Coombe Springs, England - August 10, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 6
So it is clear that what takes place in the training - again, as Bapak has said - what is received is a spiritual exercise guided by the One God. It cannot be sought by the mind, passions or ordinary human understanding, but can only be received by a human being who has been purified, from the coarse to the fine, beginning with the coarse body and progressing to the body of feelings, the body of understanding, and the body of self awareness.
Of course, the way to God or the spiritual journey, or man's worship of God, is guided only by God Himself. And to increase his store of the everyday cleverness that circulates in this world, man must certainly put his desires, mind and feelings to work. So there are in reality two currents, or two paths, within you. One goes in the direction of worldly happiness, to make your life in this world content, since only the wisdom and cleverness of man can, and should, accomplish the well-being of this world. But only God himself can direct man along the way to God, the channel that leads to the greatness of God. So, in reality, Bapak says - and as you yourselves have experienced in the latihan you receive- there are specific conditions that can be applied to your soul.
So, clearly, you are able to feel that what you receive in the training ( latihan ) is beyond your estimation, beyond your thinking, beyond your consideration. For example, those of you who receive to walk in the training can feel, 'I'm not walking because I want to, but, hey, I'm walking.' So it is clear that, as Bapak said earlier, even while walking, man can really receive guidance from the soul ( jiwa ) on how to walk. And when you receive to wave your hands around in the training, those of you who can do so will feel, 'Hey, I'm not waving my hands deliberately, but I'm still waving my hands.' This is actually guidance from the soul on how to wave your hands.
Coombe Springs, England August 15, 1957
Code Number : 57 CSP 9
So it is clear that what takes place in the training - again, as Bapak has said - what is received is a spiritual exercise guided by the One God. It cannot be sought by the mind, passions or ordinary human understanding, but can only be received by a human being who has been purified, from the coarse to the fine, beginning with the coarse body and progressing to the body of feelings, the body of understanding, and the body of self awareness.
Of course, the way to God or the spiritual journey, or man's worship of God, is guided only by God Himself. And to increase his store of the everyday cleverness that circulates in this world, man must certainly put his desires, mind and feelings to work. So there are in reality two currents, or two paths, within you. One goes in the direction of worldly happiness, to make your life in this world content, since only the wisdom and cleverness of man can, and should, accomplish the well-being of this world. But only God himself can direct man along the way to God, the channel that leads to the greatness of God. So, in reality, Bapak says - and as you yourselves have experienced in the latihan you receive- there are specific conditions that can be applied to your soul.
Coombe Springs, England - March 2, 1958
Code Number : 58 CSP 1
Of course, the way to God or the spiritual journey, or man's worship of God, is guided only by God Himself. And to increase his store of the everyday cleverness that circulates in this world, man must certainly put his desires, mind and feelings to work. So there are in reality two currents, or two paths, within you. One goes in the direction of worldly happiness, to make your life in this world content, since only the wisdom and cleverness of man can, and should, accomplish the well-being of this world. But only God himself can direct man along the way to God, the channel that leads to the greatness of God. So, in reality, Bapak says - and as you yourselves have experienced in the latihan you receive- there are specific conditions that can be applied to your soul.
In general, from what you have heard of the prophets, the messengers, there was not one of them who was highly educated. Also, not one of them was known for his wisdom in the sense of the mind. The Prophet Jesus himself was born in a cattle stall. This shows that he, the Prophet Jesus, was a child who was born on the lowest level of society. People in general did not know what would happen to him, but the One God, the Most Wise, knew what He would make Jesus in the future. So people around him were amazed at how the Prophet Jesus could receive indications and knowledge beyond all human reason. It was also like that with the Prophet Muhammad, the prophet for the people of Islam. He also was born on a low level of society and later shepherded goats or other animals. So the ordinary knowledge he had was only obtained from short trips to neighboring villages. But God is Almighty. And God chose a person or a child like that, to become, in the future, someone who would show the way for mankind.
Santiago De Chile - April 15, 1959
Code Number : 59 SCL 3
The human force is the force that acts between people. The effect of its influence on a person's character or feeling is that they will always elevate and emphasize their own greatness, high level and wisdom, and the intelligence of their brain. They do not remember that they are like that because God created them, and they do not remember that above human beings there is an authority higher than they are.
A person under the influence of the human force feels that he or she is the highest and has the authority to impose their leadership on others, who have to follow and submit to their will. It is usual for such leaders to force others to acknowledge that they are the leader, that they hold the power and can show others the right way.
San Francisco, CA USA - April 19, 1958
Code Number : 58 SFO 3
Some people tend to consider that anything that lies beyond what the mind and feelings can grasp is in fact not true. But they possibly fail to take into account, or rather they forget, that the Prophet Jesus, as well as other prophets, acquired intelligence and wisdom without having to learn or attend a school. Yet now, those of us who receive a university education, respect, follow and practice the advice given to mankind by these prophets. For this is the way that God the All-powerful bestows ( wisdom and deep understanding, which people usually cannot obtain by studying - Indonesian not on tape; English taken from consecutive interpretation. ) For this reason Bapak advises you not to doubt or be anxious that by abandoning the thinking, desires and feelings you may go in a direction or follow a path that is wrong, and is not in accordance with the will of God. In fact it is exactly the opposite, for if we are able to abandon our thinking and desires in receiving, that is, in the latihan, this will speed God's work within us, and we will obtain something without great difficulty.
Toronto, Canada - May 21, 1959
Code Number : 59 YYZ 1
So, in fact, if human beings ignore the world around them, if they do not live their lives in the ordinary way, it means that they are deviating from God's decree. They do not appreciate what God has given them. It is the same as somebody giving you something they know you really need and then you don't use it. Such an attitude would be disrespectful, it would be an insult to the giver. So it is a great sin to give up a normal life in this world, the life of a normal person: getting married, travelling, working to obtain this and that for our well-being in this world. Only, you must not forget that in addition to living in this world you need to worship God, so that later, after you die and your thinking mind doesn't work any more, your soul will continue living, in a place that is the greatest, that is glorious and noble. As Jesus said, beyond this world is the kingdom of God, which is truly magnificent, truly great.
That is noble advice, excellent and useful for human beings. But, now human knowledge has advanced so far that the mind is almost unwilling to acknowledge that beyond this world there is a sublime power, and only believes in its own excellence and wisdom. So now is the time - perhaps it is God's will - for the birth of something that gives evidence; not just advice, but evidence that can really be experienced. Many people, who at first do not believe there is such a thing as this latihan you practice, later acknowledge of their own accord that within their self there is a power, which can manifest within a human being.
New York, NY USA - June 10, 1959
Code Number : 59 NYC 8
God is Most Just, Most Wise. The heart and mind of humans cannot possibly influence God. A person who washes clothes will surely ask God, 'O God, do not let it rain as long as I live, so that my washing can dry.' But a farmer will ask, 'O God, let it rain and go on raining without stopping so that what I am sowing will grow well and bear fruit.' Such are the wishes of human beings. If God were not Most Just and Most Wise, if God only followed the wishes of human beings, it would certainly not create peace or goodness in the world.
So the way people visualize justice, and the way people visualize wisdom is just their own idea. It is nowhere near the Wisdom and Justice of God. For the Justice of God envelops everything. This means that it envelops those who wish for something and those who do not; it envelops those who take advantage and those who are taken advantage of. But humans are not like that. Those who are taken advantage of ask for it to stop; while those who are taking advantage want to go on doing it. So, human notions of justice and wisdom are very different from God's.
For example, in Asia there are people who always give loans to other people at extraordinary rates of interest. In other words they practice usury; they charge the maximum possible interest. Well, to the lender this seems just. It is necessary and as it should be: 'If I lend money, I should get it back with high interest. 'The borrower's idea of justice is different, however: 'If I borrow, I want a low interest. If I borrow a hundred dollars, I will give back a hundred dollars plus just one dollar. If I can, I'll pay it back over a hundred years, not ten months.' This has long been part of the nature or character of human beings; each perceives their own version of justice.
With God's power it is certainly not like that. Those who in God's eyes are just, are those who are aware of the needs of their life, and don't only chase after their wants, wants that bring them stress and suffering later on. That's how it is. It is clear that the justice human beings need, which is justice according to God's will, requires them to control their desires, heart and thinking. For it is these forces that always seek immediate gratification of their wishes, without knowing their own strength.
Coombe Springs, England - August 24, 1959
Code number of Recording: 59 CSP 12
Fourthly, there is the force of people themselves - the ordinary human force. The influence of this on people is to cause them to place a high value on their own wisdom and intellect. Such people hardly believe in the existence of God who created them, but maintain that the human intellect and reason are sufficient to guide human life. They believe that the intellect, rather than God, is capable of bringing well-being and happiness to humanity.
New York, NY USA - May 13, 1967
Code Number : 67 NYC 1
Regarding what the use is of testing the difference between Socrates and Jesus: this is not a question of 'use', but is an example about the truth of the difference between a man who is learned in his mind and one whose intelligence or wisdom comes by the grace of God, so that you may appreciate the difference. Since your receiving is still on the level of bodily reactions, based on movement and feeling, when Bapak tested with you and asked where the wisdom of Jesus came from, those of you who were able to receive responded by pointing your hand upwards - without any influence from your desires, thoughts and feelings. That means that his wisdom came from above. We would normally say that what comes from above is certainly from God, or from a Power that is greater than any human power. Anyway, it was from above. Whereas, when testing about Socrates, the heads of those of you who were able to receive bowed down towards the earth, which means that the intelligence of Socrates belonged only to this world.
Indeed, the brain, the heart and everything else pertaining to the physical body is 'new', meaning they are functions that arise in this world. So, the intelligence of Socrates arose in him because of the power of his brain - that is, through a function of his body. With Jesus it was different, he knew all that was required for his life not because of the sharpness of his intellect but because his mind, heart and feelings were pure and holy.
New York, NY USA - May 18, 1967
Code Number : 67 NYC 3
We have been awakened, we have been brought to life, and this is just the start. So do not be in a hurry to know everything. It is not time for you to understand yet.
Once that has been penetrated, you move to the next level, a house or place that is bigger still, which is described as ‘spirit’ or ‘holy feeling’. In Islam it is called Bait-al-Muharram. After that house has been penetrated you move higher still, to a place which is even more spacious, it is even more extensive than the other houses. This is where human beings get understanding, wisdom – what the Dutch call wijs. In Islam this place is called Bait-al Mam ur. Once that house has been penetrated, there is still one more, a single point. That point is known as Qalb. It is at the heart of life, including human life, animal life – every kind of life.
This is what Bapak can tell you, but you do not need to think about it now, as you still have a long, long way to go. For now, just receive one movement after another – move freely and say whatever you are made to say.
You are Americans and you speak English, but when you do latihan what you say is unintelligible, ‘Cčkčcok ocčkčcok ocčkčcok ocčk …’ Who knows what it means? If I ask you, ‘Do you understand what you are saying?’ You reply, ‘I have no idea.’ But if you remember: ‘It is how I was when I was a baby.’
A baby, a newborn baby can only say, ‘Me ma me ma mi ma mi ma mi … wik wok wik wok wik wok …’ [Laughter.] If you were to take a baby to the jungle and leave it there, and in the jungle it was raised by a monkey, it would speak like a monkey. Yes. If it was raised by a dog, it would speak like a dog, ‘Woof, woof, woof,’ like that. Yes. If it was raised by a monkey: ‘Mwek mwek mwek mwek,’ just like a monkey. [Laughter.] Just like the story of Tarzan. You have heard of Tarzan; the film was screened in cinemas here in America. That is how it would be.
Cilandak, Indonesia - August 20, 1967
Code Number : 67 TJK 5
The quality, the individuality, the inner self are different. With them, if they have money and it gets lost they do not complain. If you have money and the money gets lost, you are upset. You mean to say you are not upset ? You are upset! You may have some article which you look at every evening and suddenly you may lose it and you become upset. You might lose your appetite for a week. It is not so with the Prophets. They are not affected if they lose something, because even if someone said to Muhammad: "Hey, Muhammad, tomorrow morning you have to die," he would just say: "As God wills." If it happens to you? "Hey, you, tomorrow morning you have to die? You will say: "Wait a while, until my great-grandchild is married." This is how it is. There is a cause for everything. We have to know this, so that we can decide on what we need to do. You are very fortunate, brothers and sisters. As Bapak has said before, it is fortunate for us that we have received the latihan kejiwaan. It has seemed in our experience as if we have been able to stop the working of the mind. Actually it is not so. It is, in fact, done by the Power of God, and we just benefit from it whenever the Power of God "arrives". The meaning of "arriving" is, for example, coming in from outside; but, in fact, it is not so. Whenever the Power of God is there, at that same moment the heart and mind will cease to function like the morning dew at the moment when the sun starts shining. The sun rises and the early morning dew disappears without being instructed. Yes. It just disappears. It is the same with your heart and mind. As soon as the Power of God creeps in, they will stop functioning. Why is it, brothers and sisters? There are quite a few people who always say: surrender. Quite a few. Every day they go to a place of worship. Why is nothing given to them ? Why do they not receive the contact? Why is it? Because the prayer comes from themselves and is not moved by the Power of God. So, it is fortunate, brothers and sisters, that the first time we wished to worship God we were guided by Almighty God.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, you should not search for God. No. Only surrender to God. Because God is already there and guides you. Thus, if you search, He is even farther away. If you practice samadi, then He is still farther away. Yes. Almighty God disappears. You are already guided and directed. It remains for you just to receive. Just receive and take good care of what you have received. Later on you will suddenly understand this: "This makes sense, brothers and sisters." This is in accordance with the way of the Prophets, with the way of the Messengers. Where did Christ go to school? I never heard of it. And, also, where was the school of the Prophet Muhammad? I never heard of that either. But how were they able to guide mankind all over the world? Because God gave them wisdom. Bcause God filled their brain, their head, so that their thinking was always appropriate and correct. Thus, brothers and sisters, clearly there is no other way for you all but always to follow the guidance that exists in your inner self. When presently you discuss something, do not be hard-headed. If you are obstinate then the one that persists will win. Thus there will be chaos, brothers and sisters. There needs to be a feeling of giving-in or submitting to the inner so that you will be able to receive conviction and evidence from within. Presently this can also be done in a way which can be seen with the ordinary eyes, by means of testing.
Jakarta, Indonesia - August 16, 1971
Code Number : 71 TJK 13
So please be really faithful in doing the latihan kejiwaan, and also begin to do what men customarily do in the world - work. But don't forget that you have to heed the inner in anything you do, so that your worldly life will be safeguarded.
Through the will that really comes from the inner, through the Power of God, what you do will certainly not diverge from His Will. In fact, God wills that all of you should be able to ensure happiness and security for yourselves. When it is said that you are able to provide for your own happiness and well being, it also means you have of course to put right what is not in order and has become an obstacle in you. That is to say, you have to become conscious of that obstacle.
To become conscious of it, you simply pray to God and behave properly. By doing what is right and good you will be able to realize what that obstacle in you is, so that you automatically become aware of it.
These are some of the matters in the kejiwaan, brothers and sisters, that you need to be aware of.
Through the latihan kejiwaan you will automatically become conscious of how to be united in feeling with one another. God has ordained this unity by creating woman. The man becomes one with her and she with him.
So if a man indeed seeks such wisdom, he can already find it in his feelings at home with his wife, and she with her husband, by being aware of the whole self, feeling and observing one's own actions and behavior.
Supposing, for example, there has been discord between a man and his wife throughout their married life, and then the man or wife wishes for a change of marriage partner in order to achieve unity: if there has been no unity with the first partner, there will be none with another.
Melbourne, Australia - April 2, 1972
Code Number : 72 MEB 1
Bapak always tells us, to be patient, to do the latihan with patience, trust and sincerity. And this is the way, this is the way to achieve the spiritual wisdom, the spiritual understanding of the sort that Jesus was able to acquire, not by trying to understand it, not by trying to look for it with our hearts and minds, but simply by receiving with patience, trust and sincerity. There is no other way. And in fact, in this situation, it is clear, Bapak has to say, that in order to receive what Jesus received, or what Mohammed received, your inner being has to be like Jesus or Mohammed. And Bapak cannot tell, maybe, there is someone among you here today, who will one day be able to receive this, Bapak cannot tell, but Bapak doesn’t say it for sure.
Chicago, Ill USA - May 2, 1972
Code Number : 72 CHI 2
Bapak often says that Subud is a receiving. It is a receiving which is free from the influence of the nafsu. This is what Bapak experienced, for Bapak was the first person to receive it. Bapak received this even though he had no wish do do so. At that time Bapak had no desire or wish to understand spiritual wisdom and so on, although Bapak was a Moslem and he also performed his worship, which means he performed the solat. He was doing the solat five times a day: subuh ( dawn ), lohor ( midday ), asar ( afternoon ), macrib ( evening ) and isa ( night ). And Bapak is also descended from Moslem ancestors, even, according to history, from a said. This is something uncommon. Bapak’s great grandfather, the father of Bapak’s grandfather was Sayid Mohammad Abubakar. Thus Bapak was not only a Moslem, but he was descended from a said; he was descended from someone who was sincere and who could really be said to be loved by God. But. Bapak did not feel that he was like that. Even though Bapak's grandfather and great-grandfather were loved by God, it was possible that Bapak was not. He left to God. It was also even possible that although Bapak’s grandfather was beloved by God, Bapak himself might be hateful to God. That could also be. But that is Bapak's fairy-story.
Bapak received the latihan without intending to or even thinking about it. Bapak even asked his teacher what it was. "What is this that I have received?" Then the teacher explained: "This is your birthright. Because you possess this right you can be taught by the messenger of God himself; that is, by the Rasulullah, the messenger of God. You are indeed willed to become someone who can bring peace and tranquility to mankind." That was what Bapak's teacher said, but at that time Bapak was not all that quick to believe it, for how could he be able to do this? Bapak even tried elsewhere, and asked another teacher, a teacher of ilmu or spiritual knowledge. This teacher of Bapak's also said that no human being could teach or had the right to teach Bapak anything about spiritual matters, but only God Himself. Bapak did not believe the words of this teacher either, for how could this be? But eventually it came true.
At that time Bapak was still studying in the ordinary way, for he was still very young and was employed in a large office as a bookkeeper. So he was keeping accounts, like what is called in Dutch a boekhouder: a bookkeeper or accountant. Bapak was not expecting anything like that. Then once as Bapak was going to sleep, he was aroused and made to get up. Before that happened a lot of people had seen a ball of light, like an electric light globe, falling from above, it fell exactly on to Bapak's house, which was at Semarang Kalisari, and people guessed that Bapak had received something from God, Eventually, as Bapak has first said, after he had been studying, he was going to sleep, and then he was aroused from his sleep. He was made to get up, and it was like it is when you do the latihan and Bapak walked into the room where he worked, which was called his study. He did not go on studying when he got there, but stood and performed the solar; takbiratul ikrom, the solat. "Allahu Akbar " Then he prostrated himself; atahyat, as it is called. That is, he completed the worship of someone performing the solat. Then when he had finished this act of worship, Bapak went back to bed and went straight to sleep.
This happened every night, and Bapak just went on following it. Because of that, Bapak again asked his teacher what was the meaning of what he was receiving. The teacher could give no answer except to say, “Follow it. This is the Will of God for you." It went on like that every night. Bapak just went along with it and followed what he received. 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.
At that time Bapak was still only twenty-four years old, so he was still very young, still a very young man. Bapak just went on with the latihan every night, receiving and following what was given to him. Bapak had not yet called this the latihan. Bapak only felt as if he were receiving, and it changed and changed, until Bapak felt that all the movements he was receiving were all the movements and actions of all the life created by God. There was the way plants live, the way animals live, the way human beings themselves live, and also what the life is like of those human beings who have received grace from God.
Skymont, VA, USA - May 6, 1972
Code Number : 72 SKY 1
God has blessed you and has brought you close to Him. It only remains for you to be patient and to Surrender. Then wisdom and knowledge will come of themselves, as in Bapak's case. Bapak did not learn this wisdom, this knowledge, but they came of themselves, because Bapak was patient and Bapak worked. Thus you work in the usual way for your daily living. And Bapak hopes that the members in Washington and New York and in other places will not just come and join you so that they look upon Skymont as if it is the only place in which to worship God, and they all come and live here as if Skymont were the only place to worship God and being here you just stay surrendered. They should not do that, when what is necessary is to go forward.
By running an enterprise that really is an enterprise you can really feel how the latihan kejiwaan of Subud can be received anywhere and everywhere, and you can do the latihan once or twice a week, which is enough. Only that is a latihan in the sense of training; it is by way of training. As for the proof, the practical proof, that is to be found in your daily work. It is like it is with Bapak. When Bapak is talking like this, it is latihan, like when you do latihan every evening. But because Bapak has been able to receive it, when Bapak is in latihan it does not show. Bapak hopes it will be like that for all of you. Thus inwardly you feel Allah, Allah, Allah. You kneel on the ground, and it is Allah, Allah, Allah. You work in an office, writing, and it is Allah, Allah, Allah. So your worship of God never ceases, This is what God hopes it will be like for human beings.
New York, NY USA - May 9, 1972
Code Number : 72 NYC 1
When Bapak was in India someone questioned "Is Pak expert in spiritual matters? Is he an expert on the inner life? No one expert in spiritual matters can possibly wear an ordinary suit of clothes and a tie. Why does he not wear a robe, that he can look the part of a holy man?
Bapak answered "It is not the Will of God for Bapak to be like that. It is the Will of God that Bapak should remain like an ordinary man; if he is mixing with people who do not wear ties, he does not wear one either. If he mixes with people who wear shoes, he wears shoes; if he mixes with people who do not wear shoes, he does not wear shoes either.
That is how it is, brothers and sisters, Bapak cannot pretend. He cannot do it. Bapak is Bapak; he does not need to dress differently; nor to be aloof and stiff because he has attained to wisdom. No; Bapak is just Bapak. He laughs and behaves normally.
As Bapak always says to you, "Is what Bapak tells you really true; that we go on living after we get over there?
Brothers and sisters, we have a basis, we have a foundation, we have a platform upon which to base our ideas; our selves, that is. The human self came into existence with the creation of mankind, and it has continued the same until now. Nose, ears, eyes, mouth; the whole body is the same. Only the men of former times were very big. Although they had the same form, it was much larger. It is this that forms a basis. It is this that forms a foundation for consideration in looking at things. There is no other way leading to God and enabling man to place his hope in God except the one that passes through a persons own self. It cannot go by way of books, it cannot go by way of anything else. Your own self is the way.
You can see its tracks when a motor car has gone past; you can tell from its tracks that a car has gone by. For men there are traces of the power of God, not tracks like those of a car. Thus Bapak pictures the human self as if the power of God has passed through it.
In this your own observation will enable you to feel and know "Ah, this is the One Almighty God." It forms the path, it forms the conditions that enable one to know all the most secret things. Why should people not make use of it? They even use stones so as to find things out. It is not necessary to use stones; this is enough, this is the best way.
You will be able to know these things, brothers and sisters; you will be able to experience them and you will also be able to understand them, because the guidance and direction of the One Almighty God are already present in your selves. Thus you simply have to put it into practice. Put what God has given you into practice. Put it into practice means it is as if you contract to build a house. The stone is already there, the cement is there, the iron is there, the constructional steel is there, the wood is there. Everything is already there. It remains to do the job; it is no use just wishing.
Capetown, South Africa - May 23, 1972
Code Number : 72 CPT 1
Brothers and sisters, people not in Subud have indeed come in general to feel that to join Subud or to come into Subud is not a good step to take or they say that people who join spiritual movements or who enter some kind of religious movement become forgetful and neglectful of the needs of worldly life and prefer to study and advance their life in the spiritual field.
This does in fact happen, not only here but in other countries. It is also the case in Indonesia itself. Many young or middle aged people who are still working, and who perhaps even hold very good and high positions, are reluctant to enter Subud or to study spiritual matters, for instance, because they are afraid it will hold back their worldly advancement, and that they will no longer be able to hold their outstanding position, because their minds, being filled with spiritual wisdom, will no longer be able to think about worldly matters.
That is the general opinion, and indeed Bapak does not at all blame them for it, brothers and sisters, of course when people embark upon the life of the spiritual, the deeper it goes and the stronger it is, and the stronger it is, the more often - they carry out their spiritual practices, and then they gradually begin to forget this world. That is indeed the usual thing. That is why in Indonesia there are two groups of those who practice the spiritual life. The first of these is the younger age group; spiritual teaching for the younger people. This teaching for the younger people is called spiritual, but in fact it is really nafsu - such things as magic and the various isms; spiritualism, hypnotism, magnetism and the rest of it. That is for young people. They say that spiritual perfection is for older people; that is the spiritual life that enables people to obtain to the highest levels after death when the time comes.
Edinburgh, Scotland - May 26, 1972
Code Number : 72 EDI 1
Indeed , brothers and sisters, the latihan kejiwaan of Subud really does show us that we have to live as ordinary people. As for the spiritual life, that is the power or working of God. Thus spiritual matters should just be surrendered to the greatness and the wisdom of God, for it is this spiritual power that will change and correct the jiwa; the jiwa which is your content, brothers and sisters, which means it is your life.
London, England - June 1, 1972
Code Number : 72 LON 2
So it is obvious, brothers and sisters, that after you have risen above this world and know what the life up there is like, you will not need this ( body ) anymore. What is this? This is only wrapping, what is needed is the contents. When you buy butter, it is not the container that you buy but the butter inside it. Not the container. Bapak spoke of the container; later on the container rots away.
This is how it is, brothers and sisters, so what we need to seek is ilmu ( spiritual wisdom ) and a training in ilmu. We need to have something given to us by God, our inner feeling; our inner feeling, together with our understanding and our consciousness, so that these become one with the jiwa and we can live with the whole of us. But not this; not this body.
Cilandak, Indonesia - November 6, 1972
Code Number : 72 TJK 10
Such has been Bapak's experience, so Bapak speaks in this way because he has had this experience. And truly, brothers and sisters, people will be able to receive the benefits of the Ramadhan fast; to receive, not cleverness, but what is called an awareness of life and of the way to live this life. This is what in Dutch is called wijsheid ( wisdom ). It is an awareness that does not come through learning, but through surrender to the One God with trustful acceptance and sincere submission, so that although the inner feeling is full of stains, full of the sins you have committed or the wrong things you have done, these are washed away and disappear from your inner feeling, with the result that your inner feeling becomes clean
Cilandak, Indonesia - November 24, 1973
Code Number : 73 CDK 15
And as for the proofs Bapak has just spoken of, of course you cannot expect to learn to receive things like that quickly. It is merely your heart that wants that. But supposing God granted you what you want. For instance your wish to be clever, your wish for understanding, your wish to know what the hereafter is like and what are the conditions of life after death, supposing God granted you these wishes, and you were told about that life or admitted to it, your heart might not be strong enough. For you would be able to see things that are not normally seen. So such is the wisdom of God that human beings, or all of you, are trained little by little, so that later you will be undaunted, you will be resolute and strong, and though you see things you have never seen before, they will not upset you.
Cilandak, Indonesia - April 14, 1974
Code Number : 74 CDK 9
It can thus clearly be seen from the latihans you have received, brothers and sisters, that we are completely surrounded by ilmu, spiritual wisdom, in our receiving from God and in the grace we receive from the One Almighty God.
If you want to become a comedian, a clown, you can do so. Bapak has just been telling jokes. If you want to be a singer, you can do so. Bapak has not wanted to sing lately, because his voice is different. Once upon a time it would have brought tears to your eyes to hear Bapak singing the pangkun. You would have been crazy about him. Truly you would. The men with the best voices in Middle Java admitted Bapak was the best. Yes, truly. Bapak will tell you frankly how it once happened that I was doing latihan at the house of the Bupati ( Regent ), of Surakarta, a man named Tondonegoro. I was doing latihan with him and his son-in-law and I was unconsciously singing the pangkur. This was near to the keputrian, the princesses quarters. The Keputrian is the quarters for the young princesses, beautiful girls. There was a great commotion there, and they were buzzing like bees. Yes, that was because they heard Bapak’s voice. Then Bapak went back to Semarang. He did not like it; he did not want people falling in love with him.
This is how it used to be, but not any longer now. Why is that? He is old now, Bapak admits that he is already an old man. This was just while he was young. Although his heart still wants to be young, his outer man is old; his teeth are false; he has only two teeth left, all the rest are gone.
This is how it is brothers and sisters. In Subud, in the Subud latihan kejiwaan there lies every kind of culture, every kind of knowledge, every kind of thing useful for the life of man. Bapak never went to any school of economics. No; much less to a law school like Prio there, no. But I understand what is said in the constitution. Perhaps Prio, who has a masters degree in law and who is also a doctor of law, perhaps he does not quite fully understand the basic origins of the constitution.
Cilandak, Indonesia - June 22, 1974
Code Number : 74 CDK 8
Brothers and sisters, Bapak will not prolong this talk or this explanation of his, for there is no exhausting, no end to the wisdom that comes from God. If it were made into books, maybe it would fill Jakarta, but there would still be more; that is to say, if Jakarta were filled with books of it, there would still be wisdom to be received from God.
So Bapak need not go on. The most important thing for you is to act. Let what Bapak has proposed be carried into effect, for truly any effort you make will teach you and accustom you to feel how close the power of God is to your self.
Wolfsburg, Germany - June 14, 1975
Code Number : 75 WOB 2
So it is clear, brothers and sisters, there is no other way. All you need is to be empty in your inner selves; empty of the nafsu. But if you can manage to empty the nafsu out of your inner selves, brothers and sisters, is there any point in your living in this world? And why is it necessary for the One Almighty God to make you live in this world? This is where you need your wisdom, so that you can realize and so that you can really understand and be aware how this comes about. 'What use is it for me to live in this world if I have no nafsu, because these nafsu are tools or instruments for all living creatures, for all the beings to whom God has given life, so that they can carry on their lives for as long as they live on earth?'
Tokyo, Japan - April 19, 1976
Code Number : 76 TYO 1
God, who in Islam is called Allah, is All-powerful, and in His All-wisdom God gives certain instruments, certain conditions, a certain something to human beings. Bapak will just say that He gives you something; that is, something to follow which is like guidance for you, so that you will be able to know and to feel how your life will be after you have left this world. Because God is All-wise, brothers and sisters, He does not restrict you in the things you need, so that you can use everything that you have in you; that is, you can use all your five senses to provide for your lives for so long as you live in this world.
Tokyo, Japan - April 22, 1976
Code Number : 76 TYO 6
You can think about it. Bapak has set up this structure because of his experience in the past. Before Bapak arranged things in this way, there were at that time say about one hundred thousand Subud members in the world. Say that on average each person sent one letter per year to Bapak. But if a hundred thousand letters is divided by three hundred and sixty five days, how many letters a day is that? Three hundred letters. That is from just a hundred thousand members. If there were fifty million members in the world, Bapak would never get any sleep.
At the same time, each person has a problem; everyone has problems, even if they are kept down to one a year. Each person sometimes has at least ten problems in one year. How about that? That is why Bapak, acting on the wisdom he has received from God, has arranged things like this. So if this arrangement can be properly carried out, then at most Bapak would have to send out fifty letters a day, and that would keep him very busy indeed solving problems. Even if this were done and there were only that many, Bapak still could not sleep, just with fifty letters. Nor would Sjarif be able to sleep, for the letters would be chasing after him all the time. Yes, while he is here translating Bapak's talk, the letters are still waiting there behind him.
Bapak will give an illustration. People consider illness to be an important problem. 'I have an illness, Bapak, and I have been to the doctors, but it is no better. How is that?' That is still easy; Bapak just answers, 'Find a really first-class doctor, a high-quality doctor.' Then there is, 'Bapak, I am already thirty or thirty-five years old. All my love-affairs go wrong. Whom should I marry? I have been told to ask a doctor about this. The doctor can give no answer. I must have an answer from Bapak himself.'
These, brothers and sisters, are the things that Bapak leaves to the national helpers, or at least to the regional helpers to answer, or to the group helpers if they can do it. Little by little this is being done, so that letters no longer arrive such as the one that came from Holland, asking, 'Bapak, I need to move house. Would it be right for me to have a house facing south or a house facing east?'
Los Angeles, California USA - May 2, 1976
Code Number : 76 LAX 2
So brothers and sisters, it is clear, that if we begin to understand the relationship of the life forces and we begin to experience for ourselves the reality of what Bapak has been talking about, we will gain in wisdom. For example, what Bapak means by that, we will become psychologically more acute. So what we are taught is we will become more perceptive about what is going on in the life around us, and our understanding will grow. And the reason for this is because we have a new teacher, and this teacher is God Almighty. So when we are doing the latihan, actually we are going to school under a new teacher, the teacher who is the Lord who created the whole universe. So it is clear that bit by bit we will become more perceptive as human beings, and more and more able to understand what is going on around us. But it is for this reason that Bapak warns us that we must also be wise, and we must understand that never, never should we use our understanding or our cleverness to show off. In other words, to act out our cleverness and our greater understanding. For this is something that is called, the word in Indonesian in Takibur; it means a little bit, I don't know if you know what is meant by hubris, in other words you put yourself above God.
This is something that is very wrong and Bapak says it is wrong, not because God will be angry at you, but because you are spoiling things for yourself. Because that attitude brings a darkness within your being, and closes up or clouds over your inner feelings which have begun to be clean and clear. So Bapak really advises you to be very careful to avoid this kind of attitude when your understanding begins to grow, and you begin to understand more about life.
Cilandak, Indonesia - December 11, 1976
Code Number: 76 CDK 17
Brothers and sisters, when Bapak pushes you like this, one cannot call it forcing you. For what Bapak means is that, from a misunderstanding of the latihan kejiwaan of Subud and of its intention and aim, this latihan kejiwaan of Subud is, as it were, being turned into a commercial proposition.
But nevertheless it is also necessary to be able to use it; it is also necessary to possess it while you are still living in this world, so that this cleverness and what you discover will be a teacher for you within your own self. That will mean that you will then be able to grasp the future; to understand tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after that, next month, two months hence, three months hence, one, two, three years ahead. It is as if you can already reach out and touch them beforehand. So this is an understanding that is beyond the ordinary. You yourselves become the teacher, and the pupils are also you yourselves.
It is the same way for members in other countries, not just here. In Colombia they were always in a state of disharmony between the groups there; they were always disagreeing. One might ask what they were really looking for. If they were looking for wahyu, if they were looking for ilham, if they were looking for spiritual progress, in fact they would never be able to achieve these by quarrelling and disagreeing, nor would it even be possible for them to receive. For people can only receive spiritual progress, progress in wahyu, progress in ilham, through patience, trust and sincerity. So why quarrel?
Thus it was clear that these quarrels were nothing but quarrels about commercial matters, money matters, external matters. They would not admit that this was leading in a worldly direction. They claimed that it led in a spiritual direction. No; it is not at all the same thing. If the direction is a spiritual one there will of course be harmony, there will of course be peace; there will be no quarrels. There will be none, for what need is there to quarrel? That will actually put you into the dark, which means that your path towards the worship of God will become darkened.
London, England - June 24, 1977
Code Number : 77 LON 2
Brothers and Sisters, it is a commonplace that people who study spiritual wisdom, or spiritual knowledge, always turn their attention to the past. They always consider and study conditions and situations and atmospheres that existed in the world in the olden days and thereby try to recapture, or go back, to something that existed before, maybe 100 years before, or whenever it was. In other words, they try to go backwards from now into something that existed previously. Now this is something that is clearly not in accordance with God's will, because God creates everything to grow forwards and to progress. A tree grows from below upwards; you will never find a tree growing from above downwards or shrinking, as it were, into the ground.
Oslo, Norway - July 24, 1977
Code Number : 77 OSL 3
So, to start with, Bapak feels it's important to clarify a little more about this so that your basic understanding will be better and will be clearer. It is sure that people in general want to know what is the origin of the Latihan Kejiwaan, what is the background of the Latihan Kejiwaan, because they have the opinion that whatever arises that is new must have an origin, it must have started from somewhere, it must have come from something - and, for example, nowadays the opinion of people in general is that if there is somebody with wisdom, or with a certain understanding, he must have got it from somewhere. Either he studied with somebody, or he found it somewhere, or he studied something which in the end enabled him to have a certain understanding and a certain knowledge.
Actually, when Bapak always says to you that anything that we want for our lives, anything that we need, we can find in the Latihan Kejiwaan - and we can find this in the Latihan Kejiwaan just by receiving it, without the need for any special kind of study, without following any teaching or any method - when Bapak says this to us, as he always does, this is actually based on Bapak's own experience of how Bapak himself first received the Latihan Kejiwaan and everything else that happened to Bapak.
Bristol, England - June 26, 1977
Code Number : 77 BRS 1
So it is clear, Brothers and Sisters, that this is God's will and this is God's guidance to mankind that we go through this world and find God once again - but using all these instruments and all the equipment that God has given us. It is not like people imagine, people who speak about spiritual knowledge and spiritual wisdom. They say: 'Well, it's enough once you have received spiritual knowledge - you just leave everything to God. For example, if you are short of money you just ask God. If you are short of clothes, you ask God. If you have a problem, you ask God - you leave everything to God.'
Actually, this is completely back to front because God isn't a banker, God isn't a contractor to build you a house. God is something quite different.
God's way is that when He creates something, He creates it complete, so that when God created mankind God created man complete in this world, so that he had everything to live in this world and to get back to God again. God has already given us all the tools that we need once and for all, and those are what we have to use to fulfill our needs in this world, to look for money, to build houses and so on. It is clear then that God has given us everything, and all we need to do now is to put it into practice. That is, the Latihan Kejiwaan is not something we do twice a week on Mondays and Fridays, or what have you. The Latihan Kejiwaan is always within us. When Bapak says we must do the Latihan Kejiwaan diligently, Bapak doesn't mean to say we must go more than twice a week to do the latihan. What Bapak means is that this latihan which has been placed within you and is there all the time when you wall, when you sit, when you sleep and so on, you must try to feel it more. That is what Bapak means by doing the latihan more. When Bapak says put into practice what you have received, what Bapak means is that you live your life, put into practice what is within you, feel what is within you which is already there. All that you have to do now is to put it into practice - that is, feel it, to be aware of it.
Wolfsburg, Germany - July 27, 1977
Code Number : 77 WOB 1
And the purpose of enterprises is then not something Bapak has invented to make you all change jobs. The important thing is that it gives you a chance to practice in your everyday life how to work and to be all the time with the movement, according to the movement of the power of God, so that gradually we will become more and more used to being guided, when we are working, when we are talking, when we are writing, and eventually we will get to the point where we will be guided, when we are thinking. And at that moment we will be in a position to think about heaven and to understand heaven with our thinking mind. And then we will be like Jesus Christ, that is, with a true wisdom, a true wisdom of mind that is guided and illuminated by the power of God.
Hamburg, Germany - August 6, 1977
Code Number : 77 HAM 3
Brothers and sisters, Bapak has to explain to you, or has to remind you, that the work of the helpers is actually founded on the blessing or the grace or the revelation of God Almighty, because everything that is received in the latihan kejiwaan is from the grace of Almighty God and from the revelation of God Almighty to man. So, actually, the spiritual progress or the spiritual level of a person is entirely dependent on the gift of God Almighty. To take an example - once :he prophet Abraham had received his revelation, one could call him as the first or the elder among people who had been given the revelation of God in that group; that is, the group which is included in the group of the prophet Abraham, or the ones who believe in the book Zabbur. Similarly with Jesus Christ. After Jesus Christ had received his revelation, there did not arise a second Jesus Christ or a third Jesus Christ or a fourth Jesus Christ - there was only one, and although there came people after Him, or He had successors, they were not a second Jesus, but rather like assistants to Jesus. And the same is true in Subud, that everything depends on the revelation or the wahyu that is given from God Almighty.
To illustrate this, or to explain it more clearly, there is a saying in the Javanese language which normally people do not understand unless they are experts or have a real understanding of spiritual matters - and what this saying says is that the one who has received the revelation of God Almighty, he is the one who is truly wise, and he is the one who can truly understand things that are in the realm of the miraculous. So what we receive in the latihan kejiwaan is entirely in the hands of God Almighty. It is quite possible for a helper who is maybe not yet a long time a helper, to receive a revelation or the grace of God Almighty. This may be a helper who is just at the local level, but thanks to God's revelation, he is suddenly able to acquire a real wisdom and understanding; while it is possible that helpers who are already doing the latihan for a very long time, and are already sitting at the regional or national level, have not yet received such a revelation from God Almighty.
Because of this, and because we cannot know what Almighty God will give to each of us, the helpers ,therefore have truly not to have a feeling of being higher than each other or lower than each other, but simply to wait together for God's grace and God's blessing for them. This is the reason why in the spiritual, in the kejiwaan, it is absolutely forbidden to have a feeling of being higher, of being above other people. This is what is referred to in the spiritual sense as Tokkaburr, especially in Islam. It is a quality where people like to make claims or to determine that such-and-such will happen in the future, although they are not quite sure yet whether it will happen or not. In other words, people who like to 'show off'. This is something that is absolutely forbidden in religion. The corresponding term in Dutch, maybe you know it, is forbarrer: those of you who can speak Dutch - forailich - premature. So this is something that is very much forbidden in religion. The reason why ,this is so much forbidden in religion is because a feeling of pride or a feeling of being higher is truly an enormous obstacle or barrier to receiving any kind of grace from God Almighty.
This is why - Bapak again reminds you now, repeats once again - that in your situation as helpers you must not ever have a feeling of being higher than another, or something like that. That is why the question of spiritual degree among helpers is a great secret which we never think about or discuss because, actually, as helpers we are all equal, all on the same level, all equally high and equally low.
Lausanne, Switzerland - August 13, 1977
Code Number : 77 QLS 1
It may be that you want to ask: 'Why then did Almighty God place within human beings the lower forces which are there to be assistants for man's life in this world?' You may want to ask this because you have become aware of how much these lower forces are a temptation and a disturbance for man when he wants to do his worship of God Almighty. But Bapak answers that the wisdom of God is beyond all wisdom that man can muster. God is truly Alt-wise and knows everything and how to arrange everything. This is why, besides giving man the life forces which form part of his being, which are what he needs - the tools he needs to live in this world - God has also given man something, this life that is within man's life, which permits him to be separated from the influence of the lower forces, so that it leaves man free to worship God Almighty completely. And this, as Bapak has explained, was received by the prophets in the olden days - by Abraham, Moses, by Jesus and by Prophet Muhammad. But in those days it was enough for them to say to their followers: 'Have faith in the power of Almighty God.' When people at that time were asked to have faith, it was possible for them to receive, through their faith, the help of God Almighty. That is, people were told at that time: 'It is enough for you just to have faith in God Almighty, and then God will send his help to whoever of you is able to receive it'. This was possible in those days.
But the ability for man to receive something from God in such a simple way became less and less and less, as you yourselves know, because of man's heart and mind which has progressed more and more in the realm of knowledge and understanding. So that man came further and further from being able to receive something easily from the power of Almighty God. But in the end man was able to receive something - which is this Latihan Kejiwaan - which is truly in accordance with the situation of man today, and this is because God Almighty never leaves man in the lurch. God Almighty always knows the need of man and is willing to help man, providing man turns to Him. That is why we have received today this Latihan Kejiwaan. It isn't that Bapak wants to say that the latihan is something very, very important or something like that, but really it's true that this latihan is, for us, the way that we can experience the reality of the separation of the influence of the lower forces within us so that we can ourselves worship God Almighty. Because through this the lower forces can truly be separated from our own feeling - and this Bapak wants to explain to you a bit more. Bapak will explain to you the way in which the lower forces work, so that you will then better understand why it is so difficult for us to worship God Almighty free from their influence, and why it is so difficult for us to distinguish between the influence of one kind of lower force and another.
Blonay, Switzerland - August 15, 1977
Code Number : 77 BLN 1
Brothers and Sisters Bapak feels it's necessary in order to explain this further, for Bapak to tell you a little bit of the story about when Bapak first received what Bapak is talking about. At that time Bapak was studying and Bapak had the habit every evening, after he had finished studying late at night, of going for a walk - and this was a period of Bapak's life when he had completely given up spiritual matters or anything like that. Because in the past, when Bapak had tried to find a teacher who would and great knowledge, he invariably refused to teach Bapak. One or two of explain things to Bapak, Bapak was always disappointed. Whenever Bapak went to a teacher - usually someone who was reputed to have great wisdom them said to Bapak: 'Actually, you cannot learn anything from a human teacher because later you will be taught by God.' So Bapak, it can be said, was disappointed with teachers and had given up any idea of learning about spiritual matters; and, really, Bapak had no understanding at all about what is God, and what is this, and what is that. Bapak, at that time, was studying for his profession and in the evening he went for a walk. It was already very late at night, but as he was returning to his house, suddenly Bapak saw that everything was light, like in the daytime, and Bapak looked up and saw above him the sun. But as Bapak looked up, the sun started to fall down - and the funny thing was that it fell on top of Bapak.
Bapak knows, of course, that it wasn't the real sun; it couldn't happen because the real sun is something much bigger than this world. However, it happened - this is how it happened that this radiance, or this light, which Bapak saw and which looked at first like the sun, entered Bapak's body. Bapak could feel it, because at that moment he started to tremble very strongly, especially within his heart, here, and from this very strong and uncontrollable trembling Bapak was sure that Bapak had had a heart attack or something like that ( because Bapak understood something about health and so on ). Bapak was quite sure that he had come to the last moment of his life, and so he hurried quickly to die at home if possible. At that time Bapak was not yet married and Ibu Rahayu was not yet born, and Bapak was still 'living with his parents, so the one who opened the door was his mother, who died not long ago at the age of 97.
Well, Bapak went quickly to his room and lay down on his bed expecting to die very quickly. But when Bapak lay down on his bed Bapak didn't die - instead Bapak could suddenly see that inside his body was full of light. And Bapak could even see that inside his head - let's say, Bapak's brain - was completely filled with a kind of radiance. After experiencing this for some time, a very strange thing happened because, suddenly, Bapak's body got up from the bed without Bapak's wish or will, and moved by itself - started walking out of the room to Bapak's study where Bapak normally studied, and then again moved by itself so that Bapak did the Muslim prayer until the end, when you turn to the right and turn to the left. After that, Bapak's body got up and again walked and returned to bed. So when Bapak woke up in the morning, Bapak wasn't sure whether it was a dream or whether it had really happened that Bapak had been moved like that. But the next night it happened again, and the next night again, so that actually Bapak experienced what we now know as the Latihan Kejiwaan every night - and it seems that Bapak was willed by God to experience this every night for a thousand nights. So after the thousand nights, Bapak, after having done his prayer in the usual way, was sitting quietly in his study doing the Zikir, which is a Muslim prayer where you simply sit and repeat the name of God. Suddenly, as Bapak was sitting there, a big book fell into Bapak's lap.
This was a real book - Bapak could feel the weight on his legs - it wasn't an imaginary book, it was a real solid book, and it was large like this, like an atlas, rather thin but large. Bapak opened the cover and on the first page was the picture of a man wearing a turban, and underneath was some writing in Arabic. Bapak had studied Arabic when he was small but not very diligently, so Bapak tried to decipher this writing letter by letter - Bapak doesn't know, maybe he took too long over it, because suddenly the writing changed and disappeared and was replaced by Roman letters ( which Bapak, of course, could read very easily ) which spelt out -'Prophet Muhammad, Messenger of God.' When Bapak read that the figure in the picture smiled and nodded his head like this. Al this, of course, Bapak was very surprised, so Bapak turned the page. On the next page he saw many, many human beings, men and women, all of them praying and asking God's forgiveness, but in many different situations. Some were lying, some were sitting, :some were walking, some were swimming, some were like drowning in the river or something like that – many, many different situations, and all asking God for forgiveness of their sins. But they were all brown. In other words, the same color as Bapak - brown skin.
Then Bapak turned the page and there was a similar situation - lots and lots of people doing all sorts of things, worshipping God, shouting, crying, walking, but this time with white skins. Bapak maybe turned one or two pages more, and they were all similar to the first pages. Then Bapak closed the book and thought to himself: 'This is a very, very interesting book and my friends will be very pleased if I showed it to them tomorrow.' So Bapak took the book and picked it up like this, and at that moment the book disappeared. But, actually, it was a real book, so that when it fell into Bapak's lap at the beginning, Bapak looked up to see where it came from, and at that moment it was as if there was no ceiling there, it was as though the room was kind of open.
After some time passed, Bapak was again sitting late at night doing the Zikir, and again a similar thing happened, a book fell into his lap, but this time it was a book with a different shape - it was not big and flat, but small and rather thick, like a dictionary. And when he opened it, Bapak saw that all the pages were blank. Bapak asked: 'What's the point of a blank book?' At the moment when Bapak asked that, suddenly writing appeared which said: 'This book will contain writing only if you ask, only if you have some questions.' So then Bapak understood and Bapak, of course, asked a lot of questions: 'Why is this? Why is this? Why is this?' In the course of all the explanations that Bapak read in that book, Bapak was told, for example, about what would happen in the future. It was foretold that there would be a war between Italy and Ethiopia.
At that time there was yet no war when Bapak received this. And then later on there would be a World War, and after the World War Indonesia would become free, or during the World War. And then, after that, Bapak would travel around the world and so on and so forth. So Bapak saw many, many things, and Bapak saw some other things, not just about what would happen in the future. And when Bapak had finished, Bapak closed the book and held it like this, and again the book disappeared. Of course, Bapak was very disappointed because it seemed like a very valuable book. But at the same time Bapak could feel something hard inside his chest, and Bapak was told at that time that, actually, 'don't be sorry to lose that book because you have it within you now, which means that later on when people ask you questions, you will be able ,to answer the questions of people around you.' So it was as though Bapak put it in his pocket - but what Bapak put in his pocket was a kind of very great wisdom that was contained in this book.
So this is a little story to give you an idea - to tell you maybe a little bit about some of the things that happened to Bapak when he first received this latihan. First of all to make you more determined in doing your latihan, and also to show you how the hakekat works - that the hakekat really is accompanied by very strange things, very unusual things, but something that is really real because it becomes part of you. What you experience in the hakekat is a reality which becomes part of you, and you can feel the reality of it for yourself.
New York, NY USA - September 11, 1977
Code Number : 77 NYC 3
Indeed the grace of God, the power of God, and man's access to the power of God, is something that is very, very difficult to think about. Because of this difficulty of thinking about the power of God, experts in the kejiwaan, or people who are very much educated in spiritual matters, have always advised that if you want to understand, if you want to make progress, if you want to seek for the spiritual, you must reduce your interest and involvement in the effort of living in this world. If you really want to make progress in the kejiwaan and to receive an understanding in the kejiwaan and a wisdom in the kejiwaan, then you must reduce your efforts, you must abandon your drive to make money and to make a living in this world. But this idea is something that is, in fact, already based on a mistake - because these spiritual teachers who proclaim this message have already forgotten that the reason they can live at all in this world is because they have a house, because they can eat food, because they can wear clothes and have all the other conveniences that man relies on in this world. Without those they would not be able to be here in this world at all.
Well, Brothers and Sisters, actually you can weigh this for yourselves. You can feel this and you can sense it for yourselves - whether it is true or not what Bapak has said. So you are really extremely fortunate because you have received the thing that the whole world is looking for - and yet they cannot find it, no matter how hard they look. Brothers and Sisters, everything that happens in Subud happens by the will of God. It is not necessary for Bapak to state that the Subud latihan is the power of God, is the guidance of the power of God. But the evidence is there, you can check it for yourselves from what Bapak has just told you.
Brothers and Sisters, Bapak is not someone with great wisdom, with great knowledge. Bapak has never studied very deeply. Bapak has never gone to university or studied hard to gain a lot of knowledge, and yet Bapak has a great deal of understanding and Bapak knows many things that men do not normally understand. This is because of God's will, and no matter what Bapak has received from God Almighty, Bapak has always prayed to God Almighty. When Bapak received so much knowledge and so much understanding from the power of God, Bapak always prayed to God Almighty: 'Oh God, do not give this to me only, but give this grace to all mankind.' And God has answered Bapak's prayer because you have all received what Bapak received from God Almighty. Actually, everything that has happened in Subud is God's will. How could it be that Bapak, who had nothing, who had no money whatsoever, could travel around the world? And even if he had the money, that he would be received by people, that he would be listened to, that he would be respected by people in other countries all over the world? How could this happen if it was not the will of God? Not only that - Bapak doesn't come from a country with wide connections; a country that is respected by others. Bapak comes from a country which people mostly have not even heard of. Yet Bapak has been able to travel around and is loved by people everywhere he goes. But this, again, was already revealed to Bapak many years ago, long before any of it happened.
Woodstock, VT USA - September 12, 1977
Code Number : 77 WOS 1
Brothers and sisters, up to the present time the customs of mankind are still involved with and affected by their feelings and their minds, their thoughts, so that their worship of God and the way that they obtain proof and evidence in their jiwas are very much influenced by their thinking and feeling. Whereas these feelings and thoughts are always connected with the lower forces, whose nature is far removed from the reality of the true human being. It seems to be a habit of human beings to be very fond of what are called holy places. Bapak himself, when he came to England on past occasions, was often taken by Mr. Bennett to places of historical interest; to 'holy places'. For it is indeed the custom of spiritual experts to seek out these holy places, so that they are influenced in their practices by the material forces, while these material forces are the forces which are called satanic. It is like what used to happen in times past. It is still happening at the present time, and this custom still exists in Indonesia. Many people say that they are seeking for ilmu ( spiritual wisdom ) and engaging in spiritual practices, but in reality they are practicing asceticism, so that, as in the case of the 'holy places' to which Bapak has just referred, these people eventually become involved in the material sphere which is what is called satanic.
Cali, Columbia - November 12, 1977
Code Number : 77 CLO 3
God has created man in this world in order that he should be able to take care of his life in this world. But what is important and also God's will, is that man in satisfying his life in this world should always remember God Almighty. So it is clear, then, that man in this world must worship God Almighty; and besides that, he has to work in order to satisfy the needs of his life here. It is true - and it is a problem - that when we worship God Almighty we feel as though we don't need anything more. We feel as though there is no need for us to bother any more about the needs of this world - and this is perfectly right, providing we no longer have this physical body. But while we still have this physical body, it means we are filled with all the needs of this world, because this body is full of all the framework of the lower forces which Bapak described, which correspond to things in this world. So while we still live in this world, it is necessary to work and to use all the faculties of our being in order to satisfy these needs.
In this we are also guided by the power of Almighty God which exists within our being. This is also recognized in the various religions, where it is generally said that the source of knowledge and all wisdom is in the Holy Book, which is the basis of that religion. But what is meant by that is not the book itself - for example, the Bible or the Koran - because the book is nothing more than a lot of words. What is meant is that the will of God, which is the content of the book, is the source of all knowledge and all wisdom. People sometimes misunderstand and think that it is the book, the words that are written in that book, that are the source of all wisdom. But how could a book be the fountain of all knowledge and all wisdom, since the Holy Books are usually nothing more than the words, or the guidance, of God Almighty to a certain person, which usually have the content of urging all his followers to act rightly, to avoid things that are wrong, and to work to satisfy their needs in this world? So the true meaning that the Holy Books are the source of all wisdom is actually something that we receive in the latihan, because in the latihan we experience that God guides us in everything that we do, because in the latihan we are guided in all ways in which we can work, in which we can earn our living.
Probably those of you who are still new will not have experienced this, but those who have been in Subud for some time should by now have experienced this - that in the latihan we are guided to do many, many things. We are guided, for example, how to draw; we are guided how to write; we are guided how to use our hands in various forms of work, such as being a craftsman and so on, so that actually we can be guided in all the forms of work, or the particular forms of work, that are right for us, that are our talent. Women can even be guided in the latihan in how to make themselves look beautiful - how to adorn themselves. So actually if a woman who has received the latihan goes to what is called a beauty salon, that is really a big mistake - because no doubt she will waste a great deal of money, as she would be able to receive, through the latihan, how to make herself look beautiful just through the guidance of God, from herself, without relying on anybody else.
Honolulu, Hawaii - December 22, 1977
Code Number : 77 HNL 1
People say that this present era is one of progress, but in the understanding and wisdom that come from God it is not yet so. It is not even halfway so. This is still at the beginning, or rather not at the beginning but a little after the beginning. Thus there are still things that have not yet happened and which people perhaps think will be brought about by human beings with their minds and brains. But for God this is not so. It all lies within the sphere of the power of God, and nothing exists which is beyond the sphere of the power of God.
In this way, brothers and sisters, it is therefore clear that God created human beings, and not only the human beings who live here but also, perhaps, human beings living in many other places which only God knows. Human understanding is limited only to what can be understood by the mind and the heart; no more and no less than that.
Cilandak, Indonesia - August 28, 1978
Code Number : 78 CDK 17
Your latihan can be said to have made a lot of progress already. Thus it is clear that the latihan is the awakening of the jiwa. Before you received the latihan, you thought, you imagined things, and you felt in the way your own thoughts and nafsu were going. After receiving the latihan, things are now, not the reverse, but changed by your hearts allowing themselves to be awakened by your jiwas.
Wisma Subud Jakarta, Indonesia - January 7, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 1
( Testing )
So in this case Bapak will explain what H. has received, for H. has not yet received a methodology for receiving something and then being able to explain it. One day she will receive that but not yet. Bapak doesn't know when. So now Bapak has to explain what H. received, which is that the way and where she receives the guidance of God is in her everyday life, that is through her seeing, through her hearing, through her actions, through her speech, through her feeling and through her thinking.
This then is where we receive the guidance of God. So actually the study of spiritual wisdom is simply our everyday activity; this is what we have to be aware of. When we understand this, all that we have to do to study truth or knowledge is to be attentive to our own selves all the time. Now to do this, we have to keep ourselves as clean as possible, so for example we don't spend our time thinking about things which are nasty and do things which are not right. This way our thinking, which we keep as clean as possible, can be filled with God's guidance. And that's all there is to it.
This is why, for example, Bapak himself simply receives what he does at every moment. So when Bapak gives a speech, for example, he doesn't write notes about what he is going to say; at that moment he speaks, his words are all arranged for him. Bapak gave an example when he sang a few metres in Javanese, that came out already arranged; the verse was composed, let us say, as Bapak sang it, so he didn't have to think first and work on it.
Jakarta, Indonesia - February 6, 1979
Code Number : 79 JKT 1
Why is Bapak able to tell you that you will have everything you need? It is because it is also like that for Bapak. Bapak also feels that he has everything, not like other people. Because of that Bapak urges all the workers to do their work as if they were working for themselves. That will train you to be able to do things standing on your own feet and relying on your own strength. You must not always feel that you are hired laborers. That is to live like those plants that grow on other plants, so that if the host plant falls, those that are growing on it fall too. So too with you, so that you should train yourselves to work sincerely in whatever work you do, so that this work will teach you to understand, and it will be like a lesson for you. It is like what Bapak said about how if you associate with rich people, you become a little bit rich yourself. God willing, you can become big people, the same as those to whom you are near. If you associate with clever people, you can also be like them, and you can become half as clever, or a little bit clever. But if, on the other hand, you associate with badly behaved people, you will also be like that. That, brothers and sisters, is why we are beginning to be aware, we are beginning to draw near to people who are really wise, so that we can return to wisdom and become wise. You come near to people who are good at their work, so that you become able to work on your own, independently of other people. So it really is true, brothers and sisters, that God has given his guidance to mankind, and this has been set out both in the Koran and in the other holy books.
Cilandak, Indonesia March 17, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 8
So it is clear, brothers and sisters, that the latihan is not just something that is limited to guiding us in movement, in our outer actions. Later, when we are able to receive this guidance in our heart and our understanding, we won't need to have the movements in order to understand. This is the next stage: gradually the latihan becomes deeper, and deeper and deeper. Finally it will manifest in your thinking, also in your heart.
Initially you will go through different stages of your heart. You should understand that the heart itself has many levels. At its first level the heart acts without caution or consideration for the effects of what it does. This is the normal heart, the coarse heart. But as your latihan is able to penetrate this heart, you come to a heart that is the heart of caution or attentiveness, when you act with caution or attentiveness. Once you are able to pierce through that heart, you achieve the heart of wisdom, where your actions begin to be characterized by wisdom. And when you penetrate that level, there is yet another heart: one that is truly aware of right and wrong.
You have to go through all this in the latihan kejiwaan. This is why Bapak always advises us to do enterprises. Because for us enterprises are a training ground where we learn the relationship between the heart and the jiwa, between the servant and the master. Gradually our heart can truly become the servant of the master, which is the jiwa. Gradually we can learn to live in such a way, guided by our jiwa, that we can take care of our life both in this world and in the next.
Suppose our jiwa is high, but our heart is not yet clean, is still dirty. We will then live in a way that is completely unbalanced, that is, we will always feel ourselves to be superior to everyone else, because our heart is still dirty. So apart from having a high jiwa, we also need to clean our heart. Our heart needs to be cleaned and purified in order that it can truly become a good and suitable servant for the jiwa.
We can compare this purification of the heart to washing or cleaning. Who is doing this? It is God Almighty. It is also like the sharpening of a knife. If you just use a knife without ever sharpening it, it will soon become blunt. And the one who does this sharpening is God Almighty. So the heart can become a tool that is really useful for your life, both now and in the hereafter.
And actually, this latihan kejiwaan is not only something for the development of your jiwa but also for your heart and mind. Bapak does this testing with you so that you can become more familiar with the relationship between the jiwa as the master and the heart as the servant.
Cilandak, Indonesia - May 20, 1979
Code Number : 79 CDK 14
Although the prophet Muhammad was a really wise man, he is said to have been illiterate. Illiteracy makes people stupid, so he was like a stupid man. People who asked him questions did not understand. People already know that a horse has four legs, so why did they ask him? The man who asked him saw a lame horse, a horse going on three legs. Then he asked the prophet:
'Prophet, forgive me asking, but how many legs does a horse have?'
'Three.'
'Oh, the prophet is mistaken in saying that a horse has three legs; it must have four.'
'Well, you have just been looking at a horse which has three legs. One leg is lame.'
'Oh, yes.'
It was like that. So, too, when the angel asked the prophet:
'Do you know who I am?'
'Yes, I know. I know your origin. Who are you? You are an angel. If you ask me, I know.'
That was how it was for the prophet. Thus in order not to do anything of a nature to offend people, you must say no more or less than what is experienced, what is acknowledged, what is possessed.
To take an example, you may have some money, a hundred rupiahs, and someone asks you if you have any money. Then you consider what you had better say. Should you be honest and say what you have, or should you hold something back? 'Oh, well, I don't want to be asked for half of it or something like that. So I will say that I only have ten rupiahs.' Thus you lie to your own self, for in reality you have a hundred. Why do you lie to yourself?. You worry lest you should be asked for your money.
So it goes on, in other things like that as well, so that the wisdom which you should be able to receive is dimmed. This is why people in the old days used to say that you should never tell lies, because to lie is to lie to your own inner-self. You actually lose your wisdom, lose your awareness.
You should train yourself to be honest towards your own self. Thus it is your own self that is being trained. You must not get into the habit of seeing something red and saying that it is white, or seeing white and calling it blue, or seeing blue and calling it green. To do that is to accustom yourself to self-deception. If you are accustomed to deceive your own self, of course you will never be wise and of course you will never be careful.
Tunbridge Wells, England - September 16, 1979
Code Number : 79 TBW 1
Singapore - September 30, 1979
Code Number : 79 SIN 2
Toyko, Japan - January 2, 1980
Code Number : 80 TYO 2
Cilandak, Indonesia - February 3, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 1
Cilandak, Indonesia - February 16, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 2
Cilandak, Indonesia - August 11, 1980
Code Number : 80 CDK 10
Wisma Subud, Indonesia - November 8, 1980
Code Number : 80lebaran
Wisma Subud, Jakarta, Indonesia - January 19, 1981
Code Number : 81 CDK 3
Slough, England - April 5, 1981
Code Number : 81 LON 6
Wendhausen, Germany - April 25, 1981
Code Number : 81 WEN 3
London, England - March 22, 1981
Code Number : 81 LON 1
London, England - March 23, 1981
Code Number : 81 LON 1a
Cilandak, Indonesia - February 17, 1982
Code Number : 82 CDK 1
Perth, Australia - April 25, 1982
Code Number : 82 PER 2
Cilandak, Indonesia - October 3, 1982
Code Number : 82 CDK 14
London, England - August 2, 1983
Code Number : 83 LON 2
Wisma Subud, Cilandak, Indonesia - July 8, 1984
Code Number : 84 CDK 14
Jakarta, Indonesia - January 19, 1985
Code Number : 85 JKT 1
Cilandak, Indonesia - May 29, 1986
Code Number : 86 CDK 2
Cilandak, Indonesia - May 31, 1986
Code Number : 86 CDK 3
Amen. Bapak Muhammad-Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo