Pleasures of life

For nearly 25 years I woke up with a miserable back and neck pain, and I knew, I was not alone, several of my friends were experiencing the same. About three years ago, a conscious decision was made to invest in comfort and got the Tempurpedic bed; thank God for it. Last week in Atlanta, my brother in law Rasheed mentioned about his back pain… and it dawned on me that I have completely forgotten about my own back/neck pain; it is gone for good.

Sometimes, solutions are out there if we seek it. Nothing beats good night’s sleep and it is worth investing in a good bed.

Way back in late sixties, Gandhi had possessed me, and I slept on the hard granite slab not the smoothed one, but the rough one that is laid out in verandas of houses in Bangalore. At that time, it meant simplicity to me. At one time, I slept on a bare wood bench that was about a foot wide and five feet long, I had gotten used to it.

There was a time I could not live without coffee in the morning and a good cup of tea in the afternoon. Well, when I worked in the home building industry, I opened new subdivisions and all we had there was a trailer – and nothing else around. I could not make my tea or coffee and it drove me nuts. Then I decided, I was not going to be a slave to the tea or coffee and simply freed me from that slavery.

A few years back I resumed the coffee and tea again, but not as a dependent but as a joy and drank it randomly and at times I have gone for weeks without it. I enjoy it when I see some good tea. Yes, the color of the tea is crucial in its joy giving ability, visibility plays a great role in the quality of tea. Yasmeen's father apparently said that if the food is not good looking, it would not entice his palette, he was so right, I have to tell that to John Shore, my friend who ate some funny looking food and he is a good discoverer. Yasmeen's friends Noreen, Alina and Amber had made some outstanding, good looking tea that I enjoyed very much, and indeed I am longing for it.

What is life? You set the goals and work your butt off to achieve them, then the benchmark is raised, and you go to work at it again. The whole life is about setting ourselves up and working for it.

My good buddy shares the story of his wife; some twenty years ago, when they came to the United States they slept on the floor for a few months. She set a goal of her life to have a bed and $500 in the bank, that is all she wanted. She accomplished that in a few months, and then she raised the benchmark to have a leather sofa.

Is contentment important or are we going to get caught in the game of wanting and working for it? Think about it, we dangle the carrot ourselves and chase it.

We have the choice how we receive the comforts of our life, contentment must be a critical factor in figuring the comforts with a room for ambition.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Jesus Cartoons

Ultimately goodness triumphs. Let freedom prevail, there is no end to controlling others, it is time we dispossess and disown Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, Krishna and others, they are not exlcusive property of any one, they belong to all of us. Christians don’t own Jesus, Krishna is not the property of Hindus nor Muhammad is owned Muslims. Let’s not bottle them, it is not prudent to reduce their message to a few. Each one of them wanted us to be good beings, let's be one.

The problem is not cartoons; it is the intolerance of the few. A majority of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus and others understand that, diversity is part of their life. When you have the power, you solve problems with humility and not arrogance. Arrogance flares up the conflict and causes people to take a stand and dig in their heels, humility brings understanding and understanding leads to solutions of co-existence.

Continued:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MikeGhouse#!/note.php?note_id=438359282773

Khuda Hafiz Pakistan

Khuda Hafiz Pakistan
Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 4:58pm

I interact with people from India and Paksitan extensively and my experience has been positive, while giving room to a few radicals to spew their hate, it appears that hate is all they have to share. Years ago, one of the deputies at Indian consulate was sharing the hospitality story he received from Civilian Pakistanis in Islamabad and would like to go back there on another assignment. The Pakistanis have experienced the same hospitality in India. People to people exchanges are always good as it is between people.

This posting is dedicated to finding solutions. For a change, we will focus on Postings that offer solutions to show the goodness one has for his nation and the other. A stable Pakistan is in our interest and their interest and more importantly, it is in the interest of common people.

However the right wingers among Indians and Pakistanis thrive on the claps they receive from a few when they speak anti-India or anti-Pakistan rhetoric. The clappers do entertain themselves by encouraging these guys make a fool of themeselves. If we can discourage that behavior, may be we can see hopes of sanity to prevail.

1. There is an obsessiveness among a few Indians and a few Pakistanis to be hateful towards each other, a majority on both sides does not give a shit (sorry about the language) about the world or the nations while earning their daily bread to survive.

2. Not all, but the hardest of hard core RSS, BJP, Bajrangis, Sainiks, LeT's, Mujahedeens, Talibans, the ISI's, JI's and other outfits live and breath anti- Pakistan and anti-India, rather than pro-India and pro-Pakistan respectively. They get thrills in denigrating each other.

3. None of these men and women are free individuals, if the party chief says anti-India or vice versa they jump. Their Chiefs are their Gods to them. Even in the US, those men act like their bosses are pulling strings from over India or Pakistan. The sad part of this equation is that many of these slaves are Engineers, Professors, Medical and PhD Doctors with small minds. They fund hate campaigns and not campaigns for peace.

4. I am repeating Nirupamas' (aricle appended below) quote, "I would have heated debates with Pakistanis who consider themselves modern, enlightened, liberal and secular but would suddenly go all Islamic and religious when it came to an issue such as Kashmir" that has been my experience as well. The same goes with a few Indians, they do the opposite and feed like vultures on anti-Islamic rhetoric, as if there is a solution in going Islamic or anti-Islamic. Neither group can discuss issues without an increase in their bp or accusing every one everything and denying their own littleness.

5. Agree with Nirupama, when government pays, they are obligated to speak the Governmentese... If we want a change for the better, let's take it up from people to people... the movies, cultural exchanges, business and poetry and other things thing bring people closer and not Government, Government can play facilitators.

6. The third generation of Indians and Pakistanis perhaps would be safer to deal with than the ones who were close to partition, they are sunk in hate and malice, and obviously because of the suffering their folks have endured. Many of them are gone cases, and their insane rhetoric will sink us both.

7. These folks do not seek solution, they seek chaos and we have to be on their tails. Some of the discussion threads thrive on who says the worse things about each other... when will these guys get a sense to change it? If we want goodness, then stoke it.

We cannot not expect other people to be good, when our own hearts and words are ugly. We blame the Pakistanis and they blame us, it has become a game. Let's reverse it, find the solutions and they will be inclined to do the same. And if you really want to do some good, be agressive enough to speak out against evil forces that would take the position of chaos and hate.

I was visiting Memphis Cotton Musuem on March 19th, and was thrilled to see India included in the history of Cotton and guess what? Together India and Pakistan can become #1 cotton producers in the world, just like that, look at the figures below and create employment inside the federation to supply the fabric to the biggest consumer in the world; China.

Goodwill breeds goodwill as hate breeds chaos.
The choice is what we encourage.

Mike Ghouse is a frequent guest at the media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. He is a thinker, writer, speaker, optimist and an activist of Pluralism, Interfaith, Co-existence, Peace, Islam and India. His work is reflected at 3 websites & 22 Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
also: www.MikeGhouseforIndia.net
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PULLING STRINGS:

1. Finding the right map was difficult. A few Indians and Paksitanis will go off handle about Kashmir Map. I used to publish a weekly called Asian American Journal in Dallas, and one Pakistani Store owner threw the papers from his store because the Map showed Kashmir as India's part. Don't laugh at them yet, there was an Indian who threatened me with life for publishing information about Pakistan, all the nations had the same space in my paper. The idiot also had threated Ravi Kanth, TV Anchor of TV Asia for the very same reason.
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Opinion Op-Ed
Published: March 20, 2010 02:05 IST
Khuda Hafiz Pakistan
Nirupama Subramanian

There is a Pakistani in every Indian; and an Indian in every Pakistani, President Asif Ali Zardari famously said two years ago. Those words rang in my head with new resonance as I packed my bags and left Pakistan recently after a nearly four-year-long assignment as this newspaper's Islamabad-based correspondent.

It should have been easy to leave a country that is by word and deed hostile to India, and where the state machinery treats every Indian as a “RAW agentâ€�, spending considerable human and material resources on the surveillance of the only two Indian journalists â€" from The Hindu and Press Trust India â€" that are permitted to be based there.

Yet, saying goodbye to Pakistan was much more difficult than I imagined. Like other Indians who have experienced Pakistan first-hand, I gained a vast number of friends for life and multitudes of warm memories. Against this reality, it seems absurdly unbelievable that these two countries are not even talking properly to each other, that I cannot visit my Pakistani friends easily, that they cannot come and see me. Even texting, one of the easiest and cost-efficient ways of keeping in touch these days, is not possible â€" or erratic, at best â€" between India and Pakistan.

Huge distance

Walking across the Wagah border into India took me less than five minutes. But as I turned at the gates to wave to a Pakistani friend who had come to see me off, the distance between the two countries seemed huge and daunting.

At home, family and friends greeted me with relief, and asked me how I had managed to survive four years in “a country of terrorists.� Despite the close geographical proximity of the two countries, and the reams written and spoken in India about Pakistan, there seemed little patience for or understanding of the complexities of, an important neighbouring country, the shades of political, social and religious opinion among Pakistanis on such issues as terrorism and extremism.

There is similarly much in the way Pakistanis react to India that can send even the mildest Indian's blood pressure rising. For instance, even well-educated Pakistanis continue to believe that the Mumbai attacks were staged by RAW to defame Pakistan with the ultimate aim of snatching its nuclear weapons or dismembering the country. Young and old alike will assert that India is behind the wave of terrorist attacks in Pakistan because “no Muslim will kill fellow Muslims�, even though they have no explanation for why Shias routinely get killed by Sunni extremists.

I would have heated debates with Pakistanis who consider themselves modern, enlightened, liberal and secular but would suddenly go all Islamic and religious when it came to an issue such as Kashmir, seeming no different from their ultra-conservative compatriots who protest against the clamping down on Islamic militancy in Pakistan as harassment of “brother Muslims.� They could tout jihad in Kashmir as legitimate even while condemning the Taliban who threaten their own modern, liberal lifestyle, despite the knowledge that the distinction between the two kinds of jihad, or the two categories of militants, is at best an illusion.

But at the end of the day, the goodwill I experienced in my daily interactions with ordinary Pakistanis, even during the most heated debates, was overwhelming and more powerful than anything else. Despite the heavy hand of the state in every sphere of life, I found people who were willing to set aside long internalised stereotypes and prejudices about Indians and Hindus to try and understand me and my point of view, and they accepted with good faith that I was trying to do the same. We may not have entirely convinced each other every time but we managed to build little bridges of our own and find our own modus vivendi.

If there is anything I learnt from those personal experiences in Pakistan, it is that these little bridges are the key to peace. And for this reason, peace-making cannot be left to rulers. It is the people on both sides that have to take charge of it. What the people have now is a unique and contradictory chemistry of love and hate, curiosity and suspicion, friendliness and antagonism, admiration and envy, not to speak of nostalgia and convenient memory lapses. Forget about which of these is natural and which deliberately created. What is required for a stable relationship is a rational middle-ground between these emotional extremes.

If we acknowledge that war or even just a simmering long-term enmity is not an option, that middle-ground would be easy to locate. There, on that middle-ground, we need not be the best of friends, but we need not be the worst of enemies either. We can just live as two civilised neighbours.

It is evident that the political leadership of both countries, which includes the military in Pakistan, cannot be entrusted with finding this middle-ground. The political class on both sides has specialised in hyping the emotional in India-Pakistan relations over the rational, finding it a useful instrument for domestic political gain. Blame communally driven politics on the Indian side, and in Pakistan, the tight grip of a military that needs to perpetuate its predominance in national affairs.

Narrow prism of state

Most of the celebrated India-Pakistan people-to-people contact since 2004, including the interaction between the media, film and fashion worlds of the two countries, has tended to be driven by the governments on both sides, or blessed, encouraged or sponsored by the two states in some way. With rare exceptions, such contact has mirrored the official point of view, providing no room for building genuine bridges. No wonder they fell apart so easily in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks to a point where goodwill seems almost irretrievable.

But even now, the first thing that Pakistanis and Indians ask each other is: “We eat the same food, speak the same language, we even look the same, so why can't we be friends?� The short answer to that is that we cannot be friends as long as we continue looking at each other through the narrow prism of our respective states. Pakistanis must locate the Indian within themselves, and Indians must discover their inner Pakistani. It would help understand each other better, and free us from state-manipulated attitudes. In our own interests, it is up to us, the people, to find ways to do this.

For now, Khuda Hafiz Pakistan.
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I think that propagation of anti-Pakistan culture in India and anti-India culture in Pakistan is done by the parties that have vested interest in maintaining tension between these two neighbors. People with Sangh Parivar mentality in India and groups with Jehadist mentality (that seems to include Pakistani ISI establishment) thrive on status quo; for peace between India and Pakistan will be detrimental for the existence of these hate mongers. The governments of India and Pakistan have absolutely no interest in Kashmiris in both parts of Kashmir.

Unfortunately Muslims in India have become a pawn in this tussle and orchestrated attacks on them (such as the pogrom in Gujarat) are viewed as "collateral damage" in the struggle for political dominance.
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.Written about a week ago · Comment ·LikeUnlike
-'anisa Rahmah, S Farman Ahmad Naqvi, John Ishvaradas Abdallah and 4 others like this...Mike Ghouse - Kamlesh and Hanif , thanks

First of all, we are placing all our cards on the table, we are going to agree on many a common things, disagree on some and have to think about on others. We will develop a consensus as we slowly place all the cards, but most certainly move towards cystallizing the consensus, differences and debatable issues.

Our focus is India and Pakistan now, we can cite other examples to develop a comprehensive understanding of our own, and avoid broadening the focus. ... See More

Kamlesh, here is my presonal opinioin on this one issue; and I prefer it to remain it to be a personal opinion until a consensus develops for it.

"Indeed, no nation should be divided or created on the basis of religion, race or ethnicity today. What was done in the past is a fact now and we have to live with it as it is established, the two nations that were created on the basis of religion are Pakistan and Israel. Several other nations have evolved as religious per the desires of the population in the past, but I hope the world at large participates and supports the rule of the people for the people by the people for the good of the people.

Let's be humble with our opinions, meaning, all of us would be advancing our ideas without the arrogance of being the only right solution or my way or no way. You will be amazed what we all can do with it.
March 24 at 7:35am · .Saurabh Sengupta Governments are supposed to be, most informed institution with best available experts and advisors. In spite of the fact, both countries seem to be feeding on diplomatic nonsense. India says, that they have pouting dossiers; one after another for at least two decades —— Pakistan on the other hand feels that it's not enough. Information brickbat is way too much to be discussed. Of course, we know that executive decisions between countries are not dependent on them alone — Big entities pray in ...

People like us can also make a change ... perception i.e. if you feel that changing perception is part of the big objective through whatever means you like to achieve.

Mike, how much of this is plausible?... See More
(—)×(—)=(+)
(—)×(+)=(—)
March 24 at 8:00am · .Saurabh Sengupta खुदा, "काफ़िर" को देख क्या सोचता होगा? ▬▬ सदका तो ये भी करते है| ...
March 24 at 8:04am · .Mike Ghouse - Saurabh,

Let's begin with an open heart and an open mind with one objective - peace and prosperity for the people of the subontinent with all the doubting thomases, nay sayers and yes we cans. A lot more crap will pile up before we can see that we have to fix ourselves as individuals, clean up our own minds before we ask others to clean. All of this will happen within the next few weeks of conversation, clarity will emerge.

Let's not have any agenda but peace as the motive.
March 24 at 8:07am · .Saurabh Sengupta Thanks Mike :)
March 24 at 8:28am · .Saurabh Sengupta If we examine the physical map of the world, we'll find that there's very little green-plain areas around; 80% is all deep waters, the rest — either deserts or plateaus. Of course you can add wastelands too. Natural composition effects habitat.

fine ... I'm there :)
March 24 at 8:35am · .Amrita Dasgupta We have to shed our all inhibitions. Come with a clean heart only to attain peace among people. No conflict, no animosity, no bias, no prejudice. Mike, we shall overcome..... I have a dream like Martin Luther King Jr. to see world of equal opportunity, full of love. Mike, help me to achieve.
March 25 at 5:41am · .Mike Ghouse Amirta, thanks for sharing about your dream... Let me add my own - Mahatma Gandhi has been in my dreams twice - 1971 and again around 2003 - all he says "You have work to do" and I take that as a cue to do the work, same dream as yours. We will move forwards on the India Paksitan, Darfur, North and South Korea, Palestine Israel are the other frontiers. I am with you Amirta.
March 25 at 8:42am · .Faizan Haider Naqvi - I was not around due to working assignments and guess I am little late here.

- I thought of different content seeing the title of the article ie. little sarcastic / offensive but chances the author had some other intentions of using 'Khuda Hafiz' as she was leaving Pakistan.

- Debate is endless, if you sum up all the problems, the real culprit is injustice. Prevail Justice... See More

- You can not restore peace ignoring justice & righteous irrespective of religion & land.
March 25 at 11:59pm · .Nilofar Suhrawardy I have two points: One, Pakistan Day (March 23) was marked this year Delhi, with an Indian - Nirmala Deshpande being conferred Sitar-e-Imtiaz. It was the first time that an Indian was given the award in Delhi. First time that it was conferred- posthumously.
Secondly, Indian Muslims cannot be viewed as pawns. They are the ones who, at the time of ... See Morepartition, preferred partition of their families by choosing to stay here and move to Pakistan.
Also, the hype raised over Indo-Pak tension - politically and diplomatically- has had little impact on their ties- culturally as well as economically.

March 26 at 12:10pm ·

Diversity is Ignorance - Swami Vivekanand

I am trying to grasp the thought; “diversity is ignorance.” in Swami Vivekanand’s quote below, while I am in tune with the ideas that we are destined to have salvation.

Diversity is nature, it is how we are created, and it is a reflection of freedom. On the other hand conformity kills freedom, non-diversity is non-freedom.

Each human and each life is made differently through the permutations and combinations of DNA, there is nothing alike. In plant world, each plant is different than the other, and there is nothing alike.

On the matter side, each piece of matter is unique, there are zillions of stars and planets in the universe and each one is different, there is nothing alike.

Diversity gaurantees continuum of life, if all the species is same, our immunity to diseace would wipe us all out of existence. Diversity of thought gaurantees use of mind and wisdom, when there is no diversity, life would be a bore, and our mental faculties could be lost for lack of using them.

It is the co-existence with differences that religion teaches, religion is a formula to bind us together and not slap us together to abandon our uniqueness.

I am in tune with the statement, “we are all destined to have salvation, whether
we will have it or not. You have to attain it in the long run and
become free, because it is your nature to be free.” Each one of us is built to seek our own balance, even the pain level is a balance that one can endure.

~~ ~~
Unity is Knowledge, diversity is ignorance. This knowledge is your
birthright. I have not to teach it to you. There never were different
religions in the world. We are all destined to have salvation, whether
we will have it or not. You have to attain it in the long run and
become free, because it is your nature to be free

- Swami Vivekananda

Pluralism Goals for 2010

Pluralism Goals for 2010

We are aspiring to recite the Pluralism Prayers at US Senate or Capitol Hill, Texas State Capital and the area City Council.

Three Pluralism events are scheduled; 15th Annual Thanksgiving Celebrations, 6th Annual Unity Day USA and 3rd Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides.

We had conducted ten workshops on ten different religions in 2008, we are resuming it back with the same titles “Wisdom of Religion, all the beautiful religions” and we are going to focus on the rituals.

Pluralism guest lectures will continue at places of worship, work, schools and Universities.

Pluralism articles will continue to be published in the Newspapers and Magazines.
The Journal of Pluralism will continue to express pluralism at work, society, governance, workplace, worship places, schools, family and daily life. We are planning on bringing out the hard copy.

Pluralism Membership is growing; we have added another 1000 members this month taking it to a total of 25,000 members and hope to hit 30,000 by the end of 2010.
We are looking to open up Pluralism Centers in other Cities.

We are hoping to hold a conference on Pluralism and develop a research center to be in place upon completion of my PhD.
~~~~-

Representing other religions

If we can find comfort in others shoes, we have understood the otherness of other.

Let's make an effort to become Ambassadors for other faiths and extoll the beauty and wisdom of other, without ever denigrating any faith or tradition. In just about everything I write, several traditions are honored each time with no one excluded. Lets encourage the idea of co-existence, and inclusion.

If you have difficulties with some faith or tradtion, jump in and find meaning and value in that tradition. Things become better with one's attitude. You can change the world, by changing yourselves first.

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net

Unity Church, Richardson

11:00 AM, Sunday, May 3, 2009
Talk on : Religion, Islam and Sunni/Shia Muslims
Unity Church,
Coit Road, Richardson
Pastor: Chuck
__________________

It was a pleasure to be a part of speakers on different faith at Unity Church, folks there are representative of Moderate Americans, like the Moderate Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Bahais, Buddhists and others who simply want to get along with all and beleive in live and let live.

My topic was on Islam with a focus on the difference between Shia and Sunni traditions.

Here was my program and if time permits, will elaborate on each one of the items.

CREATION

Regardless of Evolution or Creation
Life and matter came into being, we exist, don’t we?
Life and matter is about balance; every thing that came out of the big bang theory or through intentional creation seeks its own balance. Everything be it matter or life, has a built-in mechanism to seeks its own balance.When it comes to matter, there is something that keeps the planets circumambulating around the Sun, that there is something that keeps the stars hung in a place. There is something that keeps the earth have its own precise balance. They are all put on a trajectory, they don’t have to think or work for the balance. Do we have a precise word to describe that 'something‘? For the sake of convenience, let’s call that 'something' a God?

BALANCE

Unlike the matter, human life was not put on a trajectory; we were not put on a plan to circumambulate around the Sun, or be hung in one place. We were given the freedom to create our own balance. Whether we believe in God or not, we still seek that balance.Friends, God loves his creation just as each one of us loves what we create, be it the food we cook, the clothes we wear, the paintings we paint or sculptures we sculpt.

God has reached out to every soul… a Just God Existence is based on solutions, when things to go wrong in a discussion group…. There is always one who fixes it..

ORIGINS OF RELIGION

It is the love of the creator that gave each one of us, each community, each nation and each tribe a “formula” to live in peace within ourselves and with what surround us.

God communicated that formula through the spiritual masters in the form of scriptures like Torah, Bible, Qur’aan, Bhagvad Gita, Avesta and other scriptures including the oral traditions.
Indeed, God has reached to every one of us and has offered that formula – to seek a balance for ourselves and a balance for what surrounds us; life and the environment.

Krishna says…….
Quraan says in 49:17
God is about love, kindness and justice.

RELIGION DEFINED

God has indeed reached every one of us and has offered that formula – to seek a balance for ourselves and a balance for what surrounds us; life and the environment.The bottom line is Balance.

If we were to commission Mr. Spock from the movie Star Trek and ask him to study the essence of religion.. He would define;

Religion is a mechanism where individuals find answers to their fears and apprehensions with a belief in a super being. Answers what happens to justice, when it is not served in our life time.
Every Religion teaches one to have a balance within oneself and what surrounds; life and matter.

TO BE RELIGIOUS

To be religious Is to mitigate conflicts and nurture good will.
Nature is intentionally diverse, remember each aspect of creation is different, if we can accept the otherness of the other, and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the seven billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge..

And that would be a peaceful abode on the earth.. That is when we can say that the world is one place; one nation; and one people. Again, we have to accept the otherness of other and respect the uniqueness of the other.

To be spiritual or to be religious is to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill.

-----------------------
ISLAM

Earlier on I said, God has reached out to every living soul and, through the Spiritual masters who delivered a formula to live in peace with oneself and with what surrounds; life and matter.
Islam fits right-in along with other formulas, each formula, each religion is valid on its own.
Muslims do not consider Islam to be a new religion, they believe it is continuation of what God had suggested to different people in different places. What Abraham, Moses, David and several others taught was updated and given to Muhammad.

His message was simple – Belief in God and Justice is the basis for creating peaceful societies.

ISLAM DEFINED
In one word it is Justice.

When there is justice, there will be a sense of safety and peace. If no one takes advantage of other, one feels safe and secure… that generates peace and goodwill.

If there is justice between spouses, family members, communities and nations, the peace is certain. God does not want any thing more; he wants his creation to live in peace and harmony.
When Justice is compromised for our own selfish reasons, the balance gets affected.. The oppressed and the oppressor will not have peace for a while… they both are afraid of their own conscience or what other might do to them.

ESSENCE OF ISLAM

The essence of Islam: Justice for every human being under one God (Universe is the only creation we know)

The Qur'aan starts with the word "God of Universe" (not necessarily Muslims) and ends with "Humankind" (and again not Muslims). As such it is understood that God, the cause behind creation of life and matter belongs to all of us. No one owns him (her or it) nor does one group has an exclusive favors over the other.

The creator is about Justice and Balance…will offer equal opportunities to all.
God will not sign a deal with any religious group behind our backs; who wants a God like that?

GOOD DEEDS:

Islam teaches one to be non-judgmental, and consistently encourages individuals to do good. It emphasizes about individual responsibility towards the peace and security of society at large.
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) described a good deed as an act which benefits others, such as planting a tree that serves generations of wayfarers with fruit and the shade.

The world is a better place today because of a good legacy bequeathed to humanity by people of all faiths that came before us. We owe it to coming generations to leave the world a little better than we found it, to usher an era of justice and peace.

ORIGINS OF ISLAM

Technically Islam is not a new religion, nor was it ever claimed. Prophet Muhammad said It is a continuation of what Abraham, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and other great spiritual masters taught.
However Islam as a distinct identifiable religion began in 712 AD, when Muhammad received a revelation from God that, it is his duty now to go and let the world know about an eternal God, who cannot be confined into images or words or gender or a being. Prophet Muhammad was the messenger of that message.
There is only one truth – we were all caused by a single event, or created by God, when God said “let it happen, it happened.”

UNIVERSALITY

The essence of Islam: Creating a Just society. (Universe is the only creation we know)
The Qur'aan starts with the word الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ Sura Al-Fatiha 1:2 All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, "God of Universe" (not an exclusive)
and ends with قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ (114:1) An-Nas (The Mankind) 114:1 SAY: "I seek refuge with the Sustainer of men, "Humankind" (and again not Muslims).
It is understood that God, the cause behind creation of life and matter belongs to all of us. No one owns him (her or it) nor does one group has an exclusive favors over the other. The creator will offer equal opportunities to all and will not sign a deal behind one's back with the other.

WITH PREJUDICE TOWARDS NONE

Almost all Muslims are cognizant and repeat the verse مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4) Al-Fatiha - Lord of the Day of Judgment! مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (1:4)
“God is the master of the Day of Judgment, and he alone we worship”. A fully observant Muslim recites this verse at least 50 times a day.
The idea is to inculcate the values to accept the otherness of other and refrains from judging others, as he or she believes God only can make that call.
There is no compulsion in the matters of faith, say the Qur'aan.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

Islam emphasizes on Individual responsibility for one’s words and actions.
Prophet’s comment to his daughter about responsibility.

Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:163-164: All people will reap the harvest of their own deeds; no one will bear another’s burden. Ultimately, all of you will return to your Lord, and he will resolve your disputes. Al-An'am لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (6:163) Then Al-Anam 6:164 Say: “ And whatever [wrong] any human being commits rests upon himself alone; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden. [163] And, in time, unto your Sustainer you all must return: and then He will make you. [truly] understand all that on which you were wont to differ. [164]


PLURALISM

Islam is indeed a pluralistic faith and imbues a sense of humility and ideals of equality of humankind. These values are embedded in its rituals practices. All people harvest their own deeds.

He fashioned each one of you--and each one of you is beautiful. To God you will all return. He knows all that the heavens and the earth contain. He knows all that you hide and all that you reveal. He knows your deepest thoughts. At-Taghabun (Loss and Gain) 64:1 ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols God's limitless glory: His is all dominion, and to Him all praise is due; and He has the power to will anything – Had he willed all of us would have been Christians, M, J, H..

The Madinah pact, It was an all inclusive agreement between the Jews, Christians, Sabeans, Quraish, Muslims and other tribes for a peaceful co-existence. An example was set for a pluralistic society in documenting the rights of individuals.

FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

RITUALS IN ISLAM

Rituals are the path markers to spirituality, whether you to Yoga, Meditation or any other activity… the ultimate goal is well being of the person. Islam has laid out pathways to the followers to reach - Piety and humility through the following rituals;

1. Faith – everything starts with a belief
2. Prayer – piety, humility, arrogance
3. Fasting – self discipline
4. Zakat – things belong to God, trustee…
5. Haj – Large scale equalizer

KEY VALUES

1.Justice
2.Equality
3.Peace

KEY BELIEFS

Belief in God,
Angels
Prophets – from Adam to Muhammad
Day of Judgment – accountability

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MUHAMMAD

Muhammad was born in 671 in Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia. Early on in his childhood, he earned the reputation for being honest and truthful.
Like Gautama Buddha he pondered about the purpose of life and often went in to caves to have moments of solitude to reflect upon.

One day when he was 40, angel Gabriel came to him in the cave and Muhammad felt an extraordinary presence of super natural phenomena, Just as Moses saw the fire in the Brush……. Gabriel, asked him to recite… Muhammad was illiterate, just as Moses was and finally he did. He went and told his cousin Ali about it, who believed in him, then his wife Khadija believed in him and took him to the Christians and Jewish Scholars.. Who acknowledge that this was the man predicted…earlier – Karen Armstrong’s Book…

MUSLIMS

Are those individuals who submit to the will of God.
When Jesus said, follow me, Krishna said surrender to me.. They meant the same thing as submitting to the will of God in Islam.

What does God will?
He simply wants his creation to live in peace and harmony. He wants us to have the freedom to make the right choices in mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill.

CLERGY

It may come as a surprise to many of you… that there is no clergy in Islam.
Prophet Muhammad in his last sermon made a clear declaration “ Oh people, I am leaving behind two things for you – Qur’aan and my examples”.

He said the religion was complete and you are on your own. There is no clergy in Islam… however, there are always individuals who proclaim to be “more” knowledgeable and take over things.. You see that happening in every aspect of life.

The simple truth is; it is you who will bear the burden of anxieties, apprehensions from what you say and do… not the clergy, not your parents or kids.

SUNNI & SHIA

After the last sermon – Ghadeer Khom
Last Sermon – book, example and Family
Division Upon Prophet’s death

Like all denominations, they started out with a small difference, over the years, reems of work is asserted to show the difference and the chasm grows deeper and wider. However, the difference affects only a small group of people who do not grasp the essence of their faith.

CONCLUSION

Finding the truth is your own responsibility… what you see on TV or hear on Radio… is propaganda to malign the other… you may have witnessed that even against Unity Church.
Religion was given to each one of the 7 billion of us to make us a better being, most of us get it no matter what faith you practice and a few don’t get it.

A few Residents of your city violate the traffic rules, do evil things, murder people....
people wearing faith badges violate their faith as well.

That does not make the city a bad City or a religion a bad religion. Individuals commit crimes and we need to make them accountable and not their faith or their City. Blaming the City or the Religion does not do a thing, blaming the individual allows to bring justice to the society.

# # #

Exclusivism

My thoughts on
INCLUSIVISM, EXCLUSIVISM, and PLURALISM.

INCLUSIVE: if we can learn to accept the otherness of other and respect every which way one appreciates the divine, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

PLURALISTS: These Individuals are comfortable calling God every possible name, as they believe in the essence of the causer rather than a name, they are not bothered by the limitations of language, they are comfortable greeting you Shalom, Namaste, Salaam, Jai Jinendra, Peace to you... to them they all mean the same, they are synonyms. Pluralism is an attitude of accepting and respecting the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us.

MODERATES: As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, faith is in the heart of the believer. Those who believe their faith is great, do not negate the divinity of others faiths. They believe as their faith works for them, other's faith must work for the other. A simple test I have found that works is; those who securely believe in their own faith, usually do ascribe similar security to the followers of other faiths, the corollary of that is if you do not have enough faith in your own, you assume that other's don't have it either and you hide in your insecurity by denigrating the other faith. Example: The preacher who expressed hate for gays vehemently was Gay himself, the one's who call other faiths hateful are hateful themselves.

EXLUSIVE: Those who believe that theirs is the only right path, others aren't. We have to be careful here, as Christianity and Islam, the two most accused of, are not exclusive either, it is been propagated as such for the interests of the self-proclaimed politically motivated guardians, who believe exclusivity will bring them clientele. Jesus was all an inclusive person, so was Muhammad. The Qur'aan guarantees God's grace to every one who is good to his creation; life and matter.

RELIGION v. PRACTICE: Our City Law books set the limits on speed and safe driving, yet we have hundreds of violations every month; Our Criminal Laws punish for murderers, rapists, arsonists... yet, we have all crims committed every day in every part of the world. The question is do we blame our law books or the individuals? Every religion teaches one to treat the other as they would wanted to be treated, yet there is violation of that rule by at least 1/10th of 1% of population in every group, do we blame the religion or the individual? I have not seen any correction or restoration of justice by blaming the religion, particularly in the last three decades, had we gone after the individuals as messers of law and order, we had better chance of restoring that delicate balance.

NEOCONS: The Neocons are insecure individuals; they are they extremists who believe that by annihilating others, they will secure their safety and mess up further. These individuals hide under every religious label, from Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Jews to Muslims and others. Their language is loaded with exclusion. I wish they spend that energy, passion and time towards peace.

RELIGIOUS INDIVIDUAL/PEACE MAKER: The one who mitigates conflicts and nurtures good will, he believes what is good for one has got to be good for all and vice versa to sustain it. Justice and truth are paramount to the.

PEACE is the responsibility of each one of us, if we have not contributed towards mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill, how can we expect others to do it? We cannot demand peace when we are loaded with malice, ill-will and hate.

Mike Ghouse

Ghouse diary

Created today to post my daily activities.


I have been writing since 1993 through Asian News, social forums and different places. Most of it is gone,  however, some of the work is preserved at:

Since 1999
http://mikeghouse.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm/



Since 2003
Started universalityofIslam@yahoogroups.com and ran for two years then abandoned.


Since 2004
foundationforpluralism@yahoogroups.com 
DallasIndians@yahoogroups.com
WorldMuslimcongress@yahoogroups.com



Since 2006
http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/



Since 2007
http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/ 
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/\