Hello, I am new to MAP. Also a new Silat student from K.L., Malaysia. Would someone here on this forum be able to help me understand what the following Silat poem is about? Dalam Silat ada Diam, Dalam Diam ada Gerak, Dalam Gerak ada Bunga, Dalam Bunga ada Helah, Dalam Helah ada Buah, Dalam Buah ada Penyudah, dan Dalam Penyudah ada Insaf. Thank you for your time.
Hi, I'm from Malaysia too... That poem is kind of prevalent in Silat teachings here, in many different forms. Some longer, some shorter. It would take a few books to explain the meaning behind that whole poem. And a lifetime of learning to live it. I don't have enough experience to do it justice though. Maybe others here do.
As a young devout Muslim man, I am very aware of the philosophy behind silat's teachings and beliefs, because a lot of the meanings and actions are linked to religious elements within the Quran. I have no doubt that it takes a few books to fully explain the full meaning behind the entire poem. And I have no doubt that it takes a lifetime of learning and experiences to truly live it. Looking at it from the perspective of a modern contemporary citizen, living in a multi-cultural society here in urban Kuala Lumpur, and having grown up and still have relatives in small kampungs in Negeri Sembilan, I am curious to know more about how others interpret the poem. Obviously, the interpretation will differ between someone in Rembau versus someone in Pasir Mas versus someone in K.L. due to their various upbringing and life journeys. I am sure my 74-year-old Cikgu Ramli will tell me something different compared to my 49-year-old Cikgu Zainal. And perhaps that is the essence of the poem, to intrigue and to be a mystique. Seeing as out of more than 90 views of this topic posting, only results in 1 response ..... evidence seems to indicate that most of our fellow silat brothers aren't confident that they will be able to do it justice as well, pakarilusi. LOL Salam sejahtera dan terima kasih, pakarilusi.
These ideas are not exclusively Islamic Within silat there is stillness - stillness is the state before thought or intent (wuji), it is primal. Stillness contains movement - all movement has it's source in stillness, movement is born of intent (taiji). In movement there is all potential (kembangan - the flowery expression/dance a process of exploring potential of 10,000 things). In the dance there is intelligence (or focus) = helah = helat = akal ... but can also be 'tipu-muslihat' ... to trick/sleight of hand and not showing one's intention. Intelligence guides the expression of the function/the form. Within the function there is finality (singularity or the result we seek), and through experiencing this finality there is the flowering of our understanding (kesadaran = insaf).
