Coombe Springs, England August 10, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 6
You should all be aware that the training you have received, as Bapak said earlier, could be likened to a course of instruction given exclusively by God Himself, so that in the training you receive guidance and direction from the power of God. Indeed, only God Himself shows to man the path that leads to God. In receiving this instruction from God it is also necessary that, in carrying out the training, you should always have in your hearts a feeling of patience, faith, submission and sincerity towards the greatness of God. This is the main requirement, and it can become a means or weapon to clear your path to God.

Coombe Springs, England August 11, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 7
Many people, in their minds, don't believe God exists. Indeed, God and His power are not like humans. In the stories of the prophets, the prophets advised that the power of God will appear and can be felt by human beings if they can leave behind all their thinking and desires. Why is that? The mind, understanding and desires are weapons and tools for human beings to acquire the highest knowledge possible within the sphere of human activity.

But the heights of man's mind and the sharpness of his thinking are nothing before the One God. God is Almighty and cannot be overreached by the creatures He has created. Whatever heights a person may attain through the cleverness of his mind, he will not go beyond the level of his own spirit or position as a human being. For that position is made up of experiences he has had through the progress of his feelings, thinking and awareness.

For these reasons, Bapak always tells you, and recommends to all of you, that you should really believe and worship God sincerely. And have full faith that God is the only one who can give you something you need for your life. Your faith and surrender can be put into practice by doing the latihan regularly. For, through the latihans you receive, you are gradually awakened, beginning with your coarse, outer parts. In reality, you are being awakened from a dead, weak state under the pressure of subhuman forces.

The awakening or the movements received cannot be the same for everybody. The movements a person receives depend on the person's inner feeling, which is always influenced by the forces within. So, some people don't need such a variety of movements, while others require movements of many different kinds. It depends on the content of your inner feeling, which has been under the influence of forces below the human being. However, you needn't be afraid or worried about this situation.

Coombe Springs, England August 19, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 10
A human being will only be able to receive guidance from God if he can paralyze his own cleverness, master his own passions, master his own anger and greed, and overcome his own human pride. So the Prophet Jesus, a child born on the lowest level of society, who didn't go to school, who had no standing, who had absolutely nothing, was willed by God to be the one who could receive words and revelations from God. And now he is believed by over half the world. Why was the Prophet Jesus - or a boy like Jesus - able to receive revelations from God? Because the main conditions, within the Prophet Jesus's inner feeling, were none other than faith, obedience, patience, surrender, and entrusting himself to God with sincere submission. He felt within himself that there was none who willed, none who worked or gave a way for him, save God. So, in the Prophet Jesus's life, he gave God more importance than his own soul [jiwa].

Such are the fruits and results obtained by someone chosen by God, someone who, in his inner feeling, always has faith and always surrenders and entrusts himself to God with sincere submission.

Bapak can say that this latihan you receive is instruction from God, not instruction from man to man. The proof of this will arise by itself within each one of you. You yourself will be astonished and amazed, because what is in your inner feeling will arise by itself. You will be able to discover or receive something you've never learned. The state attained in this latihan is really amazing. Indeed, God's wisdom, greatness and power are such that they cannot be overreached by man.

This is why Bapak hopes and suggests that you always have a feeling of patience and faith, entrusting yourselves to God with sincere submission. Never have a feeling of wanting to understand quickly, because it is impossible to achieve anything by forcing your mind in the way people use their ordinary thinking to study worldly things in schools. On the contrary, we need to banish far away our mind which likes to be in a hurry. Later, when the lowest layer is finished - or half finished and the second layer has already begun - the process steps up to the second level, that is, into the feelings or the body of the feelings. There you will begin to be able to feel things in the training [latihan]. Your feelings will be brought to life or purified; they will become alive or clean, so you will be able to receive things in your feelings.

Bapak will give you an example to illustrate: suppose, once you have reached the body of the feelings, you have a meal at a restaurant - for instance, a beefsteak. When you are on the point of eating the beefsteak, you may have a very strange feeling, because the person who cooked it was perhaps thinking too much, or in a bad state, or having a quarrel with his friend. So you feel very strange about the beefsteak. And from that strange feeling, you immediately know, 'Ah, this is because it was cooked by someone who was in this state.' You immediately know, understand and feel the origins, or the real condition, of the food you are eating. This is just a small sample of one of the kinds of things you get when you've progressed to the level of the body of the feelings.

Jakarta, Indonesia - July 9, 1958
Code Number : 58 JKT 3
If any of you have traveled and studied, for example, the turuq ( Arab.: mystical orders ), perhaps you are able to feel and consider that this ( latihan ) we have within us is really what you were looking for. This is the fundamental essence of all you learned from the tariq. All the various kinds of tariq, like the nakhshabandi, khus-nulkhatimah, sayyiduna'ali and the rest of them, are teachings. So through the tariq they practice, people develop a strong faith - they call it tauhid. They believe that God exists and they also worship.

While Bapak does not assert that they will not be able to attain reality by such ways, many people who practice the tariq reach no further than the limit of man's strength. That is, many of them work with forces, magic, desires in the form of magic: black magic, red magic, yellow magic, white magic and five-colored magic.

Five-colored magic is a magic whose color ( brown ) contains all the colors. Bapak isn't saying that brown is the all-embracing element. But in fact it is. What does that mean? The color of Prophet Muhammad's skin is said to have been brown, not black, not yellow, not white, not red. So brown is a mixture of all kinds of colors. Like Bapak; suppose Bapak was in England for twenty years, perhaps he would become an Englishman. If he had children there, they would be half English. If the children had children, the grandchildren would be one hundred percent English. So this color here - you can find it anywhere, and it can also change, because it is the universal element. So the first or lowest magic is black, the second is red, then yellow, white and five-colored or brown. When Bapak says brown ( magic ) it sounds as if he means 'like ( what ) Bapak ( does )'. But no. Bapak hasn't experienced it himself.

That's mostly what is obtained as the fruit of the tariq - Bapak isn't saying always, but mostly. That's why there are quite a few people they call priests or teachers of Islam who still do - well, do what? Surely you know what I mean.

When Ikhsan was in Ceylon a while ago, he was surprised to find prominent people still using amulets. In reality, someone who still uses amulets in order to become supernaturally powerful and invulnerable is a person who is not obedient to God, nor has faith in Him. How is that? Because he is afraid to die. A person who is not afraid to die doesn't use anything. If he dies, he dies and that's that. So these people are afraid to die - they. get these things to protect themselves. They are given things so they won't die. Clearly, someone like that does not yet really have faith in God. He has more faith in his amulets. He has more faith in his desires.

Jakarta, Indonesia - August 13, 1958
Code Number : 58 JKT 4
The prophets in times long ago obtained something beyond the grasp of human beings, in the form of advice and other things, which form a legacy that is believed by human beings today. But it was not because they went to school or studied or searched by using various methods. What they had was tremendous faith and surrender to God's decree. These men showed in their hearts and feelings that they were really obedient and faithful to God's commands; that they had faith in God's greatness and in God's power, and that God rules before human beings are made and after they disappear or reach perfection or cease to exist. In that state and in that way, the prophets received within their consciousness; in a state of not seeking, they received. And their receiving within themselves also made them aware of God's greatness, of God's highness, which we cannot possibly surpass or reach with our desires; we can only truly surrender.

It's not that God will give; God always, constantly gives to human beings and to all the creatures He has created. He provides the way, gives people something they can use to attain happiness in their life, both in this world and in the hereafter.

For there is no other condition or means which can take us, in our awareness and consciousness, into a state outside human understanding, beyond the conditions of this earth, other than the one given by God, who has created and provided the absolute requirement, called khatir ( Arab. ). It is already there, available, inside and outside our being. It is also inside and outside the beings of all the creatures that God has created. But if we search, we will not find it more quickly. We will get further away, because our very state of searching means we are leaving God and God's power. For, in reality, God and God's power are behind our thinking and understanding.

Jakarta, Indonesia - September 29, 1958
Code Number : 58 JKT 5
People suppose that someone who has a high rank, or who is very wealthy, or a nobleman of high descent, for example, would have a high, noble, great soul. Not so. It is not certain that a person of high rank or a nobleman has a high, noble soul. No one, save God, knows what kind of soul a human being has within him. For this cannot be known by the thinking mind or by the desires, let alone seen by the eyes, heard by the ears, or touched by the hands.

Therefore, for us in Subud to find it, to know our soul, the soul within each of us, we have to worship God. We have to obey God's orders. We have to have absolute faith in God, and let go, surrender and give up our desires, our heart and our thinking. For it is these, our thinking and our desires, that are the cover, the screen, the obstruction, which prevent us from being able to meet and know our real soul, the true human soul that existed before we obtained this coarse physical structure of our body.

We need to have faith in God, to surrender and let go, so that our desires, heart and thinking mind do not work and have no power any more. Because with the ceasing of the activity of the thinking and desires, the veil of our heart and thinking mind will open, so we can understand our life, and also our soul, which that is really the mainstay, the foundation and the basis of our life, both in this world and in the hereafter.

God will give to a human being who is obedient and has faith in Him, in like measure. So if you want God to love you, you should love God. If you do not love God, if you do not have faith in God, and if you are not sincere and do not surrender to Him, how will God be ( towards you )? God will give to a human being in accordance with what he has within him. That is just. God will not give to someone who does not want to be given anything. God gives to whoever is willing to be given something and is able to receive it.

It is difficult for us to know our human soul, because in giving to human beings, God waits until they are powerless. Usually, someone who is powerless is dead. But once one is dead it's too late. So what we are doing is that before we die, we are training ourselves to experience death. And the meaning of death is that the desires and the thinking and the heart do not work. So if sometimes when you are in a state of quietness, you have a feeling you are going to die, do not be afraid. If you are afraid, it means your heart is making you afraid. Do not be afraid.

In telling you not to be afraid is Bapak urging you to be reckless? Oh no! Bapak does not tell people to be reckless. No. Bapak is not teaching you to be reckless. Not being afraid means you truly have faith in the greatness of the One God. So that's good, isn't it?

If you are just a little bit afraid, it means your faith is less. If you are more afraid, it is still less; still more afraid, your faith is even less than that - like maybe about half. So you can gauge it for yourself, you can see for yourself, 'If I am still scared like this, I must lack faith.'

So when they say that a Muslim is someone who has faith in the One God, in reality that's very hard. Professor Dr. Halepota said recently, 'In the Quran it says, Pak, that a Muslim must have the courage to go to war and must have the courage to die.' True. But not to die arbitrarily! Not to go into battle casually, just for the sake of bravado! You might as well hang yourself- is that how a Muslim behaves?

So, having the courage to go to war does not mean being tough and using force, like, 'We're off to war, a real war!' No. Having the courage to die does not mean dying recklessly. No. It is an expression that shows a person is really obedient and believes in the existence of God and God's power. This is what is called sabilullah ( Arab.: the path of Allah ) and is necessary.

London, England - August 11, 1959
Code Number : 59 LON 1
Tradition associates Abraham with the color red, which signifies it was by virtue of his sincere worship and unshakeable faith that he received revelations and gifts from God for the benefit of humankind. Such unshakeable faith in Islam is referred to as tauhid. The reality of Abraham's faith was tested when God commanded him to kill his young son Ishmael' with his own hands. This test was only so that Abraham could demonstrate the reality of his worship of God - that it came before whatever his heart was attached to. Abraham carried it out with an attitude of complete patience and complete acceptance. His love was only for God, greater than for anything his heart desired.

But as Bapak said earlier, human beings remain human and are very easily swayed by the ambience of the world, which always surrounds them. And so in the course of time, his followers, who used to conduct themselves in accordance with his advice, grew weak in their faith and ceased to worship God, turning again to material things and putting their faith in these.

Coombe Springs, England August 13, 1959
Code Number : 59 CSP 5
How God works with His power is something human beings cannot possibly understand. They can only guess at what God will do. For example, history shows us that the hearts and minds of human beings cannot be brought to believe in God through any forcible action by other human beings, who also use their hearts and minds. But God can compel men to believe in Him, because God's power is able to manifest in such ways that humankind cannot but experience it. This happened, for instance, in the days of the prophet Noah. When people had lost faith in God, and no longer believed that God had created them, Noah wept, 'How can this be, oh my God? People do not want to believe that God exists and that He has authority.' God answered Noah, saying, 'Do not be sad; do not worry, Noah. God is Mighty.' Soon afterwards the world was overwhelmed by a catastrophe, which came by the power of God, and submerged the world under the waters of the ocean. In this way men were obliged to acknowledge the power of God, whether they liked it or not. And only then did they begin to recognize that Noah's teaching to humankind had indeed come from God.

People whose nature is Subud, who have the qualities of susila, budhi and dharma, don't exist only among ourselves; there may be many such among Christians, Moslems, Buddhists, and also those of no particular faith - that's possible. We cannot know about that, but it is known to God. We should therefore never make a claim that Subud is number one among organizations. We should simply say we are trying to practice and come to the worship of God in a way that truly corresponds to His will. That is why we, ourselves, need to have the qualities of Susila Budhi Dharma.

We do not wish to find fault with others; we seek our own truth. Bapak, for instance, seeks his own truth and does not wish to find fault with other people. However, if other people want to join us we accept them. We have no wish to persuade them to join us, or criticize what they have been doing; we only wish to fulfill our own needs. Because, if we find fault with others and try to correct their shortcomings, we will have no chance of correcting ourselves. Therefore seek the truth of your own being first and do not look at what is wrong in others. This will add to the steadiness, speed and clarity of your own receiving.

Edinburgh, Scotland - October 10, 1959
Code number of Recording : 59 EDI 1
The enterprises you set up can also provide work for our own members. Of course, you yourselves know that there are many Subud members who do not have a job and are looking for work; and they ask, ‘What talent do I have that I can make use of in my work?’ Once we have set up these business enterprises we can employ our own members in them; this will then show that in Subud we are really strong, both in this world and in our life after death. Because in general, people’s faith in God will not be strong if their worldly needs are not satisfied. That is clear. They may say, ‘I’m firm in my faith’, but if their needs are not fulfilled their faith becomes half-firm. So it is essential that we fulfil the needs of our life satisfactorily. Not too much, but enough to make adequate provision, so that our faith in God does not waver.

This is what Bapak has suggested to you so that, eventually, you can demonstrate that our worship of God through the spiritual way we have experienced is right. You can show that our worship of God is in the right direction because it does not harm the world, nor does it damage our life on earth. Needless to say, we will find the right way to God, whom we love and honour, and who created us all.

We are really very different from other people or other groups, such as groups of business people and working people who have not received the latihan, who have not obtained the contact from the greatness of God. As business people, they only run their businesses and do business for profit, and for the goods they buy and sell. So, Bapak is saying, their faith is only in money, in profit, in goods. It is also like that with other people who work. Their faith is directed solely towards the work that they do – what they do, and what they make. However, with us it is not like that. We run things in a similar way, but when we do business and pursue profits the power of God is always at our back, watching over us, so that we act and we proceed in the right direction, in the direction God wills and wishes. It will not be possible for us to do anything to harm, weaken or reduce the well-being, dignity or benefit of other people. No. Since God watches over us, we will work in a way that doesn’t fall short or deviate from the humane way, which involves helping each other, giving to those in need and helping whoever needs our help. That is how it is.

Munich, Germany - December 6, 1959
Code Number : 59 MUC 1
Some people think that everything was just here, complete and ready-made, and that there was no Maker. Oh, there certainly is a Maker. However, human beings do not know it because their scale is different, as in the case of the table and the carpenter. The table does not know when it came into existence or when it will finish its existence, whereas the carpenter knows this from beginning to end. It is the same between God and human beings; God knows on which month, which day, which year, a person came into existence on this earth and when their life will end, as well as when everything will disappear from this world and when the world will disappear.

God knows all this but human beings will never know it, because truly there is no comparison. Therefore, Bapak hopes that you will simply submit to God, whatever God’s guidance may be for you. God will bring to completion whatever we need, for our latihan is not limited to just making movements or just making sounds. No. Gradually the latihan will go deeper. Gradually it will open out and become wider, so that we, our soul or our inner being, will come to know something that is beyond our human limitations.

The illustration Bapak has just given shows that, however far-reaching human comprehension may be, however far-reaching human intelligence may be, [comparatively] it is still no more than when we [human beings] look at the workings of a table; meaning that it is no more than something you can always easily understand. It is the same for human beings before God. No matter what human beings may be able to create – even if they were able to create a flying saucer, which everyone talks about constantly these days and seems to consider wonderful and amazing – maybe for God it would be meaningless, as if this table were to start feeling clever and begin running hither and thither. The carpenter would just look and say, ‘What is this table doing, moving like that?’ This is just an example.

The illustrations Bapak has just given lead to the conclusion that you must be able to receive. You need to receive. That is why, in the religions, you are required to have faith only in God, and to love God truly; no more and no less. That is it. Nothing else.

This is because it is difficult – it is so difficult to find God and God’s power. It is said in religion, in Christianity as well as in Islam, that to search is wrong, but not to search is also wrong; to meet God is wrong, but not to meet God is also wrong. How can this be? It is because to search would be with the heart2, which is wrong. But not to search would mean we do not have to worship God, and that is also wrong. To meet God is wrong, because if you meet God in the way you meet a person, then it is not God, it is a ghost or a devil. That is the problem. So if you meet it that’s wrong. But if you do not meet God that is also wrong; it means you have no faith in God. So it is indeed very difficult. And that is why in religion you are simply told: ‘Believe in God and love God. When your faith in God is really strong and your love of God is truly great, God will bestow grace on you, and you will spontaneously receive the greatness of God, which is within your being.’

A brain that is working will just go on working. People do not realise that the constant working of the brain will cause their being to malfunction, leading to the various illnesses many people suffer from nowadays – dangerous illnesses like cancer and tuberculosis. The main cause of people suffering from these illnesses is simply the thinking, heart and desires. So the braking or cessation of the thinking, heart and desires in the latihan is not only beneficial for the development of your soul. No. It is also beneficial for you because your health will be taken care of and protected. So it is clear that what makes the body well, what can heal an illness, is the cleanness of the heart and thinking mind. This implies that the thinking, heart and desires stop working for a time.

There are still many people who have too much faith in material things. They think material things can be powerful. No. Material things are just material things. But a person’s faith in a material object can put a brake on their restless thinking mind. This can, at the same time, get rid of their illness and they get well. This is not because of the material things – not at all. It is because they themselves are able at that moment to let everything go, because they focus their attention on this thing they have faith in.

Their only mistake is that they direct their faith towards something material. The healing in fact comes from themselves. This is an example of something you have already received in the latihan. So you have already started: you have started to have trust in yourself; you have started to have trust in the greatness of God, which flows within you. From this you will experience an enormous change, a change that will bring you to happiness not to injury.

Athens, Greece - January 15, 1960
Code Number : 60 ATH 2
When the small newborn child begins to be able to see the forms and hear the sounds that exist in the world, the connection with their soul begins to be blocked. Eventually, as they see the forms of the world more and more clearly, and their thinking mind, heart and desires begin to work, the connection with the child’s soul is completely closed. So finally, when the child becomes an adult, he or she has no faith at all in the soul, but an increasingly sturdy and strong faith in the things of the world.

Perth, Australia - February 25, 1963
Code Number : 63 PER 1
As most of you here belong to the Christian religion, you have of course heard stories about Christ’s life in this world. He, that is, Jesus Christ, did not prepare himself by studying spiritual knowledge or the way to God; he just surrendered with patience, entrusting himself entirely to God with pure submission. In doing that, his faith in God was greater than his faith in himself. That was the reason he was able to receive things beyond the thinking of human beings in general. Yet he had never been to school at all, and he was not good at reading and writing. This confirms that God is All-powerful. God can bring anything to life; God can make good those who are not good, make clever those who are not clever and make wise those who are not wise. So Jesus did not study or go to school, and yet in his understanding and wisdom, which were only due to his surrender to God, he was able to solve all the difficulties that human beings suffered. This was also the case with other messengers [of God].

Niteroi, Brazil - June 15, 1963
Code Number : 63 NIT 2
As you have heard and understood, in religion people need only to believe in God: believe in God’s love for human beings and believe in their worship of God. Hence, based on this general faith, which is shared by lots of people, they carry out their worship – based only on their belief – every day, or at least two or three times a week. However, in your case you have been able to verify the reality of what you believe through the awakening of your inner feeling; that awakening of your soul you receive whenever you do the latihan. So for you, your faith in God is more real, because you have received signs in the latihan that your self and your inner feeling have awakened, and their awakening is free from your will and your desires. And this [receiving] is the beginning; it will keep changing until eventually it reaches the level you need – a reality that cannot be pictured by your heart, but can be confirmed by those who have experienced the same thing.

The contents of your cupboard or your individuality differ from one person to another; they are not the same for all of you. That also goes for where things are stored inside, where the things you need are located. In some people they are very deep inside, while within others they are near the front and can be seen. That is why there are those among you who can receive quickly in the latihan; meaning that they develop faster than others. Meanwhile some people are very slow; and that is because, as Bapak said just now, what you are looking for is your own property, and it is too deep inside and too difficult for you to reach to get it out. So you really need to act with patience, because if you do not have patience you will force it and that will cause damage within you.

That is why you do not need to make comparisons. You do not need to compare your latihan with other things; for instance, with what you have received from Krishnamurti, or Ramakrishna or whoever. You cannot compare them, because what is in your cupboard is different from what Krishnamurti has in his.

In the same way, the contents of your cupboard, the contents of your self, are different from those of Bapak. That is why Bapak can do no more than open it for you. Only after he has opened it can you know what you have inside your cupboard, and only then can he tell you what this or that content means. So Bapak can only explain about something if you have already found it. But as long as you haven’t found it, he isn’t going to say anything.

So Bapak is not a guru who gives instruction, who teaches a method: ‘You have to do it like this and like this.’ No. Because if Bapak were to teach a method to every person, one by one, probably he could not complete it during his lifetime; he would not be able to fulfil the needs of human beings. Just consider Indonesia. Indonesia has a population of ninety-nine million. If Bapak were to tell each one individually to do this and this and this, and it takes an hour to tell one person, he would have to work for ninety-nine million hours; and that is just Indonesia. Therefore it is impossible. It is not possible for a person to teach another person according to his or her individuality. Only God can do that.

That is the point, brothers and sisters: have faith that God alone can educate human beings one by one in a second, if they are capable of receiving it. So God, with God’s power, can tell you everything about the whole universe in one second. Bapak cannot do that. He has just been given the responsibility of opening people; you yourselves have to look within. And God will show you whatever you need.

So, in the Subud latihan you are already awakened, but it proceeds little by little because, as Bapak just said, things have piled up, oh, very deeply and they are difficult to get out. You need to be patient but have faith in God. Have faith that God’s greatness is within you, and eventually you will be able to experience God’s continuous guidance.

New York, NY USA - July 8, 1963
Code Number : 63 BCL 1

Los Angeles, CA USA - August 22 1963
Code Number : 63 LAX 4
As you have become aware, the Subud latihan that you have been doing is a training carried out solely by the power of God, which is within your being. So the only way for you to do it is to surrender to the greatness of God. The real meaning of surrender is that when you do the latihan you do not think about or pay attention to anything, but trust only in the greatness of God with patience, acceptance and a willingness to let go. So within your heart there is nothing; there is nothing you feel other than God, the greatness of God that has power over everything.

This kind of faith, brothers and sisters, is like a truly effective mantra; in other words, it is a powerful means for protecting your heart from the constant disturbance of the low forces that you have within you and that you may be worried about. Actually, the content of mantras that are used a lot by people who follow a spiritual path, is nothing more than magnifying God and putting one’s trust in God, so that all obstacles can be avoided – this is just in case you were wondering about the purpose of mantras that are used in spiritual paths you may have heard about.

For you such mantras are unnecessary, because the power of God has begun to awaken you and enable you to receive movements from within. You cannot yet think about the purpose of what you have received; but eventually you will be able to understand it spontaneously, once the purification process within you is finished or near completion.

Bapak is saying this because he has experienced it. In the beginning he was no different from all of you. He received, little by little, and at that time he just surrendered to the greatness of God. He did not worry or feel hesitant about whether his receiving could be wrong or not, because he believed that if you have faith in God within your heart and inner feeling, God will guide you. For example, suppose that you were to follow a lesson that is wrong, but you really have faith in God’s greatness – in your heart you believe that no one but God can help you – you will be turned from what is wrong towards the truth.

Washington DC USA - July 28, 1963
Code Number : 63 WAS 1
… all of you would like to understand the way to be able to know about the operation or way of working of these low forces within you. You would also like to understand how to get control over these low forces, which always try to disturb your life. And as you know, the way, as Bapak has mentioned before, is through patience, faith in Almighty God and surrender to God. And actually, to be more clear, the way to be able to have control over these low forces, so that you know at the same time how they work within you, is through this latihan, the latihan you have been doing until now. So actually this is something, a gift, a grace from Almighty God, which God has bestowed upon you. Because through this latihan, and with patience and with faith in Almighty God, you will be able to be aware of the working and operation of these low forces within you. And later on, God willing, you will also be able to get control over these low forces so that you really will be able to live a life according to the Divine will, and so that you will be able to organise and manage and rule these passions within you.

On the other hand, Bapak admits that it is difficult to be patient, it is difficult to have faith in Almighty God, and it is difficult to surrender. And the reason why it is difficult is that most of you try with your effort, with your desires, to be patient, to surrender. But at the same time you must know that you are still dominated by the passions that are infiltrated by the low forces, which will always try to keep you far away from your worship of Almighty God. These low forces will always try to rule you, to dominate you completely. So it is clear then, that if you make use of your desires and your mind and your emotions, which are dominated and ruled completely by the low forces, it is difficult for you to be patient and to surrender, because these passions that are infiltrated by the low forces do not know about patience, do not know about faith in God, and do not want to surrender.

Los Angeles, CA USA - August 16, 1963
Code Number : 63 LAX 2
So, for you to ascend to the level of a perfect human being, you must go through four times seven – that is twenty-eight – levels. That is a fact, brothers and sisters.

That is why you should not be in a hurry to say that you are already perfect. You constantly need the guidance and direction of God, because as a human being you cannot achieve the point of perfection needed.

As confirmation of this – for those who want it – there are, for example, people who have faith in material objects; they have faith in material things and consider them to be God. Or they have faith in plants and consider them to be God. Or they have faith in animals and consider them to be God. Like the pictures Bapak has seen in Latin America, pictures of an animal of a frightening colour, the explanation of which was that it was a god or divine being, who had authority over this, that and the other. They also exist in India and in other places. This is a confirmation or example of what Bapak has been saying, in case you are curious or want to check. So it is really true that these low forces, which you think you don’t need to believe in – and indeed, you don’t – have power in their own world and have many levels.

Therefore do not be too quick to imagine that you have reached your goal. And do not continue to use your thinking to try to understand what you receive, for there will come a time when you will understand it. You will understand it spontaneously because your understanding has been cleaned. Then your ordinary understanding will be filled with another understanding, such as the prophets and Jesus Christ possessed, which enabled a child who did not go to school, and had never traveled like Bapak has, to find a path and a guideline for human life that it is right to follow.

San Francisco, CA USA - September 4, 1963
Code Number : 63 SFO 1
So it is clear that everything is done by God. That is why the Subud latihan does not rely on a method. And Subud is not a religion, but a group of people who worship God according to the movement and the vibration of life that they have received, which is really their guide, so that they can follow what they have within them.

Therefore it is very fortunate for us, for all of you, that you have found it. So you really need to obey and have faith in what happens in the latihan; that is, you need to follow the movements that come from within you that are not from your will. If you do not have faith, or if your mind is still in doubt, thinking that these movements could be from the devil or from low forces, God knows that. But if you truly have faith in God, the low forces that could still disturb you will not be able to do so, and you will always be guided by God whenever you do the latihan.

How long it will take and how quickly you will receive depends on the condition of each one of you. Even though you look the same, and you are all human beings with the same form and content inwardly and outwardly, in reality the state of each one of you is different. And it is this difference that causes some of you to receive quickly and others to receive more slowly.

That is why you really need to be patient. You need to wait patiently and have faith that God’s help and guidance will come. By doing so, your latihan will progress faster. But if you are not patient, and always want to receive quickly and get something quickly, you will in fact take longer and you will be blocked. The reason for this is because, although the wish of your heart is a good one – to learn how to worship in the right way – wishing is still wishing; and wishing is a desire that is always steered and manipulated by the low forces, which in reality degrade the level of human beings and subdue them, preventing them from finding the right way that is in accordance with God’s will.

Bapak said that the desires reside in the human heart and thinking, and that the desires are very easily used and manipulated by the low forces. So whenever you think about something, whenever you use your heart and thinking, it means that you are being manipulated by the desires, and your desires are being used by the low forces.

There is a desire that tempts you to feel bored with doing the latihan. You feel fed up with worshipping God, because it has been a long time and you still do not understand what God is like or what God’s nature is. That too is a desire manipulated by the low forces.

Toronto, Canada - October 3, 1963
Code Number : 63 YYZ 3
When Bapak visited Bombay, there was an Indian member who had a lot of experience with gurus. It seems that after he met Bapak, and was able to receive the Subud latihan, he was still not sure about it. Being a rich man he could do whatever he wanted, so he asked one of his employees to go and see a maharishi who lived seventy miles from Bombay. And the maharishi he went to consult was one of the most experienced, and was most admired and respected for his wisdom. The employee had been sent to ask this maharishi about the true state of Bapak Muhammad Subuh, because his employer still felt unsure about whether the spiritual knowledge brought by this Bapak Muhammad Subuh would lead towards truth and towards God.

When the employee arrived at the maharishi’s home – in fact he had not yet asked his question – this elderly, respected maharishi told him that he already knew the purpose of his visit. He said that indeed, a Muslim man was visiting India, who has no beard or moustache and who does not dress like a Muslim; in fact he wears modern dress like a European. But he is truly the messenger of God, and he truly brings human beings towards the truth and enlightenment.

When this person heard what the maharishi said, he quickly returned home and reported it to the member who had sent him. And as soon as this member heard from his employee he asked Bapak, ‘Is it true, Bapak, that you are the messenger of God and that what you are bringing is real and brings us to God?’

Bapak answered, ‘Well, Bapak doesn’t know about that. For the only One who knows what is true and what is false is God. Therefore if you have faith, it is best to have faith in God and in what you receive. As for what this maharishi said, Bapak will neither confirm nor deny it. He leaves it to God’s power.’

Planegg, Germany - August 7, 1964
Code Number : 64 PLG 3
If God does not give us His grace, it is not possible for us to receive the contact from the greatness of God just by surrendering. That is clear, because there are many people who have faith in God, many people who surrender to God, and who even say, ‘Truly, I surrender to God every day and every night.’ But because God has not given them His grace, they cannot receive the contact with God’s greatness.

Therefore you are really fortunate, very fortunate, because you have received God’s grace and can easily surrender to God. Why is that? It is because you have received the contact with the greatness of God. So it is clear that without God’s help you cannot enter or travel the way of perfection that is willed by Almighty God.

There are people, who have great faith in God and who surrender to God, who say that their faith and their love for God is more than their love for their wife and for their children and for their possessions. Truly, brothers and sisters. But still they cannot receive the contact with the greatness of God. Therefore, for you who have been given God’s grace, Bapak hopes that you will genuinely devote yourselves to doing the latihan diligently; because the latihan – which we call by the name Susila Budhi Dharma or Subud, and which is our symbol – truly manifests within our individuality, and brings us closer to the point where we do indeed represent that symbol God has bestowed on us. In this way we remain clearly based upon God’s grace, directed towards Almighty God and nothing else.

And why is it that those who so genuinely believe in God are unable to find the right way? Well, of course there is a reason; Bapak has been explaining the reason to you for a long time, but maybe you have forgotten it. The reason is that their faith in God is based only on their heart and mind, and it is impossible to know what it is that forms the content of their individuality.

Cilandak, Indonesia - May 1, 1965
Code Number : 65 TJK 4
Bearing in mind all that happens in the latihan kedjiwaan of Subud as described above, it is fitting that we should remain obedient to the commands of Almighty God and have as much faith as possible in His guidance, which has been made manifest in the latihan we receive. We are convinced that therein lies the truth which we should follow. As far as possible, we should not follow only the wishes of our own hearts, which we believe to be important and right. It is better if we surrender everything to the power of God Almighty, because it is from Him alone that there comes the correction of our inner feelings and of our hearts and minds.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia - October 29, 1966
Code Number : 66 JOG-1
If you happen to be a Muslim, the guidance you receive will not go against your religion and will not take you away from it. It will fit with what you have been given in your religion. The same holds true for Christians: Catholics and Protestants, for instance, will be guided in their latihan in accordance with what they are used to in their tradition.

The conclusion, therefore, is that the reality we have received – which is not an understanding but a series of experiences – shows that the latihan is the putting into practice of all that we have been given, heard and understood. Therefore – this is something Bapak has experienced himself – a Muslim will become more convinced and have greater faith. Even if initially they only half believed, their heart, their thinking and their inner feeling will be convinced and truly have faith, because they are impelled from within and because within them there is the strength and power of God.

Johannesburg, South Africa - March 19, 1967
Code Number : 67 JNB 4
Members from abroad who come to Cilandak, to Jakarta – both now and in the past – at first obtain visas for only four weeks. Once they get here they ask for another month, and when that is nearly up they extend it for yet another month. There are others who ask for a one-year extension. The strange thing is that those responsible for giving visas keep granting them, whereas normally they wouldn’t. For some reason they keep granting them. Who is facilitating this? Well, it is not Bapak but those people who are saying, ‘It is because of God’. Their faith in the greatness and power of God, which cannot be measured by human beings, is getting stronger and stronger as a result.

Brothers and sisters, I myself do not understand how it is that I am considered able to strengthen a person’s faith in God. Bapak does not say or claim that he himself can do that. The only One who can do that is God. Bapak is just an ordinary tool in this.

These are some of the things that Bapak has experienced in reality. Wherever he goes, when he needs to enter a country where it is not easy to obtain a visa, he gets it easily, by God’s will, even though he has never met the person responsible. As in Johannesburg, South Africa, where racial differences are still very strong and where they do not like to let in people with coloured skin: when Bapak asked, ‘May I go there?’ ‘You may.’ In fact, they said that Bapak may stay in the city centre and do somersaults if he wants to.

Not that this makes Bapak happy. No, he just feels his own smallness and the greatness of God. It is God’s grace. It increases Bapak’s faith, and yours as well. These are the experiences that Bapak has had, and they bring reality to our faith that there is no other power and that we can find no other guidance for our life in this world or after we die.

Johannesburg, South Africa - March 20, 1967
Code Number : 67 JNB 5
It is true that you do not know, nor can you know, God and God’s power. But God knows about the state of humankind; God knows about each of you. Therefore if you trust in God, if you have complete faith in Almighty God, and if you do so with patience, acceptance and a willingness to let go, God will give you some-thing that you always hoped for.

When Bapak tells you that, it is not empty talk, it is not against God’s will. When Bapak says that, God knows and God witnesses what Bapak is doing, how he behaves, everything that he does towards you. And the converse is also true; God knows how you are towards Bapak. God knows everything. That is why Bapak hopes that you will pay attention to what you receive, and that you will have complete faith in the power of God, which you cannot see or know.

As Bapak has told you, given how far away God is from humankind, from this planet, God decided to place His will inside every creature He created – and that includes all of you. That is how God can always know, God can always hear, God can always understand, what you understand, what you hear, and what you see. God knows how you are, because God is in your seeing. God can hear you move, because God is in your hearing. God can smell how you are, because God is in your sense of smell. God can feel the state of your inner feeling, because God is in your inner feeling. God understands and knows what you feel and what you think, because God is there. Such is the nature of the power of God that envelops and fills you. This is to give you a picture of the power of God that envelops and extends through the whole of creation, in the visible and the invisible.

That is why all you have to do is to go to the latihan regularly, be diligent, have faith and surrender to the power of God. You still have much to receive; in fact there may be no end to what you need to receive, because you are a human being who is supposed to return to the realm of humankind – the true human realm. But what you have inside you now, what goes on inside you, is not appropriate, it does not fit. That is why there is no way, there is no help you can get, there is nothing you possess, which can put right the things that are wrong inside you, other than the power of Almighty God.

Manchester, England - April 10, 1967
Code Number : 67 MAN 3
... The book also said, ‘You will travel around the world and you will guide people of every race and every religion in the world. And you will be regarded as the father of humankind, not as a friend. Have faith, you will be at home wherever you go.’

At the time Bapak felt, ‘It’s impossible. It’s very strange. I can’t do it. How can I travel the world and be accepted by people of every race? I am just an ordinary man.’

Then I was told, ‘You must have faith, because this is an order from God, these are God’s words.’ It was true. What Bapak has experienced from then until now has been exactly in line with the answers he received in that blank book.

Manchester, England - April 14, 1967
Code Number : 67 MAN 5
In the latihan, when you face Almighty God, your honesty and your lies will be revealed by your actions; it will be evident from what you do. So become aware of your own mistakes, become aware of what is right in you, so that in God’s eyes, [when you face] the power of God, you are free to come forward and you are free to receive what you need, which will be in line with your status and your position as a complete human being.

Having honesty and integrity in your feelings in all that you do and in all your behaviour, will benefit you; especially when it comes to marriage. When people marry – you know this and Bapak does not need to tell you – they want to have children. Clearly the resulting child is made by those two people, the man and the woman. Ordinarily we say that a child is made by their parents. Now, suppose Bapak likens the parents to craftsmen – carpenters or any kind of craftsmen – and suppose we liken the child to a table made by those craftsmen: if they are not aware of their true nature as craftsmen, that table will have only one leg. It will be defective. It will be a table nobody wants to buy.

That is also how it is when you make a child. If you get married but you have not achieved the status of a true human being, a perfect human being, then Bapak likens your situation to that of an [inadequate] carpenter. You can make a table, for sure, but a table with one leg; it is defective and no one wants to buy it. That is how it is. You can make a child, certainly, because when a man and a woman get together a child will ensue; but that child, your descendant, will have bad luck all their life. You could say that the child will not know how to live their life; they will always feel disturbed by their circumstances; they will never experience peace. That is simply the result of their parents’ mistakes.

This is why honesty, sincerity, patience and complete faith toward Almighty God, as well as receiving God’s education in the way you do now, is vital for human beings, especially for young people who plan to start a family. That is the reality.

Planegg, Germany - April 28 1967
Code Number : 67 PLG 2
People can say – you have also heard it said – that God accompanies human beings, or ‘God accompanies me’, but it is just words; they are not yet able to know where God’s presence is within their being. That is why you are truly fortunate that God has given you the grace to discover the power of God present and embodied within you. And since God wills that every part of your body should be alive and able to work according to God’s instructions within them – which exist in all creatures – as far as possible you should avoid the occasional feeling of despair, of lack, of not finding the solution to the problems in your life. Such feelings are truly not willed by God. It is as if you do not believe in God; for there is sufficient guidance within your being, which you will be able to discover once you really fulfil your promise as a human being who is obedient, has faith and surrenders to God with acceptance and a willingness to let go.

This is similar to what was told in the stories of human beings who received revelations and blessings from God, such as Abraham, Moses, Christ, Muhammad and other prophets. Do not just praise them. No. Do not just believe in them but, as far as you can, ask God to enable you to do everything as they did. It is not that Bapak expects you to be at the same level or as high as Christ, Muhammad, Abraham and Moses, but, who knows, if it is God’s will you could ascend to heaven. For you are no different from them. Abraham had a head and so have you; Abraham’s body was just like this, just like yours. The difference is inside, within you; you lack trust, you lack submission, you lack patience and acceptance, whereas Abraham, Moses, Christ and Muhammad were human beings, messengers of God, who had faith, who had more faith in God than in themselves; so they could say, ‘My love for God exceeds my love for myself.’

The proof that you are not like the prophets is that the moment you experience something that makes you uncomfortable you get confused and you panic. That means you do not have sufficient faith in God. The fact that you are confused and you panic as soon as something makes you uncomfortable is the sign that you are not yet accepting and willing to let go. Therefore, having faith in God and surrendering to God – not just in words but sincerely, in the submission of your heart – cannot be said to be difficult, but it is not easy either. It is what will reach to God and will awaken your soul, so that your soul can receive what you need for your life and put into practice what Bapak has been hoping for you. Only then can you truly fulfil the promise contained in the name that is the symbol of our spiritual association: Susila Budhi Dharma.

The Hague - May 12, 1967
Code Number : 67 HAG 5
Bapak considers it very necessary to explain again about the Subud latihan, because the latihan is based only on surrender and trust in the greatness of God. In reality, you who have received the latihan – or, in other words, who have received a contact with the greatness of God – are guided, led and educated by the power of God. You are truly watched over and looked after by God’s power, which takes you towards God’s power and God’s being. In your receiving when you do the latihan, you need to have a feeling of tranquillity; to be at peace and simply have faith in the greatness of God, faith that God is All-powerful, All-knowing and that God alone can show each of you the way that is right for you and keep you from all kinds of temptation – meaning, the temptations that reside in your heart1 and thinking.

This, brothers and sisters, is something you need as a bench-mark, so that as the weeks and months go by, your heart and thinking surrender more, you glorify God’s power more and more, and your faith in God becomes greater and greater. When the time comes and this experience is complete, then when you see, your seeing will be filled with God’s will, so that you see only things that are useful for your life, that will not bring you into danger or make your life difficult.

New York, NY U.S.A. - May 13, 1967
Code Number : 67 NYC 1
From Bapak’s experiences since receiving what God has given to him, it is evident that you do not need to have any lessons to do the spiritual training of Susila Budhi Dharma that you receive and practise now; you need only to surrender to Almighty God. It is true; simply by surrendering to Almighty God with an attitude of patience, acceptance and willingness to let go – simply that – each of you will receive everything you need for your life, in keeping with your abilities, your situation and your inherited traits. It is clear that you can obtain the true knowledge of how a human being can return to Almighty God only if you have complete obedience to, complete faith in, and complete surrender to Almighty God.

Furthermore, do not experiment with other practices in your latihan. Bapak does not forbid it, but it would be a shame if you did. Using other practices in your latihan means that you do not trust God, and that you do not surrender to God but are trying to speed up what you get. It means you do not have faith in the power of God, which knows all about you.

New York, NY U.S.A. - May 16, 1967
Code Number : 67 NYC 2
The kind of knowledge that the prophets and saints received is a revelation, or a gift from Almighty God, given to them because of their deep faith and true surrender to Almighty God with trust and sincere submission. It is clear, therefore, that the conviction which you receive in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud is really a revelation or gift from Almighty God. The proof is that when the latihan kejiwaan comes, the influence of the nafsu, heart and mind instantly stops. This also means that the existence and coming of the latihan kejiwaan are beyond the expectation, or beyond the heart and mind, of man.

As Bapak has often said: Almighty God is the Creator of man, and it is He Who knows everything about us, and Who bestows His Grace on us so that we are able to receive His guidance and direction, manifested in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, while you only continue to receive and follow its way. Therefore if you are patient and surrender with complete faith to His Will, you will certainly be able to receive well.

Santiago De Chile - May 21, 1967
Code Number : 67 SCL 1
And now that you have experienced that movement many of you feel satisfied. And some of you have had proof of its truth; you have experienced a change in your nature. Whereas before you used to behave in a certain way, now you do not. This vibration also acts to change and strengthen your inner faith; you used to be full of doubt, full of anxiety, but not any more. This is just the beginning. Everything starts small, from the basics, and the same applies to you. Before becoming an adult, before becoming a teenager, you first had to become a baby and be brought into the world by your parents.

By following the latihan that you receive, those of you who have a religion will find that your faith will grow; you will practise your religion more sincerely. For it can be said that, outwardly and inwardly, both your ego and your soul are being educated and guided by the power of God. So you will find that your faith in your religion will grow.

Los Angeles, CA U.S.A. - June 3, 1967
Code Number : 67 LAX 1
Brothers and sisters, now, with the coming of Susila Budhi Dharma and the latihan, we can truly feel that God always loves human beings. For at this time human beings have increasingly forgotten those [words], drifted away from them and neglected them, having more and more faith in their own individual hearts and thinking minds than in what God has conveyed or spoken through the messengers who lived in past ages.

God knows – and Bapak is also aware of this – that because the thinking and understanding of human beings keeps progressing and becoming broader, they increasingly drift away from the will of God that has been created within their being. Nowadays many people do not believe that God accompanies human beings. This is because the reality of God cannot be proved, and the human intellect and the human heart require evidence. Our eyes need the evidence of an object that we can see in front of us, and our ears need to hear the evidence of a sound that is around us. It is the same for our nose and our mouth – they all need evidence.

Indeed, human beings cannot be blamed for needing or wanting evidence, something that is logical. This may be the reason for the birth of this spiritual training of Susila Budhi Dharma, which provides human beings with evidence. Even though it may not be evidence for the intellect and the heart, we are able to feel that, within our being, there is a movement of life that animates us and enables us to move like this and that, and which we call the latihan. This is how it begins.

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 20, 1967
Code Number : 67 TJK 6
The main reason for man's lack of faith in God is generally that Almighty God cannot be seen, heard, smelt, felt and understood in the way people study science. People who have such an opinion and understanding of God cannot be blamed for it, for they use their heart and their thinking more than the jiwa; whereas the way to use the jiwa is to base one's inner-feeling on patience and surrender, with submission and sincerity to the Power of Almighty God.

This is why Bapak says that you are all very fortunate in that you have been able to receive something that is really necessary for the life of man. But, brothers and sisters, Bapak still needs to remind you not to regard what you receive as something that is easy so that it becomes like something that has no value. On the contrary, you should obediently follow it with complete faith in the Greatness of Almighty God.

Cilandak, Indonesia - November 12, 1967
Code Number : 67 TJK 8
That is why in our association of Susila Budhi Dharma we have no instruction, no methods, no mantras; none. So, when you do latihan, if you mutter prayers as you are about to begin your latihan, that is wrong. And if all you do is whisper prayers in latihan, stop that. Do not memorise them. God is far smarter than you, so what are you whispering to God for? [Laughter.]

That is why, from our own experience, the most important thing when you are about to do latihan is to empty yourself of everything – empty your fantasies, empty your thoughts. But Bapak can feel that many of you [do not do that]. He is not clairvoyant. No. But because Bapak surrenders to God, your feelings are with him, they unite with him, so he knows how you feel. When you are about to do latihan you are thinking all kinds of things. [Laughter.] Those with low-level jobs are thinking, ‘When will I get promoted?’ Those who buy and sell – traders – are thinking, ‘When will my profits go up?’ [Laughter.] Those of you who are not thinking about those things are worrying about your household budget, ‘When will the price of rice go down?’ [Laughter.]

Let go of all those thoughts when you are about to worship God. As God is All-knowing and All-powerful, there is no way you can influence God by reciting mantras or incantations, or by whispering prayers; you cannot. In fact, God will show you the right way and you will come to understand the real content of your whispered prayers and what use they are.

Earlier, Bapak told you that it is not the human being that finds a revelation, but the revelation that finds a human being. If that is true, what are you to do? How should you be? Does it mean you have to stay still like an object? No. It means that a human being should sincerely submit to God and have complete faith that God is Almighty, and believe that there is no other god than God to be worshipped: Allah subhana-hu wa-ta‘ala [Arab.: Allah, Glory be to Him and exalted is He]. If you behave like that, inwardly and outwardly – in other words, if you are like that all the time and do not just say that you are like that – God will nurture you, will nurture the preparation of your being to make it ready to receive what you need.

If you have been nurtured inwardly, then say you hope to get a car: the garage will be ready – as soon as the car arrives you can put it in the garage. But if you have not been nurtured inwardly and you hope for a car, as soon as the car arrives it causes you trouble – you never sleep because you are up all night guarding your car. [Laughter.] The car comes to haunt you; it is not an object that gives you satisfaction. That is what will happen.

Lima, Peru - May 5, 1968
Code Number : 68 NA 2

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 31, 1968
Code Number : 68 TJK 4

Cilandak, Indonesia - December 10, 1968
Code Number : 68 TJK 5
Actually, the descent of Allah's revelation, containing important messages for man, occurred at various times, namely at the time of the Prophet Abraham, through whom the Book of Djabur came, the time of the Prophet Moses, through whom the Torah came, and the time of Jesus Christ, through whom the New Testament came. But, brothers and sisters, as man generally is still easily influenced by the nafsu dwelling in the heart and mind, the special messages of the Prophets were soon forgotten, and people reverted to their former bad behavior which led them astray from their faith in the Power of Almighty God. Furthermore, people who really did not want to be associated with the Prophets, and even fought against them, thought they might lose their power and felt that these special messages, which could have brought them to be of really good character, were untrue.

Cilandak, Indonesia - December 16, 1968
Code Number : 68 TJK 6

Cilandak, Indonesia - December 28, 1968
Code Number : 68 TJK 7
Further, brothers and sisters, the latihan kejiwaan of Subud is in truth a latihan of death, which means that it puts the nafsu out of action but brings the jiwa to life. Therefore, whenever you receive and follow the way of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, the nafsu dwelling in your heart and mind come to a stop, but your inner-feeling feels alive because your jiwa is exercised by the Power of God. So, truly, you should not be afraid of the working of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. You should have even greater faith in the Power of God, with trustful acceptance and sincere submission, because only Almighty God can effect this. Thus, when you praise God, your inner-self will be strengthened so that you are blessed by Him and are able to receive the Qodar and His Mercy.

Cilandak, Indonesia - May 11, 1969
Code Number : 69 TJK 1
Without the Grace of God people would not be able to empty their imagination and their thoughts and so do away with the force of the nafsu that constitutes their strength, their human personality, in worldly life.

Bapak speaks in this way because you receive this Grace only if you believe in the existence of Almighty God, only if you can say that you surrender to Him with trust and sincere submission, and then you will truly receive beyond your expectation.

Such is the loving kindness of Almighty God towards His creatures, towards yourselves. It is therefore unfitting that your faith in God should become less just because you have a cold, or because you are caught in the rain, or absorbed in your housework; and you should not feel that it is unnecessary to come to the latihan to carry out your worship of Almighty God. Neither should your faith in God grow less because you are in some rather trying situation, such as having many children and no money. Bapak does not say that such a reaction on your part is very wrong, but the right and proper thing in such a situation is for you to strengthen your faith in God by practicing a little prihatin, such as not eating so much nice food, not sleeping so often with your wife, going less often to places that you think will make you feel better when you are sad.

Cilandak, Indonesia - October 15, 1969
Code Number : 69 TJK 6
If the kind of work you do is not profitable enough for your life, you must, so far as possible, firmly stop the desires of your heart that want to enjoy eating, sleeping, following the sex impulse, and pursuing all kinds of entertainment, generally called pleasure seeking. This is what Bapak usually calls the practice of prihatin.

Ah . . . brothers and sisters, remember that the Prophet Muhammad, who received Grace from Almighty God and became His Messenger, and other Prophets who received God's Grace during their time in this world, practiced prihatin; so you need to do so even more. The practice of prihatin is very necessary to enable you to decrease the pressure of the nafsu that swarm in your inner feeling. In other words, to prevent the nafsu in your heart and mind from constantly obstructing the guidance and direction from the Power of Almighty God manifesting in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. In short, the nature of prihatin is to humble ourselves before the Greatness of Almighty God and strengthen our faith in His Power. So, clearly, however you look at it, the practice of prihatin is very important for you, because it provides a means of measuring the strength of your faith and your feeling of trustful acceptance and sincere submission to the Power of Almighty God. As people usually say, if your faith, acceptance and submission to the Will of Almighty God are only half-measures, and not even sincere but given only sparingly, then you will receive only sparingly from Him.

Cilandak, Indonesia - October 18, 1969
Code Number : 69 TJK 11
As Bapak said recently, God will not change anyone's destiny unless that person desires to change it. Thus, so long as you do not wish for a change in your destiny, God will not give it to you, God will not change it. The power and justice of God are like that.

God will not help anyone at all unless that person wants and is willing to be helped. So don't let this help go to waste. Bapak therefore asks you all to make this bank as strong as you can. For the strength of the bank represents the strength of the Spiritual Brotherhood of Subud. If the bank is weak, it means you are weak, materially as well as morally, physically as well as spiritually. Bapak asks you to have faith in yourselves and in the bank you yourselves set up.

In the Spiritual Brotherhood of Subud, therefore, we should have faith in one another, respect one another, be honest in all things. We should remember that to injure another member is to injure oneself. If we value other members, we value ourselves.

Cilandak, Indonesia - November 27, 1971
Code Number : 71 TJK 23
Thus, brothers and sisters, you will be able to live on earth as people really strong in the faith they hold, the faith that everything in your life comes from the One All-Powerful God. Hence, if any change takes place, if for instance we are required to face not west ( reference to Muslims facing the Kiblat ) but towards the north, we have to face north willy nilly, and we don't mind. Whether we face west, east, south, north, upwards or downwards, all is encompassed by the Power of God, so that we are not affected by having to face in any particular direction. What really matters is that we are truly turned towards Almighty God Who envelops the whole universe and all it contains, Who envelops you both within and without.

When you can realize what Bapak has said here you will feel fear of God, but not in the way you fear a ferocious or a mad dog, or the way you are afraid of a giant with a mouth as large as a cave; no. You will fear God by being afraid of your own wrongdoing.

You should, then, be afraid of your wrongdoing. God does not keep a register of the good or bad in you. But being Almighty, He ordains that the faults in what you say and do will be punished by your own words and deeds.

Thus God does not chastise you, but through His Power your wrong thinking punishes your thinking itself. That is why we need to feel or realize 'I am alive but not by my own doing. I am being made alive.' If you feel that you are being made alive or brought to life, then who gives you life? God. Without God you cannot live. Proceed, behave and act, then, as well as possible, in a way that will not harm your inner self.

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 12, 1973
Code Number : 73 CDK 2
Brothers and sisters, there is indeed nothing or no one else to be trusted both inwardly and outwardly except God Almighty. But don't merely say that. You need to experience it; you need to put it into practice. For if this faith is expressed in words only, it is like something that has been said in the ordinary manner. Then, when something happens and you feel that there is no other way, but that you have to put up with it, you are completely at a loss, so that your faith changes, and what and how things happen to you makes no sense.

Cilandak, Indonesia - January 19, 1975
Code Number : 75 CDK 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - March 16, 1975
Code Number : 75 CDK 2
The guidance and direction of God, brothers and sisters, is not just for physical activities such as those of the hands and feet, and that sort of movement only. No; it is for the feelings too, and also for the understanding, for the brain. And those members who have been able to develop their minds, such as those who have studied architecture, for instance, will find that, after doing the latihan kejiwaan, it is as if their skill in architecture has increased. If they do not understand that, they will think it is just coming from their brain, but in fact it is inspiration; that is, a gift from God Almighty that accompanies the development of the brain.

So in this way you will have more faith in the greatness of God, because the benefits of the latihan really do unfold within you; that is, if you care to feel it. Bapak is skilled in feeling this. Thus what Bapak discovers is indeed what is called a gift of the One God, which has qualities that are needed for Bapak's life.

Your own case is also like that, brothers and sisters. If you are good at drawing, or whatever you may be good at, if your specialty is trade for instance, it will also show later in your understanding of trade. That is also a gift from God Almighty. There is thus an unbroken connection between mankind, a connection between all of you, and the power of God; it remains forever, it is always so. And it will automatically continue until you reach the end, and you will certainly be taken back by the power of God, because God wills that you leave this world.

Wolfsburg, Germany - June 14, 1975
Code Number : 75 WOB 2
People are always asking what religion Subud is. But Bapak answers and replies that Subud is not a religion. It is the Subud members who have religions. When Subud members who belong to the religion of Islam enter Subud, they receive the latihan in accordance with what is taught in Islam. When Subud members who are Catholics enter Subud, in receiving the Latihan Kejiwaan they are guided and led by God towards the perfection of the Catholic faith. It is the same for Subud members who are Protestants, and also for members of other religions, such as Buddhists, Hindus and so on.

Wolfsburg, Germany - June 16, 1975
Code Number : 75 WOB 7
( Testing )
You were able to feel that there is movement and life in your selves, movement and life which are not there because you will it with your hearts and minds, or what are called the nafsu. That is what Bapak was saying the day before yesterday; that besides giving human beings a heart and mind, and besides giving them nafsu which they can use to take care of their lives so long as they live in this world, God also gives them a strength within the inner self, which is called the strength of the jiwa. This is indeed really able to be in contact with or to form a connection with others of God's creatures. With the jiwa you can know and understand what the life of material objects is like and what the life of plants is like, and also the life of animals and the life of human beings.

That is why Bapak explains that you are extremely fortunate to be able to feel this life present within you. This is what is called faith, not the faith of heart end mind, but the faith of the inner self which is called iman. Thus when eventually you come to the end of your life and are living free from the influence of nafsu, when the nafsu eventually come to a stand still and you no longer remember where is the key to the safe or where your husband is and that you are his wife, when you forget both where your husband is and where your savings are, it is then that you will be filled by the knowledge and the memories that are from the jiwa, just as you were receiving just now.

Cilandak, Indonesia - September 29, 1975
Code Number : 75 CDK 6
Now Bapak will continue about the use and the real benefits of the fast. Actually, the benefits are very great. As Bapak explained a few days ago, the fast is like a training, like an examination. So it is clear that your worship of Almighty God without doing the fast is like a worship done without training; that is, it will not obtain the results which you hope and pray for.

Bapak says this because the first thing that Muslims ( that is, those who usually do the fast ) have to be aware of is the sahadat ( confession of faith ). With the sahadat, man begins to believe, believe in the existence of God Almighty, even if this belief in God is still based on tradition or acquired by learning; that is, it still resides in the heart and mind. It is expressed: 'Ashhadu Alla ilaha illalla, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadar Rasulullah', which means: 'There is no God but Allah and I bear witness that the Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of God Almighty'.

Melbourne, Australia - April 14, 1976
Code Number : 76 MEB 2
So, it is really our duty, if we really want to follow God's will, now that we have been given God's grace to follow God's will; we really have to be obedient to that which God guides us to do, that is to be harmonious. So, it is not necessary any more to have quarrels and to have disagreements among ourselves. If we are really following God's will and God's guidance within us, then it means that we will be harmonious and we will work together. And the result is that God Himself will pay attention to us.

Because if we show our faithfulness and our obedience to an earthly employer, in other words, our boss in our business, in other words, we are grateful to him, we always obey his orders, we work as hard as we can at the things he wants us to do without counting how difficult it is, or how hard we have to work, if we really have an attitude like that, it is sure that we will get promotion quickly. How much more with God Almighty if we really follow God's will, follow God's guidance and are really faithful to that which God has guided us to do, then surely God will also pay attention, and God will raise our station and our nature. So that if people in this world can really come to a state of harmony, can come to a situation where they obey God, then it may be that this world itself will change to something bigger and better that we hope for. For surely man always hopes for something better. Man always hopes for something greater, and surely at this time man's mind has already developed to a state where they can think of extraordinary things, they can think of fantastic things, like people have become aware of the possibility of living on other planets, and maybe men would like to live on a planet that is greater than this one. Let us say for example, like the planet Jupiter. Who knows? That if mankind really follows God's grace, follows God's teaching, that this world will develop to become a place which is great, like let's say the planet Jupiter. So that it will be for the whole human race, for mankind, as though they have moved from a smaller house to a bigger house, as though the whole of human nature has developed to something wider and greater than what we can experience now in this world, in the way it is.

Melbourne, Australia - April 15, 1976
Code Number : 76 MEB 3
When we receive this latihan, this latihan which comes by the grace of God, in other words, this power which comes within our quietness, within our quietness which we can then feel, then our religion is no longer belief. It is consciousness. Because we are then conscious of a reality. So it is this consciousness which is usually called faith. So what is normally meant by faith, people think faith is a kind of remembering. But in fact faith is consciousness. Faith is consciousness of God's power which exists within us. At this moment Bapak knows that many men are looking for a field of study, and a new field of study or a new scientific discipline, through which men can automatically be brought back to their true humane nature, to their right understanding of human life and, let's say, true humanity. But the more they look, the more they try to study this and that, or to do this and that, the more they look for it, the more they can't find something that will accomplish this.

San Francisco, California - April 26, 1976
The Faith of the Prophets.
Code Number : 76 SFO 3

Los Angeles, California - April 30, 1976
The science of the jiwa
Code Number : 76 LAX 1

New York, NY U.S.A. - May 5, 1976
Code Number : 76 NYC 1
What is it in man that can put aside the action of the lower forces? What is it in man that can win over the influence of the lower forces? It is the life force, the life force whose nature is a vibration that exists in emptiness. The vibration which we feel at the moment of doing latihan. This is the one thing within us which can put aside the influence of the lower forces. Even though, these lower forces, let us say the material force, as Bapak said earlier, the material force, one can say, has ninety-nine percent authority within man at this time.

And yet, these lower forces can be put aside by this vibration of life that exists within us. But even so, even though this is the case, that there is this way for us - we have received the way whereby the power of the lower forces has found its match or something to balance it, yet we still need to be very cautious and very careful throughout our life. Because the temptations of the lower forces do not rest and they are always trying to influence man's mind. So that, the lower forces will always try to suggest to you, "Come on, don't believe this, believe this instead". So we need, constantly need, to be on the watch, and to be attentive to the influences within us. For the belief or the faith that will lead us on the right path is the faith which comes free from many influence whatsoever, the faith that exists without any effort on our part at the moment when we are still. It is that faith which is free from all influences, that faith which is without any self-interest.

That is the faith that can guide us on the right path. And for this reason, we should always be cautious and attentive, no matter what we are doing, so that we are not influenced by other things, and tempted in a direction which will take us away from the life force and the guidance of the power of God. For this reason, Bapak advises you, never be tempted to try to assist your progress by methods which rely on mantras or meditation or concentration or hypnotism or magnetism or any other kind of influence that depends for its working on the lower forces. For with this influence, subject to this influence, man can easily slip and fall into the valley of poverty.

Singapore - June 28, 1976
Code Number: 76 SIN 1
The prophet Abraham was the first in the history of the prophets who was truly able to practice faith in the One Almighty God.

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 18, 1976
P.T.S. Widjojo and faith
Code Number: 76 CDK 8

Oslo, Norway - July 24, 1977
Code Number : 77 OSL 3
If we do not have faith in what we receive in the Latihan Kejiwaan, it is the same as saying that we don't have faith in our own self, because what we receive is the real experience of the teaching that comes from our own jiwa. Jesus Christ Himself has said to us that 'The power of God is within you'. This means that if we have faith in our own selves, it is the same as having faith in the power of Almighty God. As long as we understand that it's not having trust in ourselves with our mind, that our minds have trust in our form - but we must have trust in our jiwa, because it is this jiwa that is the representative of the power of God within us.

It is very, very important that, having now received the Latihan Kejiwaan, we learn really to have faith in our own selves, because in the Latihan Kejiwaan we are really brought face to face with our own teacher - that is, our own jiwa - who knows what we need and the way we have to go according to what we are. We can now use our own eyes to test everything. For example, if we see a wall in front of us and someone says that it is blue, someone says it is yellow, someone says it is red, someone says it is black - all that becomes completely irrelevant because we see for ourselves, and we must trust the color we see with our own eyes. This is what Bapak will test with you now. Bapak will ask somebody to come to the front so that you can, as it were, bear witness to the reality of what Bapak has been saying.

Lausanne, Switzerland - August 13, 1977
Code Number : 77 QLS 1
The reason why we are able to receive the Latihan Kejiwaan now is maybe due to the will of Almighty God, because we live in an age when men no longer believe in the power of God - and the reason for this may be that men have progressed very far with their hearts and minds to the extent that what men can achieve today With their heart and mind is totally different from what they used to be able to achieve in olden times; and this, that is the extent of the progress of man's heart and mind, is something that you can perhaps understand better than Bapak. But Bapak can give some examples - like, for example, men have recently invented equipment which will enable them to fly to the moon. They have also invented weapons of very great power, such as nuclear armaments and so on. This, Bapak feels, is the reason that men have, on the whole nowadays, less faith in the power of Almighty God, because they are attracted rather to have faith in things that they can see and touch. In other words, things that they can perceive in the normal way, such as men normally do. As a result of this, their faith in the existence of God Almighty and in the power of God Almighty becomes less and less secure.

Blonay, Switzerland - August 15, 1977
The hakekat, and Faith of the Prophets - and Bapak
Code Number : 77 BLN 1

New York, NY U.S.A. - September 11, 1977
Code Number : 77 NYC 3
Brothers and Sisters, without receiving the grace of God Almighty, without the guidance of the power of God Almighty, it is impossible indeed for man to find the right way in his life. It is impossible for man to be guided correctly and find his way in this life without God's guidance. But to feel God's guidance, or to understand and get to know God's guidance, is indeed very difficult - or not so much difficult as completely impossible to be thought about. The reason for that is that the will of man - that is, the heart and the intelligence of man - normally only has faith or believes in something that he can do, something that can be seen, something that can be heard with the ears, something that can be smelt with the nose, something that can be tasted with the mouth, and something that can be thought about. Therefore, we cannot actually blame people who say 'God doesn't exist', because God cannot be seen with the eyes, God cannot be heard with the ears, God cannot be smelt with the nose or tasted with the tongue, nor can His form be grasped with the hands. So to get to know God with our ordinary instruments is completely impossible.

Buenos Aires, Argentina - October 22, 1977
Code Number : 77 BUE 2

Bogata, Columbia - November 14, 1977
Code Number : 77 BOG 1
When man was first created by God, he made a promise to God that he would always remember the power of God and he would always praise God in everything that he did, in return for God's gift of the heart and mind. The fact is, however, that the heart and mind cannot always remember God - there are times when they must forget God, and this is something that God himself knows, because God is All-Wise. It is not that God did not believe man's promise at that time, but that God understands the state and the nature of man. That is why God has given man something else - and that is something called 'faith'. And faith that is given by God Almighty is something within man that remembers God even when man forgets. When the heart and mind of man are forgetful of God's power, yet through this faith that God has given him, man does, in fact, still remember the power of God Almighty. The nature of the heart and mind is that man remembers God when he is poor, when he is sick, when he has an accident - at those times man remembers God. But when man has his success, when man achieves that which he strives for, then he forgets the power of God Almighty.

So what is necessary is for man to receive faith from God Almighty which will always remind him of God's power and God's nature. Man, by himself, cannot always remember God because within man's being there exist the lower forces - the material force called rob raewani, the vegetable force called roh nabadi, the animal force called roh hewani, and the human force called rob iasmani. These forces within man cause him to forget. Does that mean that these forces are intentionally trying to trip man up or trying to harm him? Not at all. These forces realize very well that they belong to a lower nature, a lower degree than man himself. What they try to do is always to stick close to man so that when man goes to heaven, they can also go to heaven. Therefore, man's job in actual fact in this world is to be able to administer the lower forces with justice - and the way man is able to do this in this life is through his good actions, through his social work in this world; that is, in the direction of social justice, through actions like loving one another, knowing one another, helping one another, and cooperating and being close to one another. Through this man is truly a just administrator of the lower forces that exist in this world. Actually, what the lower forces are always hoping is not that they bring man into a state where he falls into the satanic world -on the contrary, they are always hoping that man will act justly and correctly so that he will go back to his heaven at the end of his life: and, at the same time, the satanic forces, let us say, will become the king of the satanic forces. So one can say, for example, that the satanic forces within man then become the kings of the satanic world, or the king devils in the satanic world.

This, then, is why it is necessary for man to receive God's guidance and God's gift of faith in order that man can always remember the power of God. This faith is given to man in the form of a life that is within his life. But man cannot become aware of this, man cannot be conscious of the existence within him of this faith unless he moves - because it is only through movement that man can become aware that within him there is something like a vibration or a movement that is deeper than his life. This is the life or the movement that is given by Almighty God which is called in Islam the hadir ilham, which means the vibration that comes from God Almighty. This is what we experience in the latihan, as Bapak has explained earlier, in all the repetition that we do of all the movements that we have already experienced before. It is this you will experience if you do your latihan diligently and refrain from quarrelling with your brothers and sisters, and can truly follow what exists in the latihan. This is something that exists within you and you can receive it in this way, like in the Latihan Kejiwaan, because this is something that is given to you by the power of God Almighty, in the form of this faith that Bapak has told you about. This is something that you can receive completely differently from when you receive something for the nafsu or the heart and mind, because anything that you want to do for the nafsu or the heart and mind is something that you have to receive and work at through studying, whereas this is something that you can receive from yourself.

Seattle, WA U.S.A. - December 11, 1977
The sons of Adam - Sang Hyang Sis
Code Number : 77 SEA 2

Jakarta, Indonesia - September 16, 1978
Code Number : 78 JKT 2
The subject of enterprises is still misunderstood, brothers and sisters, especially by us Indonesians, who still get it wrong, although even the Europeans themselves, even the English, still sometimes get it wrong. But yet it is obvious that an enterprise is an undertaking in which one stands on one’s own feet. It is some effort undertaken and worked upon by one’s own will and according to one’s own capacity. It is an undertaking which is appropriate to that person’s own wishes and talents.

Brothers and sisters, that is how it is for all of you, although, as Bapak has just said, even the Europeans themselves, even the English themselves, have also not yet grasped this. People think that an enterprise is only commercial, so that we try to earn money and carry on a business. They even believe and feel that doing this lessens their worship of God. Oh no; not at all. On the contrary, if you can do something that is right on the basis of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud and on the basis of surrender, trust and sincerity, then you will receive guidance from the One Almighty God in what you are doing. This agrees with what is always stated in religious literature, that we are always accompanied and supported by the greatness and the power of the One Almighty God. The one thing that we need to have, and which needs to be present in our selves, is that we must always act honestly in everything we do; and with complete faith in the One Almighty God, for faith in the One Almighty God will make our hearts and our feelings honest and full of love for one another, and for our fellow beings.

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 22, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 5
Bapak therefore always advises you and tells you not to get bored with the latihan kejiwaan of Subud or fail to do it. It is like it is for people who practice a religion, for instance; they must not get bored with the solar, with saying their prayers, even though they may not find anything in doing this. Think how they get up every morning at half-past four ( for the dawn prayer of subuh ) and then they pray again at the times of lohor ( noon ), asar ( afternoon ), magrib ( sundown ) and isa ( night ). In addition they also read from the scriptures. If one wonders what is the use of that and what results from it, oh well, one just does it, just like that. Yes. But that, brothers, is the way people train themselves so that they become good both mentally and emotionally. For human beings, or human hearts, have to have something that they are afraid of, and if they. are not afraid of anything, then of course it is not impossible that people will do some extremely bad things. This is how it is.

Thus faith in God is indeed important. It is not only important, but it is necessary for it to be the content of our selves, so that we are trained to be afraid of doing wrong. Religion has always advised its followers that they should not act in ways that are not humane, or that go beyond the bounds of humanity. That means that they should not be out of harmony with their fellow creatures. Yet although they have been given this advice and have also been told that they must be afraid to do wrong, human beings possess nafsu, they possess hearts and minds which, broadly speaking, are unwilling to give way to anyone, so that they only wish to overcome and they wish for their own advantage. Of course, you never hear of a thief who will admit to being a thief. Unless he is forced to do so, a thief will not admit that. Because it is indeed really like that, and the hearts and minds of human beings can only wish for their own ease, their own comfort and their own good. Well, this is how it is. That is why in religion people therefore begin to be trained to feel fear or to be afraid of doing wrong, until it becomes clear to them that they will receive a very heavy punishment for it in the hereafter, after they die. Yes; it is true that you do not experience this until you die, but there is already something which illustrates it, in order that the human heart will be afraid to do wrong. But human beings remain human, brothers. Many of them forget about this. As Bapak said yesterday, the nature of human beings is weak, and they are easily affected by things. Speaking allegorically, if someone has tasted the sweetness of sugar and he is then told to throw it away, he will not want to unless he is forced to do it. To be forced into doing something means a quarrel, because people do not want to be forced.

That is how it is, brothers, and so the latihan kejiwaan of Subud includes the beginnings of the fear of the One Almighty God, so that you are afraid of wrong doing and wrong actions; actions which destroy your harmony with one another. Well, this is how it is, so it is clear, brothers, that although the latihan appears to be only just like that, yet in reality it has a content and it really will work at some time in the future when you are capable of receiving it, and all of this is by the grace of the One Almighty God. Of course you would like to know how it is with Bapak, for instance. Well, at the moment Bapak has no need or intention of showing Bapak's results. But if Bapak did show you, you would be very pleased and happy. But then what would happen later? It might even lessen the sincerity with which you do the latihan. Because it is said that all this is adjusted to individual capacity, it is thus clear, brothers, that above all else you are being trained to be patient, and also to surrender to the One Almighty God and to go on doing the latihan kejiwaan of Subud without forcing anything. Of course, the days and times for the latihan are set for you, but you must not neglect it or leave it, for this contains the guidance of God which has been given to all of you, and which in the future will produce clear results for you when the time comes.

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 11, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 10
It is lucky for you, brothers and sisters, that you already have this latihan kejiwaan of Subud. Bapak says that Subud is not something that one seeks, but one can receive it. Bapak has experienced this. Bapak has said how, when he was a young man, it was not Bapak who sought ilmu out it was ilmu that sought Bapak. How could that be? Of course you wonder how that could happen, how could ilmu, spiritual knowledge, seek a man instead of the man seeking ilmu? That man must not be like ordinary people; nor just anyone. That means that he comes from selected seed. It is possible for that to happen.

What Bapak is saying here is not in praise of Bapak or of Bapak's nature. Perhaps the ancestors from whom Bapak is descended did something, perhaps they were full of wisdom and patience and faith in the One Almighty God so that it only remained for Bapak to receive the sweetness of it. Now I express this in the existence of the latihan kejiwaan. You can receive the latihan kejiwaan until your jiwa is really able to return to being a truly human jiwa, which in human terms means that it goes back to being like the first generation. What has now reached the twenty-seventh or thirtieth generation goes back to being the first. If you go back to the first, then your child goes back to being the second, or if you go back to being like the first human being your child becomes the first. You can think about this. Humanity originated from one man. Why should you, out of so many millions, be different from the rest? Some people have a high and noble jiwa, some have a jiwa that is not a high one. What is the reason for that? It is because of the actions of people who have increasingly followed their nafsu rather than their inner selves.

Wisma Subud, Indonesia - November 8, 1980
Code Number : 80lebaran
So if you ask Bapak whether putting this talent into practice, developing what's within you, can lead to happiness, the answer is emphatically yes. It's from this that you can really find a life which is full of success, a life of benefit for yourself and your family.

The proof of all that is that, in the olden days, in the days of the prophets there were no such things as titles or degrees or doctorates or letters that you put after your name. There were no MD's or engineers or architects. All such titles, and specialization’s have arisen through the accumulation of experience. All these subjects which men have set up and formulated as textbooks and university courses with degrees, represent accumulated human experience which has been neatly parceled up or subdivided. But where has all this come from? It has come from within human beings themselves, from within people who have found their true talent and have pursued it.

This way is as open to us now as it was then: to find our own true talent: then to pursue and develop it.

Bapak says if you want proof of it being like Bapak says, just look at the prophets. Look at Jesus Christ. There were no schools open to people of poor origins like Jesus himself. Jesus didn't go to school. He had no degrees, no baccalaureates or whatever. He had no schooling at all. But because he had utter faith in God Almighty, and truly worshipped God and, at the same time had deep love for his fellow man, it was possible and inevitable that he acquire from God the development of his personality, of his inner nature, his wisdom. So that, as a result of what he spoke, millions and millions were willing to have faith and follow the content of what he said. And these millions who have followed and had faith in Christ for almost two thousand years, are not themselves stupid people, nor simply ignorant people in villages; on the contrary, among the followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ are the most intelligent and clever people all over the world.

Similarly, the Prophet Muhammad. He did not go to school. It is said he was totally without education; he was unlettered; illiterate; he could not read or write. And yet because he had that true faith in God and a deep love for his fellow man, Something developed within him which made him the wisest of men. A man whom, again, millions and millions have followed over the centuries, and have had faith in his advice and teachings and sayings.

This is proof, brothers and sisters. It is a measure for you, a kind of education for you of what the requirements are for receiving from Almighty God the development of our talents, of our being. Thus Bapak continuously advises you: Truly have faith in God; follow and receive with a feeling of patience and surrender, - qualities Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad had, qualities of the guidance of the latihan kejiwaan.

If you ask if Bapak expects us to be like Prophet Muhammad and Jesus Christ, Bapak says no, of course not. Bapak doesn't expect us to be like that. But there is no doubt that if we follow with a feeling of submission to God's Power and a feeling of love towards our fellow human beings, we will receive something not different in essential nature from what was received by Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammad: something useful for our life both in this world and in the next.

The qualities of faith in God and love for our fellow human beings are the essentials, the ingredients needed to find the key to the development of our inner being, our nature and our true talent in this world. This is why Bapak reminds you that we have to do something related to looking after our fellow human beings; something charitable; something demonstrating a social responsibility. That's God's Will. It's the way to a world at peace; a prosperous world; a just world. Add to the word social, the word democracy then we reach an image or picture of a society where there is a true and just sharing of all the benefits we receive from Almighty God. A society where prosperity is enjoyed by everyone. Social democracy, in short. This is the way God wills it should be.

S. Widjojo Center, Jakarta, Indonesia - January 17, 1981
Code Number : 81 JKT 2
Bapak has been able to come from where he started and achieve everything he has achieved only because of his total surrender and total faith in the one Almighty God. No matter where Bapak was, no matter what Bapak was faced with and no matter what Bapak was ordered to do, Bapak was never depressed. Bapak never had any doubts. Bapak was always completely convinced, had utter faith in the Grace of God. The result of this is that Bapak is never a stranger no matter where he goes. People do not feel Bapak is somebody of a different nationality, nor do they count the cost when Bapak wants to go somewhere or do something. Because Bapak feels completely one with humanity and feels at home wherever he goes. No matter where Bapak goes, Bapak has a home.

You may be surprised: Bapak has some land in Hawaii; and Bapak has been told that whenever Bapak wants to come to live in Los Angeles, a house awaits him; and in England now, people are building a very beautiful house where Bapak can stay whenever he wants to.

So, brothers and sisters, Bapak has no worries at all. Bapak can actually do anything he likes, go anywhere he likes. And to achieve this, Bapak's only capital has been faith. Complete faith in everything God has guided Bapak to do. Complete confidence in the Power of Almighty God.

And this is a kind of proof of what Bapak was saying earlier, that God recognizes no nations, no nationalities. God only recognizes one human race.

Such is the greatness and the power of Almighty God that truly He provides everything mankind needs. God is aware of everything man needs, God is aware of everything that is going on with man... Man as a single race.

Los Angeles, CA USA July 25, 1981
Code Number : 81 LAX 3
The existence of the name Susila Budhi Dharma emerged spontaneously from the latihan kejiwaan that we have received, and its meaning is: Susila the totality of human civilization. Budhi - the ability or capacity of man that is beyond his own normal human ability. Dharma is patience, acceptance and sincerity in surrendering our being in our worship of Almighty God, whereby we obtain God's guidance in everything that we do in our life. So, in other words, it is through our faith and belief in Almighty God, and our attitude of surrender that we are able to become people who are true human beings.

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 30, 1981
Code Number : 81 CDK 6
To describe the coming down of the grace and mercy of God as being like the sun dispelling the morning mists does not necessarily mean it will actually be like that, but all that, brothers and sisters, is Bismillahir rahmanir rahim; everything is God. Thus although Bapak says that, yet if God so wills to bestow His grace upon animals, plants or material objects - let alone human beings – even a material object can become keramat ( sacred or holy ), so that people bow down and worship stones. It is wrong for human beings to do this, for why should they, creatures of a higher rank, a higher level of roh or life-force, bow down to a stone? It is their own fault if they do. This is something which it is necessary for Bapak to explain to all the members, so that you will not stray in the direction of meditation and contemplation, so that you concentrate your thoughts and follow ascetic practices.

These things are indeed relics of the past, and of what the holy men of old used to do. If we still enjoy that sort of thing, there is no harm in it, but it is not Islam. Islam is purely and simply the worship of the One Almighty God, and nothing else but that. Ashadu anla ilaha ilallah wa ashadu anna Muhan~adar Rasulullah - "I bear witness that there is no God but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God" ( the Muslim declaration of faith ). If you really and truly have faith in what you have received from God, then you are protected from every kind of temptation and obstacle. These are of many kinds, brothers and sisters, there are gendrowo ( male ghosts and phantoms ) and there are wewe ( female ghosts ). That is why I feel rather lonely, brothers and sisters. You have been however many years in Subud, and you should already be able to analyze things and realize which things are relics of the old days. Bapak is not blaming the people of the old days, but you, brothers and sisters, should keep away from their holy places and shrines. Islam says we must believe only in God and in our worship of Him in the ordinary way, and also in observing the fast and going on the haj.

Hamburg, Germany - September 18, 1983
Code Number : 83 HAM 2
As you become more mature in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, you can be at home wherever you may be. This is the depth and the breadth of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, guided by the power of God which is present both inside and outside your selves. That is why you can put your faith in no teacher except the One Almighty God. This is the reason, brothers and sisters, why Bapak only tells you to persevere diligently with the latihan kejiwaan, together with whatever religion you may already be practicing. In this way, brothers and sisters, both inwardly and outwardly, in both the shariat and the hakekat, you can be one with your own race, the human race.

Amen. Bapak Muhammad-Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo

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