I WANT TO SEE YOU IN ANOTHER WAY : A Poem by Priestess Bairavee Balasubramaniam, PhD

 

‘I WANT TO SEE YOU IN ANOTHER WAY’

Be grateful for that one voice that stands apart from the crowd,
A whisper, a murmur, a vigilante-watcher shouting out loud and proud…
Be grateful for that person that makes you question, rather than doubt,
For you have nothing to lose, the Universe’s work is about.

Be loving to that soul that said – I want to see you in another way,
Cherish this time where you are challenged to say,
Let me see your Love and your views of today.

We’ll find a place, a space of grace,
Where your world and mine can respectfully embrace,
And we’ll make waves…

That Ripple of Love, That Olive Branch, That White Dove,
We’ll transform all in its way,
Even hatred … held at bay,

What else can I say to that Alchemy of Spirit?
That Fire of Transmutation?
The Expansion of Perception, The Rejection of Rejection…

Except ….
Hooray!

By Priestess Bairavee Balasubramaniam, PhD
www.bairaveebalasubramaniam.com

Image: By [http://flickr.com/photos/35943421@N00 saipal] (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The Path of Peace can never be Forged by Hatred ~ By Priestess Bairavee Balasubramaniam, PhD

 

Silence can be a powerful tool of protest through disengagement, but it can also be a sign of apathy, or of having been subjugated, your voice lost.

Despite having a PhD in the subject, I rarely speak about politics unless it’s in an article I write, or at a conference. I find it to be a subject that tends to polarize rather than unify. That being said, politics is woven into the world, and our personal lives in ways and levels that make it impossible to avoid.

Right now feels like one of those times where remaining silent would be apathetic.

On my page The Goddess, The Serpent and The Sea: Building Pathways of Light, I posted a meme that essentially condemned the situation in Gaza – asserting that standing in solidarity with the lives lost was not the same as hating either side. I liked it as it was a statement of empathy and solidarity without judgment. (We have enough of the latter in this world, and too little of the former).

I got two interesting responses to it: One, was a lady whom I’d never heard being aggressive, telling me that the extremists on the Palestinian side would kill me (us, the collective ‘you’) after they’d killed all the Jews. The second, was someone who’d posted a video of an son of a general in the Israeli army speaking out against the killings.

I was grateful for the second comment as it was a sign that not all Jews supported the conflict – many others are making similar efforts to put the word out there. This knowledge helps one de-link the actions of a particular military and/or government from the faith and ethnicity they are associated with. It also slows the growth and prevalence of insidious generalizations that equate people of a certain faith with aggression and war. (And it’s not just about the Judaism, I take that stance when any faith, religion and spiritual path is involved).

Equally, I was grateful for the first comment, as it was a reminder for me to get out of my silence and speak. This was my reply:

Hate manifests hate. Basic spiritual principle. By hating them, you do not change or help the situation.

I should add – By refusing to hate, you do not condone or support unjust actions. Too many people believe they must hate one side or another to support the opposite party.

If we are truly honest in our spiritual paths – we have to ask ourselves – can the Path of Peace be forged by Hatred?

I say this as a priestess, political scholar and as a Tamil woman – I am the daughter of a race that was raped and slaughtered in Sri Lanka in an act of genocide in its own right that has yet to be fully acknowledged.

Blessings to all,
Priestess Bairavee Balasubramaniam, PhD
www.bairaveebalasubramaniam.com

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Image: Artist Unknown. Originally on: http://mepeace(dot)org/profiles/blogs/palestine-post

Update: It has come to my attention that the video of the son of the general may be a hoax. The idea that not all Israelis and Jews support military action on Gaza is, however, a valid one. 5,000 attended this rally in Tel Aviv, protesting for peace between Israel and Paleston: http://972mag.com/no-more-deaths-israelis-protest-the-gaza-war/94380/

 

A Second Graduation … (to be held in late Sept 2014)

 

What an eventful day. I feel so very blessed.

Today, out of the blue, I received an invitation to attend a second, special graduation ceremony hosted by the British Council and British High Commission in Malaysia – to be held in Kuala Lumpur. They extended the invitation to all Malaysians who graduated in the UK in the past 15 years. The second graduation will be in late September.

Co-incidentally, I graduated on the 18th of July 2013 – tomorrow would be an exact year since that event – this year’s graduation ceremonies are taking place at my University as I write this! Talk about Divine Timing 🙂

My parents were not able to attend my official graduation ceremony in the UK [shown] and there was a sense of deep hurt and longing – coincidentally this was also the time of the Grand Sextile (July 2013) and other wild energies. My friends and others close to me were there in attendance and everyone brought so much love to that day – it was not one without challenge. But through it all, I had this deep regret that my dad (in particular, as my mum had seen me during my undergrad ceremony) could not be there to see it.

Fingers crossed, all goes well and my parents will actually be able to see me ‘become a doctor’ for the second time 😀 Same degree though (PhD in Politics).

I feel as though this prayer I was holding so close to my chest, my gut, my inner child was truly and blissfully answered.

So Thank You Universe.

~ Bairavee Balasubramaniam, PhD