The mystic legacy of Sukarno and Soeharto

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.