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Komunitas 8 (2) (2016): 185-198 DOI:10.15294/Komunitas.V8i2.6114

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Komunitas 8 (2) (2016): 185-198 DOI:10.15294/Komunitas.V8i2.6114 Komunitas 8 (2) (2016): 185-198 DOI:10.15294/komunitas.v8i2.6114 InternationalKOMUNITAS Journal of Indonesian Society And Culture http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/komunitas Revelation is Unlimited: Divinely Inspired Speeches, “Testing” and the Spiritual Training in the Subud Movement Asfa Widiyanto 1,2 1 The University of Bamberg, Germany 2State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga, Indonesia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/komunitas.v8i2.6114 Received : 2016; Accepted: 2016; Published: September 2016 Abstract The Subud Movement is one of the mystical movements which develop in the Indonesian archipelago. This movement originated from the spiritual experience of its founder, Muhammad Subuh Sumahadiwidjojo (1901- 1987), in 1925. This paper is devoted to highlighting the nature of revelation in the Subud Movement. I will show that revelation is not a taboo in the movement and even becomes the legitimacy of leadership, in particular for the founder of the Movement. This can be observed most notably from the existence of divinely inspired talks, “testing” and the latihan kejiwaan (spiritual training) in the movement. In order to grasp more readily the nature of revelation in the Subud Movement, also provide an overview of the discourse of leadership and revelation in Javanese mystical tradition. Keywords: revelation; divinely inspired speeches; the latihan kejiwaan; testing; Subud Movement INTRODUCTION mystical movements which develop in the Mystical teachings have attracted many In- Indonesian archipelago. This movement donesian people. The overwhelming and originated from the spiritual experience of threatening process of Westernisation has its founder, Muhammad Subuh Sumahadi- drawn their attention to seeking things in- widjojo (1901-1987) (from here on: Subuh or digenous, which they consider to be of im- Pak Subuh), in 1925. Eight years later, he de- portance for the building of a national ethic. signated this experience as latihan kejiwaan The emergence of the variegated Javanese (literally: spiritual training), which later be- mystical movements, mainly after Indone- came the centre of the Subud Movement’s sian independence, indicates the effort to spiritual practices. In 1947, the organisation pursue and hold on to Javanese values (Si- of Subud was officially founded in Yogya- muh 1988; Hage 2006; Urlich 2005). This karta (Geels 1997, p.113-126). phenomenon can also be seen as an antit- This study employed a qualitative ap- hesis to formalism within organised religion proach. The primary sources of the Subud and its neglect of spirituality. At an extreme Movement are available in Indonesian, Eng- level, the emergence of mystical movements lish and Javanese . Data recorded from ob- is an indication of their unwillingness to servations of and interviews with the ordi- belong to an imported religion (Geels 1997, nary adherents and leaders of the movement p.84; Amini 2009; Beck 2014; Genealogy are also regarded as primary sources. This 2013; Karim 2015), for instance Islam. study cannot ignore previous studies on the The Subud Movement is one of the Subud Movement. Such writings are treated Corresponding author : © 2016 Semarang State University. All rights reserved Address: Jl. Tentara Pelajar No. 2 Salatiga 50733, p-ISSN 2086 - 5465 | e-ISSN 2460-7320 Indonesia Email : [email protected] UNNES JOURNALS Phone : +62-85641921753 186 Asfa Widiyanto, Revelation is Unlimited: Divinely Unspired Speeches, “Testing” as secondary sources for this research. ly endowed with magical power enabling The works and talks of the founder, as them to control their subjects (Mulder 1998, well as the talks of Siti Rahayu Wiryohudo- p.42). Due to this direct encounter with the yo (the daughter of the founder as well as the divine, some of these rulers are receptive to current informal leader of the movement), literary inspiration. constitute primary written sources on the As Stange (1986, p.93) points out, such Subud Movement. The writings of Ruspana a ruler is interested in a sort of wahyu which are also treated as primary sources. Ruspa- can serve as a source of temporal and spiritu- na is a leading spiritual helper in Surakar- al authority. Nonetheless, it is worth noting ta, Central Java, who has produced a num- that not all rulers obtain wahyu, and some ber of writings on the Subud Brotherhood. who do may even lose it. This latter case may I have picked out the Subud Movement in cause their rule to no longer be legitimate, Surakarta as the subject and context of the and this will be indicated, for instance, by a research, and accordingly it is of importance decrease in wealth and the instability of the to see how the beliefs and the teachings of region (Woodward 1989, p.165). Similarly, the Subud Brotherhood are formulated by the German scholar Max Weber (1864-1920) a spiritual helper who hails from Surakarta, describes that if a person bestowed with and is now active in the branch of the Subud charisma does not succeed in doing good for Movement in this city. his subjects, he is inclined to suppose that God or some other extraordinary power has Leadership and revelation in Javanese deserted his leadership (Bendix 1967, p.343; mystical tradition: an overview Wasner 2005). In Javanese society, intuitive knowledge In Javanese society in general, one pos- (ngelmu) is considered important. Those sessing charisma is believed to have better possessing such knowledge have the po- chances of filling an important position in tential to acquire the “revelation” (wahyu, society. Such a person normally possesses a Arabic: wahy), a charismatic glow which strong “inner-feeling” (rasa) resulting from is considered one source of power (Stange practising mystical disciplines. The idea of 1984, p.114), as the legitimacy of leadership. “inner-feeling” itself, as Mulder (1998, p.144- It is worth noting that the term wahyu 146) indicates, underlies the possibility of in Javanese covers such things as magical po- personal experience and feeling as the ulti- wer (kasekten), literary inspiration (wahyu mate touchstones for the truth. This mode kapujanggan), prophecy (nubuwwa), divine of thought is based on the acknowledgment inspiration (ilham), as well as a supposed that there is always something implicit and divine mandate to rule in a certain area (wa- non-rational within most phenomena and hyu keprabon). experiences. Some notions covered by the term wa- We can see that the phenomenon of hyu are exemplified in the Javanese idea of employing mystical practices for the sake kingship. A king, particularly the founder of of yielding potency and efficacy is not un- a dynasty, is supposed to obtain a celestial common in Javanese society. The existence mandate to rule (wahyu keprabon). The exis- of charisma as a legitimation for leadership tence of such a wahyu indicates that one’s is present in most societies. However, the leadership is drawn from a higher source of source of this charisma may differ from one protection. The people may witness a bright society to another. light flashing over the night sky which is In Max Weber’s view, veneration for considered an indication of the coming of revelation and total trust in the leader are this wahyu. The recipients of wahyu are be- among the signs of charisma (Bendix 1967, lieved to shine with a soft light stemming p.343). This suggests that the notion of re- from the heart. These metaphors indicate velation and charisma are in some ways con- a permeating identification of power and nected. The prophets receive a revelation light in Javanese culture. Rulers are normal- and are believed to possess charisma. Their UNNES JOURNALS Komunitas 8 (2) (2016): 185-198 187 charismatic appeal attracts people to follow his followers, but also to possess the cha- their messages. The “revelation” in the sense racteristics of a father or patron. He should of a mandate to rule (which is apparent in give them advice, assist them in solving Javanese culture) is identical to the charis- their problems and should act as interme- ma possessed by the political leaders. What diary (or at least provide necessary expla- is apparent in both notions of revelation nations) between his followers and the un- and charisma is that they, from sociological seen world (Mulder 1998, p.49). point of view, are in some ways marked by The leader is believed to obtain his recognition from a group of people. Literary power from higher forces. Leadership in the inspiration, for example, (which is in Java- Javanese mystical tradition can therefore be nese culture likewise described as a “revela- called charismatic; this sort of leadership tion”) is in some ways marked by recogniti- plays a part in the embodiment of the ver- on from the readers. tical patronage mode in the organisation of The Javanese notion of revelation is in a group or society. The leader benefits from line with the definition of revelation offered having followers who acknowledge his in- by some scholars of religion, namely, “a divi- fluence, while his followers draw security ne communication to human beings”. Such from attaching themselves to him and his a definition allows them to incorporate dis- group. In some cases, the allegiance to the tinct manners and levels of revelation (Den- master or leader is stronger than that to the ninger 1987, p.356). This definition stands family (Mulder 1978, p.30-62). In this re- in contrast to that in Islamic theology, for gard, we may observe the notion of religion instance, in which the term wahy (revela- as “exchange”. tion) is employed to designate a verbatim In Javanese mystical circles, the foun- communication between God and the mes- ders of a mystical sect are assigned a special sengers or prophets. As for the communica- position. They are considered to be ordinary tion of individuals, the term ilham (divine human beings who are granted the capabi- inspiration) is normally applied (Carpenter lity of serving as active channels of spiritual 1987, p.258).
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