Cakrawardani

Cakrawardani Project

ꦕꦏꦿꦮꦂꦢꦤꦶ
(Knowledge in Words, Wisdom in Practice)

hy do humans engage in philosophy? This is a fundamental question that underlies the human pursuit of philosophical thought. There are three main motivations that drive people to philosophize: a sense of wonder, doubt, and the awareness of one's own limitations. Knowledge begins with curiosity, certainty begins with doubt, and philosophy arises from both.

Philosophy is often seen as a discipline that is intellectually demanding. This assumption is not entirely wrong. Since ancient times, thinkers, philosophers, and religious scholars have engaged in philosophical debates on various life issues: truth, norms, ethics, nature, and the human condition. Philosophical thinking requires considerable mental effort to arrive at an idea, a conclusion, or a deeper meaning. Reflection becomes the central activity in the philosophical process. One particularly compelling area of discussion is ethics.

Plato, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and René Descartes.

However, many readers of philosophy are only familiar with certain fields such as ontology or epistemology. This is also reflected in Indonesian Wikipedia, where most philosophy articles are limited to topics like Plato’s theory of ideas, Karl Marx’s historical materialism, Friedrich Nietzsche’s existentialism, René Descartes’ rationalism, or Islamic perspectives on the ontology of divinity. Few young people or Wikipedia volunteers in the Indonesian and Javanese language communities are interested in writing about philosophy, even though today’s digital and information era makes it easier than ever to seek answers to one’s curiosities through the internet.

In response to this, the Cakrawardani Project was initiated to write articles on the “new realm of philosophy” in Indonesian and Javanese Wikipedia—areas that remain unfamiliar to many philosophy enthusiasts, such as ethics, aesthetics, and even love. Through these articles, we hope readers—whether philosophers, philosophy enthusiasts, or general audiences—will benefit from the topics we explore. Philosophy, after all, is a human necessity to fulfill the desire to know and to make sense of life and living. Philosophizing is indeed a choice, and we believe there must be volunteers who choose philosophy in order to represent a generation that seeks meaning.

In addition to writing articles, the project also includes the digitization of 25 philosophy—themed books as part of an effort to preserve rarely accessed intellectual literature. These books, which have entered the public domain, were carefully scanned and legally cleared for open access. Once processed and edited, the files were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons to be accessed by anyone, anytime, anywhere. This digitization process not only preserves knowledge from being forgotten but also opens up opportunities for readers across generations to reinterpret philosophical legacies that have long been overlooked.

Furthermore, the project includes the creation of Wikidata items that catalog the digitized books and the philosophy articles written in Indonesian and Javanese Wikipedia. By linking entities such as authors, concepts, and philosophical themes through Wikidata, the knowledge becomes easier to track, more structured, and accessible across multiple languages. In addition, contributors to this initiative have produced a series of short videos (reels) that portray the existential concerns of modern life—from the anxiety over life's meaning to the inner struggles of daily existence—framed through a philosophical lens. These reels aim to bring philosophy into everyday experience, making it more relatable to reality and resonant with anyone who is thinking, feeling, or questioning. In this way, the project not only builds a space for discourse on Wikipedia, but also reaches into the emotional and visual dimensions of a wider public.

***

Litani Antitesis

Bukankah anjing selalu setia, meskipun diharamkan?
Bukankah lingkaran takkan koyak oleh runcingnya pentagram?
Bukankah tiap orang memiliki bakat jatuh,
seperti jatuhnya Adam dan Hawa dari nirwana?
Bukankah tiap orang memikul kebenaran,
seperti Yesus memikul salibnya?

Ayub memaknai sakit,
Yunus menghayati konyolnya keputusasaan,
Ibrahim tahu yang mesti dilawan dengan kapak,
Musa mengerti ilmu sihir—
dari zaman ular hingga industri.

Namun kita?
Merelakan diri jadi bahan tertawaan;
disingkirkan dan berusaha bertahan
dari perayaan keikhlasan.

Islamku, Islam Anda, Islam Kita

Menggugat Tuhan yang Maskulin

Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra

Misa Ateis

Why must days be numbered, when all has been agreed?
Is it because God forgets?
Or is it, as Leo Tolstoy once whispered—
God sees the truth, but waits?
And so we wait, as time turns endlessly,
never quite in rhythm with the softest voice within us.

Mengapa hari mesti dihitung kalau telah disepakati?
Apa karena Tuhan itu pelupa?
Atau, ini yang dikatakan Leo Tolstoy—
Tuhan Maha Tahu, tapi Dia Menunggu?
Dan, kita pun terus menunggu, waktu yang terus berputar,
yang tak pernah sesuai dengan hati kecil kita.

Bandar Sri Begawan, Juni 2024
(Sekar Kinanthi Kidung Wening)