The Experience of Ki Soekardi

The 71 year old healty and kind man, is living in Yogyakarta. almost 20 years ago he has submitted his retirement as a government employee. He did not want to be assigned in a position which should involve him with 'dirty job'. A position which in fact could give him a chance to be financially rich. He said he did not want to be "a thief". As a man who practices Samadi, he decided to live from his pension and he was ready to lead a simple honest life.

He looks younger at his age. His athletical body is still clearly seen. Everyday, he does gardening energitically. Sometimes, he visits his friends living in the same town, by pedalling his old strong bike.

Some of his friends call him Wisanggeni, the son of Arjuna with goddess Dursanala. Wisanggeni always tells the truth to everybody in open manner, consequently he is also doing and fighting only for the truth. The wise Pak Soekardi agrees to be interviewed, in the hope, our younger generation should correctly knows this knowledge and let's the world knows that in fact, the low-profile Javanese has something valuable.

Kebatinan
The objects of Kebatinan is all metaphysical matters. In Kebatinan, the universe and all its contents, including the metaphysical things is a reality. It works by using the 6th sense. The exercise of feeling/rasa is very important thru the practice of Samadi.

Samadi
Samadi from the words: Sam means great and Adi means good or splendid. Someone who is doing Samadi is someone taking the position (patrap) to reach great and beautiful and holy Budi.

A holy Budi is a silent Budi without lust, without any wish or interest. This is a condition of void (suwung), but there is an activity of pure live vibration as a live characteristic from God. The holy Budi can be seen as a light which is called Nur. Nur is the heart of Budi. The oneness of Budi and Nur is mystically called curigo manjing warongko/keris in the scabbard or servant unites with master or Bima unites with Dewa Ruci.

In another term, this is Pangrucatan/Kamukswan. Pangrucatan means to be released. What is released? The influence of lust. Mukswa-to be abolished. What is abolished? The influence of lust. It can be said that Samadi is a process of Budi's purification, Budi becomes Nur. In the Nur, servant can communicate with master to receive some guidance as in accordance with his position as servant.

The practice of Samadi You may sit or lay down on a bed. Choose a clean, quiet and safe place. Breath relaxly. If you lay down, put your legs in a straight position, put both of your hands on the chest. Listen attentively to the voice of your breathing, calmly inhale, exhale. It will make your thinking inactive. Enjoy to listen your breathing by closing your eyes. It's the same if you concentrate your sight to the peak of nose. By doing this, you neutralize the thinking, fantasy and the influence of the five senses. After that you neutralize the lust in the 6th sense.
If you succeed, you would be in suwung/void, and Nur to get mystically simbolic guidance.

The human-being
The human-being are created by God. A human-being is a creature who has:

  1. Physical body (badan kasar-rough body)
  2. Soul body or jiwa (badan alus-refined body)
  3. Light body or Nur (suksma).

With the above 'construction', a human-being should be able to know Sangkan Paraning Dumadi.

The Universe Before the existence of the universe, there was nothing but emptiness and void. Inside the void, there was the characteristic of life of God. The universe was a 'Causa Prima'. The characteristic of God's life is felt like vibration. The vibration is everlasting. There were three elements:

  • Red elements with red ray, it is hot
  • Blue elements with blue ray, it is cool.
  • Yellow elements with yellow ray, it is wonderful.

These elements are always vibrating. As the result of the mixture of those three elements, a fourth element, white or silver-white was born and it is called Nur. Nur is the essence of the universe. Some are becoming the would-be planets, some are becoming badan budi/jiwa = soul body of human beings, when Nur became the essence of human physical body. That's mean that in the universe or in the galaxies shall always born new planets, stars etc.

The condition of the newly born planets can differ one to another. It depends to the influence of the three elements. There are planets which can be inhibited and there are planets which can not be inhibited.

The construction of a planet:

  1. The body of a planet in layers, the outer part is the skin of planet.
  2. Inside, there are gases and liquides.
  3. The most inside part is the essence of the planet. It is the Nur of a planet

In the case of a human-being, Nur should be the essence of a human-being, as a result of meeting between sperms of a man and a woman. A baby is born with complete body and has the essence of Nur. The baby cries when he comes into contact with the nature outside his mother's womb. The influence of nature vibrates his nerves, it is a reflex movement. From medical point of view, the baby is healthy i.e. all his body components are functioning actively.

Nur in its function as the essence of body should mix with human lusts: red, blue/black, yellow and white. The white lust was due to the mixture of the other three lusts (remember the birth of Nur from the three elements).

The lusts are vibrating continously. The brain is influenced, it develops feeling (rasa), the rasa develops karsa (wish). The wish produces metaphysical thing at first. But if the wish is strong, a real product is created i.e. culture, could be in the form of science, art etc. Culture is a product of active/working Budi, based on the activities of Nur turn out to be lust which influence the brain. This is logic.

Human-being as a living construction Same with planets, human being is also a living construction. The divisions are:

  1. The most inner part is Nur, which influences the brain.
  2. The most outer part is body. It has five senses and the 6th sense.
  3. Budi or soul body is metaphysical. It is born or created after Nur became the essence of the body.
    Some say that soul body is also called Mayonggo seto from the words: maya-metaphysical; Anggo-body. Its color is white (seto) like a cloud.

The division of the body
The division or parts of the body which are important with the process of Samadi

  1. Giri Loka, the head.
  2. Indra Loka, the chest with the heart as an important part
  3. Jana Loka, the sexual organ.

The Cakras
There are seven cakras in the bodies located at:

  1. Anus
  2. Sexual organ
  3. Navel
  4. Heart
  5. Under the throat
  6. Between the eyebrows
  7. Crown of head

Someone who is doing samadi should feel the vibration, free of lust and fantasy. It is the vibration of true life from Nur. The vibration is felt like electrical current, it does not make pain, it is cool and fresh. In every cakra, it stops for a while but always vibrates.

First passing thru the anus to the sexual organ then to navel. When it walks to the heart, some where below the heart, you would be concious that you would die. Do not be afraid, someone would die only at a predestined time, it is a God's will. If you were determined, the cakra would reach the heart and it would continue to the points under the throat, between the eyebrows and crown of head. And then it goes out, the man is unconsious like in position of sleeping. Nur walks out of the body and reaches mystical experience.
There are 7 cakras, each has its own power. In order to be able to use the cakras. One has to do exercises thru concentration of cipta (meleng cipta)

3 ways of olah-rasa (exercises of inner feeling)

  1. Samadi to achieve Nur.
  2. Concentration of cipta (meleng cipta)
    Focus on your wish. Do not exaggerate the ability of your body. It could be dangerous.
  3. Tayuh
    It is a way to know something thru metaphysical means. To know the past or the future, among other:
    1. What's the character of certain people
    2. The sick person, should he be healthy again? what's the medicine to cure him/her?
    3. Would he pass his exams?
    4. Who are her ancestors.
    5. What's the fate of a country
    6. What's the after-death situation etc.

The way you do 'tayuh' is just like when you are doing samadi. But you should not reach the suwung/void. It's depend to your ability. When you do that calmly, you could get the reply, (usually) in the form of symbols or signs. You have to make a proper interpretation. In the daily life, most people are doing 'tayuh' not samadi.

To learn to practice samadi
When you do samadi, first you have to be able to control your lust, your five senses and nine holes of the body. That's mean you have reached 5 Ws
1. Wenang : you are authorized to control lust.
You become:
2. Wening : clear thinking and feeling
You become:
3. Waskita : you can see metaphysical world and you are able to predict.
You become:
4. Waspada : You could be prepared and alert to what's going to happened, in good or bad situation. Whatever would happened, you must be calm, have a peace of mind.
You become:
5. Wicaksana : ability to face or solve any problem in a proper way. Correct thinking, proper action and solution.

For those who are interested to study samadi, must be able to reach the 5 Ws. Good luck!

Mystical Experience
As a traditional Javanese, the young Soekardi, a teenager, upon his grand-father guidance, had started learning self-defense martial art. He began to know some mystical things, in that case was kanuragan-the exercises of body, among other: become very powerful, has a strong and thunderous blow, invulnerable to sharp weapon, bullet etc.

Seeing what he achieved in kanuragan, his belief to spiritualism grew. But one important thing he has learnt, in the exercise of using inner energy as well as in spiritualism, one has to learn step by step.

Take care the ability of your body, be always well prepared of your step! As an elder generation, he has lived under Dutch colonialism and Japanese occupation forces. He joined another youths to become a fighter of independence. In the free Indonesia, he worked as a public employee. He started to learn spiritualism, abandoning kanuragan. He was determined to know the true reality.

Meeting with spirits For Pak Soekardi, who has learned samadi for more than 30 years, the world of spirits is reality, it is not an 'unseen' creature. There are two kinds of spirits:

  1. Genuine spirits - they were 'born' / created as spirits.
  2. Spirits from human-beings who have passed away.

Just like in our world, there are good and bad spirits, fool and clever ones. A long time ago, he helped a village-head to find back some village heirlooms which had gone missing for quite some time.

The villager was happy and grateful to him. But not only the villager who was happy, also the spirits who accompanied the heirlooms were also happy. They were back in the right hands. By chance, in the same village, he found a ring. Two genuine spirits - big and strong male were living in the ring. They said to Pak Soekardi that they were willing to serve him and they would obey all his instructions. Pak Soekardi said OK but there was no commitment whatsoever. He explained to the writer:

"With spirits you must be tough. You are a free man, any decision you make, the spirits have to obey and the most important thing: no commitment at all!"

It is a fatal mistake to conclude a commitment: As long as the person lives, the spirits help him, to be materially rich and powerful, but after this life the person has to pay back. Until when?

Those spirits knew that Pak Soekardi was a wise man, so they would like to learn something. At first glance, it was an advantage to have spirits. Immediately you could know anything you wish to know, among other: what's happened with your relatives in another town or country, what's going to happened etc. you just ask them and they'll reply.

But for a seeker of true knowledge, who is serious in samadi, that kind of thing is unnecessary. We are seeking for true reality, we are not seeking to be praised by other people for our ability. For Pak Soekardi at the end, the presence of these spirits he wore in the ring was annoying.

At the beginning it was all right, he had companions during lonely time. But they always wished to go somewhere with Pak Soekardi. It was enough for him. He sent them to where they belong.

One day, a spirit of a powerful Javanese prince wished to live nearby him. It would made him peaceful to live nearby a good and wise man. One night, his old cook, who lived in a small house nearby was dreaming of the arrival of a prince in his hut. He told Pak Soekardi of his dream. Pak Soekardi told his cook to burn incense in the evening and give offering of 3 kinds of flower (kembang telon).

The loyal old cook did accordingly. He was astonished that his hut became a big court mansion. He met with the same prince in his dream who asked him to give a message to his master (Pak Soekardi). The prince wished to live nearby Pak Soekardi and he asked permission to Pak Soekardi, he wanted to help the old cook sincerely, because the cook was loyal in his entire life to Pak Soekardi.

The cook resigned with Pak Soekardi's approval of course and all of a sudden became a medicine man (wong tua-old man, dukun). More and more people visited him for help. He became a famous dukun for several years, until he died.

Pre-destined fate
Pak Soekardi completely believes that life is pre-destined. A human-being has a duty to carry-on with his life. He got road accident twice. First, when he was young, on a motor bike. He 'knew' that he would got accident, he sat on the saddle behind the rider. He always told the rider to be careful and slowly. Despites of all the precautions, he got accident. Luckily he was only slightly injured.

Second, he was travelling with some colleagues in a car. He 'heard' that he would got accident. As a precaution, he sat somewhere in the middle, among his friends, he told the driver to drive slowly and carefully. All of a sudden, Boom, the accident, the car slipped out of track. Once again, luckily he was only slightly injured.

He told frankly that in both cases, in facing pre-destined accidents which he knew that it had to occurred, he was a coward. What should happened, let it happened. It is the best natural way.

What will be or what will happened
In his age, Pak Soekardi has a lot of interesting experiences. If he meets someone, he would know for sure who is he/she, what is he/she doing, what should be the follow-up. He knew and knows the change of time or situation. He has been given signs of change, in many occasions. What would happened in this country? So many people are worried!

For him the most important thing to do for a responsible person except to work honestly is to do samadi, with proper mental attitude, correct manners and behavior.

(Suryo S. Negoro)