Coombe Springs, England June 30, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 3
This is the use of what all of you, my children, receive when you do the training ( latihan ), so that, when the process of what you are receiving is complete, you'll become able to have descendants from truly human seed, and also become able to provide a channel for them to be given a commensurately high education in the outward way, so that the children will finally become human beings who are useful and valuable creatures of God in human society, with the result that peace and prosperity may come to the family of mankind in this world ( inaudible )...

Coombe Springs, England July 21, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 5
That's why Bapak hopes for all of you that your belief in the One God will be truly complete and great, so that in doing or receiving this training ( latihan ), you'll have an easy path from the One God and with that, my children, you also get guidance in the direction of the perfect, the good, the right life. And your purity will descend to your children, grandchildren and their descendants.

Bapak only hopes that, even though in the training it is necessary to use or to have the greatest possible belief in God, even so, you won't start doing the training, receiving the training, with a heart full of desires and urges to achieve as rapidly as possible what your heart wants. Instead, it would be well for it to be done, to be received, with a feeling full of patience, and received the way plants grow, little by little, so that this growth and the increase in experience received in the latihan will not have a negative effect on anyone who sees it.

Coombe Springs, England August 14, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 8
Bapak can compare the purification from the coarse to the fine to a small child as he grows towards adulthood. The child begins by learning to walk, and by laughing, talking and crying. He is not given instruction immediately to enter university, because a small child is not yet able to be aware of the use of the things he will need for his studies. It is natural that the small child be taught how to live in the society of small children, so that when he grows up, he has no defect, and there is no change in his state.

But sometimes there are mothers with small children who want them to walk quickly, and they keep dragging them along so they will walk fast. In doing this, they forget the child's strength, so the child breaks a leg and is harmed. What then is the reason why you are not yet able to receive completely? God knows the capacity and strength within the inner feeling of each one of you. If God knows you are already able - 'Ah, this newborn baby is already able,' even when you go to the cinema, certainly God will give to you, so that when you are quiet for a moment you feel the latihan and then la, la, la - because you are grown up. Whereas now, you only go, 'Uk, uk, uk,' like that!

Thus, suppose that you have a very strong wish, and supposing God were to comply with it, and you were able to see invisible things and hear things that do not exist here, then you would become completely confused and lose your bearings. If God gives you something now, you will only be given what is appropriate. You are not given a real weapon, for example. You are given a weapon for small children, a weapon that makes a noise but does not do any harm. So far, you have not yet acquired the real tools; you only have tools that are suited to children.

Many people have children who are very different in nature from their parents, and sometimes they even have children who hate them. Why is that? Because the child was made from the passions, not from the union of souls ( jiwa ) that are united, so that if the wife dies she returns united in the inner feeling of the man's soul, and if the man dies first, he envelops the woman's soul.

If a very good book were given to a two-year-old or a three-year-old, it would not be kept in good condition, and read and understood; it would be torn and made into bundles. That is the reason why God does not give to you yet, children. In God's eyes, you are still small, children, and it is not yet the time for you to be given the real thing. Even the right thing would be wrong, that is, used wrongly, and you would do yourselves harm. That is why Bapak says, Step by step, little by little.

Coombe Springs, England- March 2, 1958
Code Number : 57 CSP 1
This is perhaps why it is God's will that we should be able to practice our worship without neglecting or putting aside or withdrawing from the state of the world we face at this time. It is clear that, whatever it was that you received in your training latihan, you remained fully conscious. The purpose or significance of this is that God indeed intends human beings to worship Him without withdrawing from or putting aside their normal needs in this world. So, in order to worship God you do not need to isolate yourself, avoid society or your worldly needs. You should be able to worship God while living a normal life, enjoying the companionship of your wife, children and friends.

San Francisco, CA USA - April 23, 1958
Code Number : 58 SFO 4
Ladies and gentlemen - in the usual way, Bapak says ladies and gentlemen, children - tonight Bapak does not wish to speak about other things; instead it is necessary for Bapak to explain the fruit and results of the training ( latihan ) you receive and follow.

Los Angeles, CA USA - May 20, 1958
Code Number : 58 LAX 6
This is by way of a theory or a picture of how materials, plants, animals and human beings came into existence. As for the way they reproduce: in the case of humans they have children; animals have offspring or lay eggs; plants do not have offspring but propagate; and materials do not have offspring or lay eggs, but they multiply. All this is along the lines that God has decreed for each of His creations.

This is how the nature and form of a human being or a baby, as Bapak said before, came into existence. Thus, within the self of a baby, within the self of a human being, there is an interaction or mutual influence of forces as they were arranged before they took on a form. And then there is also an interaction between those that already have a form. So, this coarse human physical body requires a content of material, vegetable and animal forces, as well as its own human self. The body is also enveloped - not filled, but enveloped - by the life force above the human being, and actually this too is not only a life force that is not yet an element, but also exists in the form of an element. But human beings will not be able to know this if they have not yet received a gift from God that is suited to conditions above the human being.

Bapak also needs to give a short explanation about the nature of the influence between man and woman, that is, the nature of marriage. Actually as Bapak has said, the reason for marriage is not only to have children. It is in fact necessary for a human being to marry, so that through marriage he can be aware of how his own state was before he existed, until he was made, until he came into existence.

Of course, you are all aware of this, ladies and gentlemen, because you are all adults, and are married, and have children. In marriage, the nature of man and woman is like the channel, the way, the means for how the human seed and its contents originate and come to be within the human self. So, actually, for you, ladies and gentlemen, who are adults, and are married and have children, matters of life and death are not unfamiliar to you. Because you are like, for example, a road, or a house; and after going through that state many times over, the seed and human content ( inaudible ).

Bapak is not blaming you, but it is still generally the case that because you got married, as Bapak described just now, to satisfy and fulfil your desires and to have children, the very secret matters have not been carried out very much. So of course, ladies and gentlemen, you do not know, you do not understand what is within the selves of your children, or how 'I' was before, until I came into existence.

For this reason, in Islam it is considered essential that people should marry. Through marriage, a human being will become aware that he is God's representative for continuing the creation and existence of human beings. There are many who - maybe nearly everyone - because it is recommended, have an even stronger desire to get married. But they only want to marry to satisfy their desires, and for the heart's pleasure, and they miss the real meaning intended. The real meaning is that through marriage a human being can as it were obtain something like a repetition within himself.

True, ladies and gentlemen, you know about life, of course you know. But because the instruments you use to understand are your thinking mind and heart, not your soul, you cannot understand or be aware of what is happening within your self. The heart and mind are by nature instruments, accessories; they are not the real self. So if you are really aware of the spiritual way, and you are going to have a child, you know, you understand and are aware, beforehand: 'This child of mine is like this and its soul is like this, and such and such will happen, and it will be like this.' Like Ibu: her grandchild is still a baby but sometimes she sees how the baby will be later when she is big, already fourteen or fifteen years old. The way of seeing this is as Bapak described last time; actually when you were still a baby you could see in that way, because this body had not yet worked for this world, and was not yet influenced at all by the world. But after this body began to work under the influence of this world, and you began to see, to hear, to smell, to feel and understand, what there was within - that is, the way of understanding beyond the thinking mind, as mentioned just now - disappeared.

This is why you do the latihan and are being trained so that you can begin to work outside the thinking mind, the will and the desires, and also so that you can eventually become aware of the secrets of marriage between a man and his wife. It is also so that you can become aware of how I eat. Don't let I be eaten by what you eat. And when I am wearing clothes, don't let the clothes do the wearing.

This is symbolized in death. Actually, a dead person should be stripped naked, and only wrapped in a white cloth. The white cloth means that the human self is enveloped in a white, shining light, the light of life which originally formed the elements. It is only a symbol. In Javanese the white winding sheet is called mori. Mori, in Sanskrit, means - oh, but this is very strange to you, Sanskrit - pamoring kawulah gusti. Pamoring kawulah gusti means that the power of God envelops the human self. So it means that the dead person is within God's power. It is related that when the Prophet Jesus died, until he returned to God, he was enveloped in a white, shining light. Many people wish they too could die like that.

Bapak needed to explain this about the fourth level, about marriage, because it is very necessary for you, ladies and gentlemen. In marriage it is not necessary to go everywhere to look for the power of God, to look for the true life in this world; it's enough to be at home, to be with one's wife, and to be with one's children.

Jakarta, Indonesia - June 25, 1958
Code Number : 58 JKT 2
It is therefore said in Islam, 'If you understand or see God with your thinking mind, with your heart, with your desires, it is not true belief.' But it is also said, 'If you do not know with your thinking mind, your heart, your desires, you are an unbeliever.' So which is right? If you know, it is not true belief, but if you don't know, you are an unbeliever. These words are only a way of saying that man's heart and thinking mind cannot think about or understand God's power, and life after death. Only God can do such thinking, only God can give understanding to human beings - how God does this He knows best - so that they can receive it free from desires and thoughts. God knows when and where it is necessary to give this to human beings.

Yes, such is the difficulty - if one makes it into a difficulty in one's heart. That is why many people, in order to know how life really is after death, feel the need to go off alone and isolate themselves in mountains, in forests and in caves, far from human society. They even say, 'Oh, it's not necessary to marry. Marriage is just a nuisance, as women are.' For if they marry and have children, the children will also be a nuisance.

So, in short, they leave the beaten track to avoid everything that really disturbs human life. There they meditate, they force and abuse themselves and suppress everything that they feel. They say they are calming their desires. But what happens? They cannot.

New York, NY USA - May 3, 1959
Code Number : 59 NYC 1
All of you began as small children, as babies. A baby, a tiny newborn child, although they can't yet see the shapes of the world, although they can't yet hear the sounds of this world or perceive anything else that is in this world, can already, small as they are, receive something that comes, not from outside but from within - from their soul. And so from time to time this tiny infant will look happy. Sometimes they will look troubled, as if they're suffering. Certainly this shows that they are receiving and experiencing something. For you, this behavior of such a small child is just normal. But in fact, at those moments, this tiny child is still closely connected with its soul while still distant from the influences of the world.

For this reason such a small child is still said to be... ( interruption in recording ) ...and is also still God's beloved. But eventually this small child becomes able to see the shapes of this world, able to hear this and that sound, and to distinguish salty, bitter and other flavors. And, bit by bit, the connection with its soul begins to be closed off.

And the process continues from there. Finally ( the child ) grows up and becomes an adult, and everything within his or her being -all that concerns the brain, the heart and all the senses - will have become more at home with worldly matters than with spiritual ones.

So the way such a person thinks about and visualizes heaven and God will not go beyond the images already residing in his or her brain and heart. They will imagine heaven as a kind of place they consider good and beautiful, and God as a person, only more beautiful. But God is the creator of the entire universe, including humanity and the rest. God preceded the first things and will outlast the last ones. God is within the deepest things and outside the most outward ones. Therefore, God can't be imagined by the human mind, can't be pictured by the human desires, emotions or heart, for God is ahead ( of us ) and knows more than we know of Him.

You will also become conscious of the use and purpose of human beings and of their true nature, and why people marry and have children. Children are willed by God so that people may become aware of how, repeatedly, human beings bring other humans into their being. You will all understand better and be aware that having children is a reminder from God of how it is for your own being, from before you were brought into being on this earth through to when you finally die and then live again. Not like people in general, who don't yet know and haven't yet received guidance from God, with the result that their marrying and getting a child from their union is simply motivated by the desires and the heart. So it is like when you buy a table: you know how to buy it but you don't know where it came from or how it was made.

Therefore, when men and women marry from the heart and the desires it cannot be eternal, meaning it will not last long. It will doubtless break down along the way. It's not that Bapak says it is certain, but most do. The real reason is that the marriage of the man and the woman is not from their souls.

The truth is that God wills that human beings, men and women, should marry from the soul not from their desires. Human beings have already expressed this in a symbol they apply to themselves. For example, Mr. Bennett: Mr. Bennett's wife - whether her name is this or that, A or B - is nevertheless referred to as Mrs. Bennett. This means that after marriage a woman who becomes a man's wife is united with him. United means having one soul, being one in the feelings and having one aim in life, both in this world and the hereafter.

This is a symbol from the spiritual realm, and so in Subud you are educated and guided by the power of God to be truly united in your family life. Don't let it happen that one starts going this way and the other in a different direction. Stay like this. Be one. For a couple in their oneness become a ( good ) path for the descent or coming of a human seed. So the child that is born is really a child or a couple who have become one, not of people who are at odds with one another.

There's no shortage of married people with children who are completely different from the parents. This is not the fault of the child but of the parents. In ( the man's ) union with the woman, with his wife, they are not yet able to become one - they are still at odds. Because in the true union of man and woman, the two are no longer a man and a woman but something different, and yet they are also man and woman.

Coombe Springs, England - August 18, 1959
Code number of Recording: 59 CSP 8
It is the same with the third house, which Bapak refers to as the private place, the place of human sex. This is the organ through which a human being can receive the command of God to conceive children who have a true human soul, or higher; children who can later become advisers to humankind. For it is there that a person's individual awareness and understanding of their soul can open, ( and they can experience ) 'Who am I, in reality?' because they realize they have become a channel for God's will to send a high human seed into the world.

Those who have not yet become aware of this, because they have not yet received the right way from God, also have children; but they are still under the influence of the external world, and of forces whose origins they do not know. These subhuman forces work through a person's thinking, heart and desires, so they will inevitably enter into the human sex organs, with the result that the child who is born will not contain a human soul, but one whose origin is uncertain. Mostly it will be a material soul, or - at the highest - an animal one.

If a man has attained the levels of which Bapak has spoken - that is, the bait al-ma'mur, bait al-muharram and bait al-muqaddas - then, before union with his wife, he will be caused by God to think of the use and purpose of bringing a human seed into the world. It's like when you make something. Before you make it, you give thought to it. After you have thought about it, you may feel love for the thing you are about to make. If you feel this love then you will make it; if you don't, you certainly won't make it. So you are making it because you love the idea in your mind. In the case of a human being, the place where it is made is the bait al-muqaddas and the making is through the union of man and woman. So you have already thought about it beforehand: 'Is it necessary or not?' or, 'Do I love this ( being ) that I have thought about?' You think about it, you love it, then you make it.

It is also like before you meet your future partner - those of you who are older will have experienced this - of course you think first. After you have thought about it, you feel who it is you desire, who it is you want. Say it is 'B' - if it is a man thinking about a woman - 'Do I love her or not?' If you feel, 'Oh, yes. I do love her,' only then do you get married. That is the way a man finds his wife and a woman her husband; for all human history shows that it is not the woman who goes out to look for a man, but the man who looks for a woman. Indeed, it is the law of nature that man is the channel through whom thought, love and sexual union flow to be realized, while woman represents the receiver.

Is that the reality? Is it true? Bapak will illustrate it like this. If a man has ten wives he can have five children with each of them - a total of fifty. But if a woman has ten husbands she can still have no more children than she is able to bear. So it's clear that it is the man's nature that receives the current of the essence of life and goes through the process Bapak just described, while the woman - or mother - is the vessel that receives ( the human seed ) and allows its body to grow and absorb the qualities that exist in this world. So it is the mother in whom the flesh and blood and bones of the child develop; and it's obvious that the child is closer to its mother than to its father. If a child falls down, it will not call out, 'Father!' but 'Mother!' In Indonesia they would call out, 'Adhuh, biyung!' ( 'Oh, Mummy!' )

This description is only to show you and remind you how excellent it would be if human beings could once again possess all that God created within them. Then, like the human beings of long ago, they could be aware of these things and understand them. Because, as Bapak said, all that we need is very close to us; it's just that we do not care to be in touch with it. It is this touch that introduces us to our true selves for the first time, so that 'I know who I really am'. It is similar to the touch of a man touching a woman or a woman touching a man.

Coombe Springs, England - August 20, 1959
Children And Education
Bapak's Ninth Talk At The First Subud International Congress
Recording: 59 CSP 10
Subud - that is, the spiritual training of Susila Budhi Dharma, which you have received and practice - is the working by God to educate and develop us human beings towards improvement, and the attainment of perfection, and true humanity in our lives and in our worship of God. It has arisen because the condition of human beings at the present time is not as good as it was in times long ago. With the coming of Subud, human beings can receive purification of the defects in their nature; only when this is accomplished is it possible for them to return to the condition ( that human beings ) were in then. What this means is that we will once again be human beings who are filled with a noble soul that corresponds to our outer form.

Since our condition is already flawed, we have no choice but to wait with patience for God to purify our being. This is so that we do not interfere with the process but allow it to go forward and be completed in the right way.

As Bapak has received it, it is in accordance with the law of life that God always sends indications to the self of human beings at the time when they pass the threshold of puberty, because at that time they begin to experience a certain need; that is, the need to marry. It is clear that God wishes that, at that time, they should be able to receive indications from God that will enable them to receive a human seed of good quality. That is why in religion it is taught that human beings have the right and the need to worship God when they reach the age of puberty.

And why is it like that? For you all know that a child may die before reaching puberty, and you might think that, in that case, they would certainly not have found the right way for their life. .( inaudible ) you must remember that it is also taught in the various religions that children from birth to puberty are the responsibility of their parents, both as regards their life on earth and their life after death; that is, the life of their soul. Therefore, if the parents make an effort - if they truly worship God and receive the contact with God's power, as you have already received it in the latihan - then what is purified is not only the defects within themselves but also the defects within their children.

So don't worry or feel disappointed, even if it is only you and your wife who are doing the latihan; your latihan will affect your close family. Moreover, it is not limited to your close family; it will touch anyone who is close to your heart. But you need to be on your guard, because this can be very dangerous; for example, if you are a man you might love another woman more than you love your own children. To be clear, Bapak will illustrate it like this. Suppose we have among us here a man named Alex. Alex has two children. In his latihan, his love is directed, not towards his two children but towards the woman who has become his 'darling' - and who is not his wife. So the purification he receives, which should also affect his children, benefits his 'darling' instead. That is the danger. So Alex is helping another person rather than his own family.

You should, therefore, be careful never to let the love of your heart go outside of your family. You may love others too, but not more than you love your own family; then your family will benefit greatly from the latihan you are doing.

It is clear that God is All-just and All-wise. And in order that human beings can follow their inner feeling and live a good life, God's guidance is not lacking for them.

It is said in all religions that, after puberty, a person will be responsible and stand on his or her own feet. They then have the obligation to worship God on their own, free from the influence of their parents. On average, puberty occurs at about fifteen years of age, which is why children are allowed to marry at fifteen. But human beings have their own laws and consider such marriages to be too early. They determine that people must be at least eighteen before they can marry; and among the richer and better-educated, it is usually not considered desirable to marry until after twenty-one.

So it is clear that human beings have replaced the laws of nature with their own rules. God does indeed allow human beings to do what they want, and they themselves are responsible for whatever they do. The truth is, that in this matter people have made a mistake and departed from God's decree. And if they do this then they themselves must take responsibility; meaning that they should be able to put right what they have done wrong.
read the complete talk : 59 CSP 10

Coombe Springs, England - August 26, 1959
Code number of Recording: 59 CSP 14
Bapak: Concerning the Harding School project: Bapak also approves of it, because this is indeed part of our plan or our wish to help others. This too we should carry out wholeheartedly, so that it may serve as a test to see whether we can do it. If we really make a success of this work, then it will inevitably inspire other members in other places to begin similar undertakings, and so we can expand our work in this field. The staff who will be required to care for these children should be members; they should be helpers. It is important, as Bapak has said, that before they do their work they must free themselves of the chaos within their own thoughts, so that whatever they do for the children will be like an ocean into which the disturbances and defects of the children may be cast and washed away.

Bapak also agrees with the project for the school at Rickmansworth, which may also serve as a pioneer in the field of social work. But Bapak hopes that those of you who are qualified teachers will freely, and with open hearts, help with this establishment and, especially to start with, help Mrs. Creighton. Then in this school - even though the curriculum will be no different from other schools - the children can be educated by teachers who have received the latihan. As Bapak just said, this will clear the atmosphere for the thinking of these young children so that they can find the path that is right for them. This is also the way for the teachers to get practice, and learn to feel the difference between teaching from the passions, as they did before, and doing it from their soul - from the power of God working in them.

And since any undertaking requires money, Bapak hopes that those of you who are not teachers, and who cannot help by teaching the children, will give the project your attention and support just as you will to Brookhurst Grange. That will enable us to do it in a way that gives excellent results and serves to broaden our work in this field.

Wolfsburg, Germany - November 30, 1959
Code number of Recording: 59 WOB 3
The exceptions, those who can be opened right away – maybe there are not so many – are those who wish to join but suffer from some sort of illness. They cannot wait three months because they are sick and really need to be opened. They can be opened at once. Also, those who have reached the age of sixty-three do not have to wait three months; as long as they have a sincere wish to join they can be opened at once. Wives of those who are already in Subud do not need to wait for three months; they can be opened right away. And children of Subud parents, who have reached eighteen years but are still the responsibility of their parents, can be opened at once.

The truth is that the soul can only develop when the thinking mind, heart and desires do not work; meaning, when they have stopped and are quiet. That gives the soul an opportunity to grow. So the soul develops like small children do when they are given food such as bread, cheese and other things. But with the soul it is different – it is just the reverse; the soul will grow when it is not fed by the heart, mind and desires. On the other hand, our mind, heart and desires need to work in order for our mind to become intelligent, our heart clever and our desires strong; for what they eat is our experiences in this world.

Because the influence of all these life forces – as Bapak has said before – originates from souls or entities that existed before the outer form we have now, our brain, heart and desires cannot therefore restrain them or understand them. Yes, we just have to put up with their influence. The result is that people are not aware that their union with their husbands or wives is in fact influenced by these low forces, which bring them misfortune and prevent them from having children who are excellent human beings. Instead, their children will have the characteristics of the forces that influenced their conception; that is, material, vegetable, animal or, at very most, the physical human.

Normally – and please forgive Bapak, because Subud indeed relates to intimate things – when a man and a woman unite it is because one wants it and the other accepts; or one gives and the other receives. But this is without knowing or being aware that the pleasure of giving comes from the influence of low forces, which will create a child of inferior quality. Low forces also influence the one who accepts, so we do not know whom it is who wants to accept.

[Inaudible] …normally it is just because the heart demands it, and it is called being ‘in love’. It is the same with the other partner; again they are ‘in love’. In Dutch it is called liefde. Yes, that’s how it is. Their hearts have created ‘being in love’ between the two of them. But do not forget, brothers and sisters, that the heart is unstable. So is the thinking mind; and the desires are exactly the same. So while they were still young he was attracted to his wife, but once she grew old he didn’t love her any more. That is what the heart is like: it never stays the same, it changes with time. So if you rely on being ‘in love’ or on mutual attraction, the low forces can very easily influence you. That is why human beings need to worship God, because only God can show them the way and guide them so that their human souls can grow and develop. Then human beings will spontaneously become aware that they are noble creatures of God, who can represent God in passing on the human seed, so that this world may become a place of well-being and peace.

So it is a great good fortune and an unlimited gift for you – especially those of you who are young – to have received this latihan. As they say in the proverb, it will enable you to ‘put up your umbrella before it rains’ or to ‘put on your hat before the sun shines’. So, those of you who are still young, when you get married – or if you are already married and do not have many children yet – you will be well prepared and able to give birth to children of good quality.

For those of you who are already older, do not feel discouraged or disappointed because for you this comes too late. There is also an advantage for you, because the latihan you have received will influence your children and make them interested and want to follow the latihan. And you yourself will find the right way because you have received guidance from God. In the same way, for those who have not yet married and do not intend to get married at all, they also obtain guidance from God but it is limited to them, because they intentionally do not get married or have children.

It is a pity if these people do not wish to marry; they are like trees whose fruit is very delicious but which are no longer planted. That is what it is like. Supposing these people are good, with perfect souls, but they don’t want to marry at all in their life – it is a great pity that they will not pass on the human seed. It is, as Bapak said, like a tree that bears wonderful fruit, which would fetch a high price if it were sold, but it is no longer planted. So it ends there.

On the other hand, there are people who are always getting married and have many children, but who have not experienced the true worship of God. They are like plants that do not bear good fruit, but just keep growing. That is not good either.

Such is the guidance within each one of you; it enables you to become aware and to accept what needs to be changed and what you have to do, in the right way. It means that everything is in accordance with God’s commands. And the commands that you receive from God do not go against the nature of the one who receives them. This means that you will find out what is right because your seeing has been cleaned and filled with the power of God that matches your seeing. Similarly, your heart will change and become a good heart – the best – because it has been cleaned and filled with the power of God that matches the nature of your heart.

The true oneness of life for human beings is in the union between woman and man or man and woman. As a result of such a union – the union of the entire being, not just of the heart but also of the soul – a child or a new human seed will grow and be born that comes from one human being and not from two. The thinking faculty of many children is split, and so is their character, because they are not the children of one human being, but two. This is a misfortune.

This makes it clear that the test for a woman is to be able to take care of her husband. Only when you have perfected that will you be able to do God’s will in the world. [A break in recording.] …[You should not be] in a hurry to say you love God, when you are not yet able to love your husband.

As for the men, don’t be too cocky. It is the same for you: do not be too quick to declare your love for God if you are not yet able to love your wife. The fact is that it is much easier to love another person than to love God. Do not be in a hurry to lift a mountain; start with a small stone first.

Rio De Janeiro - June 14, 1963
Code Number : 63 RIO 5
Why else do we need to do this, brothers and sisters? It is because the worship of God by human beings is always connected with charity. That is why in the religions – whether in Islam, Christianity or any other religion – besides worshipping God and practising their religion, people also create charitable institutions to help those who are in need.

That is why it would be very good if Subud could create a body whose aim is to help the poor and needy; for example, in the way Bapak has seen in Baurú, where some of the members have created a school and a home to look after delinquent children and help them to improve. If we create something like this, with a charitable aim, the development of Subud and its members can become a good example for society. In itself this already creates publicity that is not words but real evidence that the aim of Subud is pure and brings human beings closer to one another – heart to heart and feeling to feeling. This fits very well with what we receive in our Subud latihan.

Briarcliff, NY USA - July 9, 1963
Second Subud World Congress
Code Number : 63 BCL 2
You also ask about sick people and members’ children who are sick, who need the help of the helpers. Bapak has already advised you some time ago that if a member or their child is ill, and asks for help, helpers can do latihan near them. If it is one of us – meaning, a member – it is not necessary to do this while they are asleep; the helpers can do latihan with them when they are awake. If it is a child who is ill, the helpers should do latihan near them while they are asleep.

San Francisco, CA USA - September 9, 1963
Code Number : 63 SFO 2
In fact, because this is an object that exists thanks to you, you should not be attracted to it. But usually that is not how it works. Once you have made something that has merit, it will influence your heart so that you are attracted to it. The result is that eventually it becomes a picture in your imagination. And when you have sexual intercourse with your spouse and conceive a child, it is the picture of the world you have within your imagination that causes the space within your child to become narrow. And since the space is small, the content will be small too. This is the reason why it happens that people can look like human beings but their soul is a low soul.

For those who make this mistake for the first time and pass it on to their children, it is not very deep; if you compare it to a picture, it is not very deeply imprinted. So it is still easy for those children to erase that picture and get back their original nature, their human soul. But if it is passed on from generation to generation, over and over again, without being changed or an effort made to erase it, then in the end, after a number of generations, those mistakes have become very deeply imprinted. If you think of it as a vessel, it is no longer temporary – it has become permanent.

That is it, brothers and sisters; so it is very difficult for us – for Bapak also – to change our habits. Very difficult. It is also very difficult to change our character. This is because our character and habits arise from our wrong soul. So, no matter what efforts we make with our heart and thinking to get rid of or to change that for the better, we cannot do so. The only possibility is God, the power of God. It is God who can change that. But even for God … God can change anything that is unnecessary, but God is All-wise, so God will change something in a way that does not harm what is being changed. For God is very powerful, and if we were changed in accordance with the full power of God, we human beings – all of us, including Bapak – would die. Because what is being changed is our content; if it is changed suddenly, and the vessel is not yet ready, we will not be able to return.

Bandung, Indonesia - October 31, 1966
Code Number : 66 BDO 1
Why do the low forces need to get a lift in a human being, even though that is not their place? The low forces are the material life force, the vegetable life force, the animal life force and the life force of the human body, which is actually the force of the human thinking mind. Why do they need to influence human beings? It is because they want to enjoy the nobility and the pleasures of a human being’s life here in this world. It is through the mistakes of human beings, who continually neglect their worship of God and spend more time thinking about things that create disorder, that the way is opened for the low forces to come in and enjoy human pleasures.

Now, if these pleasures just involve eating, working, dressing, or driving a car, well, it is not so bad. It is the pleasure in the union of man and woman that is dangerous. This is what led Bagawan Wisrawa – who in the [Ramayana] story is an all-knowing sage, sincere and very wise – through his own mistake to have a son like Dasamuka [an evil king]. Why? Because he had been occupied and was not aware of it.

This is the reason why a devout person, who is exemplary and has a good heart and a good character may, if the low forces hitch a ride with them, have a child whose character is terrible. If the low forces hitch a ride in A, and A has a child B, then B will not be like A. Then B gets married and has children, and so it goes on: each generation is the result of low forces getting a ride, so they will only be able to live as hitchhikers.

Bapak is not saying that you are like that, but that is the pattern. Then you, or those people who have bad luck, might say, ‘Oh, what a fate I have. It must be my fate to be poor. From the very beginning I’ve never been anything but poor. I can’t even get a loan. It’s dreadful. I used to have three pairs of trousers – now I’ve only half a pair.’ [Laughter.]

Why is that? It is because of what Bapak explained just now. Well, Bapak is not talking about you, but that is how things work. Such a person is descended from the hitchhikers. That’s what has happened, and because of that his ancestors were just shadows.

So, apart from the things Bapak was talking about earlier, to make our Subud Spiritual Association complete we need to set up schools and hospitals, with Subud doctors in the hospitals and, if possible, Subud members or helpers as teachers in the schools. Then, when they see the children who are just starting to learn, they will know: ‘Oh, this child’s talent is in this area; that child’s talent is in that area.’ For actually there is no child who is quite without ability, who can receive no knowledge at all. Everybody can learn something. What is wrong is simply the direction they take. So there are children who are very good only at painting, and there are those who are very good only at telling stories. There are children who are good at this, or that or the other. And they will each find their own direction if the teachers, besides having their diplomas – outwardly they have their teachers’ diploma – are also helpers. Then there will not be people – especially in Indonesia – who are lost, who have no skills at all.

Cilandak, Indonesia - February 18, 1967
Code Number : 67 TJK 2
Therefore do not worship God half-heartedly. If possible, do not half-worship, or quarter, an eighth, a tenth or a thousandth. If you can, make it three-quarters. But train yourself little by little, not all at once. For I have noticed that if you have no money for just one day, you already panic. You have the feeling, ‘Will I still be alive tomorrow?’ particularly those of you with lots of children. ‘So if that happens, what do I do, Bapak?’

Yes, indeed, surrendering is difficult. Why is it difficult? Because surrendering means letting go of whatever you like, of whatever you want and of whatever is in your mind, and it is very difficult to let those things go. Here is an example. Well, if it concerns something material, maybe you can do it, if it concerns an ordinary material thing, but suppose that one day you received very clearly – whether it was in your dreams while you were asleep, or in your latihan – that your child was going to die very soon. If that happened you would ask God, ‘God, please grant that my child will not die.’ Yes. That is no longer surrender. If you were surrendered to God you would say, ‘I leave it to You.’

The One who analyses and creates a system for each of you one by one is God Himself, for it is God alone who can unite all that has been created. So, your voice that can reach anywhere – even to God – is none other than your authentic individual voice. The same applies to your seeing and to your other faculties.

Does that make you dependent? No. You are not dependent. These days your individuality is referred to as berdikari:24 Outwardly that is ‘standing on your own feet’, but actually it is ‘standing on your own soul’. So, suppose that you arrive over there – meaning when you die – it is not just that you take your consciousness with you, but that it has become one with you. Although you are then what is called a spirit, and your soul no longer has a body, you will remember that you left your children and your grandchildren in this world. That is what is needed by your grandchildren and your children who still live here: to have an ancestor who remembers them. And also vice-versa, what your ancestors need is to have children and grandchildren who obey God and so show them the way and illuminate it.

What Bapak is explaining are experiences in the latihan. And for those of you who have not yet been able to receive them, or if there are those here who have not done the latihan, just consider Bapak’s words to be a myth rather than guidance. It’s a fairy-tale, the kind of story told by storytellers.

Calcutta, India - March 8, 1967
Code Number : 67 CCU 2
If Subud sets up schools, the teachers will be Subud members, of course. And if the teachers are Subud members, they can test about each child who enrols in the school and direct the child to the right field, towards what that child will be good at. Then the child will not turn out to be ineffective; they will become someone who is valuable to society. And it will be because Subud teachers who did the latihan and knew how to test about the child, knew the right direction for that child. So, students in a Subud school will study the subjects that are in accord with their true ability.

So, if Subud has a hospital, of course the doctors will be in Subud. They will have the normal skills of a doctor, but they will also have a Subud soul. Both those aspects will be active – the outer and the inner. That is, provided we can set up or establish a hospital.

And as for abandoned children – many children are abandoned because they are mentally disabled, their minds do not function properly. Special homes are needed for these abandoned children, run by Subud people. So, Subud members are going to have plenty to do.

This is Bapak’s plan. This is what God told Bapak to do – Subud should do social work, not only to benefit Subud members, but also to benefit the whole of society.

[A home has been] set up for emotionally disturbed and neglected children in England, and one of those children has now enrolled at university.

If Subud sets up a home for elderly people who have nothing, who have no family, apart from being cared for by Subud people, it can be a way for neglected old people to find the way to worship God by doing the latihan. And in the end – hopefully it will be so – their souls will be properly cared for.

Now, about Subud enterprises: the profits from enterprises can be used to finance the Subud association, in order that Subud can set up these schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly and homes for abandoned children. Other members can be taken on to work in those enterprises, members who are unemployed. In that way Subud will be self-sustaining; it can meet its own needs and it will be a model for the world.

The Hague - May 11, 1967
Code Number : 67 HAG 4
Maybe you want to ask what kind of faults have the effect of slowing down your receiving. Bapak will explain. The physical bodies of human beings come about through other human beings – in other words, you exist because of your parents. And before you come to be in your mother’s womb, your parents might have done something that put a distance between them and God and brought them into a closer relationship with this world. They might also have done something wrong that reduced the happiness of others; meaning that they followed only their greed and their anger. If in that state your parents had intercourse and made a human seed in your mother’s body, the nature of that seed would reflect your parents’ imagination and behaviour.

Bapak compares this to a camera, where an image is created within it. That is what it is like when a couple unite and happen to conceive a human seed. The nature of this future being that is in the mother’s body is like an image of whatever the parents experienced up to that time. Therefore the character of the child who is born reflects the mistakes that have entered the parents’ experience. This is the reason why there are times when your latihan proceeds smoothly and other times when it does not, and there are also times when your latihan is wild; meaning that it is disagreeable.

This can be linked to the story of Adam. Before Adam was sent down into the world he was close to God, and his inner feeling was clean; meaning that his spirit was still pure. Because his spirit was pure, it meant that he was close to the Holy Spirit.

Because the union of man and woman – in other words, marriage between human beings – belongs to the realm of the soul, it is referred to as becoming one soul; meaning that two souls become one. Once you have received the latihan you are always led and guided by Almighty God. Therefore when you unite with your spouse that is the state you should be in; that is to say, led and guided by God.

If those of you who are still young experience this and then have children, you will find that these children are very different from any you may have had before you received the latihan. Your later children will really be aware of the greatness of God. This is something that Bapak has witnessed.

Those of you who joined Subud before you got married and then had children will find that your children are unusual. And when they later reach the right age and receive the latihan, it may be that their latihan will progress more easily and steadily than your own, than that of their parents. This is a clear sign that the latihan is very important for all of you, especially for those Subud members who have not yet embarked on the test of life; meaning, those who have not yet married.

Bapak does not need to look far for the proof of what he is saying; it applies to his own grandchildren. They did not need to be opened: once they grew up and reached the age of eighteen – and even before that – they were able to receive by themselves. Apart from that, when they go to school they generally do not meet with any difficulties in their studies. On the contrary, when they are studying they some times receive guidance from within. This happens spontaneously, not because Bapak gives them advice. This is an example from close at hand. Perhaps those of you who have had children after you received the latihan have also experienced this.

The fact is that when you do latihan you are rediscovering the atmosphere of life that you require, and your union with your spouse becomes a worship of Almighty God and does not involve the influence of the desires that block the awakening of your soul and dirty your inner feeling. This is why, in the Islamic world, Muslims are encouraged to marry. Both men and women need to marry, because in the course of their union they will be reminded of God and will be able to experience again how it was from the time they were still in the womb to the time after they were born in this world.

But, brothers and sisters, human beings remain human, and although this is the true reality of Islam, there are probably many people who claim to be Muslims but get married only for pleasure and in pursuit of their desires. Therefore you need to understand and be aware of these things.

That is why Bapak always says that the latihan is truly guidance and direction from God, both for your soul and your inner feeling. And by becoming aware and receiving everything that is in the latihan, the faults that have come down to you from your ancestors will stop with you and not continue on down to your descendants.

Los Angeles, CA USA - June 3, 1967
Code Number : 67 LAX 1
So the angels realised that the will of God truly had been fulfilled and that God is Almighty and All-powerful throughout the universe. As a result, the angels redoubled their efforts to tempt the children of Adam; that is, to tempt human beings.

That is why it is told in the ancient books, written by human beings who lived a long time ago, that the right path is fraught with the temptations of life. Thus they said, ‘My children, do not take lightly whatever you do or whatever you want to achieve. In reality the path to God is extremely easy, but it is full of the temptations of life. It contains many obstacles that are intentionally put in your way lest you reach God in a short time, or indeed reach God at all.’ That is what they said.

There are books that tell stories about the lives of human beings who were graced by God and were able to come to God rapidly, avoiding the temptations of Ijajil [the Devil], or the temptations of the angels who tempt us in our hearts and our thinking. It is said that the only way to be able to receive guidance from Almighty God, free from the temptations of the angels who tempt the hearts and the brains of human beings, is through patience, acceptance and a willingness to let go.

‘My children,’ they say, ‘deal with and face up to every obstacle and every temptation of life that surrounds you – to your right and left, in front of you and behind you, above you and below you. Face them with patience, acceptance and a willingness to let go. Have the greatest possible trust in Almighty God: that God will always help you, will always help human beings. But you will not be able to receive God’s help, nor can you possibly feel it if you still use your heart and your thinking. Therefore surrender everything to God; for it is only in that state that the angels who disturb the lives of human beings cannot tempt you. When human beings are not using their heart and thinking, and surrender to Almighty God, the angels cannot tempt them.’

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 22, 1967
Code Number : 67 TJK 7
Therefore, if there are still people who have lost their way in seeking their livelihood, it is clearly the fault of their ancestors, who have caused them to have a narrow and disordered inner feeling. But even so, you should not blame your parents, for they themselves were not aware of the wrong conduct in their lives. So there is no reason for you to blame them.

On the contrary, you should find a way that enables you to correct the errors they have made. It is fortunate for you that by the Grace of Almighty God you can receive His guidance and direction which manifest in the latihan kedjiwaan of Subud, so that the faults do not remain endlessly within you. This is the reason, brothers and sisters, why Bapak has often said that the latihan kedjiwaan of Subud puts a halt to this, so that the faults in your inner feeling will no longer be transmitted endlessly into the inner feeling of your descendants. In this way, your children will be human beings who have a human inner force, and an inner self with the qualities of Susila, Budhi and Dharma. As for those of you who are already old and whose children were born before you received the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, you should have the feeling of patience and acceptance, surrendering with submission and sincerity to Almighty God so that, through the latihan kedjiwaan that you follow, you can bring benefit to your children. Besides this, you should also guide them so that, when they have grown up, they will like to tread in your footsteps and wish to be opened and to follow the Subud latihan.

Further, those who have been married for a long time but have no children yet, should be patient and do the latihan faithfully, surrendering with sincerity to the Will of Almighty God. Do not go looking for a witch doctor in order to get a child through his spell. Usually, one cannot be sure that one's wish will be fulfilled by this practice, but by that time it is too late; one has already got wet from the spittle of his magic spell!

Bapak would like to tell you of an incident that happened when Bapak was in England some time ago. Among the Subud members there was a couple who had been married for approximately fourteen years, but unfortunately, although they had been married for so long, they had not yet had a child. As they felt it was most important for their life to have a child, both of them went to be examined by a specialist to find out whether it was really their fate to remain childless. The specialist told them that indeed the husband did not have the essence to fertilize the egg in the wife.

Apparently, they went many times to such specialists in their effort to find a way of getting a child, but the result was always the same, so that finally the wife decided that it would be better to have a divorce. Fortunately, before the divorce took place, the husband had an opportunity to meet Bapak and to speak about this matter. Bapak then called the wife and advised her to cancel her intention to divorce her husband, and Bapak suggested to them just to do the latihan kedjiwaan patiently and faithfully, because for someone in Subud the latihan that exists by the Grace of Almighty God is the only way that makes the fulfillment of his hopes possible. The wife broke into tears and expressed her regret for having been in a hurry to do something without asking for Bapak's advice. The harmony of this couple was restored and both of them did the latihan faithfully as before.

Approximately four months later Bapak left England and went to Holland, where he received a telegram from the member mentioned above, saying that according to a medical test the wife was pregnant; and after his return to Jakarta Bapak received a message that the wife of this member had given birth to a baby girl.

Thus, brothers and sisters, for those of you who have been married for a long time but have not yet any children, it is better not to go to magic healers. It is enough if you only do the latihan kejiwaan, and surrender your hope for a child to the Power of Almighty God. However, you have to be aware that it cannot be guaranteed that you will have a child, for it all depends on the Will of Almighty God, Who knows your capacity.

Jakarta, Indonesia - August 16, 1971
Code Number : 71 TJK 13
The latihan kejiwaan means becoming one, coming together as one. Bapak has said you were in existence before your birth in this world. Thus before Adam was brought to the world, he and Eve were one, united. That is a fact. The name Eve did not exist nor the name Adam. There was not even a name; there was just light, the seed of man. Later they were sent down to earth as two separate beings, to unite again and become one, as formerly.

Their union after coming to earth was that of two separate beings, in order that they should be aware of it. Why was that? To ensure that Adam and Eve should have many descendants, that there should be many people to follow them.

After a man is able to feel one with his wife, a child, a third person, then comes into being. Well, this is a true lesson, a lesson brought to life. After that a man can perceive 'I know my wife's feelings. I have the same feelings as my child'.

You who have children may go to a shop intending to buy clothes for yourself. But before you reach the clothing section you see balloons, toy wagons and other children's playthings. If you go straight on to the clothing department, it means you are not yet able to feel the needs of children, cannot feel how they feel. But if you stop where the toy wagons and balloons are being sold, it shows you can feel how a child feels. Sometimes you only reach that point and then return home. 'Well, I wanted to get some clothes, but I bought balloons for the child.'

You thus begin to feel the state of a third being. If you cannot do so with one child, then increase the number of children, up to ten. If a parent is still unable then to feel the children's feelings, it is his own fault.

And man's unity with his wife and child results in a unity of three or four. Having one, two or three children strengthens the bonds of marriage. Why? Supposing a father wants to look for another woman, he will certainly think about his children and whether they would like to have another mother. They would certainly not like that. So if a man still needs another woman, it is only because of the nafsu, not because of his jiwa and his own feelings; no.

The desire to have another wife is clearly just a desire of the nafsu. It is not possible that the children want another mother. As for you, you will not seek another wife when you have been able to attain unity of feeling in the group of three - man, wife and child.

That is why the latihan kejiwaan is not one which causes a breach in the marriage relationship. When you can truly receive and benefit from the latihan, your marriage bond will become increasingly close and strong. Except of course when one partner dies; that is another matter. But during your lifetime the marriage bond becomes firmer as time goes on, because you become able to be aware of the unity of feelings, as Bapak has said.

Suppose a man wants another wife. Do his children also wish for this? And his wife? Or if the wife wishes for another man, do her children and husband also want it? Of course not. So if there is unity in the feelings of three beings - man, wife and child - a second wife or husband will not be taken and there will be no breach in the marriage; no.

So, brothers and sisters, when you have truly become able to receive, a divorce or separation cannot possibly result from the latihan kejiwaan. As a matter of fact, its purpose like that of religion, is lasting harmony in the marriage relationship, continuing until husband and wife are grandparents.

This explanation of Bapak's about marriage also touches on everything you need in your lives. When husband, wife and child have a harmonious family life, their worldly lives are likely to be happier.

Evidently then, if you lack one thing or another it is not the fault of the marriage relationship; no. It is because your own behavior is not fitting, not what is needed for your lives.

The unity of feelings that begins to grow becomes firmer and deeper and broader as time goes on, making the feeling between the jiwa of parent and of child increasingly close. When the parent eventually dies, the death is of the coarse physical body.

These observations are solely from the point of view of the kejiwaan, through the latihan kejiwaan. They are not made from any other aspect. We only see according to our own way, as received, as given to us by God, that is, according to the latihan kejiwaan.

So the bond between child and parent becomes ever firmer, deeper and broader, closer and closer. Indeed it is not certain that the parent will die before the children. It could happen, as in Bapak's case, that a child is the first to die. However, the firm bond permeating the feeling of parent and child enables the child to know a parent's state even though the parent has died.

Jakarta, Indonesia - August 19, 1971
Education for the child
Code Number : 71 TJK 14 Read the complete talk here

Jakarta, Indonesia - August 23, 1971
Code Number : 71 TJK 15
Then comes another nafsu, the animal life force. If you lacked this life force, men would not recognize women, nor women men. You could not distinguish one from another. The world would become a desolate place, without people. Yes, even though men had knowledge of men, and women of women, there would be no people on earth later on. For how could a man produce a child with another man, or a woman have a child with a woman?

Thus women know about men and men about women because of the animal life force. And from that experience they know and understand that human existence on earth is based on the two sexes. It must be so in order to populate the world. It is indeed God's Will that there shall be more than two people on earth. The more, the better. Don't be afraid of that.

Oh yes, family planning is studied as a way to limit the number of people. Thereby, people are not allowed to multiply freely, but what about the ants ? Eventually there would be very few people and multitudes of ants. A catastrophe.

If the hearts of man and wife have become one in feeling, their child will be the child of one person. If husband and wife are always disagreeing, their child will be the child of two people, not one. That is all right unless the husband is the embodiment of the material life force or the wife is dominated by it. Then the child will be a child of the material, not a human one. And if a parent is filled with the animal life force, the child will have an animal nature in a human body.

You have to be on guard about this, because many children forget their parents. That is the fault of the parents themselves, because they are not alert and watchful. Marriage between men and women is due to the Will of God. If that Will is followed, everything can be obtained to ensure happiness and security in your earthly lives.

As Bapak has previously told you, brothers and sisters, husband and wife have to face many things in order that their marriage may truly be worship of God and their union produce children whose feelings are united with their own. If that can come to pass, the close knit unity of feeling between husband and wife will also exist between children and parents.

That is the importance of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud - to train and guide you towards unity of feeling, so that there will always be a firm bond between you and your parents, you and your children.

This is expressed in the saying 'Parents are brought to heaven by a dutiful child'. But a child who has not yet reached heaven himself cannot help his parents. That is to say, if a child has not yet been able to receive purification of his inner feeling and acquire an especially good life force, he cannot raise the level of his parents' spirit or life force. But if a child has been cleansed of stains and sin and so has a noble life force, his own child will be of the same nature and will have a similar life force.

That is what is meant by a child capable of taking his parents to heaven. Such a child shows his gratitude and fulfills his obligations to the parents who brought him into the world and cared for him until he had grown up. And later, when a child like this marries, he will be able to bring into the world a child who in time will also be able to fulfill his obligations and show his gratitude to his parents.

Hence the latihan kejiwaan of Subud does not affect you alone; it affects the parents who gave you birth and also the children born of your marriage.

You can feel and prove this yourself. If you already had a child before you joined Subud, it has a very different nature and character from the child born after you entered Subud. That is plain.

The child born after you entered Subud is the child of one who has received the latihan kejiwaan, who has been trained and guided by the Power of God and in some degree purified of his faults. Whereas a child born before the parents joined Subud is the child of people who had received no training or guidance from the Power of God, nor any cleansing of the inner feeling.

That accounts for the differences between a child born before and one born after you joined Subud. So in following the latihan kejiwaan which you have received, do so diligently, and with complete patience, sincerity, and trust in God.

Remember too what Bapak has just explained - don't let your feelings be influenced by the material, vegetable and animal life forces. This will enable you to make progress and not be always disturbed in receiving God's guidance and direction manifested in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud.

Edinburgh, Scotland - May 27, 1972
Code Number : 72 EDI 2
Brothers and sisters, the existence of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud combined with the future existence of enterprises and of the bank, can of course be said to be something new and strange. As a rule the people who plunge into the spiritual life no longer concern themselves with such worldly requirements as enterprises and banks, and so this is something alarming for the Subud members who cling to their old ways and act as people used to do in the old days, because of course that was the old way of doing things. These two are also kept separate in Indonesia itself. For instance, the younger people who have still to make their way in life in this world are restricted to a spiritual teaching designed for young people, the junior teaching, while the full teaching, the spiritual knowledge of the older people, which is directed towards self perfection for the life after death, is called the senior teaching, the teaching of the elders. This is only for older people of forty or fifty years old. This has indeed become traditional and customary so that the young receive young and the old receive old.

But Subud is not like that. Why is this? It is because Subud has come into the world and can actually be received by human beings - of whom Bapak was the first to receive it - in circumstances that are a hundred percent worldly. That is why the younger Subud members are in no way restricted, and there is nothing to prevent them from going on to University level in what they learn.

Only of course this is not allowed for the young people who are under the age of eighteen, for under the age of eighteen they are still not so much very young but very much children. As a rule, brothers and sisters, if children are given explanations about this, they tend to forget about other things, so that if they were allowed to do the latihan while still under the age of eighteen and were able to receive well, they would not want to continue studying any longer. That is why Bapak, or the spiritual brotherhood of Subud, places a restriction upon the opening of children or young people below the age of eighteen. If they are going to study, it is better for them to wait to be opened until they have entered the university.

Thus it is not the bank that we shall be making rich when we put money into it. No, what we shall be making rich will be buildings for the worship of God. That is, the latihan premises, the guest houses for visitors, for all your visitors who come from other places or go from here to other places, homes for neglected children, for normal children and for backward children. So that we can really develop and we can really put into practice what we have received from the One Almighty God, so that these backward children can cease to be backward, but become children who really make progress in their lessons and can learn things.

London, England - June 1, 1972
Code Number : 72 LON 2
It is not necessary to go into this very deeply or to enquire into it very far. That is why it is a very strange question when someone says: "I have seen God, Bapak. Is that true Bapak?" He says that he has met God, but he is still asking Bapak about it. Is Bapak more than God? So if someone had really met with God, he would no longer be asking questions of anyone but God. All that would be over. Bapak himself is an instance of this.

Bapak asks questions of nobody. Bapak asks nobody at all. Why not? Because he already has the answers. The answers are already present in the questions.

All this begins on a low level, from what is low. At first it goes like this, this, this, this. You must not want to go straight here without first passing through that stage. You are not strong enough, so to begin with it is like this, like little children. First you have to learn to crawl. That is why to see you in the latihan is like watching little children. Indeed, you are little children. You are little children, and yet you are grown ups. You are little children, yet you have beards. You are little children, yet you already enjoy being with women, and the women enjoy being with men. For although you are little children you are adults.

Cilandak, Indonesia - May 19, 1974
About marriage
Code Number : 74 CDK 7
So, Michael and Miftah, beginning now, you will be undertaking something that is both easy and difficult, if you wish in due course to have children you can rightly be proud of and glad to talk about because they give you no trouble.

Bapak says this earnestly, for Bapak is a parent, so he has experienced the bitterness and harshness of man's life. Truly there is no pain, no suffering really like that which you feel from the way children are. When children just go to school and learn their lessons and grow up to be clever, the parents' hearts swell with a greater joy than that of the children. But if the children lack ability, it is not only the children who are sad; their parents are very sad.

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 22, 1974
Code Number : 74 CDK 8

Wolfsburg, Germany - June 21, 1975
Code Number : 75 WOB 16
Once when Bapak's children were small, they were not so much teasing as begging Bapak: 'Bapak let's go to the evening fair.' Bapak said: 'What is the point of going to the fair?' They said: 'Just to look, because there is the ketoprak ( kind of Javanese opera ) and all sorts of games there.' 'Yes, and you have to take money with you.' 'Surely, Bapak has got some money.' 'Well, yes, he has, but not much. Only ten rupiahs at the most, it would be just enough to pay to get in. Then what happens when you get hungry?' 'Well, Bapak, there must be a way and it would be easy once we got there.'

It looked as if Bapak was just giving in to his children's wishes, but in fact he also wanted to see how it would be. So Bapak went to the evening fair, and after paying for the tickets to get in, the ten rupiahs were almost gone. Then after they had looked at this and that and watched the wayang orang ( Javanese ballet ) and the ketoprak and various other things, Bapak's children felt hungry. 'I'm hungry, Bapak.' 'Yes, you are hungry, but what did I say just now? There is not enough money to eat in a restaurant.' 'Well, Bapak, what are you going to do to make my hunger go away?' Then my children pointed out a stall where there was a game, in which, if you picked the right number, for one rupiah you could win back fifteen rupiahs. Bapak followed the children's wish to go there. Well, there I was in this place: 'What number shall we put the money on, Bapak?' 'Put it on number seven.' They put the money on number seven, and it won. They put one rupiah on it and got back fifteen. Then they had another turn. 'Please, Bapak, what number?' 'Three.' They put the money on again and won again. After winning about ten times, Bapak left. The children begged to go on, but Bapak said: 'No, we have won enough.' If we had continued the croupier would be breathless. Left and right people were staring at me. I heard them saying: 'Oh, these children have brought their dukun ( sort of witch doctor ) along with them.'

Bapak was just testing it out a little - 'Oh, that is how the kejiwaan is.' So if Bapak had gone on with it he would have become chief gambler, and if he had become the chief gambler he would have forgotten what was right. That was why people are not allowed to gamble.

Well, after Bapak's children had won fifteen rupiahs several times over, they had more than two hundred rupiahs. 'Now let's go and buy some food.' So by winning at that game they got their tummies full.

Bapak is not suggesting to you that the helpers should go to casinos and play roulette. No, but you can just try it.

Cilandak, Indonesia - July 20, 1975
Code Number : 75 CDK 4
It is indeed so, brothers and sisters. Just recently Bapak has had a letter from America, where it seems they no longer have the patience to wait and are going to set up a place for education, a school. For they feel it is important and very necessary for Subud to establish that school at the present time, because then Subud will be able to educate the children for, or guide them towards, fields suited to their inner natures. The Subud teachers, besides having teaching qualifications, are also helpers, and so will be able to direct the children to what their talents fit them for. So the potential architects will be guided to architecture, the potential teachers to teaching, the potential farmers to farming, and so on in that way.

By this means no harm will be caused later to the individuality of the pupils and it will not happen that those who follow their studies will lack a career. For many children are wrongly placed. For instance some who should not study to be architects are sent to schools of architecture, and there are also those who are being trained, say, for commerce, for whom it is not appropriate to be put there, so that those children become failures, drop-outs, and hence unable to follow their proper paths in life where they could be successful. So this school has now been started.

And Bapak's answer to the letter was that indeed he already had that in mind through the setting up of enterprises in the Spiritual Brotherhood of Subud, but that if the members really felt strong enough to start the school, all right, but don't then come to a stop along the way, as was the case in England.

In England, brothers and sisters, there has been a school for neglected children, for aimless children, that is, children without any direction in life, and for wayward children. And it was able to keep going for several years, so it was also successful. But lack of funds forced it to close down. That was a great pity. So the guidance and the teaching were good, but the funds which enabled the school to be formed could not be maintained.

That is why Bapak is always urging you to set up enterprises, to set them up soon, in order that these enterprises will be able to contribute to Subud funds and Subud will really be able to fulfill its aims in the social field.

New York, NY USA - May 5, 1976
Code Number : 76 NYC 1
Brothers and sisters, what Bapak has told you about enterprises is that the purpose of enterprises, in addition to providing for our needs in our own life, that is, for members who work in them, their main purpose is also to provide revenue and income in order that Subud will have the possibility of putting into practice its aims in this world. And its aims in this world are the establishment of charitable undertakings which bring the latihan kejiwaan into practical use in this world. For example, in order that later on, when we have made enough money from our enterprises, that we should be able to set up schools for children where the teachers are not only graduates or teachers who hold diplomas in teaching, but are also helpers in the field of the kejiwaan so they can guide the children both inwardly and outwardly. That we set up hospitals where the doctors are not only medical doctors with whole qualifications, but are also helpers in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. And also the nurses are also helpers in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. That we can set up homes for the aged, elderly people who have no families. So that as well as looking after them outwardly, there will be helpers in these homes who will bring them the opening in the latihan kejiwaan. So that even late in life, they can become aware of the right way to worship God Almighty and become aware of the life after death. And that we can start schools for children who are disturbed or mentally retarded, again, where the teachers are helpers in the brotherhood of Subud. So that, not only can they teach them in the normal way, but through the latihan they can influence the children so that the children, by themselves, become better and return to an ordered behavior. And indeed at this time, there are many children who are emotionally disturbed or naughty in their behavior, and this is something that, in these schools, can be put right. In fact, this was already tried once, in England, you may have heard of the charitable enterprise, it was set up in England many years ago by Subud members called Whatcomb House which was especially a school for emotionally disturbed children. And, actually, this was a great success as far as the educational side went. Out of the children who went there, two were able to enter universities and start on a brilliant career, people who were before completely useless and rebellious, and, in general, the success rate was extremely high. But, after a few years of operation, the place had to close for lack of funds.

And this is the reason, brothers and sisters, why Bapak always advises you, do not be in a hurry to start charitable enterprises, to start these sorts of things until our enterprises have become strong enough, until we really have the source of income within the brotherhood which can finance these things so they will not have to fall by the wayside just when they are starting to get going. The most important thing now is enterprises, with the result of the profits from the enterprises, we can set up these charitable undertakings. So that, finally, it will not be necessary for us to make propaganda or force people to join Subud. They will want to join of themselves. Because they will be able to see, with their own eyes, that what is done by Subud is exactly what has always been advised and taught by the founders of the great religions. So that is the aim, the ultimate aim, of the enterprises which Bapak is always encouraging us and pushing us to start. Not that we should all become millionaires, of course, Bapak says there's nothing wrong with that, if we can also become millionaires, that's all the better. In fact, Bapak prays that all Subud members, to some extent, become millionaires. Of course, millionaires in dollars not in rupiahs, because ( rest of comment lost behind the laughter of the audience ).

Cilandak, Indonesia - July 25, 1976
Code Number: 76 CDK 6
Human beings wouldn't recognize food, nor would they be able to nourish their flesh and blood and the rest of their physical bodies, if they were not assisted by the low forces of vegetation, called roh nabadi. Human beings would have no zest, no courage, no will to make progress, for example, unless they were helped by the animal forces. And people wouldn't realize what it is to be kind, to be honorable, to have a wide ranging mind, unless helped by the ordinary human forces, the jasmaniah forces.

And where do people get these jasmaniah forces whereby they help one another? From marriage. For that reason it's very necessary and important for people to marry. Yes, Bapak isn't hinting at his grand-daughters who also are not yet married, but they are mindful of that. They mustn't feel that the comfortable thing is to stay with their grandfather. That they mustn't do.

Yes, of course, it's hard for a woman who has a husband. That's why every time Bapak gives advice to newly married couples he always says marriage is a difficult test. Marriage is indeed a trial, a test, for human beings, to enable them to begin to be conscious of the life of someone other than themselves. Before they marry, people have only to think of themselves, haven't they? If they feel like going to the cinema, they go there. If they feel like eating sate ( small pieces of meat roasted on skewers ), they eat it. But once they have a wife it's different.

The wife wants to eat lempeng ( a kind of cake ), the husband sate. Now they share, half sate, half lempeng. Then they have a child, so now there are three of them, and their shares have to be still further divided.

Brothers and sisters, you are certainly able to feel this. When you go into a shop where there are a lot of toys, won't you have to buy one of the things hanging there? Oh yes, you'll buy that. Why buy it, what's the reason, what's the need? 'It's for my child.' That's how it is. Well, if you're single it's different: your interest is in women.

For that reason, being a teacher is difficult. A teacher asks his pupils 'Now children, what do you enjoy doing?' 'What do you like, sir?' 'Oh that's a different matter. Don't do what I do, I get my pleasure in other ways.' The children enjoy balloons, the teacher doesn't. One has to be able to make the distinction. So when someone is school teaching he needs to understand pedagogy, the principles of teaching children, the principles of life, to inform himself about the nature of children.

Bapak once had a friend, a card player. When he lost at cards he was miserable, so he would spank all his pupils. The other teachers told him to stop because he was the children's teacher. When Bapak was a boy he had a friend who became a teacher. In Bapak's day, goodness me, the teachers were harsh. They all used to spank the children. Now Gito's not like that, is he? He never spanks them, no. In Bapak's time all the teachers spanked the children. It was only what he expected from the teachers.

Well, Gito, we are beginning to set an example. We older ones are setting an example. If we didn't do so, how would it be for our children? So we are setting an example, which our children will build on later, meaning that they will add to it, develop it.

That's why Bapak himself is setting an example. Perhaps you've already seen it there in Jalan Jenderal Sudirman ( General Sudirman Street ). Bapak isn't being boastful, no, but this is an example. Have you ever seen the PT S. Widjojo building? You have? That's good. How is it that Pak Subuh, who used to be nobody much, can now be the mainstay of a building like this? How is it possible? Why, there can be hardly a thousand people who could build something like that, maybe only a tenth of that number.

Malang, Indonesia - November 20, 1976
Code Number: 76 MLE 1
Brothers and sisters, the lower forces are the material life force, which is called the roh raewani, the vegetable life force, which is called the roh nabati, the animal life force, which is called the roh khewani, the human life force of ordinary people, which is still called the roh jasmani, and the roh rohani life force of the true human beings who are called manusia. Are true human beings or manusia; not human in the ordinary sense of the word? Yes, manusia are also ordinary human beings.

But there is a technical description for these manusia. Manusia are beings with a nature that is insan kamil; that is they are perfected creatures. These perfect human beings are men and women, and they have children. These manusia, these people who are called manusia, are what in Javanese are trimurti, tritunggal, three in one. Man, woman and child. Thus if a man has a wife but as yet no child, he is satugel, incomplete. But if a man does not yet have a wife, he is called seperempat ( one quarter ). These human forces, both the jasmaniah and the rochaniah are forces that inhabit our selves, brothers and sisters.

If you did not know the jasmania life force, you would not know what it is to marry. You would not recognize a woman, you would not know about men and women. Even though they might embrace and hug one another, it would mean no more than children rolling about on the floor. Yes, you are fortunate, because you are aware of these things. This is what is symbolized by the time of Adam. In Adam's time, he was a man but he did not understand about the woman. They slept together, sometimes they might embrace one another, but yet they did not understand. They did not understand. If Adam were put aside and you were in his place, it would be hard for you, who know the difference. Thus those former times were different from the present.

Cilandak, Indonesia - December 11, 1976
Code Number: 76 CDK 17
So we who are living now have already gone into the calculation class; we have to. We must not be, as it were, in a class that does not use calculation, as if we were still in the jungle. The people there make no calculation. So long as they can eat and drink and those who are married can sleep with their wives, then they just spend the rest of their time sleeping. They have children; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven; enough. That is one short; twelve.

Well, Bapak is not saying that those who already have twelve are wrong. No. It is already too late. I am not blaming them. That is already too late. Such people have really not used calculation. Then what is their life like? When someone has twelve children, twelve-hundred rupiahs a day will not be enough to buy them food. But, because they cannot get more than twelve hundred, of course they will go short. If they have to go short, of course some things will be lacking, so that, as Bapak said just now, they cannot have a happy life. But if they calculate, they can see that for twelve children one has to have twelve times the usual amount per person. Well it must be like that. Thus when people have twelve children, they have to work twelve times as hard as people who only have one or two, So that it is heavy enough. But one is not twelve times as strong. That is according to calculation.

It is like that, brothers and sisters, so therefore in fact this Subud, this latihan kejiwaan of Subud, forms a simple guidance, yet it is truly inclusive and takes everything into account. Later on there is ample time, and I will little by little show you this in the testing.

London, England - June 20, 1977
Code Number : 77 CDK 8

Wendhausen, Germany - July 29, 1977
Code Number : 77 WEN 1

Lisbon, Portugal - September 5, 1977
Code Number : 77 LIS 3

Huntington, New York U.S.A. - September 7, 1977
Code Number : 77 NYC 1

Montreal, Canada - September 17, 1977
Code Number : 77 YUL 2

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - October 18, 1977
Code Number : 77 RIO 3

Marin County, CA USA - December 4, 1977
Code Number : 77 SFO 3

Honolulu, Hawaii - December 22, 1977
Code Number : 77 HNL 1

Christchurch, New Zealand - January 13, 1978
Code Number : 78 CHC 1

Christchurch, New Zealand - January 18, 1978
Code Number : 78 CHC 4

Cilandak, Indonesia - March 5, 1978
Code Number : 78 CDK 2

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 4, 1978
Code Number : 78 CDK 10

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 22, 1978
Code Number : 78 CDK 12

Wisma Subud Jakarta, Indonesia - January 7, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - May 22, 1979
Code Number : 79 JKT 3

Singapore - September 30, 1979
Code Number : 79 SIN 2

Toyko, Japan - January 1, 1980
Code Number : 80 TYO 1

Jakarta, Indonesia - July 10, 1980
Code Number : 80 XJK 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 8, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 9

Wolfsburg, Germany - May 3, 1981
Code Number : 81 WOB 6

Los Angeles, CA USA July 22, 1981
Code Number : 81 LAX 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 30, 1981
Code Number : 81 CDK 6

Cilandak, Indonesia - December 6, 1981
Code Number : 81 CDK 7

Bogor, Indonesia - February 27, 1982
Code Number : 82 BGZ 1

Auckland, Australia - May 20, 1982
Code Number : 82 AKL 2

Auckland, New Zealand - May 22, 1982
Code Number : 82 AKL 3

Melbourne, Australia - May 7, 1982
Code Number : 82 MEB 4

Osaka, Japan - June 1, 1982
Code Number : 82 OSA 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 22, 1982
Code Number : 82 CDK 3

Cilandak, Indonesia - January 9, 1983
Code Number : 83 CDK 2

Cilandak, Indonesia - March 17, 1983
Code Number : 83 CDK 3

London, England - August 2, 1983
Code Number : 83 LON 2

London, England - August 11, 1983
Code Number : 83 LON 14

Anugraha August 14, 1983
At Seventh World Congress
Code Number : 83 LON 18

Hamburg, Germany - September 21, 1983
Code Number : 83 HAM 4

Bandung, Indonesia - April 24, 1984
Code Number : 84 BDO 1

S. Widjojo Center, Jakarta, Indonesia June 29, 1984
Code Number : 84 JKT 4

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 9, 1984
Bapak's Talk On Subud Youth Organization
Code Number : 84 CDK 17

Amen. Bapak Muhammad-Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo

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