2006-06-22

The Depressions of a Faithless Society

God declares in the Qur'an that He has created mankind according to a certain disposition in the verse: "So set you your face steadily and truly to the Faith: (establish) God's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind." (Surat al-Room, 30). The disposition of mankind relies on being a servant to God and having faith in Him. Since man is unable to meet his unlimited wishes and needs by himself, he naturally needs to humble himself before God and turn to Him.

If the individual lives in accordance with this disposition, he attains true confidence, peace, happiness and salvation. If he denies this disposition and turns away from God, he spends his life in distress, fear, anxiety and grief.

This rule, which is true for man, also holds true for societies. If a society is comprised of people who believe in God, it becomes a just, peaceful, happy and wise society. Unquestionably, the opposite also holds true. If a society is unaware of God, then the order of such a community is basically ruined, corrupt and primitive.

When societies that have turned away from God are examined, this fact is readily seen. One of the most important results of irreligious thought is the abolishment of the concept of morality and the development of completely corrupt societies. Transgressing religious and moral bounds, and catering exclusively to the satisfaction of human wishes, this culture is a system of oppression in the fullest sense of the word. In such a system, all sorts of degeneracies from sexual perversion to drug addiction are encouraged. Eventually, societies that are devoid of human love and are egoistic, ignorant, shallow and nonsensical have grown up.

In a society where people live only for the satisfaction of their own desires, it surely is not possible to maintain peace, love and amity. In such a society, human relations depend on mutual interests. An extreme feeling of distrust prevails. When there is no reason for one to be sincere, honest, reliable or well-behaved, nothing stands in the way of dissimulation, falsehood, or betrayal. The members of such societies have "cast God away behind their backs (with contempt)" (Surah Hud, 92) and thus never acknowledged the fear of God. Since they cannot "make a just estimate of God", they are unmindful of the day of judgement and the day of account. For them, hell is nothing more than an idea appearing in religious books. None of them think that they shall have to give an account of themselves in the presence of God after their death for all the sins they have committed during their lives in this world, or that they may ultimately be doomed to an eternal life of torment in hell. Even if they do think about it, they suppose that they will enter paradise after they "pay for their sins", as it is expressed in this verse:

This because they say 'The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days': For their forgeries deceive them as to their own religion. (Surat Al-e-Imran, 24)

Thus they are led to spend their lives doing their best to satisfy their own desires and needs.

This situation naturally brings on the ethical degeneration and moral collapse that we see in many societies today. In their own reasoning they suppose "we have come into this world but once and will live for only 50-60 years and then die, so let us get the best of things here". The thought system based on this erroneous reasoning may bring with it all kinds of injustice, prostitution, theft, crime and immorality. One subscribing to it may become involved in all kinds of crime, homicide, or fraud. When every individual thinks of nothing but the satisfaction of his own needs and desires, everyone else--including his family and friends--have secondary importance. Other individuals in society have no importance whatsoever.

Semar dan Chuang Tzu

Semar bertubuh tambun: melukiskan keluasan hatinya. Ati segara, begitu kata orang Jawa: hati bagai samudera. Makin luas hatinya berarti makin halus pula rasa-nya. Dalam literatur Jawa, rasa adalah inti terdalam manusia, kebenaran tertinggi. Makin halus rasanya, berarti makin dekat orang itu pada inti kebenaran, makin tinggi tingkat spiritual-nya. Dan makin halus rasa seseorang, dia akan menjadi makin momot, makin luas ruang hatinya, sehingga bagai samudera yang bisa menampung ribuan sungai yang mengalir kepadanya tanpa menjadi penuh maupun kotor.

Sebaliknya makin kasar rasa seseorang, makin rendah tingkat spiritual-nya, makin kaku sikapnya, dan makin sulit menerima pandangan yang berbeda, tidak bisa hidup tenteram dengan kelompok lain, mau menang sendiri... dan ugal-ugalan. Lebih celaka lagi, dengan mengatas-namakan agama dan Tuhan!

Lao Tse mengajarkan: bahwa orang yang benar-benar bijak akan rendah hati dan tidak berdebat dengan siapapun. Semar adalah Dewa tertinggi, tapi dia mengambil rupa sebagai seorang hamba, seorang abdi yang dengan setia mengabdi pada para ksatria pilihan: Pandhawa Lima. Semar tidak pernah menginginkan jabatan tinggi bagi dirinya sendiri. Misinya murni: untuk menjaga harmoni semesta raya. Ia tak ubahnya seperti Chuang Tzu yang menolak dijadikan perdana menteri dan berkata: kura-kura yang hidup dalam lumpur jauh lebih baik daripada kura-kura yang diawetkan dengan air keras dan tinggal di istana raja.