What Maiyah Means To Me
MAIYAH, THAT gathering “togetherness” that we experience with each other means a great deal to me emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. It is more, however, than a mere gathering. It is more than simply being together. Maiyah is both commitment and reward. It is the source of our energy and inspiration and also the final repository of our best thoughts, made real. It is the means to progress in the manner in which we relate to each other and with other communities and it is the end we aim to achieve.
With all of our faculties: emotional, spiritual and intellectual, we commit ourselves to responsibility in Maiyah. There is a concrete time and place every month that, in practical terms, we commit ourselves to meeting. Maiyah is our opportunity to meet those of a like mind; it is also an opportunity to meet those of entirely different perspectives and backgrounds.
What makes Maiyah unique is the willingness it brings about for us to engage everyone, of whatever faith and of no faith. Whether you are Muslim, Christian or Jew, Hindu, Buddhist or atheist, there is a place for you. Look around you! The moon is high. Light the divine torch; becalm your heart and take your place at the feast of love. Welcome!
Maiyah: the giver and the receiver. The Beatles were right: And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. Lou Reed followed the Beatles. He was right as well: You’re going to reap just what you sow. So it is with the Maiyah. We give of our best attention and thought and we benefit from all it gives in what we see and hear.
Those who join Maiyah see magic. Cak Nun tells us that the spirit of God may descend to us during Maiyah. We have all believed it and we were there when it happened. Were you at Kenduri Cinta in October 2004? Did you see a Christian pastor lead a Muslim mass in prayer? Do you recall the spiritual master who saw and spoke of the divine light of Cak Nun’s vision? Did you see man appeal for tolerance and compassion across religious boundaries? Do you think you will see that anywhere else in this country or even perhaps in this world? You will not. And how many hundreds of Maiyah have there now been?
We may see glimpses of Maiyah in Finland, in the UK, in the Netherlands, in Egypt, Italy and Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Those who attend see mere glimpses but they understand that they have witnessed something incredible. When Maiyah makes friends overseas, it keeps them.
Maiyah is for all of us. It needs no democracy. Nothing levels us more than Maiyah, where the humblest among us sits rightfully alongside the wealthiest; where those with the greatest burden come to feel the greatest relief. There are no titles and no divisions. There is audience and no stage. At Maiyah we are all free to speak our minds.
Maiyah levels us. Cak Nun has described this as the horizontal plane. But there is a vertical plane too; through which we can channel the most spiritual of our aspirations. We know that in gathering in this togetherness we are confident that we doing what the Prophet SAW intended; something that would have earned his approval. We do this in our prayers, in our wirid, in our shalawat and in our honest dialogue.
Maiyah is both truly Indonesian and, at once, universal. It is rooted in the concrete political and social events of 1998, 2001 and reformasi. It is a response to those events and a force for a new way. But it can be exported, planted, shared and grown within and among other peoples, communities and faiths. It need not be restricted to Indonesia. There are many overseas who appreciate what we do. Let us make more films, books, products and appearances, so that we can be among those who will benefit the most.
And yet this is the silent path – this is the silent pilgrimage that is as real to our spiritual hearts as the steps of the Haji encircling the Ka’bah are real. Maiyah provides us with the human context for the sacred text. My appreciation for Maiyah is difficult to describe. I have been granted the chance to witness what few can see. That is why I have to report what I have seen, and will continue to do so.
I have seen Kenduri Cinta, Mocopat Syafaat and Padhang mBulan. I have come to know Cak Nun, Cak Fuad and Kiai Kanjeng. But Maiyah is more than the individuals who founded it or who attend it now. Maiyah is us and it is for us to make it what we will.