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Serat Dewaruci 127 THE ISLAMIC MORALITY IN SERAT DEWARUCI Purwadi A Lecturer in the Department of Javanese Teacher Training of the Faculty of Language and Arts of Yogyakarta State University. Email: [email protected] Abstrak Tulisan ini membahas etika Islam yang terdapat dalam Serat Dewaruci. Dalam Serat Dewaruci terdapat berbagai kriteria moral yang tercermin dalam beberapa tokoh di dalamnya. Misalnya, tokoh Bima sarat dengan gambaran intelektual sufistik yang arif bijaksana. Dengan demikian, dapat ditegaskan bahwa Serat Dewaruci memiliki peran penting dalam kehidupan spiritualitas Jawa yang bernafaskan Islam. Keywords: Serat Dewaruci, Satria Pinandhita, Pamoring Kawula Gusti A. Introduction Islam came in Indonesia along with the development of Sufism that was commonly referred to as tariqat teachings. It is the teachings that played an important role in widely spreading Islam in East and reached Indonesia. Sufistic Islam grew very well in Islamic boarding schools. In the development of the sufistic Islam, 128 Millah Vol. X, No. 1, Agustus 2010 metaphysical and sufistic ideas and symbolic classification based on the doctrine Martabat Tujuh, the Seven Spiritual Statuses, soon became popular among the majority of Javanese.1 At the early spreading of Islam Wali Sanga, the Nine Pious Islamic Leaders in Java, especially Sunan Kalijaga was highly aware that leather puppet shadow play might be used as disseminating instrument of Islam. It was proven that using the leather puppet shadow play Islam grew fast. The artistic form of the leather puppets and the stories of the leather puppet shadow play have been modified and adjusted to Islamic teachings. In his attempt to eradicate polytheistic teachings Ranggawarsita wrote a manuscript called Serat Cemporet containing the genealogy of the leather puppets and the polytheistic gods glorified by Javanese gradually vanished. Serving as the puppets master Sunan Kalijaga, the Islamic preacher, disseminated Islamic teachings among Javanese and stimulated their awareness of the importance of grasping Islamic knowledge. One of the Islamic literary works well-known among Javanese is Serat Dewaruci. Serat Dewaruci represents a literary work containing Javanese moral values acculturated in Islamic mystic teachings. It was written by the poet Yasadipura, a leading man of letter at Java in eighteenth century. In the area of Javanese thoughts, he was the main pioneer in the effort of cultural reform. One of his descendants became a leading thinker as well. He was Ranggawarsita. And, the study aims at examining the Islamic moral values contained in the Serat Dewarudi by Yasadipura. In the course of Javanese culture, the manuscript became the source of reflection for elder Javanese. It is conducted for the purpose of finding out the extent to which the spiritual values influence the spiritual life of Javanese. B. Study Method and Theories The study of the Serat Dewaruci is conducted to examine the literary work from moral philosophical perspective, especially from the perspective of eudaemonistic theology. Eudaemonism originates in Greec term eudaemo-nisme that means happiness. It is a theory in ethics suggesting that the ultimate end of human being is personal prosperity or happiness.2 The figures who embraced the eudaemonism are _______________________ 1 Simuh, Mistik Islam Kejawen Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsita: Suatu Studi Terhadap Sêrat Wirid Hidayat Jati, (Jakarta: UI Press, 1988), p. 31. 2 Ali Mudhofir, Kamus Teori dan Aliran dalam Filsafat, (Yogyakarta: Liberty, 1988), p. 26. The Islamic Morality in Serat Dewaruci 129 among others: Plato, Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. For Plato something is good because it gives happiness. Which good things that gives happiness? Plato in Philabus takes the go-between position, which is between the happiness resulting from physical pleasures and the happiness resulting from spiritual wisdom. A good life is for him a proportional and balanced measure among choices. The goodness per se is an artistic form consisting of proportional and balanced measures. Something that provides us with joy and pleasure, the absence of sufferings and pains, desire satisfaction is the goodness that human being can reach. Also, for Plato Eros represents a motivation or a drive that moves human spirit to reach the goodness.3 Meanwhile, Aristotle makes a clear distinction between pleasure and goodness. The first is relative in nature, while later is constant and represents the end of life. The ultimate pleasure is observable in good deeds. Such pleasure represents an award for a good deed. The study of the Serat Dewaruci is conducted using interpreting or hermeneutic method. Javanese teachings as contained in Javanese culture include Javanese literary works, leather puppets shadow play and other physical culture such as kris, wavy double-bladed degger, buildings and monuments (palace and temples), customs (various traditional ceremonies) and proverb.4 All of the aforementioned cultures are in general symbolic. It is necessary to interpret them using certain methods that they can be rationally understood. They must be analyzed. Inner sensitivity combined with intellectual sensibility play an important role in examining the literary work. The interpretation of the Serat Dewaruci must be made by deeply understanding the meanings contained in the literary work in order to as precisely as possible grasp every single nuance of the meanings. C. The Symbolism of Islamic Teachings The Serat Dewaruci tells the story of Bima who is contemplating and doing self-correction through introspection for the purpose of self purification in order to be able to get the fusing moment with his Lord (pamoring kawula Gusti). It is a _______________________ 3 Sudiarja, Etika. (Yogyakarta: Pasca Sarjana UGM, 1995), pp. 25-26. 4 Anton Bakker dan Charris Zubair, Metodologi Penelitian Filsafat, (Yogyakarta: Pustaka Filsafat, 1994), p. 41. 130 Millah Vol. X, No. 1, Agustus 2010 classic Javanese literary work that teaches Islamic mysticism for human being to reach a conscience level (insane kamil).5 The journey that Bima makes to find a purifying water bring him to Dewaruci’s womb. The Dewaruci’s teachings for Bima in the his womb may be interpreted as the classic teachings of Bima who has reached superego level for the fetus that is still in its very early level of life in Mother Kunthi’s wom. Bima learns all of the teachings very carefully. There are five cores of the Dewaruci’s teachings, which are: pancamaya, the macrocosmos and the microcosmos, pramana, self-salvation knowledge, i.e., leading a life as if one has died, without any interest in worldly things. The Pancamaya (the five shadows) may be interpreted as the ones resulting from the five senses that are kept in unconsciousness. At the time the five senses respond to the surroundings, they are essentially driven by desires. Macrocosmos is the whole universe and everything in it to which human five senses respond and it results in the mental shadows that are kept in the unconsciousness as pancamaya, the five shadows. Thus, the whole universe and everything in it exist in human being, though they are in the forms of shadows, which is deceiving in nature. Pramana refers to heartbeat. It means that as long as one’s heart is still beating, he or she is still alive. Meanwhile, it is suksma sejati that gives Bra-mana a life and that can recognize the attributes of the One in the physical body and the soul of human being. When the physical body of human being has died, the pramana does not exist for any longer. However, the suksma sejati remains to live in a dimension without any time and spatial involvement (tanpa winates). Self-salvation knowledge (i.e., a knowledge of how to face death) is taught by Dewaruci to Bima and includes the matters appertaining to death and the guidance of life. It is described in the knowledge that nothing needs to give a life to something alive because the life has existed since fetus state. Life is eternal (langgeng) and without any interruption. Thus, it is our physical body that experiences death because it is composed of dust and will degrade into dust. Meanwhile, our soul (suksma) that gives our physical body a life will come back the place where it belongs, which is the One (Sang Akartining Bawana or Kang Murbeng Gesang). It is any worldly things that become serious obstacle for one to die. Therefore, the Dewaruci teaches Bima not to be attached to any worldly things. Concerning to _______________________the reality of life the Dewaruci teaches Bima not to be busy of satisfying physical 5 Haryanto, S. Pratiwimba Adiluhung Sejarah dan Perkembangan Wayang, ( Jakarta: Djambatan, 1998), p. 56. The Islamic Morality in Serat Dewaruci 131 needs, but also to pursue the satisfaction of the needs in the hereafter that begins once we have died. The Dewaruci’s teachings about how to lead a true life is to live as if we have died (mati sajoring ngaurip) while emphasizing that as long as we are still alive we have to control our desires to do evils and to follow our desires to do goods. That way human being can reach a fusing encounter with the Creator. The character Bima in the story of Dewaruci represents a well-built young knight with spiritual wisdom. Additionally, the Serat Dewaruci contains highly mystical values that play an important role in the development of the spiritual life of Javanese. Such mystical values enhance the consciousness of Javanese that the existence of human being is inseparable of the divine essence and becomes one and there is nothing, but God. The mystical union means that it is the God that blesses us with mystical consciousness. The mystical union of God, human being and nature is referred to as pamoring kawula Gusti.6 The story of Bima may be used to describe one who chants faith confession using both his and her bodily organ (dzikir jahri) and his or her inner organ (dzikir sirri).
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