Please excuse me; possibly because of his age., Bapak is no longer as he used to be, for he is now already eighty-four and has less of everything.

Brothers and sisters, although Bapak is not a government, official, he is nevertheless someone who was born here in Indonesia, which means that he belongs to the Indonesian race and therefore participates and is bound to participate in and feel the situation of our country. Indeed, brothers and sisters, at this present it is as if this world is being examined and tested by God. Everywhere things are seething, everywhere there are situations which cause conflict, even if only on a small scale. Luckily, this is not happening here, and may it always continue not to happen.

Such, brothers and sisters, is the state of the world, which has in fact been handed over by the One Almighty God to mankind. It is the will of God that mankind should make this world a good place for its inhabitants, human beings, so that they can always live in conditions of peace and prosperity. But this world, brothers and sisters, is full of life-forces of various kinds, and each and everyone of these life-forces is, as if - but indeed it is not "as if", for indeed the life-forces really do possess their own strength, so that they struggle for power.

To begin with there is the material life-force, then the vegetable life-force, the animal life-force, the ordinary human and, besides these, those life-forces which do not influence this world; that is, those that are called the rohani or perfect human life-force, the rahmani life-force and the rabani life force and there are the roh, Ilofi and the roh Al Kudus. All these are encircled and enveloped by the power of God, and each has its own field of responsibility, as for instance the material life-force or roh raewani, which is historically known as the satanic force.

Thus, Bapak does not despise people who have possessions; no, for such indeed is the nature of this world. This is the material roh. Thus all the glories of this world and all the development of this world are due to the material roh, the roh raewani, which is the lowest stratum, but which is nevertheless strong. It is the material roh, in fact, which holds full sway, in this world. What is the reason for that, brothers and sisters? If seen from above, from the viewpoint of the human roh, for instance the material roh seems to be without life or movement, but in fact, it does move and live.

And who moves it and gives it life? It is human beings; that is, the human mind. So long as they remain in the earth in the form or rocks and so on, material objects do not move or live, but through human agency they are taken from their place to be made into houses. Thus it is human beings that give them life; it is not the things themselves. Thus the satanic force has, in reality, no power, or not more power than human beings. No, human beings are more powerful. But it is human beings with their minds who get things wrong, so that they are overpowered by material objects.

Take something like a diamond, for instance; if people did not feel a need to wear diamonds or gleaming, old these would be useless. If human beings did not wish to possess them, they would have no power; not if human beings did not need them. Thus. it is clear that the material roh or force, although on a lower level, lower than all the other life-forces, is. nevertheless powerful because of the power human beings put into material objects.

That is why the prophets in the old day, s used to say that these material forces had a great influence on human beings and must therefore be kept to the lowest levels. Human beings are allowed to use them, to make use of them and to make them into whatever forms they will, as when iron is made from iron· ore and the iron is made into a locomotive and into various tools and instruments which are useful and ( sometimes ) dangerous for human life, such as the nuclear weapons and atom bombs we have today, which are constructed by human beings out of material. Thus if one looks only at their external aspects, the outward nature and position of material objects, is a strong one, as is now evident.

At the present time there seems to be no end to discussions between nations in the West, between America and Russia about nothing else then these powerful nuclear weapons and so on. Thus the power of material objects comes not from the material itself but from human beings, for if they are not handled human beings, these nuclear weapons and atomic bombs have no power at all. Thus it is clear that it is human beings who exercise that power.

That is why it is very necessary that human beings should really be more deeply religious and deepen the knowledge which come from the One Almighty God through religion, as it does at present for us in Subud, for example – in order that mankind will understand how to use the material objects they make.

But human beings, brothers and sisters, remain under the influence of the nafsu, so that they cannot find any other way than that which is, influenced by their own minds which have been manifested and embodied in these material objects, That is why you must never forget to worship the One Almighty God., brothers and sisters, and never forget to take the advice of those who have gone before us, such. as the prophets and the saints, for those were people who were granted grace and revelation by God so as to bring to mankind something which would serve to remind them of God.

That is how it is, brothers and sisters. If I were to explain it all there would be no end to it. This material life-force, which people call the lowest force, is something which they cannot put aside., nor can they release themselves from its bonds, for the material life-force manifests in the human self as that nafsu which is called the nafsu aluamah.

Why has God given these? Why has He put these forces into human life? It is because without material forces human beings could not live in this world, Well, they clearly work together in the same ways as when people work together. Is it then the boss who has the strength? No., the ones with the strength are foreman and the laborers. The workers, have the strength, in fact, the workers have more strength than those of higher rank, for without the laborers, those above them could not do the work, could not build the houses, and nothing could be done.

Thus, the boss’s job is only to give the orders. It is like that.

Well, this is why it is required of human beings not to abandon their worship of the One Almighty God, either inwardly or outwardly, so that they will be able to understand how to use the things they make, and it will not end up with "the weapon eating its master" as the saying goes. Then the things they made will not eventually turn upon the makers, as is now happening with what are called nuclear weapons. Yes, if one analyzes the situation, it is dangerous to keep these weapons and dangerous to discard them, so what is to be done? To use them is more dangerous still, but there is no alternative. Thus it seems that .at present mankind is. up against a brick wall. Their inner vision is darkened, and from an outward point of view because this is affected by the material life-force. the nafsu aluamah, they do not really know what to do about it.

That is just the material force, brothers and sisters, which, although it is the lowest of the life-forces, nevertheless holds sway. And who gives it this power? Human beings themselves. Thus it is clear that things happen or do not happen because of human beings, and they turn out well or ill because of human beings. That is why people have to be careful. Who is able to show human beings what life is like? None but the One Almighty God, who is. Called Subhana Allahu wa ta'ala; that is, Allah, the All-compassionate, the All-powerful. That is why we, brothers and sisters, to a greater or lesser degree receive something which is beyond our minds, which are what usually deal with such matters; that is, what we receive the latihan kejiwaan.

The latihan kejiwaan comes not because it is willed, not because it is organized and not because it is planned; it has no dogma, but is only surrender to the One Almighty God. Indeed, brothers and sisters, it is not because of ourselves, that we become human beings; it is because of God, Thus it is clear that we come from beyond our mind, so that it is fortunate for all of us that we can receive something beyond our minds. It is true that we walk and we are already, able to walk; externally we can do all these things, right up to using our minds, but it is because of our nafsu, which are used to doing them. There is evidence of this starting from when we are very small – not from the child in the womb but from when we are small babies.

A baby moves because of its environment; thus if something is dangled in front of a baby, it is. bound to clutch at it, like this. Thus we have to follow the decree of Allah, of the One Almighty God. This is not something that happens because it is man-made or because it is willed by human beings.

What this is you cannot say. There have been many groups of people of various kinds - Bapak does not mean religious groups - various groups that wish to be free of the nafsu, which have this firm hold upon their selves, upon their hearts and minds, so that they practice various kinds of mysteries, such as reducing their food or their sleep, or even going away to live in completely isolated places, which they consider it necessary to do, in order to be able to get rid of the nafsu or not to be influenced by the nafsu. But they cannot do it. This is the wrong way to do it, so that they are deviating from the right way and following the wrong way. This is what is called magic, but although it is in reality bad, yet that is what people actually like doing.

Of course, the habits and customs, of the mind which has been influenced by the nafsu are such as to make it be proud of, produce and prefer, things that are actually not right. You can find proof of this to some extent in that we find it really difficult to learn good habits, which in Javanese are called aras-arasan; respectable. But bad habits are very quickly learned. At one time I was influenced by something like that, which was playing cards. 0h, yes. I used to be very good at it, playing baccarat or vingt-et-un; things like that. In the old days there were many more people indulging in all that than there are now. Nowadays children go to school, but then they did not. Because Bapak ,did not go to school like all of you, Bapak can be said to be unschooled, but he is clever because of hi s own self, so that it all comes from him self.

Well, I will now go or, talking about the life-forces, for I feel that this subject has never been explained in depth because of its difficulty. Who can examine and analyze his own mind? And for whoever is unable to analyze his own mind, that is what is wrong, because this is not from the One Almighty God, but from the nafsu, from the mind itself.

So much for the material force; more extensive than that is called the roh nabati, the vegetable life-force. So are human beings to submit to plants? They cannot overcome vegetable forces, for if they do not eat vegetable products they cannot sustain their skin and their flesh. Thus if they do without this food, they are not human beings. For in reality people who are so ascetic that they do not eat and do not sleep, gradua11y turn into setans, devi1s. They still exist even now brothers.

Mojo Pahit ( an ancient kingdom ) still exists, and if you like to cut down your food and sleep, you can see it. Thus within this world there is what is. called the finer or spirit world, embodying forces, where the people in the old days who had received grace from God used to say that a contractor, to take an example, would again become a contractor when he died, and would go on working out his calculations about money or quantities of sand. When a schoolmaster dies, he becomes a schoolmaster and although that is good work yet this is still wrong, for it is not possible for him to receive a call. from God because he is enticed and enchained by the roh.

Thus, it is clear that the rohnabati is necessary to human beings and its nafsu is also within them brothers and sisters. They would like to be rid of it, but if they were, they would not eat. If they could throw the roh nabati out, it would mean that God was not All-powerful, since God has made this an accompaniment to human life and a necessity for human life. But you must be careful not to serve this force, but worship only God, Who has created you. I have never heard of a teaching like that.

There are all sorts of explanations and teachings about how to prevent this force from entering into or having any power in the human self. Proof of this is that the messengers of God have already come into this world many times and given advice to mankind, but human beings are still unable to carry out the advice given to them by those who have received revelations.

The roh nabati, the vegetable roh, when it grows on its own, is called vegetation, but when human beings approach it, they need it and they call it human food; that is, the rice, wheat, apples and all the other things which are important for human life. That embodies the nafsu amarah, brothers and sisters, without which they could not be called human. And if they are not human, what are they?

Another of these forces is called the animal life-force, which when it manifests in the human self is called the nafsu supiah. Thus the animal life-force manifests in strong desires, so that human beings, also assert that they should be able to get rid of this nafsu and its influence and to check its influence upon them. So they avoid eating meat, just meat, not other things. This wish in human beings to be pure and do what is right is indeed present in them by the will of Allah. For of course that is the way God created mankind in order that human beings could become the foremost of all creatures, who are able to return to the One Almighty God, and of whom it is commonly said that they come from God and return again to God. God tells them "Do what is right, so that you can return again to Me,". This has a great deal of influence upon people, and many who do not eat meat say that doing this can keep that nafsu out of their inner-selves, out of their selves. But they cannot do that, for if it were kept out it would mean death.

That is why it was said in the old days by people who were seeking Ilmu ( spiritual wisdom ) that they were seeking a way by which to understand how to die while still alive. That was their story, But that was a tale told by the dalang ( puppet master ), and the dalang was not an actor, That is why these true teachings are present in religion, but nevertheless they barely reach far as the shariat ( outward observances ) but only the tarekat ( study of religion ), so that from there it spreads further and deeper until one comes to the hakekat, the true reality. In religion, brothers and sisters, it is said that we can carry out the shariat and tarekat, but we can do nothing about the hakehat, for that is something only God can do. Hakehat means Kodrat, what is decreed by God.

When this roh khewaniah, the animal life-force, manifests in the human self it is called the nafsu supiyah, desire; higher than that, above that, wider than that, is the jasmaniah or human life-force. How then does this jasmaniah force enter into human beings? People can eat animals and plants, and can use materials, to make things to wear or to use, but when it comes to the human force, how does that enter them? This is why it is necessary and is required for human beings to have sexual intercourse and to, have their mates. These human beings should take as their mate another human being of good character. Of hour course intercourse is sharper and quicker in its appeal to people than is learning. I should quickly learn to speak English if I were in England, but learning English here, every time I learn ten words a lesson I lose twelve. Yes, in what in English, is called conversation, one learns quicker, but be careful, brothers and sisters; if you want to learn by conversation, it is better to converse with people who speak the language well, for the same reason that whoever associates with thieves will be a thief, but whoever associates with priests will be priest.

That is the highest, brothers and sisters; the roh jasmani, the human life-force, is the highest for human beings and indeed this is the one appropriate to them. On a level higher than that one can leave the world. That is, the rob rohani: the level of human beings who are air already free from the influence of their minds and the influence of the nafsu. Who can make that so? The One Almighty God. If you really understand it, brothers and sisters, the latihan kejiwaan of Subud is truly a grace and a blessing from the One Almighty God, giving us something we would not have expected or imagined. Within my life, within our lives, there is a content which is the life that is according to the decree of the One Almighty God. You can feel how it was before you were opened; there was no feeling in you or no life other than the life you led according to your own will; nothing else. "I shall go over there because of my will, I learn .something because of my will, I do everything because of because of my will", there is nothing that is not like that. But in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud it is not like that; we receive something that is free from mind and heart, which means that we are free from the nafsu.

This cannot happen if it is something being run and carried on by human beings, but only if it is done by the One Almighty God. Why car, Bapak tell you that when it is beyond the mind? Indeed God is All-compassionate to mankind. Mankind will he given something that human beings cannot give; that is the latihan kejiwaan. For that is the doing of the Roh Ilofi, which the Christians call the Holy Spirit, or the Roh ul Kudus.

Now this has already been known: received and felt by human beings; that, by the prophets. The prophet Abraham, the prophet Moses, the prophet Jesus, and the prophet Muhammad were all men who had received wahyu, revelation, from God, and who could receive knowledge from beyond the mind. For what reason was that? Apart from their purity and holiness, it was indeed willed by God; all that was because of God. But people who work from the nafsu ask, "What is God? He cannot give anything." They really do say that. They cannot yet taste the flavor of life; if they could, they could confirm it.

Above the roh jasmani, more powerful than the roh jasmani, is the roh rohani, that is, the life-force which is free from this world. It is present when people have forgotten the roh jasmani and the nafsu. That is why it is said that although the prophet Muhammad was illiterate and ignorant, yet he was clever - made clever by God. He could not read, he could not write, but he could give advice to the people of this world; he was a truly wise man and he possessed true wisdom. When people speak of true wisdom, they are just speaking of something they imagine will win them the admiration of their fellows. But that cannot be the true wisdom which no-one can possess unless through wahyu from God the All-powerful. Whereas when people speak of the roh rohani, brothers and sisters, they praise it as the roh for which human beings long, so that it will free them from this world; that is, when they die they will still exist after they are in their graves.

Above that, wider than that and enveloping that, is the rahmani. It is wider, higher, less tangible to human beings who have not received wahyu from God. The way people speak and feel about God is not enough to make them into the servants of God of Whom it is said that that from God we come and to God we return. If someone who has not yet been able to receive the wahyu of the prophets and saints, says that, is merely words, and in reality it is not so; it is difficult even to be allowed to say it.

Above that and wider than that there is another, brothers sisters, the roh rabani, for such is God’s love for mankind. What does rabani mean? The creator of the worlds. It is. indeed to be like God, but not God; just similar to God. For the roh rabani still created, and so it is. said of it, “Ya Allah, ya Rabbi”. At that level a human being would have an incredibly wide choice, but such a one has still not beer, created and still exists only in plays and stories.

What is there higher than that? The roh Ilofi; the roh of the messengers of the 0ne Almighty God, which encompasses all the life-forces from the syaitoniah ( material ) to the rabaniah.

Thus so high a roh as that actually surrounds and encompasses everything, because that is its nature as the Nur Zat, the light of the power of the One Almighty God. Thus people should not speak so lightly of meeting God, like eating nuts with a friend. You must not say that if you want to know God, free from all this world, and become one with the power of God.

Brothers. and sisters, Bapak is explaining this a little, but this is the very core .and kernel of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. The prophet Muhammad also said that people must use their intelligence. Using one's head will not cause further mistakes. Human beings all wear the same form, but their contents are different. That is why, in Javanese some people's heads are called patak. If someone has a very low jiwa, it is enough to call his head patak, meaning it is on the material level.

The next level above that is called ndas, the next is sirah, and higher still is mustaka. That structure of the Javanese language has its purpose, but nowadays it may or may not be used.

Because so many people are influenced by the nafsu, people nowadays think about the live of others as if they were material objects; just kill them and that is the end of it. Think of it. Just kill them – just kill them when they have been created by God. Anyone who offends against what God has created is wrong; it is like when someone makes something - say ,you make some fried bananas - and someone else slights it. Then you feel upset. 0nly you do not understand what it is to upset God. It is. not like upsetting a human being. God will not be angry with human beings; that could not be said to be All-holy and All-powerful. Because God is All-holy and All-powerful, someone who does wrong is punished by his own wrong doing. Examples of this can be seen when one of our members experiences what is called a crisis.

When he is in a crisis, a man who has been used to killing people will hit himself; he hits his own head. If one asks why he does. that, the answer is. that he is someone who likes hitting people. Yes, that is it! If a woman enjoys gossiping and slandering other people, she will cut her own lips. If someone likes to watch wrong-doing, meaning that he likes to watch people killing each other, the angels will make this clear, and he will come back blind, over and over again. It is not that God is angry with human beings.

That is the way of God's decree, so if we are seeking ilmu ( spiritual wisdom ), we must seek for what will awaken our own selves according to the will of God. That is how it is brothers and sisters. That is why you must not depart from that, and try to be clever by yourself. That is not the example set Bapak, no. When Bapak wants to read the Koran., he can only do so very haltingly, yet he can understand its content, for that is the majesty of the One Almighty God. Thus, God wills that human beings should be able to know what is necessary: for their own lives. So we have to be able to know the purpose of our lives and not think that once we are dead that is the end of it - death is death. That is not so for human .being; it is for material things, which when they are dead, they are dead and done for. Human beings are not like that. Human beings have been made to embody the framework of the life-forces, so that they can exist as human beings.

Well, this is how it is., brothers and sisters, and we therefore pray that we may be able to help the situation of our country, even if only a little. That is important and necessary, because our country is our outward form or shape. If our outward form not right, we partake in it, and so our content is not good.

Thus we must inwardly help our nation to be preserved from danger, and that prevents us from doing anything which will go against the will of the One Almighty God.

That is all, brothers and sisters. This was accidental; Bapak was not planning to give a talk, but here he is doing just that. Bapak himself did not know he was going to do it, but here he is talking. I myself feel a little confused by it for my mind cannot reach that far. Why are you not like that? Wait until the time for it comes. God willing, it will come providing you surrender to the One Almighty God. What is important here and now is that we act in ways that do, not offend against the will of God; then we shall receive automatically.

That is why the prophet Muhammad was accustomed to follow faithfully the outward observances of religion, for indeed that can raise one to a higher level through worship. For in religion there are four degrees: shariat, tarekat, hakekat and ma’rifat, or "zat, sifat, asma and af’al. Thus. if people are unpopular, so that other people do not like to be close to them, it is as if they are still somewhat strange in their sifat, their nature or inner content. That means that their zat, their driving force, is not like what was just described. With what zat is their zat filled? Still with the material zat, not the Zat Allah. It is said of the prophet Muhammad, that not only his friends and companions loved him but even his. enemies, when they came close to him, they were his enemies no longer.

To some extent I have had this experience, brothers and sisters; people who do not even know Bapak nevertheless like Bapak. Proof of this was given in Europe, where the people acknowledged this, and it was proved by their saying they were in Bapak's presence they felt as if he was more their father than they felt when in the presence of their own father.

Because Bapak is still a human: being, he is to some extent affected by his surroundings, as now, when he is still thinking about worldly matters; that is, about buildings and hotels. But he feels you have not yet quite reached that point. What I would like, brothers and sisters, is for you to take part in the hotel project, so that you will be like pioneers. You must not be like employees, not like supporters, like the others. Pioneers are owners, as we are in the country of Indonesia where we can join in claiming that we own Indonesia, though only a small part of it. Thus Bapak is a part-owner of Indonesia. If anyone should ask "Is it true that Pak Subuh owns Indonesia?" The answer is that he ,does; he owns a little of it. Thus people also bear some responsibility, even if only a little – though it may be a lot.

If Bapak is able to build a hotel, Bapak is not doing this for Bapak’s sake, no. Bapak is eighty-four year old and if God does not prolong Bapak’s life, he could die tomorrow or the next day. Tomorrow morning he could be dead. But if God prolongs Bapak's life he may perhaps live for more than eighty-four years, But that is not for Bapak to decide, not that. Yes, there are people who live to be more than a hundred years old and who would say that someone of eighty-four is a mere boy. If I live to be a hundred I may, have to get about on hands and knees, but it is the One Almighty God who knows, whether I shall.

I repeat, my children, that Bapak is going to build a hotel and this hotel can be achieved if the capital is available; at least sixty million dollars. Where is it to come from? Bapak was born at KedungJati in the middle of the jungle and yet he is. told to raise sixty million dollars. He can manage the gravel, the pebbles. He can manage it, pebble by pebble, and indeed the pebbles can become the hotel. Thus the things that happen in fairy tales, do not happen in reality, like the story of Joko Tarub who went into the forest and found a pool, a lake, in which the bidadari, the angel from heaven, happened to be bathing. Well, was there a water shortage in heaven then? One wonder why these heavenly maidens could not bath up there. Was there perhaps a water shortage in heaven? These things are beyond the reach of the human mind and heart. That is why one is not allowed just to believe things like that, but must seek out their meaning. Thus besides the shariat of what you have seen and read, you must seek out it’s content, its tarekat.

Thus there are many things that you have still not done, brothers and sisters. You must not claim that it is enough that you have now got the latihan kejiwaan. Up to now many people have cropped up in Kedung Jati who claim that Bapak told them to open up Subud and expand Subud. They should not say that, should not tell people they should join Subud. It is not necessary to do that. Surrender it to God with real sincerity. Thus Subud is accomplished through God and does not come from anywhere else.

Thus, Bapak's wish to build a hotel is not for Bapak's sake but for Subud's. It is already, clear, brothers and sisters, that the reason why you split up and why you cannot keep, together is only because of money. So I say it frankly; why is it? There is no change in the money situation. Is it your spirit, your energies, that change? Up to now, it can be said that for every ten members opened twelve leave Subud. So those already in follow the others out. This is a fact. When I was away, in South America, in one evening I opened a hundred and fifty people. I arranged them in rows and said to them, "Trust and believe in God, do not think about anything and whatever arises in yourselves, follow it ." Then Bapak 'said "Allahu Akbar" and they all started off.

That is why the people there were scared of me and said Bapak, was like some great magnetic force. They thought I was a hypnotist; yes, they thought that I was spiritualist or hypnotist, they thought that was what had aroused them. Thus, if three hundred came, I opened them in two evenings or at most three. I was very surprised. I myself, was surprised at myself, that I could do this. Well: this was God’s doing. To open one or two or ten is normal, for a human being, but to open a hundred and fifty in one evening - that is because of God. It is not imperative for you, no, but you all should be able to some extent to receive the beautiful and mysterious thing you have in you, and in this way you will have more faith and your worship of the One Almighty God will be stronger.

Well, brothers and sister it seems I have not explained very much and further than that I only pray that the person for who we are doing this - and today that person is. Armbardy, will be granted something by God which will to a greater or lesser extent satisfy him both inwardly and outwardly; may he always be in a happy and secure situation and lack for nothing.

That is all; Alhandulillahir robbil alamin.