Brothers and sisters, Bapak will first of all bid you 'good morning', and welcome you to this talk. Speaking in particular to the Chairman of this group, Bapak gives praise and thanks to the One Almighty God that you have been able to build a hall here which, even though it is quite a small one, is big enough to accommodate the members of this group, who are not yet so very many. Nevertheless, you have demonstrated activity both on your own behalf and for the sake of the group. Bapak only prays, brothers and sisters, that this activity will always be there in your inner-selves, so that even though the process is a slow one, Subud will eventually grow strong and will strengthen the unity that exists amongst you, so that the brotherly ties between you will also become closer.

Brothers and sisters, although Bapak has frequently explained the nature of the latihan kejiwaan of Susila Budhi Dharma, or Subud for short, yet it will do no harm if Bapak still continually explains and clarifies this, in order that you will truly understand what this latihan kejiwaan of Subud really is. Brothers and sisters, Bapak has said that this latihan kejiwaan of Subud is not a teaching. Nor is it a body of opinion arrived at through study. No; this really is simply and solely the gift of God, which, so Bapak guesses, is perhaps adapted to the progress of this era and made appropriate to the present state of the advancement of human life in this world as a whole. Why should this be so? It is because human thought at this present moment, or in this present era, has already made such great progress. Although all of it comes from God, yet human beings take the credit for this great progress that has been made by mankind, so that everywhere there is a high degree of advancement to be seen. Where formerly ships still had sails, now they have engines, and besides that there are still more modern means of transport which can fly through the air and out into space, and there are also the powerful weapons which people usually call nuclear devices, atom bombs and so on.

Thus in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud God has really given something to mankind to enable human beings, through this latihan kejiwaan of Subud, to restrain and eliminate the greed and anger arising from the progress of their minds. For the progress of the mind, the progress of the nafsu, will, if unrestrained by the power of the One Almighty God, cause mankind to fall deeper still into the abyss of suffering and misery, and they will fall ever deeper into the valley of death and destruction. Thus the progress which has already attained to such heights and gone to such lengths can also be lost through being destroyed by the actions of human beings themselves.

If we take it in connection with this progress of the mind, which has already gone so far and so high, then the uses and benefits of this latihan kejiwaan are really very great. This is obvious to you who have received it. Formerly, before you were doing the latihan kejiwaan, not only did you quarrel amongst yourselves but you also quarreled with your own families; husband and wife were always disagreeing. And at the office, when you were in the office, you were also always experiencing disturbances. But after you had started doing this latihan kejiwaan of Subud, it was as if you automatically began to be more and more calm and peaceful with your family. Things began to be quiet and peaceful in the family, and so too with regard to other people; you began to be calm and peaceful towards other people, towards visitors and so on.

That is the nature of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, of which Bapak has often said that it is the power of the One Almighty God manifesting in the selves of all of you. This is in agreement with what Bapak has said about how God is One and how He always envelops the whole of His creation, with all that it contains.

History states that God is of no one era, which means that He does not belong to any one period of time. God has no time such as we have. God has no dwelling place, nor does God possess a home. Why is that? It is because all places are under the power of God. He has no language, but all languages, whether of human beings or of animals or of plants or of material things, are all included in God. God is thus All-powerful, and God is All-high and All-wide. So when, with their minds, people attribute some kind of form or nature to God, they are altogether wrong.

In Islam, brothers and sisters - not that Bapak is saying that this is any more clear in Islam than in other religions, for indeed Christ himself also said this - in Islam it is said that the power of God precedes everything that exists, because God existed before everything. He was the first; the first of everything that existed was God. God was also there at the birth of all things; God, Who is within all that is innermost. Whatever is innermost, still further within there is the One Almighty God. Everything that is outermost is also God. That is why it is not necessary for you, who have experienced the latihan kejiwaan, to worry about whether this latihan could disappear or whether this latihan could be cut off from us, brothers and sisters. No, for this latihan is such that it is as if it reminds you when you are neglecting it; you are reminded of what it is that you are neglecting. In Islam this is called iman, mindfulness. Iman does not mean remembering; remembering about God. No, iman means life after receiving the power of God.

Brothers and sisters, Bapak explains that the power of God, meaning the essence of the power of God, envelops the entire universe with all its contents, including this world. The power of God is the prime source, so to speak; the source of all sources of knowledge. For instance, it is from the source of the power of God that human beings have obtained the knowledge of nuclear forces. We must not deny that this is from God. It is from God. It is from God that human beings receive the ability to discover techniques for building houses, for instance, and the source of this knowledge is from God. If human beings can discover and remember ail these techniques, or what can nowadays be called technology, yet the source of all this is in God. If human beings are able to construct the powerful weapons which are now the terror of mankind, the source of ail this is in God. Thus it is clear, brothers and sisters, that all sources lie in the power of God, only human beings do not yet understand. But in addition to not understanding, they can still nevertheless acknowledge that all this is from the One Almighty God. Human beings may not acknowledge the existence of God, but they cannot deny the fact of their own death. If human beings can die, why do they acknowledge the power of God? It is like this. For God there is no such word as death. The nature of God is qadim, and qadim means eternally existing, always present in every place, filling the whole of existence. Thus those people who do not believe are wrong. What is their mistake? Why do they say that, when they have to die? Well, this is how it is.

It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that everything originates from God. This cannot be denied; no. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rojiun ( from God we come and to God we return ). It is not only words when we say that we come from God and return to God. No. Everything is from God, and everything will return again into the power of God. No more and no less. People say further that the setans, the devils or the satanic forces, are the enemies of mankind. That is just from the human point of view. As for God, how can God have enemies, when God created these satanic forces? Bapak will now explain a certain amount about the history of mankind.

Before man came into this world, he was called Adam. 'Adam' means the first, the precursor. The name does not represent a person, but a former state. With their minds, human beings think of Adam as having a physical form such as our present one, which is like this and this and this, so that they think of Adam as being like themselves. That is why Adam is portrayed as a human being; it is because of the way human beings think. If it were a cow or a horse, it would think of Adam as a cow or a horse - yes, and of God too. That is why Bapak says we must not liken God to anything; not think of God as like one of our friends or like this or like that. No. The human heart and mind cannot know God, for the human mind can only be used for the purposes of this life so long as one is living in this world. That means that one cannot use the mind for life after one has left this world, or for what is called the life eternal.

Everywhere, brothers and sisters, teachings everywhere, the tarekh everywhere, all say that one must seek God. How and by what means can one seek God? But when one reaches the borders of nothingness, God is there. It means that it is only when one ceases to use one's mind, only then does one find God. And this you have received from time to time, brothers and sisters, even while you are still all complete and intact as human beings, who think about money and about your children, who are close to your wives and children, still seeing the crowds, still seeing the length and breadth of London. What is it that you can feel at these moments? It is the life within your life.

The first time you receive it you wonder what it is. There is no need to be afraid of something like this. Sometimes people are afraid because they have never before felt anything like it, so that when eventually they see something like that happening they are afraid, and wonder whether it is happening because they are being influenced by setans. It is not the setans. The One Almighty God has decreed that human beings should be at the head of the hierarchy of beings. The satanic forces are the roh kebendaan, the material life-force. Roh means life-force; this is the material life-force. Thus these setans do not have to be able to know you, but you have to be able to know them. And the setans must not use you; it is you who must use the setans. What are the setans? The material forces; these are the setans. That is why you must not be afraid of what you yourselves have made. It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that the setans are necessary to human beings. By the will of God they have become your auxiliary forces, so that human beings can provide for their lives and take care of themselves while they are living in this world. If there were no setans, no material forces, brothers and sisters, this building would not exist, and you would not be able to meet together. And of course you would be going naked all the time; you would not possess any clothes and you could not be called human.

The satanic life-force is the material life-force. It is the lowest of the life-forces, but it is very useful to human beings. It is the will of God, brothers and sisters, that we should not always be influenced by material forces, but it should be the other way round. Only when you are not influenced by the material life-force, brothers and sisters, only then can you surrender your state and your feelings. A state of surrender to God is a state of umi. A nature that is umi is similar to the nature of the prophet Muhammad. Yes, I come back to it again, at present I always seem to be referring to Islam. Of course Bapak is a Muslim, so what can you expect? I always feel this; umi, umi. Who causes it to be like that? It is the One Almighty God. The prophet Muhammad did not study, brothers and sisters. He did not go to school, but he was good at using language. Why was he so good at this? God made him good at it. Where did he learn these things? His learning came from surrender to the power of God. What was that surrender? He did not think anything important except the One Almighty God. That is summarized briefly in the sahadat. In Islam this is expressed in the sahadat, in the kalimah or verse which goes: Ashadu anla ilaha wa ashadu anna Muhammadar rasulullah. This is in Islam. See what happens if you are told to recite that. You cannot. This is like bearing witness. There is also something like that in Christianity. This has been the result of surrender ever since the prophets Adam, Moses, Jesus Christ, Muhammad and the other prophets.

The conditions under which wahyu ( revelation and grace ) comes are none other than surrender, patience, trust and sincere submission. If you lose something, it is not that this thing has disappeared. You should feel that, with a truly sincere faith in God, and not say that it is lost. No; it has changed its place. If you feel like that, then it will come back to you again, although not from the person who took it away from you. Bapak has experienced this, brothers and sisters. Now, at the age of eighty, I have experienced all this. Obviously Bapak believes this because he has experienced it. Thus supposing that what you experience makes you feel that you are unsuccessful, that is not God's fault. It is not that God does not like you; it is your own fault. It is necessary for you to feel like that. The way to feel it is to surrender to God. That is why you are not exempt from purification in the latihan, for this purification is very necessary for all of you, and for all mankind, which is why the Ramadhan fast is arranged in Islam.

The fast in the month of Ramadhan is really in order to practice purifying oneself, and to train the Muslims to have a feeling of patience, trust and sincere submission. But as a rule, it is not like that. During the fast they look forward to the watermelon and sate karnbing ( goat-meat kebab ) that they are going to eat when they break their fast in the evening. It used to be that in the month of Ramadhan people were not allowed to work, not allowed to quarrel, not allowed to fight. But not nowadays. Yes, it is wrong to wage war in the month of the fast, as they are doing now. In short the human race, both Muslim and non-Muslim, is offending against the will of God. That is why in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, which we receive from the power of God, brothers and sisters, whenever we wish to do so, we are now beginning to have the conditions for human beings to become harmonious with one another; brother with brother, race with race, religion with religion. This is the proof; you here are not all of one religion. No; there are Catholics, there are Protestants, there are Muslims of both the Muhammadiyah and Ahmadiyah sects. There is this kind of Islam and that kind of Islam, as in Iran. Why should people of one and the same religion fight one another, even if people of different religions fight? But why are you, who are already in Subud, able to associate with people of other religions than your own? It is like this, brothers and sisters. You have read more than Bapak himself has done, but, if you remember, there has never in the course of history been a case of one religion associating with another. Never yet; never since the beginning of history. It is only now. Thus it is clear, brothers and sisters, that this latihan kejiwaan of Subud is from the One Almighty God.

Why was it Bapak who received this? I do not know. Why was Bapak chosen, a Javanese? And, in addition, not the son of a king; no, but an ordinary person. Yes, indeed Bapak is descended from kings; according to history, Bapak is descended from kings. Bapak was born at the hour of subuh ( the dawn prayers ); that is, at five o'clock, or half-past four, the same time that the prophet Muhammad Rasulullah was born. Bapak was born in the month of Maulud, which is greater than all the other months of the year. Yes; the same month as that in which the prophet Muhammad was born. Bapak was born in the same year as the prophet Muhammad; that is, the year Dal ( in the Islamic cycle of years ). It was all just the same. Well, then, had Bapak's parents planned his birth? No. That was as God willed it.

Yes of course there is an explanation, brothers and sisters. It all became more and more clear after Bapak had received this latihan, and he found many sources, source after source, for Bapak himself. According to what I have received, Bapak's source is in the direct line from the prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace. That is why it was no mistake that Bapak received this as the first pioneer of the latihan kejiwaan.

Bapak has to some small extent witnessed for himself what happens. When Bapak travels, it is not that Bapak does anything about it, but wherever Bapak goes, and where it may, for instance, have been overcast and cloudy and cold all the time, when Bapak arrives the sun comes out and it is warm. Perhaps you feel it yourselves; now in the month of September. The weather had been very cold, because there was no sun. You may have heard before this that Bapak brings the sun with him. It is not Bapak. Bapak is a human being, and how could a human being bring the sun? No; that is the will of God if Bapak brings the sun, as when, one winter, Bapak went to Switzerland. Bapak was in Germany and he was going to Switzerland. At that time Bapak was prevented from going to Switzerland, because the ice was very thick and the snow was still falling, and Bapak could not go to the mountains. They said that it would be better to go another day. I answered that I had decided to go there the next day. What matter if it was like that? Yes; that did not matter. God is powerful. The day when Bapak took off, heavy rain began to fall in Switzerland, and by that night all the ice was gone. The Swiss people said that it was because Bapak was coming. This is just by way of an example, brothers and sisters. When Bapak was at Coombe Springs, everyone was startled by a very loud bang, so that Mr. Bennett asked, 'What was that? Perhaps it was Bapak?' He said everything was Bapak. No, it was not. This was the power of God. Bapak is just an ordinary man.

The best way, brothers and sisters, is not to talk about it if you are clever, but to prove it through your actions. You should not use your cleverness to make fools of other people. You must not do that; that is wrong. Thus if we are clever, we should in fact guide stupid people until they become clever too. That is called derma, zakatfitrah ( right and charitable action ). Thus for clever people their zakatfitrah is to give cleverness to ignorant people, and to guide them so that they will not continue in ignorance. This is how it is. Rich people should guide other people, so that their hearts become good. That is the will of God for human beings. It is not God's will that human beings between them should destroy this world. No.

Well, brothers and sisters, these are the ideas and ideals of this latihan kejiwaan of Subud. If this is able to become widespread, it will be really fortunate for mankind. Then there may not be a great war. But be that as it may, brothers and sisters, human beings remain human. There is a danger that because they have made these powerful weapons, they will use them. If you, for instance, make something, will you just let what you have made stay idle? No, of course you will use it. That is the whole point of making it. For this reason, brothers and sisters, we must therefore pray to God that there will be no great war, and that this world will not continue to be as chaotic as it has been in the past, for at this present time there is more danger than there was before. This is evident, brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, we here only surrender to God and pray to God that this will not happen.

Fortunately for us, we have received the latihan kejiwaan, so that to some extent our hearts are strong and we possess the awareness of life. That is why Christ himself said that someone whose will is moved by the power of God is fortunate; more fortunate than someone who possesses millions of pounds. In this country it is pounds; in America it would be millions of dollars, or in Indonesia it would be millions of rupiahs. But it means nothing. If Christ said that, if Muhammad said that, then why do you, who have received the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, still have any doubts? Why do you still have any doubts about building a place for the worship of God? Bapak says that if Bapak has been able to build a hall in Indonesia, then you should be able to build an international hall in England, since in worldly matters Bapak must yield place to you where cleverness is concerned. You can build with pounds; Bapak built with rupiahs. One pound is equal to a thousand or twelve hundred rupiahs. Yet Bapak hears that you have not yet done anything about this.

Do not be afraid, brothers and sisters, do not be afraid. God is All-powerful, God is All-possessing. If you are really resolute and really trust in the One Almighty God, you must have faith that Subud will continue to go well, and will develop as quickly as God deems right. Thus if you are worried and undecided about it, what can you achieve? Let alone a latihan hall, you will not even be able to achieve a watchman's hut. Everything you do, brothers and sisters, will in this way form an example for your own selves. If you make mistakes, do not be frightened by your mistakes. Search out the reason for them. Obviously you make many mistakes, brothers and sisters, and you are afraid of doing things wrong. In fact this is a temptation. Someone who is frightened by his own mistakes will always go wrong. If on one occasion he goes fishing, and what he catches is not a fish but a snake, then he says, 'Oh dear, I had better not fish any more. I have caught a snake.' Having gone fishing that once, he will not try again. You must not be like that, brothers and sisters. You must have courage. There may be many snakes in one place, but none in another. He goes fishing twice more and, as before, he catches a snake. Well, then, in that case you do not go again until you have found the right place to go. Very well; gradually it will go right. You will catch a kakap ( fish good for eating ), and maybe a very big one, as big as this. It will keep you in food for half a month. I do not feel that Bapak is putting this too high. No; Bapak is not speaking loosely, meaning that he is just saying this to please you. No.

Brothers and sisters, the Communist Chairman Mao Tse Tung was right when he said that when you work you must not give up, but keep right on working, and then you will find something good. That is what he said. If a Communist can be like that, why should we who worship God be afraid? Should we not be braver than the Communists? What is it that people fear?

What people fear is death. Why should we be afraid, when we have done the latihan kejiwaan and we understand what death is? The living fear death; not illness, no, but death. Those people say when someone dies, that is the end. Well, what we have experienced is that, as Christ said, death is the continuation of life, or what in Dutch is called the voorsetting van het levem In Indonesian that means the continuation of human life. Well, this is how it is. It is thus like it is for Mrs. van Hien, who must not feel frightened or distressed because Mr. van Hien has died. No. He has not departed from life, but it is the other way round, and those who are still alive here are only living a life of illusion. The life of human beings in this world is like life in a play, like playing a role in a play, if you think about it. Of course you will be able to find him later on when you go to live over there. You will say, 'While I was still alive, I thought you were dead, but you are not.'

Brothers and sisters, Bapak is always urging you to do enterprises, because it is from these enterprises that you will be able to discover their source. If your enterprise is in the field of medicine, for instance, and it is a really serious one, you will be able to discover the sources of health and healing. And what is apparent in these sources that you discover is that they come from the One Almighty God. It is the same when your enterprise consists of buying and selling things by way of trade. In fact, you will be able to find sources for the goods you handle which will make these goods bring benefits to your life. It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that if people really do things seriously and diligently, God will show them these things. But as a rule human beings are not like that, brothers and sisters, after they have done something once they get bored, and after doing it twice they get lazy. If it does not go right the first time they do it, they feel that this is no good, and they give up. Thus such people are good only at complaining and blaming God. But it is not like that. God has given them absolutely everything that human beings require, wholly and completely.

Bapak's case can be an example for all of you. What skills does Bapak possess? He can be said to possess hardly any. Why is it that Bapak has the energy and the strength to be able to build halls and other buildings? Moreover, the one that he is building at present is not small; it is not a small but a big one. If one works it out, the cost will probably be some thirty million dollars by the time it is finished. And he has also been able to establish a bank, brothers and sisters, which - although at present it is still called an Indonesian bank - of course it is our idea to be able later on to change it from an Indonesian to an international bank, so that it will be a world bank. So, too, Bapak has been able to create other things. Of course this will be an example for you. If it goes well when Bapak does these things, why are you not brave enough to do them, and why are you unwilling to do them and why do you not go ahead with them? Thus if you really seriously do enterprises you will discover resources for everything you do. This will become obvious, brothers and sisters, because God has prepared this world for the human race. Is it designed for any one race? No; it is for all mankind, and not just for people who are good-looking or, if they happen to be women, for the pretty women. No; it is for all mankind, and this is what we must seek diligently to do.

Of course, brothers and sisters, you do not forget that at this moment there are still groups of human beings who are not yet civilized, as in West Irian, in Southern Africa, in Malaysia, in Burma and so on, and perhaps also in Russia, in Siberia. Perhaps there are also people in Europe who are not yet civilized. Why does this happen, when they all share one common origin, one humanity, so that in course of time they have migrated here, there and everywhere, until at present the human beings in this world number more than two thousand million? But why are some of them still uncivilized? That means that they still do not know about wearing clothes. It is for no other reason that the people who are like that are lazy about working, lazy about searching out the truth, lazy about earning enough. If they have enough food to be able to eat for one day at a time, and if they have a wife to sleep with, that is enough. They go fast asleep. They are already asleep by eight or nine, and they wake at about nine in the morning. By the time they wake, the sun is already overhead. Only then do they go out to fish; they catch enough fish to eat until they are full, and then they go back to sleep.

There are also people who live very simply, but this too is a mistake, brothers and sisters. The word manusia ( human being ) is from the words manu-swa. Manu means life; swa means that which can influence it, which can become the vessel of life. That is manusia. The words manbswa originate from the Sanskrit, and from ancient Greece. Thus the meaning of manu-swa is the seed of life which possesses a sufficiency wide vessel. That is indeed the will of God for mankind. That is how it is, brothers and sisters, so that if there is still a little of this laziness in your selves, this world will not become a world full of what human beings need for their lives and full of everything that is satisfying for human beings in accordance with the decree of the One Almighty God. This is what is expressed in Islam by saying

Allahu Akbar, Kabiran walhamduli ilahi katsiran wasubhana'llahi bukratan wa-asila. Wajahtu wajhiya li'lladzi fathara'assamawati wal ardha hanifan musliman wa ma ana minalmusjrikin. Inna shalati wanusuki wamahyaya wamamati li'llahi rabil'alamin. Laa sjarika lahu wabidzalika unmirtu wa ana minalmuslimin.

Thus it is clear, brothers and sisters, that God has prepared everything for mankind; Why do human beings still complain? It is because they are afraid; afraid of something going wrong and hurting them.

Another example is Japan, brothers and sisters. Japan possesses no timber, no iron, nothing of that sort. Yet Japan sells iron and steel and Japan sells timber. Indonesia has plenty of timber and plenty of iron, but Indonesia buys timber and Indonesia buys iron and steel. Thus it is we who are making the mistakes, and if we complain, we are wrong. It is not God who teaches people to say that this is their destiny and that if it is their predestined fate to be poor and to go on being poor. Then they go on being poor for ever. That is not how it is. You should not and must not say that God has destined you to be poor and that is the end of the matter. You must not go on being poor all your life. To do that is to consign yourself to the rubbish dump. It means that you lack faith in the One Almighty God and that you do not really believe that God has really prepared everything. Just now Bapak said: walhamduli' llahi katsiran wasubhana'llahi bukratan wa-asila. Wajahtu wajhiya li'lladzi fathara'assamawati wal ardha hanifan musliman wa rna ana rninalrnusyrikin. Inna shalati wanusuki wamahyaya wamarnat li'llahi rabil'alamin. Laa sjarika lahu wabidzalika umirtu wa anna minalrnuslimin. This is the divine decree, but it appears that people just go on praying without doing anything to put it into practice. That is why you should not do a lot of talking, brothers and sisters, but work. If we really work, the hall will be brought into being.

What Bapak feels is that England, Subud in England, is like Bapak's eldest child, his first-born. Why should you be left behind? If England goes on like this it will become a laughingstock for other people. While other people own Subud houses, England just goes on like this, until finally the motor breaks down and they are hauled away by the police. Yes; that is your own fault. Why do we not own halls and parking places? It is not absolutely obligatory to have them, but they are necessary. It is not obligatory, but we do need to take proper care of our needs, because we are already close to the power of God, and we have real proof of this in the latihan kejiwaan.

Brothers and sisters, if Bapak were to go on there would be no end to this, but I feel that this is enough. Perhaps Bapak will go to Kenfield later on, and if you like to come along too, that is all right, and perhaps the explanations which Bapak will also give there may be useful for you. Now Bapak ends this talk for now, and he thanks you all for coming here. May what you do always receive the blessing of the One Almighty God. Thank you.