Next came the visit to close friends and relatives.

Immediately after returrning from the mosque it was time to start gobbling down food, no more fasting, life is back to being decadent and wasteful among other regular habits that fast creeps right back into the routine.

Visiting neighbors and friends is one way to find what is cooking  other than what is available in one's own house and off course it is also a time for the renewal o friendship. We wish each other the best of health and prosperity yada, yada! Then we sat down and consume food and beverages until we sprout bulges and rashes all over. 

my neighbor's son Annuar who is a kind of a weez kid with the computer and such gadgets lie the camera.  One thing you can say about my fellow countrymen, they are colorful, they dress with colors and decorate their homes with colors.

                                                                             

Nice to be able to kick back and take it easy every now ans then especially after a whole fasting month.

Dropped by some friends by the Fishing village to hand out 'Duit Raya' or Raya money for the less fortunate.

Visited my cousin sister and more food consumed. while entertained and being entertained by my nieces.

       

The Aidil Fitri, like Christmas is a celebration for children as they enjoyed it the most being fed and receiving pocket money from most of the adults they come into contact with. Unlike Christmas where they kids received gifts from Santa which is being laid underneath the Christmas tree,  here the gift is in the form of money. it is really not such a great way  of sharing with kids but it has become a tradition and so one goes to the bank and make sure you get enough small change for the occasion. 

                                                                           

I am sharing  brief account of what ti is like to celebrate the month of Ramadan which includes the fasting as well as what goes on in my comunity of Muslim Malays for the benefit of those who have no idea of what it is like. I am also sharing with my readers people, simple folks young and old in their everyday life. 

They are fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers just like the rest of mankind all over the world and they live day to day seeking happiness for themselves and their loved ones and that is about it. Thus far Malaysians have enjoyed a more or less peaceful existence and i hope it stays that way for a longer time yet.

The Sembahyang Hari Raya was next on the Agenda.

Upon return from the grave and paying our repect tour our dear departed the next trip was to the special prayer at the mosque. The Masjid Jamik at Sungai Pinang is where i do most of my Friday prayers as well as on this special day of Aidil  Fitri and i have always been one of the earliest to arrive most of the time unless i forget that it was Friday. This mosque is an upgraded version of the original which i grew up with in the early fifties and sixties.

Caught this elderly gntleman and later learned that he was originally from Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Sitting a little way away is another early bird who looked like he too could have come from Pakistan. These guys are very relaxed while sitting in the mosque waiting for things to happen, it seems like they are very much at home being there.

The elderly gentleman is saying his prayer silently while counting his beads a very strong meditative practice which i do too but without the beads. I usually sit in Zazen while repeating the word 'Allah" to the beat of my heart untill the actual prayer begins.

A young gentleman came and joined us and did hiw 'Sunnat prayer', a prayer one performs as a introduction into being in the mosque, like sayig hello Lord here i am in Your house and Your presence.

I always am in the first row most of the time when i go to the mosque simply because then i do not have to look or wonder what or who is behind me and that way i can keep a better focus on what i do.  The 'Mimbar' or dais where the Imam preacehes from is right in the middle.

When I looked behind me to take this picture i saw that my childhood friend Najib was sitting right behind me, we were very close in our younger days. The guy who is camera shy lives a few doors from where i live here..

I was not sure if i should or could take pictures so i risked it and took a few shots as the mosque was getting filled up to the capacity. I see fammiliar faces and knew that i was among friends whenever i sat in the mosque as this gentleman though i know not his name we grew up in the village together.

There are a good number men from Bangladesh in this mosque. The ladies pray from the second floor of the building where the blue partition is. 

My cousin Ahmad Kalam is another character who likes to come in early and occupy the front line. He is the guy in the gold colored Baju Melayu of Maqlay Shirt. Muslims stand shoulder to shoulder when praying in a congregation and the lines are called 'saf'. It is inapropriate to have any gaps in between two people when in prayer as it allows for the penetration of the unseen beings ever ready to cause a disruption in the congregation.

The Few things we do on Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

Visiting those who been laid to rest is the first thing we do after the 'Subuh Prayer' or the early morning prayer. This visit is to remind us of those who have left us and those whose lives had  been responsible for our being here in the first place. To me it is also a sobering reminder of the impermanence of life and that at time soon i would be joining them resting here six feet more or less on top of one of them as the space here is getting very tight. 

The cemetery is also a very sobering place to reflect upon how much or far or how near we have come to being prepared to face our Maker and for all the hoopla we have created while being alive it all seems not worth a dime if and when you look at the grave stones standing cold even when painted with bright colors.

This is where my grand parents were laid to rest many years ago and last to join them was my second eldest brother Yahaya or Jaya as he was known to us. My cousin sister is scattering flowers  over the graves of my uncle, the one who raised me as an adopted child and my eldest auntie better know as Mak Timah Bidan the most well known individual among most who needed the services of a midwife in the early forties, fifties sixties and seventies. She was my cousin's mother and my grandfather had adopted her as a child. 

That's me doing my thing while being watched by my cousin brother Ahmad Kalam who had been my spiritual guide and companion throughout this fasting month.

On this particular day many of the citiy's poor and destitute sat along the path throughout the grave yard waiting for alms from the visitors.

Ahmad Kalam saying a prayer over the grave of his father in law, my uncle and husband to the midwife. He was laid to rest at a different location nearer to his house which is next to the cemetery.

My cousin sister Azizah Merikan pointing at this or that making her comments over this or that as she always does. This is one of the oldest Muslim burial ground in Penang and definitely the most colorful. Insha' Allah if and when I die I hope that i can find a place here among my ancestors even if the place is overly crowded, at least i will never feel lonely.

'Pasar Ramadan" or where all that food comes from.

The hardest part of the fasting during the day is the last hour or so when you have to figure out what to eat and the pangs waiting that lst few minutes. The food usually comes from the "Pasar Ramadan which sprouts all over the country practically like it is the food bazaar and you can get all you need to break your fast with. Sugar cane drinks  is one of the most popular driks during the month of Ramadan.

There is all kinds of cakes and spicy tit bits for your eyes to ponder upon and your tummy to growl for. It is interesting to note how during the fasting month your appetite is so enhance that you buy and buy whatever you see and end up throwing away ost of what you buy because you cannot finish them.

The "MUrtabak" is another very popular choice, a 'Roti" wrapped up with meat inside. 

Mostly found in Penang , The Po-piah is like your egg roll but not fried and is filled with vegetables mostly.

'Cory' my sone Katim's close buddy hs his stall selling mostly home made cookies.

'Cucor rendang' more or less like fried dumplings.

My favorite 'Buka Puasa' or break fast fruit!

The mangoes were sweet i found out later, the purple colored fruits are called mangstines and one of my most favorite fruits all time.

'Kelapa Laut' is a species of the palm fruit like the distant brother of the coconut. It is quite refreshing i found out later too.

'Roti Sorai' is a softe bread made in the form of a net and is eaten with a specially made curry.

Drinks comes in all colors and is a must during the fasting month.

The Fasting Month is Slipping Away.

The Fasting Month is at its tail end and in a day or two it will be the Aidil Fitri where families get together and celebrate for a few days the end of the Fasting Month of Ramadan and life will be back to normal for the rest of the Muslim calendar. No more abstaining from eating and drinking during the day and no more abstinence from mindless thoughts of sex and perversions, you can take your wives anytime of the day you like and do not have to worry about being arrested when you eat out at the coffee shops during the day. You are free again to think ill of others exploit and take advantage of anything and everything that would bring you profit, yes life is back to the way it has always been before and after the Month of Ramadan. So why do we do it? Why do all Muslims if not most observe this third pillar of Islam.
It is not all that clear cut and grossly simple as it sounds as most Muslims will still dwell upon the lingering effects of the fasting and spiritual practices performed during the fasting month and most who sincerely sis carry out the call of this observances of the Five Pillars of Islam will no doubt more than benefit for themselves heightened spiritual awakening and possibly turn into either extremist of fundamentalists getting the urge to share with others their spiritual awakening. No matter, the fasting Month does have one effect or another to those Muslims who carry it out with genuine sincerity, it is like getting your vehicle overhauled and you mental alignment taken care of  in the process. Nothing is more affected by the fasting month  than the ego and the larger or stronger the ego the harder it will be for one to fulfill the obligation with ease. The most challenging form of torture that the ego will put forth against one's fasting is sexual or sensual temptations or allurements. This is the ego's main roadside attraction to derail the fasting followed by smoking if one is a heavy smoker and the list will go on down the track as the day wore on for a month.
Yes, man's old buddies, Greed, Hate and Delusion, they all raise their heads with gusto to derail one from the fasting track and most people succumb to sleep as an escape from having to bear the 12 hours more or less time before one is free again to serve one's demonic self without any reservations for it being a holy month, or so it seems. What a practice! It is not only to develop one's self discipline but more so it forces one to comply along with millions if not billions of other Muslims to take an account of one self and overcome any form of ailments or weaknesses that is revealed in one character and every Muslim will answer for his deed or misdeed to his Lord, the All Seeing and Knowing. So sneak away and smoke all you want or fornicate in the privacy of your car away form sight but at the back of your mind as a Muslim you will still feel that in all that you do that goes against the Will of your Lord is your character f;law and all you need to do to heal your perverted mind is observe the fasting with genuine interest.
The Muslim God, we call Him Allah and you may too, is a Tester and he will relentlessly test your will power by placing in your mental path all kinds of perverted thoughts and vexations to see if you got what it takes to becoming a 'Good Muslim'.Here i fail with flying colors almost all the time, but I believe in His Power of Forgiveness and no matter how far i wander from my fasting track I would not commit to breaking it wilfully, I will continue on fasting till the end of the day simply because I feel strongly that my Lord is also a Compassionate and Forgiving God. I took this fasting month along with my Buddhist practice of 'Bare Attention" and Mindfulness Practice, the result i find is quite an awakening experience. I find the fasting moth to be more tolerable and the impact it has on my mind has been very challenging to say the least. I have not smoked a cigarette ever since the beginning of the fasting month and touched no liquor. Thoughts of sex and women still haunts me but not as rampant and most easily dismissed as mere vexations and I did my art more seriously and with better results. It has been quite sometime now that i truly enjoy doing my painting. I am more accepting and forgiving of myself and more so towards others and can feel the love and respect i get in return. I fell over all somewhat 'cleaner' about who i am, genuine and sincere in my dealings with others and in return receives the same; perhaps it being the Month of Ramadan.

We Still Have the Ability to Change the World.

The Month of Ramadan has got one more week to go and then life will be back to normal, whatever that may be for the likes of me where nothing is actually normal as I drift day to day figuring out who I am and where I fit in all these. Yest at sixty five odd years of my life I am still figuring it out like a dummy who has not seen the light even when it is glaring right before my eyes, I am perhaps blinded by it. As the world spins itself out of control what with all the killings and the demonstrations against killings, the planes got missing out of the blue skies and being shot down for no good reason and what with the loss of tempers and the road rages, the never ending starvation and malnutrition all over the planet, it is hard to stay focus on the subject matter such as; who in heaven's name am I? What have I accomplished or what good am I to my children if not to humanity? Here I am running back and forth making believe that life meant something much greater than what it seems and yet when i look at it all I am back to square one... I am as lost as every Tom, Dick and Mary out there.
All over the world people are gathering in protest over the atrocities going on in The Gaza and all fingers a re again pointing at the Israeli government for their inhumane actions against the Palestinians, so much so that what has been going on in Syria and Iraq and not to mention various other countries and conflicts, has taken back stage. The Gaza has taken center stage and if I am not too far off the mark I would say that this is where the Third World War might might be launched from if and when things gets way out of hand and human lives becomes as cheap as bullets and cannon fodders. What we as men of good faith can do to stop this is very little except to look even deeper within ourselves to find that intuition and insight which will give us greater clarity as to how or what has driven us to this brink of the final extermination of a specie. We as individuals will have to look within ourselves and find that which makes us human and the sacred covenant that our souls has made with our Creators to uphold our faith and integrity as human beings to uphold this covenant lest we become worse off than mindless creatures that eats at itself like cancerous cells.

What can we do that our specie can still continue on live into the future in peace and harmony and benefit other creatures and the planet itself. What can one man do that will make the difference, perhaps not very much in this day and age, however, I can change myself, I can keep creating joy and happiness within me and share it with the next man, woman and child is some small way, perhaps even just a smile. Perhaps by asking for and expecting less, or perhaps by acknowledging that the other person might have a better idea or is much more deserving, or perhaps if i can learn to the best of my ability to be the best at what i do even if it means the simplest of vocations. What can one man do to affect the world and make it a better place than it
is. The Spirit of men like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King among others comes to mind and these men have proven beyond doubt that if we put our mind and energy into the right places and act from our spiritual heart anything is possible. So, Why don't we? What si stopping us from taking the reins towards making a difference in our lives and that of others at the same time? Why do we sit back and assume that others will solve our collective miseries or why do we worse yet struggle so hard against taking any proactive measures towards changing the state of humanity when it is within our ability to do so.
Ignorance, one of the Illnesses that the Buddha had prognosed as the inherent illnesses mankind suffers from. We are simply too stupid to learn or too lazy to want to know or too preoccupied with our materialistic pursuits to care, is perhaps why man will never transcend his own self manifested miseries. We take a crap on the very plates that we eat from, sad to say and we feed off the miseries of our fellow man to make us feel better about ourselves. Just so long as it happens to the other guy, or that shit hit the fence on the other side of the street or it is all happening over there and not here, is our inane and fatuous inclination towards what happens around us. In the environmental parlance the acronym NIMBY or 'not in my backyard', is a good example of how we deal with our everyday lives, for so long as it has nothing to do with us  personally why worry. In short we as humans has evolved into a very self serving myopic creatures that sees only what is beneficial to itself. Our specie has evolved into such a self centered entity that one day we will end up as cannibals preying upon our fellow creatures all in the name of survival of the specie.
Yes we are all freedom loving and peaceful people by nature, but sometimes we tend to show our ugly side and every so often this ugly side of us tends to cause untold miseries to others and how do we stop this? How do we turn the other cheek or do unto others or drop the eye for an eye law of the jungle, of which Ghandi said would lead to all of us becoming blind. We cannot change the world as Jedu Krishnamurit had said but we can change who we are as we are the world, you and I.

One More bites the dust for MAS!

MAS or Malaysian Airline Systems for those who are not familiar, is on the roll with its loss of planes in  the most odd places and for the wrong reasons and it has helped place Malaysia on the world map if not consciousness for good. it might even trigger a major event in world history such as a Nuclear war and why not. The loss of lives is not that of Malaysians alone but almost represents the nations east and west across the board and someone or some countries will have to answer for it. Shot over Ukraine, the plane on her way back to KLIA in Malaysia is a victim of international act of terrorism whoever they may be, yet to be ascertained and by the time this incident finds its solution God knows what will happen on the global scene. This is no more about a missing plane but one deliberately shot down for no apparent reason but self serving agenda.

"A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has crashed in an area of eastern Ukraine where separatist rebels have been engaging Ukrainian military forces in recent weeks. Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, said the jet may have been shot down."
The Guardian -Thursday 17 July 2014 18.55 BST.
"Flight MH17, operated on a Boeing 777, departed Amsterdam at 12.15pm [Amsterdam time] and was estimated to arrive at Kuala Lumpur international airport at 6.10am [Malaysia time] the next day. The flight was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew." The flight also had a Dutch airline flight number from KLM, KL4103."

Thus the ashes of the missing flight MH370 had hardly settled down, now we have another episode which will occupy the minds and spirits of the nation with tough questions and issue beyond anyone's control. What gives? What is going on? Is this another distraction for a larger scheme of things that is being orchestrated by hands mightier than what seems to be in the scheme of things? is there more than what we are made to believe as one event after another seems to unfold on a scale not precedented in human history. The carnage going on in Gaza and the brutalities going on in Syria and other Arab nations, the abnormal inhuman actions inflicted by individuals upon each other at the drop of a hat all over the world has reached proportions that is if nothing else pretty scary to say the least and yet we live in denial for so long as the shit is not on our side of the fence.
If the Jet liner had been one of BOACs or a Luftanza or an Emerates Air, the story would have been much more dramatic and all hell would have broken loose before we can say Yippee-ka - yea! But Malaysia, well we are still a relatively less known much less powerful nation to begin with and so who would want to waste a sleep over what happens to our national carriers. it will all blow over as soon an amicable solution is found to settle the complaints of all involved and MAS will still be flying here and there when the flacks settles down. But the human loss of lives and the grief of husbands and wives mothers and fathers, relatives and friends over their lost ones, well that is collateral. In this day and age nothing is sacred anymore not even lives or so it seems. Shooting down an Airliner is worse than being blown up by s suicide bomber as the loss of life is guaranteed the numbers and the perpetrator or the one who pushes the button is safe from harm and has no idea who he or she had just condemned to death.
Man is at war with himself and it is beginning to affect the rest of humanity in a big way, manifesting itself like  festered boils scattered all over the globe and it seems like we have come to a stage where there seems to be no end to it but to end it all in one loud Big Bang. may the heavens have mercy on us all. if that comes to pass... and this too will pass?
   

More fasting stuff.

So what I learned thus far into my  day if not my life itself while i am flip flopping along my path towards my hole in the ground? Today i decided to take the proper steps towards getting something done involving the Internet Services being non operational due to the wire being cut form the telephone line when the renovation job was done more than a month ago thus cutting off the Internet services and my son Karim has been having shit fits over it. I learned that on making the report at the main office which took me hardly ten minutes of waiting in line the repair would be done in 24 hours maximum! Like wow! There i was for the last few days murdering people making appeals to my cousins and my friends and neighbors, yelling and screaming at the injustice of it all for having my line cut off and not being informed for over a month and my son going through manic depressions due to not being able to get his Face Book fix for the day especially now that it is Ramadan! I was going through the manic depression myself over the matter, but this morning i decided to go to the the source and admit my ignorance and see what gives and voila!
Chances are Karim would not be reading this well at least till his Internet is being connected again but I told him upon return of the matter about taking upon himself to do the right thing instead of hoping that others even me of taking care his crap. I am guilty of the same, but he is the one who needs the Internet for his school works and his very life depends on it or so it seems but nope, dad will have to do something about it, that's what dads are for, as far as Karim is concern. Well, what can i say, that I love my children? That i would do whatever needed done as much as i can afford to for them knowing even now that three out of four has already frowned upon their father for not being able to perform as a father? Such Is! When they arrived at 21 years of age they yelled Freedom! Yeah, no more hassle with mom and dads and no restrictions anymore smoking and drinking, the world is at their mercy. Hallelujah! I said no more pain in the butts and freed to do what i want to do at last, Yippee ka -AA!
Instead i am still bitching and moaning about having to pick up after them like a housewife something i had never in my wildest dream thought of during my Happy Days as a bachelor in the USA. I will moan and groan all i want because it has come to a point that it all does not matter much anymore. It seems i am destined for a lonesome life into my old age at the rate i am getting estranged  from my own children. I feel it in my heart that I will be facing a very tough ride before i finally kick the bucket and so i need to change! I need to change my strategy and my concerns, I need to reevaluate my cost and effects and my options before it is too late and most of all i need to absorb fully my practices and take on the path without looking back and no more excuses, I need to break away or break. I have been taking this parenthood crap too seriously and it is becoming more of a pain than any good to me and my kids. I have done all i can and will continue on doing what needs to be done as much as i can afford to but it will be on my own terms and at my own time.
But all these are nothing when compared to what goes on in the Gaza today even as i am typing and it is so heart breaking to watch videos of a father hugging his child who had been killed refusing to let her body go until he was pride away from her. What does my children know about being a father/ No much not until they too are fathers or a mother. Whenever i pray to the AlMighty I pray for the safe keeping of all my children, never failing to do this at each prayer even deep in my heart I have my doubts as two of them are not Muslims and perhaps even belittle the religion itself. I sometimes tell my lord how can i enter His paradise when my children are in His hell, idiotic I know but, hell is in my mind when I pray to my Lord as so is heaven, even when i chose not to be in any but to simply return to the source of my being whatever that might be. I am a Muslim by conversion as was my father and my grand father before me and so my mind is not too terrified to be blinded from asking questions and looking for the truth as most of my relatives who were born and raised Muslims with nothing else to refer to as far as life and faith is concern. Bu the fact remains that I will pray for the salvation of all my children be they Muslims or not as i know my Lord is All forgiving and most Merciful.
I have not accepted Islam blindly nor will i accept anything else for that matter without much scrutiny as i have been doing almost my entire life and this lengthy blogging is part of this testimony of my journey of faith. During this month of Ramadan I have been going through yet more turmoils of beliefs and faith issues from within me. As I perform the Terawih prayers my mind would rebel left and right trying to derail my attention with some of the most ridiculous thoughts and doubts so much so that at times i would simply give up and just follow the motions of the congregation mindlessly. Sometimes I feel better when i gave up trying to pray and simply goes through he motions like a physical exercise and sometimes i feel the presence within me of that which i worship. Whenever i do i would ask for forgiveness for all that i have sinned in the past present and future before my mind would drift off again into some other time zones or altered states. It is ironic that for one who does a whole lot of meditation, i cannot stay focus on my prayers when I pray.

Oh Lord When will they Ever learn.

As i strive to practice 'Bare Attention' in my daily activities I find it harder and harder not to let my two cents worth be heard over what is going on in the Gaza region of Palestine where the Israel Arm forces are carrying out a pogrom over the Palestinian population over what it claims as a retaliatory measure.

"A pogrom is a violent riot aimed at massacre or persecution of an ethnic or religious group, particularly one aimed at Jews. The term originally entered the English language to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian Empire (mostly within the Pale of Settlement in present-day Ukraine and Belarus); similar attacks against Jews at other times and places also became retrospectively known as pogroms. The word is now also sometimes used to describe publicly sanctioned purgative attacks against non-Jewish ethnic or religious groups."

The word pogrom once coined for the massacre or persecution of Jews in Russia is now being adopted by the Jews to to inflict misery and death to the Palestinians and what history does not repeats itself with more shame and inhumanity than ever before. What was inflicted upon the Jews in Russia seems to make it justifiable today as the Jewish State has proven that it too is incapable of mercy or could this be the repercussion of a long time hidden need for vengeance over what was done unto them in the past? Most of the Zionist settlers in Israel today originated from what was Russia and has a deep rooted psychological wound to work itself out sand what better scenario than the Gaza.

"The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. "Holocaust" is a word of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire." The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed "inferior," were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community."
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
What the Jewish State is propagating in the Gaza is a Holocaust that to this day they have been crying over as what was being done to them by the German during the second world war. If the Israelis had learned anything from this infamous event in history it is that they too are capable of exacting the same atrocities towards a lesser and weaker ethnic group. What would Hitler had said if he were to witness what is going on today and this was the serpent that he had tried to wipe out when he had the power to but God had greater plans or so it seems. Knowing fully well that most of the Arab countries are in no shape politically or morally to do much in stopping their carnage, the Jews has taken advantage over the situation to make sure that the Palestinian will remain subjugated if not annihilated.

"The Antichrist will be a Jew, though his connections, his governmental position, his sphere of dominion, will by no means confine him to the Israelitish people. It should, however, be pointed out that there is no express declaration of Scripture which says in so many words that this daring Rebel will be "a Jew;" nevertheless, the hints given are so plain, the conclusions which must be drawn from certain statements of Holy Writ are so obvious, and the requirements of the case are so inevitable, that we are forced to believe he must be a Jew. To these hints', conclusions' and requirements' we now turn." 
 In Matt.12:43-45 we have another remarkable scripture which will be considered briefly, in a later section of this chapter, when we shall endeavor to show that "The Unclean Spirit" here is none other than the Son of Perdition, and that the "house" from which he goes out and into which he returns, is the Nation of Israel. If this can be established, then we have another proof that he will be a Jew, for this "house," which is Israel, is here termed by Antichrist "my house." Just as Solomon was of "the House of David," so Antichrist shall be of the House of Israel.
  Arthur W. Pink.- The Bible Hub. (Read more).
A point to ponder for those of us who look a little further beyond what is happening, and the Muslims calls him Dajal. However Islam is not the only target of Jewish  animosity if not hatred as evident below. Sadly enough Christian anti-Semitism, Muslim anti-Semitism, Christian Islamophobia, Muslim persecution of Christians – all of these are acceptable topics of debate. But not Jewish hostility to Christianity.

"When I moved to Stamford Hill, 12 years ago, I didn't realise that goyim were about as welcome in the Hasidic Jewish shops as Martin Luther King at a Ku Klux Klan convention. I didn't realise that a purchase by a goy was a crime to be punished with monosyllabic terseness, or that bus seats were a potential source of contamination, or that road signs, and parking restrictions, were for people who hadn't been chosen by God. And while none of this is a source of anything much more than irritation, when I see an eight-year-old boy recoiling from a normal-looking woman (because, presumably, he has been taught that she is dirty or dangerous, or, heaven forbid, dripping with menstrual blood) it makes me sad."
Christina Patterson - The Independent.

My contention here is not whether the Jews are as murderers as the Germans were or that all Jews should have been gassed. While living in the United States i have made friends with some great people and they were of Jewish decent, what i am worried about is how come such a brilliant race that has spawned great minds like Einstein and Yehudi Menuhin, Eli Wiesel and Golda Meir condone barbarism and how can a country that pledges freedom and human rights like the United States stand behind this whole sordid affair making believe that it is not happening. What have we become? It is not enough that we have raped and pillaged our environment but must we become demons too not knowing when to draw the line between pure hate and evil to that of the need to survive. Have we totally lost our humanity and succumbed to our bestiality? And all for what? Just a piece of the desert, a piece of land where all the three major religions claims their home to. and what hypocrisy that we worship the One same God, call Him by what name. All the three Abrahamic religions knows this deep down and yet all three are willing to kill or be killed to prove otherwise. This is what the Buddha calls delusions, one of the three illnesses that man suffers from, the other tow being Greed and Hate.

My biggest struggle,” he says, “is to rehumanize the Palestinians. There’s a whole machinery of brainwashing in Israel which really accompanies each of us from early childhood, and I’m a product of this machinery as much as anyone else. [We are taught] a few narratives that it’s very hard to break. That we Israelis are the ultimate and only victims. That the Palestinians are born to kill, and their hatred is irrational. That the Palestinians are not human beings like us… So you get a society without any moral doubts, without any questions marks, with hardly public debate. To raise your voice against all this is very hard.”
Gideon Levy - Writer and Journalist.

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On the same day

They marched along like saints goes marching in on their way to the nearby Aceh mosque  Young boys all dressed in white, students from a religious school who were here to participate in the activities that is taking place  at the mosque.

The Masjid Aceh is one of the oldest mosque in the Georgetown area and has become quite a tourist attraction. I took a break resting after using the toilet and listened to a whole lot of chanting and poojas accompanied by loud blaring Hindu trumpet and drum just like there is a Kavadi procession going on next door. This was early in the morning before the arrival of the Boys in white. it was such a irony sitting there in the serenity of the mosque compound and being bombarded by loud Hindu Pooja ceremony from next street over, heard but not seen.

I was told that a celebrity Ustaz was going to make an appearence at the mosque later in the day and goes by the name of 'Ustaz Don'. He is supposed to be popular among the young as he too is young in age.

So they sat waiting for the afternoon prayer while listening to the loud ceremonial party going on next door where a new neighbor is moving into the neighborhood. I hope for everyone's sake that they will work out the timing of who gets to pray at what time so as not to create a conflict  divine time.  We surely cannot have Muslims praying accompanied to Hindu bells.

A crowd of people were gathered on this auspicious morning where colorful flags and banana tree trunks were erected to decorate the roadside shrine in the process of being installed on this Heritage Day.

High above the entrance of what looks like a  recycling facility located on a narrow street a whole lot of activity was going on with priests chanting and bells ringing and trumpets blaring and drums tearing the air to shred announcing the inauguration  ceremony of a new shrine dedicated Lord Subrmaniam.

A make shift pyre was constructed on the roadside for the occasion where offerings was being made and the priests performed a whole lot of poojas.

From somewhere they brought the statue of the Lord to be installed int the new shrine that is now  being prepared to receive it and to be worshiped by the devotees around the Rope Walk area of Aceh Street. 

With her child in her arms she looked up with pride and rapture at the new 'Kuil' or shrine being installed in her neighborhood. Let us hope and pray that there will be a continuous harmonious coexistence into the future between the Muslims and Hindu neighbors marking this Heritage Day Event.

Pages from my Sketchbook.

It would be great if i were to spend the fasting month at this place in the foothills of Lintang, in Sik, Kedah where the Organic farm is located. How i miss the wild and the sound of the forest around me while i was there. But reality is i cannot afford to make the trip much less spend sometime there and so I am stuck here on the island  where the traffic and the madness around me is my practice for the moment.

I realize that one have to settle for whatever it is that is before you in any given moment and thrive or transcend before you can move on and further more I still have to hang around to keep my cousins and my son Karim company through this Fasting Month.. I know that the quietness and the pure air and water all me out there in the boonies will be almost perfect for my meditational practices coupled with the fasting and prayer trips. But I feel almost  like being selfish to leave  when my presence means a moral support for those around me here. 

Well perhaps it is just not the right time or it is just no meant to be at the moment and I have to accept it for what it is worth. I know that where I am here it is short of a torture to the state of mind from morning till the evening with all kinds of activities and non stop traffic but perhaps it is as it should be as it simply means that if I can survive this environment and maintain my fasting as well as i could, i am doing great, spiritually if not in discipline.

I did most of these sketches from the shots i took with the camera while i was there staying at the organic farm and it is done using a 8HB pencil. The guy in the picture came from Tumpat, located close to the border between Kelantan and Thailand in the north of the East Coast of the Peninsula.H e was part of the party that came to do some study in organic rice farming. 

It is a great feeling to be able to be so close to nature and especially growing something with your own hands, something that would end up feeding a whole lot of people, it gives one a sense of satisfaction. On the other hand it is still a messy business when you are sloshing along with your back bent over planting the seedlings one at a time into the muddy soil.

In this day and age one would be surprised to find out that not too many people know what a padi  seedling  even looks like, much less the whole process of getting it into the ground. Not too many would even have nay idea what rice actually looks like before it came to their dinner table.

What is aesthetic about wading around in the muddy field is the whole spectrum of smell and tactile feel to the soft mud and cold water, as the hot sun keeps the body warm and sweaty.  This is what being present in the moment is all about and to capture this moment  and have it entered into this blog is the art itself.

The universe has much to offer if you are willing to allow it to happen and all it takes is making the first move to be where it is happening, you got to make the effort to find it and it will find you. As time goes by being in nature is precious; it is like finding your way home to yourself.

Vipassana - Insight Meditation.

"For achieving that highest, and final liberation of mind, Bare Attention forges the principal tool - that highest penetration of truth which, in the Dharma. is called Insight (Vipassana). This and only this is the ultimate purpose of the method described here and it is the highest form of its mind-liberating function."
The Heart of Buddhist Meditation,  Nyanaponika Thera. pg. 44.

Rather than dwell upon the downers that I am going through at present , which mostly is about kids and money, i would rather share what I have been studying  and making an effort to accomplish as i attempt to fulfill the fourth of the Islamic five pillars that is the fasting in the month of Ramadan. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation is to achieve enlightenment through a thorough development of insight through meditation and various other practices such as the practice of Bare Attention. You see a half naked beautiful young girl walking by you do not attach your mind to her giving her all the attention you can muster, identifying and projecting all your energies towards possessing her, which eventually leads you to lust for her and then she is gone, but your mind has registered all and carried with it till the next attraction comes along; I do this sadly enough! Perhaps you do too. We waste our energy by attachment to distractions and then spend the rest of the day trying to forget the episode because through our understanding of the spiritual teachings this is no right, to lust for someone or something is just not cool, a waste of precious energy and sooner or later leads to negative effects.
A simple lesson fro a normal day to day reaction we have upon our externals especially if the event of persons are desirable to our senses. Simple though it may seems these attachment habits in the long run will take strong negative control upon our lives as we give in to them day to day without any reservations. Sometimes it becomes so common that we are not even aware of it anymore that our consciousness is being sucked out by these distracting phenomena and they become a part of our psyche. Today  however an even more illusive but more destructive habit has taken shape in the form of video games or digital aphrodisiacs or stimulants which captures our attention and holds it there for long period of time until we become oblivious to our surrounding.and slowly but surely we become like zombies incapable of communicating with others without eh need for this sidetrack I have friends who listens to me while their mind is on a video game and half of what is said to them slips by into the background; I stop communicating with them..

"Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art Of Living. This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation.

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

The scientific laws that operate one's thoughts, feelings, judgements and sensations become clear. Through direct experience, the nature of how one grows or regresses, how one produces suffering or frees oneself from suffering is understood. Life becomes characterized by increased awareness, non-delusion, self-control and peace."

As taught by S.N. Goenka

In this day and age i find that more and more of us are being drawn out into the external world of events and phenomena and we crave ever so increasingly for  what is out there, what others have what is the latest in the the market and who does what to whom and how so much so that we become lost to ourselves. We do not know who we are anymore and our mind is totally engulfed by and manipulated into thinking that this is all there is to the who am I. Many who realized this are making every effort to create a come back to a reality that they have discovered from religions and spiritual books and so forth, to who they truly are. Religious groups are formed and the need to find a right spiritual means towards understanding ourselves has become yet another commodity in the spiritual bazaar as everyone is window shopping now for the right cure.