We don't want amendments, totally withdraw increased tariffs – NTUC tells President

MONDAY, 06 MAY 2013 

The National Trade Union Center (NTUC) in a letter to the President has stated that the amendment to the increased electricity tariff he announced on 1st May is unacceptable and the increased tariff should be totally withdrawn. The NTUC warns that the strike action arranged to be launched on the 21st would be definitely carried out with the support of the entire working masses if the government fails to withdraw the increased tariff.

The letter to the President by the NTUC states, 'the whole country knows that the electricity tariff was increased by the President and his government. Now the increased tariff has been amended taking into account the opposition of political parties, actions of trade unions and protest by the general public. However, what is necessary is not an amendment but total withdrawal of the increased electricity tariffs, and taking necessary measures to create a national policy regarding electricity tariffs. In doing so views and proposals of political parties, trade unions, associations of small and medium entrepreneurs, traders' association should be considered." The letter reminds the President that when he came to power he had said he was not the owner of the country but only the caretaker.

"However, according to the manner you act now it seems the sides have changed and you act as if you are the 'owner' of the country, states NTUC letter.

The leter asks eh President, "Why are electricity bills of ministers' official residences paid with taxes and fines collected from the public?

Why do you burden the masses without taking action regarding the 'electricity mafia'?

Why isn't an effort made to minimize the wasteful spending in generating electricity?

Why aren't private thermal power stations taken over by the CEB after paying them compensation?

Why is electricity wasted for carnivals, pageants and other unnecessary acts that are not worthwhile for masses and why do masses have to pay for these electricity bills?

Why isn't the refinery at Sapugaskanda revamped and why projects that are at the bottom of the priority list are implemented without constructing a new refinery?

Despite there are many more questions to be asked from you, we would like to inform you that we would not accept your amendment and to withdraw the increase in electricity tariffs. If not we would launch the trade union action on the 21st with the mediation and participation of all those who are against the increase in tariffs."

White Flags, Fonseka And Eroding Confidence After The Conflict

By Rajiva Wijesinha -May 6, 2013

Prof Rajiva Wijesinha MP

Political Machinations: Eroding Confidence After The Conflict

The beginning of the implosion of the President’s pluralistic vision, which had led him to sideline Sarath Fonseka and his hardline views in the aftermath of the war, began I believe with Fonseka’s effort to remake his image. He did this through his interview with the Sunday Leader where, assuming the Americans were right in their report of what he had said in Ambalangoda in August, he did a 180 degree turn, and accused his erstwhile superiors of having done what earlier he had claimed to do himself.

The Americans had cited a speech Fonseka had delivered which was publicized by Lankanewsweb, one of the many sites associated withMangala Samaraweera. That had reported Sarath Fonseka as having said, ‘I managed the war like a true soldier. I did not make decisions from A/C rooms. I was under pressure to stop the war even during the final phase. I got messages not to shoot those who are carrying white flags. A war is fought by soldiers. They do so by putting their lives on the line. Therefore, the decisions about war should be taken by the soldiers in the battlefront. Not the people in A/C rooms in Colombo. Our soldiers have seen in life the kind of destruction carried out by those people before they decided to come carrying a white flag. Therefore, they carried out their duties. We destroyed any one connected with the LTTE. That is how we won the war,’ Fonseka said at an event held in Ambalangoda to felicitate him on July 10.’

This gung-ho approach was not however suitable for someone aspiring to be a common candidate. In December therefore he told the Sunday Leader the opposite, declaring that it was in effect those in air conditioned rooms who had ordered that those carrying white flags be shot.

This seemed a sensational revelation, targeting as it clearly did Fonseka’s former superior and erstwhile comrade in arms, the Secretary of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Government promptly decided to have a press conference to refute the claim, and as previously when dealing with allegations of excesses on the part of the Sri Lankan forces, asked Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Minister of Human Rights, to handle the event.

It was then however that government became too clever by half, and decided to use the pronouncement for electoral gain. Samarasinghe had asked me as his Secretary to attend the press conference, but I was in Kandy and suggested that it be delayed. However when I rang back, having received from our consultant on Human Rights the details of what Fonseka was supposed to have said in August, it was to find that Samarasinghe had been sidelined. Unlike at all previous press conferences in this particular field, he was now to be only a bit player, with the main role being given to Wimal Weerawansa.

Weerawansa went to town, and laid claims then to being the most forceful campaigner for the President in the election that was due in January. He did this however not by pointing out that Fonseka had lied, but rather by claiming that he was a traitor. It had evidently been decided that this was the best strategy to adopt for the election, to stress patriotism rather than any other considerations.

The intensity with which Fonseka was criticized for letting down his troops led him to retract his statement. The Leader was bitterly disappointed, and claimed that he had ‘walked into the government’s trap…. Fonseka’s garbled and gradual retraction destroyed his credibility’. It claimed nevertheless that Fonseka ‘never showed any enthusiasm for the denial always admitting that he had said what he had said’, and indicated that the UNP was not upset about the stance Fonseka had taken. The Leader’s view was that the retraction was insisted upon by the JVP, which had always been as hard on the LTTE as Fonseka had been before his emergence as a common opposition candidate – and which continued to back Fonseka to the last, whereas the UNP leadership seemed to have second thoughts about him as the campaign progressed and Fonseka asserted himself more and more.

Weerawansa’s solid support for the President put paid to what the Americans might have hoped, that what they saw as the hardline Sinhalese vote would be divided. The opportunity the campaign strategists grasped to establish the President and his supporters as patriots, as opposed to traitors determined to do down the brave Sri Lankan forces, led to a polarization that must have been far from the President’s mind when he resisted Fonseka’s proposals for an aggressively majoritarian post-war settlement.

But in another sense this outcome served better perhaps the long term interests of the Americans and the UNP than any other result. Had Wickremesinghe won the Presidential election on a minority vote, with the majority split between the other two and not transferring because of the bitterness that had been engendered, he would have found governing difficult. Had Fonseka won, he would probably have followed his own predilections, having sidelined or got rid of Wickeremesinghe as the perceptive BBC correspondent in New Delhi envisaged. But with President Rajapaksa beholden to the extremists who had loyally supported him against Fonseka, the stage was set for stagnation.

President Rajapaksa had made bold decisions during his first term of office, to pursue a military victory when what was termed the international community advocated continuing negotiations even though the LTTE had made it clear they did not want a negotiated solution. But such bold decisions were not so easy against those who had backed him against the various forces that had opposed his re-election. The political, educational and economic reforms that were essential were put off since the government felt it had to consolidate itself. And in the process the confidence in a peaceful pluralistic future, essential for the investment the country needed to take off after the years of conflict, faded away.

The Electricity Tariff Hike – A Great Salutary Step Forward

By Chandre Dharmawardana --May 6, 2013

Chandre Dharmawardana

The government’s decision to raise the electricity price to realistic values, and its decision on May day to bring down the price for those consuming less than 60 units may not have been policy decisions that were arrive at in a rational manner. However, these happen to be exactly the right decisions in the context of Sri Lanka’s development trajectory.

At a talk I gave at the presidential secretariat in July 2009, (and also to a number of learned societies in Sri Lanka) I pointed out that the cost of electricity was too low in terms of the mode of utilization of power in Sri Lanka. More details can be found in that talk which is available on the internet (dh web.org/place.names/posts/dev-tech.ppt/). Many of the new installations  are hotels, airports, offices etc., that use large amounts of electricity for air-conditioning and comfort, rather than for manufacturing and production.

Electricity is one of the most efficient forms of energy (compared to heat energy whose efficiency is controlled by Carnot’s theorem, as discussed in simple language, e.g.,  in my recent book – A physicist’s view of Matter and Mind). Electricity should be reserved for high-end purposes, and other energy sources should be used for low-end non-productive purposes.

Why is the rise in electricity tariffs such a blessing in disguise? Will it not slow down our industrial sector? The blessing comings from the fact that the new tariffs make solar energy  (and new types of jobs), an attractive competitor among the available energy sources. The current usage pattern of 0.3-0.4 kWh per household will increase an order of magnitude within a decade, and future energy bills would be quite horrendous.

During the last decade Japan, a country with no oil or hydro-power strongly subsidized  roof-top solar panels for public and corporate  buildings and homes. However, with the new tariffs in Sri Lanka, no such subsidies are needed. It is now just good business to install solar panels on buildings for air conditioning and other domestic needs, while the main power-grid is the steady source. Solar energy becomes even more sensible when we note that in India today, solar electricity has fallen to about 8-9 Indian  rupees per kilowatt-hour compared with 18-20 rupees for diesel-power. This is not due to improvements in the efficiency of ordinary solar panels (15 to 20 per cent efficiency). The inefficiency is outweighed by their new low price.

Luxury hotels think nothing of installing expensive marble, Jacuzzis and many high-end items in their construction. However, most architects and urban planners, unaware of solar technology simply dismiss it out of hand as `too expensive’. Similarly, given the equipment costs that go into building an airport, covering its roof with solar panels is in fact a negligible budget increment. Given today’s energy tariffs, and anticipating future tariffs, not installing solar panels is stupid. Unlike diesel or coal-power installations, solar panels need no further fuel as the fuel is delivered by the sun’s rays. The maintenance is much less costly and produce no pollution compared to traditional power generation,  as we can see from the horror stories coming from the Lakvijaya powerstation in Horagolla (Horagolla is the traditional name of Norochchollai – see http://dh-web.org/place.names/).

Another technological development that cuts the cost of lighting by a factor of 10 is the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for ceiling illumination panels. The cost of LEDs as gone down, while their efficiency has increased substantially.

Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka, instead of doing the obvious technological solution to a technological problem, we convert it to a political problem and quote Marx or Friedman, hold meetings or go on demonstrations. So at last, the force of circumstances have forced our policy makers to do what should have been done many years ago. The turn of events is like the removal of rice subsidies carried out during Dudley Senanayake’s time, and will have similar benefits.

It is now up to the engineers, architects and  construction managers in the private and public sectors to include solar panels and LEDs as integral parts of their design practice. The garment manufacturing industry can become energy self-sufficient with such installations. A private home designed with solar panels on the roof, and a heat pump which uses the cool  underground water table to cool the house can easily sell energy to the main grid. Everyone cannot afford this additions to the construction bill, but here the banks can give installation loans, to be paid up from future electricity savings.

So let us have a round of applause to high electricity tariffs for grid-based electricity. Keep them up and UP.

Rolls-Royce to provide engines for SriLankan Airlines refit

Campaigners urge Rolls-Royce deal not to influence UK's diplomatic position over human rights in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan government have opted for a $2.5bn (£1.6bn) contract for Airbus aircraft supply, which will be fitted with Rolls-Royce engines. Photograph: Pa/Rolls Royce

Ben Quinn- Friday 3 May 2013

Rolls-Royce is expected to provide the engines for a multi-billion dollar refitting of SriLankan Airlines planes – but this must not influence the UK's diplomatic position over human rights in the south Asian country, campaigners say.

The deal has emerged at a time of mounting controversy over Sri Lanka's hosting of the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November, despite allegations that it is intensifying a crackdown on critics and increasing human rights abuses.

The British government has remained tight lipped over whether David Cameron will follow the lead of the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, who is poised to boycott the summit unless he sees progress from Sri Lanka in addressing human rights concerns.

With the UK yet to decide whether to attend, Sri Lankan media have now linked the UK's attitude to the summit to a decision by the Sri Lankan government to opt for a $2.5bn (£1.6bn) contract for the supply of Airbus aircraft, which will all be fitted with British-made Rolls-Royce engines.

"The wheels turn for Sri Lanka at CMAG: But there is a price to pay" ran the headline in Colombo's Sunday Times newspaper in the wake of news that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), the body's human rights watchdog, was recommending no action on the summit following its meeting in London last Friday.

Quoting "diplomatic sources in London", the report said that David Cameron's Government was "weighing in favour of trade as part of its foreign policy pursuits".

"Such a major trade deal was given the green light when the [Sri Lankan] cabinet met for its weekly meeting on April 19," it said, referring to the aviation contract.

Amnesty International, which published a report on Tuesday accusing Sri Lanka of intensifying a crackdown on dissent, urged the Commonwealth not to hold its summit there unless the human rights situation improves, and said that the deal should not influence the British government's deliberations.

"This must not detract from raising human rights issues. It must not be a condition on Britain remaining silent," said Amnesty's UK head of policy and government affairs, Allan Hogarth.

Hogarth said that the British government had placed a lot of emphasis on what he described as commercial diplomacy. "On a lot of overseas missions, trade was regarded as something to be prioritised. Understandably, a government's role is to promote a vibrant economy, but that must not come at a cost for human rights."

Brad Adams, of Human Rights Watch, said: "The UN estimates that 40,000 civilians were killed by the Sri Lankan army. Although the British economy is in trouble, it would be a serious outrage and betrayal of basic principles to sell the attendance of the Queen or prime minister at CHOGM for the purchase of some Rolls-Royce engines. These decisions should be made independently and on the merits."

SriLankan Airlines is set to retire its fleet of long-haul aircraft, reportedly replacing it with six Airbus A330-300 aircraft, at a cost of over $234m each, with Rolls-Royce Trent engines, and four Airbus A 350-900 with Rolls-Royce XWB engines, at a cost of over $283m each.

"The aircraft would be acquired over the next seven years," a Sri Lankan government official told the French press agency, AFP.

Rolls-Royce said that it was not making any comment on reports of the deal.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said that a decision had yet to be made on whether the UK would attend the summit, and if it did, who would attend.

"The decision to hold the meeting in Sri Lanka was taken by the Commonwealth as a whole in 2009 and reaffirmed in 2011. We respect the collective will of the Commonwealth," he said, adding that the meeting was an opportunity to put the spotlight on Sri Lanka, human rights concerns and efforts to improve peace and security.

Asked to what extent trade ties with Sri Lanka, such as the aviation deal, were a factor, he said: "Obviously, you have to separate the bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka from CHOGM. They are aligned but our decision on CHOGM will be a result ultimately of what our objectives are for that meeting. Our relationship with Sri Lanka is not defined by one meeting"

The opposition has stepped up pressure on the government to state how it would approach the controversy surrounding CHOGM. Ann Clwyd, a Labour MP and member of the Foreign Affairs select committee, said that holding CHOGM in Sri Lanka sent the wrong signal on the country's human rights situation, which she described as "appalling".

On the question of trade ties as a factor in the UK government's deliberations, she said: "People shouldn't be forced to give up values on the trade altar. Trade is important in terms of jobs in this country. It's always a difficult issue for people to speak about but I would say that it really should not be used as a bargaining tool."

Douglas Alexander, Labour's shadow foreign secretary, said: "We have repeatedly said that, whilst the Sri Lankan government fails to meet its international obligations, the British government must use the prospect of the forthcoming Commonwealth meeting in Colombo to pressure them to do so.

"The prime minister must urgently raise with the Sri Lankan government the need for a full, independent, international investigation into the allegations of war crimes committed by all parties. Withholding his attendance at the conference until progress has been made is one of the tools at the Prime Ministers disposal."

Chris Nonis, Sri Lanka's High Commissioner, this week defended plans for the summit and blasted Amnesty for producing a report he dubbed a "fascinating piece of fiction" based on third party news reports and website.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Tuesday: "I'm sorry to say that as usual, Amnesty International has carried out its usual propaganda exercise of misinformation and hearsay.

"We are a sovereign country just as Britain is... after we achieved peace in the country, we have a wonderful opportunity to reconcile.

"We have absolutely nothing to hide.

"That's why we particularly welcome everyone, 54 heads of state, to come to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and see for themselves."

The Significance Of Shiva Lingam And Its Influence In Sri Lanka

By Ayathuray Rajasingam -May 6, 2013 

Ayathuray Rajasingam

There is no recorded history as to the origin of Shiva Lingam. However, there are various explanations given to Shiva Lingam. Though Sri Lanka is blessed with five Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, the origin of Shiva Lingam in Sri Lanka is shrouded with mystery. The five Shiva temples are Thiruketheeswaram, Munneswaram, Naguleswaram, Koneswaram and Thondeeswaram. It is believed that Thondeeswaram temple in the South was engulfed by sea, apparently about more than nine thousands of years ago with the lost Continent of Lemuria known as Kumari Kandam. All these Ishwaram temples survived the ravages of time by foreign invaders, especially by the Portuguese who demolished these temples for purpose of utilizing the temple stones for the construction of Fort. Even during the period of the Dutch no action to rebuild these temples was initiated. It is during the British period, the great Saivite scholar Sri Arumuka Navalar took adequate measures to revive the Hindu Movement and to rebuild the temple. It is submitted that these Shiva temples existed long before the arrival of Vijaya to Sri Lanka. The Great Saint Thirumoolar is reported to have described that Sri Lanka as Siva Poomi, (meaning Lord Shiva’s land)  in his treatise on Saivism.

According to the Hinduism, it is believed that Shiva Lingam is a formation of the Hindu Trinity. Accordingly, the base layer represents Lord Brahma, the Central portion represents Lord Vishna and the uppermost portion represents Lord Shiva.

Another meaning is that Lord Shiva as the Supreme Being is believed is believed to be a pillar of fire which has no beginning and end. [There are stories about the futile exercises of Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma in finding out the bottom and the top respectively of Lord Shiva].

In addition, Swami Vivekananda answered the Westerners that the phallic symbol has no bearing at all with the concept of Shiva Lingam. He cited one of the ancient Hindu texts Atharva Veda which sung in praise of the Yupa-Stambha [cosmic column], the sacrificial post. The narration of Yupa-Stambha in the Atharva Veda relates to the beginningless and endless is described as Eternal Brahman, which is Shiva Lingam. [Swami Vivekananda’s explanation at the World Religious Conference held in Paris].

The origins of Shiva Lingam are as an oval representation of the Universe without beginning or end. Generally, the Lingam is in oval shape. The oval shape represents the Universe.

According to the Advaita philosophy the Shiva Lingam represents the formless Shiva which is referred to as Nirguna Brahman (i.e. Brahman without qualities). Shiva’s pure form permeates the whole creation. The formless Shiva is transcendent and cannot be described in words. However, it is said that Yogis have experienced Lord Shiva in this formless form and have described as Ultimate Bliss, the all loving reality. (There are two schools of thought on the notion of God. According to Advaita (or Monism or non-dualism) God is impersonal without qualities or form and is known as Nirguna Brahman. Advaita schools consider that the Souls are with God in all respects. According to Dvaita, God is personal, with exhibiting qualities, displaying a form and performing activities. Dvaita schools consider the Soul and God to be eternally distinct, though both are Brahman.).

Lingam is a symbol. It is something like Cross being the symbol of Jesus Christ. A symbol is a sign by which a faith or even a particular person is recognized. In Maha Bharatha there is reference to the worship of Lingam by Sage Vyasa. Sage Vyasa mentions that those who worship Lingam form of Lord Shiva becomes perfect with the direct knowledge of the Unity of Life and Supreme Energy as well as the indirect knowledge of the Unity of Life and Supreme Energy. Thus Sivalingam demonstrates the Unity of Life and Supreme Energy and not the union of opposite sexes as alleged by some foreigners.

Shiva Lingam is a symbol of union of the duality of Shiva (the Pure One) and Shakthi (sacred force or the cosmic energy). According to Hinduism Lord Shiva appears as Arthanareeswara which indicates the union of substance and energy – the Being and his Shakthi known as Energy. This union is the source of all the creation. Shiva and Skathi can be considered as a metaphor for union of the duality to represent the ultimate non-duality (creation) of the Universe. The true meaning is the eventual union of the duality (of you and me) into the non-duality (where God is seen in the form of Nirguna Brahman or absence of you and me and the Eternal Blissful presence of the Divine Awareness (Sat-Chit-Ananda). The representation as Sada Shiva demonstrates that the division between material and energy is superfluous and in reality all is one. He shows himself as being all that is male and all that is female through the form of Arthanareeswarar as being the inseparable unity. God is an unfolding creative process that may expand without limit.

Lingam is science. Sage Vasishta mentions the word ‘Jyotirupa’ which indicates the form of Jyoti (i.e. the fire). Sage Vasishta continues from that Jyotirupa everything which composes the Universe developed some 34,000 million years ago. This is an instance to show that Hindu sages have correctly described the creation of the Universe, which is in conformity with science.

Inner meaning : The sublime meaning of Shiva Lingam can be traced in Thirumanthiram, Shiva Puranam and in the Agamas. It is said that according to the Agamas there are seven kinds of Lingam, namely the Tower (Gopuram), the dome (Sikaram), the gateway (Dvaram), the Courtyard (Prakaram), the Courtyard, Palipeedam are considered as Lingams because they represent Shiva-Sakthi one way or other. If this is the description given according to Hindu thoughts, it is ridiculous to assert or allege that the Shiva Lingam represents a phallus. According to the Puranas the flame of immeasurable effulgence is called Lingam. It is this Lingam that represents the sacred fire and thus the temples stand for sacrificial grounds. Again it should be noted that these temples represent the hearts of the people and God abide by the hearts of the people in the form of Lingam or a glow of effulgence, as the Great Soul of the people’s souls.

The conclusion is Shiva Lingam is a sign of Purity. It started with an attempt to create idol of a Deepak (lamp). Now many Hatha Yogi practice concentration of tip of Deepak flame. The flame flickers due to wind. Hence an idol was created to practice concentration.

The stylization of the Lingam into a smooth cylindrical mass asserts a distinctively aniconic meaning, quite by contrast to the deities in image form (Murtis) that serve otherwise as the most important foci of Hindu worship. This interplay is found in Shavaite temples, where the Lingam is apt to be at the centre surrounded by a panoply of deities (Murtis).

Interpretation of Shiva Lingam

Though the concept of Shiva Lingam was in usage prior to the period of the Indus Valley Civilization, the Sanskrit language also mentions about Lingam in a different form. It is also said that the Lingam had its roots from the Sanskrit word ‘Lika’ meaning to sculptures. It could be interpreted to mean that God as the Sculptor of the Universe and hence he is referred to as Linga. Eventually the Sanskrit word ‘Lika’ turned out to mean any form or object or symbol that represented God. Similarly the philosophy of Shiva Lingam is described in the Agamas and Puranas in Hinduism. Shiva Puranam also mentions the Lingam as a symbol for realizing the nature of the object that the symbol represents – a shape given to the shapeless so as to elucidate the nature of the shapeless. Shiva Puranam asserts that the owner of the Lingam is the Supreme Being. The Lingam merely leads one to Lord Shiva – to auspiciousness.

Every religion, including Hinduism, asserts that every particle in this Universe is activated by God. Briefly, the existence of the Universe is totally impossible without the Divine Energy. It is at this juncture Hinduism deviates from other religions as to what God is or the nature of God. Generally, the other religions rely on a particular Prophet. No one knows the founder of Hinduism or when and where it was known or whether there is prescribed scripture. It ia a collection of revelations by the ancient sages. This is the beauty of Hinduism. The principle of creation has been described systematically in the Hindu Sastras. According to the Hindu Sastras, Shiva Lingam is the embodiment of the cosmic creation. The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva also illustrates this beautifully.

According to Hinduism, Brahman is the ultimate Supreme Being. It is either Nirguna Brahman or Saguna Brahman. Nirguna is without form and quality. There is also the primordial cosmic element known as Maya. One would tend to know the course of action taken by the Divine Energy in producing the cosmic world.

Out of Maya. Maya is an extremely subtle matter without any form. There are two aspects of Maya, namely Suddha Maya and Asuddha Maya – lower and upper Maya. This Maya is in the presence of Shivam or Nirguna Brahman and that of its Sakthi or Divine Energy. The Shakthi having energized Suddha Maya, the mundane egg of the Universe was formed. This was the principle of Sound known as Nadam or Nama (meaning name) and is considered as the first expression of limitation. It is from the principle of Sound, the form of limitation known as Bhindu or Rupa (form) arose which is considered as the second stage of limitation.

The combination of the principles of Sound and Form is still beyond comprehension. This combination of Sound (Nama) and Form (Rupa) is known as OMKARA PRANAVA. This is the seed and seat of all matter and force.

The principle of Sound (Nadam) is represented by a line and the Bhindu by a disc.

It is the principle of Sound (Nadam) is known as Lingam and the principle of Form (Bindhu) is known as its Peedam. The root of Sound (Nadam) is evolved from pure Maya by the will of Lord Shiva. From Nadam, the real Bindhu springs up. From the Bindhu, the real Sada Shiva originates and gives birth to Ishwara. Suddha avidya is developed from Ishwara.. The Universe originates from Bindhu and develop into various forms.

The Form that could be comprehended a little better, arose out of the Bindhu in the order of evolution. This is known as Sada Shivam. This is Rupa-Rupam or in other words is with Shape and without shape.

From this Sada Shiva, a fully developed form appears as Maheswara, and from him Rudra.

Sakthi assumed in manifesting itself to the souls to excite their intelligence and evolve this Universe out of Maya. Sakthi is with motion whereas Shiva is motionless. The transcendental Supreme Being is Shiva, whereas the manifested, immanent aspect of the Supreme is Sakthi. Shiva is attributeless whereas Sakthi is with attribute. (The word Sakthi derived from the root ‘Shak’ meaning the potential to produce an assertion of her inherent creative aptitude. It signifies the ultimate primordial creative power. It means power, force and feminine energy. Sakthi is energizing force of all divinity, of every being and everything.)

Now different actions in the region of Suddha Maya are performed by Sada Shiva and Maheswara, while those in the Asuddha Maya (lower) different actions are performed by Rudra, Vishnu and Brahma (the Hindu Triad).

Thus it could be seen the different positions of (Nadam and Bhindu). The combination of these two principles of Sound and Form are Pranava-Nadam. It is the Pranava that is said to be represented by Shiva Lingam. Line is Lingam and the Disc is Peedam.

OM NAMASIVAYA

Reference:

1. The complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
2. Swami Vivekananda at the Paris Conference of the History of Religions
3. Dance of Siva by S.Anandacoomaraswamy
4. Lord Shiva by Swami Sivananda of the Divine Life Society
5. Lord Shiva by Dr.(Mrs) Shantha N.Nair
6. The symbolism & Worship of Shiva Lingam by V.Jayaram
7. Shiva Linga by S.Sabaratna Mudaliyar
8. Shiva Lingam – A symbol of science by Dr.P.Vartak.

Lanka strikes back, wants to partner IOC in oil tanks pact

MONDAY, 06 MAY 2013 

Hardening its stance after India backed a UN resolution against Sri Lanka, Colombo has indicated that a decade-old MoU on a strategic oil tank farm in the island nation would have to be re-negotiated to include a Lankan partner in its operation.

In 2003, Indian Oil Corp subsidiary, Lanka IOC (LIOC), bought one-third share in Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd which operates the China Bay tank farm. Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CPC) and Colombo entered into an MoU with LIOC to grant a long-term lease for sole operation by the latter.

However, the 35-year lease finalisation dragged on as Colombo insisted that CPC had no authority to sign the lease for the tank farm which was a state asset.

Last month, Sri Lanka — through its Finance, Planning and Economic Development Secretary P B Jayasundra — conveyed to New Delhi that the lease could be finalised only if LIOC took on a Lankan company as a partner.

The best way to move ahead, he told the Indian petroleum ministry, was to set up a joint venture between LIOC and a government entity like CPC on the lines of a joint venture formed between National Thermal Power Corp and Ceylon Electricity Board for a 500 MW coal plant at Sampur.

An IOC official said IOC was told to submit a proposal by May on the structure of the proposed joint venture to address all issues — tank farm as well as bunkering of foreign ships at northeastern Trincomalee port through improvement of its jetty and draft.

"Both countries agreed to finalise the joint venture arrangement on fast track, preferably within three-four months," said the official.

He said Colombo's stand could have been harsher if not for the legal view by its attorney general Palitha Fernando, who opined that the issue needed to be sorted out between both parties because of a sovereign agreement between two nations.

After the UN vote on March 21, Lanka had sounded out that it planned to abrogate on the 2003 MoU and take back part of the strategic oil storage depot. A day after India backed the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka seeking an "independent and credible" probe into allegations of human rights violations, its Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said there was a provision to re-possess tanks not used by LIOC.

The China Bay tank farm, a World War II depot in Trincomalee, is the largest tank farm in South Asia and of great strategic value as it falls between the Middle East and Singapore.

Under privatisation, Colombo gave Lanka IOC the farm of 99 storage tanks, of which 15 are being used and two more are being refurbished at a cost of $17 million. (The Indain Express)

Appeal Court Judge Abrew Verbally Abused And Attacked Fellow Judges

May 6, 2013 

Appeal Court Judge Sarath de Abrew caused havoc in Bangalore airport when he verbally abused his colleagues and even attacked one with a bottle of water, while returning home after a judges’ conference.

Sri Lankan newspaper Dailly Mirror reported the story without naming the judge as follows;

A Sri Lankan Appeal Court Judge allegedly caused havoc in an Indian airport when he verbally abused his colleagues and even attacked one with a bottle of water, while returning home after a judges’ conference. The incident was reported to the President, the Daily Mirror learns.

Creating a huge scene at the Business Lounge of the Bangalore and shocking many foreign onlookers the senior judge, had allegedly berated several judges in language that shocked the foreign passengers who heard his profanity. The individual who went on scolding his colleagues both in Sinhala and English for more than 10 minutes had later hit one of them with a water bottle.

The Daily Mirror reliably learns that the affected judge had made a complaint to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the appointing authority of judges through the Chief Justice and also to Chief Justice Mohan Pieris, Head of the Judiciary, and the other Supreme Court judges. The newspaper also came to know that the complaint had already reached the President.

The embarrassing incident had taken place when a ten-judge squad comprising Appeal Court Judges from Sri Lanka had participated at a conference held from April 17 to 24. On April 23 night, seven judges including the judge involved in the incident had been dropped of by the organisers at the Bangalore Airport while three others had taken different routes.

As soon as the bus reached the airport, the suspected judge had outrun the others to pick up a trolley but mistakenly left one of his bags behind. Being aware of the nature and temperament of the judge, the others had not touched or taken out the bag. Later, on realizing this he had gone off in verbally abusive parlance at the other judges which ended up in the bottle-attack.

However, it is learnt that none of the judges – including the victim of the bottle-attack – had retaliated in any manner. Yet, considering the massive damage caused to the reputation of the Sri Lankan judges and judiciary at an international public location, he had brought the incident to the President’s notice

Correction: The first version of this story mistakenly named the judge as Justice Sisira de Abrew when it should have been Sarath de Abrew. We apologise to Justice Sisira de Abrew unreservedly for the error.

SC gives nod to Kudankulam nuclear plant, says it is safe

MONDAY, 06 MAY 2013

NEW DELHI: Steps to operationalise the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tirunelveli district would continue uninterrupted as the Supreme Court on Monday disposed of a public suit seeking to halt its commissioning with a direction to the government to submit a report on the compliance of all safety steps before the plant is commissioned.

However, an apex court bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra issued detailed directions to the government on the safety and the monitoring of the plant's operations.

Reacting to the judgment, M Pushparayan a key leader in the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) told IANS in Chennai: "It is a delayed and unjust judgment. It will not bind us and our protest against the project will continue."

Speaking over phone from Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district he said: "It is discouraging that the court seems to have not considered important issues like the substandard equipments used in the reactor; Coastal Regulation Zone stipulations; spent fuel storage; conduct of proper mock drill for the locals while deciding on the case."

While allowing the commissioning of the plant, the court said that nuclear energy is extremely important for the country's growth and a balance has to be struck between the right to life and sustainable development.

"The KNPP will not even satisfy the power requirements of Tamil Nadu or even Kerala," Pushparayan contended.

The court said that various expert groups have opined that there would be no impact on the life around the plant because of radiation.

While concurring with the directions and the commissioning of the plant, Justice Dipak Misra said that the larger public interest should prevail over the minor inconveniences that may be caused to the people.

Directing the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to take all the steps for ensuring the safety of the plant, Justice Misra said in the case of nuclear power plants, there should not be any lapse in operations and the grammar of their safety has to be different.

According to Pushparayan around 25 school children submitted a petition to the Tirunelveli district collector to shut down the nuclear plant due to its substandard equipment. (Source: Times of India)

Sri Lankan Muslims Are Low Caste Tamil Hindu Converts Not Arab Descendants

By Rifat Halim -May 6, 2013 

The recent execution of Rizana Nafeek in Saudi Arabia  has underlined the bogus claim of Arab ancestry by Sri Lankan Muslims (formerly known as Ceylon Moors). Ms. Nafeek, a domestic worker from a poor family in the East of Sri Lanka, spoke no language but Tamil. She requested a Tamil translator but was provided with a Malayalam-speaking minor employee whose command of the Tamil language was said to be insufficient. The Saudi authorities showed no clemency. Also, they refused to recognize her as a person of Arab descent. Her status was indistinguishable from that of any foreigner in that country.

Ponnanbalam Ramanathan in 1906 with his future wife, Ms. Harrison (right)

A fierce controversy has been raging for many years in the country about the origins of the Tamil-speaking Muslims.  In 1885, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan stated in a speech to the Ceylon Legislative Council that the Tamil-speaking Muslims are low caste Hindus who converted to Islam. Ramanathan’s thesis was that the Ceylon Moors, as the Sri Lankan Muslims were then called, were Muslim by religion and Tamil by ethnicity. Therefore, they did not deserve a separate seat in the Legislative Council.

In a paper presented to the Royal Asiatic Society in 1888, Ramanathan said the Tamil-speaking Muslims share more than just a language with the Tamils. He provided clinching evidence of the Tamil cultural features of the Tamil-speaking Muslims in the island.  He pointed to Tamil  customs such as tying the Tali , the eating of Patchoru, and the use of Alatti, that were prevalent among the Tamil-speaking Muslims. Many Sri Lankan Muslim names such as Periya Marikkar and Sinna Lebbe are clearly Tamil. Also, he said that the Tamil Hindus and the Tamil-speaking Muslims were physically indistinguishable.

Ramanathan later became the first elected leader of the country. He defeated Sir Marcus Fernando in the famous battle for the Educated Ceylonese Seat in 1911.

Over 128 years after Ramanathan’s speech, his thesis is intensely relevant. In every part of the Indian subcontinent, the Muslims claim South Asian descent except for the Tamil-speaking Muslims of Sri Lanka. The Tamil-speaking Muslims in India identify themselves as Tamils.  The former President of India Abdul Kalam, a nuclear scientist, unequivocally calls himself a Tamil. AR Rahman, the Grammy award-winning musician states considers himself a Tamil.

Other leaders of Indian subcontinent have similarly embraced their South Asian ancestry. In India, many Muslims identify themselves as Kannadigas, Gujaratis, Kashmiris, Tamils and Malayalees. MA Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, said he was a Gujarati. ZA Bhutto always said that he was a Sindi. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stated that he was a Bengali. The vast majority of Bangladeshi say they are Bengalis. The largest ethnic group in Pakistan are the Punjabis. There is even a small Tamil Muslim community in Karachi.

Tamil is the mother tongue of over 99% of the Sri Lankan Muslims. The Islamic sermons are overwhelmingly delivered in Tamil even in the Sinhalese majority districts of Kandy, Matara and Galle. Gujarati Muslims in Sri Lanka like myself cannot follow the Islamic sermons in that inpenetrable Dravidian language.

The Sri Lankan Muslim claim of Arab ancestry is not corroborated by the Arabs themselves. They treat the Sri Lankan Muslims as lowly converts speaking a strange tongue. Many Tamil-speaking Muslims from Sri Lanka have gone to the Middle-East looking for a homecoming. But, the homecoming was not forthcoming, as the cruelty inflicted on Rizana Nafeek shows.

There can be no greater endorsement of Ramanathan’s view than the hysterical response of the Sri Lankan Muslims.  Massive tomes consisting of fake geneology and spurious theories have published to support the Arab origins.  Ramanathan has been angrily vilified well into the 21st century.  Anger often follows an uncomfortable truth.

The angry authors include ILM Abdul Azeez, the President of the Moors Union, who claimed in the Muslim Guardian in 1907 that “Most of the ancestors of the Ceylon Moors were, according to tradition, members of the family of Hashim.” He did not explain how the vast majority of the Ceylon Moors do not speak a single word of Arabic, but overwhelming speak Tamil. Other specious claims have been made by irate academics such as Qadri Ismail and Mirak Raheem. These include the curious claim that the Arab traders spoke Tamil because they married Tamil women.

The anti-Halal campaign of the Bodhu Bala Sena has put the Muslims of Sri Lanka back in the spotlight. Former Ambassador Izeth Hussain has written in the Island recently that the Sri Lankan Muslims are the most servile minority in the country.

Izeth Hussain is  correct. Sri Lankan Muslims have prostrated themselves in front of the communal Sinhalese politicians. Sir Razik Fareed voted for Sinhala to be made the sole official language in 1944 and 1956. In 1948-9, Dr. MCM Kaleel and Dr. TB Jayah, who were both in the Cabinet, supported the disenfranchisement of the Indian community. In August 1983, Dr Kaleel, then President of All Ceylon Muslim League, justified the massacre as a legitimate response to the Tamil demand for separate state. He objected to the walkout in the Indian Parliament by the Indian Muslim League, who were protesting against the anti-Tamil pogrom. Dr. Kaleel was blind to the fact that many Muslims were killed in the 1983 as they were mistaken for Tamils.

The Sri Lankan Muslim are neither fish nor fowl. The Arabs have rejected them. The Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus are aghast at their specious claims.

Hence, it is high time that the Sri Lankan Muslims embrace their Tamil ethnicity. Tamil is the oldest spoken language in the Indian subcontinent. Islamic Tamil literature has a thousand year heritage. Tamil is the most secular language in this region. There is a vast body of Tamil literature that embraces Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism and Islam.  Ramanathan was an apostle of peace and unity. Following him will bring unity to this island and end the misgivings of this complexed minority.