Golden Haiku 2022

 Fazli Sameer

Haiku 1	A virus was born Mutating across the land It will soon be gone
Haiku 2 (Optional)	Come lie here with me Put your head on my shoulder Peace lives all around

Saku's Stories

 ----- Overcoming religion---

Over the years, I've discovered that stemming from a family influenced by two religions is a wonderful thing. My father comes from a devout Roman Catholic family. My mother came from a Buddhist family. Even though they were from the same province, Wennappuwa and Makandura could easily have been on two different planets.

They got married and the relatives from both sides were not happy. It was unheard of in my father's family to marry someone who was not only Buddhist but also Govigama. It was equally unheard of in my mother's family to marry someone who was not only Catholic, but also karave.(govigama and karave are castes in the Sri Lankan caste system)

But there they were, having fallen in love, and tied the knot, and having three offspring. If my parents had chosen to live in Wennappuwa, I'm sure our lives would be different now. But instead, they built their home in Makandura, in my mother's village.

The story goes that my mother's uncle, who was a Buddhist monk, had originally planned to give a parcel of land he inherited from his parents to my mother. But when uncovered the hanky panky between my parents he was so outraged he revoked his gift. My mother collected all the money she could and bought the land off him. That showed him, didn't it! That's where my parents built their home. And that's where my siblings and I grew up.

As a first child, I was baptised as a baby in the Wennappuwa Catholic church. That being said, because my father is who he is, the non-believer of God and eschewer of all religions, it was my mother's hand that guided us when it came to religious matters.

She let us pick. They let us pick. We were shown both worlds and we were given the chance to pick.

I loved visiting my paternal grandmother and aunt, not just because our very fun older cousin lived there. But also because the food was always amazing and there were these comic style bible story books lying around. My first forays into Moses, and David, and even Jesus came from these stories. And there were small statues of Jesus and Mother Mary around, which were so beautiful that if you stared for a while, you'd find yourself feeling peaceful.

Every Christmas we went to Wennappuwa. Most Christmases we would go on the 24th night. Because I was known as the sickly one who couldn't endure anything, I was always left behind, while my grandmother, my aunt's family, and my family went to the Midnight Mass. I slept. They took part in the Mass walked back home amidst happy crowds. I still slept.

On the 25th morning there was an amazing Christmas breakfast followed by exchanging of presents. Then we visited all our relatives living in the area. There were a lot of them! Cakes and wine and sweets and i honestly don't know how we had any tummy space left for lunch. Which we did by the way, because my aunt can cook! Her food is always so good and her Christmas table, the stuff of legends!

After tea, we left for home, the same to be repeated the following Christmas. Even though it is Christmas at Wennappuwa that I've written about, we also took part in various other Sri Lankan Christian/Catholoc days. Easter, Good Friday, the Founding day of the church known as the පල්ලියේ මංගල්ලේ, the day of the dead in November etc.

Now, I know I sound like a tourist in a new country when I speak of Christianity. Other than having read the King James bible, I have zero theological knowledge about Christianity. But I love what Jesus represents to me; hope, love, and good in the world. I love what Mother Mary represents to me; perseverance, love, and endurance.

The reason why I sound like a tourist when I speak of Christianity is because I grew up in a predominantly Buddhist environment. And because when I was small I was mostly guided by my mother when it came to religion.

I sat on the floor next to her to say pansil in the evenings and giggled when she said Akasattacha Bhummatta. I went to the temple with her. I also went to the temple Sunday school for a while. Our village temple is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to. There's a lake just behind the half-walls. A massive bo tree with leaves rustling in the ever present breeze. White sand stepped on by countless worshippers. A පහන් වැට (a sort of a decorative wrought iron rack fir oil lamps) just behind the bo tree. A vihara filled with beautiful paintings.

I've sat on the white sand with my maternal grandmother listening to bana in the evenings. I've walked to the temple along the pothole filled road from our house and back in the moonlight.

I've learned what I could about the Dhamma.

And because of the gift of choice my parents gave me, I now do not religiously follow any religion.

I don't believe in a God. I also think that the deities associated with Buddhism are most probably extraterrestrial or extradimensional beings. That's just me being a nerd, but well!

But I believe in Karma, as in the cause and effect of everything. I also somewhat believe in reincarnation as a natural progression of karma, keyword being somewhat.

In my books, for whatever it is worth, people need religion because it is comforting to think that there's someone look after us, someone to guide us. But mostly because it gives us a sense of comfort as we contemplate the great beyond.

When my mother died, one of the things I wished for, other than turning back time was to know where she is now. My Buddhist background dictates that she must be somewhere. It would have given me great comfort to know where exactly. But I know that I cannot.

Also, in times of distress, I have wished I had a higher being guiding me, showing me the way. But I know that I do not.

Apart from all of this, what I wanted to say was that as someone who grew up in a bi-religious family, I knew from childhood that different people hold different beliefs and values, and that's okay. When I was about eight or nine I used to get mad at my cousin for believing in a God and she used to get mad at me for not believing in one. But we have loved each other very much throughout the years and our differences have never retracted from our love.

What I wanted to say was that it's okay I have beliefs different from yours. It's okay for you to have beliefs different from mine. It doesn't make either of us better or worse.

Instead of a doctrine or a religion, what I believe in now is being kind, being considerate, being good not for the sake of righteousness but just because you can. What I now believe in is that we are all very very flawed. We are multifaceted. What I now believe in is accepting people with their differences.

Thankfully, I have a partner who believes likewise when it comes to religion, and in our household, children are not forced into accepting religion. My almost nine year old for instance is going through a phase where he loves Egyptian and Greek mythologies. And we are okay with that. So is he. My almost three year old says Sadhu everytime she sees a temple and we are okay with that too.

Be and let be. Love and let love.

Happy holidays!

Saku's Stories

 ---- Discovering Religion ----

A few weeks ago, we were travelling somewhere and the topic of religion sprang in the car. I think it was Deepavali and I explained to Seth that Deepawali meant the festival of light. He grumbled, apparently he wasn't happy with Hinduism. When asked why, he explained that a friend of his had done a dance for the school Dusshera festival and he didn't like the dance. So logically, he didn't like Hinduism. But when I explained that many of his friends were in fact Hindu and does their religion play into being friends, the answer was obviously no. He really liked those friends. Religion had nothing to do with their friendship.

Then I reminded him that he and I started reading the Maha Bharatha and that the Maha Bhartha is full of various Hindu deities. (Sadly, we didn't continue reading it, but we should.)

"Deities? As in plural?"

Yep. I said. Christianity has only one God. But there are and have been many religions with multi-deities or Gods. Who did he think Thor was then?

"Ahh.. There's Thor and Odin and Loki and Freya the rest."

Then there's Raa and Set and Amun and the rest. There's also Zeus, and Poseidon, and Hades, and the rest. Multitheism is very common.

Why people from early civilisations invented a horde to Gods has been a topic we had touched several times before. Thanks to Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder I had been able to very descriptively explain to him the need for Gods of the early peoples.

They had no working knowledge of science. For the longest time, the world was thought to be flat. They didn't know how the world was created. We still don't know how the world was created. What we now have are calculated guesses by experienced scientists. What they had was a need to know just like us. So most major religions have a creation story. Imagination filling in the gaps of knowledge.

The early people didn't know how the seasons were created. So in Nordic countries, when Freya reigned supreme, it was Springtime. When she got kidnapped, Spring ended. For the Greek, when Persephone was above ground, it was Spring and when she was with Hades, it was Winter.

They didn't know how thunder and lightning happened. So for the Greeks it thundered when Zeus used his lightning bolt. For the Nordic, it thundered when Thor wielded his hammer.

Because of the many things which needed explaining, many deities were needed.

His next question was then, are we Buddhist? Because his paternal grandparents are Buddhist. His Paternal grandfather is the principal of a temple Sunday school. Because, our then nextdoor neighbour, I.e. his best friend's family are Buddhist. And he didn't know if he was.

So I explained to him how thaththi and I had been Buddhist most of our lives while having a Christian influence as kids, we longer practiced the traditions or rituals that identify one as Buddhist per se.

What does he want to be? He can be anything he wants. Only thing that we ask him is that before choosing one, read up on everything as much as he can. Be informed. Pick something which answers his questions. Something that makes him a better person. Something that agrees with his worldview. As a nine year old, his worldview right now is rather limited. But as he grows, I'm sure his worldview will grow with him.

"Can I be Egyptian?

Sure thing.

Can I be Greek?

Sure thing.

Because they're really cool.

Of course babi. (Did I mention he has read Rick Riordan way too much?)

They have magic. They have magic amma.

Yeah, exactly. They have magic. In most religions, Gods can do magicky things. So it's like reading a fantasy story isn't it? Most Gods can do feats that regular humans can't do.

So religion is like fantasy?

Yep.

Cool. Even Buddhism?

Yeah, even Buddhism. The stories may or may not have happened. So consider the stories fantasy. Take what you can from it and leave the rest for later. How about that?

Okay.

Okay? Even Hinduism?

Okay. Even Hinduism.

Your friend danced beautifully you know.

Ahhh!! All that jewelry and makeup. I couldn't recognise her. But I get what you mean, so yeah, okay."

P.s I realise that my worldview could very well be different from yours and the way we raise our children could be different from how you raise yours. And both you and I are okay.

Saku's Stories

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by

Sakunthala Ransrini Peiris

When I was small, I lived in a village. At least until I was ten, when I passed the government scholarship exam and moved to a school in Colombo. Even afterwards, almost all of my weekends and holidays were spent in the village. Our house was large, the garden even larger, with plenty of space for kids to run around in.

My childhood was spent playing outside with my sister. It was spent climbing trees and scaling walls. It was spent clambering to the rooftop for fun and cycling by myself through the village streets. As a child, I was unafraid. I was adventurous. I was wild and free and I ran rampant.

The days which weren't spent at home are still a too touchy a subject, and with your pardon I will broach it at some point in the future.

When I was halfway grown up, we moved to Summit Flats, smack dab in the middle of Colombo. And I got used to it. Used to the easy access to everything. Used to the enclosed space. Used to the tiny kitchen. Used to not living in Makandura under the vast open skies. And I got used to thinking that this was the way it should be.

After coming back home from work, stepping out for any reason was hardly ever done. I didn't even help thaththa cook or clean. I watched tv and ate and slept in the big dark room with my siblings.

Don't get me wrong. It was a good life. But I had forgotten the sky, the trees, and the grass.

Even after I got married and moved out, and into our own place, my thinking didn't change. We had a small garden, but I hardly stepped out.

And then battling with depression, being inside the house and being inside a room was immensely easier than stepping out anyway. For me handling that small space was somehow do-able than facing the green and the grass and the large mango tree in our garden. There is something comforting about being in a manageable space when you're battling with depression.

What didn't realise was that I was crippling my children, especially my eldest. My eldest with his heart of gold, my little philosopher, my little empath. My eldest, inside whom my heartbeats. He too was now getting too comfortable not stepping outside.

As for my little flower child, my little princess, who's got a piece of my soul, she follows her brother in everything.

We moved. We moved to a new house a month ago. Now we have a green green garden with grass to cushion little feeties. We are planting trees. And my babies are outside, all the time, just running about and playing. My eldest does his wizardry and hero prancing in the garden. He reads in the garden. My youngest runs around the garden with her lovely curls bouncing around her face.

They laugh when it gets windy. They run through the rain. They jump in puddles. They listen to birdsong in the mornings and admonish the little red-vented bulbul that comes inside the kitchen to peck away at their fruit.

And I watch. And now, with each step outside easier than the one before, I run outside and chase my children under the blue blue skies.

#sakurambleson