"A Shift of Values"

Kublai Khan was infamous as the terrifying Chinese Emperor (1214). It was forbidden to look at his face. Anybody breached the rule would be dead. Nevertheless, Marco Polo was not at his wit’s end. When the Emperor invited him to dine, he was served noodles. Marco Polo raised his noodle high before he ate it. Right then he looked up and took a peek of the Emper

The guards were quickly on the alert. They almost finish the life of the mischievous wanderer, but the Emperor was wise. He could see intelligence inside the white man. Marco Polo was forgiven. He even became a loyal devotee of the Emperor (1275-1292).

The legendary Marco Polo’s slyness often told to elementary kids as fairy tale was in fact has a subversive message within. To be able to shift values, a revolt, a breakthrough, is needed. Suddenly, the taboo that provoked death and had been embraced as a fix rule that was not negotiable, got through.

Curiously, something so innocent and simple had thawed it. Yet, how could we say it as simple when the impact was such a striking change? Many would agree that the first time was hard while the rest would be easy. That is how the initial story of every change goes.

It is another story in Bali though. The Legong Keraton dance was born from the sacred dance Sanghyang Dedari. It was only allowed to be performed for certain ceremonies. It could only be danced by preadolescent little girls. The movements of the dance were indeed designed for small body structures of a kid still flexible for certain moves. When we look at old pictures of the dance, our nerves would vibrate seeing the poses of the dancers that depict little angels from the supernatural world (trance dance). The fantastic view comes from another world.

Nevertheless, forced by the progress of times, the influence of gambuh dance with its fast movements and also of the tourism need, the Legong Keraton has become just a profane dance. It is an ordinary dance unconnected with sacred articles.

In reality, the shift of values could occur in a sudden or it could progress slowly hence there has been no shift felt. The first time would surely create some hustle and bustle. There would be conflicts and contentions which could cost highly: with victims.

When the shift ends downstream as a manifest of an achievement and progress that raises human dignity, then it is a blessing. It is not impossible that the yield was only some turns of dynamics that merely slow down or even thwart future measures. We do not have clairvoyant ability, we can only conclude after it has passed.

Hence it would be far more pleasant if the shift took place discreetly. Eventually, unnoticed. Just like a little kid who does not realize that he is growing. He would be fully aware only after many demands pop up after he is married and then growing is the need to live calmly in old age. Such unnoticeable big leaps have positioned the giant shifts on an acceptable continuous line. This is truly the character of the the East that prefers harmony instead of conflicts. Yet it does not mean the Easterners reject shifts. It was only that they are not accustomed to view the shifts as an exposition. The shift of values has indeed taken place and has still been progressing in many sectors, whether we like it or not. Some are good ones and should occur, since the essence of a breakthrough is not only breaking a wall but also responsible toward the damage on the wall it broke. There were noble hopes, not merely to confuse, but also to develop.

The bad shifts also happen. The evil shifts were not trials for a breakthrough, but only for the sake of exploiting. To trick and manipulate people for their own interest. The society was not included in the process though.

By exercising conventional math quiz, students learned to quickly calculate inside their imagination. Multiplication, division, and subtraction were dictated fast. Students counted by “closing their eyes”. Their imagination was trained to write, store, remember, then produced summary. It was forbidden to use calculators.

Yet now, they learn mathematics with the help of calculators. It is a radical leap. They would be helpless when confronted with those rows of confusing numbers. But they should not be. It is now as easy to get calculators as to pick up pebbles, why couldn’t they use it!

The human mind should overcome the ever moving reality that progresses faster and more complex by encouraging the shift of values. Brand new values, to become more receptive toward reality, hence people will not be left behind by times. It is not uncommon that if morality element is considered a burden, it is sidelined. People celebrate efficacy, efficiency, productivity, and absolute victory.

The syndrome to be number one is the human trauma of the century. Success is the ultimate measurement. Every road to get there shall be cleared. No one dreaded any breach anymore since competition must be won. Why stand up for something unfit to the practical formula of life? Philosophy, ethics, even religion was asked to please not to get involved and provide answers so as not to keep people from moving. The maxim is, “we must fill life with quick, targeted, and definite actions.” Thus, there is a shift of values, and many enemies.

Indeed there is risk in shift of values. But there are also risks in being unshifted. These values are not totally moving or moved by humans. Even if humans are the most important beings on earth, they are not alone. Nature has its own life whose competence is often beyond human reach. Even if humans did not do anything, values would shift anyway and human beings must pursue them. History had recorded nature prevails over human beings and how it directs life. Thus the West has been anxious to reign over nature.

It is necessary to have anxiety when faced with these shifts of values. But anxious is not sufficient, particularly when it is accompanied with a ban on that very shift. As a dynamic continuance, a shift is healthy. What is not, will be displaced by its own action in the natural selection of a civilized life. We will just see the end of the story, while maintaining a distance, to avoid the radiation.

"Jakarta"

The lyric of Koes Plus song from the 70s still grips the heart. In addition to the fact that the song is a delight to listen to, the two words of return and Jakarta have a certain nudge that feels special.

The word “return” has its dramatic aspect. It echoes a long story of separation. And suddenly the north wind blows, the reversing current sweeps or drags back to the starting point. What then surfaces is a spilling of longing and moving feelings.

Then what about “Jakarta”. As the vanguard of the republic, Jakarta was Batavia, then Jayakarta, once. As the capital city of Republic of Indonesia, it is the centerpoint of sight for every citizen. Various feelings fuse behind that sight. Some are upset, hating, angry, even felt sick of it. Yet, there are astonishment, longing, joy, passion, even heroic feeling, and some view Jakarta as a summit.

Jakarta is the miniature of Indonesia where many elements condensed. It is the point where many different things throughout the Archipelago blend in. They merge into an amalgam, just like a dish of gadogado. Authenticity fades away, fused into a spinning vortex of frictions, but each one is still there. The local shade of every region is still present, felt. While the local element of Betawi, still thickly felt, glue the elements of Jakarta into a giant mosaic. Usmar Ismail recorded it in a film with a provocative title: The Big Village.

Some prefer to call Jakarta as a jungle, while more than few see the metropolitan as an Ivory Tower. A display window of lies, that can never really picture the true Indonesia.

The best and the worst sit side by side in Jakarta. Those who care to eat a fish dabu dish with a pricetag of Rp 8 juta, they could; while a mere Rp 8,000 could also make your belly happy in a Padang foodstall. Bunch of pickpockets, robbers, thugs, conmen, thieves, kidnappers, from featherweight to heavyweight are everywhere. But the masters, people with golden heart who devote themselves to help improve the fate of other people, without expecting anything in return, are equally many. They educate street children under the bridge, as a sincere service from the heart.

Jakarta has a thousand face. Divided by the brownish Ciliwung River that sometimes turns dark from pollution. Jakarta felt luxurious yet lackluster. Ferociously alive for 24 hours, as if the residents are sleepless. Yet, in some corners there would be kampong areas, snoozing wearily. It is not unintentional, they are helpless indeed. It is the gaping wound caused by the “rape” committed by a diverse of contradictive ambitions.

"Women

 

In the 1950s, a teacher asked his students at a junior high school in Bali. “Who, among you, would dare to pioneer providing equal inheritance rights to your younger sister or your older sister?”

No one answered. The question was considered peculiar. Girls in Bali had been used to not getting any inheritance from her family because of the semeton saking purusa tradition, with the kinship line drawn from the men’s side. But for the teacher, the question was very critical. He is married to a Balinese woman from the knights caste. His late father in-law – a wealthy man – left the daughter not a single penny of inheritance. Everything was shared among his wife’s brothers. The teacher considered it very unjust because the one who took care of his parents in-law the most was his wife.

What he saw was that Balinese women are being harassed, regarded as people with low-dignity. When a Balinese woman from a higher caste married a lower caste man (including non-Balinese men such as him), her caste is stripped. On the contrary, a high caste Balinese man can raise his wife from a lower caste (including a non-Balinese) to a higher rank.

The teacher wondered why has not anyone ever protested. His own wife is not an uneducated person. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) and often voiced the rights and equality in a marriage. However, when faced with traditional custom, her hands are tied. If asked about the matter, she would be upset and feel the question cornered her. While in fact, since they only rely on his salary as a teacher, the education for their five children is lagging. Not one of them achieve university education. The comparison of his children to his nephews is like heaven and hell with the nephews all driving cars.

The teacher got curious. He asked the elderly people. Why did that happen. But the answer is killing him. Everybody answered: nak mula keta. Meaning, that’s the way it should be. That was always the answer that parents provided if anyone tried to dig, what exactly is planned and required by indigenous custom.

He could not hold his suspicion. Is the indigenous custom a man who hate women? Otherwise, why does it feel that within the custom there is discrimination, vengeance, and as if there is a streak of revenge from those who had been hurt. Have women hurt men?

"Gotong Royong"

 

Gotong royong was thought to be the quintessence of Pancasila, with the Five Principles of state philosophy being extracted into Ekasila, or the sole principle, by Bung Karno (President Sukarno) in his speech on the birthday of Pancasila. Ever since, the wellknown word is on the rise and has been considered “cool”.

Gotong royong is a social conception of collaborative cooperation, it is “a volunteered sharing of burdens”. Ekasila covers the five precepts. The term of gotong royong is no longer simple, but has become a philosophy that has helped various tribes, local languages, customs, religions, and ideologies throughout Indonesia to live peacefully in diversity. Collaborative cooperation has a deep meaning.

The motto of Unity in Diversity is not empty words but real deeds. It does not imply an amalgam, it means unity based on selfless sincerity within a plural society.

However, along the way, gotong royong has gone through a lot of phases. The concept moves around and has been ridden, yielding a range of meanings. And sometimes too, it passes through a somersault phase that brought “a suicidal” policy. For the sake of togetherness, the personal became forbidden and also suffered.

In modern times, the economic element grows rapidly. Often it grows too fast and forces people to become “economic animals”. Individualism—in the name of independence, freedom, and humanity—has in fact deflated the “bebrayatan” or kinship ties, if not kicking them out altogether. The relationship of patembayan—relationships based on interests, such as businesses—becomes more important than paguyuban—relationships based on emotional bonds. Solidarity, fraternity, and the spirit of camaraderie give way to the glory of the materials.

The meaning of gotong royong has been twisted. It seems that the role model tenet does not get along well with human beings’ efforts to pursue comfort and the continuance of their personal life.

"The Maestro"

A person is a maestro when he or she has reached the highest level of competence in a field. The person will be the light for other people, to show direction, guidance, examples, and inspiration to those who follow their path. They do not owe their greatness to praises, nor to circumstances that allow them a spotlight, nor to engineered condition and manipulation, but because they are indeed grand.

We cannot measure the grandeur of a maestro with numbers. We cannot measure it in sums. We instead assess it from the influence, impact, benefit, of their presence to the environment and to those who have been touched by them directly or indirectly. The effects of their presence create change, progress, and even a reversal or deviation from present values to reach a higher place. The greatness of a maestro creates new values and harmony.

Through a maestro’s virtuoso the surrounding life becomes fertile. Fresh ions are spread to recycle thoughts and feelings thus instigate a sense of creating and producing. A maestro is a fertilizer, a stimulant, that moves life forward to find answers harmonious with the challenges and demands of times. A maestro is the prime pillar in his or her field.

Yet, a maestro is also an ordinary human being. They are not sterile of those needs that other people also have. Their greatness is not always followed by a proper bonus for all the hard work, struggle, sacrifice, and service they do. Oftentimes, they do not get what they deserve. Too much focus on their specific activities, their attention has shifted from taking care for their own life. When other people relish on their retirement days, many maestros are helpless. They just have to exchange their grandeur with hardship.

Many maestros are paralyzed in their old age. Their body deteriorates although their passion could still be burning. Or, probably their spirit starts to get exhausted because, just like their heads, they always bumped into a stubborn stone hill. The burden they have to carry is too heavy. The maestros have neglected the safety and comfort of their last years of life for the sake of work. It is true that their greatness benefit many people, even the country, but often not to themselves. In such helpless state, many maestros died in silence; disappear and vaporized. Even history forgets to record them.

Every now and then, the state is in awe. Marveled by the flashlights, and suddenly remembers their assets they should take care of. Not only oil, gas, and other natural resource that can be measured with numbers, that have to be taken care of, but also the old, toothless, tigers. Then the state hastily forms official committee to convey charity of welfare to these maestros. Despite the tiny amount, the attention is reasonable. But only half a year through, the donation subsides, and gone into the ether. There are many reasons. Urgent problems are piling up. Legend has it that the donation is never clear, is actually terminated, or redirected into greedy baskets.

The maestros could not care less since they have found their inner joy. The significant presence of their work is sufficient. The sparkling awe and respect in the eyes of the audience is everything. Material was not what they strived for. It is meaning. Comfort is not what they are heading to. It is the adequacy of many people. To them, living in service is their right. They do not care whether they are losers because they have accept themselves as victims. Their life is a dharma for the society, and for life.