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Prout's Unique Look at the Past

Date: Th, 31 Jan 2008 23:47:28 -0000 To: am-global@earthlink.net From: Chatterjee_K Subject: Prout's Unique Look at the Past Baba "Eso ka'jal ra'ter a'ndha're hiya' a'lokit kare..." (PS 1926) Purport: Baba, please come in my heart which is as dark as the black night and make it effulgent. Please light my lamp and arouse my devotion with Your divine love. Please awaken the humanity which is in deep slumber. Baba, please grace one and all. Baba, except You, no one can wipe away this cimmerian darkness. Without You, humanity will not awaken. For the welfare and enlightenment of the entire universe, please come in everyone's dhya'na. Baba, please come in the crudest sphere of everyone's mind and make it divinely effulgent. Baba, I long for You in my mind which is as dark and dreary as a dungeon. Baba, I have been desperately and ceaselessly searching You since the dawn of my life. Your charming & loving smile is like an ocean of nectar from the divine world. This divine smile will wipe away all the staticity. Baba, please shower Your causeless grace and remove the cimmerian darkness and fill it with Your divine effulgence...
== PROUT'S UNIQUE LOOK AT THE PAST ==
Namaskar, In these recent times, there has been a lot of talk and heated debate about the situation in Sri Lanka. All are aware how for years and years there has been extreme tension and heavy fighting in Sri Lanka between the majority Singhalii (Sinhale) population and the minority Tamils. Lately, various international attempts have been made to resolve the dispute and restore peace and harmony to the country. Even then the struggles continue.
USING THE VISION OF A'NANDA MA'RGA
As Ananda Margiis, let us look at the situation through unique Baba's historical account and apply His Proutistic solutions to come up with a just and fair resolution to the crisis in Sri Lanka.
BABA'S TEACHING: REVEALING THE UNKNOWN HISTORY
First and foremost we should understand the historical undercurrents of the situation in Sri Lanka. Such as who was there first, whose land is it, as well as how did the present situation develop. Following is Baba's unprecedented historical account about the development and growth of Sri Lanka. Baba says, "Around 534 BC, the prince of Rahr-- Vijay Singh-- reached Sri Lanka via waterway with 700 of his soldiers. Singhpur was the capital of Rarh those days. Nearby Singhpur there was a port also. Later on the name changed to Singhalpa'tan. This place is very close to Singhpur. Nowadays it is in Hooghly district. To continue with the history, the prince Vijay Singh was victorious in his offensive and captured Sri Lanka. And ultimately, Vijay Singh and his soldiers settled permanently in Sri Lanka. These are the ancestors of the modern Singhalii community. That is why Singhaliis are very close to Bengalis in their customs, manners, habits, and dealings. Their facial features are also like Bengalis. In fact, it is very difficult to differentiate between Singhaliis and Bengalis when one is speaking with them. Furthermore, the Singhalii language is part of the Indo-Aryan language group; hence it is quite similar to Bengali. The script is also the same. These days Singhaliis are primarily Buddhists. In spite of this, they have preserved their customs and manners so they are very similar to Bengal. The family name of Singhalis is Sena Na'yak, Jayvardhan, Gunatilak, Bhanda'r Na'yak, Desh Na'yak etc." (Varna Vicitra, Part 1, 20th Nov 1983, Kolkata)
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM BABA'S GUIDELINE
1. Firstly, as Baba guides us above, it should be established that the Singhaliis are not the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka. Although they represent a 75% majority at this time, the Singhaliis came originally from the Rahr region. Indeed, in His above description, Baba gives very specific details how the Singhaliis are closely linked with the people of Rahr-- i.e. the Bengali people. And the reason behind this is that their roots are the same. 2. As Baba explains, around 2,500 years ago, the Indo-Aryan prince of Rahr, Vijay Singh, led his army of 700 onto the island of Sri Lanka via boat. The prince then launched an offensive to attack, kill, and rule the local inhabitants, i.e. the Tamils who are part of the indigenous Dravidian population. 3. Since that time the Tamils have been pushed aside, marginalised, and treated as outsiders. When in fact they are the original inhabitants of that land. And side by side, over the centuries their aggressors, the Singhaliis, have become the clear-cut dominant people of Sri Lanka. 4. It only makes sense however that the Tamils are the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka since the state of Tamil Nadu is directly across the water from Sri Lanka. Plus the Tamil community has been in tact for more than 5000 years. So the Tamils have a long history and possess a language that is distinctly different from the Sanskrit based languages of the north. This all leads to the fact that the Tamils are part of the indigenous Dravidian population that inhabited South India including Sri Lanka. 5. Even then, the Singhaliis wrongly think of themselves as being the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka, and they claim that the Tamils came only afterwards. But that is not true-- this is not correct. As Baba guides us above, the Singhaliis came from Rarh. So either the Singhaliis are concealing the fact that they are from Rarh; or the Singhaliis really do not know where they have come from. Whatever the case may be, this fact should be disseminated that the Tamils are the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka. 6. But even though the Tamils are the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka and even though that land is rightfully theirs, the Tamils have long been subjected to ridicule and torture by the ruling Singhaliis. Over time, the Singhaliis have built up a huge population in Sri Lanka and they control the ruling government and all the major sectors of Sri Lankan society. In that process, the Tamils have lost many of their basic and fundamental rights-- and they have suffered untold injustices. 7. All in all, the situation in Sri Lanka can be likened to the tragedy that befell the Native American tribes when the European settlers arrived. Or it can be likened to the disaster that happened to the aboriginal people of Australia. Or it can be compared with the situation in South Africa. Or it can be compared with the Eskimo population of Alaska. Or with the demolition that happened in the Fiji islands. In all these cases the local native peoples were tossed aside, ousted, and subjected to a near genocide at the hands of the opportunist white explorers etc. Tragically, the Tamils of Sri Lanka have suffered a similar plight at the hands of the invading Singhaliis. 8. Still today the people of Tamil are trying desperately to get back their land. Toward this end they have formed such groups as the Tamil Tigers etc, in hopes of getting equal rights in the land in which they live. But thus far they could not get real success. Still they are treated as third class citizens and on the top groups like the Tamil Tigers have been branded as being terrorists. 9. Ultimately the Singhaliis have strongly held onto the majority and one outcome is that they do not want to give proper status to the Tamils. Even though the chief demand of the Tamils is equality and not a takeover of Sri Lanka, the Singhaliis have spread propaganda how the active Tamil groups are just terrorist goons who want total control. Whereas the simple fact remains that the vast majority of the Tamil people are not terrorist or secessionists etc, just they want their due rights, i.e. their God-given rights.
SOLUTIONS TO THE TRAGEDY IN SRI LANKA
Here then are some of the solutions for bringing about a peaceful and fair resolution to the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka. A. Both parties, the Singhaliis and the Tamils, should get scope to live in Sri Lanka. Both have been there for thousands of years and both have a right to equal membership of that land. B. Unfortunately problems always arise when one group does not recognise another. So the only way out of this seemingly never-ending crisis is to cultivate love for other human beings and recognise their existential rights. This demand of equal rights should be put forth and at the very least tolerance should be promoted. C. During His meetings with the Proutist Tamil samaj leaders, Baba again and again guided that the duty of the Tamil samaj is to propagate the idea that Sri Lanka is home of the Tamil people and that therefore the Tamil samaj of India must fight for rights of the local ethnic people of Sri Lanka. D. This whole situation of Sri Lanka is similar to the situation with Israel. In that well-known case, the Jews were kicked out and forced to go elsewhere but that was not the solution. And finally the Jews were given back their homeland, i.e. Israel. And this solution Baba supports. Likewise in the case of Sri Lanka, the answer is that that native Tamil population should get their due land & rights and not be tortured or victimised.
PROUT'S OVERALL PERSPECTIVE
As we all know, Prout's overall policy is to help suffering humanity and watch out for the welfare of all native peoples. Baba says, "In accordance with this trend, PROUT advocates [that]...the interests of all local people will be guaranteed and gain proper recognition." (PNS-13) Thus the Proutistic view is to help the common Tamil population of Sri Lanka since they are the original inhabitants and it is they who have been victimised and tortured all these years. So the rights and essential freedoms of the Tamil people must be granted and secured; and, all the while the Singhaliis should also be encouraged and allowed to live there peacefully. All are requested to write in with thoughts and suggestions since this is an urgent situation which demands our attention and must be solved.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, may all live a life of respect on this earth and have ample scope to gain success. Baba says, "People have begun realizing what should be the framework of a blissful society - it is improper for any section of the society to gain predominance over the rest. The predominance of one implies the inevitable exploitation of the others. Therefore a society should be established wherein equal opportunities and equal rights may be offered to each and all." (SS-1) Namaskar, Kalicharan
Note 1: LONG HISTORY OF EXPLOITATION OF NATIVE PEOPLE
All in all there is a long history of exploitation of the native people in India. Baba says, "The mutual relations between the original inhabitants of India and the outsiders, the Aryans, were by no means cordial. The Aryans, out of deep-rooted contempt for the indigenous people of India, used to call them sometimes asuras, sometimes da'navas, sometimes da'sas, sometimes shu'dras. The Aryans did not accept these people in their society; rather, they declared them to be outcastes." (NSS: Disc 4)
Note 2: THEY JUST TREAT IT AS LEGEND OR MYTH
Baba's teaching that the Sinhaliis (Sinhalese) have come from the Rahr area is documented in Buddhist scripture but due to political reasons this history was branded as being mere legend only. "According to local legend, the Sinhalese are descended from the exiled Prince Vijaya and his party of several hundred who arrived on the island between 543 to 483 BCE after having been made to leave their native regions of Orissa, Bengal and elsewhere in India. The recorded history of the Buddhist Sinhalese can be found in two large chronicles, the Mahavamsa, written in Pali roughly around the 4th century BCE, and the much later Chulavamsa." (Buddhist Review)
Note 3: LINK BETWEEN BENGAL, SRI LANKA, & KERALA
In the same discourse 20th Nov 1983 from Varna Vicitra which is cited up above in the main letter, Baba further says that the descendants of the Singhaliis went the state of Kerala from Sri Lanka and established a kingdom there. That is why the language of Kerala-- Malaya'lam-- is 75% Sanskrit and that is why the manners and customs of the people of Kerala manner is similar to those of the people of Bengal. For all these reasons the Bengalis, Singhaliis, and Nayar people of Kerala are all similar.
Note 4: MORE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SINGHALIIS AND BENGALIS
Buddhism came to Sri Lanka and Bengal at just about the same time. So on this point there is also a shared history between the Singhaliis who went to Sri Lanka and the people of Bengal. Ultimately, Bengal reverted back to Hinduism whereas in Sri Lanka, Buddhism remained.
************************************************* Good Sadhaka
Baba says, "The mind of the man whose consciousness or discriminating judgement is awakened-- whose power of judgment is intense, always remains wedded to the 'Buddhi'. That is to say, his rein (mind) remains constantly under the control of the charioteer (Buddhi or discriminating intellect), and so, quite naturally, his organs remain loyal to the Buddhi. Random rambles of the organ-like horses (organs) will cut no ice with him. But in a case like this if the horses (organs) be bad and untrained, i.e. the organs are faulty, it becomes impossible for the charioteer (discriminating intellect) to get the desired result. Hence for the right functioning of the chariot (body), well-trained horses (organs) are indispensable. A sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) also should train himself likewise. His mind, body, intellect, and organs should be directed towards the Blissful Spirit (Shreya)." (SS-4, p.9)
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