RELIGION and the STUDENT
Recently, I went round having short discussions with some friends concerning religion. We discussed about their beliefs and the reasons for their beliefs (or skepticism), their feelings and the extent of the influence on them. It was part of a very incomplete study on why so many youths, who were comparatively so well educated, and yet were so apathetic to religion. I must stress that our short discourses were not profoundly philosophical, or to find out the “why’s” but just to know the “what’s”.
Except for the Christians and the Muslims, the adherents of other faiths were just nominal. There was hardly any spiritual training or interest to find out, or any awareness of the significance of their religion.
Most of the Chinese, including even Christians, were brought up through the influence of three faiths - Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. If the parents were more modern, this trend was not so obvious. The three-in-one religion was characteristic of the Chinese family though the influence was almost defunct. Filial piety only extended during the Chinese New Year when red packets were given. Praying with joss-sticks was looked on with disdain, carried out, merely out of respect for their parents. The deities were often regarded as myths. If we were to take a glance into the class register (there was a column where the religion of each student was filled in), we might be under the false impression that Buddhism was widely practiced. This claim was regrettable as many of us did not have the audacity to voice our beliefs, except when led to an isolated corner. I found this to be so, as out every ten students who wrote “Buddhism” as their religion, nine denied this. Even without their personal denials, we could plainly see the falsity of their claims, by their ignorance of even the basic tenets of the religion. Their only idea of Buddhism was that they had to follow the Wesak procession every year.
The same applied to the Hindus, most of them were unaware of the significance of their various festivals and beliefs.
The Muslims, being most closely knit, or perhaps more rigidly controlled, were well versed in their religious teachings. Still I discovered that quite a large proportion of the modern Muslims were forsaking their beliefs, though not officially. It was only with some persuasion that the open confession was revealed. Unlike the Chinese Buddhists, they were liable to be ostracised, or even persecuted, if they tried to disclaim their adherence.
The Christians were perhaps the most faithful followers of their religion. The main reason was that the Bible was in English, and the activities of the missionaries were more prominent. Most of them had read about their religion. Many maintained that Christianity was the only true religion, though there were a few who might say that others were equally important. Most of them seemed to be sincere, and in fact confided with me that they felt different, warm and secure. Their hope was that more of us would be willing to be “saved”. To be fair to them, I must point out that, although they would always attempt to influence others, they had stressed that “compulsion” was most undesirable.
At least 70% of the students were not committed to any particular religion. Some were intelligibly not aligned but many were just being ignorant, and were not making any effort to enlighten themselves.
We could place the non-adherents to religions into four categories:
1) The atheists, few in number, denied any existence of God and were convinced that religion served no purpose. They believed in self-judgement, the idea of good and evil were to be defined by them, and not by any prescribed text.
2) The agnostics, more common, preferred not to bother their innocent heads over controversies whether God existed or not. There were not many pure agnostics. Most of them believed in a supreme force, indefinable, which did exist.
3) The term “free thinker”, often misused, was the most common claim of identification by the non-religious. A free thinker was actually one who rejected authority in religion. In other words, he did not believe in God although he believed in the moral codes of religions. However, as most of them had not studied religions adequately, they could be considered as “non-thinkers”.
4) I would regard many of us as theosophists, though we did not call ourselves by that name. A theosophist was one who was interested in all religions, and that all faiths and believes were equally good. There was a belief in an “overlording” Power (which need not be called God). Some had come to this conclusion intelligently, in the sense that they had made efforts to read all religions, but had not found any one with particular appeal to them.
Unfortunately, many of the theosophists derived it negatively, without any attempt to learn more, but merely because they had broken off from their inherited beliefs (Buddhism in the case of the Chinese). Partly because of the fear of being ridiculed (as Christians sometimes were), some said that they were not impressed by any religion (because of their ignorance). In contrast, theosophy sounded more intelligent, and perhaps it had become widespread among youths. In fact, one was more respected if he said that he was a “free-thinker” than if he were to claim to believe in a religion. There were also difficulties of reconciling their religious beliefs with their science education.
I would like to emphasised that all of us, even if we were devout Christians, should wipe out prejudices and make efforts to read up all faiths, religions and philosophies. Then only could we differentiate what course we should take.
(This article was written in 1964. I was not a Christian then.)
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Random Thoughts (of Youth)
Random Thoughts
What is the meaning of remembering wrongly? Either you remembered correctly or you had forgotten.
Eeks! That scared me out of my life........-you have 8 lives left.
Educated children are looking down on their illiterate parents who had slogged for their education in the first place.
The home seems to be the vacation for your vacation in the holidays.
When I master the new dance steps, another new dance awaits to be learned.
Who says that East and West do not meet? If a person moves as far east as possible and another person as far west as possible, both may collide midway round the globe.
One thing I have understood about women. I have come to understand that they cannot be understood.
One day I fell into a river and came out all wet. As I was wringing the soggy clothes, I heard a clear voice ringing through the chill, moist air, "Hey you there! Washing clothes not allowed here."
Pointing to the rows and rows of photographed portraits in a Chinese clan association hall, “All these people are life members. But from the aged faces, most of them are dead." Life members need not necessarily be alive.
“I am not going to tell you any more lies - white or black” promised the husband who had just been caught with another gal. “What about blond or brunette lies," retorted the wife?
Considering the length of farewell speeches, it is a wonder that the trains do not leave without the speakers.
I'm just an ordinary man with an extraordinary girl.
Don't boast that you can read the French words in the menu, they could be Spanish.
What vitamins do I want for a girl- A for arms, K for kiss?
What are you doing? The usual thing - nothing. -That sounds exciting!
How about this as a wedding ring- platinum wire and a pebble as the favourite stone of the month.
One place I do not mind getting caught in the rain - that is the library.
Eating canteen food is like committing mass digestive suicide
The person who says “I don’t care what others think” would not take the pains of explaining this to his friends.
Can you cook? As a matter of fact, I do rather fancy my touch with an omelet.
Wonder why people ever become nudists unless they are suffering from advanced myopia.
One thanks the other for thanking him because he thanked him for thanking for doing goodness knows what!
Trying to get money from him is like trying to extract blood from a thrombosed varicose vein.
I’ll eat my new hat. How do you want it – fired or boiled?
Childhood infatuations are like a shoal of fish gathering round the bait – the worm.
Some men love speed, so God speeds their way to heaven.
A civilized nation is one in which both men and women can share the same lavatory.
What is the meaning of remembering wrongly? Either you remembered correctly or you had forgotten.
Eeks! That scared me out of my life........-you have 8 lives left.
Educated children are looking down on their illiterate parents who had slogged for their education in the first place.
The home seems to be the vacation for your vacation in the holidays.
When I master the new dance steps, another new dance awaits to be learned.
Who says that East and West do not meet? If a person moves as far east as possible and another person as far west as possible, both may collide midway round the globe.
One thing I have understood about women. I have come to understand that they cannot be understood.
One day I fell into a river and came out all wet. As I was wringing the soggy clothes, I heard a clear voice ringing through the chill, moist air, "Hey you there! Washing clothes not allowed here."
Pointing to the rows and rows of photographed portraits in a Chinese clan association hall, “All these people are life members. But from the aged faces, most of them are dead." Life members need not necessarily be alive.
“I am not going to tell you any more lies - white or black” promised the husband who had just been caught with another gal. “What about blond or brunette lies," retorted the wife?
Considering the length of farewell speeches, it is a wonder that the trains do not leave without the speakers.
I'm just an ordinary man with an extraordinary girl.
Don't boast that you can read the French words in the menu, they could be Spanish.
What vitamins do I want for a girl- A for arms, K for kiss?
What are you doing? The usual thing - nothing. -That sounds exciting!
How about this as a wedding ring- platinum wire and a pebble as the favourite stone of the month.
One place I do not mind getting caught in the rain - that is the library.
Eating canteen food is like committing mass digestive suicide
The person who says “I don’t care what others think” would not take the pains of explaining this to his friends.
Can you cook? As a matter of fact, I do rather fancy my touch with an omelet.
Wonder why people ever become nudists unless they are suffering from advanced myopia.
One thanks the other for thanking him because he thanked him for thanking for doing goodness knows what!
Trying to get money from him is like trying to extract blood from a thrombosed varicose vein.
I’ll eat my new hat. How do you want it – fired or boiled?
Childhood infatuations are like a shoal of fish gathering round the bait – the worm.
Some men love speed, so God speeds their way to heaven.
A civilized nation is one in which both men and women can share the same lavatory.
Monday, 28 July 2014
Can a Woman be a Leader in Asia?
WOMEN LEADERS
For those who are not sure whether a woman can become Menteri Besar, let us remember the number of women who have been elected as President or Prime Minister not only in the world but even in Asia. Even in Muslim countries, Benazir Bhutto had been twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Bangladesh had two women Prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed. Indonesia has seen Megawati Sukarno as President of the largest Muslim country in the world.
Other women leaders in Asia have included Indira Gandhi who was the Indian Prime Minister twice over span of 16 years, Sirimavo Bandaraniake and then her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga who were Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were Presidents of Philippines, Yingluck Shinawatra was Prime Minister of Thailand and Park Geun-hye President of Korea.
It is however interesting to note that all these women leaders had direct family relationships with past leaders of their countries. Indira Gandhi’s father was Jawahalal Nehru (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi), Sirimavo was the wife of Solomon Bandaranaike, Benazir was the daughter of Zulkifar Ali Bhutto, Khaleda is the wife of former president Zaur Rahman and Hasina the daughter of founder President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Megawati is the daughter of President Sukarno, Corazon was the wife of Senator Benigno Aquino and Gloria is the daughter of Ferdinand Macapagal. Yingluck is the sister of Thaksin and Park Guen-hye the daughter of former President Park Chung Hee.
If Dr Wan Azizah becomes a state leader, she owes her position mainly to her husband’s name and position.
However in many other countries outside Asia, the women leaders were elected on their own merit, without any direct connection to their fathers or husbands. There are not less than 30 other women leaders such as Golda Meir in Israel, Margaret Thatcher in UK, Julia Gillard of Australia, Angela Merkel in Germany, Dilam Rouseff in Brazil and many others in countries such as Denmark, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Malawi and Liberia.
My article on Women Leaders was also published in Malay Mail, besides the online Malaysian Insider.
When I mentioned that all the women leaders in Asia had direct family relationship with men leaders, it was not to disparage the contributions of these women leaders. Some of them, such as Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto, had been active in their own right and were proven dynamic leaders. On the other hand, Corazon Aquino was just a housewife, and leadership was thrust upon her after the assassination of her husband. She was certainly a leader of integrity and a welcome change from the Marcos era, but she would not otherwise be elected into leadership on her own. Similarly, Dr Wan Azizah, if made Menteri Besar, would be a sincere and honest leader but again she was given the leadership on behalf of her husband who was caught in legal web.
It is also true that in Asia, even some men leaders were elected following the footsteps of their close relatives such as Chiang Ching Kuo (son of Chiang Kai-shek) of Taiwan, Rajiv Gandhi (son of Indira Gandhi) in India, Asif Ali Zardari (husband of Benazir Bhutto), Lee Hsien Loong (son of Lee Kuan Yew)and our own Najib Abdul Razak. However they are still a minority compared to many other men leaders in Asia. In most American and European countries, this is an exception whether male or female leaders. In the history of the United States, there were only two father-son Presidents: John and John Q Adams and George HW and George W Bush, separated by nearly 200 years.
For those who are not sure whether a woman can become Menteri Besar, let us remember the number of women who have been elected as President or Prime Minister not only in the world but even in Asia. Even in Muslim countries, Benazir Bhutto had been twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Bangladesh had two women Prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed. Indonesia has seen Megawati Sukarno as President of the largest Muslim country in the world.
Other women leaders in Asia have included Indira Gandhi who was the Indian Prime Minister twice over span of 16 years, Sirimavo Bandaraniake and then her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga who were Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were Presidents of Philippines, Yingluck Shinawatra was Prime Minister of Thailand and Park Geun-hye President of Korea.
It is however interesting to note that all these women leaders had direct family relationships with past leaders of their countries. Indira Gandhi’s father was Jawahalal Nehru (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi), Sirimavo was the wife of Solomon Bandaranaike, Benazir was the daughter of Zulkifar Ali Bhutto, Khaleda is the wife of former president Zaur Rahman and Hasina the daughter of founder President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Megawati is the daughter of President Sukarno, Corazon was the wife of Senator Benigno Aquino and Gloria is the daughter of Ferdinand Macapagal. Yingluck is the sister of Thaksin and Park Guen-hye the daughter of former President Park Chung Hee.
If Dr Wan Azizah becomes a state leader, she owes her position mainly to her husband’s name and position.
However in many other countries outside Asia, the women leaders were elected on their own merit, without any direct connection to their fathers or husbands. There are not less than 30 other women leaders such as Golda Meir in Israel, Margaret Thatcher in UK, Julia Gillard of Australia, Angela Merkel in Germany, Dilam Rouseff in Brazil and many others in countries such as Denmark, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Malawi and Liberia.
My article on Women Leaders was also published in Malay Mail, besides the online Malaysian Insider.
When I mentioned that all the women leaders in Asia had direct family relationship with men leaders, it was not to disparage the contributions of these women leaders. Some of them, such as Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto, had been active in their own right and were proven dynamic leaders. On the other hand, Corazon Aquino was just a housewife, and leadership was thrust upon her after the assassination of her husband. She was certainly a leader of integrity and a welcome change from the Marcos era, but she would not otherwise be elected into leadership on her own. Similarly, Dr Wan Azizah, if made Menteri Besar, would be a sincere and honest leader but again she was given the leadership on behalf of her husband who was caught in legal web.
It is also true that in Asia, even some men leaders were elected following the footsteps of their close relatives such as Chiang Ching Kuo (son of Chiang Kai-shek) of Taiwan, Rajiv Gandhi (son of Indira Gandhi) in India, Asif Ali Zardari (husband of Benazir Bhutto), Lee Hsien Loong (son of Lee Kuan Yew)and our own Najib Abdul Razak. However they are still a minority compared to many other men leaders in Asia. In most American and European countries, this is an exception whether male or female leaders. In the history of the United States, there were only two father-son Presidents: John and John Q Adams and George HW and George W Bush, separated by nearly 200 years.
Woman & Man (Songs)
WOMAN IS FICKLE
(based on a song in Rigolleto by Verdi)
Woman is fickle, false altogether
Moves her two red lips, never together
Woman's bewitching smile always deceives you
Often will grieve you just as she pleases
Her heart's no feelings, ever will go changing
Moves with one man, then to the other
..............when your money's gone.
Wretched the day is when she smiles kindly
Trust in her blindly, your life's thus wasted
Yet she must surely be dull beyond measure
Who of love's happiness, ne'er has been tasted
Her heart's no feelings, ever will go changing
Moves with one man, then to the other
...............when your money's gone.
Man is Flirtatious
(my own lyrics)
Man is flirtatious, stinks altogether
Moves like a buzzing bee, from rose to daisy
Man with a sneering smile always offends you
Often will break your heart and he enjoys it
His heart is granite and oh so cruel
Falls for one girl, then leaves her for dust
............then leaves her to rust.
Doomed will be the day when he steps in your way
Trust in him blindly, your life's thus shattered
And he must surely be dumb, beyond measure
Who of love's happiness, ne'er has been captured
His heart is granite and oh so cruel
Falls for one girl, then leaves her for dust
............then leaves her to rust.
Songs with a Twist
SONGS WITH A TWIST
SHE LOVES ME! (“She Loves You” By The Beatles)
You think you’ve lost your love
Well I saw her yesterday
It’s true you lost your love
For this is what she said
She said she loves me
And you know that can be bad
She loves me
That’s why I am so glad.
She loves me, yea yea yea.
DON’T SEND ME THE PILLOW (“Send Me the Pillow” by Johnny Tillotson)
Don’t send me the pillow that you dream on
Don’t you know it’s filthy and it stinks
With the dripping of your saliva
It’d only make me lose my forty winks
I DON’T WANT TO GO (original by Dusty Springfield)
I don’t want to go for a walk with you
I don’t want to go to the dance
I don’t want to go anywhere with you
So listen and won’t you get lost!
LOVE IS ….. (Original “Love is Like a Violin”)
Love is like a kettle-drum
Makes my heart goes tum-tum-tum
Makes me seem I’m drinking rum
Sometimes I feel like a bum.
IF YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR WIFE (Original by Harry Belafonte)
If your mother and your wife were drowning
I want to know which one you would be saving
If your mother and your wife were drowning
I want to know which one you would be saving
As for me, I’ll go for dear wife
And my ma, she has to excuse me sonny
For my father can get another wife
And I can always get another mother in my life
WHEN THE TOILET IS GONE
(From “My Prayer-When the Twilight is Gone” by The Platters)
When the toilet is gone
There’s nothing I can do
But just sit down and wait
Hope that they will not come through
For my tummy is so sore
And I can’t stand it no more
Congo Blues (sung to the tune of G.I. BLUES)
(In 1960 Malaysia sent its first military contingent to the Congo)
They gave us a room with the view of the blackie Congo
They gave us a room with the view of the blackie Congo
Give me a muddy old Sungei Pinang to end my woes.
Chorus I got the up, two, three, four occupation Congo Blues
From my Congo shoes to the canvas of my haversack
And if I don't go Penang soon I might be turned to black.
We had Congo koay-teow and black Congo rojak for dinner
We had Congo bee-hoon and black Congo bahpow for dinner
Unless I have some Penang satay I gonna get thinner.
We saw Pat Lumumba and the President Kasavubu
We saw Mister Tsombe and the Colonel Mobutu
Because of those people the world is feeling very blue.
The ladies are blacker than charcoal that's why we have to run
The ladies are pretty as ducklings that's why we have to run
So you can see why living in Congo is no fun.
(Stools: Please help me I’m falling
Backside: It’s Now or Never!)
I’M LOOKING OUT OF THE WINDOW (From Cliff Richard)
I’m looking out of the window
And just what do I see
But the window was shut, good and tight
There’s nothing in front of me
Only curtains facing me
I SEE BONES (by Allan Shearman to the tune “C’est Si Bon”)
I see bones
I see gizzard and bones
And a few kidney stones
Among the lovely bones
I see hips
And fourteen paper clips
A few asparagus tips
Among the lovely bones
If you were the only girl in the world…. I guess I don’t have much choice!
SHE LOVES ME! (“She Loves You” By The Beatles)
You think you’ve lost your love
Well I saw her yesterday
It’s true you lost your love
For this is what she said
She said she loves me
And you know that can be bad
She loves me
That’s why I am so glad.
She loves me, yea yea yea.
DON’T SEND ME THE PILLOW (“Send Me the Pillow” by Johnny Tillotson)
Don’t send me the pillow that you dream on
Don’t you know it’s filthy and it stinks
With the dripping of your saliva
It’d only make me lose my forty winks
I DON’T WANT TO GO (original by Dusty Springfield)
I don’t want to go for a walk with you
I don’t want to go to the dance
I don’t want to go anywhere with you
So listen and won’t you get lost!
LOVE IS ….. (Original “Love is Like a Violin”)
Love is like a kettle-drum
Makes my heart goes tum-tum-tum
Makes me seem I’m drinking rum
Sometimes I feel like a bum.
IF YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR WIFE (Original by Harry Belafonte)
If your mother and your wife were drowning
I want to know which one you would be saving
If your mother and your wife were drowning
I want to know which one you would be saving
As for me, I’ll go for dear wife
And my ma, she has to excuse me sonny
For my father can get another wife
And I can always get another mother in my life
WHEN THE TOILET IS GONE
(From “My Prayer-When the Twilight is Gone” by The Platters)
When the toilet is gone
There’s nothing I can do
But just sit down and wait
Hope that they will not come through
For my tummy is so sore
And I can’t stand it no more
Congo Blues (sung to the tune of G.I. BLUES)
(In 1960 Malaysia sent its first military contingent to the Congo)
They gave us a room with the view of the blackie Congo
They gave us a room with the view of the blackie Congo
Give me a muddy old Sungei Pinang to end my woes.
Chorus I got the up, two, three, four occupation Congo Blues
From my Congo shoes to the canvas of my haversack
And if I don't go Penang soon I might be turned to black.
We had Congo koay-teow and black Congo rojak for dinner
We had Congo bee-hoon and black Congo bahpow for dinner
Unless I have some Penang satay I gonna get thinner.
We saw Pat Lumumba and the President Kasavubu
We saw Mister Tsombe and the Colonel Mobutu
Because of those people the world is feeling very blue.
The ladies are blacker than charcoal that's why we have to run
The ladies are pretty as ducklings that's why we have to run
So you can see why living in Congo is no fun.
(Stools: Please help me I’m falling
Backside: It’s Now or Never!)
I’M LOOKING OUT OF THE WINDOW (From Cliff Richard)
I’m looking out of the window
And just what do I see
But the window was shut, good and tight
There’s nothing in front of me
Only curtains facing me
I SEE BONES (by Allan Shearman to the tune “C’est Si Bon”)
I see bones
I see gizzard and bones
And a few kidney stones
Among the lovely bones
I see hips
And fourteen paper clips
A few asparagus tips
Among the lovely bones
If you were the only girl in the world…. I guess I don’t have much choice!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)