Yesterday was Thaipusam celebration day here in Georgetown, Penang but this time i had no energy to join the fan fair, I have always enjoyed watching the young boys dancing along with the Kavadi bearer possibly their brother or cousin or closest friend and the dance accompanying the repentance to the mountain temple in the Botanical gardens Area where the Lord Murugan resides for one day to be with his Consort like a date. The idol of a foot tall of the Lord is a one foot tall solid gold figurine that my father had created when he was employed by the De Silva Jewelry in his younger days to forge this idol. it was my father who once asked me if I knew why the idol appeared black, he said it because of oxidation caused by the milk being poured onto the figurine, it was then that Learned that my father was no ordinary Goldsmith in his days. He also had a picture of one of his creations for the first Permaisuri Agong, H.R.H, the first Queen of the country. It was a large pendant triangular in shape and studded with 300 tiny jewels. Thaipusam always will the memory of my father he had his weaknesses but was loyal to his wife till the end of his life.
Tun Dr. Mahathir has been making waves lately getting things stirred up between the races in order to deviate from joining the 'court cluster' of Najib Razak a, Tun Daim and lately Mahathir's own Son has be brought before the anti corruption department for fact checking of their multi million if not billion personal assets. I'm not pro Mahathir from the beginning but neither had I spoken ill of the old man however I feel that it is time for the Cheeseburger Buddha to let his take on all these politics of this country be made known. The nation is at risk and will bear the brunt of all if any decisions made to disrupt the Government at this time, very bad if irresponsible timing. The Tun may be right in all his observations but being right at this moment is not exactly right. The move to topple the government by any means at this time in pour history is tantamount to a treason towards the Nation as a whole. It is an ill will effort taken to cater towards self serving self preserving sentiment. The use of guilt and threat of violence between the different races is a poor excuse for a country that had once been called the One of the Asian Tigers. Today a man cannot walk the street of London or new York without feeling like still living in a Third World, Colonialized country. I feel like my intelligence has been smeared with the crap of the politicians who were voted to run this Nation. It is a rich country by all standards where just about everything every major resources are available locally, what could go wrong! Yet we are becoming no better than Myanmar or Vietnam.
It is a sad state we are in as more and more are becoming disfranchised and stuck with uncertainty and confusion as to where the country is headed for. One would think it would be simple common sense to let things go for now it it does not serve the prosperity and safety of the Nation as a whole instead of stirring up the most sensitive issues especially relating to race and religion. The intention is glaringly written before us, to topple the present government by any means by creating discord among the people and it is working. How do we tell those who are in power and those who are trying to topple it to settle down for now and focus on the well of the Nation's stability. It does not take a genius to point out that things are not doing so well globally and we will face the backlash of most of what is taking place in many countries where war is immanent if not already. Our very sanity will hang upon how we manage to face the upcoming events which is about to throw this world into chaos. War is not an impossibility when China and America comes face to face or Russian and Iran decides that enough is enough. We will face food shortages and economic mess , not that we already are. The devil is in the details and it is a matter of doing one's job albeit one is the Prime Minister or a rice farmer for the better benefit of the whole.
I often wondered about those who have more than they need, much more than some and we are talking millions if not billions stashed all over the legal and illegal accounts offshore or otherwise. A man can only eat one mouth full at a time and sleep under one roof even if be in a palace or a hut, what happens to the rest of the wealth they accumulated when they too are no more around? The Buddha had warned that man is affected by three ailments and that being Greed, Hate and Ignorance and today more than ever it is apparently true. Hoarding has become a way of maintaining one's wealth but ironically the wealth hidden away serves none but the hoarder and its family and friends. What happen to giving and sharing what happened to compassion and love towards the the very people you have take from rightfully or otherwise? The likes of Tum Daim could have set up hospitals and schools, provided grants and trusts for the benefit of the nation instead od stacking the wealth in some bank somewhere or in properties that one does not even step into in this lifetime. Leave with a name well thought of instead leaving a sour legacy behind. This country needs well run medical facilities for the physical as well as the mental patients and it could do with high grade doctors and nurses who are committed to their jobs, so pay them well. Similarly pay the teachers and academicians well if we are to foster good education through the nation; keeping your wealth under the mattress will not make this happen and depending on the government alone will not find a solution; Will the rich ever be awaken to this simple truth or are they purposely blind to the fact that giving is a means to solve the nation's as well as their problems at least they can sleep nights with clean and clear conscience.
Thaipusam is an annual celebration and it is a celebration of redemption, of acceptance and a show of gratefulness towards the Divine Grace. Those who perform the Khavadi or self mortification act as a penance or for whatever reason intended undertakes a grueling trip from one end to the other of a about 10 kilometers walk sometimes in the blistering heat and sometimes in torrential rain carrying on their backs the platform that carries the images of the Hindu Deities. Hooks and long pointed needles are skuwered into their skin and through cheeks and tongue. Oblivious to the pain these devotees walk swaying rom side to side in a dancing motion to the loud music and drum beaters the crowd cheered them on every step of the way till they get to the temple on top of the hill where they are free from their ordeal.
"May we exist with the purity of a lotus from muddy waters."
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