Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saat meditasi singkat, saya merasakan batin saya damai. - During a short meditation, I feel my inner self is at peace.

Saat literally means moment/time and here it works like “when” or “during”:
Saat meditasi singkat = “During a short meditation / When (I was) meditating briefly.”

Saat and ketika are often interchangeable when followed by a clause:
- Saat saya meditasi… ≈ Ketika saya meditasi…
With a noun phrase like meditasi singkat, saat sounds very natural:
- Saat meditasi singkat… ✓
- Ketika meditasi singkat… sounds a bit less natural.
Waktu is more colloquial and usually followed by a clause with a subject:
- Waktu saya meditasi sebentar… ✓
- Waktu meditasi singkat… is possible but less common as everyday speech.

You don’t need di (at) before saat; saat itself already expresses “at the time of / during”.

Why is it meditasi singkat and not singkat meditasi?

In standard Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun:

meditasi singkat = short meditation
rumah besar = big house
cuaca buruk = bad weather

Putting the adjective before the noun (singkat meditasi) is ungrammatical in normal Indonesian. You might only see reversed order in very stylized poetry or slogans, not in everyday sentences.

Is meditasi here a noun or a verb? Could I say saat bermeditasi instead?

In saat meditasi singkat, meditasi is a noun:
“during a short meditation (session).”

You can also use the verb form bermeditasi:

Saat bermeditasi, saya merasakan batin saya damai.
= “While meditating, I felt my inner self at peace.”

Nuance:

saat meditasi singkat focuses a bit more on the meditation session as an event.
saat saya bermeditasi sebentar focuses more on the action of meditating.

Both are grammatically fine; it’s a stylistic choice.

In English we say “a short meditation”. Where is the word for “a” in Indonesian?

Indonesian usually doesn’t use articles like “a” or “the”. The idea of “a” in:

saat meditasi singkat = “during a short meditation”

is understood from context. You only add something like satu (one), sebuah, seorang, etc. when you really need to emphasize number or type:

selama satu sesi meditasi singkat = “during one short meditation session”

But in most normal contexts, saat meditasi singkat is the natural way to say “during a short meditation.”

What is the difference between merasa and merasakan here? Could I use merasa instead?

Both are related to feeling, but:

merasa is usually intransitive: to feel (an emotion / an adjective / that …)
- Saya merasa senang. = I feel happy.
- Saya merasa (bahwa) dia jujur. = I feel / think that he’s honest.
merasakan is transitive, focusing more on experiencing something:
- Saya merasakan sakit di dada. = I feel pain in my chest.
- Saya merasakan kedamaian. = I feel peace.

In the sentence:

Saya merasakan batin saya damai. ≈ “I felt (that) my inner self was peaceful.”

Grammatically, merasa would also work and is very natural:

Saya merasa batin saya damai.

Merasakan adds a slight nuance of really experiencing or sensing that state, sometimes a bit more intense or concrete than plain merasa.

Why is there no word like “is” between batin saya and damai? Why not batin saya adalah damai?

Indonesian normally does not use a verb like “is” before adjectives. You simply put the adjective after the noun:

batin saya damai = “my inner self is peaceful”
langit biru = “the sky is blue”
makanan ini enak = “this food is delicious”

The word adalah is mostly used when the complement is a noun (or noun phrase), not an adjective:

Batin saya adalah sumber kekuatan.
= “My inner self is a source of strength.”

Batin saya adalah damai would sound strange unless you are making a very philosophical statement where damai is treated as a noun “Peace” in a metaphorical way (and even then, most people would phrase it differently).

What exactly does batin mean, and how is it different from words like hati, perasaan, or pikiran?

Batin refers to your inner self / inner world / inner being, often with a spiritual or very deep emotional nuance. It contrasts with lahir (outer, physical side):

batin = inner, unseen side
lahir = outer, visible side

Rough comparisons:

hati – “heart”, everyday word for feelings:
- hati saya tenang = my heart is calm.
perasaan – feeling(s), often emotional reactions:
- perasaan saya campur aduk = my feelings are mixed.
pikiran – mind, thoughts:
- pikiran saya kacau = my thoughts are a mess.
jiwa – soul / spirit (more abstract, often religious).

So batin saya damai suggests a deeper, inner peace, a bit more introspective or spiritual than just “I feel okay.”

What does damai mean here, and could I use tenang instead?

Damai here means peaceful / in peace at a fairly deep level. It’s also used for external peace (no war, no conflict):

hidup damai = live in peace
negara yang damai = a peaceful country

In a personal/emotional context:

batin saya damai = my inner self is at peace.

You could say batin saya tenang instead:

tenang = calm, not restless or anxious
tentram / tenteram (variant) = peaceful, content, at ease

Nuance:

damai often sounds like a deep, possibly spiritual peace.
tenang focuses more on calmness or absence of agitation.

Both are positive, but damai feels a bit “deeper” here.

Why do we repeat saya in saya merasakan batin saya damai? Could it just be saya merasakan batin damai?

In batin saya, saya marks possession: my inner self.

batin saya = my inner self
batin alone would just be “(an) inner self / inner being” with no owner specified.

So saya merasakan batin damai sounds incomplete or vague: whose inner self is peaceful?

You can vary the form of the possessor:

batin saya (neutral/formal)
batinku (more poetic/intimate)
- Saya merasakan batinku damai.

But you normally keep some form of “my” there.

Is the comma after Saat meditasi singkat necessary?

The comma is recommended but not absolutely required.

In Indonesian, when you have an initial time or place phrase (like Saat meditasi singkat), it’s standard writing practice to follow it with a comma:

Saat meditasi singkat, saya merasakan batin saya damai.

Many native speakers omit the comma in casual writing, but in more formal or careful writing, keeping the comma is preferable because it clearly separates the introductory time phrase from the main clause.