An Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, amid a pandemic is truly a Lebaran of sacrifice that enables humankind to return to its natural disposition of happiness.
By
YUDI LATIF
·4 minutes read
An Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, amid a pandemic is truly a Lebaran of sacrifice that enables humankind to return to its natural disposition of happiness. As state officials banned mudik (exodus), a housemaid said, “You can enjoy various kinds of joy all year long, while I have only one source of happiness in a year, namely mudik during Lebaran. Should I sacrifice this happiness?”
US philosopher William James said that happiness is man’s chief concern. How to attain, maintain and restore happiness is the hidden motive of most people’s actions, including in religious affairs. People see the happiness they get from adhering to their faith as proof of their faith’s absolute truth.
Sigmund Freud anchors this happiness in the achievement of the will to pleasure, while Alfred Adler anchors it to the will to power. However, Viktor Frankl, in his self-reflection as a Nazi concentration camp survivor who almost killed himself, proposed a different view. He said the highest state of happiness is attained not in our achievements, joy and power, but instead in our bravery to face reality with all its bitterness. Frankl believed that the will to meaning – through the ability to make peace with reality and a sacrifice to be larger than oneself – is the source of the highest state of happiness.
Should I sacrifice this happiness?
However, what does life mean if our daily lives are filled with poverty, competitive defeats, illegal levies, uncertain regulations, neglect by political parties – whose concern is limited to waving flags during campaigns and does not include distributing aid packages when the people suffer – and state officials who only care about increasing wages (and allowances) for the state apparatus by increasing prices and premiums for the people, without any ability to restore the people’s hope and ability to do business.
In their difficulty to find the meaning of life going forward, people will look for it by looking back. Traveling to their hometowns, so full of longing and memories, while spending their hard-earned income or seeking temporary refuge from their suffocating city lives, serves as a catharsis mechanism that fills the void where the meaning of their lives should be. This is why they are doing everything they can to get through the travel blockades and reach their hometown.
Understanding this reckless behavior does not mean condoning it. The message is the importance of the ability to read between the lines, surely with empathy. How the poor people, victimized by development, are often pressured to give even more sacrifices. As the financial crisis hits, our chief concern is often at the salvation of large businesses. As travelers hopping on trucks or other vehicles are turned back or punished, airports are opened to cater to the haves.
Are the country’s elites happy with the achievements in their will to power? If our happiness merely stops there, then humankind has not moved past being ancient primates. A group of chimpanzees has a leadership election. They choose not the tallest or the brawniest but instead the one who looks the most sophisticated, namely that one who kisses and hugs the most.Once a chimpanzee is elected, whatever he likes – be it food or female companions – are untouchable by the others in the group. As a result, in a group of chimpanzees, leadership is not about serving. It is about being served.
Humankind’s pursuit of happiness must not stop at “the love of power” but must go beyond to “the power of love”. Power provides wider opportunities to face the social reality with all its difficulties and bitterness, and provides the opportunity to be larger than ourselves through our willingness to sacrifice for the people. This is reflected in the song “Hari Lebaran” (Lebaran Day) by Ismail Marzuki, “Selamat para pemimpin, rakyatnya makmur terjamin” (“Congratulations to all leaders for ensuring prosperity for the people”).
It is the duty of leaders to create heaven on earth by restoring the people’s happiness. The earth can be heaven if we love one another, serve one another and help one another grow and be safe. On the other hand, the earth can be hell if we live in hurt, treachery, loss of love and absence of attention.
Only through our ability to restore the goodness of love, compassion and morality can the religious rituals of Ramadan bring about true happiness and victory. The Prophet Muhammad said, “Do you wish me to show you actions more noble than fasting, praying and making alms? Do good and achieve high principles among men.”