it's all messed up

that's it. i can't take anymore of this stupid deliberate distortion from them. they who called themselves righteous and stand in the right path. first yoga, then valentine's day, what's next, banning english films? banning US products? banning new year celebration? banning the way i live my life?

it's on tv, it's in the paper, it's everywhere. muslims shouldn't celebrate valentine's day, they shouldn't practise yoga, they shouldn't buy american products.......you get the idea. let's start with valentine's day. there are many theories on the origin of that particular day. the 1st is about the ancient Rome celebration, Lupercalia. then we have two version of the st valentine's story, the one who wrote the letter, and the one who performed marriages for young lovers in secret. and other is about st. valentine who was responsible for the fall of an islamic empire. civilization has begun thousands of years ago, and in that period, many many 14th february has passed, and many people with the name valentine got their names in the pages of history. it's just a coincidence, not a conundrum. many things happened years ago, just that certain events just had to occur on the 14th of february, or regarding someone named valentine. which is why one side of the story does not explain the celebration we had yesterday. i admit, we don't know which one is the true version, so why risk celebrating for the wrong cause? but let's not forget, religions had their versions too, you know which is which, and several million people are holding on the each version without doubt, fear of being wrong, or second thoughts. so why the injustice? secondly, dates. yes, maybe st valentine did brought down an islamic empire to its knees on the 14th, but maybe another st valentine did write that letter as well. both might be true, but the reason for the valentine's day of the modern world significantly is based on the letter, the romantic version, not another boring chapter of history. here's a perfect example, 31st of august is the day we celebrate the independence of our country. 31st of august is also the day princess diana lost her life in the car crash in paris. so while malaysian are celebrating, the british, and the rest of the world, are mourning. it might sound like we are celebrating for the loss of a royal family member of a country that has invaded ours before, but that's not the real story now is it. same logic applies to valentine's day. the last puzzle piece is intent. let's pick another date, say 6th of august 1945....hiroshima bombing. its the day thousands of civilians died in a single attack. so if i were to get married to an american on the 6th of august, does it mean that im offending any japanese on purpose? it boils down to personal intentions. if one celebrates valentine's for the sake for treasuring love, then let it be, despite the controversial anecdotes of its origin. isn't intent important in religion? what's the point of doing good if there's no sincerity?

now, yoga. it's old stuff, but that doesn't mean we can put it behind us so easily. yes, it's true yoga has the essense from the hindu religion. some of its posture can be traced back to religious elements in hindu. so what? if a muslims practises yoga to have a healthier life, so be it. a posture means nothing without intentions. just because im showing my middle finger, doesn't mean im telling you to fuck off.......because i've seen a lot of those, in school, in public, when old people talk, and it's ok, cos they didn't mean it. but when some yoga practioners do some moves, these preachers just had to say something. cant these people see, that standing with one's limbs twisted and turns doesn't mean he or she is commiting himself to the gods, it means he's stretching his damn arms and legs because he don't want to end up with a walking stick when he's 50. the issue is resolved, i know, but the problem is, it was never an issue at all. then some boisterous old man can't find anything else to do than giving every yoga practioner a tough time, then it became an issue.

the problem with religion today is not the lack of faith, commitment or kindness. it's those people who claimed themselves to be correct, to be righteous and decide that the rest must follow anything he says. that's not religion in my opinion, that's didacticism hiding cowardly behind god.