(This story is not related to anyone specific. And I am not a terrorist.)
He was the talk of the town. Naina Mohammad. When you hear the name, it sends shudders. People from all walks of life flocked to him. No, he wasn’t a saint or a seer. They all knew it. He had this magnetic personality, oozing with enthusiasm, positive outlook and he was a motivational genius.
One day, I decided to follow my friends Mary and Visalachi to Naina Mohammad’s talk. They were both very excited, as this wasn’t the normal monthly talk. It was a 3-hour session on the Essence of Bhagavad Gita.
“What? You mean Mary and Visalachi sits there for 3 hours listening to Naina Mohammad speaking on Krishna? Wow…!”
I was impressed, but the skepticism was lingering at the back of my head. Which was why I decided to follow them in the first place.
I have to admit, I was thoroughly enjoying listening to this man. He was funny and he knew things that I didn’t know about my own religion. At the end of the session, he gave all of us a round ball-like thing wrapped in a white cloth. He said it was a magnet ball, charged in Brindavan.
He gave us specific instructions – to place it at any public place with a lot of crowd movement. It was intended as a selfless effort by us to spread the positive vibrations within the ball to as many people as possible. I felt it was a noble cause, so I took one.
A few days passed since the talk. I was telling my family members about Naina Mohammad. They all gave me the same stares I gave Mary when she told me about him.
Here was a man, so unique, so knowledgeable and works selflessly for world peace and happiness. I think we all should emulate his principles, I thought to myself.
There was another talk the next day but it was cancelled because KL had a few bomb blasts earlier that day and there was panic in a lot of places. I called Mary to tell her that I wouldn’t be going.
“Hi Mary, I think we should not go out today. There’s a lot of panic outside.”
“Ya, you know I feel so guilty,” said Mary.
“Why?”
“I am still having the ball that he gave us. We should go and place it somewhere to avoid all these unnecessary bombs and all,” said Mary.
Then there was a loud bang on the other side.
“Hello… Mary! Mary!… Hello…”
Friday, September 25, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
"Quit Worrying" - God's Words
1. QUIT WORRYING
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over little things that come your way?
2. PUT IT ON THE LIST
Something needs to be done or taken care of…Put it on the list. No, not your list.Put it on MY to-do list. Le Me be the one to take care of the problem. I can’t help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do list is long, I am after all… God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.
3. TRUST ME
Once you have given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs,your problems and your trials. Problem with the kids?Put them on My list. Problem with finance?Put it on My list. Problem with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.
4. LEAVE IT ALONE
Don’t wake up in the morning and say, “Well, I am feeling stronger now… I think I can handle it from here!” Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It is simple… You gave Me your burdens and I am taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in My peace. Don’t you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started?Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do My job.
5. TALK TO ME
I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting, because you know I am in control. But there is one thing I pray you will never forget… Please don’t forget to talk to Me… OFTEN! I LOVE YOU!I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.
6. HAVE FAITH
I see a lot of things from up here that you can’t see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I am doing.Trust Me, you wouldn’t want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me.Although I have a much bigger task than you,it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing the simple part. How hard can trust be?
7. SHARE
You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? The rule still applies… Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joys with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who have not heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.
8. BE PATIENT
I managed to fix it so in just one life-timeyou could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult… have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much…
9. BE KIND
Be kind to others for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do,but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be so boring if you were all identical. Please… Know that I love each of your differences.
10. LOVE YOURSELF
As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself?You were created by Me for one reason only –to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of love… Love Me… Love your neighbors… But also love yourself…It makes My heart ache when I see you angry with yourself when things go wrong… You are very precious to Me!
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over little things that come your way?
2. PUT IT ON THE LIST
Something needs to be done or taken care of…Put it on the list. No, not your list.Put it on MY to-do list. Le Me be the one to take care of the problem. I can’t help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do list is long, I am after all… God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.
3. TRUST ME
Once you have given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs,your problems and your trials. Problem with the kids?Put them on My list. Problem with finance?Put it on My list. Problem with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.
4. LEAVE IT ALONE
Don’t wake up in the morning and say, “Well, I am feeling stronger now… I think I can handle it from here!” Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It is simple… You gave Me your burdens and I am taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in My peace. Don’t you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started?Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do My job.
5. TALK TO ME
I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting, because you know I am in control. But there is one thing I pray you will never forget… Please don’t forget to talk to Me… OFTEN! I LOVE YOU!I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.
6. HAVE FAITH
I see a lot of things from up here that you can’t see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I am doing.Trust Me, you wouldn’t want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me.Although I have a much bigger task than you,it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing the simple part. How hard can trust be?
7. SHARE
You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? The rule still applies… Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joys with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who have not heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.
8. BE PATIENT
I managed to fix it so in just one life-timeyou could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult… have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much…
9. BE KIND
Be kind to others for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do,but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be so boring if you were all identical. Please… Know that I love each of your differences.
10. LOVE YOURSELF
As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself?You were created by Me for one reason only –to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of love… Love Me… Love your neighbors… But also love yourself…It makes My heart ache when I see you angry with yourself when things go wrong… You are very precious to Me!
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Dharmic Challenges
Most of the times we come across Dharmic Challenges (Challenges in making the decision which is morally right). Some are more obvious to us, but some has become a norm.
Ethics and morality is becoming a new buzzword, when in actual fact, it should have been the foundations of the ancient teachings carried with us in our daily lives.
Marina Mahathir takes a look at these challenges in “Merit comes from making right choices”
Quote
Living the faith is not just about avoiding what is prohibited, but more so about doing the right things where morals and ethics are concerned.
Every day our lives seem to be increasingly circumscribed until the question of choice in our lives becomes irrelevant.
There are some people in our midst who seem to think that the only way to fulfill our religious obligations is by removing any sort of temptation or challenge in our paths.
Since we are prohibited from drinking, the answer is therefore to remove any form of alcohol from our sight so that we may never have the opportunity to be tempted by it.
Or, to disallow young Muslims to attend events sponsored by alcoholic beverage companies.
The assumption is that by the mere presence of liquor, we would abandon all inhibitions and imbibe.
This suggests two things. One is that the religious education of the young must be so inadequate that they feel totally uninhibited when faced with what they should know is prohibited.
Secondly, our faith is essentially a weak one since it can never restrain us from breaking rules.
There are other faiths that have food prohibitions as well. Many Hindus and Buddhists don’t eat beef. There are people who take no meat at all.
Yet, living in a world of carnivores, where the beef burger is ubiquitous and most people are oblivious of others’ dietary restrictions, they stick to their diets throughout their lives. Do they have stronger faith than Muslims?
But faith is about more than just prohibited drinks and foods. It is also about morals and ethics. Every day we are faced with choices that challenge our sense of morality.
Do we pay a little extra to the officer in order to expedite our applications? Do we beat the red light, thus endangering other people, just because we are a little late? Do we keep quiet about a mistake we made and let others take the blame?
It would be nice to get rid of corruption completely so that we never have to deal with it. But do we hear of anyone calling for a ban on it? Or mobilising religious officials to catch anyone giving or receiving a bribe?
If our faith directs our way of life, then ethical and moral questions should dog us every day. How is it that those calling for people who drink to be whipped have nothing to say about people who neglect to repay loans? Or who leave their children in destitution?
God said in the Quran, “if it had been His will, He could indeed have guided you all”. (6:149)
We could all be perfectly good if He had so willed it. But we are given choices because that is how we earn our merits. We have the opportunity to think about what we should do and then decide.
Unquote
Ethics and morality is becoming a new buzzword, when in actual fact, it should have been the foundations of the ancient teachings carried with us in our daily lives.
Marina Mahathir takes a look at these challenges in “Merit comes from making right choices”
Quote
Living the faith is not just about avoiding what is prohibited, but more so about doing the right things where morals and ethics are concerned.
Every day our lives seem to be increasingly circumscribed until the question of choice in our lives becomes irrelevant.
There are some people in our midst who seem to think that the only way to fulfill our religious obligations is by removing any sort of temptation or challenge in our paths.
Since we are prohibited from drinking, the answer is therefore to remove any form of alcohol from our sight so that we may never have the opportunity to be tempted by it.
Or, to disallow young Muslims to attend events sponsored by alcoholic beverage companies.
The assumption is that by the mere presence of liquor, we would abandon all inhibitions and imbibe.
This suggests two things. One is that the religious education of the young must be so inadequate that they feel totally uninhibited when faced with what they should know is prohibited.
Secondly, our faith is essentially a weak one since it can never restrain us from breaking rules.
There are other faiths that have food prohibitions as well. Many Hindus and Buddhists don’t eat beef. There are people who take no meat at all.
Yet, living in a world of carnivores, where the beef burger is ubiquitous and most people are oblivious of others’ dietary restrictions, they stick to their diets throughout their lives. Do they have stronger faith than Muslims?
But faith is about more than just prohibited drinks and foods. It is also about morals and ethics. Every day we are faced with choices that challenge our sense of morality.
Do we pay a little extra to the officer in order to expedite our applications? Do we beat the red light, thus endangering other people, just because we are a little late? Do we keep quiet about a mistake we made and let others take the blame?
It would be nice to get rid of corruption completely so that we never have to deal with it. But do we hear of anyone calling for a ban on it? Or mobilising religious officials to catch anyone giving or receiving a bribe?
If our faith directs our way of life, then ethical and moral questions should dog us every day. How is it that those calling for people who drink to be whipped have nothing to say about people who neglect to repay loans? Or who leave their children in destitution?
God said in the Quran, “if it had been His will, He could indeed have guided you all”. (6:149)
We could all be perfectly good if He had so willed it. But we are given choices because that is how we earn our merits. We have the opportunity to think about what we should do and then decide.
Unquote