What is the knowledge of - Jivan Mukhti ?

What is Liberation within life? How do you experience this.

While being in this world, be above the worldly pleasures, the vices, the cravings and negative impulses; be detached from the worldly  vices you will experience real freedom. You will experience the liberation within life, Jivan Mukhti.

Do not think about the external scenes and subjects and stabilise your inner eye in the middle of your forehead. Silent your mind and concentrate your mind towards The  Limitless Consciousness ( God), and let your benevolent wishes flow towards all  living beings to liberate them from all their worldly sorrows and attain to highest peace.

While living in this material world let your mind be concentrated on your Soul  and this is how you can live among all that is around you and still remain aloof from it; this is the Art of living. When we have learned to live such a detached life we can learn to master over the senses and control the mind and allow it to concentrate on the Supreme Being. Although we live in this materialistic comfort, our attention is to purify the Soul. When we are focused on the Soul the external world has no hold on our mind... we only need to Practice. 

Without being able to concentrate on your Soul awareness, you will never be able to liberate your mind from being distracted and you will never be able to be free from the bondage of being trapped in this life. You will suffer in ignorance of  what this life is just like the rest of humanity. You will never be free from Greed hate and  Delusion.

Jivanmukta (derived from the word, Jivanmukti, a combination of Sanskrit words jiva and mukti) is someone who, in the Advaita philosophy of Hinduism, has gaineddradh nishthaa, firmly assimilated knowledge of the Self- and is liberated while living in a human body, free from rebirth.

And the Buddha is said to have said, "May we exist with the purity of a Lotus in muddy waters."

What the forest taught me. - From Secrets of the Bhagavad Gita

The Soul is immortal and no elements of nature can harm it, I am not this body,, the body is just a costume and when i am done with this costume i will put on a new one.. My Soul shines out most brilliantly when I am experiencing my divine nature my positive nature, my  original Buddha nature. My soul recedes into the deeper recesses of my  being when I am experiencing negative values or harboring negative thoughts.The religion of each and every eternal soul is one, thy Soul is the embodiment of the Divine Spirit.

Life is the communion between the Soul and the Soil. The Spirit and the five elements of nature.. The human and the being, being is the conscious entity and the human is the physical entity; life is the connection of these two entities.. 

The Body is made up of the five elements of nature and thee the body demands the five elements for its survival. The Soul also requires  seven core values for its survival - Knowledge - Will Power - Purity  - Bliss -  Love - Happiness - Peace.. Soul is a point of Divine Light. The Soul requires Spiritual knowledge in order to neutralize the influence of ego..Spiritual knowledge is like a catalyst that removes the stains caused by the egoistic tendencies in man.

We are most comfortable where there are pure feelings and purity in behavior and thoughts and so we need to cultivate purity which is the original nature of our being , the nature that was there when we were born.. Being in the forest is like being in the temple or the church or the mosque where i feel pure and comfortable, where i catch a glimpse of my true nature. Here there is a pure atmosphere which heals me from within.

When there is ego, there is misunderstanding, when there is impurity, ego and impurity are such which does not allow for real Love to flourish.. Everyone in the world is aspiring for true altruistic Love, but there is no true Love. Once we can feel there is no true Love, that there is selfishness in this Love, we cannot feel comfortable from within. Wherever we sense selfishness, where the Love is superficial, there is frustration created, we can never feel comfortable.

Peace prevails where the three core values of knowledge, purity and Love exist. Without Knowledge, Purity and Love there can never be Peace in this world. If there is ego, misunderstanding,selfishness and manipulation in purity, how can there ever be Peace in this world?

If the four are there the fifth core virtue is available and that is Happiness.  There is Happiness in the world where everyone enjoy life, the quality of life that all of us wish for. and the five are the highest achievement for the human life is Bliss.- Ananda,, Parmananda, and we want to experience that ecstasy, that Bliss, that Joy of human life.

When the six are there, the seventh, Will Power becomes manifest. When we ask God for help, to give us the strength, we are asking for the  Will Power, the Power to be who I am...I AM That! I am Satchit Ananda! I Am a Powerful Soul! I am Knowledge! I am Purity, I Am Love I am Peace, I am Bliss ...I AM That I AM.

Do I believe in Miracles?

It seems like i need a miracle and Lord i hate the word need, it makes me feel like a needy kind of person and of course what i hate is what i have become. The vicious circle, creating karma to destroy karma, call it what you may it has still the same result, i need a miracle at least a financial one. I just had returned from my long morning walk along the Karpal Singh Drive by the sea and did a whole lot of  self motivating kind of exercises along with my physical one,telling myself that ...this too will pass...keep on trucking...don't fall into despair or fuck depression! The mind is your worse enemy and if there is the devil or Mara or the trickster or call it by whatever name you want, the bastard is a permanent resident in your mind. Jihad is the effort you make getting the better of if not getting rid of the bastard that is bound and determine to see you fall, humiliated and brought to your knees before your peers. Yes, through your thoughts alone you can be demoralized and even demonized if you let it take control over you.and you start seeing the external world as being hostile and negative to begin with. Thoughts can make you or break you, Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have said and like fire it is a good servant but a bad master.

Presently I take solace in writing my thoughts out so that i can keep a track on what is actually transpiring and it also helps to keep me from thinking out loud some the thoughts that is hankering to be expressed out in public that should really be kept within..Writing also helps me to sieve  through what needs to be done and what needs to be deleted from my mind and if nothing else it buys me time from thinking too much while accomplishing not a thing. Perhaps I am overly obsessed with trying too hard to accomplish something in my life and who am I trying to convince of my accomplishments? Come to think of it not a man, woman or child in particular, at least not anymore. I used to believe i was doing it all for my children and that what I am doing will benefit them in some small ways but at this day and age, in the prime of my life, it is all horseshit for i doubt that they even take a peek into my Blog anymore, unless to check if Dad is still alive.

Two children who just lost their father at the age of 43.

Well, Dad is still kicking, he may be down but not out. The sad thing about it all is that you cannot predict the outcome of what will become of your children as they mature or what will swing the heads to turn 360% against you. But had you known what would you do about it? Not much there is to do except to drop them on their heads before the age of two, however it is too late now and all there is is to hope and wish that they will survive life better than you do and know that for better or worse they are still your children, a chip of the old block. I have made mistakes more than my share of it my entire life and who is to say that they will be spared and had I not learned a thing or two from mine? When it comes to ego I highly doubt that any of my children can out ego me or be free from the consequences of my egoic actions. I have spent at least half my life in trying to fully understand life where ego is concern and I have made it my jihad to overcome this affliction but now through my children I am witnessing how bad it can be.

"We haven’t only forgot our past but also our place in the present and our responsibility of the future. On a personal level, our ego-based state of consciousness is on a mission to keep us in this state of forgetfulness – to break the link to our being as a whole and to the interconnected web of life and universal consciousness. On a collective level, this forgetfulness is perpetuated and reinforced by social and cultural means – mainly by being tranced into a reality of unconscious consumerism, inauthentic lifestyles and a materialistic mindset."

We lost our enchantment with the world. We forgot to be wondered by the miracle of life. We do not stand in awe at the majesty of it all anymore. Our skepticism and cynical view of the world has made us lose trust in ourselves and the magic of the universe. We forgot how to believe. This is perhaps the biggest tragedy of all. It weakened our spirit and impoverished our soul.

Credits: “The 12 Biggest Life Secrets Forgotten By Mankind,” from myscienceacademy.org, by The Mind Unleashed Contributing Author Gilbert Ross

The Kancil is not well...again.

My trusty ride of 12 years., The Kancil (Mousedeer)

Yes Sir, I am back in the City with my car towed to the garage maybe fule pump problem and most probably will be suckered for another expensive bill. What else is new? You cannot live in the jungle and expect no mosquitoes nor can you live in the City and expect no car problems. The day before i was standing by my car while waiting for my son at the post office and along came a couple who parked like me illegally like they owned the road and i watched later their car being wheel locked by the MPPP or the City Council traffic department and mine would have been to had i left. Yes welcome back to the City where driving is as much a pain as my son Karim keeps yapping about in the Face Book. Take the buses or use the cycle but watch out for the motorcycles! They are killers if they do not kill themselves they sure as hell try to kill you in the process.

She has made it eight times from Georgetown to Kuala Trengganu on the East Coast with never a problem. One of the few precious things I own in my life. The Kancil being looked into by an Indian family workshop in Sitiawan, Perak.

What is the rush? Yes you keep asking the same question just about everything going on around the City and you get the same answer nothing really that cannot wait or accomplished all in good time but it is human nature somehow that we have to be the first if not the earliest, ahead of others, we cannot spend time being patient, patience is for the birds and birds should live in the forest. Yes I will end up living in the forest one day and perhaps find my death there too in one form or another and I say this with full conviction in my heart knowing that the only thing I will miss are my two children here. For this to happen I have been setting my course of finding and moving into my eventual location and thus my wayward trips to the Belantik, Sik area in Kedah where i have found the community that has accepted my being there and wonders when I would return to them.
I read in Face Book that the scientists there in the Swiss Alps are trying to create the connection or a portal like in the Star gate movie, for inter dimensional travels through space or something like that, I hope they find it as I am sure by the looks of it they must be spending a fortune getting this contraption up and if it works it will keep humanity busy with something new rather than being sucked into the same old rut of Israeli conflict and IS, the horrors in Africa and the political circus in Malaysia with the Hudud scenario being played for the present episode. However if you truly ask me what i think, I think it is all a bloody waste of time and money, like the lady commented, it is the Big boys Toys this whole set up; yes I will sit and meditate in the forest til i merge into the next dimension and if i survive I might be able to come back with a video or picture or two to prove that I was there, if not I will be dead anyway.Taking that one step beyond into the twilight zone, every crazy man's dream especially this day and age where the dimension that we are in has become infested with S holes bound and determined to create black holes to enter.

The Kanchil alongside my twin brother's Mercedes in Marang, Terengganu.

Perhaps it may happen perhaps it may not but if and when man discovers the way to pop in and out of dimensions other than the one we are in I hope I will long be gone. I hate to imagine what kind of mess humanity would wield upon discovering a new dimension to deal with when we cannot even deal with the one we are already screwing up. If anything humanity needs at this moment is a shift in mindset like war and waste is out of the equation if there were to be a Utopia on this Planet; Man needs a new paradigm  to live by, one that does not include Greed Hate and Delusion.

At the SRI LOVELY Organic Farm.

In the meantime...life goes on.

Back in the City and the traffic is relentless outside my window and the catering business downstairs is in full swing with all the fanfare of an open kitchen. I wish I was till out there in the boonies but i have to be with my children and look into their affairs too even if they are now adults. The washing machine broke down when I was away and so my son's room looks and smelled like it is being used as a washroom with outstanding laundry floating all over. He still leaves dirty plates and dishes from his meals till they hardened with cakes sticking to the plates and if allowed to, would probably grow some mushrooms from. I must admit that it is good to be home despite all the heavy external pressures such as extreme noises and the heat, it is good to see faces, some you can do with and some you can do without. As it is told in the 'Practice' one cannot discriminate between the good and the not so good, the here and the being there, all is a part of the same coin only different sides; the desired is also part of the undesirable.
So i am back to try and continue to put pieces together as the pressure to pay my debts and so forth mounts up with threats and impending doom and gloom. I am back to keep on trying to keep the balance between what is reality and what is Maya or illusions in my life. I am still on track with my meditation practice that helps to bring things into focus and right perspective making sure that I am not sucked into doing or being what i am not suppose to or detrimental to my own well being. I am back to catch up on my laundry and my son's and catch up on doing more artworks so i can generate some income for my immediate needs. Nothing ever changes or so it seems when it comes to the day to day living and there is still the needs that even as one is informed that one should have no 'needs' in this life; far easier to understand than to put to practice.
I am feeling healthy and that I am very much thankful for. All those hard work of cutting the grass and raking the leaves and all the walking and climbing up and on the steps and the swimming at the Muda dam has kept my body in good form even if it seems a little warm at night to the point that i sweat in my sleep. One of the best thing i found while staying at the organic farm is the fresh water that comes right out of the ground and from which I drank without boiling. It was like drinking the real natural mineral water if there is ever one and not to mention the fresh and clean air that one rises to every morning with so much oxygen given out from the trees and vegetation all around the area. And so back here in the City I am back to sniffing exhaust fumes all day long and listening to the obnoxious roar of the motorcycles and other vehicles; this is called balance, one cannot have one without the other.
There will always be times when one just needs to do nothing when nothing needs to be done. It is called relaxing for lack of better words. In the Zen tradition doing nothing one accomplishes everything, go figure that one out. It is said that one should eat when hungry, sleep when sleepy and sit and watch the grass grow, what does this mean? In Zen anecdotes  or Koans one is told of short stories that were meant to help one find the simple truth about one's day to day encounters with life and when in doubt one can always reach for these simple short stories or parables to shed some light into what is being encountered. Hence herein lies the key to self discovery, finding the means to unlock the mental processes that we have been taking for granted and revealing what is not true about our preconceived ideas about who we are. The great Masters of most religions and philosophy if not the sciences, have been trying to make us realize that who we think we are is not who we truly are and who we truly are has greater significance upon how we view our selves and our environment; in Isla we are Khalifa or Rulers not servants.
Why do we not act as Masters instead of empowering others to become our masters in our daily lives? Why do we not see that within us lies the greatest, most magnificent universe if we only know how to reach in and touch it. No we are instead too busy being sucked out into the external world where nothing we see hear or touch is in effect real as all that is external is the creation of our mind itself . Nothing is permanent all is illusion and yet we worship the idols that our minds has helped to create over time collectively and we gave it names such as religions, dogmas and systems and we are bound by these throughout our lives not able to liberate ourselves from this binding. Ignorance is one of the three ailments that humanity is plagued with and despite all there is that is at our disposal to learn and to better understand ourselves we still are groping in the dark or being led by our noses to our final resting ground by those who has a little more knowledge than us or are in the position of power to exploit our every weaknesses.
It is way past the time for humanity to awaken from this slumber that most of us are in and strike out at being who we truly are and stand up for whatever rights we deserve as humans instead of being led blindly as cattle to the slaughter house and what is worse is allowing the future of our lives and this beautiful planet we call home to be destroyed slowly but surely. We have to awaken others from their sleep so as to stop them from living in this dream state which will turn into a nightmare in time. I will not tire myself from writing my thoughts as they arise with regard to this matter of our human dilemma. If one or two persons reading this writing decides to act upon it I have done my share.
Insha'Allah. So think locally and act globally as the saying goes and make sure it is all organic!

What the Forest had to tell.

A Homage to those who stood above the rest and lasted the beat of weather and time.

The 'Mighty Tualang tree' home to the wild bees whose honey is most sought after by the locals and fetch high prices in the market.

Nature has her own designs if only you take the time and consciousness to experience it.

Leaving whatever is deemed as civilization behind me I ventured up the river into the unknown.

The Tualang tree, notice the makeshift ladder built for the men to scale the tree in order to get at the bee hives.

As an artist i am always fascinated by the spread of branches in the trees and they reminds me of the coral fans under the sea.

This is the epitome of what is impermanence of life, that nothing last forever not even the mightiest of them all.

Notice how everything is laid out in order from those that grew the longest in time to those that are just now beginning to grow in the foreground. Animals from as large as elephants and tigers to the smallest of bucks and wild pigs comes for their drink on this small patch of ground leaving behind telltale footprints for those with interest to study.

Taking a Retreat From It All

A trip up the Muda Dam to spend three days and two nights out in the wilds.I have laid aside all my preoccupations with blogging and  sketching and painting, just decided that enough was enough. With what little money I had in my pocket just enough to get me to where i was headed i drove my Kancil and headed for the hills so to speak. It just so happened that when i was having dinner at one of the roadside stalls in Belantik  a guy invited me to take a trip with him and his group into the Muda Dam area where they were planning on setting up a 'Danau' or small resting area with the intention of turning it into a tourist area; at no cost to me financially! So i jumped at the chance and  the next thing I knew I was feeling like Joseph Conrad headed into the 'Heart of Darkness'

The water is fresh water  supplying the entire Northern region of the West coast of the Malay Peninsular and lately it has been at its lowest level due to the drought. The Muda Dam also feeds into the Pedu Dam which lies on a lower level from the the Muda is located and in the past few weeks the flood gates inot the Pedu Dam has been closed thus stopping water from the Muda from entering into it. Hence the Muda water level rises again.

There used to be villages below these waters and these tree trunks sticking out of the water are remnants of what was once thick forest areas. I learned that there were graves and hidden caves too that was sunk beneath the water as folks around the area would tell of  folklores about how in a few of these caves the villages were able to  'Borrow' from the the spirits within whatever untencils they needed for any form of 'Kenduri' or feast. These utensils must be returned after the events even the broken ones  failing which the 'services' was ceased as this had happened before to one of the villages.

In these modern day and age where there is so much apathy towards nature and its glory  or where nature has become a source of money making like all else a trip like this is becoming more and more rare and the impact it has one's consciousness is no bout deeper than one can feel as it is like Joseph Conrad in his book tried to  share with his readers of hi journey into the Heart of  Africa. A trip like this even if it was just for a few short days helps to stir to surface my primordial instincts if not my sense of creativity.

In the Movie Apocalypse Now with Martin Shin and Marlon Brando a good part of the movie was filmed of the boat trip taken by Martin on his way to find the 'Mad Colonel' in his jungle lair; this kind of trips always brought his scenes back to my memory scenes of the Movie. I imagined eyes peering from among the bushes and trees at us as we cruised slowly only to the sound of the boat's motor but our minds were still.

As e got deeper into the forest the river narrows down and the scene around us becomes more subdued and calm almost mysterious and creepy. I could almost felt the heartbeat of the jungle as we cruised towards our destination with the motor turned off for the water was too shallow at some points and we had to push the boat along wading in the nice cool water. 

Words can only describe what the feelings was like after the event has been experienced but the experienced itself can only happen if and when you are willing to make the move to want to be in touch  with it and Nature has in store what no money can give you, a touch of who you truly are in all the schemes of life itself.

As we headed into the forest my heart was lightened from all my cares and worries of the world that I had left behind, Georgetown and all that the City had to offer.