On 'puasa' and fasting
On 'puasa' and fasting
My sincere thanks to Pujo Broto and Sanjoto W. for their reinforcement of my contention that the words puasa and `fasting' are not suitable to translate their meanings, one for the other.
One might fast (in the English vernacular) until death and never achieve the multitude of spiritual improvements and righteous satisfaction, much less an early marriage, a pilgrimage and, release from the single persons incompleteness (among others), what those who practice puasa, are able to achieve. We see here that the religious rite of puasa entails much more than the shifting of mealtimes from daylight to darkness.
It is clearly incomplete, if not downright demeaning, to refer to the ritual of puasa using the English word "fasting," (a word which dwells on the absence of the intake of food or drink and is completely negative in all outlook): when it is the sacrifice, through suppression of ones appetite, during daylight hours, which will lead us to personal peace and compassion for our fellow man. Wherein lays happiness, we know.
You seem to take a defensive position toward my statement that the effects of puasa are neutral in all aspects. Actually, it is not my statement. It is paraphrased from an earlier Post article entitled Health by Dian Utami Soekanto, in which the author's research with doctors concludes there is no negative "health" impact from puasa, in any way. The words "on health" are missing from my statement and, when reinserted they will bring the statement to a better meaning of the point of the article.
Regarding the line, "...clearly a positive effect of the fasting month...," where it is suggested that I "try it sometime," there is this to say: I have undergone hundreds of fasts, (the English meaning) both voluntary and forced upon but; I have never experienced puasa, nor enjoyed the benefits of which you speak.
Can anyone out there explain the annual government reports of 20 percent to 25 percent increase in food supplies used to feed the city, during the "fasting" month of Ramadhan?
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Jakarta