Gus Dur and Syi'ir Tanpo Waton Part II

source: google.com

Yesterday, I have promised to translate "Syi'ir Tanpo Waton". Now, allow me to fulfil that promise to you. I hope you can see why so many people, especially here in Indonesia, like the syi'ir that reflects Gus Dur humanist teachings.

As Moh Yasir Alimi, a researcher at the Center for Cultural Pluralism, Democracy and Character Building at Semarang State University, wrote for TheJakartaPost: "Gus Dur is no longer with us, but Gus Dur is like a pebble dropped in water that vanishes, as James W. Foley described in his poem. 'But there are half-a-hundred (perhaps endless) ripples circling on and on and on/ Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea/And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.'"

So, Alimi is hoping that let the memory of Gus Dur warm our hearts and help us to handle the hatred and violence that dominates our public life today. Remembering the spirit of Gus Dur, let us embrace the words of Rumi: “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.”