Controversy over ghost stories
JAKARTA (JP): Discussing the possible existence of ghosts is always sure to lead to disagreements and arguments.
A Dutch expert on historical buildings, Lodewijk Wagenaar, once said he did not believe the stories about old buildings being haunted by ghosts.
"It's nonsense. For me it is even surprising that the word 'ghost' exists in dictionaries."
However, while there are many fictitious ghost stories -- some presented on movie screens -- there are many people who claim to have had experiences with ghosts, claims which most of us cannot easily digested because they go against our logic
"There are too many things which have yet to be revealed in this big world and are beyond our understanding. We can't just say that there are no ghosts in this world. How can you prove that?" said Cornelis Wowor, the director of Buddhism affairs at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Cornelis and his family have had their own experiences with the spirit world. One such experience was when his late mother, who lived in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, was ill. She was visited by a spirit that looked like Cornelis, and after this visit she recovered.
"It was my father and my younger brother who saw the spirit; at the time I was in Java and I did not feel anything. An 'expert' said it was the spirit of my uncle in one of my previous lives," he said.
Buddhism teaches that there are 31 realms of existence, including the two which can be seen, namely the realms occupied by human beings and animals, said the lecturer at the Nalanda School of Buddhism in East Jakarta.
"Unseen creatures live all around us and they have characteristics similar to those of human beings, namely some of them are kind and some are cruel," he said.
That is why, Cornelis said, it is not surprising that people sometimes see ghosts. "The ghosts can materialize but it is difficult to prove that their appearance represents the personality of the person that is seen."
So if you see a ghost that looks like your dead grandmother, it can either be the spirit of your grandmother or the spirit of another creature.
"In this case, we should always be alert and not immediately trust the appearance (of the ghost)," he added.
The existence of spirits is also acknowledged by other religions, including Islam.
The book Dialog dengan Jin Muslim, Pengalaman Spiritual (Dialog with Muslim Genies, Spiritual Experience) says God created the spirits from fire before creating humans.
The book's author, Muhammad Isa Dawud, says that principally spirits are unseen unless God wills otherwise, and that the spirits can change into various forms.
"The number of genies is very great .... The number of spirits that resides in this world is billions of time greater than the number of human beings," Muhammad said, adding that these spirits consist of different races and religions, and have their own kingdoms and nations. (ind)