Happy New Year

Happy new year to all...

Everyday I wish you happy new day too...

May you enjoy everyday in your life...

Om Shanti,

Meng Foong

About Positive Thinking

Thoughts are very powerful. Everything manifests from our thoughts. If we have negative thoughts most of the time, we will be attracting negative energy or elements around us and in our lives. Like wise if we have positive thoughts all the time, we will be attracting positive energy or elements into our lives.

In a yoga class, there are different people with different states of mind. Some are positive and some are negative. There is nothing wrong about being negative. It is a very normal thinking or feeling that everyone has. But if I start to think that I am not good at doing anything; that I am going to injure myself if I do this movement or exercise; or I am going to be sick if I don’t eat enough of a particular food; or I am going to be weak if I don’t eat meat, and then for sure this will be what’s going to happen onto me, to my body.

In yoga classes, it is very important that whether the teachers themselves are positive or negative. Yoga practice is about balancing, purifying, controlling and directing the energy fields in the body and influencing the state of the mind. Willpower is the force that influence and direct the energy in our body. When we concentrate at particular point in our body, we are actually directing or gathering the energy towards that area. Yoga practice is not just doing some physical exercises where an instructor is standing in front of a group of people, instructing them to do some physical exercises. There is also some energy exchange is going on between the teacher and the students. It is not something to be seen with our fleshy eyes or to be discussed about. It is intentionless, nameless and formless. It happens naturally when the yoga teacher is sincere to share the knowledge of yoga with other people without the idea of “I am a teacher, and I am giving my energy to the students”. In fact, if we do not identified with the body, the mind and the ego, we are only being an instrument or channel for other people to receive the knowledge of the Truth. It is not 'I' that is doing the teaching or giving the energy to the students. This energy is pure, and it's coming from the universe, not from 'I' or this body where our own energy fields is a mixture of positive and negative.

If we are still not yet disidentified with the body and the mind, then when we teach a yoga class, we are actually transferring our own energy to the students whether we are aware of it or not, even though when we have no intention to do so. That’s why some yoga teachers get very tired; exhausted and low energy level after giving classes. And they need to perform their own personal practice to replenish the lost energy. But this will not happen on a yoga teacher who does not identify with the body, the mind, the ego and the actions of teaching.

And so, if we have negative thinking all the time and are full of negative energy in us, the people who are coming to our classes will be influenced by our energy fields and receiving these negativity from us. There are some forms of energy exchange with one another all the time without us realize about it. Every moment we might be absorbing different types of energy coming from everyone else and everything in the world without us being aware of it.

Only those who do not identify with the body and the mind will not be influenced, or affected, or disturbed by all these energy fields. Usually people who have very strong willpower will be less affected by external energy fields. While people with very weak willpower will be affected very much by external energy fields.

By knowing this, we will understand that when two people live together for some time, they will start to look alike with each other and they will be having the similar personality, thinking, gestures and mood as well. Positive people can uplift some other people who are negative and depressed. While negative people might pull down some other people if these people are low in energy and have weak willpower.

Group energy has a very strong influential power towards those who are very sensitive towards external energy fields. When we walk into a room that is full of people who are very anxious and furious, immediately we will be feeling anxious and agitated as well. When we are being with a group of people who are very cheerful and happy, immediately we will be feeling good and happy as well. Like wise if we are being with a group of people who are very depressed and negative, we will be feeling depressed and become very negative as well.

The leader of a group in any fields has got the huge influence power to affect all the other people in the group. People are paying attention to this leader and admire this leader. And thus the energy from the leader is directly absorbed into the people’s energy fields and the people will become like minded and agree with the leader.

And thus, the energy field of the yoga teacher is a very important factor that determines whether the yoga class is helping the students to become more positive, cheerful, peaceful and wise, or not. Because most people will easily be influenced, or affected, or disturbed by others’ energy fields especially from a leader, or a teacher. Most of the school children who are in the same class under a same teacher will be having the similar type of mentality, morality and behaviors. Everyone is being mold into certain types of personality and behavior without us being aware of it. We all think that we have our very own personal type of mentality and behavior pattern, but actually we are imitating some other people constantly.

If people had been watching John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever, and the next few weeks, we would see lots of people on the street were walking the same way and had the similar expressions as John Travolta’s character in that movie.

When a person is being with a group of friends who like to gamble or smoke or drink, and very naturally this person will be doing the same activities as well, unless he or she has a very strong willpower. Look around us, this is what happening in the world.

The yoga teacher has got the ability or power to influence the students to become positive or negative whether intentionally or unintentionally.

If the yoga teacher has fear and negativity about getting injuries in doing the exercises or asana poses, then most of the students will be having the same fear and negativity as well; and will easily get hurt or injuries from doing the exercises and asana poses, because they believe so.

If the yoga teacher is very positive and has no fear and worries at all towards all the exercises and asana poses, then most of the students will be full of courage and confidence while performing all the exercises and asana poses without any fear and worries of getting any injuries. And thus the class will be injury free.

It is because when people easily get muscle soreness or injuries from doing any exercises or asana poses is due to the tensions in the muscles caused by mental tension of fear and worries while performing the exercises or asana poses. The mind is limiting the ability of the physical body to perform the exercise or asana poses. When we have fear and worries, the mind tense up; as well as the entire physical body also tense up. When the muscles are tensed, muscles fiber tear, or muscles pull or cramps could happen easily.

Especially when we perform the headstand, if a person is relaxed while performing the pose and has no fear or worries about getting injured from falling down, his or her body and muscles will be relaxed even though if he or she does fall down from the headstand, but it will not generate any injuries at all. Like wise, if the person is full of fear and worries that he or she might get hurt from falling down, then all his or her body muscles will tense up especially in the neck, the shoulders and the back area while performing the headstand. And if he or she does fall down from the headstand, all the muscles in the neck, the shoulders and the back area are so tensed that muscles fiber tears, muscles pull or cramps could occur when he or she falls to the ground with the hips instead of relaxing the muscles and roll down with the back rounded, or landing on the ground with the feet and not the hips. When the muscles are relaxed, the muscles can be stretched to a further extend that it won’t cause any muscle fiber tears, muscles pull or cramps.

Look at the children who have no fear and worries. They can fall down as many times as they like whether intentionally or unintentionally while playing or exercising, and not getting any serious injuries except a few bruises or cuts. Unless the falling impact is very strong and the bones density is not so healthy, then there might be possibility of getting broken bones or bone fractures. Such people should avoid falls or high impact movements during any activities. We need to have an open mind to try to perform all the activities without the negative thinking of getting injuries but we need to know what is the limitation of our physical body and not injuring ourselves blindly. But certainly not to stop ourselves from trying any activities due to fear and worries, or afraid of doing certain exercises or asana poses because we think we will be injured if we try to do them.

Although having a little concern about protecting ourselves from meaningless injuries is something good and will keep ourselves from getting injuries meaninglessly. But do not let the fear and worries conquering or over-powering our mind. This will stop us from doing many things that we could actually do. We always under estimate the ability of our body and the mind. That’s why yoga practice is dealing with the mind first before we move on in the physical yoga practice. If we are full of negative thoughts, the entire path will become negative as well.

This is the mind. Our mind limits us from doing many things, it's not the limitation of the physical body. The physical body is strong and flexible enough to perform many activities but the mind is limiting the body to do so due to fear and worries – lack of faith, courage and confidence.

If ten years ago my body was suffering from certain injuries but that doesn’t determine that now I cannot perform the activities that I couldn’t do when I was having the injuries ten years ago.

Every moment the condition of our body and the mind is different. Be very open minded and free ourselves from negativity. Enjoy whatever we are doing without any fear and worries. Things will be much easier and enjoyable when the mind is relaxed and the body is tension free. All the exercises or asana poses that we thought they were difficult and dangerous will become easy and not dangerous anymore if we can let go the negative thinking of “the body might get some injuries from doing this or that” or “I think I can never do this or that” or “Most probably I will fall down from this position and hurt my neck or my back”.

It is the same in all our activities in life as well. Free ourselves from negative thinking. Be positive and open minded. We will see the entire world from a very different perspective and conception. Our life will be easier and happier.

 

Before the realization of the truth of names and forms, the mind is under the influence of duality. If so, the practice of positive thinking exists to counter negative thinking, so that the mind is not over-whelmed by negative thinking. Upon the realization of the truth of names and forms, where everything is just what it is, that everything are neither good nor bad, neither positive nor negative, then the mind doesn't even need to be positive or think positive to counter any negativity or negative thinking, as there's nothing positive or negative. That is freedom.

About Mumukshutva

Mumukshutva means intense yearning for liberation. It gives us the strength in developing dispassion and detachment. People who don’t have intense yearning for liberation couldn’t resist the temptations in sensual pleasures and continuously to indulge in worldly enjoyments; and lack of self-discipline in the path of self-realization. There is nothing wrong in the worldly enjoyments but everything is transitory and impermanent. Very soon all these enjoyments will change and disappear. In order to satisfy our desire for enjoyments, we have to spend a lot of time, energy and effort in chasing after these enjoyments which is very tiring and meaningless at the end. Because either we will be frustrated and disappointed when we couldn’t get what we want; or we will be very upset and unhappy when the enjoyments change into something else, or are no longer available.

We can never satisfy our mind. The more the mind indulge in enjoyments; the more greedy the mind will become; and the more desires are being generated waiting to be gratified. And if the desires are not being attended or gratified, we will be so irritated, frustrated, furious and unhappy.

Most of us will need to go through so much painful sorrow and disappointment repeatedly and continuously hurting ourselves and other beings selfishly, then only we will start to feel disgust about the fleeting sensual pleasure enjoyments and the meaninglessness in chasing after impermanent worldly objects.

The real Mumukshutva is not about running away from the duties and responsibilities in our lives and being afraid of the suffering in this world, but it is a greater “desire” to attain purity and eternity of real freedom and peace or happiness/contentment that is unlimited and unconditioned by time, space and causation. The real freedom and peace that will last forever and unchanging is by attaining self-realization or enlightenment towards SELFLESSNESS in the mind perception of a selfless impermanent worldly life of all kinds of names and forms, which is the realization of oneness, non-separateness, wholeness, namelessness, formlessness and attributelessness.

At the beginning of our path, we might feel difficult and have doubts all the time; and there are lots of distractions and obstacles on the path. We might fall down for many times. Sometimes the path is clear, but sometimes it is very unclear to us. But with strong Mumukshutva and determination, we can march forward step by step and will eventually reach our destination one day, without attachment and expectation. Patience, courage, detachment, faith, perseverance, acceptance, adaptation, adjustment, accommodation, willpower and cheerfulness are the stamina, strength  and flexibility for us to keep going in this path towards self-realization.

May we all be endowed with Mumukshutva and great inner strength and flexibility in the path of self-realization. It is a path that we have to walk on our own, but we are not alone. All our gurus, teachers (whether human beings or non-human beings), and our very own Self will always be here with us in the path, guiding us, help us and support us.

About Freedom

Everyone wants freedom. Free from hunger and thirst; free from birth and death; free from cause and effect; free from fears and worries; free from anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, lust and arrogance; free from irritation, frustration, dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness and suffering; free from pain, injuries, harms, heat, cold, illness, weakness, decay and old age; free from limitations and conditions; free from likes and dislikes, cravings and aversions; free from ignorance and impurities; free from the bondage of life existence and attachments; free from bad and evil thoughts, actions and speech either from ourselves or from other beings; free from wars, crimes, killings, injustice, natural disasters, accidents, conflicts and arguments; free from restlessness and boredom; free from agitation and depression; free from the senses, the mind, the ego and the intellect; free from separation from our loved ones and being with the people that we don’t like; free from the transitory world of names and forms; free from impermanence; free to do everything that we want or like to do without rules and regulations; free to go anywhere that we want or like to go without any boundaries of nation and politic; free from discrimination of races, religions, sexes, creeds, sects, languages, colours and looks; free to express and to say what we want to say; free from praise and censure, success and failure, and all the dualities; free from debts and karma…etc

Above all, we want to be free without any qualities of good and evil; free from time, space and causation; unlimited and unconditioned by anything at all.

Nothing in this world can give us all these freedom. No money can buy us eternal life without birth, growth, old age, decay, illness, pain, suffering and death.

Only by non-attachment and letting go; become selfless; and attain self-realization can free us from all bondages, limitations and conditions. All the knowledge in the world cannot give us freedom and peacefulness. Only wisdom can free us from all these bondages and be really free.

Possess nothing actually is having everything and is free; while possess everything actually is having nothing and is not free.

Possess a few things means having a little fear and worries; possess many things means having huge fear and worries.

Having lots of needs and wants definitely is imprisoning ourselves in responsibility, relationship and discontentment; while having less needs and wants is the key to freedom.

Without attachment and knowing how to let go, we can enjoy everything but not having any fears and worries.

Simplicity and appreciation is freedom.

Identification with the body and the mind is building the invisible wall for the prison of impermanence, suffering, mortality and dissatisfaction; while non-identification with the body and the mind is removing this wall of the prison.

The physical body can never be free from all limitations and conditions but we can free our minds and go back to our eternal unlimited and unconditioned Self.

May we all be free and be happy.

About Vegetarianism

There are a few reasons why vegetarianism (non-meat eating) is being promoted strongly by Buddhism and Yoga practice.

It is supporting the idea of non-harming or non-killing and compassion towards all beings including animals and insects.

It is more healthy to eat lots of fruit, nuts, beans and vegetables than to eat meat especially nowadays the meat is not really as healthy as before because most of the animals that are being breed for food consumption are not healthy physically and mentally due to poor living environment under the mass productivity in factories and farms. These animals are being treated badly and being fed with unnatural food and being injected with hormones. Even though most of the fruit and vegetables that we get from the market are not really healthy either due to chemicals and pesticides that farmers are using nowadays for their farms to induce growth and to protect their crops from insects. But still meat eating is causing more harmful effects to our body and the mind than non-meat eating.

There are lots of unhealthy food (meat or non-meat) in the market nowadays contain substances which can cause illnesses and cancers, such like colourings, preservatives, conditioners, artificial flavourings, MSG, sugar and so much more other chemicals that is in the food and drinks. Even in all the daily personal cleaning products or housing cleaning products are full of harmful chemicals. As well as all the high-tech electrical products and conveniences are bringing so much pollutions and damages into the nature and the living environment.

No doubt that vegetarianism is more environmental friendly. By supporting non-meat eating can help to maintain the nature as healthy as possible because massive meat productions do contribute to the global warming through lots of lands had been used to produce corn to feed the animals instead of having plants and trees that work as a filter system for the air that we breath in.

Vegetarianism is also conducive for controlling the mind and to control the strong lustful passionate desires. Anyhow not only meat eating can stimulate the passionate desire, violence and anger in us, but even some non-meat products like alcohol, garlic, onion and chive also have the substances that can stimulate the passionate desire and anger in us. While drugs that are plants origin is having the substances that can affect the mind and the body, causing psychology and physical health problems in us such like addiction, dullness and depression. No doubt that the energy that comes from fresh fruit and vegetables have the calming effects in the body and the mind.

But most important in Buddhism and yoga practice for supporting and promoting vegetarianism is for people to develop compassion and non-harming towards all beings and to have control over the mind to achieve tranquility and sharpness in the mind to allow wisdom to arise within us.

In Buddhism and yoga practice, the main practice is to deal with the strong desire of cravings and aversions towards what we see, hear, smell, taste, feel and think. It is the sensual pleasure enjoyments of likes and dislikes that is over powering most of the people’s mind, that creates greed and attachment in us which contribute to the unhappiness, frustration, dissatisfaction, irritation, disappointment and painful suffering in us.

Because most of us are still being influenced and affected strongly by the food and drinks that we consume as well as other inputs that we are receiving through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin and thinking faculty which influence the energy fields in our body and affect the state of our mind, either agitating, stimulating or depressing. As long as we are still being influenced by all these substances, we need to choose what type of inputs that we put into our system in order to achieve control of the mind.

At the end, it doesn’t matter if it is vegetarian or non-vegetarian food that we eat, it is the non-attachment towards the taste of the food that matters most. And no matter what type of food that we eat, we should eat with appreciation and should show gratitude that these food are providing energy for us to survive and to maintain this body and to have the life for us to be here to learn, to experience and to become enlightened.

When we are not being influenced by the energy fields in our body anymore, and we are free from duality and are fully mastering our mind; have eliminated the ego and ignorance, and we have gone beyond all the names and forms; and there is no more differences between birth and death; and we are one with the universal consciousness that is without any attributes or intentions, and then we will know that the true self in all living beings are not touched by names and forms, and are beyond birth and death, good and evil. Until then we can go beyond “vegetarian” and “non-vegetarian”.

If we eat with our taste of likes and dislikes and being influenced by our cravings and aversions towards all the objects that we get in contact with through the senses, then we are still bound by names and forms, there is still a huge difference between meat eating (non-vegetarian) and non-meat eating (vegetarian). And by eating meat we are directly or indirectly involved in harming and killing the animals and caused fears, hatred and pain onto these animals’ minds.

But for someone who is truly enlightened and had gone beyond all names and forms, the entire world is nothing but just a projection of his own mind, and then what is “live” and “death”? What is “cravings” and “aversions”? What is “meat” and “not meat”? What is “vegetarian” and “non-vegetarian”? What is “healthy” and “not healthy”? What is “good food” and “bad food”? What is “hunger” and “survival”? What is “pure” and “impure”? What is “energy” and “elements”? What is “limitations” and “conditions”? What is “past” and “future”? What is “actions” and “karma”? What is “existence” and “non-existence”?

But for many of us who are still not at that level of enlightenment yet; still have lots of impurities and ignorance of anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance and greed; still being influenced by energy and elements; still being affected by all the inputs that we received through the senses, and still have strong cravings and aversions; still have lots of needs and wants; still have fears and worries; still have the differences of happiness and suffering, success and failure, birth and death; and still being bound by the duality in all the names and forms, then know that we are still bound by what we should do and should not do.

Vegetarianism is one of the steps of purification for the body and the mind. But if we still have the idea that “this is good, and I like it” and “that is bad, and I don’t like it”, know that we are still not even at the first step of the real practice of non-attachment and non-dualism of namelessness and formlessness, but no doubt that eating good and healthy food that is bringing harmony to the body and the mind will still be a good purification process for the body and mind to move towards non-attachment and namelessness and formlessness.

Most important is the practice of self-control and eradication of anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance, lust and greed. And also non-harming in thoughts, actions and speech towards all beings. And if this physical body is dead, “who” will mind that the worms and germs will be eating the flesh of this body and feed whatever animals that are in hunger. At least there is still a contribution towards other living beings and allowing other living beings to have the opportunity of life to evolve spiritually and be free from the conditions of life existence.

Merely by eating vegetarian will not guarantee a person to become enlightened or being happy in life and will be free from suffering. Neither by eating meat will stop a person from attaining enlightenment, being unhappy and unkind, or cannot be free from suffering. It is all in the mind.

About Merits And Virtues

All our good thoughts, actions and speech (good deeds) will be flowering and bear the fruit of merit and virtue. No matters we intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly did some wholesome, beneficial and kind deeds to ourselves or to other beings or to nature, they all are merits and virtues whether we recognize them as merits and virtues or not.

People who are having bad luck, bad karma or having a lot of unhappiness and obstacles in their lives, and they wish to change their luck, karma or their lives, they can work on accumulating merits and virtues by doing lots of good deeds whether in their thoughts or actions or speech.

The practice of patience, loving kindness, generosity, charity, sharing, tolerance, forbearance of heat and cold, forbearance of insults and harms, forgive, respect, gratitude, appreciation, loyalty, faithfulness, truthfulness, responsibility, humility, self-control over lustful desire and greed, self-improvement, observance of morality and refrain from generating harmful thoughts, actions and speech, having courage, positive thinking and cheerfulness are all merits and virtues.

The real merits and virtues is formless and nameless, intentionless, without expectations, without likes and dislikes and without the differentiation of good beings or bad beings to whom we want to show kindness and compassion to, and renounce from the fruit of our actions without longing for any merits and virtues.

Even though we did not do anything so called good deeds but we refrain ourselves from doing evil deeds, it is already a great merit and virtue of being self-controlled and non-harming to other beings and to ourselves as well.

The great merits and virtues are the forbearance of all insults, humiliations and harms from other beings while remain compassionate and forgiving towards all who were unkind to us, and will continue to show love, kindness and compassion towards all beings who had intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly being unkind to us.

By remaining content, peaceful and happy all the time not being affected, influenced or disturbed by all the phenomena that is happening in the world outside our body or within our body and the mind, eliminating the ego and being indifference towards the duality of likes and dislikes, comfort and discomfort, heat and cold, praise and censure, success and failure, birth and death, and all the good and evil happenings upon us are the real merits and virtues.

Promoting peace and harmony among all beings and allowing other beings to develop selflessness, loving kindness, peace, compassion and wisdom is great merit and virtue. Not generating obstacles for others who want to do good and be good and want to walk in the path towards self-realization, and give supports and encouragements to all beings who are in distress, painful sorrow and suffering, and to those who want to walk the path towards self-realization are the great merits and virtues.

Giving dharma to all without any discrimination towards any beings is the best merit and virtue.

And the greatest merit and virtue above all is attaining self-realization or enlightenment.

When a being is enlightened, there is no more merits and virtues in name and form, but the consciousness itself is the embodiment of merits and virtues of compassion and wisdom, namelessness and formlessness, beginningless and endless – Satchidananda.

Happy Christmas To All

I wish everyone love, peace, compassion and wisdom.

May all beings be happy.

Happy Christmas.

Om Shanti,

Meng Foong

Langkawi Relaxed Yoga Retreat

 

Langkawi Intensive Yoga Retreat

 

Cameron Highlands Yoga Retreat

 

Cameron Highlands Yoga Retreats 2011 - 2012

Please contact us at yoganow@hotmail.com if you are interested in joining one of our yoga retreats held in the Cameron Highlands.

There are no fixed dates for the Cameron Highlands retreats. You can choose your own dates (subject to availability) for your own yoga retreat if you have a group minimum of 4 people.

It is open to all levels.

The retreat venue will be at the Hillview Inn in Tanah Rata. If Hillview Inn is not available during the time of retreat, then we will change the retreat venue to another hotel or resort.

The retreat fees is subject to the venue of accommodation available.

Fees include meals, accommodation, teaching, neti pot, a Yoga Now T-shirt and strawberries. Meals will be simple nutritious vegetarian food.

Please bring along your own yoga mat.

We do not provide Transport to Tanah Rata, but this link will take you to a page that lists some companies that do.

Retreat outline

Day 1

• 15.30 Tea and light snacks
• 16.30 Yoga class
• 18.30 Free time
• 19.30 Dinner
• 21.30 Guided meditation

Day 2

• 7.15 Jala Neti
• 7.30 Pranayama & Guided Meditation
• 8.15 Break
  
• 8.30 Yoga class
• 10.30 Breakfast
• 11.30 Free time
• 15.30 Tea and light snacks
• 16.30 Yoga class
• 18.30 Free time
• 19.30 Dinner
• 21.30 Guided meditation

Day 3

• 7.15 Jala Neti
• 7.30 Pranayama & Guided Meditation
• 8.15 Break
  
• 8.30 Yoga class
• 10.30 Breakfast
• 11.30 Free time
• 15.30 Tea and light snacks
• 16.30 Yoga class
• 18.30 Free time
• 19.30 Dinner
• 21.30 Guided meditation

Day 4

• 7.15 Jala Neti
• 7.30 Pranayama & Guided Meditation
• 8.15 Break
  
• 8.30 Yoga class
• 10.30 Breakfast
• 12.00 Check out / Optional walks or visits

A deposit of RM 300 per person is required upon reservation of booking.

Looking Forward to seeing you in Cameron Highlands.

Om Shanti,

Meng Foong

Strawberries

Tea and scones


Meditation


Cameron Highlands Yoga Retreat Collages

A few things to keep in mind before booking a yoga retreat

Yoga can help with many ailments, but if you have any particular concerns or health issues, or are suffering from any illness or injury, we advise you to consult a qualified medical practitioner beforehand.

It is important to refrain from eating at least two hours before class and not to drink at least 30 minutes before class. We strongly discourage drinking anything during Asana practice; however, it is important to drink plenty of water after your session.

You should wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing, preferably made of natural fibres. Bring a yoga mat, a towel, a sense of humour and an open-minded willingness to learn.

It gets quite chilly at night in the Cameron Highlands so make sure you pack some warm clothes – jacket, hat and scarf are useful at night.

For your own peace of mind, and out of respect for other participants, we request that your telephone be kept switched off during classes. Please refrain from using perfume or strong smelling deodorants. We expect our course participants to be non-smokers – at least for the duration of the retreat.

OM Shanti

About Action And Non-action

The teachings of Bhagavad Gita and the Karma Yoga (selfless service) is based on this verse of action and non-action (actionless).

When our mind is pure without impurities, there will be no more differences between action and non-action. Because action and non-action is also a name and form. When the mind is pure and goes beyond all names and forms, action and non-action have become one.

Even though our body is not moving at all, it doesn’t mean that we are non-action. Because the mind is always moving even though we don’t move, don’t act and don’t speak.

When a person is doing a lots of actions of helping others, or performing spiritual practice, or performing his duty towards his job, family, friends, society and his life, but if he is selfless and not identify with the ego, whatever he does, he does them as selfless service towards all including his own self. And he sees God in everything and everyone, and there is no separation between him and God, between him and everyone else. And then all his actions will be no differences from being non-action. And he is free from the binding of all karma (both good and bad).

This is the teaching of “I” am not the doer of all the actions. “I” am not this body. “I” am not this mind. “I” am just a channel or instrument to serve all. “I” am not the doer nor the giver nor the receiver. “I” am just a witness to all these actions. All “my actions” are pure untainted by the ego without the intention of good or bad and free from the notion of “I am the doer of all these actions”. All “my actions” are free from the binding of karma. “I” eat, drink, play, work, give and take, but I am not the one who “eat”, “drink”, “play”, “work”, “give” or “take”. When the heart beats, when the lungs breathe, When the blood circulate in the body, when the food is digesting, when the mind is experiencing comfort and discomfort, good and bad feelings, it is not “I” who command it. When the body is weakening and decaying, and all the nerves is not functioning efficiently, and I can’t remember, can’t see, can’t hear, can’t smell, can’t taste, can’t feel, can’t think and can’t move, it is not “I” that command it nor do “I” wish for it. And so, who is the one who is doing all the thinking, talking and acting? Nothing is “I”. Nothing belongs to “I”. But if there is any good or bad intention behind all my actions, then it is from “I”.

When a person is not doing anything or is doing a lots of actions but with the intention of good or bad, and is identify as the doer, the giver or the receiver, and then this person is still being conditioned by karma.

If I think I am doing something, I am helping someone, I am giving something, I am receiving something, I am good, I am bad, I am happy, I am sad, or I think I am not doing anything, I am not helping anyone, I am not giving or receiving anything, or I am not responsible for all my actions of good and bad, then I am still being conditioned by the ego, I am still not beyond all the names and forms, I am still being bind by karma, I am still having the intention of good and bad. And thus whether I am doing something or not doing anything, but there is still action, it is still creating cause and effect. When we are not doing anything, it is still an action, action of “doing nothing”.

When there is no more “I”, “others”, “giver” and “receiver”, “action” and “non-action”, and then all the actions or non-action is nameless and formless, and untouched by karma.

If I harm somebody with either the intention of good or evil, and act and speak as what my ego wants to act and speak, then “I” am the one who is doing all the actions of good and evil. I am identify with my ego, my actions and my speech, and thus I am creating cause and effect for myself, and I am being bound by the good and bad karma that I have created.

Never try to be smart, misuse this teaching and do all the evil acts and speech, and trying to escape the bad karma. Because it doesn’t work this way not until we are truly pure and selfless. When we are pure and selfless, all our thoughts, actions and speech will be pure without either good or evil. Then this is the stage where no good nor bad karma is being generated, even though we are doing some actions. When we are pure, we won’t be doing any evil actions to hurt others or thinking of doing good actions to gain good karma.

If we are lazy and not want to do anything, it doesn’t mean that we are not generating any bad or good karma, because our thoughts is always generating good and bad intention even though we don’t move or speak.

If we are sitting for meditation but the mind is still creating lots of good and bad thoughts and we are attached to them and got lost in all the thoughts and not by just observing all the thoughts and not attached to any of them, and cannot be at the present moment now, and then this is still action in non-action.

If we are very busy in life whether worldly or spiritually, and are doing lots of actions, but if our mind is fixed onto the present moment, and all our actions are intention-less and pure, and then this is non-action in actions.

Even though some people didn’t mix into the world, and seem like they are not doing anything, but in their heart, in every moment, they are sending good wishes and good thoughts to all in the whole universe, these are one of the greatest actions. And if we didn’t do any good actions but refrain ourselves from doing any bad actions, and then this is one of the greatest actions as well.

It is not about doing something or not doing anything. It is whether we are pure or not pure, and are being free from egoistic attachment, identification, caring, aversion, judgment and expectation, or not.

About Sakshi Bhava

Sakshi Bhava means standing as a witness towards all the phenomena that the mind perceives through the senses, without identification or association towards the thoughts, feelings and sensations, and without generating craving and aversion towards whatever the mind perceives through the senses. Not being affected, influenced or disturbed by all the phenomena that is happening inside and outside the body in life and in the world.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t care or ignore what is happening. It is being aware of what is happening but not identifying or associating with it. There's no attachment towards the limited body and the restless modification of the mind. There's an understanding that the body is going through old age, weakening, decaying, sickness, pain and death, but there's not an individual identity of 'I' existing within all those selfless impermanent changes. It's merely the selfless perceptive cognitive thinking mind is perceiving everything through the senses and sense organs, with the intellect and the ego playing their parts in analyzing and generating reactions towards all the phenomena inside and outside the body or in the world, but there's no identification or association with them.

The mind, the thoughts, the feelings and the sensations are not 'I'. All these thoughts, feelings and sensations come and go as they like. They don’t belong to 'I' and they don’t need the permission from 'I' to stay or to leave. The world only exists under the modification of the mind. Without the mind, there is no world. All the thoughts, feelings and emotions are happening in the selfless mind, not in somebody’s mind. And the mind is just a selfless projector without the intention to be good or bad, positive or negative, happy or unhappy, enjoy or suffer.

Another person’s world can be completely different from our world. We all have different mind perception about the world. Everyone sees the world differently from other people. Everyone has their own karma or causation to be in the world and experiencing different encountering in life. No one can change or interfere with each other's karma or take away others' karma. But this mind can go beyond its own karma by purifying its own thoughts, actions and speech. Karma (the loop of cause and effect) derives from these three things. No one can give us good or bad karma. Only oneself. The mind creates the karma for itself through its ceaseless thoughts, actions/reactions and speech. And the mind can detach from karma by stop generating reactions of craving and aversion towards all kinds of pleasant and unpleasant names and forms, by renouncing from the fruit of actions, and by not identifying with the selfless impermanent body and the modification of the mind. When the mind realized selflessness, we (the selfless mind) will know what is the meaning of all these.

And all the different bodies and minds in this world are the same. They are impermanent, non-self, ever-changing, limited, conditioned, dissatisfied, interdependent and comes with different qualities that are also impermanent, and there are reactions of comfortable and uncomfortable, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, craving and aversion, happiness and unhappiness, enjoyment and suffering, birth and death.

By being a witness to the selfless impermanent worldly life existence, it’s like watching a movie but we do not involve in the movie at all. We didn’t make the movie, nor can we change the scenes in the movie. Maybe we are the director, the actors and actresses in the movie and watching our own creation and our acting in the movie. We might get excited, upset, saddened, shocked, frightened and thrilled by the movie, but we know that it is just a movie, and we are not really the characters in the movie and remain undetermined, unaffected and undisturbed by the movie, regardless of desirable or undesirable ending.

Sakshi Bhava is indeed the wisdom that will free the mind from the discontented, limited and conditioned world of impermanence and miseries that come along with impermanence. Sakshi Bhava is the same as selflessness. It is also non-doership, or non-action in all the actions.

Not knowing what is selflessness, we won’t know what is Sakshi Bhava. Because if we don’t know how to stay detached from the body and the modification of the mind under the function of the senses, the intellect and the ego, the thinking faculty will be unwittingly identifying with and involving with all the thoughts, feelings and sensations, thinking and believing that 'I' am the thoughts, feelings and sensations, and 'I' am either happy or unhappy, enjoy or suffer, following what kind of experiences that the mind perceives through the body via the senses and sense organs. The ego (the ignorant idea of an individual existence of 'I') is the chief director of likes and dislikes, good and evil, happiness and unhappiness, enjoyment and suffering. If this mind is still being controlled or influenced by the ego and the intellect, then it won’t know what is selflessness, and it doesn’t know how to be a witness towards all the phenomena. The mind will think that 'I' am going through changes, and 'I' am experiencing decaying, paining, aging, sickness, irritation, frustration, disappointment, discontentment, low self-esteem, depression, happiness and unhappiness, gain and loss, success and failure, praise and censure, birth and death. And it is acting/reacting restlessly and generating comparison, competition, dissatisfaction, insecurity, fear, anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, arrogance, discontentment, greed and desires endlessly. The attachment and identification towards the ceaseless actions/reactions creating endless karma (the loop of cause and effect) for itself unceasingly. And it will have to go through restless births (arising) and deaths (passing away) of enjoyment and suffering continuously to reap off all its endless karma generated by itself.

The ancient scriptures, gurus, and all the saints and sages told us that we can stop all these (the restless loop of cause and effect, or the restless modification of the selfless mind) by realizing selflessness and standing as the silent witness.

No Good No Bad

Non-dualism teaches us that there is no good, there is no bad, all are same and no differences. But many people either can’t understand about it or misunderstood about what does “neither good nor bad” really means?

In this world of diversities and temptations, everything is created by the mind to satisfy its characteristic of greed and craving for sensual pleasures and material enjoyments.

The mind is such an incredible machine that could create the internet, the electricity, the phone, the television, the microwave oven, the air-conditioner, the airplane, the space rocket, and all other stuffs.

When the first thing was being invented, it was just one type, one name, one form and one price. But very soon, the mind is bored with just one. And so, it had created different models, names, forms and prices. A car is not just a car. It is BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi, Renault, and others. And within BMW itself, there are many different series of models. It is the same thing for all the other names. And then within one of the series itself, there are many different colours and accessories.

This is not just happening in car industries, it is the same thing happening in all industries, from food to computers, from fashions to yoga. All the endless diversities exist trying to satisfy the greed and craving of all the minds of the consumers. And for the minds of the producers, diversities, greed and cravings of the minds of the consumers are the great opportunity for them to make money or take advantage out of it. All these high-tech products not necessary a good thing for the environment, just to give some conveniences for the human beings, but at the same time all these products are creating lots of damages to the environment as well whether directly or indirectly.

Since there are so many choices, there are lots of comparisons. And there isn’t something came out as the most perfected one, because there never will be one. Because there will be more and more new inventions coming up unceasingly. And even though there are so many choices to choose from, people are still not satisfied with what the entire market already have.

Why?

Because all these are the creation of the mind. The creator itself is never satisfied. And the minds of the consumers are just the same, will never be satisfied. It is the characteristic of all minds to be not satisfied and keep looking for new things and new excitements. The minds get bored easily. The minds change its likes and dislikes easily and regularly. The minds cannot sit still, not moving, not talking, not being curious, not expressing, and not thinking. Today the mind likes something red and fast but tomorrow the mind might like something blue and slow. How can we ever satisfy the mind?

Everything in the world that were produced by the mind, there is no qualities and no intentions of good and bad. Good and bad are the products in the mind. The mind projects into all the things out there with its good intention, the things are having the quality of being good. If the mind projects all the things out there with its bad intention, the things are having the quality of being bad.

All the judgments, comparisons, competitions, criticisms and expectations are coming from the mind, and all these habits in the mind have created lots of dualities of positive and negative, good and bad in each different individual with different types of conception and perception.

For example, sweating and heat produced in the body while doing some physical activities. Some people like these sensations very much but some other people dislike them. Some people like the feeling of soreness after exercise while some others dislike the same type of soreness. The sweating, heat and soreness themselves have no intention to make people feel good or feel bad. They don’t have the quality to be good or to be bad. They are just being what they are, and it is up to the mind to perceive them as good sensations or bad sensations, as comfortable or not comfortable. And then the ego will generates likes and dislikes, craving for the sensations that the ego likes and feels comfortable with, and aversion towards the sensations that the ego dislikes and feels not comfortable with. It is the same for tastes and smells, sounds and sights, touches and thoughts, every single mind has different conception and perception about which type of tastes, smells, sounds, sights, touches, and thoughts that they think is good and which type is bad. But all those things themselves have no intention to be comfortable or not comfortable for anybody, and they don’t have the quality to be good or bad. It is the intellect categorized them into comfortable or not comfortable, and labeled them as good or bad.

In fact the mind itself is just a projector. It doesn’t has the intention to be good or bad. It is the intellect and the ego that creating all the differences of good and bad, negativity and positivity in the mind. Once the mind is purified where the intellect and the ego don’t have the power to influence the mind anymore, then this mind is a great tool for us to attain self-realization, to learn what is selflessness, love, peace, compassion and wisdom. In fact we are the love, peace, compassion and wisdom. They are not something to be gained from outside or from studies. We just need to realize and recognize them in our hearts.

When we are having so much of negativity in our mind, we need to have positivity to conquer these negativity. When there is no more negativity, we will realize that there is no positivity either, because there is no need to have positivity when there is no negativity. Positivity exist only when there is negativity. Or negativity exist only when there is positivity.

There is no such thing being recognized as big if there is nothing smaller than it to compare with. And there is no such thing being recognized as fast if there is nothing slower than it to compare with.

It is the intention of the mind that had created so many good and bad in the world. People abuse drugs and alcohols, and thus drugs and alcohol are being labeled and recognized as something bad. But when come to medical field, drugs and alcohol have become something good and helpful in surgeries and medical treatments.

Good and bad exist only in our mind, not in the objects outside that we perceive through our senses.

That’s why to deal with the mind and heal our mind first, purify the mind until there is no more impurities, and then we will know what does neither good nor bad means, and what does transcend both negative and positive means.

We will know that dualities exist in the mind only. Names and forms also exist in the mind only. Happiness and unhappiness also exist in the mind only. And thus we will stop giving values or meanings to all the things out there or what is happening in our body. Maybe the body is experiencing some illness or injuries or weaknesses. But we don’t see these phenomena as something negative or bad anymore. We accept everything as they are, and accept the nature as it is. Not trying to change anything or try to control anything out there, except for our own thoughts, actions and speech. We can’t even own or control our own body and mind, how can we own and control others body and mind? When impermanence strike, we will lose our youthfulness, memories, strength, flexibility, mobility, functions of the senses and the nerves, good health and existence of life.

It doesn’t matter how beautiful we are, how rich we are, how successful we are, and how knowledgeable and intelligent we are, no one can escape impermanence. And we don’t really own these things. They are just temporary being with us. Everything and every beings in this world have to go through impermanence and depending on the elements to be exist here. Without the sun, the space, the earth, the water and the air, we all won’t be here. We can’t even promise anything or judge anything because everything is undergoing changes all the time. The condition of the body and the mind of everyone is changing all the time. Every moment our body is experiencing different sensations and the mind is experiencing different thoughts and feelings. In one minute we could be feeling so good. In another minute we could be feeling so bad.

Know that all these are the creation of the mind. Watch the mind and be the witness of all these phenomena and not identify or associate with them, and not give any values or meanings to them, and stop generating likes and dislikes. Without likes and dislikes, there is no more craving and aversion. without craving and aversion, there is no discontentment, irritation, frustration, disappointment, fears and worries. And thus we are at peace and contented at all time.

May we all attain peace at this very moment by understand what is neither good nor bad.

It doesn’t mean that since there is no bad, we can do whatever we like and hurt or kill somebody without any emotion and eat poisonous food, drink alcohol and take drugs.

It is when bad doesn’t exist anymore, good also doesn’t exist as well.

Om shanti.

Yoga In Malaysia

Welcome to Malaysia, another place in the world that has more and more yoga practitioners and lots of yoga studios, centers and clubs are blooming in most of the major towns in Malaysia.

It is great to have so many Malaysians are interested in learning and practicing yoga regardless of whether their motive is for attaining health and fitness benefits only, or for conquering the mind for attaining self-realization to be liberated from ignorance and suffering. Regardless of all the different ethnicity of Malay, Indian, Chinese and any other ethnics in the country, many people are very enthusiastic in going for some yoga classes regularly.

Malaysia is a 'heaven' on earth geographically. It doesn’t have many natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, sand storms, wind storms, hurricanes, cold winter, hot summer, or extreme weather. Throughout the whole year it has a stable temperature and rainfall. The forests and jungles are always green and there is minimum problem of dryness, as long as the forests and the environment are being look after accordingly.

 

Most of the people in the world are friendly and welcoming towards people from other countries and different cultures, especially in terms of promoting the tourism industry where foreign tourists come into their country only to spend money as well as promoting their country 'positively'. 

 

Though unfriendliness and non-welcoming attitude also exist in many countries coming from certain close-minded people towards foreigners of certain nationalities and financial status out of the sense of superiority/inferiority, discrimination and intimidation, while at the same time, they would be friendly and welcoming towards some other foreigners of certain nationalities and financial status that they think are more superior than the others, especially those who are not trying to work in their country for making a living, but are bringing in foreign currency into their country, spending lots of money in their country as tourists or retirees.

 

Many people also would feel being intimidated by other people especially foreigners who are more intelligent, more skillful and more hardworking than them. Anyway, different kinds of discrimination exist in everywhere in this world of ignorance and egoism.

 

The one great advice from the past Gurus for the truth seekers, is that in order to counter all these ignorance, is through the practice of dispassion and renunciation from worldly affair.

Despite the imperfection of some political conflicts/corruptions, petite crimes, prejudice, intimidation and discrimination deriving from certain amount of close-minded prideful people, which is very common in everywhere in the world, most people would like to live in peace and harmony with all the different races/cultures/beliefs, and to respect each other’s different ethnicity, culture and belief. Most people are wishing for positive over-all improvement and prosperity for their country to become an environmentally and humanely beautiful and peaceful place for everyone (citizen or non-citizen) to live in and visit. Unfortunately, all these are just some hopeful imaginations and almost impossible to be materialized, if the country doesn't have a non-discriminative and non-oppressive good government run by wise and compassionate open-minded human beings to lead and facilitate everything wisely and compassionately.

Those who are wise and compassionate are not interested in ‘controlling’ and ‘regulating’ all and everyone to be or not to be in certain way, but would facilitate all kinds of necessary support and convenience that allow all and everyone to learn how to be independent financially, physically, mentally and emotionally, and become self-initiative and responsible peaceful human beings to be looking after themselves and others in the surrounding environment, as well as to be looking after the over-all well-being of the environment and the world, or not. Allowing all and everyone being what they are, as they are, governed by the law of nature, or the law of cause and effect. There’s no need an authorization/authority to be there to ‘control’, ‘restrict’, ‘regulate’, ‘oppress’, ‘prosecute’, ‘judge’, ‘criminalize’, ‘penalize’ and ‘punish’ anyone for anything. 

Mentally healthy human beings wouldn’t behave in the way that hurt themselves, or others, or the environment deliberately, even if there’s no authority being there to ‘control’ or ‘regulate’ anyone and anything. Those who would behave in the way that hurt themselves, or others, or the environment, either intentionally or unintentionally, are due to ignorance and mental illness. Having an authoritarian authority to ‘control’ and ‘regulate’ the world doesn’t stop those who are ignorant and mentally ill for being what they are and behave as they are. Under the ‘control’ and ‘oppression’ of an authority that is run by human beings that are not wise and not compassionate would only generate and empower deeper ignorance and more mental illness sufferers in the world.

The separateness and discrimination of ‘foreigners’ and ‘locals’ or ‘citizens’ and ‘non-citizens’ shouldn’t be existing in this world at all, where all beings (human or non-human beings) are equally same, momentarily existing and occupying this world and all are subject to the law of impermanence and selflessness. But survival instinct and possessiveness/protectiveness/control born out of ignorance and egoism in human beings created all the different boundaries separating and discriminating, controlling and restricting, legalizing and criminalizing all and everyone under certain law and order created by ‘the authority’ of human beings. There’s no real freedom or peace to be found in this world run by human beings under the influence of ignorance and egoism.

Real independence of a country is not just about free from being governed by the foreign power of another country and having their own democratic elected government, but it’s about the people, especially those who run the government, or the leaders/facilitators/law makers, are free from the influence of ignorance and egoism, where the country is free from being governed by a ‘corrupted’ government that is run by a group of corrupted human beings under the influence of ignorance, egoism, greed, pride and selfishness.

The political history in the world reveals all kinds of ignorance and selfishness in many ways.

It’s the same as in the world of Yoga and Buddhism. Those who appoint and identify themselves or some others as the authority/authorization of Yoga or Buddhism to be claiming ‘ownership’ or ‘authorization’ over Yoga or Buddhism, to be ‘controlling’ and ‘regulating’ the activities of Yoga and Buddhism in the world, to authorize or sanction this and that, under the name of ‘protecting the purity or authenticity of Yoga or Buddhism’, or ‘maintaining a higher quality in Yoga or Buddhism practice or dissemination’, then obviously they have no idea what is Yoga or Buddhism. Even an enlightened being wouldn’t appoint and identify oneself or anyone as “The authority of Yoga or Buddhism.”

Authority of any kind doesn’t exist in the truth of the universe governed by the law of nature, of cause and effect, where all and everything are subject to the truth of Impermanence and Selflessness. Not even the selfless almighty ‘God existence’ that many human beings believe in, is self-appointed or self-authorized as the highest authority of the universe to be busy authorizing or non-authorizing this or that, to be governing, discriminating, monitoring, regulating or controlling this or that for being existing, changing, decaying and ceased existing under the law of nature.

Unfortunately, many human beings are being brought up in the way to live a life that is based on the sense of belonging and pride towards a national identity, personal identity, gender identity, sexual orientation identity, ethnical identity, cultural identity, educational identity, religious identity, spiritual identity, social class identity, body image identity, financial identity, community identity, political identity, ‘authorized/approved/recognized’ identity, ‘respect deserving’ identity, and so on, that doesn’t eliminate but empowers ignorance and egoism.

Those who want to think positive and be optimistic towards developing and hoping for a ‘better’ world, will only end up in great disappointment. Free from positive or negative, optimism or pessimism, one can do one’s best for what one thinks and believes as beneficial for oneself while living in this world and/or for the over-all welfare of the world, but without attachment or expectation towards the actions and the fruit of actions, and allowing the world being what it is, full of ignorance and egoism and the consequences of that.

Performing beneficial actions for oneself and/or the world, but without any intention of controlling, changing or expecting anything and anyone to be or not to be in certain way, is the essence of Yoga or Buddhism.

There are some human beings are truly selfless and compassionate serving the community of diversity and helping the less fortunate human beings or non-human beings, non-discriminatively. They might not be involving in any form of yoga practice, but they are the 'yogis', who perform selfless service to benefit the world without being determined or disturbed by the ignorance and selfishness in the world. There are people who are also doing something to help others, but with particular intention to convert others to take up or believe in their particular religious belief and practice, or to be getting other people's support towards a particular political party or social group, that is nothing to do with 'selfless service'.

Yoga is a universal non-discriminative teaching and practice for all and everyone that can bring peace and harmony into all the different diverse people who live in Malaysia or anywhere else in the world regardless of the different races, cultures, beliefs, languages, genders, social/financial status, educational backgrounds, or nationalities. Although Yoga originates from India and the Vedas are part of Hinduism, yoga exists for all living beings who are in search for self-realization, or liberation from ignorance and suffering. There is no discrimination of genders, races, religions, languages, beliefs, cultures, castes, sects, nationalities, social and financial status, education levels, or so called good and bad people in the propagation of yoga.

Under the wisdom eyes of yoga, all are one and equal beyond all names and forms. All are subject to impermanence and selflessness. Every living beings are entitled to walk the path of yoga and attain self-realization. There is no superiority or inferiority. There is no ego involved in the path of yoga because the main teaching and realization of yoga is selflessness or egolessness, that leads to the realization of oneness, non-separateness, attributelessness, namelessness, formlessness, birthlessness, deathlessness, beyond time, space and causation.

The existence of the teaching and practice of yoga is for all beings to transcend ignorance and suffering and leads every living beings towards the realization of the essence or nature of everything, or the selfless universal consciousness which is changeless and limitless, which is beginning-less and endless, beyond creation and destruction, beyond birth and death, beyond good and evil, beyond happiness and suffering, and beyond the mind perception of all kinds of impermanent selfless names and forms that are subject to decay and selfless impermanent changes (the basic suffering of restlessness and survival instinct).

If all and everyone sincerely practice yoga, attaining self-realization and realizing selflessness, the world is a peaceful heaven, being free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, even though nothing can escape all kinds of inevitable selfless impermanent changes.
 

Although in the year of 2008, there had been an issue about the Fatwa on yoga for Muslim in Malaysia, but it shouldn't and wouldn’t change the understanding of yoga in the mind of the many Malaysian Muslims who are sincerely practicing yoga and who truly understand the wisdom, peace and harmony that the yoga teachings and practice brought into their lives and into their family and community.

 

The wisdom and compassion that people attained from the yoga practice will not disappear due to the issue of Fatwa on yoga, or any kind of corruptions deriving from ignorant egoistic human beings that exist in everywhere in the world.

 

The real yoga practice of freeing the mind from ignorance and egoism will make any person becomes a true religious and spiritual person that propagates universal non-discriminative love, peace, respect and harmony among all beings in the world, not just propagating discriminative conditional love, support, empowerment and protection among a particular country, community, ethnicity, culture or religion, while helping people to develop stronger faith in their religious and spiritual practices which is supposed to develop unconditional non-discriminative love, peace, respect and harmony in their minds and in life, and not about empowering self-interest and self-protection towards a particular nationality/ethnicity/culture/religion, provoking anger, hatred, discrimination and prejudice, and empowering selfishness and petite mindedness.

May we all appreciate the good geographical environment in Malaysia for us to live in and to practice yoga.

About God And Religion

 

When we understood that everything is the same and no difference at all between existence and non existence, life and death, happiness and suffering, we will understand that it is doesn’t matter if there is a God or there is no God.

Anyway, if there's a God existence, God is infinite and indescribable. We all are depending on a source to be exist in this world. Lives are depending solely on the nature of different elements which are not in our own control. We are all the same when we have pain, sorrow, heart broken, disappointment, anger, jealousy, greed, wickedness, selfishness, aggressiveness, fear, worries, passion, lust, ignorance, arrogance, happiness, joy, love, compassion, good or evil intention, and all types of feelings and emotions, regardless of whether there is a God or no God, whether we believe in God or don’t believe in God.

We should respect everyone’s belief and no need to argue or debate about God and no God, ‘your’ God, ‘his’ God, or ‘my’ God. Anyway if there is a God, He does not belong to anybody, or any name and form that we human beings put on to Him. He doesn’t belong to any church or temple or any name and form that we give to those buildings that people go for prayers, rituals and contemplation.

He is He. He is not mine, not yours, not theirs. He is everyone’s guardian, parent, friend, lover, companion, healer, teacher or anything that we would like Him to be. Everyone deserves Him. It doesn’t matter when we think ourselves or others are good or not good. Because He is all pervading, all love and compassion, all powerful and infinite.

If we want to attain God, we need to purify our impurities and remove the discrimination of dualities. We need to know what is intentionlessness, non-duality, oneness, non-separateness, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness. If we don’t understand what are these terms, then we are building up an invisible wall between God and us which prevents us to realize Him. We thought God didn’t love us. We would question God why did he allow so much suffering and unfair happenings in the world.

God is always here with us whether sometimes we are good and happy, and sometimes we are not so good and unhappy. Even when we are still full of impurities and ignorance, when we are being imperfect, whether our body is clean or dirty, whether we are sleeping or awake, God has never left us. He is always with us, guiding us and shows us the way to see Him or realize Him in our heart, not with this fleshy eyes. Because if it's the almighty God, God is nameless and formless without attributes. We can’t perceive Him through our fleshy eyes and the mind. Whether we believe there’s a God or not, He is always there unmoved by our little mind with qualities, names and forms. It doesn’t matter what languages are we speaking, what cultures are we having, what religions are we practicing, what nationality we have, God is still the same God at anytime and anywhere.

When we do realize Him, our heart is full of love, peace, joy, compassion and wisdom. There is no words that can express that in definite except being silent. We would repent all our past wrong doings but at the same time also forgive ourselves and let the past go. We would not ask anything from God if we truly realize Him. We would see Him in all and everything and everyone. We would be content. It is only when we don’t realize Him and perceive separation from Him, that we will pray to Him and ask for His blessings.

If it's the almighty God, God doesn’t live in a restricted building, or only be at some specific places in the world. He is everywhere and anywhere at all time, from ancient to the future, from before the beginning of existence to the period of existence and to destruction and after destruction. He is within us and without us. He is all pervading, all presence and all knowledge.

How can He be limited by us, human being, into certain name and form? How can He be limited in some small buildings on earth in so called church, or temple, or mosque, comparing to this vast space of unlimited infinite universe?

If we believe there is a God, and we believe in Him and love Him, how can we own Him selfishly and limit Him of his love, power, knowledge, presence and infinity only available to a particular quality of name and form? How can we use His name to hurt and torture other human being’s feelings and lives, and cause painful sorrow to others, physically and mentally, through generating invasion, wars and killings under the name of international boundary, caste, creed, sect and different names of religion, that discriminate all and everyone?

Some people need a God to be their guide in life, or else they will be lost in this ocean of ignorance, miseries and distractions.

Some people have found their own belief to be their guide to suit their own temperament and convenience, and some people have found their own Self to be the guide.

Are we not the same when death comes to us? Are we not the same when we are angry and have hatred? Are we all not the same when we cry and laugh? Are we all not the same when we want to love someone and want to be loved? Are we not the same when we are truly peaceful and compassionate?

Are we all not breathing the same air from the same space in the same universe?

Are we all not being alive by eating the food and drinking water coming from the same earth with the same sun shining on us?

Does the sun only shines on certain religion people and not to the others?

Is the air that we breathe in only accessible for ‘good’ people and not for ‘bad’ people?

Does the earth only allow certain human beings to step on it, to live on it and to put so much shit and rubbish on it, and not allowing other human beings who have different beliefs and religions to live on it?

When we lost someone that we loved so much, isn’t it the same painful sorrows for everyone with different religions, skin colours, castes, creeds, sects, languages, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, and levels of education and knowledge?

When we suffer headache, toothache, injuries or sickness, are we all not the same having pain and fear towards death and the unknown?

Every religion or philosophy talks about morality. All talk about love, peace, compassion, wisdom and selflessness. Why do human beings create so much problem and suffering out of discrimination for themselves and others? It's ignorance.

If we have established a firm discipline and self-control over our thoughts, speech and actions, we all are the same regardless of whether we believe or disbelieve in anything.

We will check all our out going thoughts, before we generate any speech and action, so that we will not harm or hurt anyone’s feelings, and will not create painful sorrow for other people, intentionally.

If there is one true religion, it is non-discriminative, purity, compassion and wisdom, it's accessible to all. All are the one same nature of impermanence and selflessness. When we realize the truth of neither good nor bad, or non-duality, it doesn’t mean that we can hurt somebody recklessly, or indulging in lustful desires and drug/intoxicant abuse, and hurt anybody’s feelings selfishly. It is about going beyond both quality of good and bad, and transcending happiness and unhappiness, enjoyment and suffering. It is void of intentional evil actions and free from craving/longing for generating and accumulating good karma from performing good actions.

It doesn’t matter if some people say that they don’t have any religion or don’t believe in spirituality at all, but maybe they are more spiritual than many people who call themselves spiritual and religious, and belong to a certain spirituality or religion. Not having a religion doesn’t mean that a person is not spiritual. Not being spiritual or religious doesn't mean that one is not peaceful, wise and compassionate. Being spiritual and religious doesn't mean that one is peaceful, wise and compassionate.

Just because it is called ‘religion’ or ’spirituality’, it should not be limited by the name and form to justify anyone is religious or spiritual, or not. It is something within us whether we are aware of it, or not, realize it, or not, calling it a religion or spirituality, or not.

It is the unconditional non-discriminative love, peace, compassion and wisdom that everyone has.

We should respect that everyone is free to do what they want to do, and think what they like to think, even if they intentionally harm themselves or others, but everyone will be responsible for the consequences of their every single action.

Everyone is free to do what they like and be responsible for themselves. Out of our own awareness, we have self-control so that our actions will not hurt other people and create painful sorrow for others, it doesn’t matter if they are our loved ones, or people that we don’t know, if we are sincere in walking the path of Yoga and want to achieve spiritual realization.

People argue about whether yoga is religious, or not. Some say yes, some say no. It really doesn’t matter if it is “religious” or “not religious”. Take away all those names and forms, and take away the mind, what left is just what it is.

May we all develop correct understanding and achieve unconditional peace and happiness in this world.

About Attachment

There are many types of attachments. It doesn’t matter if it is positive or negative attachment, it is still attachment and will bring dissatisfaction and suffering.

All attachments spring from the basic attachment towards the body and the mind, the ego and the intellect. Without the attachment towards all these things, we won’t be having any attachments towards anything at all. When we are not attached to any of the perceptions in the mind with the functions of the senses, all the dualities in the world can not disturb or influence us. We will be unaffected by the likes and dislikes of the ego and undisturbed by the differentiation of negativity and positivity that were created by the analytical intellect.

When we are not attached to our body, We will have no fears and worries at all. When we are not attached to the selfish ego (the lower self with impurities and ignorance), We will not have anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, arrogance, low self-esteem, depression, lust, or craving and aversion.

When we still attached to the ego, we will be craving for success, acknowledgment, recognition, acceptance, appreciation, agreement, praise, compliment, encouragement, good feedback, good comments, pleasurable sensations and always looking for an opportunity to express what we know and how we feel. We will be full of ambitions that we wanted to achieve. We will be very sensitive about what others think of us and whether other people will like us or not. We will be full of unhappiness, frustration, irritation and depression whenever we receive some bad comments and bad criticisms. We will want to justify ourselves and want to prove to the world that we are good and want to gain respect, love and attention from everybody in the world.

When we attached to the ego, the ego takes control of us and expresses good feelings or bad feelings about ourselves when we encounter with something so called good or bad experiences in life. Our self-confidence is being affected very much by the things that we can do and can not do, whether we are being loved by other people or not, whether we are successful or not, whether we are important to somebody or not, whether we are being recognized or not, or whether all the things in life happen according to our wishes or not.

Usually our self-confidence are depending on the values that are being conditioned by the conception and perception of the mind and the ego. True confidence derived from independence and non-attachment towards the mind and the ego. There is no trace of low self-esteem or “I am good”, “I am bad” or “I am not good enough”. It is confidence without arrogance and selfishness.

When we attached to the mind, We will be changing from happy to unhappy and from unhappy to happy, from depressed to elevated, from elevated to depressed, whenever the mind perceives something which “makes” us happy or unhappy. Our mood is going up and down constantly. And If we attached to these moods of us and react according to all our good and bad feelings, and thus generating instability in our mind, which prevent us from experiencing peacefulness in the heart, and thus preventing wisdom to arise.

We thought that it was the things happening out there that are giving us happiness and unhappiness. But in fact it was because we are attached to the mind and whatever it perceives through the senses, for what we see, hear, smell, taste, feel and think.

Once we let go of this attachment, our heart will always be at peace, not being affected or disturbed by what is happening outside the body, and inside the body. It is like when our lives is encountering hardships and difficulties, we will still remain untouched and remain calm and peaceful. When our body is experiencing pain and discomforts or sickness, we will still remain equanomous and be at peace.

Attachment towards material and sensual enjoyments is definitely bringing lots of dissatisfaction and greed into our heart. Attachment towards praise and censures is making our confidence going up and down, and always being affected by low self-esteem and pride. When we have true confidence, there is no low self-esteem and pride.

Attachment towards achievements in spiritual practice also will bring lots of obstacles in the path towards self-realization.

It doesn’t matter what types of attachment it is, it will only bring disturbance to our heart and have no peace. We will be full of fears and worries, likes and dislikes, wants and don’t wants.

May we all be free from all attachments and be really free.