| Meditations on a nation asunder |  |  |  |
| Posted by admin | |
| Friday, 04 July 2008 10:06 | |
| In this age, we no longer know By Azly Rahman dr.azly.rahman@gmail.com [to be read in solitude] in its entirety? In the cave we must contemplate The nature of perpetual revolution we must initiate We can no longer wait This revolution that must begin with the mind and end with the mind And in-between these we gather all those amongst us Those not yet intoxicated by the fireworks displays nor the hypocrisy of celebrating Against the backdrop of world's poor suffering And in between these-- come forth will those be in full force to bring this corrupt system down its knees From inside of us, into the outside of this So that the world within the world outside unites … a revolt that must begin with the end in mind In this age, we no longer know Who the hunter nor the hunted is We have become one We have become the cause of things asunder Our bhodi our bhakti detached in a cycle of life we no longer see In this cave We are one We are many We are the powerful and the powerless and we are once the power abusers We speak the language of Nature Of one that will bring down this world of Material Culture Of one that will rewrite our History So that the past will be closer to our Primordial Nature So that the future will be close to our Heart's desire This will be our cave, for this fleeting moment In it we will speak of Politics and Culture in its most Ideal nature So that we may speak of The Culture of Vultures outside this cave this vulture culture that is corrupting Human Nature making the rich filthier the poor poorer, trampled upon much easier fed with crumbs from cigar-smoking ultra-nationalist screaming double-speaking politicians This will be our cave, our solitude away from the maddening crooks Wherein we no longer speak of the national economy Calibrated by statistical lies only, trumpeted globally In fine imitation of the language of composite indexes and Standards and Poor And how bulls and bears will roam the streets running amuck to the tune of the velocity of money as currencies move globally creating national tragedies as barrels of oil give rise to bourgeoisie armed with double-barreled ideology of progress and national security as recession breeds depression breeds desperation breeds desolation breeds revolutions This cave will be our place, in it we seek solace from the ills of the marketplace Wherein we no longer speak of how many billions and gold bullions we will need To prop up the next emperor with a kris Nor a place wherein we talk about curbing corruption Whereas we ourselves are too corrupt to curb ourselves In this cave There shall be no fireworks to burn There shall be no slogans to fog the timid mind of the people we govern There shall be no strategies of deception and intrigues of politics to renew There shall be no plans of monopolizing the prime media to honor the Neon Gods anew In this cave There shall be dialogue our politics and pedagogy once knew There shall be conversations around the idea of: Who should rule? Why should we be ruled? What is a just government? When does a government become ineffective, abusive, oppressive, and tyrannical? and what then must we do? Must investment bankers become emperors? Must future leaders ally with global corporate raiders? Must we disobey unjust laws? How must we learn to question authority? How must our children be taught? How must their intelligence be respected? Must these young minds be developed by State-conditioned educators? How must we stop the decay in our universities? How must we reclaim its prosperity and recapture its dignity? And vote out those who rule with arrogance and intellectual brutality What is an ideal society, a perfect government, a philosopher ruler How might we create a messiah out of wisdom and virtue? How might we make these possible? Through a revolution of Pure Reason That will overthrow governments run by robber barons This will be our cave As what Socrates once spoke of In which Muhammad found illuminations in In which Lao Tzu would had also once retreated to Let us all go back to the cave Let us first make our way to the mountains There is no mountain high enough Come into our cave--- Educators, university professors, Vice Chancellor, students, activists, enlightened politicians, social workers, farmers, rubber tappers, fishermen, doctors, lawyers, judges, engineers, entertainers, religious leaders, military officers, artists, artisans, musicians, comedians, petty traders, currency traders, multimedia producers, princes and princesses, schoolchildren, … Come into our cave--- Revolt we must against the Gods of Materials Culture and Political Vultures Who reign through the Divine Right of Kings Reigned through Hidden Terror Mandated by the Modern State it Legitimates Through the use of The Ideological State Apparatuses it Finely Decorates So that the Masses will be cleverly subjugated Let us, when we are ready, come out of the cave--- To create a radically new social order For—this world is too much for us. But we are not merely a speck of dust We have choices. And evolve. we must. In this radical scheme of things With Fate conspiring we must Desire Get out of our cave, let us now Onwards to the march of this and that We do not have anything more to lose We have lost our souls Peddled by demons dressed in deceptions dancing in circles worshiping diamonds and deals worth billions arming the army with criminals against humanity To this matrix we build Out of bread and circuses crafted by ever-smiling dictators hiding behind invisible walls parading power and madness, guns and roses in a panopticon and synopticon of a world we built in this Despotic State in which we are hungry ... because they have guns ... and they have guns ... therefore we are hungry Our apocalypse is finally here. Have a cigar, we will go far, While the end is near, for this sinking bahtera. Alas, let there be peace, in a nation gone haywire. Comments (18)  ... written by indianputra, July 04, 2008 22:09:01 Aiyaah! Too long to read this poem or article lah! report abuse disagree 5 agree 8 ... written by Tom n Jerry, July 04, 2008 22:13:48 Wanna meditate is good but it takes 7 full years and uninterrupted consciousness from society to get you into sotapana which is the first path to enlightenment!Moreover you need to have accrued good past karma to be able to see the fruit1Wanna see things or happenings from a third eye just consult me!I provide free relevant service!  report abuse disagree 0 agree 5 ... written by skc, July 04, 2008 22:24:30 Great article, I would not call it a poem. This is what I love to read. Dr Azly, I can still feel that you can't really keep out the USA from your mind when this is written, but still love it anyway. Thanks report abuse disagree 1 agree 9 ... written by skc, July 04, 2008 22:27:48 I love the below parts :- What is an ideal society, a perfect government, a philosopher ruler How might we create a messiah out of wisdom and virtue? How might we make these possible? Through a revolution of Pure Reason That will overthrow governments run by robber barons This will be our cave As what Socrates once spoke of In which Muhammad found illuminations in In which Lao Tzu would had also once retreated to Let us all go back to the cave Let us first make our way to the mountains There is no mountain high enough Can we really go into Socrates cave ? I have try very hard, but not getting anyway with the reverse engineering, can you help Dr ? report abuse disagree 1 agree 7 ... written by Ken Liew, July 04, 2008 22:49:37 Nothing in this world is Perfect, But anything is better the UMNO's brat. They dont care for their own country, All they want is their own pocket money. Even able to C4 someone to save USD500,000, And yet the LAW still protecting this murderer. As this only a commission of buying something. I wonder how much that something worth? Cakap taksama bikin, pikin taksama cakap, thats a slang crated by public to the Umno. Why they still ignore the fact, PUBLIC are mad against their Government. report abuse disagree 0 agree 12 ... written by NSTPravda, July 04, 2008 23:32:03 Writing all these stuff above is a serious matter But we will put in our 25 sens worth of chatter We don't need to meditate in order to sleep Just snore along with our PM like an UMNO sheep But while we indulge in our boleh revelry Just look at the shitty mess we have in our country It looks like.... Statute Declarations are in season, they are cheap We will contribute our lima sen to the unceasing heap The IGP and AG are not liars so they solemnly declare All those who do contradict them should justly beware They will frame a case upon you, yes they will They will send you to purgatory or doing worst still So they, Musa Hussan and Gani Patail, vehemently disagree That they witnessed Rahim Noor's assault on his pesky Detainee What happened was Rahim greeted Anwar with a smile and cuddle Only that Anwar over-exerted himself in the ensuing huddle They absolutely reject the allegations that they told any lies They have the best alibis that their ill gotten hard-earned ringgits can buy If you don’t believe our honest-to-Qur'an sworned testimony Why don’t you ask Tun Eusoffe Chin, the Lord of our judiciary? There was definitely no assault by our former police chief It is just as hard to prove Najib is a commission thief Granted, Rahim was a bit overexuberant in expressing his joys But then, according to TDM, boys will be boys. They have evidence that Anwar deliberately hurt himself If not, we all know that he is as politcially nimble as an elf Further he is a threat to our barisan National security He probable hurt himself in an encounter with a hard capati. Rude allegations mustn't be made about Musa and Gani Lies are the sole prerogatives of UMNO and their functionaries Included are the police reports and SD that were submitted to-day They are good for confusion, to detract damming evidence away Of course, Najib never met Altantuya Shaaribu Being so busy submarining, he hardly knows who is who. Suffice to say we should believe him as before When he said he knew nothing about submarines or C4 You all should not join in the scurrilous allegations About Najib, Rosmah and their alleged corruption Yes, they might have benefited from some submarine deals But what so wrong in trying to secure themselves a hearty meal? The allegations that Rosmah was present at Altantuya’s body Does not cut any ice with our police and judicial authority In a sense about 25 million people were present as far as we can tell What’s wrong with Rosmah straying closer to have a look as well Meanwhile the grand Caliph Hadahri is still fast asleep While shit keep piling up, getting increasingly stinky and deep Someone has unleashed the Army to "exercise" and play Will we be Semua-nya OK? Let us pray, let us pray report abuse disagree 0 agree 13 ... written by Tom n Jerry, July 05, 2008 00:01:01 Let us pray=continue*Ohm,mani padme hung*pronounced orm,marni payme hong-law of universal protection for our beloved PR;may you all be well & happy;Sadhu3! report abuse disagree 0 agree 4 ... written by panca, July 06, 2008 13:49:39 Meditate, yes, every thought, every word, every movement, every gesture and every action. The cave shall serve the seclusion for better contemplation though, there are other cave dwellers, peace be upon all creatures. Meditate, yes, the conscience of your non being and being, this perishable body is not dissimilar of all creatures is not without doubt decaying, the birth, aging, sickness and finally, death. Meditate, yes, with this very mind of what the physique host relies time and again and again does the tamed and untamed of actions. Irrespective of belief, the mind is the source of intelligence or lack of it but wisdom can never be replaced by anything else, it arises in simplicity, common senses and the more of them, the higher the wisdom. Common sense is Universal. Meditate, yes, the ‘now-ness’ and ‘here-ness’ of being, yours and others, the people, the other creatures, the environment, the universe and universes, these are the closest to us in our heart through the mind. Lack of common sense, we deprive ourselves and the world at large, the justice, fairness, equality of being and peace. Meditate, yes, the mind, with awareness and only awareness that is not without ‘now-ness’ and ‘here-ness’ is true ‘aware-ness’, the essence from wakeful to awake. Nothing is as important as awake lest all doctrines no matter how great it professed to be is but blind when they are misinterpreted especially those that are subjective, can be ambiguous. Only wakefulness that can see the mind with sharpness and clarity, understands what universal value is true value which serves ALL. Meditate, yes, the mind is the weakest or the strongest, yes, the wild mind, the unsettled mind, the disturbed mind but there is no mind, only the emotional mind or otherwise, the unwise mind. We are what we identified with the attachment of ego, the conditioning, the indoctrination of what we have become. The confusion of right or wrong, good and bad despite our intelligence or lack of it, we have yet to learn to embrace the common sense human mind possessed, wisdom. The only specie, human who needs a religion whereas the other animal who do not need or have, may not be as intelligent as most of us are, are not pretentious at all – does what they do. Unlike human, they don’t lie, cheat, rob, plunder, rape(anyone knows of any?) play politics(if any dirty one) and worst, they don’t murder. The carnivorous only kill to eat. They don’t pretend, they don’t deny, they don’t manipulate the political system, they don’t power abuse, or at least don’t use C4. How has human fare with other specie? Of course, we are the most intelligent and when we have religion, make the human, the worst. Because those are human that speak the greatness of religion, quote this, quote that by example, god this god that, yet murder without blinking an eye. So how human ‘being’? Of course for those who have been wanting to meditate, the cave seemed to be a perfect setting but the self is the mind and the mind is selfless, then the other cave dwellers do not see them as threat to their peace inside. The worst would be those who are there and upon exiting after seclusion still find the same way back to where they were, untransformed. That said, the cave belongs to those who going there to be awake or to be like the other cave dwellers, animals. The thought of human becoming worst than animals, murderers are but real. Meditate, yes, the nation must not just pray religiously but meditate the actions they can do to change in order to transform the karma(fate) of the country, Malaysia. With common sense arises with wisdom, the now-ness and here-ness of awareness brings forth the essence of courage, the courage to transform the country’s fate, the Malaysia Change. report abuse disagree 0 agree 4 ... written by SUV, July 09, 2008 10:24:04  n @ doc..baguihle doc..sy masa kicik kicik dunno even baa baa black sheep,sikarng siki siki paham puisi..  report abuse disagree 0 agree 0 ... written by SUV, July 09, 2008 10:25:02 we r fighting a facist regime... report abuse disagree 0 agree 0 ... written by teohism, July 09, 2008 10:53:18 People who meditate are not activist. They cannot change the world. They are observers. Like Buddhist, their objective is to be neutral, balanced... no activity. This leaves the politician who manipulates. Get rid of ALL of them. We should vote in true representatives. If they stop representing, then, vote them out. To do this we need an avenue where 'we' can be heard like here in MT. Stop letting the politician think for you. Do your own thinking. Right the wrong first. What is wrong in Malaysia? Look in your & others mirror. Do not censure just because someone doesn't agree. Ask why? Stop being a bigot! report abuse disagree 0 agree 0 ... written by teohism, July 09, 2008 11:05:54 'Thank You' to AAB. He 'allowed' us to have more free speech. He could have easily ISA-ed a lot of people (including RPK) but he didn't. He even allowed Khairy a long rope so that he can hang himself. Intentional? He's probably a MCA mole or an undercover agent with 'Bangsa Malaysia' as his ultimate agenda. Probable? I think maybe, 'yes'. report abuse disagree 0 agree 0 ... written by SUV, July 09, 2008 12:25:03 "People who meditate are not activist. They cannot change the world. They are observers. Like Buddhist, their objective is to be neutral, balanced... no activity." u r an ignorant fool!! report abuse disagree 0 agree 0 ... written by SUV, July 09, 2008 12:25:41 doc, barisan nasional almsot like franco's spain? report abuse disagree 0 agree 0 ... written by SUV, July 09, 2008 14:32:35 Politics and Retribution Mires An Illness 2002-08-17 When an imam asked the congregation during Friday prayers a week ago for prayers for the seriously ill Federal Court judge, Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, many walked out. This mosque is just outside the Kuala Lumpur city limits, in Selangor. One in this congregation said he did not know who authorised it, but it seems to have been orchestrated. Prayers were held in as many mosques as did not throughout the country. Tan Sri Mohtar is yet another victim of the "sembayang hajat" the followers of the jailed former deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, prayers in unison to punish the guilty for his predicament, even if it be he. The Muslims believe in it, and is often invoked in times of disaster and calamity. To the government's disgust, it caught on in mosques throughout the country, for weeks and months on end. It underscored the underlying political and cultural tensions it evoked, one from the government is beholden to. Tan Sri Mohtar was attorney-general and the government's point man to ensure Dato' Seri Anwar remained in jail. He did not present himself as a neutral prosecutor but appeared, during the trial and after, of a man beholden to the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed's thesis that this man must be destroyed. He was later promoted to the Federal Court and, if the Gods had smiled his way, would have been chief justice in due course. He turned out a far better judge than many expected, but the niggling suspicion remained he was where he was for a larger agenda in which politics, not justice, mattered. When the chief justice, Tun Dzaiddin Abdullah, dismissed Dato' Seri Anwar's appeal against conviction and sentence in, to a layman, a highly flawed trial, the emotions rose again. But too much was expected of him. As one senior lawyer said: "We expect our judges to be legal eagles soaring away into the sky to cut new paths; but all we have are legal ducks wallowing in a dirty pond afraid to venture out for fear of pelting by the pond owner." The judiciary has been in turmoil for 14 years, since the then Lord President, Tun Saleh Abas, was drummed out of his own court as an example and warning to any judge who questioned the executive's prerogative and second guessed it. Little has changed since. The executive then is no different than the executive today. And justice must take a back seat. Especially when no one, not even the Bar, is interested in resolving it if it can benefit from the mess. Into this judicial mess was the rising star of Tan Sri Mohtar. Not any more. Last month, he was rushed to the Subang Jaya medical centre after a stroke from a blood clot in the brain; shortly after his admission, he had another stroke. He was quicky operated upon, is comatose, remains in intensive care, with little hope of a recovery. He breathes through a tube inserted into his neck. As a former appellate judge, Tan Sri Hashim Yeop Sani, who lingered for years, bedridden and helpless, before he died. The doctors hope that if he recovers, he would not be "in a vegetative state". In other words, the prognostication is bad. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by SUV, July 09, 2008 14:33:10 News of his medical condition is blacked out. More than upset his family, it is also to divert attention from the latest casualty of the "sembayang hajat". That it should happen so soon after the Federal Court dismissed the Anwar appeal is, in the view of not just the Anwaristas but devout Muslims, Godsent. When the Prime Minister insists Malaysia is an Islamic state, against the weight of the constitution and the law, the implications of this "sembayang hajat" cannot be lost on him. And as more casualties -- in politics, in the judiciary, and elsewhere -- strike to disembody the government, the Muslim Malay sees divine retribution in them. In other words, the government is harried and harrassed by not only its monumental incompetence, its political detractors and enemies, its political ineptitude but also by what the Malay community sees as divine retribution. Nothing then is as straightforward as it seems. A senior judge is rushed to hospital, and the authorities black out any information about his condition. Whatever plans the executive had for him is now skewed. His illness could not have come at a worse time. It focusses yet again on if the judiciary could come out of the quicksand it plunged into 14 years ago. Tun Dzaiddin finds the pull into the mire so strong that he cannot yet stand on his feet. The judiciary is hopelessly divided, the hatred, the hurt, the anger of the past conditioning its collective mind. The Anwar Ibrahim imbroglio is what causes that focus. One should not be surprised it is. It already is in every branch of government and politics. Malaysia began its inevitable decline when after his dismissal, detention, bodily injury by the Inspector-General of Police no less, judicial abnegation of its duties in his trial, the government found it could not carry out its task of governance so long as his case is unresolved. And so it is. The government offers not a plan to right this, but placebos of speeches and irrelevant utterances. Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah is a victim of that. M.G.G. Pillai pillai@mgg.pc.my Popular Issues Pak Lah (1364) United States (636) Straits Times (412) Samy Vellu (224) Putra Jaya (200) Chief Justice (200) Saddam Hussein (18  Vincent Tan (164) Civil Service (154) Parti KeADILan (14 Islamic State (11 Johore Bahru (100) Sungei Buloh (94) Bukit Tinggi (8 Abdul Razak (80) Pengkalen Pasir (6 Ting Pek (64) Armed Forces (59) Soviet Union (5 Malay Dominance (5 Yong Teck (56) Hong Kong (56) Human Rights (56) Syed Hamid (54) Puteri UMNO (52) Islam Hadhari (52) Royal Commission (51) Hussein Onn (51) Rafidah Aziz (4 Indian Congress (4 Open House (44) Vision Schools (44) Shah Alam (44) Malay Unity (42) Chua Jui (42) Abdul Taib (42) Ampang Jaya (36) Ras Adiba (36) Osama Bin Laden (36) Nik Aziz Nik (20) Ling Liong Sik (1 Lee Kuan Yew (1 High Court Judge (14) Wan Azizah Wan (9) Lim Kit Siang (9) Megat Junid Megat ( Mahathir (2960) Anwar (2399) About This archive was created as a tribute to the late veteran journalist MGG Pillai. We believed his writings are useful to develop a critical thinking analysis. By the way, the original mggpillai.com web site (2001-2006) was actually created by one of us. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by panca, July 10, 2008 19:48:42 .. this should lead you to this path of understanding the misunderstood, as written in the second last para, mr "teohism" The worst would be those who are there and upon exiting after seclusion still find the same way back to where they were, untransformed. That said, the cave belongs to those who going there to be awake or to be like the other cave dwellers, animals. The thought of human becoming worst than animals, murderers are but real. (What a wild elephant, should start blaring your guns!) report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 Write comment This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment. You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet. |
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No thinking needed.