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A Visit to our Malaysian Family 2004
I don't know how to express this wonderful feeling inside, but I am so full of joy! When Alex told us that there would be a national seminar in Malaysia in May, I really didn't think I would travel so soon again after Birthday Puja. But Louisa and I were joking about going and one thing led to the other, and there we went. We have been told how wonderful the Malaysian bhajan group was during the Singaporean seminar two years ago, and so all I expected from this seminar was some nice live music. But what a beautiful experience it has turned out to be!
First of all, I wish to thank Auntie KT and Uncle Ivan for having us at their home sweet home -- the 1st class VIP treatments, inspiring conversations and humorous jokes all happening at the same time, Auntie KT's detailed and patient explanations to all my curious questions about Malaysia, the company of sweet sweet Grandma all dressed up with beautiful jewelry at the breakfast table every morning, and not to mention the delicious meals prepared by the talented Elsa. I mean, what better ways to start a new day than a fruit buffet (on the last day, Uncle Ivan had bought 3 different kinds of mangos, 3 different kinds of bananas apart from some other fruits for us to try) and homemade breads spread with homemade jam. I’ll leave the detailed description of the Malaysian food we had to our F&B expert, i.e., Louisa.
On the first day of the seminar, Auntie KT held an icebreaker session in which we were all put into groups to introduce ourselves and talk about which chakras of ours had and needed to be improved since we had joined Sahaj. It was really effective in terms of getting to know each other, and more importantly to introspect. Sharing experiences really helped us to be aware of our inner problems as well as to learn how to improve them. At night, there was a musical program in which yogis from various collectives performed in plays and musical numbers. I remember that halfway through the show, the four of us had to take turns to go foot-soaking upstairs as our feet were all swollen (my mom's toes swelled up like two bunches of bananas, no kidding). However, while I was foot soaking, I couldn't resist the temptation of the constant laughter from the audience downstairs that I had to give up on what I was doing and rushed back to join the crowd. I must say that the Malaysian yogis were extremely creative and talented with a great sense of humor, all in one package. The show that night was inspiring, funny and very enjoyable.
On the second day, we had some open discussions about the world council, on how to spread Sahaja Yoga, and in particular, how to establish new yogis. It seems that every country is facing similar problems, and it was very beneficial to listen to different voices and learn from each other. In the afternoon during our free time, we were lying around sweating all over when Mei was so gracious to invite the four of us to her place to rest. (Mei, you have no idea what a lifesaver you were!) Shortly after we arrived at Mei's beautifully renovated new home, Soot Moy and PC arrived with 3 different flavored ice-creams and fruits for our refreshment. We then took a nice nap in a spacious air-conditioned room before we took off for the night’s program. That night, we danced in ecstasy as the KL bhajan group played one beautiful bhajan after another. At the time they started playing qawalis, we were already sweating like "marinated ducks" as my mom liked to put it (and with cherry-eyes in Louisa's version), but our bodies simply couldn't stop grooving on the strong vibrations. People were line dancing, vigorously jumping up and down, singing and clapping their hands with a big smile on their faces, while Liz and my mom were doing some improvisations near the stage, all captured on tape. Afterwards, we were still so high-spirited that we didn't feel like going home yet. So a group of us went to have late-night desert when Ramesh told us about his romance story with Lat (which Liz had heard so many times that she refused to listen to again). However, we only managed to get through the first chapter due to the length of his story.
The third day we woke up full of wonderful vibrations. We got together in our previously assigned groups and set out for 10 different locations to give self-realizations; while the children stayed back at the ashram to perform a Shri Ganesha Puja for our obstacles to be removed. It was a beautiful experience and many miracles happened through Mother's grace. Over 600 people got their self-realizations that morning, including many Buddhists. When we got back to the ashram, buckets of water were prepared in rows for our foot soaking, and Uncle Ivan was handing out ice packs to cool us down. At the time, it felt like a warm welcome to the triumphant return of Mother's soldiers. Of course, Mother did everything and we did nothing, but it just felt great to be an instrument for Mother's divine work. During lunch, we sat together with Ramesh to continue chapter two of his story, while Liz kept shaking her head in disgust every time she walked past. The conclusion of the seminar that came afterwards involved a Q&A session, experience sharing from giving self-realizations, and a lot of tears shedding. As Morgan pointed out, there are 3 things that are very contagious: virus, yawning and crying. We heard some very touching and inspiring speeches made by various yogis during the Q&A session, and everyone varied from teary to silently weeping (except Uncle Richard, who kept emphasizing that some people only cry inside). Anyway, I was very moved by the way that the Malaysian yogis openly expressed their feelings and not being afraid to show their emotional side, because after all, we are one big family. When the seminar ended, there were a lot of photo opportunities, contact info exchanges, never-ending hugging and farewells. It took us ages to progress from the doorway of the ashram to the gate, which were only several meters apart. But according to Auntie KT, this was actually a very normal phenomenon as it is their culture to take at least an hour to say goodbye to each other every time after a program finishes. Finally, Auntie KT had to usher us through the crowd to get to her car, as she was quite hungry at the time.
I must say that the Malaysian national seminar is really worth going to. The Malaysian brothers and sisters welcomed us like we were part of their family, and their love, generosity, and hospitality made us feel like we were home. From them, we learnt to be collective (working together as a group and enjoying each other's company), responsible (treating the work of Sahaja Yoga as our very own business and being eager to take up the responsibility), and compassionate (being concerned about each other, offering support and showing that we care). By the time we came back to Hong Kong, I could feel that my heart has opened up and I felt tremendous joy and love. We could really use the Malaysian collective as our role model for improving ourselves. I don't mean that the HK collective is any less, please don't get me wrong, but there is always something good that we could learn from others. And it is a very good idea to try and attend such international seminars because sharing experiences and learning from different collectives are really beneficial to our spiritual ascent. I feel really blessed to be part of such a remarkable experience, which I shall bring with me to Australia.
Jai Shri Mataji
Eugena
10 May 2004
Photos from the seminar »