Gnanawathi Jayasooriya
Gnanawathi Jayasooriya commonly known as Gnana Akka is a Sri Lankan businesswoman and self-proclaimed psychic claiming to have a persona called "Gnana Maniyo" capable of channeling the goddesses Pattini and Kali. She managed to gain a large number of followers including the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka Army commander Shavendra Silva and was called the President's personal shaman. She was accused of using her influence over the president to direct the politics of the country and use state resources for her personal benefit and as a result was targeted during the 2022 Sri Lankan protests. During the protests she was given 250 soldiers and ten policemen commanded by an army brigadier. Early life Gnanawathi was born in Isurupura, Anuradhapura to a paddy farmer and received education Deepani Maha Vidyalaya (now President's College) where she passed her Ordinary Level (OL) examination but only passed one subject in Advanced Level (AL). She later worked as an telepho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'right' bracket or, alternatively, an "opening bracket" or "closing bracket", respectively, depending on the Writing system#Directionality, directionality of the context. Specific forms of the mark include parentheses (also called "rounded brackets"), square brackets, curly brackets (also called 'braces'), and angle brackets (also called 'chevrons'), as well as various less common pairs of symbols. As well as signifying the overall class of punctuation, the word "bracket" is commonly used to refer to a specific form of bracket, which varies from region to region. In most English-speaking countries, an unqualified word "bracket" refers to the parenthesis (round bracket); in the United States, the square bracket. Glossary of mathematical sym ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation. Although many people believe in List of psychic abilities, psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience. The word "psychic" is also used as an adjective to describe such abilities. Psychics encompass people in a variety of roles. Some are theatrical performers, such as Magic (illusion), stage magicians, who use various techniques, e.g., Sleight of hand, prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot reading, to produce the appearance of such abilities for entertainment purposes. A large industry and network exists whereby people advertised as psychics provide advice and counsel to clients. Some famous psyc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Channeling (as A Medium)
Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spirit channelling, including séance tables, trance, and ouija. Belief in psychic ability is widespread despite the absence of objective evidence for its existence. Scientific researchers have attempted to ascertain the validity of claims of mediumship. An experiment undertaken by the British Psychological Society led to the conclusion that the test subjects demonstrated no mediumistic ability. Mediumship gained popularity during the nineteenth century, when ouija boards were used as a source of entertainment. Investigations during this period revealed widespread fraud—with some practitioners employing techniques used by stage magicians—and the practice began to lose credibility.Ruth Brandon. (1983). ''The Spiritualists: The Passion fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pattini
Pattini (, ,), is considered a guardian deity of Sri Lanka in Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sinhalese folklore. She is also worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus by the name of ''Kannaki Amman''. She is considered the patron goddess of fertility and health, particularly protection against smallpox, which is referred to as ''deviyange ledé'' ('the divine affliction') in the Sinhala language. History Goddess Pattini is the deification of Kannagi, who is the central character of the Tamil epic '' Silapadhikaram'' of Ilango Adigal, written in India after the 2nd Century CE. After a short time, it was introduced into Sri Lanka and absorbed earlier deities such as ''Kiri Amma'' ('milk mother'). Historians attribute the introduction of goddess Pattini to the island to Gajabahu I, a Sinhalese king who ruled Sri Lanka from 113 - 135 CE. As per some historians, the ''Silapathikaram'' mentions Gajabahu's presence at the consecration of a temple to Kannagi (identified as Pattini in this case ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tradition, she is considered as a ferocious form of goddess Mahadevi, the supreme of all powers, or the ultimate reality. She is the first of the ten Mahavidyas in the Hindu Tantras (Hinduism), tantric tradition. Kali's earliest appearance is when she emerged from Shiva. She is regarded as the ultimate manifestation of Shakti, and the mother of all living beings. The goddess is stated to destroy evil in order to protect the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and Tàntric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Principal energy Adi Shakti. Shaktism, Shakta Hindu and Tantra, Tantric sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or ''Brahman''. She is also seen as the divi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan military officer and politician, who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022. He previously served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Born to a political family from the Southern Province, Rajapaksa was educated at Ananda College, Colombo and joined the Ceylon Army in April 1971. Following basic training at the Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa, he was commissioned as signals officer and later transferred to several infantry regiments. He saw active service in the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Shavendra Silva
General Shavendra Silva, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP ( si, ශවේන්ද්ර සිල්වා, ta, ஷவேந்திர சில்வா) is a Sri Lanka Army officer. He is the Chief of Defence Staff and former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, His prior appointments include, Chief of Staff of the army, Adjutant General and Director of Operations of the Army. During the Sri Lankan civil war he gained fame as the General Officer Commanding of the elite 58 Division. He had also served as the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Headquarters. Early life and education Shavendra Silva was born on 22 June 1964 in Matale, the son of Creasy de Silva, former Chairman, Sri Lanka Transport Board and Sumana Bandu Silva, an English teacher. He had three siblings that included Lakshman de Silva who became CEO of the HDFC Bank and Ajantha de Silva, who is a retired Air Vice-Marshal. He was educated at Vijaya College, Matale; St Thomas' College, Matal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2022 Sri Lankan Protests
The 2022 Sri Lankan protests ( si, අරගලය, translit=Aragalaya, lit=Struggle), are mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. The government has been criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy, which led to a subsequent economic crisis involving severe inflation, daily blackouts, a shortage of fuel, domestic gas, and other essential goods. The main demand of the protesters has been the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and key officials from the Rajapaksa family. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties, most protesters have considered themselves to be apolitical, and some have expressed discontent with the parliamentary opposition. During the protests, protesters have chanted slogans such as "go home Gota" and "go home Rajapaksas". The protests have been mainly caused by the general public, with youths playing a major part by carrying out protests at Galle Face Green. The government has reacted to these protests w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
''Daily Mirror'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Colombo, Sri Lanka, by Wijeya Newspapers. Its Sunday counterpart is the ''Sunday Times''. Its sister newspaper on financial issues is the ''Daily FT''. Daily supplements ;Mondays through Saturdays *''Mirror Business'' *''Life'' ;Tuesdays *''W@W – Women at work'' ;Thursdays *''Junior Mirror'' See also *''Lankadeepa'', Sinhala-language sister newspaper *''Tamil Mirror'', Tamil-language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pud ... sister newspaper Notes External links * - Daily Mirror Daily newspapers published in Sri Lanka English-language newspapers published in Sri Lanka Publications established in 1999 Wijeya Newspapers Mass media in Colombo {{SriLanka-newspaper-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Samagi Jana Balawegaya
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (, ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சக்தி, "United People's Power") is a political alliance that is led by the opposition leader of Sri Lanka, Sajith Premadasa. The alliance was formed with the approval from the working committee of the United National Party (UNP) to contest the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election. On 11 February 2020 the election commission of Sri Lanka announced that they have accepted the party as a recognised political party in Sri Lanka. Ranjith Mandumabandara was named as the General Secretary of the party. Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) joined the new alliance on 12 February 2020. Alliance won 54 seats and became the main opposition just 6 months after its formation. While the alliance traces its 'roots' back (primarily) to the liberal-conservative principles of the UNP, some members of the Sri Lankan media argued that the SJB has over t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hirunika Premachandra
Hirunika Eranjali Premachandra Yattowita ( Sinhala: හිරුණිකා ප්රේමචන්ද්ර; born 14 October 1987) better known as Hirunika Premachandra is a member of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. She is a former Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament from the United National Party and a former member of the Western Provincial Council. Born to Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, Hirunika was educated at Visakha Vidyalaya. Political career Premachandra started her political career soon after her father's death claiming justice to her father's killing. She accused UPFA politician Duminda Silva for the death. She joined her fathers' party Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 2014 to contest for the Provincial Council for the Western Province. She topped the list with the highest numbers of votes. In November 2014 she joined the oppression camp at the presidential election supporting Maithripala Sirisena. Soon after the Sirisena won the election Premachandra was appointed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |