My criticism of a criticism of a criticism

This morning I awoke to an email from an Australian living in Pakistan asking me to comment on her controversial piece titled in Defence of Muslim Women. Now I love Danielle, but I think some of her writing on Pakistan does not help raise Pakistani consciousness or even that of the west about it. Below is my comment to her piece. I feel bad that my tone is harsh but it needed to be so.

I respect you a lot but I think some of your points here are just as misguided as the Western criticism. My thoughts:
-many Pakistani women do feel oppressed by the scarf wearing--associations, heat, sense of loss of freedom. This does not come from western influence, it comes from the cultural push by some segments to do this to others who don't accept it. The issue becomes whose version of Islam are you following.
-You use a US example of a broken society due to lack of punishment for illicit extramarital relations. First off Europe has similar laws and way fewer pregnancies. Researchers says this is because US sexual education preaches abstinence rather than birth control as in many ways the US is puritan. Thinking of US as puritan is hard for those in Pakistan. When my mother visited here some of her aunty circle asked if people in the US have sex on the streets! Just as the west gets a warped perspective of Pakistan, Pakistan gets one heck of a warped perspective on the US.
-If it were just this warped perspective on sex I wouldn't care, but what does bother me is that in doing so we often leave out everything that is constructive. This includes the quintessential US belief in being able to get what one wants if one puts in the hard work. Very different than the feeling that things from outside (your government, other governments, the electric company and everything else Pakistanis complain about) drive your reality. By the way isn't that a key tenant of Islam--faith and belief in one's own power to improve things.
-There are a lot of human right violations that go on in that so called Muslim country. These have existed pre-terrorism rise and continue to do so today. You yourself complain about these but do not tap into the stillness of mind that would make them instructive for you and your readers. Instead you try to combat it with resistant negative thought. God's reality is that such negatively keeps one locked in the same patterns.

In the segment of US society I live in, everyday people wake up and plan/execute how to make their lives and those of others more improved, enthusiastic and beautiful, through their work. I recognize this is not all of the US. But what thoughts do most people in Pakistan wake up with? Let me read the news and feel bad about the hue and cry of the world? Let me drown in feelings of anger and self-pity? Wouldn't it be better to take a step back and actively teach yourself and others how to be more positive and thus change you life and those of others. May be you already do this. But if so why aren't you writing about it? Why is it that I never see stories of more than doom and gloom from Pakistan. Unlike what political and mulana propoganda in Pakistan teaches you, self-justification and righteousness is not the path of faith; changing and improving systems and structures is.

When I have said this in the past people have told me that I do not understand Pakistan and the forces it must deal with. I will be bold and say something I often feel but don't let out. I think all you who call yourself Muslims do not understand your faith. The prophet's life was about bringing change to oppressive systems. Not justifying them. If you call yourself muslims and love him, then follow his example in whatever small way you can. Complaining about the state of the world and other's criticism is not one of those ways.

15 sec pitch for a revolutionary mentality

As someone who grew up in class conscious Pakistan I sometimes have occasions of feeling class inferiority. These occasions have become much rarer over the last few years. But a recent breakup reminded me of some of the same feelings. So I pinged my friend P, a raving San Franciscan liberal--the kind of people I really love and told him about this, thinking that his incredulous-ness will shame these last visages of class inferirioty out of me. What actually happened was much more amazing. It reminded me of the brightness I really am. Here is P's 15 sec pitch for a revolutionary mentality. Read, enjoy, and grow!

First:
recognition that you have come to this country overcoming class and gender, and a powering your way to success all by yourself compared to someone whose mommy and daddy paid their way through life, that's not a big accomplishment

Second:
humans have a divide and conquer system going on
it's a chain

Third
think about womens rights, decolonialization, abolition of slavery, queer rights. All of these things at it's roots have been class struggles

Fourth
It's about empowerment. Empowerment of the individual, empowerment of you
if you had a kid and they said that they didn't feel good enough to date a white person, what would you tell them?


that the future of the world is getting beyond class and race conciousness? :)
it's cool to be working class
it's the best class to be
:)

working class produced punk rock, hip hop, all that in your face stuff
okay, that's my mini rant.

Believing in oneself

Each time we are overtaken by fears, by our sense of another's judgment, by pressure to change who we are and what we believe we are struggling with. We are struggling between what we or others see versus what we want and believe to be true. Many times we get disheartened at this. But really we should simply believe in ourselves and our vision. If we do so even if we fail, though there is not such thing as failure, we will move from this life knowing that we tried. And in that trying we grew. Oh and how delicious that growth is.

My introduction to Siddha Yoga

I have been practicing simple hatha yoga through Wai Lana's beginning videos for a little over a year now. But I have done yoga mainly for exercise and for strengthening by body enough to sit for mediation. My spiritual endeavors are usually focused on private meditation, reading new age teachers and coaches like Abraham Hicks, Wayne Dryer, and Jack Canfield and in participating in progressive Muslim group discussions like MRMO.

I have been looking for a less cerebral and more feeling based spiritual group for quite a while now. I believed this would allow me to deepen my meditation practice and integrate the values I so strongly believe in more fully into my life. Joining the dancing sapta at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland yesterday made me feel I may have found such a group.

The outer actions

The dancing Saptah is a simple step dance done in coordination with other dancers. Dancers form two concentric circles. The inner circle is smaller and faster moving then the outer circle. Steps are performed to the beat of traditional Indian drums called tablas. Chanting is also done simultaneous to dancing. Men and women chant different words invoking love for God. During the chant participants are told to think of the divine flame of God within them and to grow the feeling of love and joy that exists there. At the end there is a brief meditation.

The experience

Shortly after beginning to dance my mind thought, wow this is easy and beautiful but I think I am about ready to do something else. But the dance continued. The beat got faster, then slower, faster again, and finally slowed to a halt. Eventually my mind fell in line with the smoothness of the motion and the singing chants.

Something transcendental happened at this point. I no longer felt like a separate entity but felt deeply connected with those around me in our love for God. The simple repetitiveness of the movements had stilled my thinking mind.

I remembered an analogy of floating wood and water someone had used to describe this state to me. In the analogy the streams of water signified the information from one’s senses and the floating wood, the mind. Usually there are several streams moving the wood in various directions. The wood’s experience is a combination of everything.

But it is only when the streams stop, that the mind has a clearer experience and understanding of itself. It begins to understand the truth of what is really is. Consciousness, God, light, source. Near the end of the saptah when we sat down for a brief meditation, that was exactly how I felt--a warm strong presence of truth within me. The beautiful glowing warmth of clarity and consciousness.

Experiential not vicarious

As I read back over what I have written, I am realizing the elusiveness of my description. It is often easier for yoga practioners to describe asanas and the physical benefits they provide for you. It is much harder to explain what it feels like to be aligned and connected with source which comes from asanas, meditation and other yogic practices. This is because such things make most sense when experienced rather than when reading another’s explanation. But if my writing has bought about some curiosity in you, do message me. I would love to answer any questions you may have.