The Concept of a Social Organism: The Response of Javanese Society to Modernism in the Serat Wedhatama by Kangjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya (K.G.P.A.A.) Mangkunegara IV

The specific goal of this research is to discover the socio-cultural response of Javanese society to the wave of modernism at the end of the 19th century, based on the ancient Javanese manuscript, the Serat Wedhatama, written by Kangjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya (K.G.P.A.A.) Mangkunegara IV. The form of the current research is qualitative. The type of research is a library research, which includes a literature review and makes use of the Javanese manuscripts found in the Reksa Pustaka library in Pura Mangkunegaran Surakarta. The philological approach was used for this study, which includes: (1) an inventory of the manuscripts, (2) a description of the manuscripts, (3) reading of the texts, (4) translation of the texts, and (5) comprehension of the texts. Results of the research showed the existence of a concept for a social organism which describes the figure of modern man in the socio-cultural life of a Javanese society, which is harmonious, mutually synergising and able to preserve the “Javanese world”. The concept of a social organism is a response by intellectuals and writers (poets) from the Karaton and also the Javanese people who have an inclination to preserve the existence of the Javanese culture that has belonged to them for centuries.