Poisonous Power

A few days ago two of my leaders committed suicide in a bureaucracy or exercised their right to resign in an institution. His condition was very pathetic and many people felt sorry for him. But whatever the power, the rice has turned into porridge, everything has happened, in the language of religion, it has become 'qadarullah.' Because, without God's intervention, all decisions, all actions, even all our deeds, would not be possible.

The question is, what is our contribution in life and this life? If all our movements, our mind, and heart, our breath. Everything around us turns out to be only God who has absolute power. We don't have the 'effort' to do something. Even the most trivial things can happen, and all of this cannot be separated from God's intervention. Of course, I will not focus on discussing this Qadarullah specifically, but more generally and more freely.

The last words that could come out of the mouth of my two leaders, was that he did this because he was no longer trusted. In my layman's mind, that trust, nothing more and nothing less, is just a concern from people who are believed to love him, love him, even protect him. When love, compassion, and protection are no longer available to him, he commits an act that greatly tarnishes himself and his company.

Feeling this loss of love, affection and protection are one of the most deadly depressions of power. He can kill anyone from high-ranking officials to people who are used to starvation. Loss of love, compassion, and protection is the result of an excessive dose of love, compassion, and protection itself. Too much love is a failure. Excess love is emptiness. And, overprotection is the lack of meaning and vision of life and the loss of moral 'immunity'.

The philosophers of the world speak of power with ambiguous perceptions. Some rail, but not a few who hope. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch thinker, exposed the corrupt seduction of power. Sincere-hearted people become vile and greedy when they hold power.

Lord Acton is also famous for his expression. Power tends to corrupt humans (power tends to corrupt), and absolute power corrupts humans absolutely (absolute power corrupts absolutely). Friedrich Nietzsche, the German thinker, also saw the driving force of power in the human mind. He calls the human drive the will to power.

Furthermore, perhaps no one can feel the power dilemma, other than Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States who brought the US out of the dark era of slavery. He once said, if you want to see a person's true character, give him power.

The real power lies in knowledge (knowledge is power). That is what Francis Bacon, one of the thinkers of the European Enlightenment, emphasized. With that quote, Europe entered an era of tremendous scientific and technological progress.

This series of brief reflections by world thinkers on power may not be complete if it is not closed with Mahatma Gandhi's understanding of power. On the day when the power of love is greater than human love for power, the world will know peace.

Power is neutral. It is neither good nor bad. Power is like a sword. It is sharp and must have a snug fit. Otherwise, he would injure innocent people, including the owner himself. The next question, what kind of sheath is right for that power?. The answer I chose was SPIRITUALITY.

Spirituality here is not jargons, mottos, or moral pillars of the struggle of an institution/institution, but the way of life of people who realize their true self. This can be done, if we can distance ourselves from the social identity we receive from society. This awareness is the foundation of true spirituality. Spiritual transcends religious boundaries. In philosophy and political theory, such consciousness is also known as cosmopolitan consciousness.

Furthermore, related to power like a sword, and spirituality as a scabbard, there are two important things that we need to understand, namely:

First, the identity of the power holder must be as wide as the universe. Of course, power should not be attached, let alone fanatics with one social identity, such as religion, race, ethnicity, and nation. The true identity of the man is a universal being. Therefore, before holding power, we must be aware of and understand our identity as universal beings.

Second, from this universal identity, true morality is born. When we do good to others, it is not because that person has done us a favor, but because they are fellow creatures of the universe. Our limits are the boundaries of the universe. Morals born from this awareness are natural morality that is in line with the laws of the universe, as well as ideals for exercising power. If this happens, then power can be devoted to caring for life, both humans and all creatures. This is true power.

We also see many swords without sheaths around us. Many rulers hold power with very narrow identities. As a result, morality becomes narrow and pseudo. Discrimination, corruption, and policy errors are common. Our society lives in poverty and ignorance, due to the absence of an example from its leaders. This is all coupled with a wave of outside cultural influences that destroy our culture.

When hypocrisy also becomes a daily culture, then the slogans and mottos of morality are used as masks, to cover injustice, discrimination, and corruption. Of course, all of this cannot be allowed to continue. If there is no scabbard, then the sword should be thrown away, because it will injure many people. If power is not imbued with spirituality, then power will be very toxic and can kill the person who holds the power itself.

In the end, I suddenly realized why two of my leaders committed suicide in the 36-year-old institutional bureaucracy. Of course, it's not just the intelligence factor of the whisperers, but because his power is not enveloped by the universe of spirituality. So that neutral power turns into poison.