Announcement From Bapak To All Subud Members
When a helper or a member carries out testing in the spiritual way ( kejiwaan ) of Subud it is similar to doing the latihan kejiwaan. The difference is that, when testing, the person who tests has a question to ask before doing the latihan, to which he or she then receives an answer in whatever form he is able to receive it. Whereas when one does the latihan it is necessary first to empty oneself of ideas and imaginings, to surrender in trust and sincerity to the will of Almighty God, and then one will receive and follow the guidance and direction that comes from the Power of God manifested in the latihan kedjiwaan.
This then is the difference between testing and just receiving and following the latihan kejiwaan. If, therefore, a member or a helper tests frequently, because there are many different questions, he will be obliged to reduce the time spent in receiving and practicing his latihan, which is, essentially, following the guidance and direction that come from the Power of Almighty God.
Indeed it is necessary for people to test as well, but if this is done it is for reasons such as the need to know on what spiritual ( kejiwaan ) level a person now stands, or to enable one to know for oneself why it is that after being in Subud for a number of years one is still unable to receive experiences that can be felt. Testing can also be carried out when someone wishes to know how to behave in order to lessen the influence of the passions ( nafsu ) that still continually oppress his inner feeling, and in other cases where there is a connection with spiritual matters ( kejiwaan ). So, too, testing can be done to select someone to serve on a committee or as a helper, since these duties are always connected with spiritual matters.
The cases just mentioned certainly fall within the spiritual category and are in harmony with the way of the latihan kejiwaan, which is essentially guidance and direction from the Power of Almighty God.
As you know, the latihan kejiwaan of Subud has its being and comes through the Grace of Almighty God. Evidence of this is that its presence stills the thoughts and imagination and causes the working of heart and mind to cease. This is clear proof, and you yourselves have witnessed it.
If the latihan kejiwaan has come into being by the Grace of Almighty God, it is only fitting that we should hold it in high respect, and not practice it simply as our hearts wish. For if we only follow the desires of our hearts when we do the latihan, it means that we degrade the guidance and direction of Almighty God, the All-Glorious and All-Wise.
On the other hand, if we do the latihan kejiwaan and use it following the spiritual way, this means that we truly hold in high esteem the guidance and direction of Almighty God, manifested in the latihan kejiwaan which we have received and are practicing. It is for this reason that, so far as is possible, we do not employ testing for purposes that fall outside the field of spiritual matters.
If necessary, you may also test in order to be able to know your fate, and what to do so as to be able to change it for the better. But you should not then ask about all your various needs, as if you were questioning a "dukun" ( witch-doctor or fortune-teller ). This sort of thing is indeed work for a witch-doctor or fortune-teller. But for us, whose primary aim is the worship of Almighty God in accordance with His direction and guidance, such a habit is rather far removed from our original objective.
The fact is that many questions can be weighed and examined with your hearts and minds, such as wanting to move house, to change your work, to discover how to pay your debts, to know how to manage your property, to find a marriage partner or to improve an unfortunate lot in life. But occasionally, if it is obvious that heart and mind are inadequate to reach a satisfactory conclusion, only then should you ask the helpers to test about such a problem. For if you fall into the habit of asking about all kinds of things, you will eventually get into the way of being just an expert questioner, and you will not understand that the Subud latihan kedjiwaan, which exists by the grace of Almighty God, will enable you to know for yourself all that is necessary. It is better, therefore, not to make a habit of testing such problems.
It may be that you feel such questions as these to be very important for you. Well, yes, if you feel that they are important, maybe every kind of problem that becomes a necessity in your life is important. But the essential purpose and content of these questions does not tally or correspond with your intentions at the time when you were about to enter the Spiritual Brotherhood of Subud.
If you will remember the situation at the time when you were about to enter Subud, you were reminded that the Subud latihan exists by and comes through the Grace of Almighty God, and is in its essence man's worship of God according to His guidance and direction manifested in the latihan kedjiwaan.
This is the purport of what you were told. As for questions of healing, setting right the inner force ( jiwa ) and the purification of the inner feeling, which relate to one's fate in life, all this will proceed of itself, because the improvement of the inner force and purification of the inner feeling are carded out in the course of the latihan kejiwaan, which is in truth direction and guidance from Almighty God.
So it is clear that if you really do surrender, patiently, sincerely and trustfully to the Will of Almighty God, your inner force will be raised up towards a superior level, and your inner feeling will be cleansed of the impurities and faults which are the cause of your misfortune, so that subsequently you will be filled by an inner force of superior quality, and the purity of your inner feeling will cause your fate in life to become a good one.
You will not, of course, be able to experience all these results immediately, because your inner force has sunk too low, and the impurities and faults of your inner feeling form a closely interwoven network. Except through the Grace of God, these results could never be achieved at all.
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.
This is a short explanation by Bapak concerning the need for people to test, and concerning the question of suffering, which is best accepted as a test or trial in life. Bapak further hopes that this short explanation, touching upon the questions of testing and suffering, may give satisfaction to all of you.
From Bapak