The mystic legacy of Sukarno and Soeharto

Yustinianus SI, Bogor

The birthdays of two of Indonesia's most prominent figures in history falls in June. They are Sukarno, born on June 6, 1901, and Soeharto, born on June 8, 1921.

Like a curse, the reasons for their falls from power were also similar source: Their failures to overcome an economic crisis that they created for themselves.

Prior to their falls, they also made the same mistakes by ignoring rapidly growing opposition forces. They were more focused on amassing all the power they could get. As a result, the opposition forces united, and like a huge wave swallowed them up. In the end, like it or not, they were kicked out of office.

From the psycho-cultural point of view, the behavior of both Sukarno and Soeharto was also similar. This was partly because both Sukarno and Soeharto came from the same cultural roots, a culture formed by syncretism between Hinduism and Islam. Thus, it should come as no surprise that both resorted to using the mystical and traditional symbols that are commonly used in Javanese culture to preserve social order and renew tradition.

From the point of view of mindset, Sukarno and Soeharto both believed that there is only a thin line between reality and the supernatural world, and that there are forces from the supernatural world that can influence events in the real world.

In his speech at the University of Indonesia when being conferred with an honorary doctorate in 1963, Sukarno stated that someone can acquire a great political power if he or she receives wangsit (divine guidance), which is signified by teja (a very bright light) radiating from the face.

The same applied to Soeharto. In his biography, Soeharto: Pikiran, Ucapan dan Tindakan, Soeharto admitted that he had deeply studied mysticism. According to him, mysticism must be differentiated from klenik or black magic.

He said that mysticism was a spiritual way of getting closer to God. Based on this belief, Soeharto concluded that his late wife, Tien Soeharto, possessed teja, whose power was then transferred to Soeharto. That's why, when his wife died, Soeharto felt that his teja was also fading.

The influence of cultural syncretism between the Hindu and Javanese cultures is also to be seen in Soeharto and Sukarno as both often used wayang symbols to express their ideas. These symbols actually originated in the Indian legends, the Ramayana and Mahabarata, and were then assimilated into Javanese culture. In Javanese culture. Because of that, no wonder Sukarno often identified himself as Bima, one of the main character in the Mahabharata legend, who is bold, courageous, honest and often confronts the gods, while Soeharto identified himself as Semar.

In the midst of all these similarities, there are still some notable differences between Sukarno and Soeharto. For example, the way they maintained their "supernatural powers." As if following in the footsteps of Kediri's King Kertanegara, Sukarno had many illicit love affairs. According to Hindu Hinayana teaching, which formed the basic beliefs of Kertanegara, the way to increase one's power so as to ensure that one gets to Nirvana is to try to experience as much worldly pleasure as possible. In this way, the physical body will weaken and finally be consumed by its own energy so that the soul can easily moksa, or fly up to Nirvana.

In Soeharto, this sort of thing doesn't exist. He chose to increase his power by communing with nature. This is called tapa brata kasunyatan, and was commonly practiced by the resi (guru) during the Syailendra and Mataram kingdoms.

Soeharto was born in Central Java on June 8, 1921, in a village called Kemusuk, Argomulya, Boyolali. That is the reason why he is more influenced by Mangkunegaran tradition, rather than that of Singasari, Kediri or Majapahit, all of which shaped Sukarno's personality.

Being born under the influence of Mangkunegaran tradition, Soeharto also applied the Mangkunegaran military tradition. As part of this tradition, everyone who wants to be in the inner circle of the keraton (palace) was first obligated to serve in the Mangkunegaran Legion. This is similar to Soeharto's dual functions of the military doctrine.

Raden Mas Said's successor, Mangkunegaran IV, continued this tradition by composing a systematic military doctrine called the Serat Tripama. This laid down that a soldier must uphold three principles, Sumantri (a knight who defends his king and his people), Kumbakarna (a symbol of patriotism) and Narpati Basukara (a knight who defends his king's throne as a service for the king).

In this context, Sukarno was very different. He saw himself more as a uniting figure, which again parallels Gadjah Mada of Majapahit in East Java, who swore that he would unite Nusantara under the kingdom's control.

The question is: Do the successors follow the footsteps of their forebears? According to his close aides, former president Abdurrahman Wahid truly believes supernatural powers. According to Marsilam Simanjuntak, a former Cabinet secretary, on June 1999 Abdurrahman Wahid was asked to step down as the chairman of the Democratic Forum (Fordem) as the other members decided that he no longer had a clear about the direction of the forum.

In response to the pressure from his fellow Fordem members, Abdurrahman Wahid agreed to step down believing that he had received blessings from the spirit of Hasyim Ashari, his father and the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama, and Sunan Kalijaga to become president.

History later shows that in October 1999, Abdurrahman Wahid was in fact elected the new president. No one can be sure whether this was just a coincidence or whether the blessings really did work. What is certain is that during his time in office, Abdurrahman Wahid often visited many sacred sites and personally owned quite a number of "charms" like both Sukarno and Soeharto.

The country's fifth president Megawati Soekarnoputri, Sukarno's daughter, is similar, often visiting sacred places in Bali and Banten.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono does not distance himself from these kinds of mystical believes. At the very least, he often associates himself with Bima, a powerful but virtuous warrior in Javanese folklore. Meanwhile, BJ Habibie, the country's third president, even though not of Javanese origin, followed a great deal of Soeharto's guidance, especially on things related to Javanese mystical believes.

It would probably be quite hard to come up with an Indonesian leader who relies solely on rationality. This should come as no surprise as the truth of rationality is not absolute. Many believe that there are other truths out there, from another dimension that is as yet incapable of scientific proof.

The writer is a researcher at the Center For Indonesian Behavioral Studies and can be reached at yusatya@indo.net.id.