Karma - Mahatir Your Actions are like a Boomerang
You become fearless when you lose that which you value the most.
The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.
— Mahatma Gandhi
— Mahatma Gandhi
We are often warned not to push anyone into a corner because that is when they fight their best and most vicious battles. A good hunter will never force a wild animal in a situation from where it perceives no escape; the animal must feel there is still some escape route. Because it is when the animal loses hope of escape, that it will fight at its wildest and cause the worse harm.
A cornered creature, man or animal, is dangerous, even vicious. For, that is the point at which one loses all fear. You become fearless when you lose that which you value the most. Because, when that happens, the rest doesn’t really seem to matter as much. And, you also realise the futility of having lived in fear of losing something that is now beyond reach.
You understand that you could possibly have been able to enjoy the finer intricacies of your object of desire much more if you hadn't lived in constant fear of losing it. When you lose it, you see the futility of all the anxiety, the heartburn over it. You start looking for and finding ways of living without it. And the human mind and spirit, amazingly resilient as they are, discover reasons and conviction for why you are better off without that which is now lost.
And that is the point at which you start enjoying the positive aspects of fearlessness. For, when you fear nothing, nobody can manipulate you anymore. You would be your own person and not dependent on anyone for your happiness or peace of mind. Your best bouts of courage are reserved for times when you have nothing to lose.
In ancient warfare, commanders would often burn the boats their army arrived in order to obliterate any threat of their soldiers turning tail and escaping. With their only means of retreat cut off, the only way to safety for the soldiers was to fight till victory, or they would be literally fighting till death. That’s how the phrase ‘burning one’s boats’ or ‘burning one’s bridges’ originated.
Most manipulations in relationships occur because we hand over the weapon of our fear to be used against us to those we love most. A lover is able to manipulate his beloved’s emotions by threatening withdrawal of love and care. He will sulk, not talk or withdraw caring gestures — all the things that a loved one values. So you give in, bow to the will of the lover, and make compromises, all for fear of losing that which is cherished.
On the other hand, if the lover overplays his hand and carries on the withdrawal act beyond a point, the beloved may finally get used to the idea of rejection and taking the loss as a fait accompli, lose all fear in the relationship.
Fear of losing leaves you impotent not just in relationships but also in everyday situations such as your work life, with friends or relatives and even with strangers. It extends beyond material things to prestige, respect, happiness, peace of mind, etc.
At work, how often we let people get away with delivering shoddy work, doing an injustice to someone or cheating us just because we fear losing our peace of mind over an altercation! We allow incompetent people to underperform for fear of creating a situation and so losing our calm.
In financial situations, fear of loss makes us lose money! In the ’60s, reportedly a couple who invested big time in a single stock, PepsiCo, saw a major portion of their money vanish as the market took a downslide. This scared them so much that they not just dumped Pepsi, but never bought a single share after that. If they had only overcome that fear of loss, the same portion in PepsiCo would have been worth $3 million by now!
For courage is not just required for doing battle, but also for maintaining a sense of calm, for making money, for living a good life — in short for everything. The ‘fight or flight’ syndrome kicks in irrespective of the fact whether the thing we fear losing is physical, mental or a financial threat.
Those who can learn the trick of transcending this fear of loss, would find the courage to enjoy that which they love most while they still retain it. Says Jiddu Krishnamurty, "What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it."
Think of the worst that can possibly happen. Get used to the idea and accept it. From there on, things can only get better… and you can acquire courage even as you retain the object you feared losing, for you fear that no more. You know loss is a possibility and you are moving ahead with that in mind.
Says Dale Carnegie, "You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind."
According to the way of the Universe and its laws, everyone will get their just desserts when the time comes. If you have treated people respectfully and tried to do the right thing during your lifetime, you have nothing to worry about. However, for the Scott Petersons and the Michael Schiavos of this world, I wouldn't want to be in their shoes on Judgment Day. It appears Mr. Schiavo has now freed himself up to marry the woman he has been living with, with whom he has I believe two children. Conflict of interest you say? Well, no more...
When you do a kindness for someone, at some point in time you will see that come back to you in some shape or form. The good you have done will be repaid threefold to you at some time in the future. It could be sooner, or it could be much later, but it will come. Liken all your actions to a boomerang - which eventually comes right back to you! So Beware that, by the same token, if you operate selfishly and mean-spirited, expect nothing but having to pay the piper when the time comes. It is amazing to me to see bad karma come to haunt someone who has done an injustice to someone along the line.
This is why I try to maintain a conviction that ALL will OUT at the right time -- and whoever has wounded me in some way or another (and I have my list) will be the victim of their own bad behavior - as it will come back to roost with them, just as a boomerang comes back to the one who throws it out. I want to have a ringside seat on the day that the people on my list have to answer for their evil ways and the damage they have caused because of it...
Believe me, it's not that I am without my own demons that haunt me of how I could have maybe done something differently, or realized too late I caused someone hurt - but I can honestly say that I have lived my life trying to do unto others as I would want them to do unto me. That means, I respect you - and you do the same with me. When you operate from that standpoint, I think it's hard to go wrong.
I can also truthfully say I never start out with the intention of doing anyone harm in any way. But, because we are imperfect beings, sometimes our best intentions can go awry. After all, we are only human. "To err is human - to forgive, divine". I'm still working on the forgiving -- that does not come easily for me, especially when some of the people I have known during my lifetime have intentionally behaved in a self-serving and malicious manner which has caused me pain and suffering.
I will let Fate take its course for those 'evil doers' - the sociopaths and psychopaths of our society who I do not believe can ever be reformed - because they have no conscience, no soul.
Do a good deed for someone today. You will feel better about yourself - and the more good you do, the more you will see good things start to happen in your life! Practice being self-less and see miracles happen in your life..
If you were once a victim of abuse and were unable to find justice in the legal system, you will understandably be left struggling with feelings of anger and hate, or even rage. You may start wanting to get your own revenge, in the hopes that this will help you take back the respect that was stolen from you. You might at times even think that giving in to your rage will make you feel better, or that it is the only way to redeem your self respect, but if you think about it, and look deep inside, you will find the truth. A part of you knows that doing so would only give you a temporary and false sense of redemption. It would not give you back your self respect. It would mean that in the end they had won, and it would make you no better than them. It would not teach anybody anything, and you would not learn anything new from it. Hate only feeds the darkness and leaves you cold, alone and empty. Let the universe seek its own revenge. Karma will be punishment enough. Leave them to their fate. You have your own journey to return to.
You won't find your self respect by trying to make the terminators of your past respect you. They are not actually capable of respecting anyone, and even if they were, why would you want their respect anyway? They are insignificant parasites and the only power they have is that which you give them, or allow them to take. Give them nothing. Do not even waste your energy thinking about them, it only gives them more power in this quantum universe. Any energy spent on them would be wasted as they have nothing to give in return. You cannot make them feel sorry for their greed, they cannot help what they are, and do not want to.
If you must feel anything, feel sorry for them, for they are lost in the cold darkness of pain and will never know the warmth of true love. They are too blind to see the possibilities of walking in the light. Let go of your hate and forgive them instead, not to their face or in a message, but secretly, in your own heart. Do not forgive them for the purpose of giving them another chance, but to give yourself the chance to let go. Then you must forgive yourself too. If you can do all that, you will take back some of the power they took from you, and render them forever powerless against you. Only then will you be able to take responsibility for your own happiness, and become the author of your own destiny.
The self respect that you seek cannot be found anywhere but in your own heart. It cannot be given to you, only you can find it. Self respect comes from within, from the satisfaction of achievement, from knowing you have something to offer, from inspiring others to greater things, from giving of yourself for the greater good, from providing people with an insight that will foster empathy, from sharing your knowledge with those who seek enlightenment, from the pride felt with each small success, from having a sense of purpose that gives you direction, from forgiving yourself for your mistakes, from gaining wisdom from your experiences, and from never giving in to failure, but always having courage to try again. Self respect will increase with self love, and by believing in and trusting yourself, instead of waiting for others to do so. Only when you can achieve all that, will you feel worthy of the respect of others, and only then will you be able to open your heart to the warmth of their love.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said tonight that as Allah was his witness, he had never engaged in vote buying as alleged by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the latter’s autobiography out earlier this week.
The veteran Umno leader also accused his old foe Dr Mahathir of engaging in “political lying” in his recollection of what transpired during the contentious 1987 party polls.
“I never steal. I never cheat,” he said in Ipoh tonight when launching an unrelated book.
“Again, I am accused of bringing the party to court. I am also alleged to be involved in money politics during the 1987 party contest. I do not have that sort of money. I have no cronies. In fact, I am against money politics. As Allah is my witness, I have not done all those things. Yet I have always been returned every time I stood in Gua Musang.”
Dr Mahathir had written in his book that Tengku Razaleigh would have become prime minister if he was more patient.
The former prime minister also accused the Team B faction led by the Kelantan prince of a dirty campaign to unseat him as president in the fractious Umno elections of 1987, resulting in the High Court declaring Umno illegal.
“Had Tengku Razaleigh been more patient, he would probably have taken Tun Musa (Hitam)’s place as deputy prime minister and eventually become prime minister,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his book titled “A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad”.
Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister claimed in the book that Tengku Razaleigh’s Team B had resorted to money politics in the campaign.
“We also heard that Team B spent about RM20 million on their campaign, with most of the money provided by Tengku Razaleigh himself,” he wrote.
“Voting had to be halted halfway for members to attend Friday congregational prayers, but Team B supporters used the interval to campaign. They were seen following targeted delegates to their hotels, even into the toilet, and I was told that a lot of money changed hands,” he said of the party polls that took place on April 24, 1987.
“They also circulated a photograph of me with a Chinese lady who they alleged was my Singaporean wife. In fact, she was the wife of an old university classmate, and the picture had been taken at their daughter’s wedding,” he added.
Responding tonight, Tengku Razaleigh also mocked Dr Mahathir’s book, calling it comedic.
“Political lying comes through the media and sometimes by writing so-called books of memoirs. One book was recently launched under a pseudo title called ‘Doctor in The House’.
“I say ‘pseudo’ because it is a copycat title of a famous British comedy film of the 1950s based on a novel by Richard Gordon. Perhaps it was deliberate, as it does reflect some comedianship, apart from political lying. The ‘Doctor in The House’ makes allegations against me which are not new,” said Tengku Razaleigh.
In the aftermath of the 1987 Umno elections, Tengku Razaleigh was not willing to accept defeat and challenged the results in court on the grounds that 53 Umno branches were not properly registered.
High Court judge Tan Sri Harun Hashim eventually dismissed the suit but ruled that the existence of unregistered branches meant that Umno itself was an illegal party.
In 1988, Dr Mahathir registered a new party, Umno Baru, that exists up to now, although it is now simply known as Umno.
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