Brothers and sisters, this evening Bapak is going to continue to test with you, so that each one of you gets a chance to receive the testing. He is going to start with the women. Would twenty of you please come to the front?
Just a moment; Bapak first needs to explain something, so that you do not misunderstand.
[Testing, not recorded.]
Such is the reality that you obtain in the latihan – the Subud spiritual training. As Bapak has often told you, the Subud latihan is the will of God that enables human beings to realise, in the course of their everyday lives, that the power of God is within their being. In this way you will become acquainted with God and God’s power, starting in this world and then in the hereafter.
Truly that is God’s will, so that for you who have received the latihan, who have received the contact with God’s greatness, your understanding and awareness can penetrate your soul. Then when you die, and in your life after death, you will be able to remember your journey in this world and what it was like when you were still in this world. That is quite different from knowing God’s power just with your heart and your imagination, instead of with the whole of your feeling.
Furthermore, the awakening of your inner feeling that is expressed through your movements is actually bringing the whole of your inner feeling and every part of your body to life, so that you can become aware of what it is like to live in freedom, where you are not oppressed and controlled by your heart and thinking, by what you have learnt and studied. With all your senses alive you will not come to a dead end in making your life happy in this world. You will spontaneously become people who are valuable in the eyes of this world. Your value will not be surpassed by the material things you would like to have, such as diamonds and other things.
What is the reason for that, sisters? It is because God created human beings higher than other creatures. So, if you can reach the level of a human being – which is what you want and which is also God’s will for you – then in this world there will be nothing more valuable than you.
That is all. Bapak will now continue testing with you.
[Testing, not recorded.]
Brothers and sisters, it is God’s will for human beings that you should be filled with God’s essence and God’s power in your every action. Then you cannot possibly fall under the influence of the material force and other low forces, because everything – your speech, your laughter, your singing, your eating, walking, waving your hands about, seeing, hearing, smelling and everything else – will be enveloped by God’s essence and power. Your worship of God will be not only through your speech but with every movement and action in your life. You will be able to receive God’s contact in every action; meaning that you can make use of everything that God has placed within you.
This is what is behind the examples you have heard of and know: that people usually sing in church and in the mosque. The singing that takes place in churches and mosques is accompanied, inspired and moved by God’s power within human beings. Such singing does not come from the pleasure of the heart, but is moved from within, from God’s essence and power, and leads people to acknowledge their mistakes and their sins towards Almighty God. And this should bring them to ask for God’s forgiveness, so that they may be forgiven and blessed by God and find an excellent way for their life in this world and their life after death.
It was said by people who received God’s grace in the past that human beings who have been blessed by God and brought close to God are those who have been brought back to life from a state of death. This means that they were no longer able to think about or pay attention to anything, as happens when a person is facing death. It was at this point that God’s will manifested within them and, from a state of unconsciousness – meaning that they were no longer using their heart and thinking mind – they became conscious and aware and they understood.
That is the meaning of ‘faith’, or of a person who has received faith from God. Faith does not mean being conscious; faith actually means being made conscious in a state of unconsciousness. So it is being unconscious but conscious. It is not the consciousness of the heart and mind, but consciousness that comes from the will of God.
Now Bapak will continue testing, with thirty more women.
[Testing, not recorded.]
So Bapak will now bring this meeting to a close. If it is possible and there is still time, he will continue on the coming nights. Bapak wishes you a safe return home. For those of you who have not eaten yet, Bapak wishes you a good meal and a good night, and to those who have already eaten and are going straight to bed, a good night. If you still wish to stay here, please do, but Bapak will go home.
Notes
3. Heart: the word hati, which is usually translated as heart, is the feeling that is limited to our mortal nature. Literally, hati means ‘the liver’ and is considered to be the seat of the feelings, emotions and desires. ‘Heart’ is not a perfect fit however, for in Bapak’s usage it is also the place where imagining and daydreaming take place. Therefore in some places the word ‘imagination’ has been considered to be a more appropriate translation.
The content of the human heart is the images of all that a person has experienced from childhood, throughout their life and into old age.
Bapak, Paris 1959. [Vol. 6, 59 PAR 3 p239]