041: Maaf Zahir Batin

Here are three words that I never quite understood as a whole. Of the three, I understand "maaf" to mean "forgive". And then there is "batin" which I have always taken to mean "inner self" or something to that effect. I have no idea what a "zahir" is. I also don't know if the arrangement of the three words are meant to form a sentence or if they're three individual words together. And to think that I have always been pretty good in Bahasa Malaysia during my schooldays.

Anyway, "maaf zahir batin" together means "forgive me for all my wrongs" which in my opinion, the most beautiful and humble greeting for the Eid Ul Fitri (a.k.a. Aidil Fitri) celebrations. In fact, it should be a greeting for any celebration.

In any case, have a good Hari Raya. And of course, Maaf Zahir Batin.

a freudian spit generated @ 1:22 PM | |

 
040: Of Cults and Crap

I've been a lazy dogshit. Which is why you haven't seen any posts for a few days now. Don't get me wrong, and assume that I have learnt the error of my ways. I'm a slow-learner. And a lazy dogshit. But I will blog on anyway, since I'm also bursting at the seams with opinions.

In the week that had been, I have found faith once again in the educational value of our local dailies. Nope, I am not taking a jab at the quality of Malaysian journalism. I do truly look forward to interesting stuff in the papers. After all, everything I do, I do for the sake of education. And of course, entertainment.

THE JONESTOWN MASSACRE
Last Sunday, a very clever Martin Vengadesan gave us a great piece on suicide cults in The Star. Apparently, Tuesday was the silver anniversary of the mass suicide at Jonestown. If you've never hear of the incident, in a nutshell, Jim Jones started off as a Christian preacher. He gained immense popularity through his fiery sermons and his great community service work. Then things got out of hand and Jim Jones ended up taking his parishoners with him and started a self-contained colony in Latin America, aptly named Jonestown. In the end, everybody there ends up killing themselves. Over 1,000 dead.

Today, 25 years later, people still wondered what happened. I'm more interested in what happened to Jim Jones to elevate him to such a status. What made him decide to play god? Perhaps it's true what the bible says. Pride does come before a downfall. Jim Jones started off well enough. Good man with good intentions. Perhaps he got a bad case of the "holier-than-thou" disease. Pride got the better of him and instead of worhipping god, he became god. Methinks it would do a lot of good for our local religious leaders to learn a few things from this. Don't go thinking you're too good. Don't go professing how much more "religious" you are compared to others. That's when pride takes over. That's when the shit hits the fan!

OUR OWN CULT COLONY
In case anyone's forgotten, we've had our own cultists as well. Remember Al-Arqam? Well, these guys had their own colony back in the early 90s. It was right smack where the LDP Kepong toll is now or thereabouts. I visited the place once. It was a self-contained colony, with their own school and education system. Their own mosque. Their shops and just about everything you could need to live life. And they were far more advance than anyone could ever imagine. All their propaganda materials were created on Apple Macs even before Macs became popular in Malaysia. And then there were reports that their leader Asha'ari had supernatural powers. Back then, there were even news reports that people saw Asha'ari's face on the moon! In any case, our Government put a quick stop to it and Al-Arqam was banned.

TEMPLE TORTURE
Today, there's another piece of disturbing news in the courts. An 11-year old boy was allegedly tortured by members of the Sakhya Buddhist Mission. Apparently, a couple of the members were in fact his very own parents. The poor kid was tortured, beaten-up and made to eat up to 5 loaves of bread in one sitting! I read about this case a couple of years ago when arrests were made. Can't remember why the kid was tortured though.

There ya go! More bad publicity for god. Thanks a lot to his so-called priests! All I can say is; if you ever find yourself in the position of spiritual leadership, like a priest, pastor, ulama or a rabbi, it's best to remember that you're open target for satan. Take down the head, and the body is rendered useless. Now lest someone misunderstands what I'm saying, let me just say that I think it's a noble thing to be a man of god. Just watch yourself veerrry carefully.



a freudian spit generated @ 3:14 PM | |

 
039: Dying for Your Doctrine

Read a coupla of days ago in NoorHidayat's blog about the a group of folks from Kelantan who got into a shitload of trouble for renouncing Islam. Read about them again today. In case you're too damn lazy to click on the links, here's a summary of the case. Mat Yaakub Ismail, 56, Kamariah Ali, 51, Mohamad Ya, 57 and Daud Mamat, 72 (hereinafter referred to as the Kelantan Four) decided they no longer believe in Islam some years back. That was back in 1992, where they were accused by the Kelantan Islamic Authorities of being involved in "deviant activites". In 1996, the Syariah Appeals Court ordered them to go for repentance classes which they duly refused. Subsequently, in 1999 they were thrown in jail for contempt of court. Mohamad Ya passed away in jail.

Now, I'm not well versed in the Syariah Law nor the Malaysian Constitution to comment on the legal aspect of this issue. Any attempt on my part to do so is just going to make me sound like an idealistic, pimply teenager wishing for world peace, freedom of choice and a chance to get laid. So I won't. Instead, I'll bring your attention to the burning issue I have with this whole thing. What on earth were they thinking? What made them lose faith? In fact, did they even believe in Islam in the first place? Did they turn to another religion? Or did they just decide to worship more "deviant" deities? And what is so powerful in their current belief system that they are willing to rot in jail? From my point-of-view, I see some options that the Kelantan Four might have had:

1. Go for the repentance class, get reformed and avoid jail.
2. Go for the repentance class, pay no attention but pretend to be reformed and avoid jail.
3. Skip the classes and go directly to jail.

What on earth made them choose the worst option of them all? Is what you believe in, truly worth risking your freedom? Would you go to jail for your belief? For that matter, would you be willing do die for what you believe in? Today, millions of Muslims in the world are willing to die for Allah. Similiarly millions of Christians around the world are still being persecuted for believing in Jesus. And who can forget the Jews? And yet, through all that suffering, so many of these people held on to their God till the very end. So what is it about religion that does this?

Here's something else to ponder over. You can argue with anyone over just about anything. Football. Movies. Food. Government. Whether or not Anwar really did his godbrother up the ass. Your opinions can clash but in the end, it'll be okay. You can still be friends. But in matters of religion, it's a whole new ballgame. Because this one involves your belief system. When someone takes a poke at your religion, or even if you perceive that someone is attacking your belief system, it's no more fun and games. Because you know if your belief system crumbles under someone else's scrutiny or rationalisation, all that you have always known to be true will cease to be so. Yes Skippy, it was all a lie and you fell for it! You're such a gullible shit. Hahaha, you ass! I bet you believe in Santa Claus too, you pisswit! I think it's safe to say that nobody likes to look stupid.

Well, I have a lot of respect for people who are willing to stand by their convictions. I do not have that sort of courage nor do I presume to know what it means to those who do. I'm chickenshit. As for the Kelantan Four, I do hope they get out soon. It's a shame for these guys to be in prison while bigger fiends roam the earth.

NOTE: Graphic shamelessly swiped from Campus Journal. Click it. There's good reading there too.

a freudian spit generated @ 1:12 AM | |

 
038: What's on the Menu, God?

Last Thursday, I decided to sneak off home at lunchtime since I had decided not to eat that day. So there in my ponteng mode, I snuck off home and did what every normal, hot-blooded male does whenever they come home to an empty house in the middle of the day. I switch on the TV!

Never mind that there wasn't anything showing. I just had to have it on. And this is terrestial TV, mind you! I'm too cheap for Astro. Anyway, there on NTV7 they were showing 1001 Rasa Baba's, hosted by Arni Isa (with a really bad hairdo) and Radhi Khalid, who's probably my favourite local TV personality in recent times. In case you've never seen the show, it's a foodie show where Radhi Khalid takes you out to a popular restaurant, gets the chef to cook up their signature dish and have the patron there try it and comment! On this show you'll see some of the most annoying Malaysian with their pretend-shyness, but that's a whole new story altogether.

FOOD OF THE GODS
Anyway, the one thing that caught my attention to the show was simply Radhi's comment on garlic, "Pada suatu masa, bawang putih diharamkan oleh penganut agama Buddha" or something to that effect. Loosely translated, it means that Buddhist once banned the consumption of Garlic. He offered a half-assed explaination about how garlic makes your breath stink and I assumed that was against the practice of Buddhism. Any Buddhist care to shed a light on this one?

Isn't it strange how food and dietary habits make up an important part of religion? Muslims and Jews don't eat pigs. Early Christians didn't eat pigs, since they were in fact Jews. But apparently St. Peter saw it in a vision that it's okay to eat all that God has given which means modern Christians can eat just about anything! Hindus and some Taoists don't take cows. And Buddhist don't take garlic? And then there's that whole thing with fasting and vegetarian diets. Buddhists and Hindus take the vegetarian path so that no innocent animals ought to die just for man's sustenance.

Anyway, it's the month of Ramadhan and Muslims are fasting. That doesn't just mean no food or drink but also, nothing is to enter a Muslim's mouth (don't blame me, I'm just regurgitating what I was told) for the entire month. It's a time for abstinence. So, no sex as well.

YOU FAST, I FASTER
Apparently Muslim's are not the only ones that fast. Other religions have their time of fast as well - some of which are compulsory, while others, upon individual discretion. In fact, even Jesus fasted for 40 days and in the wilderness, no less. Both Christians and Muslims agree on this one. And then David Blaine came and broke the record with a whopping 44 days in the wilderness of England's concrete jungle! In all cases, fasting is part of religious worship to bring each individual closer to God. Some people tell me that it humbles you and therefore lets you reflect on your life and on God's provision. In layman's terms, when you're hungry you'll be screaming out for God!

OK. I know I'm gonna offend some of you out there but this is something that has to be asked. If fasting is truly a spiritual worship then doesn't it defeat the purpose when you break fast over a lavish meal? In the daytime you would be punishing your body, pummeling it to submission and detaching yourself from your worldly desires and yet come nightfall, you're stuffing your face like there's no tomorrow! Wouldn't you have met the same objectives if you had just lived in moderation throughout the day?

I have a similiar question for the Taoist and Buddhist. I have friends who earnestly want to please their Gods by staying vegetarian and leaving behind the good stuff in life. And so they put off meat. But then, on the other hand, they go for those Vegetarian restaurants that serve "Roast Goose Drumstick", "Sweet Sour Pork" and other meat-themed vegetarian dishes. Yes, technically they are vegetarian but while the body may have succumbed to a bland diet of veggies, the mind still refuses to let go of delicious meat! Hmph! Remember Bill Clinton? He technically did not have sexual relations with that woman either. Are we really okay with this?

QUICK FAST
I fasted for a few days just to know how it feels. No food or drink from sun up till sun down. When night came I ate a very simple meal. Believe me, it was. After a few days, I realised that I was craving for so many things - Char Kuey Teow, Chicken Rice, Nasi Padprik, Steak, Hamburger...! So after I decided to end my fasting, I really let loose like a man with a vengeance. For a brief moment there, I felt like I understood what some of you must face. I suppose, all I lacked was the spiritual experience that was supposed to go along with this. Somebody told me that fasting must go hand-in-hand with prayer. Otherwise it's just dieting. In my case, I didn't even get the "diet" part of the deal since I stuffed my face the moment I ended my ordeal. *sigh*.

Anyway, I'm just thinking out loud. I hope you won't take offense to this post. Nanti batal puasa!

a freudian spit generated @ 6:26 PM | |

 
037: Happiness Defined

CS Lewis had this to say:

Indeed the best thing about happiness itself is that it liberates you from thinking about happiness - as the greatest pleasure that money can give us is to make it unnecessary to think about money.

This is a follow up to my last post (scroll down, I know you can). Religious people swear by their convictions. CS Lewis did. He believed he found true happiness when he found God. In the above passage, he defines his feelings about happiness. In a gist, God is suppose to complete you and thereby make you happy. There is joy to be found in God, so I'm told.

Now, I'm thinking, God has done his thing. It's our move. Some people say God wants us to love him back. It looks like a circle to me, and we're supposed to complete it - the circle. To complete God.

You had me at hello?

a freudian spit generated @ 6:31 PM | |

 
036: The Human Condition

I am a student of the human condition.

Let's face it - we're screwed! Some 400 million people in the world suffer from some form of mental disorder. Schizophrenia. Hallucinatory Psychosis. Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour. Anxiety Disorders. Eating Disorders. And the most common, Clinical Depression.

EXCUSE ME, BUT ARE YOU MAD?
400 million!! That's a lot of psychos in the world. And on a planet of only 6 billion folks, you're probably one of those psychos. If not you then someone you know; you parents, your siblings, your friends or your lovers. Some of these are liable to kill themselves. And if you're one of those unlucky schmucks, some of these people are liable to kill you. While you sleep. Or while you're taking a shit.

Clinical Depression is defined as a prolonged state of sadness. But the question is, why do we feel sad? If you backtrack a little, you might discover that it's simply because we failed to be happy.

Which leads to the question; What in the world is happiness? Some people say power. Others say money. Some say sex. But when you fail to get power, money or sex, then you failed to attain happiness. Or worse if you do get power, money and love and find that you're not happy anyway, that's when the shit really hits the fan!

IF YOU'RE NOT HAPPY, YOU'RE SAD
Happiness is both elusive and illusive. Yup, you can't actually find it because you don't really know what it is. And you know that your house, your car and even your wife might not fulfil your need for happiness. Maybe you have a nice house, but then the neighbourhood goes to hell when they build a highway in front of you. And that nice Beemer you now drive starts breaking down the moment your warranty expires. And your trophy wife starts ageing and suddenly that girl living in that apartment across you has never looked better!

So how do you get better? Maybe Prozac can help. Some people say religion can help. (God's a cheaper proposition, no?)

Find out if you're going mad here. But click this one to know if you're really psycho! And if you are and you want medication, I think there is a dosage guide somewhere. Ahem! Otherwise, check in to your local church/mosque/temple/synagogue and see if that helps. After all, if God allowed you to get mad, surely he can undo you! :)

NOTE: The dosage guide statement is a joke. Veritas does not give out dosage guides. I'm sorry, I keep forgetting how many of you out there are psychos.

a freudian spit generated @ 11:28 AM | |