Ngelmu Iku Kalakone Kanthi Laku: Knowledge, the Restraint of Angkara, and Relational Ethics in Serat Wedhatama

Abstract

Peace education often emphasizes the acquisition of moral values, although knowledge of ethical principles does not necessarily translate into conduct. This article examines how selected opening stanzas of the Pocung section of Serat Wedhatama connect knowledge (ngelmu), disciplined practice (laku), the restraint of destructive impulses (dur angkara), and ethical relations with others. The study employs qualitative library research and focused textual analysis. A single verifiable edition of Serat Wedhatama serves as the primary source, while scholarship on Javanese Sufism, ethics, and peace education provides the interpretive context. The analysis traces key Javanese terms and the progression of ideas across the selected stanzas. The findings suggest that ngelmu is presented as incomplete without laku, which involves confronting angkara within oneself. The following stanza links this inward discipline with ngaksama and sareh, expressed through forgiveness and patience toward others, respectively. These stanzas can therefore be read as linking knowledge, self-cultivation, and relational conduct rather than presenting moral values as a disconnected list. The article concludes that this textual sequence offers a perspective on peace education that foregrounds the formation of ethical subjects, without assuming that inward discipline alone can resolve social or structural conflict.