Through religious pathway, India of our
period showed Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Jaffna showed Saint Yoga Swami. The more
we surrender our earnings (money and status) to them the more we offset the
effects of this ‘curse’. In Politics India has Gandhi during our period. Sri
Lankans in Common have not identified such a leader. Mr. Sumanthiran’s Political group has Mr. SJV
Chelvanayagam as their Spiritual leader. But there is often no attribution to this leader to confirm the subjective
pathway. Effectively therefore the above statements by Mr. Sumanthiran are
about his own cleverness. They do not invoke the power of those who sacrificed
in their own way for ‘independence’.
Sacrifice of what we believe to be ours
results in automatic development of Common structure that is available to all
those who are bound to us by Common faith. Such common structures are the true
bases that produce the laws that connect one part of the structure with another
– and these connections are known as
relationships. Those who practice those laws would naturally work the system
through the consolidated value of all those who contributed positively to that
system.
Those who produce their own outcomes and have
taken on leadership authority, are not entitled to lead the groups that follow
the older leaders. The two are separated by time/age and are independents. Mr.
Sumanthiran therefore has no authority to speak on behalf of those who consciously or otherwise accepted
LTTE leadership:
[The
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) confirmed that they would guarantee a significant
contribution from the Diaspora in terms of investments in the country’s
economy, if the new Constitution solved the Tamil issue and restored confidence
in Sri Lanka. TNA MP, Attorney-at-Law M.A. Sumanthiran made these
statements in an interview given to the Nation. He further added that the
Diaspora was keen in doing so.] – Nation article - TAMILS AWAIT THEIR DAY – SUMANTHIRAN
Mr. Sumanthiran is officially not a member
of the Diaspora. Hence he does not have the right to speak on behalf of the
Diaspora, except as part of global community including through religion. Those
of us independent of the TNA and other Political groups have been investing in
Sri Lanka for a long time – including during the war – through the gaps created
by ceasefire – official or unofficial. Family
uses barter system and not money. A Family that users money / economy as
the yardstick – confirms lack of Commonness.
Investment
of money without policy is Expenditure and would lead to disorder – not
only through young ones but seniors who now have more money in their hands than
they did back in Sri Lanka and hence disturb the old structure through which we
invested to become who we are today. Many of these seniors in the Diaspora
would try to be the bosses of Sri Lankans of their age or even older than they.
If the monies are invested through structures that fail to demonstrate global
standards – they would form coalitions of disorderly structures in Sri Lanka –
including within Government circles. The Lycamobile saga in which Indian cinema
superstar Rajinikanth was involved in relation to housing aid is an outstanding
example of such disorderliness. As per the latest news - Lycamobile is suing Sri Lankan Member of
Parliament – the Hon Charles Nirmalanathan for linking Lycamobile with former
President of Sri Lanka – the Hon Mahinda Rajapaksa. As a politician
representing Vanni District in National Parliament, the Hon Charles
Nirmalanathan is entitled to express his belief on behalf of his people. Given
that Mr. Rajapaksa is also an elected member of National Parliament – such
links could be classified as baseless but not defamatory. If on the other hand
one was linked to the LTTE which is officially classified as a Terrorist
organization – and it is not factual – as has happened to me many times –
especially by Sinhalese – then there would be grounds for defamation. Then
again there are jurisdictional issues where the statements were made in an area
not covered by the jurisdiction of judges – as in the case of ‘foreign judges
in relation to war-crimes’. Yet during his interview with Nation Mr. Sumanthiran
failed to take a stand on this:
Q: There have been various views on the cancellation of the visit to Sri
Lanka of actor, Rajinikanth. What is your view?
A : I
have no thoughts on this matter. It has nothing to do with our politics.
If the above is a true reflection of Mr.
Sumanthiran’s mind – then money brought into Sri Lanka through Mr. Sumanthiran’s
influence – is likely to be without a common base. Post war housing
construction is very much a Political issue. Easy money often promotes disorder
due to wrong leadership.
The example that comes to mind is that of
my sister in law who was primarily a home-maker and left it to me and my
husband to sponsor her family to Australia, but wrote directly to Barclays Bank
in London on the basis that she was the eldest who took her mother’s place when
the mother passed away. The lady did not attribute credit to her father who was
the one who made the sacrifices to develop that family’s structure. Also –
during that time – responsibilities of sons and daughters were separated and a
daughter cannot claim status over a son in ‘External status’ issues. Even
mothers do not have that authority beyond the local family borders.
As per the local laws of Thesawalamai that
the family is bound by – the sons inherit the father’s position to represent
the family. But this home-maker overrode that protocol once she had Australian
pension in her hands. This happens when our conduct is outcome based – as in
majority power. That is animal / asura culture which is also within us. So long
as we stay within those boundaries – and not damage higher structures through
majority power – we would not invoke the curses of saints.
The reason for excessive, unjust use of
majority power is indicated to be in the genes of majority race in Sri Lanka
and those who reacted to them. Mr. Upali Cooray reveals this as follows:
[I was watching in dismay the other day, how one of the
participants on a TV talk show analysing the well known story, the origin of
the Sinhalese; the story of “Sinhabahu”.
As the narrative goes briefly, a
Lion King cohabitated with a royal princess having imprisoned her in a cave in
the jungle and had two children by that relationship. Then the grown up son,
Sinhabahu rescues the mother and the sister by killing his Lion father and
cohabitates with his sister. King Vijaya, who is the progeny born out of the
Lion killer prince Sinha Bahu’s relationship with his sister, Sinha Seewalee,
is said to be the first Sinhalese who arrived with his entourage in Sri Lanka.
A son born by the cohabitation of a brother and sister. That is how the story
goes. Vijaya is supposed to have been banished from India with his followers on
grave crimes and aggression against people in India
According to this talk show participant, the Lion king a beast
living with a human female is “against the law”(Neethi virodee). He
did not say whether it is the current law or the law in the era they lived
which is applicable!. Secondly, he claimed it is incest when sister and brother
cohabitates. Therefore the Sinhalese should be ashamed of their origins.
Rationally correct. This be will be commented on later in this piece.]
If Lion and Tigers are leaders respectively – it
would be natural for those groups to be limited to that level of civilization.
Majority power leads to that structure of the animal kingdom where there is no
bar to biological parents enjoying pleasures with their children. It is still
not unlawful in most countries for people with vast age-gap to marry each
other. It’s the mind that sacrifices the physical and the immediate that
naturally develops the higher structure and earns the higher position. In the
animal world all that seems of the same size/structure are taken as Equals. Others are foreigners.
Sinhalese-Buddhists need a Buddhist leader of Sri Lanka, who so
sacrificed, to have the blessings of Article
9 which entitles Buddhism to be the foremost religion. Then they naturally set
aside the system of democracy to that extent. To the extent they take the
Mahavamsa directly and produce outcomes independent of such leadership and
those outcomes are diverse – they form their own nations. In the meantime – if minorities
share through Common Leader – spread their territory and form – for example –
Tamil Nation; Sai Baba Nation and Yoga Swami Nation. The higher the mind the
broader its reach. Minorities have the advantage of small group focus in the
privacy of which the mind is steadied and raised to the higher level. But those
distracted by majority power would tend to confuse matter with mind. That’s the
lesson to be learnt by both sides to the Sri Lankan war.
