Introductory Books on Indonesian Philosophy

Book 1 : Pengantar Menuju Filsafat Indonesia (An Introduction to Indonesian Philosophy) by Ferry Hidayat (downloadable at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Byw1LPwiftzgQVhLR2g3TGFPYUk/edit

Book 2 : Sketsa Sejarah Filsafat Indonesia (A Sketch of History of Indonesian Philosophy) by Ferry Hidayat (downloadable at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Byw1LPwiftzgbmVkREVwbnpBQjA/edit

Book 3 : Introduction to Indonesian Philosophy (English Version) by Ferry Hidayat (downloadable at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Indonesian_Philosophy).

a New Meaning on Indonesian Independence Day (Videos) on August 17, 2009

Video 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIp_c_KKzTQ&feature=plcp

Video 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOJsHBBEfV4&feature=plcp

Interview by a Student of STAI TIARA about Indonesian Philosophy (Videos) on July 17, 2009

Video 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reJNn8RF6ms&feature=plcp

Video 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPD8X_rcYAY&feature=plcp

Video 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxs47tviW9Q&feature=plcp

Video 4 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEG0Tq4NQVk&feature=plcp

Video 5 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyS3o672qiU&feature=plcp

Video 6 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scByMyiTUMg&feature=plcp

Video 7 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2bAUPV7NyI&feature=plcp

Video 8 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxPFOZIyavg&feature=plcp

They are good for enriching your knowledge on Indonesian Philosophy Studies

Video Tutorial Filsafat Indonesia

Video 1: Pelopor Kajian Filsafat Indonesia : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmKKkXUqUBc&feature=plcp

Video 2: Pelopor Kajian Filsafat Indonesia (Bagian 2) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iqsgszj12o&feature=plcp

Video 3: Filosof Indonesia Generasi Awal (Filosof Mazhab Adat) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOWTSpPREI&feature=plcp

Video 4: Filosof Indonesia Mazhab India: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxrt3ELRnDA&feature=plcp

Video 5: Filosof Indonesia Mazhab Islam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI28ca2OS3c&feature=plcp

Video 6: Filosof Indonesia Mazhab Barat-Modernisme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1PTSh3cPq4&feature=plcp

Please check them out to enlighten your blindness to Indonesian heritage of philosophy :)

Too Bad, Little Time

Sorry, my fellow readers. I can't make it to write articles in English, even in Bahasa. But, if time permits, I will write them again soon. Just wait patiently, yah!

The Exponent of Adat Religion Jailed?

Due to the popularity of this site, from this time on the readers (shortened as 'reds') will have the English version of this blog articles.

Daily newspaper "TEMPO" dated April 7, 2008 wrote a shocking news about the capture of an exponent of Adat religion in Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah). He was captured after having being shot by a policeman. The Police said that he must be jailed because he refused to be banned. The Ulema Council of Indonesia (MUI) had banned him and his disciples as 'went astray' (sesat), campaigning the public mass not to adhere to the religions majorly adhered to by the Indonesian people, but suggesting to adhere instead to their indigenous religions--religions which they had adhered to before the coming of the great religions to Indonesia.

Well, I feel really annoyed when reading the news. I feel very annoyed in finding out that Indonesia, I mean the people of Indonesia, don't want and have a good willing in helping these indigenous people whose religions are banned to be well-spread. I feel very angry when finding out that Indonesian people are indifferent to these indigenous religionists and do not consider them (like the ulemas do) to be the same citizens who have the same right to believe any religion. If Indonesia had been built by our founding fathers to be a great nation-state, the most human nation state, why in fact Indonesian people are not human to the indigenous? Do they forget that before their adherence to Islam, their forefathers and foremothers did believe in the indigenous religions they are now banning?

Keaslian dan Perubahan atawa Tradisi dan Modernitas

In common parlance, the terms “traditional” and “modern” suggest two differing attitudes
towards the negotiation of change, the former resisting it, the latter embracing it. But
“Tradition”, in the sense of primordial wisdom, is not necessarily resistant to change. The
image of Shiva Nataraja embodies the ideas of both stillness (the fixed, or being) and
movement (the changing, or becoming). “Tradition” is a combination of both these
elements. It is at once static Equilibrium and dynamic Attraction, the classical realism of
transcendence and the romantic idealism of immanence. Man is both a slave of change
(being subject to the processes of time) and its master (being equipped to transcend it,
spiritually). The quest for salvation is, at one level, a quest for peace, the freedom from
change, but at another, it is a quest for creativity and freshness, the freedom from
petrification.

(M. Ali Lakhani, "Understanding Tradition", www.religioperennis.org)


Gue sengaja ngutip kutipan di atas untuk memahami secara arif bahwa segala keaslian yang diwariskan oleh Adat kite, tidak mesti menolak segala perubahan yang dilakukan oleh anak-anak putra Adat itu sendiri. Mereka bukanlah 'pembangkang Adat', bukan pula 'pemberontak' atau 'pembelot', tapi mereka hendak mengadaptasikan Adat dalam bahasa modern.


Adat memang sudah lama mati 'terbunuh' oleh peradaban modern yang datang dari Arab dan dari Eropa. Peradaban Adat sudah lama digantikan dengan peradaban Islam dan peradaban Kristiani (Katolik maupun Protestan) yang datang ke Indonesia. Rumah-rumah ibadat Adat telah roboh dan digantikan Mesjid-Mesjid dan Gereja-Gereja. Jangan sepenuhnya menyalahkan mereka yang telah menyerang Adat, sebab kaum Adat sendiri yang tidak mampu menjaga Adat. Kaum Adat justru memiliki pasukan baru yang terdiri dari generasi muda: generasi yang menyerap segala perubahan baru tapi juga merasa perlu kembali memahami akar Adat mereka. Mereka adalah 'pembaru Adat' tapi juga 'pembaru modernisme yang sesat'. Mereka berdiri di tengah-tengah, mengkritisi Adat dan mengkritisi Modernisme, lalu menemukan segala relevansi dari kedua sumber itu untuk menjawab tantangan hidup manusia Indonesia saat ini. Gue menyebut 'generasi baru' itu dengan sebutan 'generasi Neo-Adat'. Seperti Shiwa Nataraja, generasi baru itu memelihara keaslian yang tak berubah-ubah (Adat) dan menyambut baik perubahan baru; mereka adalah 'pelayan perubahan' tapi sekaligus 'penguasa perubahan'.