Hela - POST

Should we take sides in the Israel-Palestine conflict?

Sri Lanka has voted in support of Palestine in almost every resolution brought to the United Nations (UN). In 2014, Sri Lanka donated a million US dollars in humanitarian aid to Palestine. Recently, on 12 Dec 2023, Sri Lanka voted in favour of a UN resolution demanding a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. 

We the Hela of Heladiva (Sri Lanka) value Humanity. Humanity is at the heart of our Hela value-system. With humanity (love and kindness), we the Hela have sustained family, friendships, community and a great civilization. We love to see all people live in peace and harmony. We love to see all people pursue livelihoods that develop their faculties, purify their character and provide for their families. 

It is deeply disappointing that our politicians have thought more about votes than what we value. Our political representatives at the UN are at odds with what we stand for.

After suffering the atrocities of the murderous LTTE terrorist organization for 26 years and the Easter Sunday Islamist attacks in 2019 (which claimed 290 lives), it was extremely disheartening that Sri Lanka failed to condemn the horrific HAMAS terrorist attack on October 7 (which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people in Israel). It was also disheartening that Sri Lanka did not denounce HAMAS at the UN for taking Israeli hostages, its sexual atrocities against Israeli women and placing Palestinian people and children in harms way for their propaganda purposes.

The Hela doctrine of supreme sovereignty, non-alignment and fair trade compels us to speak out when the sovereignty of any democracy is threatened or violated by acts of terror. Non-alignment compels us not to align ourselves with any geopolitical interests. Therefore we should always abstain from voting on any UN resolution involving taking sides in geo-politics. 

Simply, we should not be taking sides in the Israel and Palestine conflict. We should, however, denounce all acts of terrorism, wherever they occur.

C. A. | Dec 2023

Finding the truth in today's media landscape

The world's traditional NEWS media is currently polarised between the political left and the political right. NEWS on social media is polarised between the far-left and the far-right. So, how do we know what is the true reality in the world today?

Traditional media used to practice journalism. They reported the facts (i.e. who, what, where, when, how and most importantly why) and let the reader create the narrative by connecting the facts. 

Today journalists have become activists. They report on selected facts, framed by a narrative that agrees with their personal politics and the politics of their employer. This framed narrative is the singular lens in which they view the world. So, what we get is often less than half of the whole truth.

So, how did journalism sink to this? 

Observe mindfully and you will see that today's media wants to evoke an emotional reaction from us, rather than inform us. Evoking an emotional reaction makes people engage with the content: for example by clicking on hyperlinks. This 'click bait' then leads to higher ratings and/or higher profits from advertising. 

The left-leaning traditional media (e.g. BBC, ABC, France 24, Al Jazeera etc.) cater to people who have an emotional reaction to injustice. The neo-marxist/communistic ideal of social justice forms the narrative and the lens in which left-leaning media view the world and frame their stories. It is worth noting here that they are also quite selective about what injustices they report on. 

The right-leaning traditional media (e.g. Fox news, Skynews opinion, Spectator etc.) cater to people who have an emotional reaction to restrictions of freedom. The conservative/capitalistic ideal of liberty forms the narrative and the lens in which right-leaning media view the world and frame their stories.

Participants in social media (e.g. X/Twitter, Facebook etc.) often take 'click bait' journalism to an extreme level. They do this because they fall victim to the algorithms of these social media platforms that bring together like minded people, which then validates their views and makes them think that their views are popular and shared by the majority. 

The recent conflict in the middle east with HAMAS terrorists and the State of Israel is a tragic but relevant case study. The left-leaning media viewed this conflict from their lens of social justice and framed their narrative about the suffering of Palestinians. The right leaning media viewed the same conflict from their lens of liberty and framed their narrative about the democratic State of Israel and its right to defend it's citizens.

So, who do we believe? 

As authentic journalism disappears from the world and traditional media is polarised, and social media is hyper-polarised, how can we know the true reality - the whole truth? 

Well, we could observe both the left-leaning media and the right-leaning media and come to a conclusion that is somewhere in the middle. If we do this, however, we could fall victim to the assumption that people with strong convictions (both on the left or the right of politics) know all there is to know about a given topic. This is often not the case. So what do we do then?

Before we can uncover the true reality, we must first protect our self from flawed thinking. Flawed thinking (Dunning Kruger Effect) happens when a person understands a little about something and thinks they know all about it. Not realising what they don't know, they become extremely confident and adopt strong convictions about the little they know. This is akin to someone watching only the left leaning media today and coming to the conviction that HAMAS (a murderous terrorist organisation) is 'good' and Israel (the only democracy in the middle east) is 'bad'.

Protecting our self from flawed thinking is to realise that as much as we know about something, there is also a lot more that we don't know about it. With this wisdom as a 'blank sheet', we are ready for the practice of determining what is true/good and what is false/bad in the world. This is the practice of mindfulness.

The practice of mindfulness was expounded by the Buddha over 2500 years ago and described in the Kalama Sutra:

“Do not accept anything merely because you have heard it or repeatedly heard it. Do not accept anything merely because it has been handed down through the generations. Do not accept anything merely because it is spoken and rumoured by the many. Do not accept anything merely because it is found written in your scriptures. Do not accept anything by mere supposition. Do not accept anything by mere inference. Do not accept anything merely on appearance. Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your preconceived notions. Do not accept anything merely because it seems acceptable. Do not accept anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. 

This contemplative is our teacher.

When you know for yourselves, such things are unwholesome, blameworthy, censured by the wise and when practiced, leads to ruin or sorrow (of one or all) then indeed reject them. 

And when you know for yourselves, such things are wholesome, blameless, praised by the wise and when practiced, leads to wellbeing and happiness (of one and all) then embrace it and live up to it”. 

H.D.| Dec 2023

IDEOLOGY THAT KILLS FREEDOM AND CEDES sovereignty

The current armed conflict in Israel has many similarities to the past armed conflict in Heladiva (Sri Lanka). 

In 2009, the 26 year armed conflict between the defence forces of the democratically elected government of Heladiva  (Sri Lanka) and the murderous LTTE terrorist organization ended with the elimination of the LTTE. The left leaning western media whose narrative was sympathetic to the murderous LTTE, framed this conflict as a civil war, minimising the horrors and crimes committed by those terrorists.

Similarly, the current armed conflict in Israel is between the defence forces of the democratically elected Israeli government and the murderous HAMAS terrorist organization. The left leaning western media whose narrative favours the Palestinians, wrongly framed this conflict as a war between two nations: Israel and Palestine, minimising the horrors and crimes committed by these terrorists.

In both of these armed conflicts, foreign governments funded the murderous terrorists for their own geopolitical interest, placing such interest above the ideals of democracy, freedom and sovereignty. In both of these armed conflicts, civilians were used as human shields by the cowardly terrorists. One should never support terrorist organizations or cruel creatures that advocate violence, exploit civilians or commit murder.

Interestingly, the reaction of those against Israel's military response has shed light on a mental virus of ideology that has infected many in the West.

If you have been shocked to the core by the television images of pro-Palestinian protests on the streets of London, on the steps of the Sydney Opera house or at the Ivy League Universities of the United States, you are not alone. The waving of foreign flags, speeches of hate and chanting of the genocidal slogans (i.e. 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free') is an affront to decency, democracy, freedom, sovereignty, the rule of law and the millions of lives lost in the two World Wars that were fought to preserve such ideals that were once valued so highly by so many in the West and around the world. We have to wonder what has happened to the West when we see an embolden, immigrant senator in Canberra lead a walk out of a group of Australian senators in support of Palestine (which is ruled by murderous HAMAS terrorists) whilst shaming her adopted country, which gave her equal opportunity and the freedom to realise her dreams. 

The ideology of the political far left is to even out all perceived injustices and differences so everyone is equal and achieves equal outcomes. This 'feel good' notion embraced by the so called  'do-gooders' of the west is misguided as it is based on feeling not on fact. 

By nature of natural variation, it is impossible for everyone in a population to achieve equal outcomes. We can't all be the same as we have different interests, capabilities and strengths. We should all aim to provide equal opportunity but not equal outcomes. 

This 'woke' ideology of equal outcomes for all has spread in the West like a mental virus. There is a great danger here because this ideology is being applied to nations as well as individuals. In England for example, the English culture reigns sovereign because England is the land of evolution of the English culture. Similarly in Heladiva, the Hela culture reigns sovereign because Heladiva is the land of evolution of the Hela culture. If we go along with the woke ideology of equal outcomes for all, the non-indigenous cultures will soon over run the indigenous culture in its land of evolution.

Ideology blinds us to the facts. Knowing the facts gives us clarity and perspective, especially in times of conflict. So, let's look at the conflict in Israel and the relevant facts:

Islam originated in Saudi Arabia in the 7th century and then spread around the middle east. Judaism predates Islam by at least 1000 years. The Israelites lived in the Southern Levant (Current Israel) as far back as 1200 BC when the name of Israel first appeared in the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt. Therefore, Israel has the right to defend its territorial integrity, and their Jewish culture has the right of sovereignty in Israel. It however, does not mean that other cultures are not welcome in Israel. In fact, most Palestinians living in Israel as Israeli citizens prefer to live in Israel rather than under HAMAS in Gaza (for a democracy offers a better quality of life than a murderous military regime). The armed conflict in Israel is between the armed forces of the democratically elected Israeli government and the murderous terrorists called HAMAS (not with Palestinian civilians). Although divided by religion, Palestinians and Jews have a common origin, and the land of their ancestral identity is Israel. Sharing this land as one unified nation, under the protection and privileges of the only democracy in the middle-east that is the State of Israel, offers hope for a better future for all.

It is imperative that Western democracies ban any protest that support murderous terrorists. The West will need to rethink and see if they are still committed to the ideals of democracy, freedom and sovereignty that their forebears gave their lives to secure. Those who fail to condemn the October 7 attack by the murderous HAMAS terrorists and those who fail to call for the release of the Israeli hostages held by HAMAS are siding with murderous terrorists and failing to live up to the ideals of decency, democracy, freedom, sovereignty and the rule of law.

The mental virus of wokism is emboldening the protestors, and the selective narrative of the left leaning media is fuelling the fire. There is a difference between free speech and hate speech. If the western democracies allow these protests to continue, the mental virus of ideology will spread and the West will eventually lose their sovereignty, freedom and democracy, and most likely succumb to 7th century medieval practices. 

 J.K. | Remembrance Day 2023

“Sri Lanka” and “Sinhala” – the curse of Heladiva and Hela!

The above title may shock some but let’s find why? 

The current SL flag shows a Lion (an animal) and two colour stripes representing two non-indigenous nations (i.e. Tamil and Muslim).

Compare this with the ancient, original flag of the Hela Nation of Heladiva, which had the human face and the Sun’s rays around it, depicting humanity and a life in harmony with nature.

How did the original Hela flag change? 

Since the Mahavansa history tale, Heladiva and Hela were changed to Lanka and Sinhala in the greatest national conspiracy in history by a foreign Indian clique. The pre-historic authentic island name of Heladiva changed to Lanka and its peoples’ name Hela to Sinha+Hela= Sinhela and then to Sinhala. 

Why this Indian conspiracy against Heladiva and the Hela Nation?  

Heladiva (Island of the Hela) next to the Indian subcontinent with a unique culture of humanity and harmony with nature alongside made huge advances in the material sector in ancient times. Among the great ancient Hela kings were Manu, Thaaraka, Mahabali and Raavana (who was almost omnipotent). Indian rulers feared this surge of human refinement next door and were determined to undermine Heladiva.

It was the Mahavansa that wiped out the ancient Hela history with the greatest brainwashing of a Nation. 

The nefarious actions committed by an Indian ruling clique:

1)  Heladiva corrupted to Lanka which almost erased the sovereign ownership in the national Hela land deed exposing to fraudulent claims.

2)  Hela twisted to Sinha+Hela = Sinhela to Sinhala. This degenerated the utmost humanity of the Hela national significance in the national emblem into a beastly portrayal which could offer bogus valour to the weak in mind and heart. Didn’t stop there but buried the profoundly noble Hela pre-history to a mere 2,500 years.

3)  Into the bargain an hybrid Sinhala entity was born with the mixing of the Indian intruders who succeeded in hijacking the governance of the Island Country. From which triggered the brainwashing campaign of Helas into Sinhalas.

4)  Helabasa being a uniquely rich and self-reliant language, its degradation was set upon by pushing in foreign words of Sanskrit and Pali. To this day many words of Sinhala version are coarse, complicated and most of the rural Hela people find unable to pronounce and meaningless to them.

So, Why think of the Past?       

Not having a past is similar to a tree without its roots. It’s true that change is life but the change need to be monitored and guided for sustenance and progress. Today from yesterday and tomorrow from today!

A.S. | 3 January 2023