Mantras keris and empu

[David]

Originally Posted by Pusaka

Silat is as old as the keris itself, therefore there are teachings regarding it that old too held by gurus.

Some form of silat has indeed been around for centuries, passed by oral tradition. Silat, however, has changed greatly over the years, even more so as it has moved away from its origins in the Indonesian/Malay area to schools around the world. It is fairly well acknowledged though that the keris has become a central weapon in many of it's various schools only relatively recently, probably due to the recognition of its cultural importance in the area. But i seriously do not want this to become a discussion or debate on silat and it variant forms. This is not a silat forum. The keris stands alone from this martial art and it certainly wasn't created to serve it.
Much of what is "true" of anything in this world is a matter of our perception. There are those who believe that a keris blade can either be "dead" or "alive" and there are those who feel that all keris are merely artist weapons and artifacts. There are those who claim they can feel and perceive the difference. Sometimes these astute and highly trained individuals will disagree on such matters. I have even heard tell of the same person giving different opinions on the same keris on different days. Does that make that person a charlatan. Not necessarily. It depends upon what you believe. But debating these subjects seems pointless to me. I personally know when i am holding a keris that is particularly powerful to me. Yes, i can feel it, can't you? Maybe you just don't believe hard enough. You see, belief can be a powerful thing in and of itself.
I would disagree with Pusaka in that i believe all of us are indeed born with the ability to feel vibrations. These innate abilities are drowned out by the day to day rigors of mundane living. Training techniques only open up this ability to perceive. And there are many exercises to help us achieve this aside from "rasa" if we wish to pursue them. However, most this kind of perception is unnecessary for our appreciation of the keris. We all understand that the keris has over the centuries fulfilled a multitude of cultural purposes and that some of those purposes have changed over time within that changing culture. As Alan so correctly put it "It is not the place of anybody who is not a part of the owning culture to dictate to people within that culture what is appropriate for the culture." And it must be understood that aside from what has most certainly been lost over time that keris culture is a indeed living and probably still changing culture. I believe it would be a great mistake to dismiss keris that someone claiming mystical powers says to be "mati" as not being a "real" keris simply because of that assigned designation, especially when we consider just how subjective such observations can be.

[rasdan]

Hi guys,

In my opinion, the only person that can “feel” the keris correctly is the maker. The one that has the ability of imbuing energy into the blade. No one else.

People can (with their abilities) try to feel the blade, but how are they are going to know that they are feeling the right thing? The exact feel that the maker intended? (Does the maker intended something like this?) Most likely, without the correct knowledge, different people are going to get a different feel. How do we know that a strong tingling is better than a weak or no tingling at all?

I have seen people trying to this using their abilities and I myself have tried to detect the energy using EMF detector. (which is silly actually) Then something occurred to me, what does all this mean to me? Let’s say we are able to detect that this keris have a higher energy and another one have a lower energy. What are we going to do about it? What does it mean? Most likely we are going to rank the keris differently. We start to rank our keris using a measurement system that is probably entirely wrong. This in my opinion, can be seen is being disrespectful to the maker of the keris.

[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you Rasdan. It is very refreshing to read something such as you have written.

[rasdan]

You are most welcome Alan. I'm just sharing some thoughts for the consideration of our forum members..

[Alam Shah]

Many moons ago about 2 decades actually, I've done some research about a few "Kitab Primbon" (books). The ones I used were romanised translated texts from older scripts. It contains many mantras and like an instruction manual of sort. When successfully executed a set of instructions with a specific mantra, one could attain a higher level of awareness (enlightenment?) which also attuned the senses 'rasa'. There were many mantras related to keris in certain Primbons. Some have instructions on how to enable communicate with 'enpowered' objects, strengthen one's own spiritual mind, imbuing, 'locking' and 'unlock' objects, removal or transfer of energy sources, etc.

Different primbon (book) contains different things, and depending on its source, determine its contents, form, and mantras. Hindu-based origin tends to invoke deities, Kejawen-based tends to invoke the spirits, jinn, etc (with 2 paths, white magic and black magic, and the grey path in between). The later versions include those from Islamic teachings. For example Sunan Kalijaga plays an important role in revamping quite a lot of information about the Javanese keris together with some empus' cooperation. Conforming mantras with Islamic elements and removing those that are not permissible, to a certain extent. Hence allowing the keris and its culture to survive even within the muslim communities in Java and elsewhere within the Indonesian/Malay archipelago.

[A. G. Maisey]

Alam Shah, some years ago a very dear friend of mine who has now passed to a higher realm, wrote a little book on how to make keris. This man truly did know how to make keris, and he had produced some of the finest keris of the modern era.

After I read his book I was somewhat surprised at what he had produced, as most of the important information on how to actually produce a keris was missing. What my dear friend had produced was a simple gloss that more or less pointed the way for somebody with no knowledge of how to make a keris, to get started.

When I mentioned these omissions to him, his reply was something to the effect of:-
"You do not give information to people who do not have sufficient knowledge to understand what you have given them. You do not give the key"

My friend was of course correct, and when we consider what he said, and his attitude, we realise that this attitude is very general in all aspects of Javanese behaviour:-
gratuitous truths are to be avoided at all costs.

Alam, I have very probably read all of the little books on keris of which you speak, as well as many more written sources, published, unpublished, old, and new. Most, if not all, of these printed sources do not provide wholly accurate information. The mantras that are published are published in a form that is sufficient to lead those who do not already know the mantras to believe that the writer does in fact know the mantras.

There is something else about the use of a mantra also:- in the absence of the correct mindset, any mantra is only so many empty words. Only those who are entitled to know a mantra do know it, and how to use it. It is not something for the uninitiated.

It has been claimed, and this is probably true, that a knowledgeable Javanese person does not write a book to impart knowledge to those people who lack the knowledge, he writes a book to raise his own profile to a level where he is acknowledged as a person who knows. The rationale is very simple:-

Knowledge = power = money

Or, if we wish

Knowledge = money = power

Nobody but an abject fool gives away money and/or power.

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Alam, I have very probably read all of the little books on keris of which you speak, as well as many more written sources, published, unpublished, old, and new. Most, if not all, of these printed sources do not provide wholly accurate information. The mantras that are published are published in a form that is sufficient to lead those who do not already know the mantras to believe that the writer does in fact know the mantras.

There is something else about the use of a mantra also:- in the absence of the correct mindset, any mantra is only so many empty words. Only those who are entitled to know a mantra do know it, and how to use it. It is not something for the uninitiated.

It has been claimed, and this is probably true, that a knowledgeable Javanese person does not write a book to impart knowledge to those people who lack the knowledge, he writes a book to raise his own profile to a level where he is acknowledged as a person who knows. The rationale is very simple:-
Knowledge = money = power

Nobody but an abject fool gives away money and/or power.

Hi Alan, thanks for sharing. Agreed with what you've mentioned in most parts. In the course of studying the occult arts under a few teachers' tutelage, a common point is a vow of secrecy and then bounded by it. Some of my notable teachers include a Javanese, a Bugis and a Malay. Teaching me a range of different practices, point of view and rituals limited within my belief system.

After 3 decades, I've learnt much but however, I'm still a student. The difference is now I'm aware of the vast knowledge that I still do not know and will most likely will never know. The Primbons are seldom mentioned in javanese keris books.

I do somewhat agree with your opinion on many current existing keris books but there are of course the exceptional ones. Outside Java, there are many other keris cultures, like the Bugis, Sumatran, Borneo and Peninsular Malaya to name a few where it have evolved with the times. In these regions, keris are also imbued by their makers for specific keris, not for all keris as it is in Java. Only its method and rituals vary.

As for the mantras, I'm aware of the cleansing ritual, body and mind conditioning and its rituals (be it tapa brata, mutih, pati geni, etc) to get the rights to use them or bestowed with empowerment. I'll stop here.

Coming back to the initial question regarding the muslim way. According to Islamic beliefs, only God can create spirits hence one will seek from God (Allah the Almighty) to bestow power upon it. The rituals includes a prayer, recitation of holy verses and chanting to God with a specific focus on intent.