The Dance of Destiny by Raja Arasa Ratnam
         against the background of the author

As one born in the (Chinese) Year of the Dragon, the author speculates that both external and the internal trajectories of the universe are symbolically signified by the flight of dragons. The dragons, he concludes, "soar into the sky of solitude, and simultaneously sink into the sea of humanity, as they sing the song of significance about their true home, that Ocean of Consciousness which unites all existence and non-existence." What then determines the trajectories of the human species?

As an octogenarian, the author is aware that he is well past his (statistical) use-by date. Before 'passing on', either to that Way Station/Recycling Depot or Heaven/Home, he wishes to understand the determinants of the human condition. More specifically, he seeks to explain his confusing life experiences, which significantly and repeatedly damaged his life chances. But ... ... such events are neither unique nor unusual for many humans.

Yet, to be transplanted into a racist alien land in his youth, repeatedly rebuffed in both his career and in marriage, perennially a societally marginal person and, nearing the end of his life alone (but not lonely): this was an improbable outcome for one whose middle class life-path in south east Asia was seemingly predictable and potentially prosperous. But ... ... surely these events are neither unique nor unusual for some humans.

To be told, at age 65, that the spirit world had experienced some difficulty in getting him into Australia; and that, whilst he sought to mature spiritually, he could also seek to contribute to building a bridge between where he had come from and where he now was: that surely was a unique event. Is the spirit world one of the determinants of human life events?

Unable to deny this event or to challenge the information so gained, what was this ageing fellow - normally exceedingly curious about what makes individuals, their societies, and the Cosmos what they are - to do? Reading, observing, experiencing - then what? Consulting, analysing, writing - these led to a memoir. Setting out the incongruities in his life; seeking to explain the hitherto improbable; suffering the agonies of remembering long-buried emotional events (not all painful, of course); and wondering 'Why me?' and 'Why did I have to go through all those pitfalls and blockages?' in order to make whatever contribution he was expected to make: that was an osmotic process of personal spiritual maturation, offering flashes of insight into what might be the reality of human existence.

The path he had been on was indeed tortuous. The major disasters were collectively horribly destructive - to him and his Significant Others. These disasters he referred to as wheels falling off his life-chances donkey cart (him being the moke). Many of the unsighted pitfalls of painful significance were described by him as holes which were not there. When one is born gifted, but achievements fall so far below reasonable expectations, could one not ask 'How so?', especially when one's plans and effort were carefully thought out and seemingly well executed.

A communitarian Hindu lad grew up happily in the multicultural nation-in-the-making, British Malaya. Religio-cultural tolerance was endemic. It reflected a universally-held view that religion is a private matter. In time, cuisine and clothing styles became borrowed. A common language bonded the next generation closely. The supercilious white Christian colonial interloper, referred to commonly as European 'upstarts', pretended in the meanwhile to teach their natives how to govern themselves, whilst they raped the land, seduced their servants, and created a creole segment of the populace. In this they relied heavily on their guns and their 'Good Book.'

Then brutal 'bandy-legged squinty-eyed' Nips drove off the 'upstarts' with some ease. A military occupation brought fear and hardship to the populace. The 'white man's burden' had been shattered, splintered irretrievably.

The lightly coloured Hindu lad, now a youth, entered the individual-rights based White Australia soon after World War Two. How did this young man cope with the then bitter religious divide between the Roman Catholics, a minority totally controlled by a monolithic anti-British priesthood, and the Protestants with their manifold sects? How did he cope with oral attacks and other brutal references to him being a 'black bastard'; and with the denigrating references to the 'yellow hordes' to the north of the continent and the Muslim Indonesians who were all about to invade Australia any minute (just like the Martians)? Unfounded superiority surrounded and infused by an irrational fear - what a conundrum!

Strangely, out of the White Australia ethos arose that egalitarian practice of mateship (but only to one's own - that is, white British males) and that commendable 'fair-go' social value of just and equitable treatment available to one and all, irrespective of class; but initially not applicable to coloured people, especially the indigene.

It was into this ethno-cultural miasma that the involuntary Asian settler sought to achieve a toe-hold. He became knowledgeable about migrant settlement and related issues, through his own experiences, as well as his work near the end of his career. Rejected as 'too black' to be a psychologist; rejected repeatedly as an executive in the private sector because the Australian worker was 'not yet ready' for a foreign executive; rejected sequentially by senior public service managements as not one of them; he rolled along, learning, contributing. And surviving sane, whilst wondering how he did that. Was he protected by his spirit guide? He has been told that he has one; and has had this guide described to him by appearance.

In the  meanwhile, he achieved leadership roles in community service, once lunching with the then Governor-General, and twice appearing as equal guest speaker with State Governors at formal dinners. In spite of some concealed racism and some tribal discrimination from above when he was about 55 years of age, he had counselled senior lawyers and executives in major corporations about government policies; and liaised with State government officials and ethnic community leaders. Rejection by one side, and acceptance by the other. Was there a Cosmic template involved?

All this is woven through the two parts of the book. It is a combination of aspects of: Australian history; an Australian society maturing ethno-politically into the Asian environs; colonialism; a military occupation; and the communitarian values and spirituality of Asian cultures contrasted with the individualism of the immigrant-created English-speaking nations, which the author refers as the Ultra-West. Through his varied experiences, the author has undergone tremendous changes; in return, he has been an agent of change in his country of adoption.

He has observed most closely the many changes which have occurred in his nation of adoption, most of which are for the better. Some changes had no impact on him. These include the alleged War on Terror, and the neo-colonialism involved in Australia seeking to impose Western Democracy on foreign cultures. The societal deterioration caused by family breakdown in recent times does, however, offend his Asian values; he is concerned about the society to be inhabited by his grandchildren.         

The book concludes with a most positive message, a spiritual one. It is for the reader to seek this out.

Before writing 'The Dance of Destiny,' the author had published 3 books under his birth name Arasa (under psychic advice) about migrant settlement and the associated issues of citizenship, ethnic affairs, multiculturalism, refugee & humanitarian entry, national identity, and settlement assistance by the government. This was in response to advice from the spirit world. The books were supported by senior academics and other notable people. Details of these books are set out in a separate section.

After writing 'The Dance of Destiny' apart from his book of fiction (written for fun), he has written an end-of-life 'Musings at death's door: an ancient bicultural Asian-Australian ponders about Australian society.'  Details of this book are set out in a separate section. This is indeed a companion book to the memoir.