Many friends around me are enthusiastic yoga fans.

But so far none have been converted into a Hindu.

That's bad!

Worse still, they can't even chant a line of Hindu mantra!

Based on the stringent ancient requirements for Hindu ascetic monks, these people could have been banished into the woods for 18 years.

As for the yoga instructors, they should have been condemned for cheating the world by not teaching their students how to chant the mantras so that they could attain the paramount "one with the God" state.

Wait a minute! Is yoga really that complicated at all? Is anyone still believing that we are living in a time 3,000 years ago, when Buddha was yet to be born?

Those decision-makers at the National Fatwa Council have treated yoga with too much respect!

If things really could turn out in such a miraculous way, then a trip to Batu Caves should be enough to turn a person into an Indian!

The Selangor and Perak sultans are perhap a notch above the rest, while Pak Lah also seems to be more sober, understanding that modern yoga is but a form of exercise for non-believers to stretch their bodies, and will never offer anything like a "man with the God" state, or turn any earthling into an immortal.

Pak Lah has said yoga can still be practised provided that no mantras are chanted.

Isn't it that simple?

Muslims used to stay away from meat buns, because they are non-halal.

But business-minded Malay entrepreneurs have come up with the idea of replacing pork with the halal chicken meat as filling, and halal meat buns are now selling well everywhere.

Muslims also used to distance themselves from siew mai, but now we can find the halal version in the market.

A Malay couple in Subang Jaya have obviously seen the lucrative business opportunities in this particular food segment and have come up with halal siew mai, which proves to be a big hit among consumers especially during the Ramadhan month.

As if that is not enough, banks that charge interest are, strictly speaking, operating against the Islamic laws. But don't worry. We can always do things in a different way. Set up Islamic banks that work on "surplus value" instead of interest, and they can still claim to conform to Islamic laws.

Twist the brain a bit, and anything haram can now become halal, so that we all can live a more colourful life.

-By Tay Tian Yan/Translated by Dominic Loh/Sin Chew Daily

My Sinchew/Asia News Network

This story was first published in My Sinchew on Nov 29, 2008.