Sunday, February 2, 2014

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/02/04/your-letters-the-supernatural-our-world.html

Do you believe in supernatural things: ghost, psychics or magic? Perhaps, you have met a black shadow slithering in the dark, whispering things of horror or a white apparition floating by. Picturing all these gothic silhouettes send a thrill and chills down our spine, our hearts stand still for a moment. Well, believe it or not, most people in this country have such superstition, embracing the realm of ‘the unseen world’ with either skeptical curiosity or blind faith.

Possibly, one of you remembers waking up in bed in the dead of the night, your brain has turned on, yet your body was frozen. You tried to pry your eyes open to no avail. You wanted to scream but you froze, not even able to move a finger. It felt like you were being restrained by something unseen, an entity of the outer world. You lost control over your body. Off course, it lasted only a minute or so but felt like eternity. Many religions and cultures believe, or once believed, that this sleep paralysis was a form of physical contact with demon or Jinn.

This belief is nurtured and nourished systematically through the many Indonesian horror movies, sinetron (soap opera), glorifying most popular ghost stories in our folklore and urban legends. People know those stories by heart such as pocong (the soul of a dead person trapped in its shroud), kuntilanak (undead woman who died during childbirth and seeking revenge), Si Manis Jembatan Ancol (Maryam the Sweet Maiden of Ancol Bridge), suster ngesot (the scary sliding nurse) or local heroes who can fly and throw fireballs at the villains, etc. These stories become a source of entertainment for many of us, unconsciously instilling constant fears of such superstition.

We unfortunately for the most part are exposed further with reality ghost sighting programs on televisions, showing a group of clerics wearing attributes like turbans performing martial arts moves and rituals to perform an exorcism or malevolent haunting of certain house or place.

People believe in the susuk (charm needle) to bring beauty, fame and respect by implanting a sort of short needle made of gold, diamond or crystal into the flesh. There are also the santet/teluh/tenung (black magic to inflict pain and suffering) to torture and harm their foes with magic.

This black arts have been blamed for inciting social and personal ills around the world, resulting in someone’s illness, death, mental or physical suffering. Countless homicides of suspected witches were killed in rural Indonesia, and hundreds more were taken into police custody to be protected from angry mobs. As the evidence of such arts is hard to obtain, people tend to accuse due to hatred or dislike which put more chaos in the society much the same way of the with hunt in the middle age.

In addition, news programs and magazines often cover stories on how a shaman (a person who is believed to possess mystical power) involved in contestation for power in Indonesia politics to deliver good luck and safety for the clients who are running for power in political race. Approaching the legislative election, these shamans or dukuns race to the House offering their services, guaranteeing them to get re-elected in the forthcoming contest.

To my utter disbelief, some of our esteemed legislators and key power holders use the service of psychics as their spiritual consultants. Wow... They are just plainly fools or insecurity has driven them out of their minds! Strangely, even the national televisions have this phenomenon in their prime time news coverage. My eyes bulged in total dismay. How could all those things be on national television?

The reason is plainly simple “It sells”. People crave for such controversy. Since the media plays a very important role in educating the people, it all adds up to the superstitious-ism. “Supernatural power takes control.”

As if this is not bad enough, recently in his book, our beloved President retold his encounter with dark magic at his house. Dark clouds attacked his residency! Congratulation! He has finally followed the shoes of his predecessor. Soeharto’s leadership is also perceived as part of the Javanese cultural leadership based on its mystical elements.

Welcome to Mystic (Klenik) Republic! Lol.

While it is his personal right to express his freedom of speech, personally, I think it is not a smart move. Although many Indonesians believe in such supernatural things, including myself, it is not wise to voice it all aloud in his book while there are still many more important issues to address. It’s just a matter of appropriateness related to his role as the highest public post holder.

It is not surprising the government has pushed to include witchcraft crime to be punishable up to five years imprisonment in the Indonesian Criminal Code amendment last year that sparked a heated debate.

Again, to prove the wrongdoings inflicted by supernatural power poses a stumbling block, a super human challenge to bring such crime at court. Laws are needed to stop the practice of such black magic, but it is not easy to legislate against what you can't see. How would you drag a ghost or a jinn into to stand on trial, huh?

Likewise, I find it silly to link expiration of Yudhoyono’s term in 2014 for flooding, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes as evidence that God is not happy with him. It is irrational and baseless.

As being a Muslim, I believe that Jinns are present and our Holly Quran says so. They reside in an unseen world in dimensions beyond the visible universe of humans and have the freewill as humans do. Thus, they have the capacity to choose between good and evil.

As with Jinn, magic (witchcraft or sorcery) is something that exists. This witchcraft always brings destructive force, manipulating the weak-minded and summoning them to do bad deeds. Often, men seek such dark arts to do harms unto others and benefit none. Thus, it is haram (forbidden) and considered a sin to practice it.

Sadly, many of us turn to shamans to rid of such witchcraft instead of our Faith. These shamans, then disguised in a cloak of religion, formulate an amulet bearing Qur’anic verse, things made from pearls or bones, worn on the necks, or hung up in the houses or cars to ward off evils. In doing so, they treat these amulets as if they are some kind of magic mantra to cast spells like Harry Potter’s “aresto momentum”, “expelliarmus” or “wingardium leviosa.”

In the end, instead of strengthening our faith, we tend to plunge into the dark abyss of shirk, practicing idolatry or polytheism. Yes, such supernatural beings exist, but it is grossly wrong to worship and get enslaved by such dark power. It is in God alone we should put our faith in.