Cilandak, Indonesia - October 2, 1966
Code Number : 66 TJK 3
Bapak says that you really need faith in Almighty God and that you should genuinely surrender to Him with patience, trust and sincere submission, and not only with your lips, because if your trust and surrender to Almighty God is only lip service, your receiving will, justly, be of a similar nature.
Bapak knows that you all look for the nice things only. But how is it possible for a man to plant a mango tree today and pick its fruit tomorrow, or to plant padi now and tomorrow harvest the rice? In fact, no benefit can be reaped from anything without first putting your back into it, or without practicing prihatin. It is indeed a universal law that vegetable life grows taller and larger from day to day, through months and years; but also it is not free from severe buffeting by wind and rain. Clearly, therefore, the slow coming of the good time for which you hope is indeed the way through which you have to pass. Hence it is very necessary that you have a feeling of patience and do not so easily feel bored in receiving and following the way of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud.
Announcement from Bapak
Concerning testing and suffering
From: The Pewarta, September, 1968
In fact the reason why a person experiences misfortune is only because his inner force has not yet risen to a higher level, and his inner feeling is still full of impurities and faults. This is why their elders advise people to accept the misfortunes that they experience as a test or trial in their lives. For if the experience of misfortune is accepted as a test or trial in one's life, then, far from falling into despair, the heart and feelings will be surrendered. It is from just such a state that there arises a feeling of prihatin ( concern or caring ), of making an effort to correct one's fate by way of cutting down food and sleep, marital relations, and all kinds of pleasures.
Indeed, a reduction in eating and sleeping, marital relations and all kinds of pleasures is very necessary, for that is in fact a way to make it possible to obtain an improvement in one's fortune in life.
Brothers and sisters, Bapak is aware that everyone wishes for a life of ease and abundance, but if people will not follow the path of prihatin in the way that Bapak has just indicated, such a wish will remain no more than a hope.
Bapak will take an illustration from ordinary life, where there are prosperous people, clever and well-known people, highly placed people, wise ( waskita ) people. But these have become prosperous because they have previously been thrifty in all things, resolutely denying themselves all extravagant pleasures, which only follow the nafsu ( passions ); they have become clever and famous because they have diligently and persistently pursued knowledge that can benefit human existence; they have become wise because they have been patient, calm, peaceful, trusting and sincere. These last qualities are to be found in the Prophets and Messengers of Almighty God. So, in fact, even though they were Prophets and Messengers of God, yet they were not exempt from experiencing constant suffering and the practice of keprihatinan at an earlier stage of their lives.
Cilandak, Indonesia - August 31, 1968
Code Number : 68 TJK 4
Members still put questions of this kind to Bapak, whereas what happens to them is due entirely to the faults which are in themselves, as Bapak has explained above. Therefore, before a better time can come, it is best to use the heart and mind in trying to find and do whatever is needed, provided you do it with a sincere wish and in a good way. It would be better still if you accompany this with prihatin at the same time, i.e. restrict food and sleep and resist the pressure of nafsu which want attractive things.
Cilandak, Indonesia - December 10, 1968
Ramadhan talk - During 21st night of Ramadhan
Code Number : 68 TJK 5
It is told that, while the Prophet Muhammad was practicing prihatin, there descended, in succession, the verses of the Qur'an, which constitute a directive for people, enabling them to live in harmony and to keep at bay the nafsu whose nature is to make them fight among each other for superiority.
Jesus Christ, the Prophet Abraham, the Prophet Moses and other Prophets, and Buddha, also fasted or practiced asceticism. So it is clear that fasting or asceticism ( practicing prihatin ) is an obligation for the man who wishes to worship Almighty God, in order to attain purification of his inner-feeling and perfection of his jiwa.
Cilandak, Indonesia - December 28, 1968
Ramadhan talk - During Halal-bil-Halal
Code Number : 68 TJK 7
As purification takes place in the inner-feeling, your outer situation certainly becomes better, or at least begins to improve, because your inner-feeling is comparable to a film. Whether or not a picture seen projected on the white screen is well executed or good depends on the picture that is in the lens and is then projected onto the white screen. In other words, if the lens contains a picture well executed and good, automatically the picture seen on the white screen is well executed and good. It is the same in your own situation. If your inner-feeling becomes clean and well-ordered, your outer condition will meet good and well-ordered life situations. So it is obviously very necessary for you to receive and follow the way of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud; the more so if you add the practice of fasting every month of Ramadan and also practice some prihatin every Monday and Thursday.
Cilandak, Indonesia - May 11, 1969
Code Number : 69 TJK 1
Such is the loving kindness of Almighty God towards His creatures, towards yourselves. It is therefore unfitting that your faith in God should become less just because you have a cold, or because you are caught in the rain, or absorbed in your housework; and you should not feel that it is unnecessary to come to the latihan to carry out your worship of Almighty God. Neither should your faith in God grow less because you are in some rather trying situation, such as having many children and no money. Bapak does not say that such a reaction on your part is very wrong, but the right and proper thing in such a situation is for you to strengthen your faith in God by practicing a little prihatin, such as not eating so much nice food, not sleeping so often with your wife, going less often to places that you think will make you feel better when you are sad.
Cilandak, Indonesia - July 1969
Bapak's message for the 1969 German congress
From Pewarta Vol. VII No.2
It is very necessary for those who inquire about Subud to hear clarifications such as the one Bapak has mentioned above, in order that they may realize there is no guarantee that, as soon as a person has received the latihan kedjiwaan of Subud, he will experience happiness in his life. It is not certain, for instance, that he will immediately be able to find a better job than before, or that his business will be more profitable than before, and so on.
Bapak does not blame such a wish, for everyone wants his life to be pleasant and happy, but in reality one's life will become pleasant and happy only if one pays for it first by prihatin - that is, by cutting down on all kinds of pleasures and patiently accepting whatever is then received. This is the kind of clarification the helpers should give to those interested in joining Subud.
Cilandak, Indonesia - October 15, 1969
Second talk at fifth Indonesian national congress
Code Number : 69 TJK 6
If the kind of work you do is not profitable enough for your life, you must, so far as possible, firmly stop the desires of your heart that want to enjoy eating, sleeping, following the sex impulse, and pursuing all kinds of entertainment, generally called pleasure seeking. This is what Bapak usually calls the practice of prihatin.
Maybe some of you ask why you must practice this when you are Subud members who regularly receive guidance and direction from Almighty God?
Ah . . . brothers and sisters, remember that the Prophet Muhammad, who received Grace from Almighty God and became His Messenger, and other Prophets who received God's Grace during their time in this world, practiced prihatin; so you need to do so even more. The practice of prihatin is very necessary to enable you to decrease the pressure of the nafsu that swarm in your inner feeling. In other words, to prevent the nafsu in your heart and mind from constantly obstructing the guidance and direction from the Power of Almighty God manifesting in the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. In short, the nature of prihatin is to humble ourselves before the Greatness of Almighty God and strengthen our faith in His Power.
Pewarta, March 1970
Lent and Ramadhan - Letter to a member in England
Code Number : 70 TJK 3
This kind of prihatin may be done by way of fasting every Monday and Thursday, without saur ( that means without eating in the middle of the night ) or by cutting down on one's food every day; for instance, if one is accustomed to having beefsteak and potatoes, then one eats only potatoes and vegetables, provided one does not take too much of these either. One can also cut down on sleep; not sleeping often with one's wife and not sleeping before midnight.
Skymont, VA USA - August 19, 1970
Code Number : 70 SKY 4
from Mas Prio's report to Bapak . . . And it can also be reported that we left it to Robert Bachelor, at that time living in Los Angeles, to try to carry out Bapak’s indications to set up an enterprise of Subud members. He did prihatin and began to look about for some way, some means by which he could set up. a restaurant. I may say that we had no model but we had enthusiasm. Each of us prayed to God and did prihatin. Not long afterwards he got work in a large restaurant, not on the staff, but as a waiter. I may say three days later, one of the managers died, and three days after becoming a waiter he was promoted to be manager.
. . read the complete story here
Cilandak, Indonesia - December 5, 1970
The second Sjawal talk
Code Number : 71 TJK 7
Cilandak, Indonesia - August 10, 1971
Right working and prihatin
Bapak's sixth talk at the fourth world congress
Code Number : 71 TJK 7
So although it is a doctor's duty to cure a sick person quickly, he takes rather a long time about it as a rule, because he needs the money. The Subud doctor too needs money, but, as soon as he does prihatin to cure his patients, many of those for whom he prescribes fail to return, because they have already recovered.
So for the technician building a car, a train, a ship, etc. Sometimes, when he is finding difficulty in doing his work, he too, because of his prihatin, will find the solution that enables him to do what he intends.
It is as Bapak has just said when speaking of the reason the jiwa and the mind of people in the jungle do not grow. These people do not question anything or make any effort beyond getting food for one day at a time; that is enough for them. When they have eaten and are satisfied they go to sleep.
Bapak hopes you will not be like that. Don't go to sleep once you have eaten. It is most necessary to use your mind and intelligence, but, because you are Subud people, to use them in such a way that everything, whatever you do, is based on the prihatin of your inner self standing before the all-enveloping Power of God.
Cilandak, Indonesia - November 27, 1971
Talk during night of forgiving
Code Number : 71 TJK 23
So the need looks for the man, not the man for the need. How does this happen? Because of practicing prihatin, continued prihatin on Mondays and Thursdays. This is what does it, brothers and sisters. You have to practice it so that you will not have to look and search for the needs; the needs will look for you.
Bapak has often given you examples of this when testing you - 'Do you need the rice or does the rice need you?' In most instances it is you who need the rice. So if you don't look for rice, you don't get any.
It's quite amusing, brothers and sisters. If Bapak tests - How is it with Bapak? Does he look for rice or does the rice look for Bapak? ( Bapak tests ). Oh, the rice looks for Bapak!
San Francisco, CA USA - April 15, 1972
Code Number : 72 SFO 2
Thus, as well as being Subud people, practicing the latihan kejiwaan, you also need to work on your own initiative, do what we call enterprise. These enterprises accustom you to act and to work with the guidance and direction of God. The people who receive this way are very fortunate. This is what those people desire who do prihatin for many years so as to be able to receive the whispers from their jiwa. This, brothers and sisters, is why Bapak suggests to the members that they should be really active in setting about what Bapak has proposed, that is, enterprises.
Wendhausen, Germany - June 18, 1972
Talk to national helpers and committee
Code Number : 72 WEN 1
Now, because of the great love of Almighty God for us, we can witness the happenings that have taken place over the last few years. But we should also realize that we must repay, we must answer God's love by doing something in this world, by expressing what we have received through working, and through doing something in this world that is in accordance with God's Will. And in this we should understand that it is impossible for us to achieve anything in this world, to achieve success without prihatin.
It is not possible in this world to do anything without preceding it by suffering; and it is never possible in life to have something which is in the nature of a great happiness, unless it is preceded by a period of suffering, a period of hardship, a period of prihatin. For this reason, brothers and sisters, we should not feel upset or fearful in front of difficulties, for difficulties in the work which we are to carry out represent only an examination or trial for us. It is only through penetrating the difficulties which are in front of us, that we can arrive at a situation of success of happiness, of achieving our hope and our aim that we want to achieve. In this there is no difference between Bapak and the Prophets and the Messengers of God of olden times.
Cilandak, Indonesia - October 31, 1972
Talk on 25th night of Ramadhan
Code Number : 72 TJK 8
Thus the fast is something important for your lives, for our lives, meaning that prihatin is important for life. Avoiding the fast, avoiding prihatin, means that we are like a knife that we never sharpen, or like clothes that we never wash. It is just like that. Thus after a while the clothes actually smell, smell bad; after a time the knife rusts. Once the clothes smell or the knife is rusty then no one else, and not even oneself, will want to use them, will want to possess them. This is how it is, brothers and sisters.
Hence many people become irritated and fed up with themselves, and resentful about, for instance, how business is always bad, how the cooking is never any good, how they can never look nice, hard though they try, that sort of thing.
Why is this? Because of what has just been said. They never put themselves to the test, never give their inner feeling any practice. And the way to give the inner feeling practice and to test it is the way Bapak has just been speaking about, through fasting and prihatin.
Cilandak, Indonesia - November 4, 1972
Talk on 29th night of Ramadhan
Code Number : 72 TJK 9
This is how it is, brothers and sisters, so this prihatin is truly of great benefit. But there are also other forms of prihatin, such as what is usually called the Monday-Thursday fast, or other things that are known as customary for us in Indonesia and are called rialat ( doing prihatin ), such as not eating salt, eating only very little food, eating only bananas, these also are forms of prihatin.
But these are different from the fast in the month of Ramadan. The fast in the month of Ramadhan can be said to be ninety-five per cent for spiritual purposes; for the purposes of the kejiwaan and for the worship of God, which concerns the kejiwaan. But the Monday-Thursday fast and the other things just mentioned such as eating less rice ( but without eating kupat ) and also cutting down on sleep, these are for personal ends. For instance, someone who is out of work will get a job. Someone whose pay is small will get more, until it is quite big. In short, these are specially for worldly matters.
Cilandak, Indonesia - November 6, 1972
Talk on Idul Fitri
Code Number : 72 TJK 10
Clearly then, brothers and sisters, not only God requires that you test and examine your own self, but your self, your own jiwa needs it. Do test yourselves; don't just complain and be good for nothing but complaining. Test yourselves. Nothing that will make life happy is without prihatin. In Javanese this is expressed in the words jer basuki mawa bejo, there is no good fortune, no happiness in life that is not accompanied by prihatin.
Cilandak, Indonesia - April 14, 1974
Code Number : 74 CDK 9
It is indeed in the nature of things that people who are already comfortable and well off do indeed become more and more so. When people are already well-off, things go on getting more comfortable for them and they are really pongnak, pongo as they say in Javanese, pumpung enak, pumpung ono, which means indulging in pleasure while one still can. They think it will never end and just go on indulging. They don't think what will happen if the chair collapses; they don't bother about that, but just go on rocking.
That is why prihatin is now necessary. But how can one practice prihatin when the conditions for it are absent? Prihatin without the conditions for it is dangerous, brother and sisters, because your hearts and minds, which are net yet pure, will tempt you. That is the reason why God the All-powerful is All-merciful to His creatures, and sends down to them something which Bapak has received, which Bapak has felt; something that quickens and awakens the inner feelings, awakens the whole of our inner feeling, so that the whole of the inner feelings quickens and moves. If now it moves when it has never moved before, of course anything that is wrong in that place falls out of it. It becomes clean because what had been unclean or tetel falls out of it. Tetel means out of place, such as a heart which was formerly not good.
Cilandak, Indonesia - October 8, 1974
Code Number : 74 CDK 14
Truly there are many strange things in his world. People with plenty of money, able to buy what they want, nevertheless fast. Those without money or with little of it and with lowly jobs as laborers of some kind, hardly any of these are seen fasting, very few laborers fast. If asked why they are not strong enough to fast, they say 'Because I'm working, that's why'. We are told to work and fast as well. Why are they not strong enough? They do too little prihatin. They are lacking in ability to weigh things up and to feel them. They can only complain. That is how it is.
Clearly then, brothers and sisters, if the fast is carried out it is very fruitful. Ailing people gradually cease to be unwell gradually grow resistant to illness. People with some tendency to catch colds lose it. That is through the fast. People who usually keep coughing, but then fast, stop doing so. So if you have a cough and would like it to stop, try fasting. If you are not strong enough to fast until five, fast until four, until three, two, one, twelve o'clock. If you cannot yet keep a fast going until twelve, well, just go on eating.
Thus it is necessary for you to do prihatin. This is what the fast is for. It affects not only your outer but also your inner, also your jiwa.
Cilandak, Indonesia - October 10, 1974
Code Number : 74 CDK 15
That is what the old people used to say. The people who do prihatin are not doing it in vain, brothers and sisters. They will certainly obtain results, for the contents of that prihatin makes them put more emphasis on God; makes them have more faith in God. You can see this when you get some disease or when you feel that you are ill. What do you say ? You say "God forgive me. Let me not be ill", for instance. Thus it is as if you protest when you feel uncomfortable, and you beg and pray to God for relief.
Thus the more you do prihatin, the stronger becomes your faith in God, and the more it strengthens your belief in God. If your faith in God is strong, God gives in return, and His love for you is greater and stronger. Thus you get something in return. You must not let your belief in God be only on your lips, but you should show it and prove it. That is what is called amal. Amal is something you do.
Cilandak, Indonesia - September 29, 1975
On 25th night of Ramadhan
Code Number : 75 CDK 6
There is no one, brothers and sisters, who receives Grace without such an act, no one. There is certain to be that act, that is, there must be prihatin. Therefore, brothers and sisters, let it not happen that you put aside this prihatin, for it is important and most necessary. It is an expiation or a ransom for your sins, in order that you may rise in degree, be made lighter, be purified of the mistakes you have made both intentionally and unintentionally. For as a human being you are certainly subject to mistakes, and you can prove this to yourself every year after having done the fast for 20 days, providing you have really done it properly for 20 days. That means not only refraining from food and drink and smoking but with a true rest.
Cilandak, Indonesia - September 14, 1976
The Ramadhan fast is for when you die
Code Number : 76 CDK 9
Thus it is clear that those who do not belong to the Islamic religion are neither obliged nor urged to fast. It is left to them. But if you ask what use is the fast, of course it is useful. The fast is done by way of prihatin, by way of suffering, for it is really heavy for people to fast. How can it fail to be heavy? One should be able to eat and to buy food, and one should be able to drink, because one can get water anywhere, but why does one not drink and why does one not eat? Because of the fast. So clearly, this fast is not an easy thing for people to do. It is no light matter; it is really heavy.
To do something that feels heavy and difficult will of course bear fruit and produce results. Those of you who have done some fasting will have had evidence of this. Only, the fast in the month of Ramadan is a fast that weakens the nafsu; it causes the people who fast to have a feeling of patience, trust and sincere submission. It is different from fasting or cutting down on food and sleep when you do the Monday and Thursday fast. The Monday and Thursday fast is a fast that is from your will; it actually reinforces your wishes and hopes. It is different from the fast in the month of Ramadan.
Cilandak, Indonesia - September 20, 1976
Code Number : 76 CDK 11
That is why the month of Ramadhan is beneficial if you fast for the whole of it, because the month of Ramadhan, or the fast in the month of Ramadhan, is a fast or prihatin for people who are aiming at the improvement and perfecting of their souls, so that later on when they die, and when the time comes for them to leave this world, they will obtain the best possible place and find the best possible way, as God has promised to mankind.
That is why people should not really be required to work in the month of Ramadan. Thus during the month of Ramadan, for one whole month, people ought not to work. They should really stop work completely. Not that they should then just lie about and sleep. No; you should clear and quiet your minds, and feel how you are when your self is no longer occupied and obstructed by the influence of the nafsu, as it usually is every day in all the months except Ramadan.
Cilandak, Indonesia - September 24, 1976
Idul Fitri Talk given at Bapak's House
Code Number : 76 CDK 13
Brothers and sisters, the latihan kejiwaan of Subud is in fact nothing strange or foreign, especially to people who worship the One Almighty God. For it is said that after someone has done prihatin, and prihatin means such things as fasting or cutting down on food, cutting down on sleep, after doing this not just for one or two days only, but sometimes for years on end, then if the time comes when that person experiences what it is to be empty of the nafsu, then it is said that he will hear what is called the voice of the silence, the voice from the void.
Honolulu, Hawaii - December 24, 1977
Code Number : 77 HNL 2
People read, for example, that God decreed that a man may have four wives ( it is said ). As long as he doesn't have more than four wives - that's O.K. So what they take from Islam is just having four wives. In other words, that's all they like to take - that is, they then have four wives. But they don't like to take the other bit, the hit that concerns suffering, hardship, prihatin, difficulties. In other words, they don't like to do the other things that Prophet Muhammad did apart from having four wives - like all he had to go through, all the preparation and the prihatin and the suffering he had to go through before he was able to receive God's grace. People don't like that part of it. People don't like to follow that or put that into practice.
So this is our problem. We have received - we have within us God's power and God's willingness to give and God's willingness to guide us, but we are not yet able to put it into practice. We are not yet willing to carry it out. We only like to leave it at that. So what is clear, then, is that you have to fulfil your duties. If you want something from God you have to fulfil your responsibilities like, for example, Bapak. Why does Bapak have to come all this way? It is a long way that Bapak has traveled from Indonesia. Why does Bapak do this? Why does Bapak take the trouble? Because Bapak knows that if Bapak has given you something - that is, the contact with the power of God that is the opening in Subud - that Bapak has to took after you. Bapak has to make sure that you can feel and understand what you have received. This is how it should be.
Jakarta, Indonesia - July 1, 1978
Talk at B.S.B. selamatan
Code Number : 78 JKT 1
We in Subud have been trained in the latihan; trained to become human beings, to become creatures of God who follow the guidance of God, Who is All-holy, All-pure. So of course we are following in the footsteps of God in the field of holiness and purity.
This is the very best resource for us; there is nothing else. What enables human beings to live so that their lives in this world are happy, so that their lives in this world are safe and secure and so that their lives are kept free from all danger, is nothing other than to hold fast to the guidance and direction of the One Almighty God. Accustom yourselves to being honest and sincere, and never to lie to your own hearts. Because if we deceive and tell lies to our own hearts we shall also be tossed about by our own hearts. This is proverbial. People should not rely upon their own cleverness, for a clever person can be blinded by his own cleverness; rich people can be driven mad by their riches; beautiful people can, in the case of women, can be brought low by their beauty. We have to remember this. When we are comfortable and at ease we must not forget, and we have to do prihatin when we are unhappy and in trouble, we must not feel that we are suffering, but must worship God and surrender to God. We are fortunate, brothers and sisters, in being kept far from all dangers and far from the confusion of our hearts, and we are also fortunate in that we stay young.
Cilandak, Indonesia - August 24, 1978
Code Number : 78 CDK 15
Cilandak, Indonesia - December 23, 1978
Code Number : 78 JOG 2
If you want to prosper, you must make efforts, everything which will make you prosper must be done with prihatin. This is the toll, the payment for the happiness in your future. So that you must do it, do your latihan diligently, and live in harmony with your fellow men, This is also the condition. If you are still fighting, what are you fighting for? And God doesn’t like fighting people. You step forward by yourself.
Wisma Subud Jakarta, Indonesia - January 7, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 1
A method of prihatin which is well known, well tested and known to succeed, is the habit of reducing our pleasures, whether it be the deliciousness of the food that we eat, or our sleep at night. It is in this way that we can look after our life and take responsibility for our life, for example by sleeping less than normal, or by somewhat reducing our food, such as, for example, fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. Now you may say that that is just traditional superstition or something like that. Brothers and sisters, no.
Cilandak Jakarta, Indonesia - January 7, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 2
Tunbridge Wells, England - September 16, 1979
Code Number : 79 TBW 1
Cilandak, Indonesia - June 21, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 3
Jakarta, Indonesia - July 10, 1980
Talk to Rachmaniyah Bowden to be conveyed to the international helpers
Code Number : 80 XJK 1
Cilandak, Indonesia - December 26, 1980
Code Number : 80 PDN 1
Wisma Subud - January 19, 1981
Pray to God for a heart as wide as the ocean
Final talk to meeting of Asian councilors
Code Number : 81 CDK 3
For twelve years Bapak did not know any money. Bapak was without anything. Without livelihood of any kind for twelve years.
And yet Bapak simply followed everything that happened because it seemed that simply by Bapak facing Bapak's situation, things always happened which were able to fulfill Bapak's needs as long as Bapak had complete faith in Almighty God.
And although Bapak was lower than the poor, more destitute than the destitute, yet Bapak was always full of happiness. Bapak was always at peace. And Bapak was always full of faith in the greatness of God Almighty. And Bapak knew, Bapak was told that this state of suffering or prihatin would go on for twelve years. Bapak knew this shortage and trial would last all that time. That is, from 1933 until the late Forties. And then, when Bapak came nearer to the time, in 1947 or so, Bapak received that this time was about to come to an end. Then the results of what Bapak had experienced would begin to be manifest.
Bapak received that soon there would come someone from abroad, a foreigner who was expert in many languages. Bapak received that this man would receive this gift of the latihan kejiwaan from Bapak.
Los Angeles, CA USA - July 28, 1981
Code Number : 81 LAX 5
Certainly in Indonesia, people have the conviction that it's not possible for someone to receive something very important or momentous if there is not something which corresponds to that person's origin, ancestry or background.
Bapak's mother was actually a descendant of Sunan Kalijogo who was a very famous saint in Indonesia and the leader of the famous Nine Saints who lived in Java a long time ago. She was aware of this descent; and she herself was very much inclined to do prihatin, As a young girl she would sometimes go to the cemetery where one particular ancestor was buried - someone who had also been a famous teacher of religion. She used to sleep over his grave; spending the night there was her form of prihatin. And she used often to do this.
Once she told Bapak of an experience she had had there.
She was sleeping there one time when she had a dream or experience, one that was very real.
She saw the full moon above her, and experienced that this full moon fell on top of her and entered her body. She felt this very strongly and it woke her up.
But because she was a young girl and still very shy, she didn't speak about this to her parents. It was only later, much later, that she told it to Bapak.
She also had a conviction, based on her experiences, that when she married she would have a child who would be someone honored and respected, someone exceptional.
Wentworth, England - August 3, 1981
On arrival at Bapak's new house
Code Number : 81 LON 13
For our worldly needs we have to make an effort. That's why we make enterprises. We have to strive, face hardships and work hard. There is no happiness that isn't preceded by prihatin, by bitterness, by suffering, by difficulties. Bapak himself has done this. If Bapak works all alone it is impossible for this to spread everywhere, but still Bapak keeps on traveling around the world because of God's love for man and for Bapak which Bapak must match.
And conversely, Bapak has received God's reward in the same measure as Bapak's effort and hard work. The same applies to all of you helpers. You helpers hope for a reward, for the gift of Almighty God. But what have you done for it? What have you carried out of God's guidance?
Daybreak
Stories of Bapak when he was a young man
London, England - August 10, 1981
Code Number : 81 LON 16
In Java it is traditional that little children or young people should not be allowed to enjoy lots of luxury or pleasure, nor even to sleep in a comfortable bed or eat nice food. In other words, children, it is thought, should experience prihatin. · That is why one night when Bapak was sixteen, he was sleeping on the floor in his house.
In the middle of the night Bapak became aware that a man who was dressed completely in black was approaching him. Bapak saw this man coming toward Bapak and waking Bapak up. Though Bapak experienced all this in a state of what you might call "dream", yet Bapak felt himself being awakened from sleep by this man.
"You seem to be having quite a nice sleep," the man remarked to Bapak. "Nevertheless, I have something I have to say to you. I want to tell you that you are beloved by Almighty God. And indeed, one day you will be called by God. You will then become someone who is very much respected and revered by many, many people."
After telling Bapak these things, the man in black went away.
. . . read more of Bapak's story
Bapak's Answers To Members' Questions
Complete text - First Edition - compiled 1971
Concerning the explanation you may want about prihatin: This actually is cutting down one's pleasures in eating, sleeping and other enjoyments. For, if one practices prihatin, it accustoms the heart not to be deceived all the time by the nafsu. If the nafsu, which arise in the heart and mind, are not given their way so much ( that is, if one restricts the pleasures of eating and sleeping and restrains the nafsu of anger and greed which drive away all contentment ) then the nafsu will automatically weaken, and a feeling of patience, surrender, trust and sincere submission will become manifest.
Prihatin may be practiced by anyone wishing to do so, anyone who hopes to become a person of patience who surrenders with trust and sincere submission to the Will of Almighty God. Usually when a person can really carry this out his situation will be one of well-being and happiness.
This kind of prihatin may be done by way of fasting every Monday and Thursday, without saur ( that means without eating in the middle of the night ) or by cutting down on one's food every day; for instance, if one is accustomed to having beefsteak and potatoes, then one eats only potatoes and vegetables, provided one does not take too much of these either. One can also cut down on sleep; not sleeping often with one's wife and not sleeping before midnight.
This is done in the hope that one's life situation, or one's lot in life, may improve: also so that one's inner-feeling, which still continues to feel dark or hindered by the influence of the nafsu, may become calm and quiet and the influence of the nafsu, which always interferes with the calm and quiet of the inner-feeling, may be avoided.
This is why Bapak always says that a good and noble life can be achieved only if one really practices prihatin beforehand. It must be remembered that even Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad did this. How much more does an ordinary person need it. One should not be quick to complain so often, or to feel despair just because one lacks things in life, nor should one feel overjoyed if one happens to have unusually good fortune.
This is Bapak's answer to your question. Bapak gives praise and thanks to Almighty God and hopes you will accept the above explanation in a good way.
Further, a person who has not yet reached sixty-three still has to practice prihatin, not only by cutting down on food and sleep but also by fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and lessening all his pleasures. That is, if he wishes to do it honestly and sincerely. . . . read moreBapak's Advice And Guidance For Helpers - Third Addition 1981-
Prihatin
1. Prihatin
INDEED, a reduction in eating and sleeping, marital relations and all kinds of pleasures is very necessary, for that is in fact a way to make it possible to obtain an improvement in one's fortune in life.
Brothers and sisters, Bapak is aware that everyone wishes for a life of ease and abundance, but if people will not follow the path of prihatin in the way that Bapak has just indicated, such a wish will remain no more than a hope.
Bapak will take an illustration from ordinary life where there are prosperous people, clever and well-known people, highly-placed people, wise (waskita) people. But these have become prosperous because they have previously been thrifty in all things, resolutely denying themselves all extravagant pleasures, which only follow the nafsu (passions); they have become clever and famous because they have diligently and persistently pursued knowledge that can benefit human existence, they have become wise because they have been patient, calm, peaceful, trusting and sincere. These last qualities are to be found in the Prophets and Messengers of Almighty God. So, in fact, even though they were Prophets and Messengers of God, yet they were not exempt from experiencing constant suffering and the practice of keprihatinan at an earlier stage of their lives.
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Hoboken, NJ USA - June 18, 1981
Code Number : 81 NYC 1
If you ask, "Why is it that I have been doing the latihan for twenty years and yet I have not been given clarity about my way in life. What is the reason?"
But the problem comes because your being has within it stains or traces of life which can be called sins or mistakes. These are without number. The reason is that inside the mistakes which you committed in your own life are the mistakes committed by your parents. And inside those mistakes are the mistakes of your grandparents. Of the mistakes that you or they have committed it is not possible to be cleaned just like that. That takes time.
All that has to be put right. It is not surprising that a person who has spent all his life doing prihatin or practicing self-denial in an effort to achieve liberation from his mistakes, or to achieve holiness, in the end dies without achieving what he wants.
The reason is that all these errors have piled up in his being. This is what Hindus and Buddhists call karma. Karma is all this "stuff" that has accumulated within us. Therefore, in al! religions, we are advised not to do things that wrong.
By "wrong" it is meant: do not hurt other people, do not rob other people of their freedom, or their peace of mind. De not take away what belongs to other people. This is done. in order to reduce in your own life the accumulation of these mistakes and sins. At least your own descendants will have the burden eased by your own life.
In case you wonder why you have received the latihan so long and still do not seem to have received some kind of clarity, if you really knew it, these mistakes are being cleaned by the Power of Almighty God. They are really being cleansed much more quickly than you imagined possible. Only the Power of God can do this.
Sydney, Australia - May 9, 1982
Code Number : 82 SYD 1
So far, this is only Bapak testing you. It is not yet spontaneous from within your own self. But later on, it will come spontaneously without Bapak testing you, without Bapak saying anything to you. And when that happens, you will truly experience the impact of God's guidance in your life.
Then, for example, if you experience something very sad, very depressing or if you experience a state of misery or a great shock or a great loss, and you are very sad; at that moment, spontaneously, God will guide you through your laughter into a world of happiness, a world of joy.
Conversely, God will guide you when you are in a state of great happiness and enjoyment, such as, for example, when you are having lots of fun. People normally in that situation forget everything. They forget, in other words, what is important. And that forgetfulness is precisely what brings people into a state of great danger. But at that moment, when you are already guided by Almighty God in this way, you will remember your self, and there will arise within you, in the midst of this enjoyment and this pleasure, a feeling of self-denial and a feeling of prihatin.
So in this way, your life will truly be complete and truly be guided by the power of Almighty God.
Jakarta, Indonesia - June 24, 1985
Talk to International helpers and trustees
Code Number : 85 JKT 4
In the old days, men made an effort to rid themselves of their bad habits or their bad qualities, or to put it into other words, to somehow get rid of their nafsu, through all sorts of techniques, like wearing a yellow robe all their lives and limiting their outer needs. And it was also taught that rich men would go to hell, whereas poor men would go to heaven. Brothers and sisters, that is all lies. Today, we are no longer in the situation of believing in lies: we are in the realm of reality.
Therefore our reality today is within our own inner feeling. This is why it is extremely important for all of you, especially the helpers, that you are here today and can hear this explanation that Bapak is giving you. In short, you are able to answer your own questions and you have to understand that the world is a very difficult situation. The state of the world today is extremely bad and extremely volatile, but you must understand that there is no such thing as success without pain, or happiness without prihatin or suffering. So if we have to go through difficulties and if we have to face difficult problems on our way, that is not something strange, that is exactly as it should be. But don't worry, because the power of Almighty God is there supporting us and guiding us, all the time, every minute of the day and within our being and outside of us.
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