Having been caught by the rain during the last few evenings and yet not having to suffer the consequences, I was intending to write on immunity this day. However, this letter from a tourist which appeared in the Star newspaper takes me to something more pressing in my country, Malaysia. Let us look at a part of what this tourist has written.
"But what’s most outstanding were the people. No matter of which race and religion, all of them share the same traits: open and extremely friendly.
They are very polite and always helpful. They seemed to get along well with each other in their social lives and working relationships. I did not see any unpleasant incident, unlike in so many other places where social segregation and disturbances are clearly visible.
Despite their differences, the people here appeared to me as genuine Malaysians. Happy is the country where people can live in harmony and understanding with their neighbours and not bother about colour, religion or ethnicity."
There is so much truth in what this tourist has written. I agree whole-heartedly with his impressions of Malaysians from all walks of life. Malaysians as a whole get along very well with each other no matter their differences in race, culture or religion. We respect each others' belief and practices. We never think of our friends as immigrants from another land for none of us are; we are born in this land and this is our country.
Unfortunately, we have powerful, influential political leaders who abuse their positions to ram into our minds every so often that some are more supreme than others, that they are the guardians of one particular community despite their standing as national leaders, that the minority people are less deserving of being equal in every way to the majority and these minority are still considered 'immigrants'.
Lately, there was the government creating a foundation for just one race with the so called noble idea of helping the poor having a share of properties in the country which according to them would otherwise be in the hands of the elite. Which elite? If it is to help the poor, every community has its poor. Such a foundation to help the poor ought to be for all poor Malaysians and not just for one community. Who actually benefits from such a foundation? It is the rich in that community who will become even richer. How much can the poor, especially those who live from hand to mouth benefit from such a foundation? With this crooked thinking (How true is knowledge I gained from the book 'Straight and Crooked Thinking'.)politicians find ways to gain at the expense of the really poor whose name they abuse. Can it be a 1Malaysia when projects usually divide the people?
Well, I am sorry but most Malaysian politicians I detest.
Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Religions in Turmoil.
The First World War was a result of the desire for Japanese supremacy. The Germans thought they could be the superior race and started the Second World War to prove themselves wrong. Fortunately, we have no Third World War for such a war would have seen the end of the world. As time progresses more and more countries are acquiring nuclear capability and world leaders are increasingly aware that a nuclear war can bring such an end.
Awareness of dire consequences of war does not however prevent war as we can read in the news media each day of destruction and death brought by religious extremists. We have war between countries, arsonists, destroyers, terrorists and killers. In many parts of the world they either send terrorising messages or commit acts which cause death and destruction. Today, we have a war of terrorism.
In Malaysia, we have extremists burning and causing damage to churches and suraus or mosques, just because one home-minister decided to ban the use of the word 'Allah' among Christians; a word which has been in use for so many years in Sabah and Sarawak without any problems of any kind. His ban caused the Christians to take the case to court where they were given back the right to use that word. The decision of the court caused Muslim groups to protest and the leaders of the country even said that the people had the right to such a protest although peaceful protests before this had been disallowed. With that, we saw a number of churches damaged. Later, other extremists damaged some suraus or small mosques.
These terrorists comprise of people who are supposed to be religious; people who give up a normal life to think of ways and means to terrorise those whom they believe are the enemies of their religion. They are devoted to their cause despite having to be on the run, forever weary of armed forces which may put an end to their lives. Yes, obviously they live for a cause; their desire to fight for that cause is so great that nothing much can stop them.
These terrorists are indeed strong in their mission; whatever mission they may claim to have. Nevertheless, having a mission and a cause do not make their acts of terrorism right, no matter how we look at it, be it in reference to international man-made laws or the teachings of God and religion. In fact all religions teach their followers peace and good-will to all mankind, even the followers of other religions.
In Malaysia, good religious leaders come out to condemn such terrorist acts. some even help to protect places of worship from such acts of terrorism. It shows that there are true believers of God, after all and there is still hope for excellent practice of the teachings of God.
Still, when we look at various parts of the world and we see so much destruction in the name of God, certainly, something is very wrong. Perhaps. we ought to do something to stop this worrisome acts of violence that can only beget more violence. Let us study a little the possible causes of such violence.
Look at those who are atheist or those who are studying the wise teachings of great leaders who have found enlightenment. Have such people ever taken up such destructive causes?
Has anyone ever heard of atheist insisting that others join them in their belief? None, right? so, they live life according to the laws of the land and their own conscience or their own divine spirit. They never insist they have any right to anything except that which is truly and proven to be theirs. They move according to the laws of the universe, to truth and facts.
Buddha was once asked by a disciple to tell him about God. He told the disciple that when we do not even know so many other things in this life, how can we know God. Buddha never claim to be God nor nor did he claim to know Him. He found enlightenment. Of course, before he found enlightenment, he did do things I would not have approved of. He left his wife, for example, to seek enlightenment but then that only shows his human weakness before he found enlightenment. So, Buddhism is actually a philosophy of life. It is a wisdom in the approach to living correctly one's life. Except for a few incidents where the craze for power was the cause, Buddhists have no problem living with the rest of the world, regardless of race or religion.
Looks like it is only those followers of religions with a belief in God which are experiencing problems in accommodating or accept the beliefs, acts and ways of others. But then, religions have always taught love, goodwill and peace. The holy book of God, be it the Koran or the Bible, have told us that we are all creations of God. Thus, if we hurt or harm any human, you harm a creation of God. God has always taught us to be good and compassionate, to respect others, no matter what religion the other belong to. When it comes to the Christians, all are children of God and those who have not found the way to God, are lost 'sheep' yet to be helped.
So, could it be that terrorists are people who have been lead astray, for one reason or another, from the word of God? If that is so, what can the religions of such people bring them back to the right path, the path of God?
Perhaps, there is a need for great religious leaders who are courageous enough to reach out to these poor lost followers to help them return to the true teachings of God. The Christians and the Muslims can send their most revered leaders to tell their own followers that the fighting, killing and destruction must stop; that what they are doing is against the teachings of God.
Besides the above move, it is time, religious teachers must go strictly by the original Holy book, not to be interpreted as each leader sees fit. There must be some kind of professionalism, not just a passion to spread the word without caring for the true teachings of God. Professionalism is necessary as humans, be they passionate or otherwise, can and do change or interprete God's words to suit their own beliefs and philosophies. That is the reason both Christianity and the Muslim religion have seen so many sects in their midst. In Christianity, we have Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Seven Day Adventists while the Muslim religion has the Sunni, Shiite and sufi.
Perhaps, it is time I tell about what happened in the school, Sekolah Menegah Kota Kuala Muda, where I taught in the early 1980s. most of my students were Muslims. As my students were fairly close with me, they once asked me whether I consume pork. Of course, I told them I did. They enquired why I did that as according to someone's teaching, pork was poisonous. Certainly, I was shocked at such a revelation. As a teacher, I definitely could not allow such wrong beliefs to go uncorrected. So, I told them that that was not the reason Muslims do not consume pork, that their religion forbids them from eating pork. They looked at me with such puzzled expression that I had to explain further that pork is not poisonous. I told them, "So many people in the world who are not Muslims eat pork, yet all of them do not die from eating it. Of course, like other animals, such as the cow and the chickens, pigs have their sicknesses. At such times, non-Muslims refrain from eating pork. Otherwise, it is perfectly safe to eat them. As for saturated fats, when it comes to health, such fats are found in all animals." Later, the Ustaz, their religious teacher, who happened to turn up just as I was finished with my explanation, confirmed that what I said was true in my presence.
So, young minds, when given wrong teachings or interpretations can lead such minds astray. It is not the fault of these students that they received such information. The fault lies in the teacher who may have his own interpretation of how that prohibition came about. Therefore, religious bodies have to be stricter in their choice of teachers so that God and not man is served, so that God's words are His and not ours.
Especially in the Ministry of God, truth and correctness of God's words are important. Recently, I heard someone said that the Christians should not translate the English word 'God' to 'Allah' Is that correct? I believe that is wrong. To substantiate my statement, let us remember that Christianity started in the Middle East, not in England. The disciples of Jesus were people from Palestine in the Middle East using the language originating from that place. Christianity certainly did not originate from Britain where English is used. Later, when English-speaking people became Christians, the bible was translated into English with the 'Allah' translated to English and not the other way around.
Truth should never be changed, especially when it has to do with God for there is nothing that is God's which needs to be changed.
And man should not put more into the words of God than what was originally written. When this happens, others are bound to follow and soon we cannot see which is God's and which has been adulterated by man. After many decades, maybe centuries, the words of God would have been changed so much by meddlesome man that the real message is lost, replaced by a message created by man.
So, before such a possibility becomes a reality, we should think of how we can convey the true teachings of God to the followers so that all mankind can know and understand God well enough to know that Gpd does not wish to have any of his followers abuse His name as they terrorise, destroy and kill in His name as if He would have His creations do such foul deeds.
Man must read and understand well God's words to ensure the safety and future of our world.
Awareness of dire consequences of war does not however prevent war as we can read in the news media each day of destruction and death brought by religious extremists. We have war between countries, arsonists, destroyers, terrorists and killers. In many parts of the world they either send terrorising messages or commit acts which cause death and destruction. Today, we have a war of terrorism.
In Malaysia, we have extremists burning and causing damage to churches and suraus or mosques, just because one home-minister decided to ban the use of the word 'Allah' among Christians; a word which has been in use for so many years in Sabah and Sarawak without any problems of any kind. His ban caused the Christians to take the case to court where they were given back the right to use that word. The decision of the court caused Muslim groups to protest and the leaders of the country even said that the people had the right to such a protest although peaceful protests before this had been disallowed. With that, we saw a number of churches damaged. Later, other extremists damaged some suraus or small mosques.
These terrorists comprise of people who are supposed to be religious; people who give up a normal life to think of ways and means to terrorise those whom they believe are the enemies of their religion. They are devoted to their cause despite having to be on the run, forever weary of armed forces which may put an end to their lives. Yes, obviously they live for a cause; their desire to fight for that cause is so great that nothing much can stop them.
These terrorists are indeed strong in their mission; whatever mission they may claim to have. Nevertheless, having a mission and a cause do not make their acts of terrorism right, no matter how we look at it, be it in reference to international man-made laws or the teachings of God and religion. In fact all religions teach their followers peace and good-will to all mankind, even the followers of other religions.
In Malaysia, good religious leaders come out to condemn such terrorist acts. some even help to protect places of worship from such acts of terrorism. It shows that there are true believers of God, after all and there is still hope for excellent practice of the teachings of God.
Still, when we look at various parts of the world and we see so much destruction in the name of God, certainly, something is very wrong. Perhaps. we ought to do something to stop this worrisome acts of violence that can only beget more violence. Let us study a little the possible causes of such violence.
Look at those who are atheist or those who are studying the wise teachings of great leaders who have found enlightenment. Have such people ever taken up such destructive causes?
Has anyone ever heard of atheist insisting that others join them in their belief? None, right? so, they live life according to the laws of the land and their own conscience or their own divine spirit. They never insist they have any right to anything except that which is truly and proven to be theirs. They move according to the laws of the universe, to truth and facts.
Buddha was once asked by a disciple to tell him about God. He told the disciple that when we do not even know so many other things in this life, how can we know God. Buddha never claim to be God nor nor did he claim to know Him. He found enlightenment. Of course, before he found enlightenment, he did do things I would not have approved of. He left his wife, for example, to seek enlightenment but then that only shows his human weakness before he found enlightenment. So, Buddhism is actually a philosophy of life. It is a wisdom in the approach to living correctly one's life. Except for a few incidents where the craze for power was the cause, Buddhists have no problem living with the rest of the world, regardless of race or religion.
Looks like it is only those followers of religions with a belief in God which are experiencing problems in accommodating or accept the beliefs, acts and ways of others. But then, religions have always taught love, goodwill and peace. The holy book of God, be it the Koran or the Bible, have told us that we are all creations of God. Thus, if we hurt or harm any human, you harm a creation of God. God has always taught us to be good and compassionate, to respect others, no matter what religion the other belong to. When it comes to the Christians, all are children of God and those who have not found the way to God, are lost 'sheep' yet to be helped.
So, could it be that terrorists are people who have been lead astray, for one reason or another, from the word of God? If that is so, what can the religions of such people bring them back to the right path, the path of God?
Perhaps, there is a need for great religious leaders who are courageous enough to reach out to these poor lost followers to help them return to the true teachings of God. The Christians and the Muslims can send their most revered leaders to tell their own followers that the fighting, killing and destruction must stop; that what they are doing is against the teachings of God.
Besides the above move, it is time, religious teachers must go strictly by the original Holy book, not to be interpreted as each leader sees fit. There must be some kind of professionalism, not just a passion to spread the word without caring for the true teachings of God. Professionalism is necessary as humans, be they passionate or otherwise, can and do change or interprete God's words to suit their own beliefs and philosophies. That is the reason both Christianity and the Muslim religion have seen so many sects in their midst. In Christianity, we have Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Seven Day Adventists while the Muslim religion has the Sunni, Shiite and sufi.
Perhaps, it is time I tell about what happened in the school, Sekolah Menegah Kota Kuala Muda, where I taught in the early 1980s. most of my students were Muslims. As my students were fairly close with me, they once asked me whether I consume pork. Of course, I told them I did. They enquired why I did that as according to someone's teaching, pork was poisonous. Certainly, I was shocked at such a revelation. As a teacher, I definitely could not allow such wrong beliefs to go uncorrected. So, I told them that that was not the reason Muslims do not consume pork, that their religion forbids them from eating pork. They looked at me with such puzzled expression that I had to explain further that pork is not poisonous. I told them, "So many people in the world who are not Muslims eat pork, yet all of them do not die from eating it. Of course, like other animals, such as the cow and the chickens, pigs have their sicknesses. At such times, non-Muslims refrain from eating pork. Otherwise, it is perfectly safe to eat them. As for saturated fats, when it comes to health, such fats are found in all animals." Later, the Ustaz, their religious teacher, who happened to turn up just as I was finished with my explanation, confirmed that what I said was true in my presence.
So, young minds, when given wrong teachings or interpretations can lead such minds astray. It is not the fault of these students that they received such information. The fault lies in the teacher who may have his own interpretation of how that prohibition came about. Therefore, religious bodies have to be stricter in their choice of teachers so that God and not man is served, so that God's words are His and not ours.
Especially in the Ministry of God, truth and correctness of God's words are important. Recently, I heard someone said that the Christians should not translate the English word 'God' to 'Allah' Is that correct? I believe that is wrong. To substantiate my statement, let us remember that Christianity started in the Middle East, not in England. The disciples of Jesus were people from Palestine in the Middle East using the language originating from that place. Christianity certainly did not originate from Britain where English is used. Later, when English-speaking people became Christians, the bible was translated into English with the 'Allah' translated to English and not the other way around.
Truth should never be changed, especially when it has to do with God for there is nothing that is God's which needs to be changed.
And man should not put more into the words of God than what was originally written. When this happens, others are bound to follow and soon we cannot see which is God's and which has been adulterated by man. After many decades, maybe centuries, the words of God would have been changed so much by meddlesome man that the real message is lost, replaced by a message created by man.
So, before such a possibility becomes a reality, we should think of how we can convey the true teachings of God to the followers so that all mankind can know and understand God well enough to know that Gpd does not wish to have any of his followers abuse His name as they terrorise, destroy and kill in His name as if He would have His creations do such foul deeds.
Man must read and understand well God's words to ensure the safety and future of our world.
Friday, January 08, 2010
People who crave for power are the worse.
In Malaysia, we have politicians who crave for power to the extent of turning against the ones they were friends with so as to overthrow them as leaders and, hopefully, gain the leadership position for themselves. They instigated other leaders to resign in order that a fresh election be held so that they stand another chance to be elected into a better position. They would be willing to lie and blacken the good names of others to fulfill their desires as they crave for power.
We also have politicians who are willing to risk the peace and harmony of the country by stirring up feelings. They claim to ban a certain word because they wanted to remove confusion among a certain group of people when, in actual fact, the word has been in use without confusion or disharmony among the people for more than four hundred years. Proof that such a word had been in use for more than 400 years was produced by an online news.
It is indeed sad as the ordinary citizens know that they are not confused or disturbed by the use of such a word as the word was even used by Prophet Muhammad's father during his time and is an ordinary word for God in the Middle East. In order to give excuse for their cause, certain leaders have given the word more meaning than it actually has.
Unfortunately, the stakes are high, as it can mean the turning of the tides of political power. The issue can be used to garner as well as recapture the votes given to the opposition during the last election. I believe a political party see it as an opportunity to gain popularity through this religious issue.
It is becoming obvious that this issue is of great importance in securing votes. The people can see the opposition political leaders giving views that the word is a coomon word meaning God in Arab countries; even in Indonesia where for many. many years, up to this day, Christians and Muslims have used the word in their Bible and their Koran without any problem arising among the people as there was nobody who needed to make an issue of it.
It looks like this issue may not only divide the Christians from the Muslims; it may also create a division among the Muslims themselves. Those who do not belong to the party which hopes to use the issue to gain votes would not be agreeable to any kind of violence as most of the better educated Muslims who are also the financially better off ones would understand and desire peace as a peaceful environment brings progress and true civilisation to the country.
As I see it, the ordinary people are peace-loving and united. I have lots of Muslim friends and we can mix very well, discuss things properly and enjoy walks, exercise and work harmoniously. The heat of the issue is only read in newspapers. The confusion comes from those who hope to gain from the issue. The politicians and their small group of supporters are going into the internet to hope cook up the issue sufficiently to achieve their own goals.
God is for everyone. He creates the whole world. All of us are his creations. He loves us all. Some people ought to understand that He would not want anyone to usurp his power and say, "This is my God and we give Him this name which makes Him different from another God, for there is actually no other God. The Christian God and the Muslim God (I am neither Christian nor Muslim.) are the same as it has already been acknowledged that Jesus was the first of the prophet and Muhammad is the last of the prophet. Unless this part which I had been told by a Muslim, is untrue, then, they are one and the same. Buddha never claims to know anything about God.
Yet, Man wants to use God to achieve their own ends, knowing that religion is a powerful tool to achieve whatever ends he wishes. And it is ironic that religion in which God wants peace and good to permeate this earth would beget so much violence in so many parts of the world today. Peace is indeed the most difficult to achieve.
We also have politicians who are willing to risk the peace and harmony of the country by stirring up feelings. They claim to ban a certain word because they wanted to remove confusion among a certain group of people when, in actual fact, the word has been in use without confusion or disharmony among the people for more than four hundred years. Proof that such a word had been in use for more than 400 years was produced by an online news.
It is indeed sad as the ordinary citizens know that they are not confused or disturbed by the use of such a word as the word was even used by Prophet Muhammad's father during his time and is an ordinary word for God in the Middle East. In order to give excuse for their cause, certain leaders have given the word more meaning than it actually has.
Unfortunately, the stakes are high, as it can mean the turning of the tides of political power. The issue can be used to garner as well as recapture the votes given to the opposition during the last election. I believe a political party see it as an opportunity to gain popularity through this religious issue.
It is becoming obvious that this issue is of great importance in securing votes. The people can see the opposition political leaders giving views that the word is a coomon word meaning God in Arab countries; even in Indonesia where for many. many years, up to this day, Christians and Muslims have used the word in their Bible and their Koran without any problem arising among the people as there was nobody who needed to make an issue of it.
It looks like this issue may not only divide the Christians from the Muslims; it may also create a division among the Muslims themselves. Those who do not belong to the party which hopes to use the issue to gain votes would not be agreeable to any kind of violence as most of the better educated Muslims who are also the financially better off ones would understand and desire peace as a peaceful environment brings progress and true civilisation to the country.
As I see it, the ordinary people are peace-loving and united. I have lots of Muslim friends and we can mix very well, discuss things properly and enjoy walks, exercise and work harmoniously. The heat of the issue is only read in newspapers. The confusion comes from those who hope to gain from the issue. The politicians and their small group of supporters are going into the internet to hope cook up the issue sufficiently to achieve their own goals.
God is for everyone. He creates the whole world. All of us are his creations. He loves us all. Some people ought to understand that He would not want anyone to usurp his power and say, "This is my God and we give Him this name which makes Him different from another God, for there is actually no other God. The Christian God and the Muslim God (I am neither Christian nor Muslim.) are the same as it has already been acknowledged that Jesus was the first of the prophet and Muhammad is the last of the prophet. Unless this part which I had been told by a Muslim, is untrue, then, they are one and the same. Buddha never claims to know anything about God.
Yet, Man wants to use God to achieve their own ends, knowing that religion is a powerful tool to achieve whatever ends he wishes. And it is ironic that religion in which God wants peace and good to permeate this earth would beget so much violence in so many parts of the world today. Peace is indeed the most difficult to achieve.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
From Sound to Silence.
daaaaaaaaaa
It was a night of music and songs with four international and some local AOL singers. Beautiful was this night of comradely, joyous, come-together fun for more than a thousand AOL members.
The four international singers were male lead singer Srinivas Piratla from Singapore, female lead singer Dolgion Tserendaava From Mongolia, Drummer Umesh Prabhu from Mongolia and talam (a small cymbal-like musical instrument)player Jayanth Narayanan from Singapore. Together with other local singers, they made the night of music and world peace meditation gathering a night to remember.
We were at Dewan Milenium, Kepala Batas, Butterworth on the last day of the year 2009. As one of the volunteers, I met the other volunteers well before the start of the evening's programme. We had our duties and we went off to get the 'Yes' teenagers ready for their 'peace' performance, put up AOL T-shirts and books for members to purchase, attend to food and drinks, direct vehicles to parking lots and the welcoming of members and the invited guests.
The evening started with our sponsors lighting the candle of peace to start the evening. With the singers on stage, we sang bhajans which are sanskrit songs, allowing the music to move us to stages of joy as the relaxing atmosphere took us to graceful swaying of our bodies and clapping in time with the music.
Then, as the evening wore on, the mood moved the participants to dance among ourselves. Smiles, laughter and joy filled the Milenium hall as bliss and happiness permeates the air with the dance of joy.
Later, the people cooled down to sit, close their eyes and meditate for world peace. After the meditation, our teenagers went on stage to form the word 'PEACE' with candles as the song 'We are the world' filled the hall.
Eventually, reluctantly, we had to wish our AOL brothers and sisters "Good night and a Happy New Year." before moving out back to our states to spread the words of peace and joy and as well as create a divine society among our other brothers and sisters who have yet to become AOL members.
Once again AOL members came together as one to fulfill a worthwhile cause, this time in the name of world peace. Once again, we experience the love and joy of One World Family.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sometimes we get half truth. Let's read a message of peace from Isreal's Prime Minister.
I have always suspected that we do not get all the news and so are unable to get a balanced view of what is happening in our world.
Take for example, news of Palestine children being killed by Isreali bombing. Of course, there will be children as well as adults killed in a war. Innocent people will die. It is inevitable. That is why we pray that there will be no war throughout the world. However, for Malaysian news to imply that there were no Isreali children in war casualties when the Palestines attack Isreal by never publishing bloodied or dead bodies of Isreali children, it is giving a picture of one-sided cruelty which is an impossibility. War is cruel and there is no way bombs can avoid children whenever it goes off in an area. So, always we are given the impression that only one side is cruel, only one side is wrong. Just as in everything in which two sides are involved, it takes two hands to clap. So, let us have a true picture, not half truth. Let us not take sides.
I received an email in which was a speech by Isreal’s prime minister which was never reported in our news media. Well, read for yourself, my friends and be your own judge. Do read on. (If you find anything false and has the proof to verify it, please do so. But, please let us be fair and not say things out of hatred, okay?)
Must read and pass it on!
Israel prime minister's speech to the UN gen Assembly not reported.
Netanyahu's Speech to the UN - A Worthwhile Read. This speech is not reported in the newspapers. I guess as usually the leaders are not willing to take the stand to do what is necessary to uphold world peace. What a shame?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Speech to the UN General Assembly- Courtesy Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.
The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events.
Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth. Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants. Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie.
Last month, I went to a villa in a suburb of Berlin called Wannsee. There, on January 20, 1942, after a hearty meal, senior Nazi officials met and decided how to exterminate the Jewish people. The detailed minutes of that meeting have been preserved by successive German governments. Here is a copy of those minutes, in which the Nazis issued precise instructions on how to carry out the extermination of the Jews. Is this a lie?
A day before I was in Wannsee, I was given in Berlin the original construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Those plans are signed by Hitler’s deputy, Heinrich Himmler himself. Here is a copy of the plans for Auschwitz-Birkenau, where one million Jews were murdered. Is this too a lie?
This June , President Obama visited the Buchenwald oncentration camp. Did President Obama pay tribute to a lie?
And what of the Auschwitz survivors whose arms still bear the tattooed numbers branded on them by the Nazis? Are those tattoos a lie? One-third of all Jews perished in the conflagration. Nearly every Jewish family was affected, including my own. My wife's grandparents, her father’s two sisters and three brothers, and all the aunts, uncles and cousins were all murdered by the Nazis. Is that also a lie?
Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries. But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame? Have you no decency?
A mere six decades after the Holocaust, you give legitimacy to a man who denies that the murder of six million Jews took place and pledges to wipe out the Jewish state.
What a disgrace! What a mockery of the charter of the United Nations! Perhaps some of you think that this man and his odious regime threaten only the Jews. You're wrong.
History has shown us time and again that what starts with attacks on the Jews eventually ends up engulfing many others.
This Iranian regime is fueled by an extreme fundamentalism that burst onto the world scene three decades ago after lying dormant for centuries. In the past thirty years, this fanaticism has swept the globe with a murderous violence and cold-blooded impartiality in its choice of victims. It has callously slaughtered Moslems and Christians, Jews and Hindus, and many others. Though it is comprised of different offshoots, the adherents of this unforgiving creed seek to return humanity to medieval times.
Wherever they can, they impose a backward regimented society where women, minorities, gays or anyone not deemed to be a true believer is brutally subjugated. The struggle against this fanaticism does not pit faith against faith nor civilization against civilization. It pits civilization against barbarism, the 21st century against the 9th century, those who sanctify life against those who glorify death.
The primitivism of the 9th century ought to be no match for the progress of the 21st century. The allure of freedom, the power of technology, the reach of communications should surely win the day. Ultimately, the past cannot triumph over the future. And the future offers all nations magnificent bounties of hope. The pace of progress is growing exponentially.
It took us centuries to get from the printing press to the telephone, decades to get from the telephone to the personal computer, and only a few years to get from the personal computer to the internet.
What seemed impossible a few years ago is already outdated, and we can scarcely fathom the changes that are yet to come. We will crack the genetic code. We will cure the incurable. We will lengthen our lives.. We will find a cheap alternative to fossil fuels and clean up the planet.
I am proud that my country Israel is at the forefront of these advances – by leading innovations in science and technology, medicine and biology, agriculture and water, energy and the environment. These innovations the world over offer humanity a sunlit future of unimagined promise.
But if the most primitive fanaticism can acquire the most deadly weapons, the march of history could be reversed for a time. And like the belated victory over the Nazis, the forces of progress and freedom will prevail only after an horrific toll of blood and fortune has been exacted from mankind. That is why the greatest threat facing the world today is the marriage between religious fanaticism and the weapons of mass destruction.
The most urgent challenge facing this body is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Are the member states of the United Nations up to that challenge? Will the international community confront a despotism that terrorizes its own people as they bravely stand up for freedom?
Will it take action against the dictators who stole an election in broad daylight and gunned down Iranian protesters who died in the streets choking in their own blood? Will the international community thwart the world's most pernicious sponsors and practitioners of terrorism?
Above all, will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons, thereby endangering the peace of the entire world?
The people of Iran are courageously standing up to this regime. People of goodwill around the world stand with them, as do the thousands who have been protesting outside this hall. Will the United Nations stand by their side?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The jury is still out on the United Nations, and recent signs are not encouraging. Rather than condemning the terrorists and their Iranian patrons, some here have condemned their victims. That is exactly what a recent UN report on Gaza did, falsely equating the terrorists with those they targeted.
For eight long years, Hamas fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities. Year after year, as these missiles were deliberately hurled at our civilians, not a single UN resolution was passed condemning those criminal attacks. We heard nothing – absolutely nothing – from the UN Human Rights Council, a misnamed institution if there ever was one.
In 2005, hoping to advance peace, Israel unilaterally withdrew from every inch of Gaza . It dismantled 21 settlements and uprooted over 8,000 Israelis. We didn't get peace. Instead we got an Iranian backed terror base fifty miles from Tel Aviv. Life in Israeli towns and cities next to Gaza became a nightmare. You see, the Hamas rocket attacks not only continued, they increased tenfold. Again, the UN was silent.
Finally, after eight years of this unremitting assault, Israel was finally forced to respond. But how should we have responded? Well, there is only one example in history of thousands of rockets being fired on a country's civilian population. It happened when the Nazis rocketed British cities during World War II. During that war, the allies leveled German cities, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties. Israel chose to respond differently. Faced with an enemy committing a double war crime of firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians – Israel sought to conduct surgical strikes against the rocket launchers.
That was no easy task because the terrorists were firing missiles from homes and schools, using mosques as weapons depots and ferreting explosives in ambulances. Israel , by contrast, tried to minimize casualties by urging Palestinian civilians to vacate the targeted areas.
We dropped countless flyers over their homes, sent thousands of text messages and called thousands of cell phones asking people to leave. Never has a country gone to such extraordinary lengths to remove the enemy's civilian population from harm's way.
Yet faced with such a clear case of aggressor and victim, who did the UN Human Rights Council decide to condemn? Israel . A democracy legitimately defending itself against terror is morally hanged, drawn and quartered, and given an unfair trial to boot. By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as war criminals. What a perversion of truth. What a perversion of justice.
Delegates of the United Nations, Will you accept this farce?
Because if you do, the United Nations would revert to its darkest days, when the worst violators of human rights sat in judgment against the law-abiding democracies, when Zionism was equated with racism and when an automatic majority could declare that the earth is flat.
If this body does not reject this report, it would send a message to terrorists everywhere: Terror pays; if you launch your attacks from densely populated areas, you will win immunity. And in condemning Israel , this body would also deal a mortal blow to peace. Here's why.
When Israel left Gaza , many hoped that the missile attacks would stop. Others believed that at the very least, Israel would have international legitimacy to exercise its right of self-defense. What legitimacy? What self-defense?
The same UN that cheered Israel as it left Gaza and promised to back our right of self-defense now accuses us –my people, my country - of war crimes? And for what? For acting responsibly in self-defense. What a travesty!
Israel justly defended itself against terror. This biased and unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments. Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?
We must know the answer to that question now. Now and not later. Because if Israel is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know today that you will stand with us tomorrow. Only if we have the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take further risks for peace.
Ladies and Gentlemen, All of Israel wants peace.
Any time an Arab leader genuinely wanted peace with us, we made peace. We made peace with Egypt led by Anwar Sadat. We made peace with Jordan led by King Hussein. And if the Palestinians truly want peace, I and my government, and the people of Israel , will make peace. But we want a genuine peace, a defensible peace, a permanent peace. In 1947, this body voted to establish two states for two peoples – a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted that resolution. The Arabs rejected it.
We ask the Palestinians to finally do what they have refused to do for 62 years: Say yes to a Jewish state. Just as we are asked to recognize a nation-state for the Palestinian people, the Palestinians must be asked to recognize the nation state of the Jewish people. The Jewish people are not foreign conquerors in the Land of Israel . This is the land of our forefathers.
Inscribed on the walls outside this building is the great Biblical vision of peace: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.. They shall learn war no more." These words were spoken by the Jewish prophet Isaiah 2,800 years ago as he walked in my country, in my city, in the hills of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem . We are not strangers to this land. It is our homeland. As deeply connected as we are to this land, we recognize that the Palestinians also live there and want a home of their own. We want to live side by side with them, two free peoples living in peace, prosperity and dignity.
But we must have security.. The Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves except those handful of powers that could endanger Israel. That is why a Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized. We don't want another Gaza , another Iranian backed terror base abutting Jerusalem and perched on the hills a few kilometers from Tel Aviv.
We want peace.
I believe such a peace can be achieved. But only if we roll back the forces of terror, led by Iran , that seek to destroy peace, eliminate Israel and overthrow the world order. The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront those forces or accommodate them.
Over seventy years ago, Winston Churchill lamented what he called the "confirmed unteachability of mankind," the unfortunate habit of civilized societies to sleep until danger nearly overtakes them.
Churchill bemoaned what he called the "want of foresight, the unwillingness to act when action will be simple and effective, the lack of clear thinking, the confusion of counsel until emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong.”
I speak here today in the hope that Churchill's assessment of the "unteachibility of mankind" is for once proven wrong.
I speak here today in the hope that we can learn from history -- that we can prevent danger in time.
In the spirit of the timeless words spoken to Joshua over 3,000 years ago, let us be strong and of good courage. Let us confront this peril, secure our future and, God willing, forge an enduring peace for generations to come.
Take for example, news of Palestine children being killed by Isreali bombing. Of course, there will be children as well as adults killed in a war. Innocent people will die. It is inevitable. That is why we pray that there will be no war throughout the world. However, for Malaysian news to imply that there were no Isreali children in war casualties when the Palestines attack Isreal by never publishing bloodied or dead bodies of Isreali children, it is giving a picture of one-sided cruelty which is an impossibility. War is cruel and there is no way bombs can avoid children whenever it goes off in an area. So, always we are given the impression that only one side is cruel, only one side is wrong. Just as in everything in which two sides are involved, it takes two hands to clap. So, let us have a true picture, not half truth. Let us not take sides.
I received an email in which was a speech by Isreal’s prime minister which was never reported in our news media. Well, read for yourself, my friends and be your own judge. Do read on. (If you find anything false and has the proof to verify it, please do so. But, please let us be fair and not say things out of hatred, okay?)
Must read and pass it on!
Israel prime minister's speech to the UN gen Assembly not reported.
Netanyahu's Speech to the UN - A Worthwhile Read. This speech is not reported in the newspapers. I guess as usually the leaders are not willing to take the stand to do what is necessary to uphold world peace. What a shame?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Speech to the UN General Assembly- Courtesy Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.
The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events.
Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth. Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants. Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie.
Last month, I went to a villa in a suburb of Berlin called Wannsee. There, on January 20, 1942, after a hearty meal, senior Nazi officials met and decided how to exterminate the Jewish people. The detailed minutes of that meeting have been preserved by successive German governments. Here is a copy of those minutes, in which the Nazis issued precise instructions on how to carry out the extermination of the Jews. Is this a lie?
A day before I was in Wannsee, I was given in Berlin the original construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Those plans are signed by Hitler’s deputy, Heinrich Himmler himself. Here is a copy of the plans for Auschwitz-Birkenau, where one million Jews were murdered. Is this too a lie?
This June , President Obama visited the Buchenwald oncentration camp. Did President Obama pay tribute to a lie?
And what of the Auschwitz survivors whose arms still bear the tattooed numbers branded on them by the Nazis? Are those tattoos a lie? One-third of all Jews perished in the conflagration. Nearly every Jewish family was affected, including my own. My wife's grandparents, her father’s two sisters and three brothers, and all the aunts, uncles and cousins were all murdered by the Nazis. Is that also a lie?
Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries. But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame? Have you no decency?
A mere six decades after the Holocaust, you give legitimacy to a man who denies that the murder of six million Jews took place and pledges to wipe out the Jewish state.
What a disgrace! What a mockery of the charter of the United Nations! Perhaps some of you think that this man and his odious regime threaten only the Jews. You're wrong.
History has shown us time and again that what starts with attacks on the Jews eventually ends up engulfing many others.
This Iranian regime is fueled by an extreme fundamentalism that burst onto the world scene three decades ago after lying dormant for centuries. In the past thirty years, this fanaticism has swept the globe with a murderous violence and cold-blooded impartiality in its choice of victims. It has callously slaughtered Moslems and Christians, Jews and Hindus, and many others. Though it is comprised of different offshoots, the adherents of this unforgiving creed seek to return humanity to medieval times.
Wherever they can, they impose a backward regimented society where women, minorities, gays or anyone not deemed to be a true believer is brutally subjugated. The struggle against this fanaticism does not pit faith against faith nor civilization against civilization. It pits civilization against barbarism, the 21st century against the 9th century, those who sanctify life against those who glorify death.
The primitivism of the 9th century ought to be no match for the progress of the 21st century. The allure of freedom, the power of technology, the reach of communications should surely win the day. Ultimately, the past cannot triumph over the future. And the future offers all nations magnificent bounties of hope. The pace of progress is growing exponentially.
It took us centuries to get from the printing press to the telephone, decades to get from the telephone to the personal computer, and only a few years to get from the personal computer to the internet.
What seemed impossible a few years ago is already outdated, and we can scarcely fathom the changes that are yet to come. We will crack the genetic code. We will cure the incurable. We will lengthen our lives.. We will find a cheap alternative to fossil fuels and clean up the planet.
I am proud that my country Israel is at the forefront of these advances – by leading innovations in science and technology, medicine and biology, agriculture and water, energy and the environment. These innovations the world over offer humanity a sunlit future of unimagined promise.
But if the most primitive fanaticism can acquire the most deadly weapons, the march of history could be reversed for a time. And like the belated victory over the Nazis, the forces of progress and freedom will prevail only after an horrific toll of blood and fortune has been exacted from mankind. That is why the greatest threat facing the world today is the marriage between religious fanaticism and the weapons of mass destruction.
The most urgent challenge facing this body is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Are the member states of the United Nations up to that challenge? Will the international community confront a despotism that terrorizes its own people as they bravely stand up for freedom?
Will it take action against the dictators who stole an election in broad daylight and gunned down Iranian protesters who died in the streets choking in their own blood? Will the international community thwart the world's most pernicious sponsors and practitioners of terrorism?
Above all, will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons, thereby endangering the peace of the entire world?
The people of Iran are courageously standing up to this regime. People of goodwill around the world stand with them, as do the thousands who have been protesting outside this hall. Will the United Nations stand by their side?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The jury is still out on the United Nations, and recent signs are not encouraging. Rather than condemning the terrorists and their Iranian patrons, some here have condemned their victims. That is exactly what a recent UN report on Gaza did, falsely equating the terrorists with those they targeted.
For eight long years, Hamas fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities. Year after year, as these missiles were deliberately hurled at our civilians, not a single UN resolution was passed condemning those criminal attacks. We heard nothing – absolutely nothing – from the UN Human Rights Council, a misnamed institution if there ever was one.
In 2005, hoping to advance peace, Israel unilaterally withdrew from every inch of Gaza . It dismantled 21 settlements and uprooted over 8,000 Israelis. We didn't get peace. Instead we got an Iranian backed terror base fifty miles from Tel Aviv. Life in Israeli towns and cities next to Gaza became a nightmare. You see, the Hamas rocket attacks not only continued, they increased tenfold. Again, the UN was silent.
Finally, after eight years of this unremitting assault, Israel was finally forced to respond. But how should we have responded? Well, there is only one example in history of thousands of rockets being fired on a country's civilian population. It happened when the Nazis rocketed British cities during World War II. During that war, the allies leveled German cities, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties. Israel chose to respond differently. Faced with an enemy committing a double war crime of firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians – Israel sought to conduct surgical strikes against the rocket launchers.
That was no easy task because the terrorists were firing missiles from homes and schools, using mosques as weapons depots and ferreting explosives in ambulances. Israel , by contrast, tried to minimize casualties by urging Palestinian civilians to vacate the targeted areas.
We dropped countless flyers over their homes, sent thousands of text messages and called thousands of cell phones asking people to leave. Never has a country gone to such extraordinary lengths to remove the enemy's civilian population from harm's way.
Yet faced with such a clear case of aggressor and victim, who did the UN Human Rights Council decide to condemn? Israel . A democracy legitimately defending itself against terror is morally hanged, drawn and quartered, and given an unfair trial to boot. By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as war criminals. What a perversion of truth. What a perversion of justice.
Delegates of the United Nations, Will you accept this farce?
Because if you do, the United Nations would revert to its darkest days, when the worst violators of human rights sat in judgment against the law-abiding democracies, when Zionism was equated with racism and when an automatic majority could declare that the earth is flat.
If this body does not reject this report, it would send a message to terrorists everywhere: Terror pays; if you launch your attacks from densely populated areas, you will win immunity. And in condemning Israel , this body would also deal a mortal blow to peace. Here's why.
When Israel left Gaza , many hoped that the missile attacks would stop. Others believed that at the very least, Israel would have international legitimacy to exercise its right of self-defense. What legitimacy? What self-defense?
The same UN that cheered Israel as it left Gaza and promised to back our right of self-defense now accuses us –my people, my country - of war crimes? And for what? For acting responsibly in self-defense. What a travesty!
Israel justly defended itself against terror. This biased and unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments. Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?
We must know the answer to that question now. Now and not later. Because if Israel is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know today that you will stand with us tomorrow. Only if we have the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take further risks for peace.
Ladies and Gentlemen, All of Israel wants peace.
Any time an Arab leader genuinely wanted peace with us, we made peace. We made peace with Egypt led by Anwar Sadat. We made peace with Jordan led by King Hussein. And if the Palestinians truly want peace, I and my government, and the people of Israel , will make peace. But we want a genuine peace, a defensible peace, a permanent peace. In 1947, this body voted to establish two states for two peoples – a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted that resolution. The Arabs rejected it.
We ask the Palestinians to finally do what they have refused to do for 62 years: Say yes to a Jewish state. Just as we are asked to recognize a nation-state for the Palestinian people, the Palestinians must be asked to recognize the nation state of the Jewish people. The Jewish people are not foreign conquerors in the Land of Israel . This is the land of our forefathers.
Inscribed on the walls outside this building is the great Biblical vision of peace: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.. They shall learn war no more." These words were spoken by the Jewish prophet Isaiah 2,800 years ago as he walked in my country, in my city, in the hills of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem . We are not strangers to this land. It is our homeland. As deeply connected as we are to this land, we recognize that the Palestinians also live there and want a home of their own. We want to live side by side with them, two free peoples living in peace, prosperity and dignity.
But we must have security.. The Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves except those handful of powers that could endanger Israel. That is why a Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized. We don't want another Gaza , another Iranian backed terror base abutting Jerusalem and perched on the hills a few kilometers from Tel Aviv.
We want peace.
I believe such a peace can be achieved. But only if we roll back the forces of terror, led by Iran , that seek to destroy peace, eliminate Israel and overthrow the world order. The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront those forces or accommodate them.
Over seventy years ago, Winston Churchill lamented what he called the "confirmed unteachability of mankind," the unfortunate habit of civilized societies to sleep until danger nearly overtakes them.
Churchill bemoaned what he called the "want of foresight, the unwillingness to act when action will be simple and effective, the lack of clear thinking, the confusion of counsel until emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong.”
I speak here today in the hope that Churchill's assessment of the "unteachibility of mankind" is for once proven wrong.
I speak here today in the hope that we can learn from history -- that we can prevent danger in time.
In the spirit of the timeless words spoken to Joshua over 3,000 years ago, let us be strong and of good courage. Let us confront this peril, secure our future and, God willing, forge an enduring peace for generations to come.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The importance of being open-minded.
"It is healthier if we eat most of our food raw," I told this guy one day.
"Raw? Do you know the number of pathogens in our environment? How can it be healthier to eat our food raw?" he demanded, annoyed that I could suggest such a method of consuming our food.
"Of course, when it comes to meat and animal products, we need to cook them but there is still so much food we can eat raw. Vegetables, for example, can....."
"No! No! No! We are not animals. Only animals eat food raw. And they do it because they cannot cook it. But humans.... what a preposterous idea!" He was frothing at the mouth and disgusted with the idea of eating like the animals.
I had to back off. I wanted no quarrel with him over an idea which could only bring good to him. If he does not like it; well, I am certainly not going to force it on him. Looks like he has a closed mind, not willing to listen and accept new ideas even though they have been tested and found to be good.
If he had shown surprise at the idea and requested for explanations, I would have done so. If my explanations were not based on facts and truth, then it was still not too late to reject it. Unfortunately, his mind was closed to new ideas and was not willing to listen before pushing such ideas away. Both of us were losers then. I lost the opportunity to help someone overcome his health problem and that someone lost the opportunity to acquire a healthier way of eating. That is the problem of being not open-minded. There just isn't any receptivity.
Unless we and our children are receptive to new technology and new knowledge, there will be an obstacle to improvement in our lives.
Once upon a time, cancer patients depend on just sugery, chemotherapy and radiation, the three methods of cancer treatment that weakens us and our immune system as it removes or kills most of the cancer cells. Today, we have cancer researchers from China, America and other parts of the world who found immunotherapy, gene therapy and herbs which improve the chances of survivor for cancer patients when used together with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Each year, advances in medical science is made. Unless we are enlightened to these advances, we cannot make intelligent choices when the need arises.
Open-mindedness is not only beneficial to health. As society changes, and ccommunities open its borders people from all over the world, its members must become more liberal to other races, differing beliefs, religions and cultures which may be totally alien to their own. They must respect and allow beliefs and ideas which contradict with their own in order to exist harmoniously on this earth. Yes, people have to be open-minded enough to be tolerant of everything that is different from theirs.
As we can see, our open-mindedness is the way forward to a progressive society where all mankind can live in peace and harmony; with the understanding that every human is an individual, the world a heterogenous confederation of so many tribes, communities, states and countries; all dissimilar in their practises, yet so homogeneous in their human behaviour.
When everyone achieves such open-mindedness, there can be no conflict, no terrorism and no war. After all such miserable happenings occur because there are those who refuse to be liberal, tolerant, receptive or be enlightened. Open-mindedness is indeed difficult to ahcieve.
However, we ought to teach our children to be open-minded so as to bring greater understanding and love to all mankind. When that happens, The Art of Living's goal of a 'One World Family' become a reality.
"Raw? Do you know the number of pathogens in our environment? How can it be healthier to eat our food raw?" he demanded, annoyed that I could suggest such a method of consuming our food.
"Of course, when it comes to meat and animal products, we need to cook them but there is still so much food we can eat raw. Vegetables, for example, can....."
"No! No! No! We are not animals. Only animals eat food raw. And they do it because they cannot cook it. But humans.... what a preposterous idea!" He was frothing at the mouth and disgusted with the idea of eating like the animals.
I had to back off. I wanted no quarrel with him over an idea which could only bring good to him. If he does not like it; well, I am certainly not going to force it on him. Looks like he has a closed mind, not willing to listen and accept new ideas even though they have been tested and found to be good.
If he had shown surprise at the idea and requested for explanations, I would have done so. If my explanations were not based on facts and truth, then it was still not too late to reject it. Unfortunately, his mind was closed to new ideas and was not willing to listen before pushing such ideas away. Both of us were losers then. I lost the opportunity to help someone overcome his health problem and that someone lost the opportunity to acquire a healthier way of eating. That is the problem of being not open-minded. There just isn't any receptivity.
Unless we and our children are receptive to new technology and new knowledge, there will be an obstacle to improvement in our lives.
Once upon a time, cancer patients depend on just sugery, chemotherapy and radiation, the three methods of cancer treatment that weakens us and our immune system as it removes or kills most of the cancer cells. Today, we have cancer researchers from China, America and other parts of the world who found immunotherapy, gene therapy and herbs which improve the chances of survivor for cancer patients when used together with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Each year, advances in medical science is made. Unless we are enlightened to these advances, we cannot make intelligent choices when the need arises.
Open-mindedness is not only beneficial to health. As society changes, and ccommunities open its borders people from all over the world, its members must become more liberal to other races, differing beliefs, religions and cultures which may be totally alien to their own. They must respect and allow beliefs and ideas which contradict with their own in order to exist harmoniously on this earth. Yes, people have to be open-minded enough to be tolerant of everything that is different from theirs.
As we can see, our open-mindedness is the way forward to a progressive society where all mankind can live in peace and harmony; with the understanding that every human is an individual, the world a heterogenous confederation of so many tribes, communities, states and countries; all dissimilar in their practises, yet so homogeneous in their human behaviour.
When everyone achieves such open-mindedness, there can be no conflict, no terrorism and no war. After all such miserable happenings occur because there are those who refuse to be liberal, tolerant, receptive or be enlightened. Open-mindedness is indeed difficult to ahcieve.
However, we ought to teach our children to be open-minded so as to bring greater understanding and love to all mankind. When that happens, The Art of Living's goal of a 'One World Family' become a reality.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Look at the costumes!
These costumes cost a lot. That's the reason, Por Tor organisers have to pay a lot to hold such shows.
And these are the giant joss-sticks contributed by those who participate in the Por Tor.
During this seventh month, the Buddhist and the taoist pray for the benefit of the departed ones. However, there is a difference between buddhist belief and taoist belief although both believe in the existence of spirits. According to the Buddhist, it all started with Muk Lan who knew that her mother was in hell for the sins she committed, wished to help her. So she approached the monks for help. She requested that they prayed for her mother. The monks prayed to Ti Chang Wang, the god of hell, for help.
Now, who is this Ti chang Wang? Ti Chang Wang was a buddhist who also attained enlightenment. However, instead of going to heaven like the other enlightened ones, he sympathised with the sinners and wanted to help them. Therefore, this big-hearted enlightened soul went to hell to help those poor souls. After all, there is goodness in all, even those who had gone on the wrong path.
When the buddhists pray for those spirits of the dead, no food is offered as spirits do not need the food consumed by humans. When they pray during the Ullambana programme, there is a blesing ceremony with the lighting of a lamp. There is also chanting for three days which ends on the third night with transferring of merits from the good deeds of the living to the dead to improve the karma of the dead. When buddhists pray, they have a glass of water in front of them so that this water would remind them to be as pure as the water; The mind, the thoughts and the deeds as clear as the water, not murky with foul thoughts and deeds.
When it comes to the taoist, there is some influence from the commercial area, encouraging the purchase of food and prayer materials such as some of the big joss-sticks at Por Tay He areas.
No matter, how it is done, the aims are good; to assist the dead get more merits through the living, to have the spirit find peace and to encourage Ti Chang Wang to continue his compassion for such unfortunate souls. In so doing,the living finds peace of mind with this caring attitude. It's a win-win affair for everyone.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
The King of Hades.
It's 1.30pm. Nobody except for the organisers are around. The show has started its entertainment for the King of Hades.
And here's the King of Hades in all his glory.
The King is given a feast too by the people.
Prayers are offered for a peaceful time with the spirits wandering around for a month.
Look at the food and joss-sticks.
Here's the first part of the show on the first day.
Here's another part.
(I see what I can add for the night.)
The seventh lunar month this year started on the 20th of August. The 15th day of this lunar month was the 3rd of September. From this day, the Chinese who believes in the spirit world organises shows for the King of Hades to watch. These shows are known as the 'Por Tor He'. The organisers would have the shows start at noon and have a break at four o'clock in the evening. Then, at eight in the evening, the show continues and finishes at midnight. Usually, in the afternoons, very few people attend such shows. Still it is shown as scheduled. The reason is that the show is for the diety, not so much for humans. This goes to show how strong the belief must be. How did this belief started. According to a friend of mine, one person saw in a vision his own dead mother suffering from hunger. He believed that was a kind of SOS message from his beloved mother. He went to request for help from the diety. Eventually, to reward him for his filial piety, approval was given for the gates of Hades to be opened for a month so that human who have lost their loved ones could pray and offer food to these spirits. And to thank the King of Hades for his kindness, shows are organised for him to watch. I know, some people may be pooh-poohing such a belief. Well, I do not blame them, especially those who are scientific minded. Everything needs a logical explanation, failing which it is not possible. Let me ask these individuals: Before we understood telecommunications and such things, before even telegraphy was invented, would anyone be able to see any logic, be able to explain how moving pictures can go through the air, through walls to reach a box, known as the television, to entertain us? Definitely not! Why? It was because they were not privy to such knowledge then. Today, with hindsight and the knowledge brought to us by the inventors, people can understand the logic behind moving pictures from a box. Today, there are cameras able to detect what had not been detected before. Soon, perhaps, we will know that spirits do exist. Then, scientists will explain the existence of such spirits. What logic and knowledge have not been sufficient to explain, some human eyes have been able to see. My own father is one of those people who have such eyes. I believe he is not a very rare case. There are others like him in this world, quiet because of their fear of being considered weird. (I will be writing about what he and my uncles had told me in a later post. In an earlier post, I have also written about a personal experience of watching a Malay boy going into a trance in front of a temple. Those who have experiences on this matter could put them in the comments. Please do so in order that others may realise there is nothing to fear from such happenings.) Whether we believe this or not, the Chinese find a peace of mind in offering the King of Hades prayers, food and entertainment. Peace of mind is important to a happy life. Spirits are also appeased and there is most probably less mischief from some of the naughtier spirits. Do you know that they spend thousands of ringgit to put up such shows? Usually, residents of the area contribute whatever they can. At the end of the three or sometimes more days of entertaining the King of Hades, the excess funds are given to charitable organisations.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Pray For Peace and Good Health.
Look at the number of devotees of Lord Ganesan!
The big 'umbrella' is ready for the next day's procession.
So splendidly decorated!
The top part of the temple.
An image of the deity.
Decoration done at the place immediately after the entrance to the temple.
It's all about the elephant deity.
At the entrance into the temple is the sculpture of an elephant.
On another side of the entrance is another elephant sculpture.
The AOL stall set up near the temple with volunteers happily doing whatever they can.
People stop at The Art of Living Stall for a cup of enzyme drink and information.
**********************************
The 23rd of August, a Sunday, was Lord Ganesan’s birthday and this day was celebrated by devotees of Lord Ganesan, the elephant deity, throughout the world. Lord Ganesan’s birthday is known as Vinayagar Sathurthi.
In Sungai Petani, although there was rain throughout the day, devotees went to the temple to pray to Lord Ganesan. After prayers, at noon, food was distributed to the devotees by the temple. The next night, Monday night, there would be a procession in which a chariot would be drawn through certain streets of Sungai Petani.
All that celebration took place at the Arulmigu Sri Sitha Vinayagar Alayam Temple in Sungai Petani. It is a well decorated temple as can be seen from the carvings, pictures and sculptures found all over the place in the temple. I took some pictures of the decorations that temple officials and devotees put up on the 22nd of August in readiness for Vinayagar Sathurthi. You can see the splendour of the temple from the pictures I have posted.
The founder, Mr. And Mrs. K. Vello Muthaliar s/o Kanniah Muthaliar and devotees have done a tremendous job of building this majestic temple with its beautiful sculptures and pictures in memory of a deity who must have brought much peacefulness and health to the people.
Just as the Chinese built shrines to commemorate spirits for their assistance in providing health and peace to the residents, the Indians have such temples for the same purpose. No matter what our religion is, we should always respect any deity or spirit which helps people to find peace and regain health. Miraculous healing does take place. When such healing takes place, it must be the work of God, for who has such power but God. Goodness can only come from a good source. As the Christians say: God works in mysterious ways. And being God, it is possible to reach out to His people through one of the deities such as Ganesan. To God, I believe nothing is impossible. What we see must be one of God’s ways.
Blogger’s note: Where the elephant deity is concerned, I have a special interest in him as I have personally known a medium of the deity in the Tai Pee San Temple in Tanjung Bunga, Penang Island; a very special medium and the medium was my uncle. I shall write about him in a future posting.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Peace of mind.
I have told about the shrines people build to pay respect and homage to a spirit who has been able to assist a sick person on the road to recovery.
However, not all shrines come about as a result of such homage and faith. Sometimes it is built for the peace of mind of the residents in a particular area.
People throughout the centuries have desired peace of mind and this could be achieved through living in harmony with the environment and other inhabitants of the place such as other living creatures and spirits. People have always understood and respected this kind of harmony and therefore are willing to do anything to achieve the very essential peace of mind with which daily life could go on smoothly without any undisirable event or happening to disrupt their lives.
So, upon venturing to a new piece of land, the Chinese believed certain elements of nature could have been disturbed and to overcome any possible consequences, they would be wiling to pray to God for assistance, be friendly to the neighbours and whatever spirit which could have been uprooted from its abode in the course of constructing their homes.
To do that, they built shrines for the spirits and thank them frequently for their generousity in allowing them to live in the area in peace. Whether such spirits do exist or not is immaterial. What matters is the peace of mind as a result of having done all they could to appease anything or anybody whose ire could have been aroused by them. With such peace of mind, the residents would have better sleep, good rest, good health as a result and ensured happiness in the place.
As such, government authorities should allow such small shrines to exist as they, in no way dirupt anyone's lives not cause any obstruction to anything. Such shrines merely enhance the happiness and peace of mind of the people, something any authority should give encourage.
However, not all shrines come about as a result of such homage and faith. Sometimes it is built for the peace of mind of the residents in a particular area.
People throughout the centuries have desired peace of mind and this could be achieved through living in harmony with the environment and other inhabitants of the place such as other living creatures and spirits. People have always understood and respected this kind of harmony and therefore are willing to do anything to achieve the very essential peace of mind with which daily life could go on smoothly without any undisirable event or happening to disrupt their lives.
So, upon venturing to a new piece of land, the Chinese believed certain elements of nature could have been disturbed and to overcome any possible consequences, they would be wiling to pray to God for assistance, be friendly to the neighbours and whatever spirit which could have been uprooted from its abode in the course of constructing their homes.
To do that, they built shrines for the spirits and thank them frequently for their generousity in allowing them to live in the area in peace. Whether such spirits do exist or not is immaterial. What matters is the peace of mind as a result of having done all they could to appease anything or anybody whose ire could have been aroused by them. With such peace of mind, the residents would have better sleep, good rest, good health as a result and ensured happiness in the place.
As such, government authorities should allow such small shrines to exist as they, in no way dirupt anyone's lives not cause any obstruction to anything. Such shrines merely enhance the happiness and peace of mind of the people, something any authority should give encourage.
Friday, August 07, 2009
The Power of ONE
Here comes the early arrivals.
Food and drinks are prepared for those who come from afar.
The Sungai Petani volunteers have put up a screen to show Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, his vision and his work.
Waiting to start the long Kriya.
However, people keep pouring in and the numbers exceeded one thousand.
The more than a thousand people entering the hall.
The more than a thousand people focused their attention on the AOL teachers just before the 'Full Moon Meditation' 
The hall was packed with minds of one goal, meditate for peace in our world. 
After the meditation, AOL members renew their friendship before departing. 
And it was time to call it a night.
The day was Thursday, the 6th of August 2009. Volunteers gathered early to make it to the Municipal Hall of Butterworth so as to ensure the hall was ready, food for those who were hungry after having to travel long distances to reach the place, a screen and a speaker system for disseminating information on the Art of Living were ready for the evening’s ‘A Thousand People To Meditate For Peace’.
Before that evening, there had been intermittent rain for the last seventy-two hours. It was a clear evening, with the moon appearing as the evening wore on.. Obviously, God is with us in our endeavour.
When everything was ready, at a little past seven, AOL members and their friends came, welcome by the enthusiastic, smiling, clapping volunteers who had gathered at the entrance.
Members of AOL went for their long Kriya while the non-members were entertained by the Sungai Petani people to dances and songs as well as information about our founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shanker and The Art of Living Foundation.
Then, at nine o’clock, everyone gathered in the hall to do a breathing exercise and the ‘Moon Meditation’.
The gathering was a great success. People from Kangar,Alor Star, Sungai Petani, Baling, Penang Island, of course Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam, Taiping, Teluk Anson, and even as far as Kula Trengganu came for the gathering for peace.
Success, in fact, is inevitable when it is done with a noble cause. It was a gathering for peace, a factor so desirable in the preservation of orderliness and calm, without which there can only be chaos in the lives of all. Without peace, there can only be uncertainty, restlessness and confusion. There will be suffering, pain and death, not just for ourselves but also for the very people we know and love.
With a worthwhile universally desirable goal in mind, it is easy to get like-minded people to be committed to the purpose. With the single purpose in mind, such committed people can even be selfless in consistently performing whatever tasks are necessary to achieve success. Every person in the group or organization would certainly give of their best to reach this goal.
In this kind of group, we see the power of unity in achieving an aim. When the goal is big enough, worthwhile enough, each member of the group or organization will strive to give of his/her best. The built up energy or force would gather momentum, gathering positive action, enthusiasm and a strong desire to work towards the particular goal.
It’s one of the greatest, most wonderful experience. to be engulfed in the positive attitude, the enthusiasm and the happiness of achievement. You have to be in it to understand and appreciate the force of many united as ONE.
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