Jesus, Sanatan Sat Guru

“… The Christians I met spoke of sin in this life, but that was meaningless to me. Karma was what mattered. So I decided, When they talk about sin, I think of karma, and I believe Jesus died for my karma, so I am going to accept him on those terms.
… As my mother and others in my family challenged my faith, I found that biblical concepts were only helpful if they were properly translated. My mother would say, “Jesus is a swear word. They use it in the shop every day. Why do you follow this man?”

… She had a hard time believing that Jesus would never refuse anybody. But that’s the case, I said, because he’s the sanatan sat guru.

Sanatan is a Sanskrit word meaning “eternal”; sat guru means “true living way.” You can put John 14:6 in brackets after that! He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Guru is a living way. There are lots of sat gurus, but try to find a sanatan sat guru. No guru claims to be sanatan. Then she said, “Tell me more about this guru, who will love everybody.” So I said, “Not only is he a sanatan sat guru, he paid for karma. He paid our karmic debt.”

… We’ve produced a series of books and cds that connect with the South Asian experience. Fortunately, I was able to pay for publication, because in the early days, not many Christian publishers were willing to take on a book that talked about Jesus as the bodhisattva who fulfilled his dharma to pay for my karma to negate samsara and achieve nirvana!” -- Christ my Bodhisattva

Sleep

Sleep deprived

Down with Flu

Psalm 23

PSALM 23 (Words by Patrick Leong & Juwita Suwito)

Tuhan gembalaku
Ku tak kekurangan
Diberi-Nyaku, ketenangan
Disegarinya seluruh jiwaku
Membawa daku
Menyusuri jalan kebenaran

Biarpun daku
Diselubung gelap gelita
Kan ku yakin pada-Nya
Gada dan hadir-Nya
Melipur resah
Kasih tak terhingga,
Tiada batasannya
Seluruh hayatku
Akanku bernaung selamanya, sentiasa

Sentiasa, cerianya
Pemberi daya
Sentiasa tuntunlah
Daku ke tempat-Nya
Di mana yang Esa,
Sanggup bertumpah darah

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Chocolate Fondue

Wide and Narrow

Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it. -- Jesus

Indigenous Theology

Joey posted a very insightful excerpt about Tribal Theology. Here I "steal" from his post. May it inspire us to continue to live a life of justice and love in our broken world.

"Tribal people are the most exploited and divided people in the world. Theirs is a history of defeat, suffering and oppression. Throughout generations they suffered discrimination, genocide, exploitation and alienation. They lost their self-esteem because of conquest and slavery. And in recent years, globalization make the situation worst, it causes further marginalization to their continuity as people.

Longchar cites two example of the causes of the tribal people suffering. First is displacement. In different parts of the world the tribal people have become victims of development. They are evicted from their ancestral land because of mega projects--dam, wildlife sanctuaries, mines, reservoirs among others. And these are being done without due compensation. They are simply ignored, silenced and despised.

Second, indigenous people suffer from suppression. Dominant societies do not listen to their cries and do not acknowledge their human rights and dignity cause them to resort to arm struggle. The dominant government instead of recognizing the movements as a struggle for justice attempts to silence the movements by hostility. Soldiers killed innocent people, raped their women and burned their villages to ashes. One may think that these atrocities are not happening today but such human right violations has been going on and on.

Tribal theology came out of these experiences of various forms of injustice and exploitation. Their theology is an attempt to express Christian faith in socio-cultural, traditional and liturgical thought patterns of people. Tribal theology can be considered as resistance theology. It is a resistance to the destruction of the dignity of life, dances, songs and tribal people's spirituality.

Tribal theology is a contextual theology. Like liberation theology it is a theology from "below" and "underside of history." Longchar says that it seeks to reflect on the faith experience of the tribal and aims to liberate people from their inferiority complex, from oppressions and discriminations. To achieve al this , it attempts to rediscover the liberative motifs in the tribal culture and reinterpret the Bible and Christian traditions. Hence, the focus and goal of tribal theology is liberation. It embraces the social, economic, cultural, political and ecological dimensions. In the process of working their own liberation, the tribal people pursue the liberation of both the oppressors and the oppressed. It is, therefore, a theology that includes liberation of the whole humanity and of God's creation."

A. Wati Longchar, An Emerging Tribal/Indigenous Theology: Prospect for Doing Asian Theology."

Updates

Things that have been happening for the past week.

Monday 21 - the horrible Musculoskeletal Test











Tuesday 22 - Roast Stuffed Chicken with Steph as our guest



Mel made a very nice roast today, with Steph as our flat guest. We had a great time of eating, chatting and praying together.








Wednesday 23 - ANZAC Day Dawn Memorial Service

I woke up at 5am to attend a dawn memorial service on top of the hill with another 12,000 people to commemorate the sacrifice of the ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand) troops in WW1 in Gallipoli. It was an interesting experience, though there were too many people that I can't see anything except the sea of people's head. The hymn that was sung was moving, though I know the words much better than an average kiwi, haha.

Abide with me, fast fall the eventide,The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless O abide with me

Thursday 24 - Maui - One Man Against the Gods - $45

"Stirring kapa haka and spectacular aerial theatre unite in this stunning theatre production that tells the story of Maui’s life – a thrilling journey of the senses in which gods fly and one man defies them all. Join 27,000 New Zealanders who have already been enchanted by Maui -

Maui is the story of a rebel. An outcast young warrior, reared in miraculous circumstances, grows up away from his family and from the norms of his people. Upon returning, he refuses to accept the social and natural limitations of his world. Daring to think big and possessing the charismatic talents to realise his ambition, Maui repeatedly challenges his surroundings as he strives to impose his will on the world.

From the moment of his birth, Maui is marked for both greatness and tragedy. As he steals the secret of flame from the goddess of fire, pulls land from the bottom of the ocean and traps the god of the sun, his achievements begin to transcend mortal limits. Yet, even as he artfully accomplishes these feats, his own sense of glory tragically drives him to challenge the limits of mortality itself.

Staged over 2 hours with a cast of 20 performers, Maui is a dynamic mix of kapa haka, aerial theatre and contemporary dance with an original score featuring traditional Maori instruments." http://www.mauitheshow.com

Friday 25 - Study for Digestive System test next Friday - Arrgh!

Apostasy - Al Jazeera

Women oh women

Yang Menerima Tangan di Bawah

Yang berlari sangat pantas,
Yang menang sangat bertuah;
Yang memberi tangan di atas,
Yang menerima tangan di bawah.

Pantun Pakaian Tradisi

Cantik dara cantik teruna
Duduk bersama di tepi jeti
Molek sekali si bunga cina
Kebaya merah menawan hati

Mudik sungai berakit-rakit
Rakit bersama si Awang Budiman
Baju Melayu berkain songket
Warisan bangsa zaman berzaman

Bermain sama bebudak sekawan
Hilai tertawa ternampak bangkai
Berkilau sinar Cheongsam menawan
Alah membeli menang memakai

Patah hati apakah daya
Hilang kasih cari gantinya
Berkilau Samfu tampak bergaya
Bergaya lagi jejaka dalamnya

Bertenggek punai di pohon jati
Bersiul galak tiada hentinya
Sari dipakai menambat hati
Apakah saudari sudah berpunya?

Kuntuman mewarna tumbuh melata
Susun bersama biar berganding
Tegap teruna memakai kurta
Memikat mata tiada berbanding

Ingin membeli madu lelebah
Singgah sebentar di Kuala Sepetang
Amboi molek si gadis Sabah
Bagai bulan dikelilingi bintang

Pohon berimbun ranum berbuah
Jangan dimakan kulit bijinya
Bumi kenyalang bumi bertuah
Manis puterinya tiada gantinya

Balairong seri tinggi daulatnya
Raja disembah titah dijunjung
Anggun batik indah seninya
Warisan bangsa marilah dijunjung

Gadis sunti tersenyum malu
Menawan teruna segak bergaya
Walau girang walau pilu
Tetapi berseri kuntuman kebaya

-- Kerepok Lekor, Karnival Malaysia Auckland

Pantun Jenaka

Oh bulan kemana bintang
Atas pucuk kayu ara
Oh tuan kemana hilang
Dalam bilik anak dara

Atas pucuk kayu ara
Lebat daunnya pokoknya rindang
Hilang kedalam bilik nak dara
Cuma meminta rokok sebatang

Ambil segulung rotan saga
Sudah diambil mari diurut
Duduk termenung harimau tua
Melihat kambing mencabut janggut

Sudah diambil mari diurut
Diurut dibawah pokok sena
Melihat kambing mencabut janggut
Gajah pula mengorek telinga

Ambilkan bilah pokok sena
Jadikan lata tempat berhandai
Andaikan gajah korek telinga
Giliran buaya hajat berinai

Jadikan lata tempat berhandai
Terbang sekawan burung belibis
Giliran buaya hajat berinai
Pipit pula membilang tasbih

Ambil sejimpit beras dan bertih
Ditabur penawar merubah nasib
Andaikan pipit membilang tasbih
Tafakur elang membaca ratib

Ditabur penawar merubah nasib
Nasib baik bukan sebarang
Tafakur elang membaca ratib
Melihat sitikus mengasah parang

Janda berhias merambah karang
Sirih kuning disangka serai
Melihat tikus mengasah parang
Datang kucing meminta damai

Sirih kuning disangka serai
Dijemur panas daunnya kering
Melihat kucing meminta damai
Ayam memasak pulut kuning

Elok sungguh bunga kantil
Tumbuh kearah kolam telaga
Elok sungguh berbini sungil
Walaupun marah tersenyum juga

Tumbuh kearah kolam telaga
Telaga mencuci badan yang melekit
Walaupun marah tersenyum juga
Tangan ketam cubitnya sakit

Bunga kantil sunting di Aceh
Bunganya putih dalam cerana
Biarlah sungil hatinya kasih
Cubitnya perih saya terima

Bunganya putih dalam cerana
Dipetik dijual didalam pekan
Sementelah cubitan tuan terima
Hatinya jangan tuan lukakan

Bentan Telani diberi nama
Lagunya indah menawan merayu
Jangan hatinya diberi luka
Nantinya hilang kawan beradu

Disana merak disini merak
Merak mana hendak dikepung
Disana hendak disinipun hendak
Pening kepala terajang punggung

Diumpan merak dengan dedak
Hendak ditangkap dengan segera
Di sana hendak di sinipun hendak
Tepuk dada tanyakan selera

Bayan merbah merbuk dara
Terbang bebas hiasan angkasa
Jangan salah tertepuk dada
Badan terhempas mara bencana

Tuan puteri di atas puri
Dato hulubalang di atas padang
Bila dinasihati dengar-dengari
Bila bertepuk pandang-pandang

Air tawar ditambah gula
Lalu dihidang beralaskan kain
Memang awak mencari bala
Pergi menepuk dada yang lain

Bertelepuk emas diatas kain
Ada sirih bergambir tiada
Tak menepuk dada yang lain ?
Dada sendiri berdaging tiada

Bertelepuk emas diatas kain
Kain pelangi dari Melaka
Berani tuan menepuk yang lain
Bila dah kena... Padan dengan muka

Tuah merbuk pada kung-nya
Bandan menukik begap rupa
Raja Chola menggeleng kepala
Berubah tepuk pada dada

How to Cram for an Exam?

If you're having trouble staying alert while you're cramming, and you have no time for sleep, drink some coffee. If you're tired right before your test, drink some more. Caffeine aids mental alertness.

You may find it easier to review with a study partner. You can quiz each other and answer each other's questions as you go along.

Eat nutritious food. It's harder to concentrate if you're loaded up on junk. Even though sugar is a fast source of energy, sugar lows happen shortly after the highs and they are hard to come off of.

Eliminate as many potential distractions as possible. If you can study without a computer, then make sure to work away from one. If your assignment is on the computer, disable the internet temporarily before you start. If you're working on the internet, (researching, etc.) then you need to exercise self-control.

Right before the test, try to get some exercise. Run up some stairs or do some jumping-jacks. Exercise gets blood flowing and relaxes you. It also increases your alertness.

Take frequent, short breaks. Breaks help you stay alert, and they can also prevent burnout.

Warnings
Sleep deprivation and excessive caffeine intake are unhealthy. Don't do this too often. Sleep deprivation can also slow your reaction time, so think twice about driving to or from class after an all-night cramming session.

Even if you do well on a test, don't expect to remember the material a couple days later. People generally learn better if they do it gradually. Cramming is really just a short-term memorization aid. If you will need to know the material later--math equations are a prime example--you'll probably need to re-review it after the test.

If you study with a partner or with a group, beware of losing focus on the task at hand. Study groups often turn into gossip fests. You may be better off studying on your own.

Life

Few things happen in my life at the moment

1) Studying for MSS, Digestive Test and my Professional Development Workbook. I have been studying till late nights for few days to catch up with studies, but sadly I couldn't go with the rate that I wanted to due to the lack of time and energy.

2) Preparing and training for the Malaysia Carnival Fashion Show. What the heck? Somehow I got unlucky being stuck with such grandiose project ala government of Malaysia, which is not more than an almost-waste cheap publicity of Malaysia (truly Asia) and politician-bodeking efforts by the student groups here.

But it is a fun and enriching process of learning to train up CATWALKING, and taking the role of a pseudo- fashion designer, getting to know new lengluis, and the best thing of all, enjoying arts for all its worth.

The bad side of it is- it takes up a lot of your energy and time. I got a TEST to study for!

3) Leading and Planning UMSA Foodnight. This is not that bad since it gives me the chance of going to few restaurants and have good food and talk business with the restaurant owners. It gives me the 'feel' of confidence in dealing with people, haggling for the best deals, talking with authority on behalf of the club.

I struggle in getting people to get involved to organise the event. Besides I struggle with my own pride when the Top Four keep on checking on what I am doing, patronising me on what I should and should not do, and trying to interfere with my decision making. But I am glad that I am handling it well. After all, I did the same thing when I was leading CA and LCDS years before.

The bad side of it: I have test right before Foodnight. OCF is having International Night on the same week.

4) I got a below average score for my first Med School Test. I was disappointed to know that I got a lower than average score for my POM test recently, my first paper in Med School. Not encouraging, not a good sign. I should study more, I should stop doing other stuff, I should cut my commitments.

I fear that I will fail my first semester. I fear that I will fail my Year 2.

Am I up to the challenge of Med School? What if I fail and have to repeat?

5) Friends. Who are my true friends? Who are acquaintances? How do I develop deeper relationship with people? How can I find fulfillment in relationships? I don't know

Secure Faith

Is our faith secure enough..

...to acknowledge our own weaknesses and frailty?

...to admit that we do not have all the answers?

...to explore, engage and dialogue with people of other faiths and traditions, in humility?

...to affirm the truth and validity in other people's beliefs, and to admit the wrongs and errors of our own?

...to listen and to accept the perspective of others?

...to believe and have faith, in the midst of paradoxes, differences and contradictions?

The Path of Downward Mobility

The Path of Downward Mobility

It was Henri Nouven who taught me the phrase downward mobility. His own life of course reflected this thinking. A famous professor of theology at the peak of his academic career at an ivy league university, Nouven heeded God's call to abandon all fame, fortune, power and influence to serve as a Priest to a mentally disabled community for the remainder of his life. God had called him not be upwardly mobile but like Christ to lower himself in the eyes of society so that he could be closer to God.

Some of us will be called to walk this road of downward mobility. It will lead us away from the limelight and places of profile to the quiet corners of this world where God's plan is no less important. It will lead to sharp drops in the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are used by this generation to measure success. People while openly stating their admiration for our commitment will behind our backs quietly remark "what a waste of talent."

This is the path of John the Baptist, the old-testament prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah, and most of the apostles like Paul and Peter. It is the path of missionaries, social workers and Christian workers. It is a call to free ourselves from the wealth and position that so
often limits mobility and time. It is not the road reserved for those who cannot "make it" up the upwardly mobile path, it is certainly not the consolation prize for those who lack talents to succeed in other professions. Some of us are called to this path simply because it is
God's will and part of God's larger design.

-- Dr Goh Chee Leong

O Sacred Head

O Sacred Head, surrounded by crown of piercing thorn

O Bleeding Head, so wounded, reviled and put to scorn

Our Sins have marred the glory of thy most Holy face

Yet angel hosts adore thee, and tremble as they gaze

The Lord of every nation was hung upon a tree

His death was our salvation, our sins his agony

O Jesus by thy Passion, thy life in us increase

Thy death for us did fasion our pardon and our peace

We sing the Saviour's glory, His triumph far and wide

We tell the wondrous story how on a cross He died

But God's great love and mercy shall every death embrace

The cross becomes our glory, God's mighty throne of grace

-- Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612), adapted by J S Bach (1685-1758)

The Meaning of Life according to Wiki

1) SURVIVAL AND TEMPORAL SUCCESS

...to live every day like it is your last and to do your best at everything that comes before you

...to be always satisfied

...to live, go to school, work, and die

...to participate and contribute to a given society by working, paying taxes, being a good citizen, and contributing to raise the collective quality of life.

...to eat and sleep

...to spend life in the pursuit of happiness, maybe not to obtain it, but to pursue it relentlessly.

...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction

...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate

...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means

...to attempt to have many sexual conquests

...to kill or be killed

...to live it. To simply keep functioning. This applies to everything. This also cancels out all others besides the one below.

2) WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE
...to master and know as many things as possible

...to be without questions, or to keep asking questions

...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers

...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes

...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom

...To Live a Happy life.

3) ETHICAL

...to express compassion

...to give and receive love

...to work for justice and freedom

...to live in peace with yourself and each other, and in harmony with our natural environment

...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment

...to serve others, or do good deeds

...to live an honorable life and die an honorable death

...to not forget the Mother's Tongue and serve Fatherland

...to live without thinking about its meaning,

4) SPIRITUAL

...to worship the Lord

...to find perfect love and a complete expression of one's humanness in a relationship with God

...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context

...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace

...to become like God, or divine

...to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever

...to reach Heaven in the afterlife

...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life

...to understand and follow the "Word of God"

...to resolve all problems that one faces, or to ignore them and attempt to fully continue lifewithout them, or to detach oneself from all problems faced

...To prepare for the meeting with God

5) PHILOSOPHICAL

...to give life meaning

...to find the meaning of life

...life in itself has no meaning, for its purpose is an opportunity to create that meaning

...................................................................

What is your meaning of life? -- Kerepok Lekor

Failure

But I never forgot the devastation of failure. Failure sucks.

Nobody wants to fail. And nobody wants to follow a failure. Which is why it is ironic that the most important date of the church calendar is the commemoration of a failure --- a saviour who gets captured and killed, a saviour who dies humiliated, naked on a cross. Was failure ever so obvious? No wonder they shouted "Let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One." (Luke 23:35 NLT) The world laughs at losers.

And no wonder his followers were confused and devastated. They had betted on the wrong horse. They had put their faith in the wrong Messiah. One of them said: "He (Jesus) was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel." (Luke 24:19b-21a NLT) We had hoped. But hope was dead. The Messiah had failed.

No wonder the world then and the world now finds it hard to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Then and now, this is the world's verdict on a crucified messiah. "It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense." (1 Corinthians 1:22-23 NLT)

Perhaps we find it hard to accept failure in any form because we cannot accept the fact that we belong to a race of failures. After all the first failure was ours, in Eden. (Genesis 2:4-3:24) We had every reason not to fail. God had blessed us with every good thing. And warned us not to take the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We were not to choose the path of moral and spiritual autonomy. (To take the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to say I will define for myself what is good and bad. Not God.) We could do many things. But we couldn't do that. Choosing to reject God as God would lead to death.

Thankfully life does not revolve around us. It revolves around God, a God who is bigger than our biggest failure. Still, God dealt with our failure in a way that continues to blow us away. He came and "failed" on the Cross, both to remind us of our failure, and to take it away. Which is one of the reasons we find it so hard to accept the Cross. It reminds of our failure and it is a reminder that we cannot make things all right by ourselves. We cannot bone up for some supplementary exam. There are none. There is only the Cross.

Here then is the greatest paradox of all time. By "failing" God reversed the effects of our failure. By failing, God wins. Which is why Paul never boasts of anything except the cross (Galatians 6;14) because "the cross of Christ alone can save." (Galatians 6:12b NLT) Which is why we take pains to remember Good Friday. It is the foundation of our hope. The Cross makes winners out of losers.

"And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him."-- "A Mighty Fortress is our God" Martin Luther

And if an experience of failure reminds us of our need for the Cross, well, that sounds like a winner to me. -- Soo Inn

Woman Intelligence : Blessing or Curse?

Do men like intelligent women? Women who can think, formed their own opinions (and I mean very mature, articulated opinions) and are independent. A girl who is certain of what she wants, how she goes about getting it and a girl who has strings of achievements in her past and still working for more. Do men want these women as their girl friends, wives and mothers of their children? Can men take it if you sit next to your wife and all attention is on her and your big bosses prefer to talk to her than to you because they are attracted to her intelligence and impressed with her oral skills and you are still proud of her? Can men sit and watch their politician wives give fantastic speeches and still clap and cheer for her? Can men handle a wife who can argue (and when I say argue that doesn’t mean quarrel, just getting in to an intellectual discourse) and formulate very mature and articulate arguments about certain issues and enjoy engaging with her arguments? And if you are a man of equal importance and who possess a string of achievements as well, will you feel threatened having to live in the shadow of your girl friend in the public square or in the small social circle? I wonder, I wonder, I wonder.

Or will men consider intelligence found in these women – SEXY? Will they be proud of her and feel really good about themselves because these women choose to be with them and not any other men?

OR

Do men prefer women who doesn’t know much and allow you to lead her and pamper her and each time you ask her a question a reply you will likely get is, “I don’t know, darling … you’re the smart one”. (Although I think many intelligent women do that pretentiously just so their husbands / boyfriends can feel smart for a split second).

If not, I think intelligent girls may not find themselves a suitable partner. The intelligent guys find them too intimidating and the not-so-intelligent ones (I’m trying very hard here to be politically correct) find them difficult to connect with.

A very intelligent girl friend of mine said this: “It’s almost like a curse if we are intelligent”.

What ya think? -- Got it from here

Desire

Desire happens. Even to the most pure-minded among us. And it is not—in and of itself—sinful. As Augustine taught, desires must not so much be denied as rightly ordered. There's a space—be it small—between yearning and sin, between desire and giving in. In this moment, we get to choose. We can choose to follow at our urges' behest. We can choose the way of denial. We can choose to drown in shame. We can call a friend. We can pick up a good book, the Good Book perhaps. We can flee temptation by whatever means work best for us.

I try to subvert the devil by giving thanks. Desire triggers a prayer in me, something like this: Thank you, God, for giving me eyes to see and for sight. For giving me dreams to dream and for dreaming. For the beauty that suffuses the world.

-- Agnieszka Tennant