Chapter 1
5. Besides that, they are also capable of receiving the flowering of the talents of their jiwa; for instance, in all forms of culture, which in time they can use in the service of society.

Chapter 20
2. That is what is truly called culture, for its source is the human jiwa and it is received in an inner feeling that has risen free of the sway of the ancillary forces. It is a culture filled continuously with the life force. That is why the work you do will be a means for your worship of the Almighty.

8. Plainly, then, the skill in work acquired through the latihan kejiwaan is truly a quality of genuine culture, for of course it is born and grows because the human jiwa has become free of all the influence of man's ancillary forces. So for that reason this culture will neither destroy human knowledge nor close the way to man's worship of the Almighty, but rather is another requirement of that worship, for in reality of course it comes from God and thus to God it returns.
. . . read more of Susila Budhi Dharma

Jakarta, Indonesia - August 10, 1971
Code Number : 71 TJK 8
Brothers and sisters, Bapak hopes you will not feel displeased that - as this is the last evening of Congress - this session may last until 2 o'clock in the morning. Bapak hopes you can hold out that long.

Brothers and sisters, the word kabudajan or kebudajaan ( culture ) comes from budi and daja. You know the word budi already from the symbolic name of our Brotherhood, Susila Budhi Dharma. Daja is the force of movement or action, the working force.

Hence kebudajaan or kabudajan is really a force, a force of life expressing itself and manifesting outwardly, but originating in the jiwa.

But, brothers and sisters, we should not blame anybody because culture, whose real source is the jiwa, has now generally become enjoyment instigated by the influence of heart and mind.

So what is produced as culture has no lasting quality and comes to an early end. The original culture, which is still enjoyed and appreciated, is a different matter. And now it is beginning to be popular again, enjoyed by the general public, as in the instance of wajang ( shadow puppet play ).

Wajang was created through the awakening of the jiwa and hence truly comes from kebudajaan, that is from budi and daja.

Bapak would just like to remind you that what brings in profit at the present time in America and Europe, and here too, are the so called cultural performances that do not originate in the jiwa. If just for the sake of making money, giving this kind of performance is quite all right and fitting. But we do not only want to make money, brothers and sisters. We should be able to show real culture, coming from the jiwa, so that the performances not only attract the hearts of the onlookers but make them really aware of their lives. Thus, although they only watch and listen, they can learn to improve their conduct and change their wrong ways and behavior.

This is true culture. Cultural performances produced from thinking, studying and other considerations are different. A person watching and listening to them can get quite confused. That is to say, he may forget about his home, a woman may forget her husband, the husband may forget his wife. The performer is also affected, and so may go astray, and when the play is finished the actor or actress may go off with someone who has watched the performance, or chase after someone who has listened to it. That can be the result. Bapak says this only as a reminder, but maybe you have been able to receive and feel for yourselves that in your performances you have not been influenced a hundred percent by the heart and mind, but already perhaps twenty or thirty percent or even forty percent by the jiwa. If someone acts as a clown and this comes from his jiwa, then he will make people laugh if he just stands there. This is true culture.

Take an example of Indonesian culture - Indonesian dancing. In the old days, this dancing was done in a kind of samadhi ( trance induced by meditation ), so that, when the dance has ended, everything in the dancer - the movement of his blood, his blood vessels and inner feeling - had united into one flow, into a state of calmness, tranquility and awareness.

So, it is true to say, real culture had its origin in and was born of the kejiwaan, as for instance dancing, the Indonesian art of self defense, and other arts.
...read the complete talk 71 TJK 8

Los Angeles, California U.S.A. - April 19, 1972
Code Number : 72 LAX 2
Do not let this gift of God be in vain

Bapak bids you good afternoon, brothers and sisters, good evening. This evening it is appropriate for Bapak to do as he has promised and to give you a further explanation concerning the path of the kejiwaan, which is, of course, connected with your ordinary everyday actions and activities. It is also connected with the bank that together we are establishing.

Brothers and sisters, it is of course very necessary for you to get into the habit of being able to do the latihan kejiwaan of Subud - which is in reality guidance and direction from God together with your daily activities while you are working as people normally do work in this world and acting as people normally do act during their lives in this world. May God grant you His grace to be able to do this properly. There is a great possibility that if you can act in this way you will be able to become an example for the general public and for groups outside Subud, showing the way to worship the One Almighty God without neglecting the requirements of human life in this world.

Bapak asks those of you who are functioning as helpers to be really diligent in doing the latihan kejiwaan, and really to feel your responsibility always to watch over the members' latihan while at the same time doing the latihan yourselves. You must not let your hearts and minds always get in the way, which means you must not use your hearts and minds a great deal.

Just what has been arranged in the spiritual brotherhood of Subud should also be known here because the arrangements Bapak has made have all been distributed to every corner of Subud. There are probably not even one or two places left to which this announcement has not reached, and where it has not been received. Bapak therefore repeats that the duties and responsibilities of the helpers are really quite distinct from those embodied in and out by the members of the organizational side, the committee. But I have heard that here, although not in many instances, there are always helpers working on the organizational side and making arrangements for things to be done in Subud. In fact the task given to the helpers is exclusively that of looking after and watching over the integrity of the membership, so that supposing there is some member who cannot yet feel the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, it is the helpers' job to observe this. Also supposing there are some members whom they never see, it is also very necessary to arrange to visit them and to find out the reasons for this.

Thus it is clear that the helpers are to function especially in the field of the kejiwaan, and the committees are to function in the worldly field, in whatever has to do with money or the material needs of the Subud members. This is what the helpers and the committees have to do, brothers and sisters, so that nothing upsetting or wrong will occur in future that could put back or slow down the progress of the spiritual brotherhood of Subud or result in disagreement amongst the members.

You very much need to know and understand what Bapak has said here. And of course, if you like, you can also look up Bapak's announcements in the Pewarta Kejiwaan of Subud, or the helpers and committee can ask for copies from Jakarta, so as to be able to know what are the duties and responsibilities of these two bodies ; that is, of the organizational body or committee and of the kejiwaan body.

It is of course right for the helpers to act as advisers, but Bapak has already explained that the helpers will give advice to the committee when they are asked to do so. There is thus no need for the helpers to attend or to be present at committee meetings. Actually the helpers should hold their own meetings, to discuss or to test the members' situation in the sphere of the kejiwaan.

In short, matters spiritual or kejiwaan fall to the duty and responsibility of the helpers, and worldly matters, such as house hunting, buying houses, selecting the members who seem to be capable of running enterprises and so on - in short, whatever includes worldly rather than spiritual needs - all these are the duty and responsibility of the committee.

In this way there is a definite line of demarcation between the two bodies. The helpers are responsible where the spiritual progress or otherwise of the members is concerned, and the committee have their duties and responsibilities where their worldly affairs are concerned. This is how the helpers and committees have been working, especially in Indonesia, for example. Bapak is explaining it briefly like this, for naturally he cannot give a fully detailed explanation because he forgets a lot of it.

Now Bapak will continue and speak about the necessity for enterprises, and also about the connection between the enterprises and the body we are forming so as to be able to make provision for the enterprises of the members.

As Bapak said yesterday evening, brothers and sisters, the enterprises are necessary for you in the first place in order that your ordinary activities, the way you behave as well as the work you do, should always be directed from within. This is necessary, in order that not many of you will go astray in doing your ordinary work and will no longer be influenced by nafsu. In this way you will also receive guidance in any work you are doing. Even though the guidance may not be continuous, yet you will certainly be able to receive it. It will be like the examples Bapak has given you in the testing he has done with you. You may be working at some cultural activity, for instance, such as singing or organizing a stage product, or the music for one - the orchestra. If you are really alert you will receive guidance in what you do, which means guidance from the One Almighty God.

In this way you will be able to understand and to feel what is wrong as well as what is right in the various things you do. Indeed, brothers and sisters, it is a kind of kebudayaan, culture ; the first kind of culture received by mankind, for in those days people really did have a spiritual life and the influence of the nafsu not so strong as it is now. Nowadays, not only adults but also children are influenced by the nafsu, so that you can say, for instance, that this is right and that is wrong and you like the other thing. But in the old days it was not like that. One could say it was the age of ignorance, ignorance of the meaning of words ; yes, ignorance in receiving the influence of the nafsu, but clever and capable in the inner self, in the kejiwaan. So when people like that were quiet and still, at times, when they were quiet they could receive from within. That is what is called kebudayaan, culture.

Kebudayaan comes from the word budayati ( civilized or cultured ) which comes from budi ( character ) and berdaya ( powerful ), so that it has the meaning of strength of character. So clearly kebudayaan forms a link between the outer and the inner state or condition, or between the sareat, the ordinary conditions of life, and the culture behind them; the kodrat or character.

It is also like singing. Formerly when people sang they used to sing something that came out from the jiwa, so that it was something received - though only by the mouth, the physical body, of course. At that time what came out really did come from inside, so that it was guidance and direction. This was why these utterances from the inner could cause those who heard them to feel and to be moved. We already have examples of this in Subud.

For instance, Bapak often say's "Allah, Allah, Allah" or he sings ( Bapak sings ); like that. You feel this like something moving inside you. What causes that ? It is because Bapak is receiving and Bapak is uttering words or sounds that originate from the Jiwa, originate from inside, so that what has its origin from within moves what is within. This is the origin of what is called kebudayaan. But the greedy human heart and the greedy human mind cause people to want to be able to know things quickly, so that they can know quicker than other people, and so they study these things. Thus what used to come from the jiwa, and be uttered in such a way as to stir the jiwa of the listener, subsequently came to be studied with the mind, more and more so the longer time went on, so that what is called culture is no longer the culture of life but the culture of the mind, which means it is a dead culture. Thus what is made or done no longer forms guidance, but entertainment. Thus it is not guidance to develop the jiwa, but something to please the heart and mind.

I would like those of you who have to some extent practiced some kind of cultural activity to come forward. Bapak will demonstrate.

( Testing )

With the emergence of the latihan kejiwaan a living culture such as this will become widespread. It will be so widespread that this culture will include every kind of work and all the various human activities. Of course there was no electricity in those long past days, and there were no trains, no planes, aircraft; there were no motor cars, there was nothing driven by steam. These did not yet exist, nor did such human activities as we now have, such as building skyscrapers and making this and that, constructing beautiful great parks and gardens and so on. These did not yet exist. So obviously, in those old days it was still a time of restriction, and so it was the still restricted human knowledge and ideas of these days that were called kebudayaan.

But the emergence of Subud shows that in every human action, every human activity, there is in fact guidance and direction from the power of God. Thus clearly what people are doing today is also the culture of life if it is seen from the point of view of the Subud latihan kejiwaan. So if seen from the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, human discoveries and inventions, such as electricity, for instance, which has been discovered by man, also come from God and not from man himself. Because man does not know that human knowledge is from the mind only, he claims these discoveries as his own and as coming from his own self, from his own brain. In fact there is nothing that does not come from God, for it is God who supplies everything.
...read the complete talk 72 LAX 2

London, England - April 2, 1967
Recording: 67 LON 7
It was said by people who lived a long time ago and who received revelations from God, that once people get to know their soul and their individuality they are able to produce and develop something that leads them towards a state like the one you receive in the latihan. This 'something' Bapak is referring to is culture. Take dance, for example; in reality, dancing originates from the soul. Long ago, people were not yet so strongly influenced by this world and were therefore closer to their soul, so they were able to develop culture. The same applies to singing with all sorts of different melodies, which also came from people who still had a close connection with their soul. That is how it used to be; starting with human culture, people were able to reach the source that is awakened [within them] by a spacious atmosphere or a contact with life. We cannot know where that life comes from, but it envelops the whole universe.

That is what culture is about. But gradually, because human beings were constantly being disturbed and influenced by their heart and thinking, and experiencing the environment of this world that kept advancing, becoming broader and evermore filled with luxury, wonder, splendour and every kind of greatness, they moved further and further away from the art and culture that could be a bridge for people to come closer to their individuality and their soul. It became worse once people started to use their thinking mind to change culture in this way and that way, until it followed only their heart and thinking. By then it was no longer alive but had become a dead culture, which followed only the tastes of the heart and thinking. When that happened, people generally became more dependent on material things.

It is evident, brothers and sisters, that people these days have really lost touch with artistry, with the individual culture that used to provide a chain or a thread whereby human beings could return to their own soul and know again their contact with life.

Bapak has tried this, and not just once or twice. There was someone who was sick, seriously sick. He asked Bapak,

'May I have some medicine, please?'
'What medicine? Bapak is not a pharmacy.'
'Any medicine, as long as it can cure my illness.'
'All right. Just listen to what I'm going to say.'

Here is what I did [Bapak sings in Javanese]:

'You need to ask the Almighty, Who gave you life. You need to surrender and submit to the Almighty.' 'That's it, I'm cured,' he said. 'What? You're cured?' 'Yes, I am.' 'Well, if you're cured, that's good.'

So it is clear that it is very useful for you to do the latihan and to reconnect with living culture. It is not just to demonstrate to others that you truly know your own soul, but also to be able to heal people who are ill - as long as their illness is not too serious. Well, you may be able to heal serious illnesses too. You will also be able to calm someone whose heart is in turmoil or feeling sad.

So, the latihan has many uses, and not just between husband and wife. culture is so broad. For those of you who happen to have heard or experienced something to do with demons3 - or even if you haven't - you do not need to feel animosity towards them, for they are beings created by God. God does not dislike demons. If God disliked them, there would not be any. For God is Almighty; God can create something that does not exist and annihilate anything that does exist.
...read the complete talk - 67 LON 7

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 14, 1986
Code Number : 86 CDK 7
Brothers and sisters, when Bapak says that the latihan kejiwaan is the essence of all culture, the essence of every movement and every activity of man, it is a statement you can verify.

Those of you who have done the latihan for a long time will be able to verify this for yourselves from your own experience. You will experience for yourself that God's power envelops every being, every creature and also envelops every expression of human movement and human culture.

Among all the myriad forms of human culture and human movement, there are practices known collectively as samadhi: meditation, self-quieting, and so on. The aims of these practices is in fact to look for Almighty God. They are techniques for searching for God. But God cannot be searched for. Because God is. God is, and God has existed since the very beginning. God has not been created, because God existed and exists by and is inseparable from his own will.

Brothers and sisters, this power is the origin of all that we call culture. The source of every manifestation that is movement, or life, that man experiences, is the power of God.

Brothers and sisters, what we receive is always a function of what we are, and of our own capacity at that moment. Bapak has told you of his own experience where, after Bapak received the latihan, Bapak was saying his prayers ( because Bapak as a Muslim still of course says his prayers ) and then Bapak found that after he'd finished saying his prayers, he suddenly started to dance. And Bapak of course initially found this surprising: because Bapak knew that the form of dancing that Bapak was doing was part of the Hindu and Buddhist cultures, not part of Muslim culture. But Bapak could feel the happiness and the joy and the satisfaction of doing that kind of dance. Bapak understood that for us Subud members, it is actually fine to receive to dance in the latihan and to worship God by dancing. You yourself will have received this. Subud embraces everything. Subud embraces all culture. There is no objection at all for us as Subud members to experience in our latihan, even if we are Muslims, dancing like the Hindus or Javanese dancing or things like that.

Similarly, you will probably have experienced, if you are English, that in the latihan you may sing in English. But it can easily happen that at some point you start singing in French or in Arabic. There's nothing wrong with that. It shows you that human culture is universal, that human culture is one totality.

Bapak first sings in Javanese. And then Bapak sings in Arabic. And Bapak says in singing what he sings now in Arabic, he only has to follow what comes out, and Bapak himself doesn't know what it means. But Bapak can find out what it means just by asking. So when it is time for Bapak to know what it means, then Bapak is given the knowledge. Bapak's song means that human culture is truly wide, and that the totality and breadth of human culture is within each one of us and can be received up to the point of our own capacity, both in cultural expression and in the understanding of it.
...read the complete talk 86 CDK 7

London, England - May 23, 1976
Code Number : 76 LON 1
The latihan kejiwaan is first of all the awakening of the human jiwa according to the will of God Almighty, and second it is the awakening of human culture and human expertise or human know-how in the field of living in this world and fulfilling the needs of life in this world. So this latihan which you receive is the worship of mankind towards God Almighty. It is not only the worship of mankind as a whole, but is the worship of each one of you to God Almighty which uncovers or makes evident the nature of your own nationalities and opens up the nature of each one of you individually as representatives of different races for man in the world.

Subud cannot be called a religion because in Subud, as a result of our worship of Almighty God, there is awakened within us every kind of culture that exists in the world, in the different corners of the earth. This is something that we ourselves, each one of us, have experienced whenever we have done the latihan kejiwaan, in that we are made to move and we are guided into a behavior which is in accordance with our own individual national characteristics. So for example, if we happen to be Javanese, then we are guided to movements which resemble a form of dancing or culture which exists in the island of Java.

Similarly, if we happen to be English, of English origin, we will be guided to move and to dance and into various expressions, various forms of culture which are in accordance with our own nature as English people. The same is true of all other nationalities. In addition to this awakening of culture we also are guided by God Almighty into the realm of worship, in other words, God guides us to worship Him, not with some way or some method or some theory or some laid down rules, but in accordance with our own ability and our own nature.

So it is clear that not only are we guided in our worship of God Almighty, but that God also guides every nation in accordance with its own culture, both that which has manifested in the past, and also that which is still hidden and has not appeared yet.
...read the complete talk 76 LON 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - April 13, 1974
Code Number : 74 CDK 5
People who normally do not pay any attention to spiritual matters can come to feel the power of Almighty God and the guidance of God. For example, Bapak means things like corruption. Corruption, it is said nowadays, is already a form of culture. Well, this is what people say, as a matter of fact it's not true because corruption is just something that ruins society and ruins people. If statesmen and people in high positions, important people, have within them the Power of God and the latihan kejiwaan, then it is really to be hoped that this corruption can be avoided, and that they can find a way to do away with it.

So, Brothers and sisters, it is true to say that for us it's already a very great good fortune that in this century, something has grown, something has arisen, to which we have given the name 'latihan kejiwaan'. Because this latihan kejiwaan is something extremely simple, extremely straightforward, it's not easy for people in religion on the one hand, and people in spiritual ways or spiritual teachings on the other hand, to ask the question: What really is the latihan kejiwaan?

Well, in the case of people who give or follow a spiritual teaching, they often take the view that the latihan is only a kind of sport, something that you do for health reasons. It is just a kind of movement of the body, something that you do for physical relief or health, like sport. On the other hand, many religious people regard the latihan kejiwaan as a kind of satanic exercise or latihan, something like Shamanism, or as in India where it is called 'occultism' or 'spiritualism' and this and that. Well, in a way there is some truth to this. To put it very plainly, Subud contains everything. The whole of life and the whole world is contained in Subud. So everything that exists in this world, everything that God has created, is encompassed and can be found within the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. There is no limit, all of life and everything that is known to mankind is contained within the latihan kejiwaan, including these things that Bapak has just mentioned. Not only that, but every form of culture, every kind of movement - let us say, the culture of Indonesia, the culture of England, of America, of South America, the culture of every kind of country in the world, can be felt, can be learned, can be known through the latihan kejiwaan. This, of course, is because the latihan kejiwaan comes from God. And God has created and enveloped the whole world.

Brothers and sisters, we can experience all of this, providing we are strong enough. The fact that we cannot experience every kind of culture and every kind of movement, is simply that one human being cannot have the strength, cannot have the capacity to experience all of it. Still, Bapak can give you an example from his own experiences: Bapak, when he was first doing latihan, experienced in one night 1000 different movements, or types of movement, in the art of self defense. If Bapak compares this to normal people like us who study the art of self defense, probably we could possibly experience only 2-300 movements. But even that is already a great deal. Normally, if you just go to a school of self defense here in Indonesia, you are taught 114 movements, according to the number of chapters in the Qur'an. This means that the Qur'an as a gift of God symbolizes everything that is possible; in other words, all movements and all forms of life are within the Qur'an, the gift of God, the word of God. So these 114 movements are considered to envelop every possibility. But the fact is that there are many hundreds of different movements which are possible. And Bapak has illustrated some of them to you. Even just taking the very simplest: suppose that someone is attacking you from the front. Suppose a fist is coming at you from the front, what are the possibilities? The first one goes like this, that's the head. The second one goes like this, that's already two movements. The third goes like this, if it's coming high up. The fourth one is to jump, so that it goes below you. But that's only the movement of the head and the shoulders. Suppose you start using your hand - there's one movement this way that the blow goes there, there's another movement this way, and so forth ( Bapak laughs ). Similarly, Bapak can illustrate this with the question of saying 'yes' and 'no'. You saw Bapak show examples, many different ways of saying 'no', many different ways of saying 'yes'. In the case of saying 'no', any kind of movement providng you don't look directly.

All this that Bapak has illustrated is encompassed within the latihan kejiwaan. Bapak mentioned before that the falling-off of membership in Subud is, in fact, due to the material situation. In the end what determines for many people their interest or lack of interest in the latihan kejiwaan is the financial situation. The reason for this is that when people are well off, if they are doing the latihan and they are well off, then generally their enthusiasm or will to do the latihan will increase, because they will be aware that the latihan kejiwaan is for the welfare of this world, as well as for the welfare of the next. Man is like that. Very few people are satisfied with having a wonderful situation in the next world. They also want this world, their life, to be good. So, in fact, very often the determining factor is money. For example, if they have no money and maybe it's only raining, it stops them from going to the latihan. Because if it rains you either have to go by car or betjak, and for that you need money. So the determining factor is money in the end.

What Bapak has described about culture, and what we receive in the latihan, is only the coarse aspect, or the outer aspect. In other words, Bapak showed how you could react if someone is attacking you. Supposing you have somebody in front of you who wants to attack you, but not with his fist, he has a bad intention or bears you some ill will. From the latihan you can also know this. And you can be aware of it and also find a way to sidestep it. So the latihan, which Bapak has shown, that is, only the outer aspect, goes much wider, much deeper than that, to the extent that not only can you know the attitude and the hidden wishes and thoughts of those around you but, more than that, you can know things which have not yet happened. In other words, things which are in the realm of the miraculous. As Bapak has tested for you, you can ask: 'How will my situation be in ten years' time?', and you can know the answer through the latihan kejiwaan; or you can ask: 'This thing which I am about to undertake, will it be successful or not?', and you can know the answer from the latihan kejiwaan. So it can be seen that the latihan kejiwaan is not something narrow, on the contrary, it is so wide that you cannot encompass its size or width. And it's particularly useful, taking the previous example of self defense, for people like diplomats. For they need to know what is the hidden intention and the hidden attitude of the people they are dealing with. Through the latihan kejiwaan they can know it and be aware of it. This is to give you some idea of the size and the scope of the latihan kejiwaan.

Bapak can take many examples. Take the case of Javanese meter, Javanese singing. Bapak gave some examples to show that what people actually do here in the way of singing according to Javanese meter is only one or two different melodies. Bapak said there should be at least 17 melodies. Bapak says even more than that - 63. And going on from 63 to 114 different melodies. Bapak showed you just a few examples and Bapak says that Bapak himself is not an expert in this kind of singing. It's just that Bapak can show it. ( But the fact is that people are satisfied with only one or two variants, Bapak doesn't know why. Maybe they are too lazy to receive it. And the one who hears it feels satisfied. ) That's the real culture. It's a pity if only two people can do it. Imagine if 70 per cent of humanity could do this! How many millions! The world would be a much nicer place.
...read the complete talk 74 CDK 5

Toyko, Japan - January 2, 1980
Code Number : 80tyo280 TYO 2
I ask you, Saodah, if you sometimes defy your husband? You should not do that. You should let this be a lesson to you. Your husband will always have a good income and things will always go well for him and he will always make good progress if his wife truly serves her husband. There are also situations in which many people's domestic life is not all that they could wish for. This happens to many people in America, as Bapak well knows, because in America - if you will forgive me for saying so - there are many women who are very defiant towards their husbands. That is why domestic life in America is always unstable. It is different from the way it is here. In Asia, and especially here in Japan, the national life-style is born of its culture. It is also born of the will of God, which is something that people do not suspect.

Up to now, brothers and sisters, the uses and benefits of the Latihan Kejiwaan of Subud are not yet apparent to you. In fact, brothers and sisters, the Latihan Kejiwaan is a stirring, an awakening, as Bapak has said. It is an awakening of people's inner-selves because of the power of God, while the power of God envelops the whole universe, which means that it is present not only in the world but in the whole of the universe, with all that it contains. It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that you will be able to find everything you need in the Latihan Kejiwaan, which is based upon the power of God which envelops you. You will be able to find skills, for instance, such as skills in the field of building houses, the field of agriculture, in the field of personal services such as beauty culture and so on, or in the field of the preparation of various foods.

All these skills are present in and will arise out of the Latihan which you are practicing when the time for this arrives. All culture, brothers and sisters, is really born out of the void, out of a quiet state. That is why all culture usually comes from sacred places which are said to be quiet and peaceful. In this country it may come from the shrines and temples where people pray to the dewas or to whatever it is that they believe in. In Islam it is from the mosques, which are regarded as holy places. These are places of peace and quietness. Or it may be from the religious schools. In the case of Christianity it is also from the churches and so on.

It is clear that culture emerges from sacred places, brothers and sisters, and is born in quiet and peaceful places. It is the same for the people who are able to make what can really be regarded as amazing discoveries, such as electricity and other technical skills. These too are born out of a quiet state. It is true that they are clever people who receive these things, but they do not discover them because of their cleverness, but it is when all their clever thinking dies down, and they become quiet, that something arises in them. It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that at the moment when they quieten themselves, God will give human beings what they ask. This is something that you have experienced, brothers and sisters; it is what you witness each time that you receive and follow the Latihan Kejiwaan. It is when you have become quiet that these unexpected and unintentional movements arise, so that you move in a way that you neither intend nor expect. At the moment, you have only got as far as the level of movement, and you have not yet reached the level of awareness and understanding. When you have reached that level, so that you receive a quieting of the jiwa and of the inner feelings, then you will be able to discover unexpected things which will be really important and beneficial for the lives of all of you. These, brothers and sisters, are the uses and benefits of this Latihan Kejiwaan, of which Bapak says that it is moved by the power of the One Almighty God which envelops you all both inwardly and outwardly.
...read the complete talk 80 TYO 2

Sydney, Australia - May 30, 1958
Code Number : 58 SYD 2
It is for this reason that, from olden times, man has required and needed to have a culture in one or another of its various forms, for example, dance, music or playing an instrument, drawing and painting, and so on. It is indeed God's will for human beings that they should be able to improve and adorn this world so that it can become a good, safe, happy place for human beings themselves, while not forgetting their worship of the One God.

The real meaning of culture - for example dance, or athletics, or what is now called the Olympics - was originally that each branch of culture should be a starting point for human beings to know the power of God that envelops them and exists within them. For it was said that a healthy and good soul ( jiwa ) would surely bring about a state of goodness and cleanness in the coarse physical body, and that it would find expression in culture. This is why the vital power or energy of culture is called in Indonesia susila, meaning that all of man's actions and behavior should be in accordance with God's will, which is written within man's self.

For this reason most sport, as it is known today, does not come to what was really intended by the experts in true culture who lived long ago, whose wish and intention was that the culture they created should be a living culture, not a dead one. Sport as it is practiced today is different from the movements you have been receiving and doing in the latihan, even though you cannot yet receive properly, or completely.
...read the complete talk 58 SYD 2

Wisma Subud, - Cilandak, Indonesia - June 26, 1984
Code Number : 84 CDK 6

Universal culture
Talk On A Night Of Power During The Ramadan Fast
This situation today is very different from the olden days. In the olden days most people were farmers. A few people were soldiers. Very, very few people dealt with culture, and the development of their heart and mind.

So, in general, it was not a burden, or it was not a difficulty, to live one's life, say, for a month without using the nafsu, without constantly having to make use of the heart and mind. But in today's world, almost everybody constantly lives their life practicing or involved with a form of culture which requires the intelligence of the heart and mind, which requires the constant exercise of the understanding of the mind.

This form of culture which is universal today is called technology.

So it is clear that what was relatively easy in the olden days is today very hard. And when we say it was "easy" in the olden days, of course the fact is that, easy as it was, it probably wasn't all that easy either. But Bapak is speaking relatively.

In short, we are able in this way to compare our situation with those from whom we are descended. And what we experience today is the normal result of the changing of the times.

But the process is not yet complete. So that is why the extent to which you are able to use it is still limited. That is why, for example, Bapak has advised you not to try, for example, to make "rajahs". You may have heard that Bapak sometimes makes a rajah for people when they are sick. Bapak has also heard that there are those among you who have tried to do it yourselves. The problem is: In order to be able to do that, the fingers of your hand which guide the pencil must already be alive. They have to already be alive independent of your will, independent of your nafsu. Now, if it is not the case, then whatever you draw is still from your nafsu, is still from "you". So maybe, when you are doing a rajah it will come out as your own signature, or your own initials, like when you sign a document. That is the proof that it is not yet alive. That is not what Bapak does.

The real rajah when you are going to it, when your hand is already alive - moves by itself. There is nothing from "you" in it. This is the meaning of culture: that every part of you becomes alive. That's why, when people train themselves in culture, in dancing for instance, the first thing is to make everything move, as you've seen in Balinese dancing when people train their fingers to move. Every part of you must move. That is the meaning of human culture: the coming alive of every part of our body. And this is not something that is limited to the body, but progresses. It progresses from the body to the nerves, to the heart and eventually to the aras - to the human mind itself, which also is brought to life and moves independently of the nafsu.
...read the complete talk 84 CDK 6

Athens, Greece - January 9, 1960
Code Number : 60 ATH 1
So it is clear that the reason why people are unable to know how their life should go, why they fall into poverty and do not know where to find a livelihood or where to find food and clothing, is simply that their human soul, which should be there within their self, has been pushed aside and left far behind because of the influence of the low forces that have taken charge within them. And in these people there is no sign at all of what is called culture, such as that which [existed] here in Greece and which has become famous everywhere – the original culture that arose in human beings in ancient times. Today it is dead, because this high culture that human beings once possessed was not maintained by people, who gave more importance to worldly things than to the worship of God.

With the awakening of your soul that you have received as a result of the coming of Subud here, hopefully your souls can revive the culture of Greece that has been eclipsed for so long. Then, as a result of the culture you possess, you will not neglect your worship of God; and through your worship of God you will also not neglect your work. So in all your daily behaviour you will not be separated from the power of God, which envelops your own life and that of your family. That is why it is always said in religion that true culture can only be found and received by human beings if they really worship God sincerely, because everything comes from God.
...read the complete talk 60 ATH 1

New Delhi, India - September 14, 1964
Code Number : 64 NDH 1
What Bapak has just described used to be experienced by human beings in pre-eminent positions in ages past: by the daughters of Brahmins, the daughters of kings, the daughters of knights, the daughters of Sayyids; or by the sons of kings, Brahmins, Sayyids and knights. Why was that, brothers and sisters? It was because, in times long ago, Brahmins, knights, Sayyids and kings called themselves by those titles because they had received divine inspiration and had high souls. That was then; and that was the reason why almost all culture – in fact all, not almost – came from the Brahmins, from the Sayyids, from knights and kings. This applies to the court dances, the way the Quran was recited, the way the Gospels were read. For in that time it was those people who really had noble souls and were able to receive God’s inspiration.

But because the influence of the world is always there, in front of and behind us, to the right and left of us, eventually the living culture that guided human beings to worship God diminished and became a culture of the intellect. So that nowadays, if you want to do this [gesture], you study it. You study how to dance ballet and you study the court dances. You also study how to fight.

That is different from the way it used to be. It is why there are many stories from the past that give guidance and insights for human beings to help them to worship God in the right way, the way willed by God. But as a result of the influence of the world that is making ever greater inroads, the living culture that can guide human beings to worship God has become blocked. We are fortunate that the time has come for us to receive help from God, so that in the latihan you will eventually be able to open the screen and reveal the secrets that up until now have been hidden in teachings and stories. You will be able to understand the reality of those stories.

That is what you will understand once you become aware of it. But now, since you are not yet at that point, Bapak has no choice but to explain it to you. However, just listen; do not place it in your intellect. Because if you do that it will become an expectation, and that kind of expectation in fact becomes an obstacle. It is better just to listen, and whenever you do the latihan, surrender and do not think a lot. Like the symbol of the Buddha that Bapak explained earlier. In that way you will increasingly be able to feel and increasingly experience the spreading of the movement of life to your whole body. And the longer you go on the more it will deepen and widen, enabling you to know the things Bapak talked about: in the first place, your path in life, and secondly, the path of your life after you die. And furthermore, you will know what is right and wrong in your circumstances and your life.
...read the complete talk 64 NDH 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - May 6, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 13
( Testing )

What is your name? Oh, Gunawan. You should not go so fast, Gunawan. I can hardly understand. You stay here, and the others go back to their seats. You seem to be an expert in the culture of Java. Now try something in accordance with that culture. I ask you; are these movements according to that culture? They are not. Now try little by little, so as to have a standard on which to base yourself. These movements, according to that culture are the movements of a satria's dance, resembling the silat and pencak ( kind of self-defense ), but done as a Javanese. Try to follow. Yes; of course there are two parts of it, two kinds. The first is senopaten; the second is Sultan Agungan. That is different. You should gradually get into the way of it. Follow.

( Testing )

Yes, yes; stop. You have not yet got it. Have you ever studied this? Not yet? Finish.

( Bapak gets up and demonstrates a dance of the Javanese culture. )

It is clear, brothers that the latihan kedjiwaan is the source of all cultures. These are of various kinds. This is the culture of self defense, the Pencak silat. That is method of defense but it also refines and improves the character; that is the habits and the disposition. Again now. ( Bapak demonstrates ) One begins with what is called the salute. You must not forget that; it is really necessary. ( Bapak demonstrates again ).
...read the complete talk 79 CDK 13

Cilandak, Indonesia - February 3, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 1
That is how it is, brothers and sisters, so that Bapak always explains that this latihan kedjiwaan is the source of all culture in this world. Formerly, before human beings had been able to establish schools for architects, doctors and so on, those skills originated from this source, from this latihan. That is why culture originated in holy places, which were quiet and peaceful. In the ease of Islam it came from the mosques, from the seminaries; in the ease of Christianity from the churches. Those were the sources of all culture. That is why if people who receive this really think about it, these cultures are very, very close to the nature of the latihan kedjiwaan. Thus it is as if in the latihan kedjiwaan there is this dalang or puppet-master. When he pulls the strings in this way or this, or this, then this and this happens; it develops into the pencak ( Indonesia are of self-defense ). That happens in the latihan kedjiwaan. After you have done the pencak, like this, then you do like this - Allahu Akbar; that is your worship. That is like that. Yes, you have to receive all these things. Then there is no fanaticism. There are no fanatics, it is clear that all the actions and behavior of human beings on this earth all have their origin in the power of God. You must not claim that any of this comes from your own selves. culture should be manifested. What emerges after deep thought is called science, which is something other than culture. Culture comes from kudrat ( divine decree ); science from irodat.

That is Bapak's explanation for today; the explanation he gives to all of you. It is not like a latihan, but it really is like the evidence in the latihan kedjiwaan. Indeed, Brothers and sisters, to produce evidence for the growth of culture, this can be seen in Europe in Russia and in Austria. In the past both the Russian and the Austrian races were deeply immersed in religious matters, so that out of their quietness, their peace, their freedom, they were able to receive things that were beyond expectation. They had a way of singing which developed long ago in Austria, if one can receive it. ( Bapak utters sounds ). That is Austrian. In Russia, in the same period, it was like this. ( Bapak utters sounds ). That is Russian. Then we can go back to Persia in the old days, to what is now Iran. Receive it if you can ( Bapak utters sounds ). That was Persia in the old days. So this still continues.
...read the complete talk 80 CDK 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 22, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 6
( There was first the singing of "Happy Birthday" and “Long Life" to Bapak, and the cutting of the cake and the rice mountain. Then one of the members sang in Javanese, and Herbert Stewart was asked to sing. Then a solo. Then a song by one of the foreign sisters accompanied by a guitar, and "Butet" sung by Heroine Ruetz. )

( Bapak sings in Javanese, as follows )

May we receive the blessing of the One Almighty God.
May your latihan be able to spread everywhere.
May it become the basis for human behavior
All over the world.
For it is indeed the truth
That it is the duty of all mankind
To worship the One Almighty God
So that their hearts and minds may be peaceful.
So that, in its turn, the world may become peaceful and calm for mankind.
Come quickly then and worship the One Almighty God.
Let it not happen that at the end of our lives
We find ourselves far from the power of the One Almighty God.
For it is the power of God alone
Which can truly bring peace and calm to the life of mankind.

That is all, thank you.

It is a great pity that Bapak's voice is no longer what it used to be when Bapak was seventeen, when everyone would agree that it was still very beautiful.

Bapak wishes to remind you that Bapak's capacity to sing like this does not derive from any special training or effort, but it comes only from the quiet state of Bapak’s inner-feeling. It comes only from that inner-feeling, and so Bapak is able to receive many Kinanti melodies. Bapak receives melodies in the Kinanti mode which are not generally known and which do not as yet exist, for in the ordinary way only fourteen Kinanti melodies are known. This is actually what is meant by culture; that is it means the capacity to receive something new. That is why Subud should be a source of culture. But why have we not yet developed in this direction? Why have we not quickly obtained results in this case? Why has it been only Bapak who has developed? Bapak will sing a little more and this time Bapak will translate its meaning. One should really stand up when one sings because everything has to move. Like this, for instance ( Bapak utters a sound ). This sound also brings good health.

People are not obliged to use their voices but it is very necessary to do so and especially to sing out loud ( Bapak sings a melody ). If Bapak were still young that would be beautiful, but Bapak is already old.

Brothers and sisters, Bapak does not say that the latihan kedjiwaan of Subud is really culture; no, it is not, but the latihan kedjiwaan of Subud is the source of all cultures. Why is that? It is because the latihan kedjiwaan of Subud is received while you are in a quiet state, and comes from the power of God. The latihan kejiwaan of Subud can illustrate any kind of culture. You must not think that the kind of knowledge which is called scientific; what is nowadays called technology, does not a1so spring from the power of God and flow through the channels of culture. When you are really in a quiet and calm state, not too much influenced by your mind and your nafsu, you will be able to receive the things you wish for. It is like it was with the beautiful German music of the old days. Perhaps that has already all been forgotten by that race, by all of you, but nevertheless Bapak will try to receive it; Bapak hopes that he can. ( Bapak sings a melody )
...read the complete talk 80 CDK 6

Cilandak, Indonesia - October 7, 1978
Code Number : 78 CDK 21
The Power Of God is what makes things live

Try to follow the movements of your hands and legs in the form of a dance. Begin, please. That is what is called culture, and that culture is close to the jiwa. Indeed the jiwa really gives birth to that culture. Yes, go on.

( Testing )

Yes, enough. Stop and go back and stand in your original places. Bapak will explain. That was how culture was born, sisters, if you wish to know. That was how it was originally, in the old days, in ancient times. That is why, in the case of Islam, culture was born in the religious seminaries. There are many different ways of moving; some people move as in the pencak silat ( Indonesian art of self-defense ), some people dance. In the palaces, the kraton, they developed the court dancing. It was also like that in Europe and America, because a race which possesses a culture is a civilized race whose jiwa has been touched by the power of God that envelops it both inwardly and outwardly.

Of course, sisters, everything begins by being small and lowly; what is small becomes larger and what is low becomes higher. So too with your movements. They begin with what is coarse and eventually extend to what is finer and finer, wider and wider, so that they affect not only your hands and feet and mouths, but also your feelings. The pure feelings, the greater feelings in your inner hearts will also be trained, so that you can know how to live your lives, sisters. In this way you will become really resolute and faithful and really believe in the existence of the One Almighty God. You will not be tossed hither and thither by the present environment, which is really acting on the feelings of mankind so as to plunge it into confusion.
...read the complete talk 78 CDK 21

Manchester, England - April 13, 1967
Code Number : 67 MAN 4
God has placed God’s will within you, in your legs. Therefore if you can be completely free of desire, when you are not motivated and controlled by the desires in your legs, you will discover and understand what your legs are for and the kind of movements human legs are supposed to make. Earlier [during the testing] Bapak showed you how horses move and how humans move. By doing that you find out for yourself – even if you had never seen another person walk upright before, you would discover for yourself – how to walk like a human being of noble and good character.

This also applies to your hands. Your hands too are filled with the will of God; the power of God manifests and fills them. Therefore, if you can set aside your desires – what your low forces want – then through the action and movement of your hands you will receive and feel what God wills for your hands. You will receive indications, guidance, direction and instruction from the will of God that manifests in your hands for whatever you have to do in life. And ultimately, if you can receive that, you will be able to make things with your hands that are truly useful. Thanks to their awakening, the things you make with your hands guided by the will of God can then be described as true culture – culture that is close to God’s will.

This is why what we call ‘culture’ nowadays could be said to be dead: it has no content. In fact, culture is a bridge for humankind. Through culture, when someone masters it, they will find a way to understand and discover the right way to lead their life.
67 MAN 4

Manchester, England - May 29, 1972
Code Number : 67 MAN 2
Brothers and sisters, those are some of the forms ( referring to testing ) of the kebudayaan or culture that human beings receive. This should come from God, but nowadays it no longer does so. Nowadays it comes from man. But, in fact it really ought to come from the power of God, which envelops the human self both inwardly and outwardly.

The word kebudayaan originated from the words daya ( force ) and budi ( inner nature or character ). It is daya or force from within. In the case of Subud, it is called Susila Budhi Dharma. The kebudayaan or culture that originates from within forms an attractive power, or a container or vessel, that has existed and has awakened people ever since the existence of mankind began.

Clearly, then, human beings cannot forsake their culture, and this will always exist within them. But it has been crowded out by people's needs; that is, by the needs arising from the progress and development of this budi-daya, so that out of their need for something to fulfill their daya, their budi-daya, their will, there was eventually born what is called science.

It is thus clear, brothers and sisters, that science is derived from kebudayaan or culture, and it is precisely the kebudayaan, that is its main root and stem. For, as Bapak showed in testing with you, each and every part of the human self contains the knowledge of the way to work and the way to live. The hands, for instance; the human beings possess hands, or God has ordained hands for human beings, but they are not told just to let their hands hang at their sides, but they are told to work with these hands, so that from these working hands people came to know why they were needed. And the things that they are needed for caused what is called science to grow and to appear. That comes from the hands.
...read the complete talk 67 MAN 2

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 4, 1978
Code Number : 78 CDK 10
Susila represents, human beings, their civilization and culture, their habits and customs, the way they live and behave. But of course this refers only to the best of them, those usages can be called peri kemanusiaan, a truly human way of life. Thus Susila comprises all the right ways of life for human beings, but nevertheless it also needs some reinforcement by what is called budhi.

Budhi means an inner strength, the strength of the life within the human self which can be said to be close to the power of God, or to be easily touched by and in contact with the power of God which envelops the human self both inwardly and outwardly. To put that clearly into an ordinary way of speaking, budhi is the way people behave, their behavior. Because one is human, one should behave like a human being.

Dharma means worship, surrender, patience, trust and sincere submission. Thus these three words, explained in sequence like that, are peri kemanusian, truly human behavior or culture, the way of life for human beings to live because of the power of the One Almighty God which envelops them both inwardly and outwardly; the way of life which leads to worship and surrender, with patience, trust and sincere submission directed of course to the One Almighty God. That is the way to understand this, brothers and sisters.

Yes, there is no need to discuss the subject of God, for He existed before everything that exists. And yet He is still being discussed. It goes further and further; how can you or I think? One can think, but how? If one has a brain, how can one not be able to think? So this is the dzat wajibul wajud ( incarnation ); it is already made one, it has already become one.

Now this is something with which, with the latihan which you receive, you are beginning to be familiar. It is God Who familiarizes you with it. That is how it is. You must not then say, “I can only do like this and like this.” Yes, of course. How can it happen that if wanted a beef steak to eat, it was there at once, all ready for you. That is not possible. You have to buy the meat first, and sometimes there is none for sale. Think of that. You also need to use good oil. Sometimes there is none for sale. Sometimes, when you have it all together, and it is ready on the table, you feel a chill coming on, and cannot enjoy your food. Well, think about it.

There are all sorts of things that can happen, of course, brothers and sisters. So you have to be patient, you have to have trust and sincerity, and surrender to the One Almighty God. Not that Bapak says that you must do that and that then you will be able to do it. No. But that is the way in which you will really be able to do amal. This is the meaning of the content, the direction and the aim of religion, and then it is doubled by the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. This is for everyone in every culture. Let us see now ( Bapak sings ). Well, one can also reach it with this. Why? Well, this is not from my own will. ( Testing )
...read the complete talk 78 CDK 10

Wolfsburg, Germany - August 21, 1964
Code Number : 64 WOB 4
If these movements are received in your hands, we can name them as waving, touching, writing; in your legs they are walking, running, squatting and so on. But if the movement manifests in your brain, your brain wakes up. The awakening of your brain means that your thinking comes from the contact of the greatness of God, so you will be able to think about things that are beyond what is normal. The same applies to your heart. If this movement manifests in your heart you will have a heart of light, or what is called a pure heart that is as wide as the ocean. That means it is good in every way; it is willing to give and to accept, to accept and to give. An example of this was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ had a heart described as ma ‘nawi [Arab.], which means a heart that is as wide as the ocean. So for him everything was acceptable; he never felt worried or anxious about anything. He simply surrendered to God and accepted the destiny given to him by God.

It is from this source that culture and art are born. Human beings who lived a long time ago were able spontaneously to find the contact with the greatness of God, because they were not so much under the influence of their desires, and this enabled them to create various kinds of culture and art. Clearly, you too are candidates for being truly artistic human beings, if you are able to achieve it. You really have that within you. So you have the potential for developing a culture of the soul, an art of human life, even if it is not so high as that received by artists in ages past.

Brothers and sisters, art is not just something that people need; it is the birthright of human beings as creatures of a high order. Moreover, if you are artistic, you will be a valuable person. Bapak will illustrate. Suppose that you are able to receive artistic talent in painting: if you have that artistic spark in your soul, your paintings will be different. They will be full of life, and will attract the attention of whoever looks at them. It will be the same if your receiving is in making something, such as a table or a chair. Even though they are just tables and chairs, the ones you make will be different. They will have life and will attract people’s attention.

So it is true that if you possess human culture you will become a valuable person. That is what God hopes for you: that you should understand how to live. For if a person lives according to God’s will, then even if they pursue profit, position or money – in short any kind of excellence – their actions will not depart from living in harmony with their fellow human beings. Being in accordance with God’s will, their desire to acquire something will not lead them to forget kindness.
...read the complete talk 64 WOB 4

Tunbridge Wells, England - September 16, 1979
Code Number : 79 TBW 1
Brothers and sisters, Bapak needs to explain a little bit about how all this is from the One Almighty God. It is from the One Almighty God that we receive the jiwa, the human jiwa. From the jiwa there develops the human way of life. The development that comes from the jiwa is called culture or civilization. Culture means the external things that grow out of the inner-self, so that eventually they are manifested in dancing or become the expertise of the people who eventually came to be called doctors, lawyers, engineers and so on. All that comes out of culture; all that is from the jiwa, and all that is also from the One Almighty God. Thus the fountainhead, the source of all knowledge, of all the knowledge that has already been received as well as all that which has not yet been received - all this is from the One Almighty God.

That is how it is, brothers and sisters, so that in reality the enterprises which Bapak is always urging you to do will not hinder you in your worship of the One Almighty God. On the contrary, they will show you the way to tap your resources so as to provide for your lives and so that you do not squander your energies. In Islam that is called amal ( good works ). To clarify this further, in Islam this is called amal ma'ruf nahi mungkar, which means the right, the best, kind of good works, which can prevent and avoid wrong actions and wrong behavior. That is the kind of amal which is praised and which is willed by the One Almighty God.
...read the complete talk 79 TBW 1

London, England - April 10, 1981
Code Number : 81 LON 9
But, if you look deeper at religion, there is more than that, because Bapak knows that in Islam, and certainly Bapak knows it is the same in Christianity, you are taught to truly find the meaning of the Al-Qoran, for example. You have to read the Al-Qoran so that you find the real inner reality or the inner proof of the Al-Qoran. That will enable you to receive through the Grace of Almighty God. That will bring you the proof in your everyday life of the guidance of the power of God. Similarly, in Christianity, you are taught to really understand the reality of the Bible.

There is advice given to members of all religions, but as far as Bapak knows, those who are really able to receive it are the prophets. It is the prophets only who have received it completely. People in general still treat religion as something ordinary, or something which is just an everyday practice. But those who can receive, those who are able to find that inner reality of the Al-Qoran, or the Bible, are then able to receive a proof, an outer proof in the form of something that can be seen as culture. For example, in the Christian church, people have received music, music that accompanies Christian worship. This is something that was originally received in the way that we receive the latihan kejiwaan.

Similarly, in Islam and in all religions, there is a culture that accompanies the religion. This culture originates from the inner self, or the life that is free from the influence of the nafsu. Bapak knows that this culture, or this movement of the inner self when It is free from the influence of the nafsu, is something that was much easier to receive in the olden days than it is now. In the olden days, the influence of the nafsu was not so strong. Today we have the cinema; we have the television; we have the newspapers; we have all sorts of things going on around us all the time.
...read the complete talk 81 LON 9

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 28, 1971
Living From The Jiwa
Fifteenth Talk At The Fourth World Congress
Code Number : 71 TJK 18
Bapak has said sometimes that all women want to look beautiful. Even if they are not naturally or truly beautiful, they try to become so. But you should know that if used in the wrong way, a beautiful appearance is a danger, because it becomes just like an article for trading.

So too with a man. His handsome appearance, his status and his cleverness are also dangerous if used wrongly - to humiliate or slander people. This was especially true of the handsome appearance of Dianaka ( or Ardjuna, one of the Pendawa brothers ) or Kumodjojo ( god of love ). When among women, they showed off their good looks. That is dangerous.

Hence Bapak suggests that those who are working in the arts, as developing at Skymont, for instance, should not be influenced by what is generally called culture - which comes from using the mind. You have to examine things from the inner, because the culture you have accepted so far amounts to nothing. If likened to schooling, it is still in the kindergarten stage and inconsiderable. If you manifest true culture, then when you just stand up there ( Bapak indicates the stage ), people will be amazed.

Similarly with material things. Once you have seen a diamond, you certainly know it sparkles. But despite its appearance it comes from carbon. Originally black stone, it always remains just stone. You can also have stone that will shine if gilded, but when the gilt wears off, it looks like dark stone again.
71 TJK 18

Osaka, Japan - June 2, 1982
Code Number : 82 OSA 2
( Testing )

That's all, brothers. Finish, finish! So brothers, as is now clear, you have witnessed that within the latihan kejiwaan there is the fullness of culture, or whatever human beings on earth have had made in their own right. culture reveals the civilization of the human race, for language itself derives from culture.
...read the complete talk 82 OSA 2

San Francisco, CA U.S.A. - July 13, 1959
Code Number : 59 SFO 4
That is why all of you in Subud really need the purification of your inner feeling. It is to prepare you, in order that in your life you may worship God and be aware of the life of your inner self; and not be closed up by everything you have become accustomed to.

So, for instance, suppose you are a ballerina: when you perform in a ballet, it will not be the desire of your heart but the power of God that makes you do it as you do, so all your actions become worship. That is to say, your legs and hands and your whole body become aware of the greatness of God. When that happens, when the dancing is from the soul and by the will of God, you will be able to feel it. Both those who see it and the one dancing will feel peaceful and alive. This is indeed what is needed by humanity, and this is true culture. However, generally these days people are not looking for this kind of culture, but for culture produced and refined by the thinking mind and by the passions. That is very different from the living culture that you will encounter in our Subud latihan, our worship of God.
...read the complete talk 59 SFO 4

S. Widjojo Center, Jakarta, Indonesia June 29, 1984
Code Number : 84 JKT 4
Bapak never said to you that you have to have faith in Bapak and you have to love Bapak. All Bapak ever said to you was: do the latihan kejiwaan. But the result is that you trust Bapak and you love Bapak. Now, the difference between. Subud and religion is that each religion contains it own dogma. Subud does not contain any dogma and therefore it can penetrate all religions.

For instance, we have just been visited by some Indian ladies from a yoga movement, who came to ask whether Subud can be mixed with their teaching. Bapak's reply was that, in Subud, everything is included; every way, every technique, every form of culture exists in Subud. And in Subud we have to develop this culture. Everywhere the result of Subud should be the development of our national characteristics. Because if every nation develops its national characteristics, then they will be close to God. Because what God loves is your own nature and not what you imitate. So if you can develop your national characteristics you will be close to God, and the result will be no hatred of one nation for another.
...read the complete talk 84 JKT 4

London, England - August 2, 1983
Code Number : 83 LON 2
Brothers and sisters, if you then say to yourself, "Oh, I would like to be as clever, as intelligent and as wise and as full of understanding as Prophet Abraham," that too is wrong, because it means that you are patterning yourself after someone else. What you need is your own understanding. If you try to have the wisdom and the understanding of Abraham, then you will forget your own name. What this means is that you have to find your own ability, you have to let your own ability develop through the latihan. For as long as that ability does not exist within you, it is no use trying to reach for it or to search for it or to let your imagination grope after it. Because that is not how it will come. That is not the origin of wisdom and understanding. That is why in the latihan you are trained bit by bit. You are trained first of all to use your legs, your hands. You learn little by little the use and the understanding of how to use each of your organs. That is why Bapak always tests with you, for example, "How does an Englishman walk?" "How does a Japanese person walk?" "How does a Frenchman walk?" And you become aware for yourself that although they all have legs, they all have the same kind of legs, they all walk differently. So this is the beginning of understanding. This is the beginning of your organs coming alive.

And this is also the beginning of culture. Because the meaning of culture is that it is something that arises spontaneously. culture is something that originates within the human being. It originates spontaneously and unconsciously - that is, not through planning or not through intention but as a spontaneous expression of something that is within a human being. So before people were able to express things or say things, the ability to speak or the ability of forming language was already implicit in man's being.

So the process of the latihan is a becoming aware spontaneously of the ability and the purpose of everything that is contained in man's being. And the way God gives to man, the way God teaches man is never inferior or cannot be surpassed by man's own search for knowledge. That is the way God develops you, and the way you learn from within is the most perfect way of learning. So to try to go faster, to try to go faster than what God has given you, is actually not possible and is of no profit to you.
...read the complete talk 83 LON 2

Cilandak, Indonesia - August 15, 1976
Code Number: 76 CDK 7
( Testing )

Just a little to begin with. This provides evidence that you can know the characteristics, the nature and ways of behavior, of any class of people or nation, so that you can adapt yourselves wherever you may be. Thus if you are in Europe, don't behave like someone in Solo, for instance. You should not be conspicuous, gewaarschuwd, as the Dutch say. So wherever you are you can adapt yourselves. Again.

( Testing )

Yes, yes, enough. Thus it is clear that Subud or the latihan kejiwaan of Subud contains all cultures, all the cultures of the world. You can dance as if you were Egyptian women, Indian women, women from anywhere and everywhere, so this latihan kejiwaan of Subud represents the source of all culture. And because this is worship of God, it can also be said that within the power of God lies the source of every culture.

( Testing )

Yes, yes. It is like that, brothers and sisters, so every movement of living creatures, if one can receive this, every movement has the quality of worship of God, for the movements are filled by the power of God, and so represent their recital of praise to God the Almighty. ( Testing )
...read the complete talk 76 CDK 7

Kendfield, England - May 27, 1976
Code Number : 76 KFD 6
The prophet Idris was the prophet whose voice and culture were very beautiful. It is said that here has been no prophet whose voice was as sweet as the voice of the prophet David. That is a symbol of how, in the time of Moses, human beings could already distinguish between good and evil, between right and wrong. That is why, when King Pharaoh pursued the prophet Moses to the Red Sea, the prophet Moses and his followers were able to pass through the Red Sea, but King Pharaoh and his soldiers were swallowed up in its waters.

That is symbolic that at that time human beings were beginning to be able to distinguish between good and bad, and they were also able to build up a civilization. That is, coincidentally with the existence of the Prophet, people began to have the skill to organize their countries, and to organize laws and regulations for their countries. culture and civilization were also beginning to exist.
...read the complete talk 76 KFD 6

London, England - May 29, 1976
Code Number : 76 LON 3
So brothers and sisters, Bapak does not tell you that God is testing you or that God wants to put you through an examination, but it is the latihan kejiwaan of Subud which you have received which is testing you, which puts a test in front of you. Can you grasp and get to know and understand the use of this latihan kejiwaan which you have received?

Brothers and sisters, another example is music. If for example you are a musician and you play the violin, if your arm, as you are moving the bow, is filled with the power of God, then it means that when you play, those who hear you, if they are sad they will become happy, if they are sick they will become healthy. It doesn't mean that if they are really poor they will then become rich ( laughter ). But it is really true that your playing will affect the feelings of the people listening, so someone who came sad will feel happy, and that is providing that your hand, your arm which plays the violin, is already filled with the power of God.

So it is clear, brothers and sisters that the latihan kejiwaan is the source of every culture, that from the latihan kejiwaan you can receive every kind of culture that man normally practices, that the whole human race experiences. Bapak has often tested this with you, but the trouble is that the testing is not yet the reality. In other words you have received ( and all of you have experienced this already, that Bapak tests with you ): 'How are the movements or the behavior or the dancing of such-and-such a race different from your own?' And at the same time that you can see it, you can feel it, you can do the movements.
...read the complete talk 76 LON 3

Cilandak, Indonesia - October 18, 1969
5th talk at 5th Indonesian national congress
Code Number : 69 TJK 11
Here in Java there is also a story of how once upon a time there lived a princess named Putri Tjandrakirana who also wept when she was sad, but as she wept she too sang a very sweet song, and when she was feeling happy and content she sang a melody whose sound had a deep effect upon the inner feeling of those who heard it.

Such a story indicates the high jiwa of the princess, whose character was a fine and noble one, so that whatever she said or expressed arose not from her heart and mind but from her djiwa. It is just this kind of expression that is called culture. So culture of this nature is called the culture of life, because it comes from the djiwa and can awaken the jiwa to one who hears it. By the Grace of God, you are now able to have something of this kind, only in fact you have not yet reached the point at which you can receive it, because the purification of your inner feeling is not yet completed. But in spite of this, you have been able to receive and feel it a little; that is to say, at times when you are receiving and following the way of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud you sometimes utter a sound that is strange to you. Therefore the best thing for you is to do the latihan kejiwaan faithfully, but with patience, quietly and calmly following its way, which is essentially guidance and direction from the Power of the One Almighty God.

Indeed, brothers and sisters, in all this the best thing to do is simply and solely to surrender to God's Will, with patience, trustful acceptance and sincere submission. So, as far as possible, you should not feel confused or think that if you do not use your heart and mind you will easily go astray. That is just where the mistake lies, because in the case mentioned above you cannot make use of heart and mind, and can do nothing but surrender to the One God. It is true, brothers and sisters, that if you simply surrender your hearts and minds, you might assume it is as though you were saying it does not matter. But make no mistake, indifference before God means it is you who are stupid and Almighty God Who is clever and Who knows. Clearly, then, if you really feel yourself to be stupid before God, only God is clever and knowledgeable, and you become clever and knowledgeable because of God. This is something you will be able to know and feel later on, when the process of purification in your inner feeling has gone rather a long way. ...read the complete talk 69 TJK 11

At Anugraha - London, England - October 25, 1986
Code Number : 86 LON 3
There are those who say, 'Well then what is the direction of the latihan?' The latihan has only one direction, and that is towards Almighty God. Because there's a saying in Islam which says: we come from God and we return to God. And we face that reality every day and every night.

When Bapak considers what people have told Bapak and also when we look at what Bapak has told us, it's really very fortunate that we have the latihan in the way we do. That we can worship God by continuing our daily lives. For instance, a film star continues to be a film star, a clown continues to be a clown. God will give us whatever we need, to the capacity we have, in every field of culture.

If we view this from the point of view of the spiritual, where does singing come from? Where does dancing come from? What is the origin of these things? Dancing first came from Almighty God. Dancing first came from the churches, and singing from the mosques and temples. All culture comes from Almighty God. So in Subud we can also dance and we can also sing. You wouldn't think that Bapak could dance like a Frenchman, or maybe that Bapak could dance like an Englishman. Maybe Bapak can actually dance better than a Frenchman. How come?

Because Bapak receives it from Almighty God. Bapak will show you this later on, maybe not Bapak himself.

An Englishman can act like a German or a German can act like an Englishman. And later Bapak will show you this so you can really believe it and understand and really feel it for yourselves. Because the latihan could be said to be something that is strange but true. ( Bapak repeats this in English )

So while this talk is very short it is actually filled with things that are very important for you. And so that now you can really feel it and understand it, Bapak now wants to do some latihan and testing with you.
...read the complete talk 86 LON 3

Bogata, Columbia - November 14, 1977
Code Number : 77 BOG 1
Brothers and Sisters, it is clear that this latihan which maybe appears trivial or like child's play or something very ordinary is, nevertheless, for us a tremendous gift and a tremendous opportunity - because even if we can only receive it to the lowest level, it will still bring us great happiness, because it will enable us to discover our true talent and our true value as a human being. This is what is called the culture that comes from the jiwa or the culture of life.

Blonay, Switzerland - August 15, 1977
Code Number : 77 BLN 1
Brothers and Sisters, this latihan is something we have all experienced now - we all know what its nature is. And those of you who are older, who maybe have read a lot and lived a long time and have informed yourself about history and what happened in the old days, surely in all your reading and all your study you have never come across anything in man's spiritual life, or in man's efforts to worship God, that is like this Latihan Kejiwaan - because there has never been anything in the world up till now which could unite people of different nationalities and different religions, and make them united as one Brotherhood. This is something very clear, because people of different religions still cling to their own picture or their own interpretation of what is contained in their religion.

For example, if you take Muslims, let alone Arabs, they certainly imagine that, say, an angel - the angel must look like that - it must be someone with a turban, and that special kind of suit that Arabs wear. And if they think that way about angels, then probably they think the same about God - that God belongs to that general set-up. It is the same with different religions. So it means that man, no matter where he is or who he is, is still influenced and is still limited by his culture and by his experience and what he has experienced in his life. So as long as mankind is limited by that - by their culture and by their upbringing and by their society and so on - how can man ever be united? Not only people of different religions, but even people of the same religion. Take Catholics and Protestants. They can never be united, they can never agree about anything. Look at Ireland now - in Northern Ireland where Protestants and Catholics are fighting each other. They both believe in Jesus Christ, they are both Christians, but they fight. Same with Muslims - Egypt and Libya, for example. They both say they are Muslims but they fight each other.

So it is clear that as long as man is left to himself, people are never able to agree about anything, to be united and to be as one. That is why what is most important is that this latihan has now been received by mankind which can really bring together, make as one, people of different religions and different nationalities. This is what mankind is really looking for - this latihan that we have received, because this can really bring people together as one. And maybe - Bapak doesn't know - maybe man has received this latihan now because man has gone too far, has gone too fast with the advance of his mind and with his understanding. But he needs something now that can bring him back to a peaceful state, a peace of mind and a quiet inner feeling where he can really be aware of being one with his fellow human beings.
...read the complete talk 77 BLN 1

Edinburgh, Scotland - July 1, 1977
Code Number : 77 EDI 1
This, actually, has the result that there are places in the world where there are human beings who have no culture at all - like, for example, if you go to what is called in the West, West New Guinea. There are still people living there who do not wear clothes at all, let alone have any ability to till the soil or to do anything of that kind - they simply exist in the jungle. Do not imagine that these people are something new, that they are somehow people who got made later on and therefore haven't sort of caught up with the rest of humanity. On the contrary, they are descended from the same people as you and Bapak are descended from - they are descended all from the original man who was first created by God. That is, from mankind as it originally existed. So all these people - they are descended from the same people as us. But they belong to the people who separated out because they were lazy, because they didn't want to work, whereas we are descended from people who like to use their heart and mind and like to work hard. If you watch, if you observe how people like this live - they, in fact, are satisfied as long as they have had something to eat.

For example, if they go out in the morning and they succeed in catching a fish and eat it, then they are satisfied. After that they just go to sleep because there's nothing more to do. In other words, they do not want, they do not like, to use their heart and mind to develop anything or to make anything. So the result is that gradually the heart and mind become blunt - in other words, they can't work, they're useless. People like this, people in that state - this quality is handed down from generation to generation until there develops a new quality, which is that they no longer have faith in God Almighty: they just have faith in anything that is around them which they are frightened of. For example, near where they live is a big cave with a dark mouth - and so they are scared. When they look at it, they feel scared. Then they make up ail sorts of fantasies about them, so that in this cave there lives some great demon which looks like a man, only it has eyes as big as kettle drums and has teeth - about this long, and so on. Actually, what they do is they make a story to scare themselves, so that gradually they are not only lazy but they are scared; they gradually become people who are too frightened to do anything at all. In other words, they are frightened of themselves. They are frightened of their own actions - and this is the nature of the descendants of people who have got used to avoiding the use of their intelligence and their heart and mind which God gave them.

It is different in our case because we have descended from people who liked to work hard and developed a culture. Don't imagine, then, that somehow there are different kinds of humanity and that God made some people and then, later on, made some new people who are therefore backward and haven't had time to catch up. Actually, all mankind was created about the same time all over the earth. In history - if we read history - maybe the history of man only goes back 50,000 years. But if you ask Bapak, what Bapak has received, or according to the knowledge of the jiwa, actually Bapak knows that man has existed in this world for about 3,000,000 or 4,000,000 years - and Bapak knows this because also this earth undergoes a change about every 7,000,000 years. So this again is something that Bapak knows only from his receiving. But nowadays scientists are beginning to discover that this is indeed the case. In fact, it was long, before Bapak read about these things in newspapers or magazines, Bapak had received that what are now the North and South Poles were previously on the Equator, and what are now East and West were once the North and South Poles. Bapak knows very well that under the ice cap of the North and South Poles - if you were able to excavate and dig down - you would find coal; and coal, as you know, is something that is an indication that before in that area there was thick jungle - maybe layers and layers of it. It is clear, then, that the world is not static but is always changing; and man, actually, has lived on this earth for a very, very long time.
...read the complete talk 77 EDI 1

Woodstock, VT U.S.A. - September 12, 1977
Code Number : 77 WOS 1
There is always some kind of singing or chanting in churches or mosques or other places of worship; singing or chanting of melodies or chants which are really very pleasant to the ear, very melodious and affecting to the feelings. Thus it is clear that human worship of God is something that makes people happy and joyful, something that really makes them accustomed to come into the presence of God as a child comes to its parents. This has also been explained by Christ and by the prophet Muhammad, so that people feel that death is the continuation of life. In fact, it really is like that, brothers and sisters; death is not something that sets a limit to human life, but it is the continuation of human life.

This is why we have the symbol of the cross. It signifies being between this world and the next, between this world and the life after death; and Subud, the Latihan Kejiwaan of Subud, is as if what you receive and practice is really proof of this. You seem to feel happy and joyful in the Latihan Kejiwaan of Subud and so you do not fear it. No. Well, because what people usually do in Subud is not in accordance with what they usually do when they are studying spiritual matters in the way that this has been done in the past, people who are not in Subud say that the Subud latihan is not really a spiritual training but a physical training.

On the contrary; this is the right way. This is the way that is willed by the One Almighty God. Out of the nature of this Latihan Kejiwaan, which is characterized by these movements, culture is born. What is culture? It is the skill of the inner-self. Bapak takes an animal as an example. Take the skill of a goat, for instance. A goat cannot have the functions of other animals, such as cows or tigers, but it remains a goat; that is, it bleats 'baa, baa'. Thus it is the nature of the Latihan Kejiwaan of Subud that all of you, when the moment comes, will express your own skill and your own origins, or what, in human terms, are called your natural or original traits.

With this, you will be able to find your right way; that is, the way of your inner-selves. It is usual, brothers and sisters, for people to study spiritual matters in accordance with the opinions held by those who have formed these opinions in the past, so that whether it is suitable for them or not, they follow the wishes of those who hold these opinions. Whereas each person is different, each person possesses his or her own individuality and skills. Well, each person worships God through these individualities and skills, according to his or her own way, and does not turn aside in some other direction. That is the nature of the Latihan Kejiwaan of Subud, and it is therefore as if the latihan kejiwaan of Subud aims you in the direction which is individual to your own self, which is your own truth and reality, and then you will not imitate other people or their opinions.
...read the complete talk 77 WOS 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 12, 1986
Code Number : 86 CDK 6
Whose God is God? God is God of human beings, and God of all creatures, not just God of one nation. Surely, then, God understands all languages, not only those of human beings, but also those of animals, plants, and satanic beings. If God didn't understand all languages, He would not be God. So, I gave the name the latihan kejiwaan of Susila Budhi Dharma. Susila means good behavior, true human behavior, the way of life of true human beings, that is, human beings who are civilized, not uncivilized like some people who live in the jungle. Budhi means that within man there is a secret power. And Dharma means good works, surrender and putting into practice everything God has given. The world exists because of God's dharma. Human beings exist because of God's dharma. So the meaning of Susila Budhi Dharma, or Subud, is the way of life of human beings in accordance with God's will. If you live the way of life of a true human being, brothers and sisters, life is not just a matter of breathing; everything, all your behavior and actions are known to God, your creator.

When Subud had not yet spread, brothers and sisters, Bapak himself was experiencing change. Whenever Bapak said his prayers, he began to pray in the usual Muslim way, 'Allahu Akbar', but then, his arms would start to move by themselves, like this ... I was surprised to find myself going through the movements of a dance. Then I would move like this ... This is Javanese self-defense... English self-defense is like this ( boxing ). All culture is there within the self of man, and comes from Almighty God. . . . Culture is there within a human being, even though he or she hasn't studied it.
...read the complete talk 86 CDK 6

New York, NY U.S.A. - May 13, 1959
Code Number : 59 NYC 5
( Testing )

After these melodies are born or expressed, they are followed by movement - dance. Indeed, art and genuine culture are the will of God for human beings and for the human individuality - that is, a culture that can accompany human beings and serve as a means to move their inner self. For movements that come from the human self are essential to bring about the health of one's whole being. This is why there are many people who look for the truth and the reality within the arts that exist in this world, in the hope that, by means of these arts, they will be able to find the way to come into contact with the greatness of God.

The reality will be evident to those of you who have had small children. Even if you don't have children, certainly you will have seen your newborn brother or sister, or another small child. A child who is still small doesn't yet understand the pleasures of this world, but if they listen to a melody they will look as if they are falling asleep, as if it feels very nice. Then, after hearing that, they will sometimes spontaneously wake up and start to make movements -movements that are not from imitating anybody but from within. This shows that the melody had its origin in the human soul, the soul within a human being.

This is different from all of you, who are already grown up. Even if the song is sung a thousand times, your thoughts still continue to roam around! But with this spiritual training all of you, without wishing, without knowing, can spontaneously experience the same state as when you were a small child. Clearly, you are grown up only in years and in your heart, but still small children in the state of your human soul. You are not yet able to think about the meaning of what God has given to you because, well, it's still impossible for this little child, this baby, to use its understanding properly. So if you still make use of your thinking mind for your spiritual progress, it means you are closing the way for your soul to develop.
...read the complete talk 59 NYC 5

Lisbon, Portugal - May 15, 1981
Code Number : 81 LIS 1
Mankind is really all one, brothers and sisters, and all share one common origin. There are no human beings who have only recently been created. Why are there some who are still without any culture or civilization, like the people in Irian Jaya ( New Guinea ) or in Southern Africa? In Africa, as in Europe itself perhaps, and as in Asia, there are many people, many tribes of people, who are still unfamiliar with clothes, with money, with the rules which they themselves need to follow; that is, with the rule of law. Why are they still like that? Because they are lazy. Their laziness stultifies the content of their heads. They live without making any kind of effort and without any prayer to God. You pray to God to give you what you lack, so that you may receive this and so that it may be given to you by the power of God. It is said in one of the ayats of the Koran, and it is also said in the Gospels, that God will not give guidance to anyone who does not ask for it, not will he give it to anyone who has no will to advance. Thus if you just go on as you are, God will not bother about you or give you anything. You are therefore trained to live - the whole of you - so that your mind, being alive, can pray to God in freedom from the nafsu.

It is thus true, brothers and sisters, that the latihan kejiwaan is the source of culture and civilization. As time goes on, brothers and sisters, you will know and understand more and more that the movements you make in the latihan kejiwaan will open the way for you, so that you will be able to know your own talents and to answer your own questions and analyze your own problems. In this way you will take some of the work off Bapak. At the present time there are not all that many Subud members, but if later on they run into millions and if each of them sends a letter to Bapak there will be millions of letters, so that Bapak would never get any rest all the year or all the day long. He would never have any time to rest. Because you yourselves can answer your problems - for problems there are certain to be - you will receive progress in your own spiritual development, for your own selves. You can also answer questions, and especially the helpers can answer questions put forward by the members. In this way you will be an example to show people who are not in Subud that Subud is a latihan kejiwaan which is really very beneficial and helpful for human life.
...read the complete talk 81 LIS 1

Wolfsburg, Germany - April 23, 1981
Code Number : 81 WOB 1
When Bapak came to England in 1957, he began opening the people who at that time belonged to the Gurdjieff spiritual group and they asked one another why, if Pak Subuh was a spiritual man, did he still wear clothes like a Westerner, wearing shoes and a nice tie, a good suit, when usually such men let their beards and moustaches grow long and wore shabby, dirty clothes. But Pak Subuh was different. V.V. himself at that time also questioned whether Pak Subuh really was a highly spiritual man. Eventually he came right out with it and frankly acknowledged his mistake to Bapak. Bapak said it did not matter. Bapak does not blame people who do not yet know. Bapak compares it to the way that at school the children in class seven or class six will not blame the children who are still in class one if they can only manage just so much - "I am in class six", they say, "so I know more than they do." Thus it is clear that people who know more will not blame the mistakes made by people who know less, as I told V.V.

That is how it is, brothers and sisters, so let me say, as I usually do say, that you are included in a group of very fortunate people, to whom God has granted His grace ( wahyu ) and has given something which human beings could never possibly discover with their minds. That is how it is, brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters, the latihan kejiwaan of Susila Budhi Dharma you are following is therefore clearly the source of all knowledge and all culture. Indeed, brothers and sisters, the place, the source, from which all culture and all knowledge arise is the power of God. The reason why Bapak says that is because to do the latihan kejiwaan is like being in the presence of the power of God, and the reason we are able to worship Him is because of God. This is clear, brothers and sisters; you cannot deny or ignore the evidence of your own inner-feelings. When you were first opened you felt within your selves what the latihan was like. When Bapak's hand vibrates, that is, the vibration of the light of life which is called the khatir ilham; that is, the vibration of the light of' life which is called the light of the Holy Spirit or Roh Ilofi. You felt it at that time and you wondered what this was that you felt within your selves.
...read the complete talk 81 WOB 1

Lisbon, Portugal - May 21, 1981
Code Number : 81 LIS 2
The history of religion shows that human beings have to believe in the miraculous, in things which are beyond the ordinary; that is, to believe in what are called miracles, strange things which are beyond our reach, and yet we can reach them if God so wills. Thus impossible things can happen, impossible things can be accomplished, and things which are so bad that they cannot possibly be put right can be put right by God.

This is why Bapak always advises you, brothers and sisters, that when you are in a state of doubt or confusion, when you are worried or feeling bad, you should surrender everything, whatever it is, to the power of God, as if you were about to do the latihan, or as when you were opened. At the time when you were opened you felt that there was a life within your self which was beyond your understanding. Yes, since you have received and practiced the latihan kejiwaan, and if you are really able and willing to feel it, then when you say "Allah, Allah, Allah," it is as if you do not know what causes you to utter this word. It is as if you are being made to do it. Yes, of course, brothers and sisters, you have in your hearts the wish to understand the meaning of these things. Ah yes, of course; you need to understand and you have to understand that in the spiritual field you are like newborn children. You are like babies, who say "ma, ma, ma", and the parents declare that this means "mummy". Some people also say that "ma, ma, ma" means "ma'em ( makem - food ).

Thus although you are now being trained in the field of the perfect life, you are still at the level which is, as Bapak just said, for children. Will it always be so? No, brothers and sisters, God knows how the latihan which you have received will continue from this point. You will be trained so that you go on from "ma, ma, ma" to "a, a, a” so that you understand that this is "ak-aaku" ( aku - I ). This is the development of culture and civilization. This is why experts in the spiritual life say that language was born out of gesture, out of actions. There are still people who use this kind of language, as in China and Japan. Chinese written characters illustrate their meaning, but Roman lettering does not. It has changed its nature, so that it now conveys the present mental ( rather than physical ) image.

The latihan kejiwaan of Subud seems quite ordinary, brothers and sisters; it looks like children at play, but out of it there will arise and develop the culture and civilization of human life. When Bapak first experienced the latihan, brothers and sisters, and before he had transmitted it to other people, he first did like this, praying in the manner of Islam. At that time Bapak understood what was the intention behind the way Muslims worship God. After doing that Bapak next did like this ...., he danced. In the kejiwaan the dividing line between passively crossed arms and active dance does not exist, although that distinction is made in the rules of religion. That is why religion forbids people to dance. Why is that? It is because dancing is for enjoyment, but if one does like this, it is for God. But if, through the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, one has grasped the lines on which this prohibition is laid down, then there is no dividing line between the two. Whether you are doing this ... or this ... there is no break in your worship of God; it does not stop. Well, this is already there to be seen in the latihan kejiwaan. You sing in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud; you keep on singing, and your singing is the worship of the One Almighty God, because it does not arise out of the mind and heart, and is not under the influence of the nafsu. Yes, at present it is without any shape or melody, but later on, as in the example of Bapak himself, when Bapak sings it certainly has a content. It has a content of teaching; of teaching which is good for human beings. Bapak is not selling his songs, but just suppose, for instance, that he sings like this:

If you wish to know

What I am saying

It is clearly from the power

From the power of God which is in my inner-self.

That has a meaning, but up to the present what you sing has no meaning. It is just for the sake of singing something, like the babble of a small child. A small child may sound as if it were singing, but there is no meaning in it, it is just "e-eye-eye". You are also like that, there is nothing in it yet. Thus you - though not all of you - on the scale of levels in the kejiwaan which leads to perfection, you can still be said to be on the level of children. But that is already quite satisfactory, for these are human children, not baby goats.
...read the complete talk 81 LIS 2

Baden, Austria - May 5, 1981
Code Number : 81 VIE 1
This proof came to Bapak through the way Bapak himself received it. Bapak is a Muslim, and the reason Bapak calls himself a Muslim is because his parents were Muslims and their parents were also Muslims, so it was logical that Bapak has received this in the form of Islam. In other words, Bapak received the latihan in the form of a Muslim prayer but, very soon afterwards, his receiving changed spontaneously to embrace other things: dancing, self-defense, different types of movement, every kind of behavior and culture that exists in human life.

Bapak can draw another example: why is it that in the world today there are still people in West Iran, people in Africa, people maybe still in the Americas, who lack every kind of civilization and culture? They don't wear clothes, they live as savages in the jungle. And yet God created man once and for all. God does not create people every week or every month; God's creation was once and for always. God created man once and that was it, so actually all men are equal. It is no use saying that these people, these savages are not human beings: they are human beings. They are just the same as you or I and all of us here. The proof is that if you take a child from the jungle of West Iran and put him into a school here, he will be able to learn, he will be able to study, he will be able to go to university and become a doctor or an engineer. There is no difference; so why then are they like that, and we like this?
...read the complete talk 81 VIE 1

Wisma Subud, - Cilandak, Indonesia - June 24, 1984
Code Number : 84 CDK 5
It is clear, brothers and sisters, that Subud, the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, is not received as a result of a particular religion. It is not an extension of Islam or an extension of Christianity. It does not originate from a particular religion. It originates from the power of the One Almighty God. For, indeed, today, the world is no longer as it used to be. The distance from Jakarta to London today is very short. You can go there in a day and come back again. So the distances between different countries and people of different cultures, different religions and different races are no longer as great: they are no longer separated in the way they used to be.

All of this is aimed at one thing: to teach us Subud members that there are no differences between' people; no differences between human beings of different cultures, different countries and different religions. To prove it to you Bapak has given his own grandchildren in marriage to people of a difference race, of a different continent and of different countries. Truly, you must become aware that there must be no fanaticism, no feeling of superiority nor any feeling of distance between those of us of different countries and different religions.

The reality is very different. The reality we all are aware of is that if ten people are opened, ten people leave. If a hundred people are opened, maybe ninety leave. Or if a thousand people are opened maybe nine hundred leave: so at most, we are left with a hundred. This situation is the effect of the lack of material wherewithal or the unsatisfied material needs of the members concerned. It is the disturbance or the pressure of these needs which causes people who have received the latihan to fall away. Whereas, if they only realized it, in this latihan kejiwaan, every human activity, every human need, every aspect of human life, is included in its development. Whether it is culture or work; whether it relates to physical movements, like dancing here in Indonesia; or whether it relates to the thinking, to the intelligence, to understanding this and that: all this is included in the latihan.

Truly, man cannot fulfill the needs of his life in this world, man cannot find his way in this world if he is not guided, if he is not able to receive the culture or understanding of life that comes from within which is given by the power of Almighty God.
...read the complete talk 84 CDK 5

London, England - March 22, 1981
Code Number : 81 LON 1
Subud has now been active in Europe for about twenty-five years, during which there has been peace. Bapak feels that the world very much needs the Latihan kejiwaan of Subud, for the spiritual world is the source of every kind of culture and civilization. Yes, that is true; people who do not understand come to understand and those who formerly never understood are caused to understand ( about their lives ). If someone has a talent for the violin, for instance, the Latihan kejiwaan will develop it. If music really is someone's talent, he will become outstanding, like the prophet David, the sound of whose flute alone could cure the sick and comfort the sad. That is how it is if someone's talent is for music. If the talent is for architecture, it is the same way for an architect. He has studied his architecture at some school, like everyone else, but what he creates will be interesting and attractive.

The Latihan kejiwaan is the source of every kind of living culture. Supposing your talent is to be a violinist. Then, through the Latihan kejiwaan, that talent should grow, so that when you play the violin that sound that you make really is some benefit to others You know the story of the prophet David, who Just by playing his flute was able to cure people who were sick, or people who were depressed, so it ( his talent ) was of some use.

Or, if you are an architect, you will bring out something new, so that, compared to other architects who studied in the same school, you will be able to create something attractive In other words, like that soil Bapak talked about; when the rain falls, it; produces food so people around you can eat; people around you get some benefit from what you have received. Or a doctor, if he always only Just practices what he learned in medical school, then that is like the marshy soil; everything that he has received he just keeps to himself, and nothing grows; it is of no benefit.

And yet people frequently explain especially in Islam, they always say, "Allah Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar," God is all loving, God is all gracious - where is the proof that God loves man if man is unable to show evidence of God's love? Why then is his life still like that? Bapak has put this to the test, but the one who tries it out shouldn't be only Bapak; it should be all of you!
...read the complete talk 81 LON 1

The Prerequisite For Progress
Bapak's First Talk In Sri Lanka - March 13, 1981
Everything depends on the power of God. Everything happens according to God's Will. Which is why the latihan kejiwaan is universal and can be received by people of every race, every culture, every religion. As you know, Subud can receive every kind of Christian: Protestants, Catholics, all sorts of sects and beliefs. Subud can receive them all. Similarly, in Islam, there are many schools, many sects and many different beliefs. Subud can receive all of them. Also, Hindus, Buddhists and people without any religion can also receive the latihan. The effect of the latihan is to broaden your knowledge, your under­standing and your knowledge of this world. In the latihan you can receive many different forms of culture, the different ways of life of human beings all over the world: From this you know that the purpose of the latihan kejiwaan is to broaden your being, to encompass more and more of human life.
...read the complete talk - Sri Lanka - March 13, 1981

Melbourne, Australia - April 15, 1976
Code Number : 76 MEB 3
o because this latihan kejiwaan, as Bapak said earlier, is something which comes from beyond our minds; we cannot understand or know how it works. When we do the latihan kejiwaan, let us say we sing something in the latihan kejiwaan. It is something unconscious. We do not know where it comes from. If we try to understand it, we think to ourselves, "Why isn't it according to the 'do, re, me, fa, sol, la, re, do! that we sing? Why isn't it like that? Why is it something quite different?" But yet it comes from within us. So, it is the same way in our work. When we are already used to it, when we know it, it will be something that fills whatever we do. We will be taught to do everything that we need to do in our work. We will be taught to do it in the right way. So we will he trained to laugh. If we are trained to laugh it means we will also be trained to quarrel. And this is something very important. For example, quarrel between husband and wife. If it is guided by God, well let us say, quarreling between husband and wife is something that's already normal for mankind. If Bapak may say so, it is a form of culture. And one can say, it is said, that quarreling between husband and wife awakens a new love, a fresh love between them. But this is if the quarreling is aroused by God's power, by God Almighty. But if the quarreling is aroused by the nafsu, then far from leading to fresh love, it will lead to what is usually called divorce. So it is very important. And, as Bapak said, why is it that in the wayang, I don't know if you know the wayang, it's the Indonesian shadow play, when they are about to fight, they sing, 'I am about to hit you". And then he says, "All right, have a try." And then he says, "O.K., never mind." But if it's from the nafsu, before he’s even thought about it he's already hit the guy. So this is the difference. This is the difference when you are able already to work accompanied by the power of God which we feel in the latihan kejiwaan.
...read the complete talk 76 MEB 3

Chicago, Ill U.S.A. - May 2, 1972
Code Number : 72 CHI 2
Once when he was following the latihan kejiwaan, Bapak suddenly saw before him a wide ocean, with great waves upon the water, which were very frightening, very terrifying. Bapak watched the waves on this wide ocean for a long time, and as he watched a kind of channel appeared in front of Bapak, a kind of waterway. Then Bapak received and understood that he was being told to drink up the waters of the ocean which lay before him. Bapak did as he was told and drank the waters of the ocean. Before long the ocean was all gone, all finished, Then Bapak asked in his heart, "What does this mean?” An inward picture came to him, but he saw it; he really did see it. "I can drink up all the water in an ocean as wide as this and it is all gone." Then he was told inwardly, "You know that you are the vessel of every kind of culture, every kind of human achievement. That means that all the knowledge and wisdom of this world are within you. You have finished it all. You are indeed willed to possess this, so that you can serve all the people of the whole world."So every night, night after night, Bapak followed this latihan, he had not yet given this to anyone else, which means Bapak had not yet opened anyone at all.
...read the complete talk 72 CHI 2

San Francisco, California - April 24, 1976
Code Number : 76 SFO 2
hat is how it is, brothers and sisters, and so you do the latihan kejiwaan of Subud not to get promotion, for instance, not to increase your income in trade or business. No, you do it to worship God, in order to feel how your life will be later on after you leave this world. But thequietness of your soul, brothers and sisters, the quietness of your feelings, will also cause something to grow in you that is beyond the ordinary. You will be able to find something beyond the ordinary. Thus it is clear, brothers and sisters, that a kind of kebudajaan or culture is born of human beings who follow the commandments of God. It is born of human beings who truly worship God with patience, trust and sincere submission.
...read the complete talk 76 SFO 2

Colombo, Sri Lanka - October 16, 1958
Code Number : 58 CMB 1
So it's clear: what you have received, ladies and gentlemen, is not something new which comes from somewhere; but comes from your own inner self which is joined to you and one with you from the time you were born until the day you die. However, what is the point of your being one with it, ladies and gentlemen, if you do not understand, if you do not feel, if you cannot receive? For this reason, ladies and gentlemen, from the very outset in Subud, you each began to be introduced to who is within your self. Naturally, at that moment, your heart felt something new, something strange; because this was the first time your heart and desires could be bowed down or could bow down before the power of God.Having been introduced to your inner self in this way, ladies and gentlemen, you will gradually be able to receive and understand how is your right way in life that you need to act on and carry out, and does no harm to your worship of the One God.

And you will be able to receive, little by little, the true culture, the true teaching, the true guidance of God that does not breach your own capacity. So you will always be guided; you will always be able to receive within the measure of your strength, in a way which will not harm your nature, either inwardly or outwardly. Of course, you cannot receive what you need right away, all at once, because you do not yet understand and you cannot understand more than God. And God knows your strength for receiving the gift of God.For, by always receiving what God gives you, that is, what you are given in the latihan, not only your heart, but your soul also will be cleaned. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, everything within your being that is not right or is still wrong, has to be put right and straightened out, so that you will be in a good state to be able to receive what you need for your life.
...read the complete talk 58 CMB 1

Wolfsburg, Germany - April 26, 1981
Code Number : 81 WOB 2
Brothers and sisters, before starting his talk, Bapak says to you all: Good morning and welcome. Bapak has commented before that the Subud latihan kejiwaan is the source of all culture. Bapak says all because the Subud latihan kejiwaan is all-embracing. We have received the proof of this in the latihan we constantly practice. There is a great variety of movements of which we follow different ones. This is already the case for physical movements, before we go on to such habits as dancing, behavior patterns and - in short - all human practices, since we can meet them all in the Subud latihan kejiwaan. This will permit you all to receive, feel and know the states of other people in the world in addition to your own. Eventually, through it, people come to know, understand and love each other better, since the Subud latihan kejiwaan enables them to gain better insight into their fellow-man's nature and customs. Clearly then, the Subud latihan kejiwaan represents a practical teaching which shows how people of different races can understand one another and live together in harmony, as taught by their respective religions. And if this can become a reality, brothers and sisters, if it spreads, peace and calm will be established in the world. Let us hope, brothers and sisters, that Subud may progress in parallel with the activities of the United Nations, so that they may regulate external affairs while the Subud latihan kejiwaan guides spiritual matters.
...read the complete talk 81 WOB 2

London, England - April 20, 1981
Code Number : 81 LON 12

There is nothing that is right to be followed except the orders of Almighty
God which exist in the latihan kejiwaan:
The source of culture for mankind which already exists in the good news
Originating in the Will of Almighty God.
It is this which, in fact, is hoped for:
For truly this is the best way for man to live.
There is no other way than this.
None apart from the Decree of God Almighty which becomes the guideline for man's life.
In truth, this is God's Command.
...read the complete talk 81 LON 12

London, England - July 31, 1983
Code Number : 83 LON 1
This is something that has been given to man by Almighty God by way of the Holy Books, in this case the Al Koran, that is the Holy Book of Islam. And indeed God has given this kind of teaching or this kind of understanding to man many, many times over, actually in every religion, in every culture, in every civilization, God has given this guidance to man. But what is the use of so much guidance, of so much advice if man cannot put it into practice? What is the use if man receives advice 1000 times a day if he does not put it into practice? It is of no use at all. It is no use to be clever in theory, to be able to theorize about how man becomes better. It is like knowing how to plant a tree that will bear delicious fruit - but if you have never yourself planted one then you don't have the proof. The Afa'al shows that such a person has not yet been able to demonstrate what he has received from God. Such is the case of this lailtul Qodar - it is described in religion but where do we see its reality?
...read the complete talk 83 LON 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - February 17, 1982
Code Number : 82 CDK 1
One time Bapak received in a latihan that there was a wide ocean in from of him and on the ocean he saw waves. That was in latihan brothers, and sisters, not in a dream. It was like when one sees things in the latihan with the eyes of the jiwa. Then, after a while, a dam appeared before Bapak, and right in front of Bapak there was a gate, like a sluice-gate. Bapak saw that the gate was closed. There was a dyke with this sluice-gate in it. Then the gate was opened and the water flowed out; all the water in the ocean. Then it was as if Bapak was impelled to go and stand in front of the gate and it was as if Bapak’s mouth was opened – yes, Bapak opened his mouth but it was as if it was not opened by Bapak’s will – and the water flowed into his mouth – it did not take very long but it was flowing very fast indeed. Then I saw that were formerly there had been that great ocean, there was now dry land, all the ocean had disappeared. So where had all the water gone to? It had gone into Bapak’s stomach and evaporated. After that Bapak was still in latihan and in that state he was able to ask about it. Yes, by the grace of God, Bapak was conscious of what was happening and could ask what it all meant. The answer came in Bapak’s own heart, there was no voice telling him what it meant, which was that all culture was now inside Bapak himself and that he could know all of it. I did not say yes or no, but just kept quiet. After the latihan I just felt and thought about it and wondered how it could be possible for me to know and do all these things. Again the answer came in my heart, “Why not? Of course you can, if that is what God wills”.
...read the complete talk 82 CDK 1

Cilandak, Indonesia - June 22, 1982
Code Number : 82 CDK 3
Well, Bapak is an example to show you that you can and should have these things, but can you do it? Why not? The Lord God is One God for all, and He does not pick and choose, but we are all equal before Him. It is up to us human beings. That is why in the Koran it is said that God will not change anyone’s fate unless that person himself wishes to change it. Thus you must not just blame the Lord God if you are stupid and ignorant. Yes, this is how it is, brothers and sisters. According to the proofs in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud, it is a source of everything needed in human life. Your movements when you follow the latihan demonstrate that these are of many kinds, showing that both the customs and behavior of all mankind can be known through the guidance and direction present in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. Take for instance, yoga training; is there no yoga to be found in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud? Yes, there is. Pencak silat training, all kinds of pencak silat ( Indonesian art of self-defense ), or nowadays there is judo - are these not to be found in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud? They are! And more besides - music and dancing; there are Javanese dances such as the bedoyo and srimpi. Arab dances, like the Egyptian belly- dance - are these to be found in Subud? Yes, they are! Are there dances like those of France, of Austria and of all the other countries? Yes, there are! In short, everything is to be found in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. It is clear that it contains all human culture and civilization, and Bapak has experienced more or less all of it, brothers and sisters.
...read the complete talk 82 CDK 3

Wisma Subud Jakarta, Indonesia - January 6, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 1a
( Testing )

Enough, stand up. That shows that your selves, your hands and feet, are really filled with the Power of God, which does in fact guide you. Thus it in clear that what is bringing your hands and feet to life, without any intention on your part, is of the nature of guidance from the One Almighty God. If you really persevere, and if and when you can really feel it, then you will not go wrong in what you do, because there will be a guidance within you to prevent you from doing anything wrong. Again; receive.

( Testing )

That is the kind, of culture that originates from the jiwa. It really resembles your lives, That is why the angels in heaven are pictured as being good at dancing. Their dancing is not because of the nafsu, but because of their jiwas and their life. Your movements and behavior show how genuinely are, strong or weak, fine or course, so that you can understand from yourselves what is your true condition. In this way you can put right those of your actions which are wrong. Yes, come back and stand. in your original places. It is therefore clear, sisters, that human life, the life of God’s creatures, is protected, created, operated, guided and directed by the power of God, which means that it is guided and directed by its Creator. So it is clear, sisters, that God is always close to you. So why is it that you cannot know Him and see Him? It is because you are shut in by the nafsu, shut in by your nafsu, your wills, your hearts and. your minds.
...read the complete talk 79 CDK 1a

Wolfsburg, Germany - June 19, 1975
Code Number : 75 WOB 11

( Testing )

That is the way you will be able to obtain guidance from the latihan kejiwaan in all the various actions and activities necessary to your life. In fact the latihan kejiwaan is like a focus for every kind of culture. As you get further into yourselves, the action of this energy will extend to all your everyday habits and customs. So obviously, brothers and sisters, you very much need this, so as to be able to accommodate yourselves to those around you and be in harmony with them, and you very much need it so that you can really receive and feel the conditions of your neighbors and fellow human beings.
75 WOB 11

Christchurch, New Zealand - January 18, 1978
Code Number : 78 CHC 4
It is clear, brothers and sisters, that if we follow the One Almighty God, Who works, why would we not work? That is why someone who does not work is called malas, lazy. Malas is musuh Islam, the enemy of Islam, of life. Why does that happen? Yes. Why is it that even up to now there are still people who have no culture, there are still people even nowadays who do not know what it is to wear clothes, end yet their origins were just the same as yours. These are people like those in Irian Barat and Irian Timur ( West New Guinea and East New Guinea ). There are still many people everywhere there who as yet know nothing of clothing, nothing about living in houses, much less anything about technology, of which they know nothing at all. Why are they still like that? They are backward because they are lazy. They are lazy, lazy, lazy, and their laziness means that they do not understand anything. That is not the will of God.
78 CHC 4

Yogyakarta, Indonesia - December 23, 1978
Code Number : 78 JOG 2
Again Bapak will explain about the contents of the human self, of all of you. Your self is already filled with material forces, which are satanic forces. And what is satan? They are jinns, spooks and others. In short it is the etheric nation. Those are in you. When you sleep they sleep with you. When they eat, they eat with you; when you see, they see with you. But what is strange is, is that you don’t feel it, that when he is with the husband, he also sleeps with his wife, and. when he is with the wife he will sleep with the husband. It is never suspected, that the material forces, the satanic forces are within you. Thus you must be careful.

But brothers and sisters, even though the animal forces, the satanic forces or the material forces which have formed a hindrance to you, while you are carrying out your devotion to God Almighty, without those forces your life on this world doesn’t have a meaning. Why doesn’t it have any meaning? If you are not acquainted with material, if there is no material, your heart and mind will never work. What more is, even though there is material, sometimes your heart and mind doesn’t want to work. Even material can be the cause of a setback ( deterioration ) in your life. This is why up to this second, in this world there are still people who are called by foreigners, a foreign nation that is not yet cultured, they originated from laziness. Thus brothers and sisters, if you want to enter a group, or a religion, go look for a group or religion that really gives attention and feeling to life, whether in this world or in the hereafter. If you only perceive life after death, then, if you walk, it will not be in accordance with God’s Omnipotence.
...read the complete talk 78 JOG 2

Amen. Bapak Muhammad-Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo

---