The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (109)

"Sukrosono, do you still remember why you were able to meet me at Taranggana Sekar?" asks Semar.

"Still living in my memory, I was able to meet you because I was in the faint," replies Sukrosono.

"Do you still remember, at that time what I said in the faint?" asks Semar again.

"I still remember, you said, life must finally be sincere," says Sukrosono firmly.

"How can you make your life sincere?"

"If I want to be in the faint."

"That's right, and remember what I also said, you will become in the faint, if your being disappears, even though you remain in existence."

"How does all this happen?"

"If you are truly sincere in giving, until you feel like your being no longer exists, and in that disappearance you feel that you will only exist when you are exhausted because of giving. That's the pinnacle of being in the faint. The time will come when you climb to the top of your state of being in the faint."

"It is possible for me to able to climb up there?" Sukrosono asks, remembering the end of his life that he has just imagined.

They are Candrabhairawa, moon-bodied giants, who will always help Sukrosono, when he is in trouble.

"Maybe, if you want to go down, like the water of the Suranadi River, whose water flows endlessly in giving and always giving," says Semar. Sukrosono looks down, and imagines himself dissolved in the waters of the Suranadi River. He descends together with the water which is flowing far away, until he can no longer see himself. At that moment he feels himself exhausted, swallowed up in a true state of being faint. Not long after that, Semar also disappears completely, returning to his true state of dimness. Then there is a roar, the sky seems to collapse, the roof seems to fall. In an instant thousands of giants appear swarming Sukrosono. They are Candrabhairawa, moon-bodied giants, who will always help Sukrosono, when he is in trouble.

Also read:

> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon 108

> The-Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (107)

> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (106)

"Thank goodness you all keep your promise, ready to help me when I am in trouble. How do you all know now that I need your help too?” Sukrosono asks happily.

“Because you are drowning in the faint. It is your state of being in the faint which calls the moon, so that we come," replies the giant head of Candrabhairawa.

Sukrosono realizes that the moon is only one because its eyes are deceived by the light. It turns out that the moon is a thousand, when he sinks into the dimness. Now the thousand moons have become heads of the giants. Their bodies are in great height and fearsome, but beautiful in the thousand colors of their heads. With the heads of the moon, they don't seem like giants. They are beautiful forms from the dimness, which has been invisible because they are covered by light. Sukrosono is happy to be among them. In his dimness, they become a mirror for him to look in the mirror. As soon as he makes a reflection on them, Sukrosono laughs because he realizes who he really is, he is also not a giant, but the moon hidden in his dimness. And the moon is now giving him language.

“Where should I go to find Sriwedari Garden?” asks Sukrosono. “The moon knows all about it. Ask the moon, where should you go?” replies the giant head of Candrabhairawa.

"The moon has become a thousand in you, how can I ask as to where should I go?" Sukrosono asks.

"Close your eyes. A thousand moons will lift you to the place you don't know." These words quietly come out of the mouths of the Candrabhairawa giants.

Also read:

> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (105)

> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (104)

> The Bajang Child Swinging the Moon (103)

Sukrosono surrenders. He closes his eyes. The moon-headed giants lift him up. Sukrosono feels like flying on the moon in the middle of the night. The moon takes him to nowhere. Sukrosono does not want to ask. He seems to have forgotten the Sriwedari Garden that he has to look for. But he is so confident that by forgetting what he is looking for, he will find it. The moon illuminates everything, how can the moon plunge him into darkness, where he will find nothing? The moon is an eye which is seeing everything. No matter how small it is will not escape his eye. Can Sriwedari Garden be prevented from the light?

This is the Panjer Enjing star, that is shy to come out, because the moon is about to succumb for a moment to hide as a crescent in the clear sky?

Therefore he lets himself continue to float with the moon. He sees the earth lit up by the moon. If there is no moon, the earth will only be darkness of night. He used to often see the moon from the earth like a rabbit in the middle of the evening, now he feels it for himself, how on the white rabbit's back he penetrates the clouds, opening the sky from the veil of darkness, so that the earth also rejoices in enjoying the light. In the east dawn peeps to appear soon, as the moon moves near to a star. For a moment the moon dims its light, and the star shines like a beautiful angel wearing make-up. This is the Panjer Enjing star, that is shy to come out, because the moon is about to succumb for a moment to hide as a crescent in the clear sky? Only for a moment the beautiful star appears. And when the star disappears, Sukrosono asks, where are the frightening giants that hold it up, do they disappear to merge with the moon, and become a beauty before dawn? Like them, Sukrosono feels that he is not a scary ugly demon. Indeed he is not scary, he is a beauty which is swinging the moon. And slowly the moon he is swinging stops on top of a mountain. The moon emits its bright light, indicating, this is where Sukrosono has to descend to find what he is looking for. Indeed, that is Wukir Nguntara, the mountain in the heaven of the gods, where Sriwedari Garden is located.

The park stretches on the peak of Mount Nguntara. The moon seems to have moved away, and the sun comes to open the morning. The air is very cool. The flowers sulk, so that the morning sun doesn't slow down to caress them. Drops of dew still remain on the petals, splashing like the cintamani eyes. On the trees, the leaves rustle silently, gently blown by the morning breeze. From the east, a streak of colors come one after another like a rainbow that comes and goes. Faint sounds are heard from the river, splashing water chasing in silence. Being in Sriwedari Garden, Sukrosono is like living in a dream. Here, he seems to dwell in divine beauty, which can only be understood in meditation.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).