Within Kejawen, meditation (*semedi*) and inner cultivation (*olah batin*) are regarded as the heart of the spiritual path, because the tradition is oriented toward the *batin*—the inner dimension—rather than toward dogma. Through stillness and contemplative focus, practitioners seek direct nearness to the Divine, often expressed as the unity of servant and Lord (*manunggaling kawula-Gusti*). This inner work refines *rasa*, the subtle, intuitive awareness by which one senses divine guidance, discerns right conduct, and moves in harmony with others and with the wider order of existence. Meditation thus becomes less a technique than a way of attuning the whole person—body, breath, thought, and feeling—to a deeper, sacred rhythm.

Inner cultivation in this context is inseparable from ethical discipline and character formation. Practices such as fasting, night vigils, and restraint in speech and desire are understood as means to soften egoistic motives (*pamrih*) and to cultivate humility, patience, and self-control. As *rasa* is purified, practitioners are believed to gain clearer intuition, spiritual insight, and the capacity to distinguish genuine inner guidance from fantasy or passion. This moral and psychological refinement is not pursued for its own sake alone, but as preparation for a more stable and trustworthy relationship with the unseen dimensions of reality.

Kejawen also treats the human being as a microcosm (*jagad cilik*) reflecting the macrocosm (*jagad gede*), and meditation is the primary way to harmonize these two. By bringing inner life into balance, one is thought to participate more consciously in the larger cosmic order and to foster social harmony in everyday life. Dreams, symbolic experiences, and subtle inner promptings are taken seriously as channels of wisdom once the heart has been sufficiently cleansed through sustained practice. In this sense, meditation becomes both a personal discipline and a means of aligning oneself with a broader, living cosmos.

Because Kejawen is deeply syncretic, meditation also serves as the meeting point of its Islamic, Hindu-Buddhist, and indigenous strands. Islamic remembrance of God, ideas of inner realization associated with older Indic traditions, and reverence for ancestral and local spiritual forces are all interiorized and integrated through *semedi* and *olah batin*. These practices allow individuals to maintain outward religious identities while cultivating an inner, non-sectarian spirituality that emphasizes essence (*isi*) over outer form (*kulit*). Meditation and inner cultivation thus function as the central thread that weaves together diverse teachings into a single, coherent path of spiritual refinement and intimate communion with the Divine.