Uniquely, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika

In fact, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika is more than just a call for national unity, it implies the unity of human hearts.

HERYUNANTO

Jean Couteau

The principle of tolerance implicit in Pancasila and in Bhinneka Tunggal Ika is not something that is easy to fight for in the midst of our modern Indonesianism. Modernity changes population distribution patterns. In urban areas, minority groups have been seen demanding that their right to open places of worship be recognized. Regions outside Java which were previously relatively homogeneous now have to face the reality of an increasingly diverse society due to migration and transmigration.

Its impact is not always positive. The economic struggle between immigrant communities who are often relatively "advanced" or "educated" and native communities who are "backward" changes the local socio-economic balance. This gradually changes the political balance as well, especially when local native figures who previously dominated local politics are found to be fighting for seats against immigrant figures.

If not anticipated and if this economic-social-political competition is no longer flexed in democratic negotiations, there is a risk that the competitive space may expand to religion, with the crystallization of identities around the reference religion as a "sole truth."

Fortunately, the entire symbolic system of Indonesia's nationalism was arranged in such a way by the founding fathers, especially Soekarno, so that this issue could be overcome. Religion may be the center of spiritual awareness, but not the center of social-political awareness, a position that is occupied by nationalism. This is the key concept of Pancasila, which is strengthened by the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.

However, it must be realized that national symbolic devices are not enough. The rapid evolution of group interests and social media algorithm distortions in handling national and international issues often leads to excessive politicization of religion.

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How to respond to this phenomenon?

One way is through culture, and one of them is by bringing to the surface moments or elements from the past that promote unity and reject the concept of identity.

One example of this effort was recently carried out in Bali, in the traditional village of Budakeling, on the occasion of the performance of a dance: ”Gambuh Masutasoma”. In the Budakeling area there are two traditional settlements of people of different religions: Budakeling itself, which is Hindu, and Saren Jawa, which is Islamic. In Budakeling, the superior position is occupied by Buddhist brahmins, descendants of Dang Hyang Astapaka, a Buddhist priest who moved to Bali from Java in the 16th century.

Among them, a Buddhist tradition is maintained, masked by a Buddhist priest, complete with mantras, ceremonies and traditions of reading related literature, including the Sutasoma kekawin. The Islamic population came later, in connection with the spread of Islam from Demak to the East Java region. There are ancestral stories mixed with myths.

When the envoy of Islamic ambassadors went to meet King Waturenggong in Gelgel to convert him, they failed. In the folk tale, they were said to have failed to "cut his nails". Fearing the wrath of the Demak King, they were allowed to settle in Gelgel. Then the head of the envoy, Kiai Jalil, who was very powerful, was asked to go to Karangasem to kill a wild wadak cow that was said to be damaging the Kumetug area.

Kiai Jalil successfully killed a wild boar, and as a reward, he was given land for his entourage. That is the origin of Saren Jawa village. In addition, Kiai Jalil married a daughter of a gria Buddha named Jero Tauman.

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As seen above, both groups, Brahmin Buddhists and Muslims, are united by a mystical-historical origin and at the same time a kinship relationship. In addition, there are also "ceremonies" in the Buddhist temple that strengthen this interfaith bond: every time there is a big ceremony like the plebon pendeta or pediksaan, Muslims from the Saren Jawa settlement "contribute" their unique Islamic art of "rodat and burdah" as a sign of brotherhood. So the brotherhood is remembered and revived through the ceremony.

The closeness of brotherhood does not stop there. On the part of the Buddhist Brahmins, there has long been a tradition of reading the Sutasoma kekawin. What are Sutasoma's teachings? The first is the teaching of "sacrifice", when the incarnation of Buddha offers himself as "food" to every opponent he faces. The second is the teaching of religion, with the key sentence: "Tan hana Dharma Mangrwa, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika". There are not two dharmas, different dharmas, but one.

Referred to as the teachings of Sutasoma, the wise Denpasar Ustaz, Kusnadi Mustofa, says that the Wali Songo taught the dissemination of Islam not through differences but through similarities, through local culture.

So, in essence, the motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika is more than just a call for national unity, it implies the unity of the hearts of human beings towards each other within the call of religion.