YOGYAKARTA - Yogyakarta has many spiritual communities. At least there are 16 Javanese communities in Yogyakarta that are still practicing Javanist (kejawen) values such as mantra, meditation, larungan, and offerings. Some of them are the Sumarah Purbo community, Jendra Hayuningrat Pangruwating Diyu community, Tris Soka community, Purbo Sumarah community, and Sapta Darma community.
Based on research, some reasons for Javanist followers to maintain their faith are because they want to actualize the noble mind and character to become the 'excellent man' in order to achieve the peace of life. The steps they take are by way of building the space and atmosphere of Javanese spiritual life, to believe in and maintain the Javanist view of life as guide to the nobility actualization.
"Nobility is understood as an ideal culture and moral character as the guide character that is retained and created to become a doctrine," said Drs. Suwardi, M. Hum in the promotion exam to obtain his doctorate at the UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences on Thursday (17/3).
Suwardi who is now a lecturer of Javanese language education at Yogyakarta State University conveys that some of the followers of Javanist maintain moral nobility and character even though they have embraced a particular religion. But there are also Javanist practitioners who remain reluctant to embrace any religion. "They feel peaceful, comfortable and not anxious to follow this Javanist belief," said the man born in Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, in 1964.
In the Javanist community, nobility is considered as more powerful to fight against the inner anxiety and religion, as well as promising cosmological salvation until later they achieves manunggaling kawula Gusti (united with the cosmological god). In social life, those are actualized in the attitude of tolerance, sincerity and unselfishness.
Suwardi conveys that this belief practitioner movement is not a cult but a noble cultural tradition that can be used as a role model in social life. "This is a movement of spiritual culture, whether it’s called religion or not, it's up to the one who gives attributes to it. Clearly, they're not atheists, they do not worship wood or stone, but worship the Lord," he said.