Sacrifice for Happiness

KOMPAS/FAJAR RAMADHAN

Yudi Latif.

State ideology Pancasila’s first principle stipulates that the spirit of divine belief has a strong significance in the realization of collective benefits and happiness. Through an in-depth understanding, every religious teaching and ritual has a strong moral message on how mankind is lifted and social order is implemented.

We can take the religious path toward the implementation of a national vision by capturing the moral message of the haj nearing Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice). Ali Shariati portrays the symbolic meaning of haj as a colossal drama of mankind’s simultaneous life movements: movements of returning and wandering. The former portrays mankind’s return from “the house of life” towards “the house of God” (a movement of faith). The latter portrays mankind’s wandering from “the house of God” toward “the house of life” (a movement of sacrifice).

The movement to return to the house of God is completed through the “minor haj” (umrah) procession with its series of rituals: ihram (the wearing of all-white garments), tawaf (going around Kaaba seven times) and sa’i (walking back and forth seven times between Shafa and Marwa hills near Kaaba). These rituals reflect the doctrine that all men and women are equal and brothers or sisters before God. With ihram, haj pilgrims do away with their everyday clothing at the miqat and wear all-white unhemmed garments. This symbolizes the stripping away of all status symbols and differences as false boundaries that lead to conflicts between men.

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With the tawaf, all I’s must melt into “us”, as humans merge together into waves that circle around the Kaaba. In order to approach God, we will have to approach our own kin first. Without humanity, sanctified divinity will remain out of our reach.

With sa’i, pilgrims walk fast between the Hills of Shafa (representing pure love) and Marwa (representing idealism and altruism), to reenact the heroism of Hajar, a black servant who persisted to resolve the obstacle of “discrimination” by seeking for life-bringing water to save the future (represented in Ismail).

The wandering movement towards the house of life is done in the “major hajj” procession with its series of rituals: the wukuf, the throwing of jumrah and the slaughtering of sacrificial cattle. On 9 Zulhijah, haj pilgrims leave the “house of Allah” towards the Plain of “Arafat” (knowledge). For an entire day, the haj pilgrims observe the wukuf ritual here, in which they sit under the scorching sun in order to let their petty egocentrism be melted away by the blinding light of knowledge.

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AFP PHOTO / HO / MINISTRY OF MEDIA

A hand out picture provided by Ministry of Media shows Muslim pilgrims leaving the Miqat-station dressed in "Ihram" (pilgrimage garment) heading towards Mecca on the first day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage amid the COVID-19 pandemic, on July 29, 2020.

As the sun sets, they move towards Mina (love) and have a quiet rest at night in Masy’ar (enlightenment). Ahead of the sunrise of 10 Zulhijah, coinciding with Idul Adha, they move to Mina to throw the jumrah, which signifies the destruction of worldly idols that take away truth and humanity.

Finally, the love for truth and humanity is tested through the willingness to sacrifice for collective justice and prosperity, symbolized in the slaughtering of sacrificial cattle. This is the toughest phase in the struggle – as tough as Ibrahim who willingly sacrificed his beloved son that he had begotten through great difficulty.

If the government and citizens can appreciate and practice the moral message of the haj pilgrimage, we will have strong mental capital to repair our collective life. Pancasila Democracy wishes for the materialization of the national vision through the persistence of people’s sovereignty that strengthens unity and justice. In order to carry these two missions, a spirit of serving (sacrifice) is required in order to be something bigger than our own self and group interests.

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To boost the wings of unity, Indonesia has the capital of inter-identity connectivity through the great achievement that is the Indonesian language as a language of unity. The vertical connectivity network in the sameness of cultural identity can relatively be knitted by political parties and mass organizations.

What needs to be more developed are horizontal connectivity networks, which can be mediums of inter-identity connectivity. In this aspect, the regime of politics of policy must further promote meeting spaces through civil groups and open associations that can boost spaces of inter-identity interconnection.

Furthermore, the identification of selves (groups) in the national political community should not only rely on elections based on individual votes. The US is an example of a country relying on a majoritarian democracy that has been unable to resolve the problem of racial division. Therefore, in order to go beyond the representation of liberal-individual rights, national identification and integration requires the commitment to safeguard bureaucracy as the backbone of national integration from the tendency of politicization that can distort its character of inclusive service.

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KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Visitors of different faiths tour Jakarta Cathedral on Friday (1/6/2018), when they gathered for a breaking-of-the-fast event themed "Strengthening Tolerance, Brotherhood and Solidarity of Humanity". The Pancasila Day gathering reflected on the strength of interfaith harmony in Indonesia, which maintains national unity and cohesion.

To boost the wings of justice, there is much work left to be done. Equal access to public service remains unavailable. During the pandemic, gaps in access to public goods are highly palpable. So many children in marginalized areas cannot enjoy uninterrupted access to learning due to lacking infrastructure of supporting technology.

Public service that requires development extends beyond hard infrastructure such as roads, bridges, transportation, buildings and other similar things, but also involves soft infrastructures such as education, culture, information, health and other soft resources. Networks of public service that can reach all citizens equally will strengthen the imagination of a commonwealth.

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These networks of public service must be connected to the development framework of inclusive welfare. To become “prosperous”, an economy must be able to create sustainable added values that can expand vertical mobility more inclusively. Therefore, Indonesia must escape from the trap of extractive economy and move towards knowledge-based economy.

A self that is connected to the networks for the strengthening of unity and public welfare is the moral message of Idul Adha for the sake of collective happiness.