Everyone has his or her unique story…
I always tell people it was a chance encounter. I was
reading the book Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson and one of the short
stories talked about the SOHO founder, Zhang Xin. Being in the property line, I
was curious to know more about this lady tycoon. I googled her profile and
found out that she’s graduated with a Master’s degree from Cambridge and worked
in Goldman Sachs before quitting her job to found SOHO in China. Towards the
end of her biodata, it spells, “Zhang Xin and her husband, Pan Shiyi, have been
members of the Baha’i Faith since 2005.”
I was intrigued. What is this Baha’i Faith which I have
never heard of? So next, I googled Baha’i
Faith and learnt that the founder, Baha’u’llah teaches that God is one,
Religion is one and mankind is one. There are many principles that the Baha’is
uphold such as equality of man and woman, science and religion must go hand in
hand and universal language etc. I have always believed in these principles as
the way of life and got very excited that such a religion exists.
After that, I googled Baha’i Malaysia to see if this Faith is in
my country. Lo and behold, the national centre is just situated near Old Klang
Road. The day after, I dropped by the centre and met with Uncle Sinna who was
then a National Spiritual Assembly member. He expounded the Faith more and
introduced me to a family in the immediate neighbourhood where I was staying. I
began to study more about the Faith and the Baha’i community and the rest is
history…
What a coincidence right? From a business book to a new
found religion. What I seldom tell people is before I came across the Baha’i
Faith, I have been praying to God. I was a free thinker in the sense that I believe
every religion intends to promote good. You can also call me agnostic because I
believe that God may or may not exist but since we cannot prove it, why worry
about it. Though, based on my little logic;
1.
If energy cannot be created or destroyed, then
where do all the matter and energies in the universe come from?
2.
If we look at the sun, the stars and the
planets, everything is in order, one is orbiting another.
3.
If we look at the Earth and its fragile
ecosystem, it’s hard to imagine how random energy which forms random masses
(atoms and molecules) can lead to life on Earth as we know today.
I think the probably of a higher intelligent Being created
the universe and the Earth is much higher than the universe and the Earth to
form on its own. After all, human beings can program the whole universe and
the Earth using a super computer. So why can’t we be a product of a creator
called God? So, I prayed to God. I prayed for God to lead me to Him and to lead
me to the right path.
To share a bit of a background: When I started the real estate
business, things were tough. On top of that, there were many temptations for
vice activities and corruptions. I didn't want to fall into the abyss and hence I prayed even though I didn't have a religion. I prayed because logically it was
win-win. If God exists, I’m sure He would answer my prayer but if He doesn't,
it would be auto-suggestion to my sub-conscious mind to walk the right path.
The Baha’i Faith came to me in a manner I was more receptive
in. I’m the kind of person that;
If you tell me, I would listen but I may not believe you;
If you show me, I would observe but I may not follow;
But if it was “self-discovery”, it’s a completely different
story.
So friends, is it a chance encounter or a prayer answered?
