The Story of Dewa Ruci

  

 

The story of  Dewa Ruci is a spiritual text that puts into consideration the fact that there is no code for doing the right thing since everything can be explained subjectively depending on people’s deep spiritual morals. The moral of this story is that the highest point of enlightenment is to be found deep inside an individual. This means that if a person would pay attention more to his or her thoughts and words, he or she would be acting in accordance with his or her morals. An example of this would be reaching a certain level of self-awareness and consciousness that will make him or her seek the best of himself or herself. For this particular reason, the Dewa Ruci story should not be taken from the ethical aspect. It makes the reader use his or her mind to understand the different spiritual lessons and visions of the main character’s experience in the text.

The Dewa Ruci was one of the first Islamic Javanese texts used to propagate Sufism, a mystical school of thinking. In the 8th canto, the ultimate goal for the hero is to reach enlightenment and become "one" with God by following the teachings of his Pandit (teacher). One of the main requirements of Sufism (a dimension of Islam), according to the Dewa Ruci, is to abandon all concepts of identity and perception of oneself. Another point mentioned in the text is that reaching that goal for the student is equivalent to the true definition of being himself or herself. By leaving all desires behind, the student goes on a quest to redefine his or her existence and goal, according to the Sufism. However, the ways used differ from sect to sect. Extreme approaches based on total deprivation from human necessities are often criticized in the text.  

In the fourteenth stanza of the text, the Dewa Ruci says that by taking away the 'dirt' of the three colors (black, red and yellow) the hero's union " will really take place without [any need for] guidance about the union of subject and Lord”. Subsequently, the latter's intentions 'grow keen', increasing his craving for the feeling of happiness attained by the union with the Divine. The focal point of the whole sentence is the word 'craving' as it is used by the Dewa Ruci to describe the color red. While the author specifically precedes the noun with 'bad', he also adds that 'all cravings arise from it' linking them as a whole to all negative things. On the one hand, it is understandable for a spirit who talks of religious matters such as the 'Lord' and the 'Divine' to condemn cravings, as many other religions castigate the feeling of yearning as well. Buddhism lists them as the cause of all suffering in the Second Noble Truth (One of the four pillar texts of Buddhism), Christianity labels them as a sin in the bible and the Quran mentions “Hubb Al-Dunya,” translatable as (bad) cravings of wealth. On the other hand, though, the term is used within The Dewa Ruci to explain Wêrkudhara's longing for happiness bestowed by the divine. It is a puzzling choice of vocabulary considering the association of life with negative events. Moreover, it might not be fair  to say that all cravings arise from bad desires. Indeed, The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary defines cravings as: “an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing". Noticeably, the definition does not involve pessimistic keywords, further proving that cravings per se are not directly linked to negativity. 

Control, possession, and powers are three destructive and poisonous traits in human nature, yet, they are the most craved and yearned when relating to historical events. Since the start of what some would call the beginning of humanity, people started challenging nature; from building roofs for when it rained to starting fires when it froze. Humans might challenge the way things are. Surpassing the abilities nature has provided might be  promising and reveals the willingness to improve the quality of one’s life. However,  people may forget that the human kind has sometimes been rather blessed than cursed as they might seek greater satisfaction. In that context of power, rulers are  differentiated  from realm to realm in their capacity to lead and guide. As argued in the text, the path that would lead anywhere close to the divine perfection diverges from desires of power and control.  

At the end of the story the main character (Bima) realizes his north from south and  east from  west, when he feels the fusion between him and God who becomes his sense of direction.