Brothers and sisters, Bapak thanks the Chairman of Subud Argentina very much for his welcome. Bapak also thanks all the members for the preparations they have made; they have provided good accommodation for Bapak and Bapak is satisfied and feels at home with it. Let us hope that all this will help to keep Bapak fooling rather strong while he is here, and that he will be able to give you the explanations which are important and necessary for you. Bapak also hopes that all of you will be willing really to pay attention to what Bapak is going to say to you.

Brothers and sisters, although Bapak has already often given explanations concerning the nature of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud and everything that goes with it, there is still nothing wrong in Bapak’s constantly repeating and repeating them during these days, and giving explanations and clarifications concerning the nature of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, so that you can have a better understanding of what this latihan kejiwaan of Subud is, and also of what are its uses and benefits for mankind or, in other words, for all of you here. It also seems necessary to give some clarifications in connection with what you have reported, for not only here but elsewhere there are reports which tell of a decline in the state of the membership. Bapak feels this to be very important, so that the explanations, which Bapak will give will be something you can hold on to in order to be able to feel the various reasons why so many of the people who have come into Subud eventually resign from our spiritual brotherhood of Subud.

The people who have been opened and who have been following the latihan kejiwaan of Subud sometimes think or feel that the latihan kejiwaan of Subud is a latihan or exercise built up and constructed by the heart and mind; done by using some sort of effort, for instance. Quite the contrary; it is not like that, brothers and sisters. Bapak has said that the latihan kejiwaan of Subud is a receiving. It is not something which is organized and executed by the mind. Bapak says that it is receiving. It is a piece of good fortune for mankind in this present century to have received from God a gift which it is really essential for them to have. Bapak will explain this, brothers and sisters. It will he good if Bapak explains about the beginnings of human existence, for if he explains it without that standard of measurement, without using the standard of human existence, it will be confusing for you and you may be unable to accept it.

Brothers and sisters, we learn from the history of mankind that is, history as related by those who were able to receive the gift of Cod, such as the prophets and saints who lived in past eras and who received enlightenment from God that at the time when Adam was still in heaven and had not yet been sent down to earth, Adam did not as yet have a form such as that in which he is pictured as a complete human being like yourselves. Why was he pictured in this way? In fact this was done because it would enable human beings to accept it with their feelings and their minds, for if they could not picture him it would have been very difficult for people to think and to feel anything about him. Thus at that time, at the time before Adam had been sent down to earth, and while he was still in heaven, he did not as yet have such a form. But even though he did not as yet have such a form, Adam already had an identity, an inner self, and he could see, hear, smell, speak, taste and feel just as he could after he began exist on this earth. It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that at that time Adam could receive all the things that are called the environment of life, but not with the five senses and the feelings which are embodied in the human form.

Then, brothers and sisters, it is said that God wished to send Adam down to earth. And God had created the earth for Adam, so that Adam could function as a creature who could arrange everything that he needed in this world. So before Adam was sent down be was created with all the equipment that he would need in this world. He was equipped with all the five senses and, further, with a mind and a heart and also with all the equipment for life; all the life forces the material life force, the vegetable life force, the animal life force, the human life force, and also the life force which is higher than the human. Why did God need to create all these in Adam’s inner self? It was so that Adam could live on this earth, which was to become the place in which he would carry out the commandment of God that he was to be a creature who would reproduce his kind and would organize this world. Adam was therefore sent down form heaven embodied in a form such as that pictured by human beings. It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that Adam was created in this world and was sent down into this world not only for his own needs, but in fact for the needs of God. God was testing Himself; testing His greatness and His glory and His skill, to put it into human words; He was testing the skills of His own Self here in this world.

That was how it was for the first man, brothers and sisters. Adam was given everything he needed for his life in this world; all the five senses and all the instruments and components of his life were all complete, and he was also equipped with a mind and a heart and also with the auxiliary forces which came to inhabit his self - that is, the lower forces, consisting of the material life force, the vegetable life force, the animal life force and the human life force. And then, in order that Adam should thereafter be able to separate his inner self from these auxiliaries which became his companions in his life in this world, Adam was also given something to protect him. He was given that high life force which binds together all the life forces and which is also the guiding light for all the life forces; that is, he was given what is called the roh ilofi or the holy spirit. This could be given to him and Adam could receive it when Adam was already separated from and not influenced by the lower forces which were his auxiliaries.

Brothers and sisters, that is the history of mankind which has been handed down by those who received it; the prophets and messengers of God. So it is clear, brothers and sisters, that God sent mankind to this earth in order for human beings to be able to organize the earth as well as possible, and so that they could produce descendants like themselves; human beings like themselves. And also this world had everything in it that Adam would require after he was here. As Bapak said just now, Adam’s inner self, Adam’s life, was already equipped with the lower life forces - that is, with the material, vegetable, animal and human life forces - so that Adam could create everything that he needed. For instance, Adam needed to construct some sort of shelter so that he would not be affected by the rain which fell from above or by the cold winds or by the heat or the sun, so that Adam constructed places to shelter and protect him. Yes, nowadays such places are called houses, but at that time they still counted as houses so long, as they provided shelter. All that Adam needed to do in the way of planting things or growing plants, he could do by taking what was already growing in this world, and he was able to feel what would be good for him. So he began by growing plants, and he also farmed the animals in his vicinity, because they were all there together; so he farmed the animals and so on. All these things were created so as to provide the conditions for his life while he was living in this world. And that is how Adam was really able to work with his mind and his heart.

It is clear, brothers and sisters, that what is called the material life force is the satanic or what in spiritual language is called the roh raewani, the material force, satanic life force. It is clear that an Adam's life began and then continued he was always accompanied by this life force and always worked together with it; for without the material life force Adam, or human beings, would not have been able to possess any of the things which now one can possess, such as houses, cooking utensils, writing utensils and so on. Nor would they have had transport; no vehicles in which to ride so as to he able to travel quickly to distant places. Also, even up to the present, this enables human beings to create powerful weapons such as atom bombs and nuclear devices. Human beings have now even been able to fly to the moon, also by means or equipment created by their minds and hearts working together with the material force. Should you ask what is this material force or roh, it is this earth. Obviously, brothers and sisters, what is called the roh kebendaan, the roh setaniah, is this earth together with everything that originates from it, such as wood, for instance, and oil, gold, silver, iron and so on. All that is from the earth and that is what is called material. It is thus clear that human beings will not be able to abandon material things so long as they are living in this world.

At that time Adam could not yet see for himself what this gift that he had received from God was like, for it was received after Adam had felt troubled by the hardships of providing for the needs of his life in this world, so that God spoke to Adam and said:

“Adam, you must not feel troubled; you must not feel that the requirements of your life in this world will cause you trouble. in fact this is just what you need in order to be really able to become the foremost of God’s creatures. And I, your God, will protect you. I have promised you that I will give something to you which can separate you from the influence of these lower forces. In leading your life you will live together with them in this world; that is, you will live together with the lower forces the material, vegetable, animal, and human life forces. But in practicing your worship of God, in order to be able to return to your original home, to be as happy there as you were before, for this I will give you a protector. I have the power to be present in your inner self, both inside and outside you, both above and below you; wherever you may be I will continue to protect you. With Me, with God, you will be able to find your way, so that you will not be hemmed in by, influenced, fettered and oppressed by, the lower forces which you feel to be coexisting with you so long as you are living in this world.”

Thus it is clear, brothers and sisters, that the selves of all of you are wrapped up with these lower forces; that is, by the material, vegetable, animal and human forces. So you should not be surprised if human beings, or, in other words, if you yourselves, cannot easily get rid of the nafsu, cut the nafsu off from your selves. The meaning of nafsu is will, brothers and sisters, which causes many people to practice asceticism, leaving the inhabited places of the world behind and putting away all the pleasures of human life. They go so far as to go and live alone in the middle of the forest, of the jungle, or on a mountainside or by the shores of the sea. They do this deliberately, wishing not to be influenced all the time by the lower forces; that is, by the material, vegetable, animal and human forces. Is that sort of thing necessary? They do it because they hope to be able to know what life really is. But, brothers and sisters, Bapak has just told you the story of how it was in the beginning, when human existence first began. It is thus clear that so long as they live in this world human beings cannot possibly be separated from the lower life forces which form their equipment in life. God is All-wise, brothers and sisters, and there are times when human beings all receive something from God. It is as Bapak has just been saying, it is a gift from the One Almighty God, which is able to pierce through all barriers and all the tangled webs woven by the lower forces, and to penetrate into the bodies of human beings, into the bodies of all of you, so that you will be able to feel the influence of these lower forces being separated from your life force; that is, from your .jiwa. And this is something that you can feel each time that you receive and practice the latihan kejiwaan, starting right from the time when you were first opened and first felt the vibration of life within your self.

That is why Bapak says that the latihan kejiwaan Subud is not like a physical latihan or training, not like athletic exercises, but it is a receiving; a receiving from the One Almighty God which is given to you so that you can easily receive the life within your lives. And why does Bapak say that there is a life within the lives of all of you? It is because you do not receive these movements which are called the latihan kejiwaan of Subud intentionally; not from your will, not by thinking about it, not from something previously thought out. It is just there; suddenly it is there. This, brothers and sisters, is evidence that there is a life within your lives.

As an example of this, even though your hand, for instance, may be intact, yet if the content of the hand has disappeared or gone back with the hati sanubari ( inner heart ) , then that hand is of no more use to you; it is what is called paralyzed or crippled. Whereas the content which exists within your self still retains its nature, the nature with which it was created, which is of the same nature as your mind and heart. Besides, Bapak says that this life within your life is the life of a powerful life force which protects your lives both in this world and also later on a after you have left this world. Those who received this from the power of God, the prophets, have told us in their stories of the spiritual life that it is God Who lives, to worships, Who prays and Who practices religion. God lives in His life, God worships His own Self. Human beings are the creation of the One Almighty God, so that they are only like instruments for God. That is why the stories say that before anything at all existed God existed. God was present before anything like all this existed. God will be there after everything has ended.

God is outside the outermost and inside the innermost. That is what is meant by saying that everything is only One Almighty God. That power of God envelops all of you both outwardly and inwardly. That is what you receive each time that you do the latihan kejiwaan.

That is also the reason why Bapak often says that you must not think about the latihan kejiwaan, but simply follow it and receive whatever you receive. Even though you do not think about the nature of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, brothers and sisters, yet you have in fact felt it. Its fruits are in the feeling that you have each time you do the latihan kejiwaan; you just feel conscious, quiet and happy.

Just to take an example, there may be something very important that you need, but at the moment when you are receiving the latihan kejiwaan everything is swept clean out of your inner feeling, and your inner feeling is only quiet and happy and surrendered to the One Almighty God. This quietness and awareness of your inner feeling, brothers and sisters, is what in Dutch is called vollo bewustsijn or full consciousness; that is, it is a full consciousness or awareness which human beings are very seldom able to receive. There are people who are expert in matters of health, there are doctors who say that if people could quieten themselves for only one quarter of an hour out of the twenty four hours, that would be a fine thing for them. It would cause them to become healthy in themselves. And it is this quietness and happiness, it is this feeling of surrender to God, which you receive for at least half an hour twice a week.

That is the best possible result, brothers and sisters, and it can be called a boundless blessing, a priceless good fortune. Nor do the movements which you receive in the latihan kejiwaan go only that far. The longer time goes on, the more inward and the more extensive they become, like a growing plant which starts from very small beginnings and gradually becomes bigger and gradually begins to bear flowers and fruits, Only when that happens can you know and taste its fruits and its benefits. At present you cannot as yet do that. That is why Bapak always says that you must not think about it. It seems, brothers and sisters, that the people who come into Subud and then quite soon leave it again do so because one cannot think about the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. Perhaps they suppose that the latihan kejiwaan of Subud can be commercialized and turned to profit in the ordinary way. In fact, it cannot. The fruits of the latihan kejiwaan are spiritual fruits, and it is only these that can raise up and ennoble your jiwas which have fallen so low.

That is the reason why I hope that beside receiving and practicing the latihan kejiwaan you will also do enterprises. Indeed, brothers and sisters, the human heart and mind, the hearts and minds of all of you, wish to feel and think and work in order to obtain the things which they feel to be most enjoyable and pleasant. Indeed, Brothers and sisters, your hearts and minds need to be given work to do; they need to be given a load to carry so that they can work. But they should not be given the burden of thinking about the latihan kejiwaan of Subud; they should not put their attention on to it or wonder about its method of worshipping the One Almighty God. That is not work for the mind and the heart, but it is God’s work to care for human beings so that they are able to return to the world of their origin: a happier, nobler and better world. In spiritual language, and specifically in the language of Islam, this is what is usually called the khatir ilham; a movement, a vibration of life that comes from the One Almighty God. This is mukjizat, which means a manifestation of the power of God which is beyond the understanding of the human mind, and about which human beings cannot think. It can only be received with a feeling of happiness, peace and conscious awareness.

Brothers and sisters, Bapak calls this the vibration of life. If one looks for the exact words, it is very hard to find them, for there are two different kinds of vibration. The holy books also contain explanations concerning this. There is the vibration which is called the khatir liham, the vibration from the grace and mercy of God, the vibration which constitutes mukjizat from the One Almighty God, a vibration which comes from the One Almighty God. There is also the vibration which is called the khatir was-was, which is a vibration from the satanic force and which influences the inner feeling of human beings. They are almost the same, but they are different. Their difference lies in this. If it is the kahtir was-was that is working in the human self, people do not feel happy or peaceful or aware, but will feel as if there is some obstruction in their hearts, so that their inner feeling is heavy, violent, inflexible, and it is as if they forget themselves. Whereas the khatir ilham, the vibration from the power of God, besides being received in an inner feeling which is conscious, calm and happy, will not change the understanding. As an example, when you are in the latihan kejiwaan you may move like this or like that and sometimes you shout, sometimes you weep and sometimes you laugh, but it is as if you know, understand and feel what all this is. Thus it is clear that within your forgetting there is an understanding. That is the understanding that comes from the khatir ilham.

There is a story about this, brothers and sisters; about why the people who study or do things in the spiritual field have still not yet found what you have received in the latihan kejiwaan or what Bapak spoke of just now; that is, the power of God which pierces through all the entanglements of the lower forces. Bapak will explain this, because there is a story about it.

Adam had two sons, of whom one was called Sayid Anwar and the other Sayid Anwas. The first of these two sons, Anwar, continued to hand down the practices which Adam had followed, and his line was the line of the prophets. That is the nature of the prophets not only of Abraham but of all the prophets, of whom there have been not a few; there have been about a thousand. But it seems that Sayid Anwas was not satisfied with what his father, the prophet Adam, had done, who only surrendered to God and behaved as people normally do in carrying out their work. But he, Sayid Anwas, very much wanted to feel what life was like and what life was and what it would he like in the future and how strong human beings were. So Anwas did something about it; that concentrated his mind, he meditated, so that after a long time of doing this he was able to find the way to know about inner content, his jiwa. He could see his jiwa; his jiwa could see itself.

Then he was able to enquire into that spiritual world which is called the alam nirwana. The alam nirwana or the alam nervana is the world of emptiness. And from there Anwas could encompass the whole of this world. He is said to have been able to go to the north, to the south, to the west or to the east; just like a plane flying swiftly to any and every place. After Anwas was able to do that, he changed his name and was no longer called Sayid Anwas but Sanghyang Zis. So he was not a Sayid but a Sanghyang. Sanghyang means dewa or demi-god; he was the chief dewa and his name was Sanghyang Zis. He had power throughout the realms of this world and he called himself Sanghyang or Dewa Besar ( the great dewa ) or the Guru Sanghyang Jeyhyo. Then he gave rise to the line of the dewas. who then caused his way of life to become widespread. His wishes were everywhere, and from this source there arose Buddhism, Hinduism and various other isms, such as spiritualism, magnetism and hypnotism.

Thus it is no mistake and one should not be surprised if there is also something in the spiritual field which is separate and different from what was received by Adam and by Sayid Anwar and subsequently by the prophets , such as Abraham, Moses Christ. And this, brothers and sisters, is the difference. The spiritual world which can be thought about, so that these thoughts can enter into the spiritual world and eventually create a heaven and hell called the kahvangan tiruan. It is not genuine. That is why in Buddhism, Hinduism, spiritualism and so on there are no stories which tell of an ascension or mi mi'raj. The meaning of mi'raj is that a human being makes the journey to the One Almighty God and is asked into the presence of the One Almighty God. There are no such stories as that.

This mi'raj or ascension was experienced by Christ and Muhammad, and what these two prophets experienced, what these two messengers of God experienced, is what happens and what exists in the latihan kejiwaan which is what you have received. Thus if you come to a moment when you are no longer influenced by the lower forces and after you are able to see with the truly human jiwa, then you will be able to see clearly what exists in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud; that is, the light of life which is like what human beings themselves have pictured. Why is there a light above Christ. Why was Christ, even when he was still a baby, always portrayed with light to right and left of him always illuminated by a 1ight shining from above? Yes; human beings can only think that far. That light is not from above or from below, not from the right or from the left. No; it is all-enveloping because it entirely surrounds someone who has been granted grace. That is how it is, brothers and sisters, so it is not surprising if there are still some human beings who meditate, who still like to meditate, still like to search for samadi, still like to do this and that through ascetic practices and so on, so as to be able to encounter great and beautiful things which are astonishing to these people themselves. For indeed there are stories about this.

It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that one part of mankind has wished to follow in the footsteps of the prophets, the messengers of God. Their story is written in the holy books, and what they did must have been like what we do in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. That is why Bapak calls the latihan kejiwaan of Subud a receiving. It is the same as what the prophets received; the same as what was received by the prophets Abraham and Moses and the rest of the prophets, and also by Christ and Muhammad. That is the reason why Bapak says that the latihan kejiwaan of Subud is not something that can be thought about, but in Subud one can only surrender to the power of the One Almighty God, with patience, trust and sincere submission. Why is it like that? Because God loves human beings. They should not do anything to damage their own superior standing as perfect human beings; as what in spiritual terminology is called the insan kamil, the perfect human being. What they obtain through using their minds and hearts in worshipping God will not be real and true, but on the contrary it will do damage to their human inner selves and they will become lost in the satanic world, in the world of the material life forces. This is how it is, brothers and sisters, so Bapak only reminds you not to be affected by such influences. For these are material influences, influences of the material forces. That is why Buddhists want to be reincarnated; they still wish to return to this world so that they can come back as superior people who hold power as such as rich men, such as people who have everything they want. In actual fact, brothers and sisters, the glories of this world are not one thousandth part of the glories of heaven. As Christ said, heaven is completely different from this world. Muhammad also bore witness to this.

That is how it is, brothers and sisters, so that your minds should not always keep on thinking about the kejiwaan and the contents of the kejiwaan, the spiritual world, nor about what heaven is like and what the power of God is like. It is better to give you minds task to do; that is, the task of doing some kind of work in this world. They should perform the work that human beings do to provide for their lives in this world and to provide enough for the lives of themselves and their families. They should do this by doing enterprises. That is why Bapak urges you to do enterprises, so that you will all shoulder your own responsibilities as human beings who are able to organize their lives in this world.

There is also something else, and that is your obligation to worship the One Almighty God in accordance with His guidance and direction. So you just go on doing what you are able to do. There is no need to make heavy weather of it, for indeed the work to be done in the spiritual field cannot easily be done by mind and heart but only by surrendering to the One Almighty God. That is why the spiritual life is usually called the religious life, and that is why in religion people are required to worship in the normal way. For whether people are good or bad, noble or ignoble in the spiritual field depends upon God, and it also depends upon their ibadat ( practice of religion ) and their amal ( good works ) in this world. That is why in religion people are always advised to do amal, the amal that is truly the will of God; that is, to give to those who are in need. If someone is rich, he should give a part of his wealth to the poor, to those in need. If he is clever, the clever should help the stupid so that they do not lose their way, so that they can do something really beneficial for mankind. And such people should give advice to people who are doing something wrong. This is the amal which is required of human beings by the will of the One Almighty God, so that they can find and receive forgiveness from the One Almighty God for their sins, and can find the way to return to the truly glorious and blissful world of their origin.

If Bapak explained this fully, would take a very long time and would only confuse your minds. It is the therefore better if Bapak stops now, and Bapak will add something on subsequent evenings when he attends your latihan. In that way you will all to some extent be able to prove the truth of Bapak has explained to you.

Bapak will therefore close the meeting for this evening and will conclude his talk to you. He will continue on following days, so that you can feel more or less satisfied. Bapak will say no more now except to say goodnight, sleep well, and thank you.