Achieving peace through exercise of inner power

Jagadhita, Contributor/Denpasar

About 20 years ago, a restless young man, Sumadi Kertonegoro, arrived at the serene village of Ubud, Bali, to seek peace.

Not only did he find what he was seeking, but he also was able to share his enlightenment with others, particularly Westerners, through a spiritual exercise school.

The native of Surakarta, Central Jakarta, became restless upon witnessing a violent act in his hometown back in 1976. He then went to Yogyakarta where he learned spirituality until he found peace in painting. He made up his mind to learn art from Dullah, a painter who lived in Ubud.

For five years, Dullah taught him not only painting technique, but also the wisdom of life. Every night, before he went to bed, Dullah explained his philosophy to the student.

Some incidents inspired Sumadi, who claimed to be related to the Surakarta royal family, to open the Daya Putih (White Power) school in 1995.

Once, he helped shelter his neighbor in Ubud who was beaten by his father. Sumadi, also known as Kanjeng Madi, gave supernatural protection to the neighbor, which prevented the father from touching him, no matter how hard he tried.

Consumed with fury, the father then swung his hoe with all his might, aiming at Sumadi. The supernatural power hit back at the angry man, causing him to fall to the ground.

Subsequently, Sumadi became popular in his neighborhood and elsewhere, thanks to word-of-mouth recommendation.

A resident of Karangasem went to Sumadi and asked him to become his teacher. Moved by his persistence and seriousness, Sumadi agreed to teach him for three days.

Within that short time, the student was able to master the skill of manipulating his inner power. Once, in the forest, a wild dog chased him, but the animal collapsed when he waved his hands.

The story was spread by word of mouth and many people arrived, asking Sumadi to become their teacher.

Daya Putih school was officially established on May 13, 1995, on Jl. Andong, Peliatan, Ubud.

The school has admitted hundreds of students, including many foreign tourists. He has also visited Germany, Switzerland and Thailand to teach.

It was earlier called Daya Nurani (Inner Power) but the name was changed to Daya Putih (White Power) in accordance with divine inspiration that was received by Sumadi.

To be admitted, prospective students must demonstrate their seriousness, as the teacher is quite strict in the recruitment process.

"I'm very selective when receiving students," Sumadi said.

Sumadi said Daya Putih focused on manipulating "beauty" as strength because of the belief that beauty is an inseparable character trait of God.

Daya Putih teaches four kinds of awareness: of the senses, instinct, the mind and spiritual awareness.

"Each awareness contains its own strength, which will produce inner power or 'white' power," he said. "The process to raise the inner power can take just three days. This is to allow the body to adjust to the exercises that follow," he said.

The core exercise in Daya Putih is not the "power" at all. Power is the result of physical and spiritual training. Thus, the training, and the power that it accumulates, serve to neutralize "negative" energy.

In effect, "the greater the negative energy produced by the opponent, the greater the energy (you) will get," Sumadi explained.

Some spiritual teachers have a specific requirement for students. For instance, they will advise students not to eat a particular kind of food or to avoid doing a particular thing. But Sumadi does not specifically tell the students about it.

"It will come naturally. There will be a time when a student realizes that some things are simply no longer capable of adaptation to our physical being, for which reason the student will avoid it," said Sumadi.

This teaching of living at peace with oneself and one's environment had attracted both tourists and foreigners to the school, he said.