Governing religious beliefs should be left to the wisdom of that particular religious domain. As a Hindu, my religion has given me a wide leeway to the extent that I am not a practitioner of Hinduism in the form that is generally being observed and have been proud to call myself as a free-thinker and there have been no rulings against me as being a ‘deviant’ from Hinduism.

However, I have neither the right nor the business to poke my nose into how people of another religion run their affairs as required by that religion. We have to understand that what was imposed by the Islamic authorities has bearing only on the Muslims.

It is not only our lack of knowledge or understanding about Islam, but also that we have to respect their beliefs as we would expect to safeguard ours. It is this kind of respect that can maintain the harmony among the various religious denominations in this country.

What is right or wrong should be decided by those belonging to that particular religion. The NGOs, believing that their actions are to support their Muslim brothers and sisters, seem to miss the point that if Muslims decide to interfere in the affairs of Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, etc, would we accept such a course?

My wife is a practising Christian who says her rosary every day. While I have ‘ventured’ out of my Hindu domain to look at the world in my own way. I have never interfered with my wife’s beliefs or religious practices. In fact, I support her wholeheartedly, as much as she had supported me in treading along to visit all the temples I used to go to in those days and she has no problem with my current ‘free-thinker’ position.

We need to accord that understanding and respect so that we can get along with our lives with mutual self-respect. Issues of religion ought to be handled with care. How Hindraf reacted to the temple demolishing issue saw the former Selangor menteri besar losing his office. So we all have to realise that it works both ways.

We have no right to say or interfere in their fatwa on ‘tomboys’ and on the current issue of yoga. If the National Fatwa Council decrees that the yoga practice among Muslims should be stopped, it should be concerned Muslims who should take up the issue with the council and not non- Muslims.

They have a body to decide what is best for them and we should leave it at that.

Contrary to the claim that yoga is non-religious, in actuality, it would depend on what cut or form that yoga takes. Many of those who talk about and practice yoga are adherents to its physical attributes which are more of a physical exercise.

But to say it is devoid of any religious, or even spiritual, connotations is only half the truth, so to speak. The attempt to divorce the so-called ‘spiritual’ aspects of yoga without which it has little substance, is nothing more than to cast wool over one’s eyes.

Indeed, many of the saints and religious leaders of India like Mahavira, Agathiyar and even from the Sikhism angle were ardent followers and practitioners of yoga. So if such an understanding or belief runs or claims to be running contrary to any other religious belief, then we have to respect that.

I have been arguing all my life that astrology (albeit Indian astrology) has nothing to do with Hinduism. But Islam and even Christianity are against believing in it. It has even been claimed as ‘Hindu’.

Never mind the fact that it is only the nine planets that are cast in the zodiac/horoscope and none of the Hindu deities are mentioned.

If I cannot convince Hindus, especially practitioners of astrology, that it has nothing to do with religion, it will be reckless and inconsiderate to ask someone of another faith to believe that yoga has nothing to do with religion, particularly Hinduism.

It becomes even murkier when we talk about Karma yoga, Bakhti yoga, Gnana yoga and

Raja yoga. While there is definitely difference between these and instant yoga, nonetheless all are part and parcel of the yoga family.

At best, non-Muslims can only voice from their understanding and this can be misleading and dangerous. We should not pretend that we have a better understanding of Islam than them and again, as much as we wish to be left alone with our beliefs, can anyone honestly deny the same right or position with religions not of their own?

With widespread ‘Islamisation’ creeping through the country, I have been concerned and have instinctively opposed anything deriding Hinduism. I would, then, have to accord the same kind of understanding to the people of other beliefs and let them take care of their own issues.

Again, there appears to be a confusion on whether it would be right of me to remain silent on such issues. I am dead against the ISA, I am against Umno’s Ketuanan Melayu etc, but surely most of us know where the difference is, don’t we?