Susila Budhi Dharma

1. People comparable to soil of this kind will just not be able to produce anything of great worth. Even so, some of them rise to the point of finding the path to the right way of life.

2. Only, even if they receive indications of what is right and useful for them it is usually almost impossible for them to develop anything of high quality.

3. This case scarcely differs from that of stony or rocky ground, already used for comparison. Clearly, what grows from such a self is nothing but a cleverness that conflicts with nobility.

4. Moreover, the nafsu whose power nearly fills their self are those of anger and greed. This being so, they behave with almost no patience or acceptance, and do not scruple to follow courses harmful to others.

5. Thus may the characteristics of people and of soils be compared. Similarly, then, a man's efforts to improve his content will resemble the cultivation and irrigation of soil.

6. Now, having explained the similarities between the qualities of man's body and those of soil, let us go on again with the explanation of how the jasmani or human force influences people in whom this force is present.

7. So that it may be realized how one human being influences another, it has already been said that mankind is of two sexes, though their circumstances are the same - meaning that both have parts of the body that can be used for the needs of mankind. The two sexes are the male nature and the female nature.

8. When these two unite sexually, there is always an interaction of forces between them; and so, if at that time they really feel or receive it, a truth will become evident - which of the two yields to or is brought under the sway of the other.

9. Truly, it will become apparent there and then what the inner self of each is like, so far as in the act of union the jiwa is able to be free from other forces; that is, from forces lower than human. Certainly, no method is necessary to achieve this, for a method of any sort can only arouse the power of the nafsu. Instead, what is needed in these circumstances is to abandon all the forces of the nafsu and just to experience that the feeling is alive, with thought given up, as during the latihan.

10. Of course, if seen outwardly, with the ordinary eyes, the sexual union of two people appears as one human being with another human being; but in fact each may still be filled with forces that easily degrade the level of the human jiwa. The inner content of people in olden times was more stable, so it was normal for them to say that a human body contained a human jiwa, for of course they had not then experienced conditions like those of today.

11. Moreover, people then had fewer contacts with others than people have today. Nowadays there is much more work to do and we have to make no little use of the mind. That is why the existence of people of former times cannot possibly be equated with that of people now.

12. So, too, the inner content of many people nowadays is unlike that of people of old, who were simply human, outwardly and inwardly, and ruled solely by human force; so each of us has still to discover what our inner content is.

13. Could we be truly conscious, however, we would not find such a state of affairs hard to believe, for in the present age we come up against much more that can sap the force of our inner self.

14. To make this clear, it would be best to depict here how it is for them when a young bachelor and a virgin girl marry who are alike filled with the human force. This illustration can really be taken as the ideal. For a man who happens to be able to find such a marriage can quickly make apparent between the two a living bond, solid and strong, which fills and unites them with one and the same force - the human force.

15. A man always seeks just that kind of marriage, because at the time of sexual union the force in the two bodies can readily merge, so that inwardly the two natures no longer have any sense of separateness. For that reason a woman is often referred to as garwa, meaning half of her husband's soul or life and that is also why a married woman goes under her husband's name.

16. Besides peace and harmony, a further result of that marriage is that it opens the way towards a life of prosperity. If they beget a child of that marriage, the force of the human seed coming through the man's self will awaken his bodily feelings.

17. And when those feelings are thus aroused he will immediately feel where the desire comes from, and he will also be able to be aware of his condition during the union, so that this will be an inner opening for him.

18. Thereafter he will be led little by little to recognize all the characteristics of his ancillary forces or of the forces that are continually uniting and separating within his self.

19. Therein too he will always get indications enabling him gradually to become more familiar with his ancillary forces and other forces; and it may then be said that he is more capable of remaining detached from them, still uniting and being united with them but not bound or swayed by them.

20. This is how it should be, but in fact it very rarely is so, for people - especially the young - usually do not want, as yet, to be aware of the forces within them. The choice of a girl to marry as a life partner is not made from the viewpoint of the kejiwaan, but is based on everyday social contacts whose content only brings their hearts closer together.

21. For that reason, a good way to become conscious of the qualities of the forces within you and also of those in a woman is to find a means, if you can, whereby you immediately experience the distinction between the heart and mind and the inner feeling.

22. By this means your inner feeling will recognize for the first time the genuine forces whose source is your self, and next you will recognize also the action of other forces that previously deceived your inner feeling, making you merely their tool.

23. Many people, being the tools of these forces, do not behave as they should. These forces were indeed embodied in a person's inner feeling from his beginning, when still in his mother's womb, until the day of his birth, and continue until the last moment of his life. Thus it is truly not fitting and proper when anybody behaves with these forces unregulated. A person must first put these forces into a state that no longer impedes him; only then will he behave in accordance with his own right. He should not trust his conduct solely to his own courage.

24. For acting in this random way is highly likely to cause errors, leading to the loss of his human force and - unless he is lucky - much further suffering. So, to avoid these big mistakes, never neglect the simple, good way described above; or if you have not yet encountered it, make the effort to enable you to find it.

25. Now to take another example: suppose a young man filled with human force marries a girl containing forces lower than the human, but that both are conscious of their own situation, or the husband at least is aware of his, then, when these two unite, the man's force will finally dominate them both and the lower forces in the woman will spontaneously disappear and be replaced by her husband's human force.

26. So the result will be no different from that described earlier. But even though the force within him is human, if the husband is not yet really master of it he will not be able to maintain his status.

27. There is another reason too, connected with his ignorance, as yet, of the content of his inner self. The forces which have become associated with his life still greatly hamper his progress towards perfection. And for that reason too his original content may suffer such a collapse as to be of no more use to him.

28. If likened to a man who owns tools for working, then he is one who cannot yet understand their use; so they are no help to him, but a heavy burden rather, and maybe this burden will become heavier and bring disaster on him if some of the tools have dangerous features.

29. Likewise in matters of the kejiwaan. Although in reality the forces within a person's self have the nature of ancillaries or aides, if he handles them wrongly through lack of understanding, these aides act in the opposite way and become hindrances or obstacles to his well-being. For that reason many people suffer errors and events they would not wish for.

30. Similar is the case of a husband as yet unconscious of the kejiwaan whose wife is pregnant. At times he behaves wrongly, being apt to have sexual relations with other women. The reason for this is that usually a pregnant woman strongly dislikes complying with her husband's frequent desire for intercourse. So her husband, perhaps unable to control his passion, feels compelled to have intercourse with another woman.

31. In the end he will feel disappointed, for sexual intercourse with the other woman will pull down the level of his own content. Yet, if only he knew the truth, his wife's refusal is not solely by her own wish, but also by the wish of the child in her womb, who in reality is warning his parents to be patient and to surrender, in order that all the while he is in the womb he will be well and happy.

32. Such is the meaning of the wife's refusal, rightly understood. Clearly, then a warning of this kind must be heeded, so that the condition of the child still in the womb remains good and happy. Then his wife's and his own self will also remain in a state of well-being and happiness. But usually people do not pay attention to this as yet, or do not yet understand it. So they still behave wrongly, as has been described, without being in the least concerned. Some of them even go so far as to consider this just a normal custom, and thus gladly have sexual relations with women who have long been the target of such erotic passion.

33. That is how the forces in a man's self work, with the result that he does not feel his behaviour is wrong, but even considers it right.

34. Some men too feel even that such conduct is a mark of superiority, for it is a reminder of their masculinity. Yet in fact it greatly impairs their status as human beings, creatures of high level.

35. Furthermore, if that is not soon realized, the wrongdoing may go on and on, making it in the end very hard for a man to return to the high level proper to him.

36. The more so if, after that, he still wants sexual intercourse with his pregnant wife. This intercourse may make his child and wife suffer, as well as himself, with the result that they, who have had no part in all this, also will be affected and burdened by the mistakes he has made.

37. His child and wife will suffer even more if such behaviour leads to him getting a disease from women who have become targets of erotic passion. For the nature of the disease he carries will ravage his child and wife both physically and spiritually.

38. That is what will happen. Yet, as may be recalled, his wife certainly never wanted a thing like that to happen. Plainly, then, such conduct is in truth simply maltreatment of the wife and her child; so the hope of getting a child of excellent character cannot possibly be fulfilled.

39. Do realize, my children, that the jasmani force has so powerful an influence on people because, of course, human force is confronted with human force. And what is more, much that happens is not just human force confronting human force, but human force confronting other forces veiled by a human mask. Especially if what veils a woman's nature is a beautiful face, then a man may readily entrust himself to her and so be led anywhere by her. In truth, however, this is not only the woman's fault, but the man's too. Indeed, if seen as it actually is, the fault is mainly rooted in the man.

40. For this reason it is best as a human being not to neglect the training of the feeling, much spoken of earlier. For through this training of the feeling he becomes adept in how to receive and how to regulate the forces within him. Hence in doing anything, and especially in uniting with his wife, he will find no difficulty in separating the feeling of his inner self from other forces that always gather with it, and he will also be able to direct those forces into the channels where they belong. As this is done, the various needs of these forces are separated; for example, the need of the human force for the human force, and the needs of the other forces for those forces. So, automatically, the human force will face only the human force, and the other forces will face forces of their own kind.

41. To come to know what is explained above, it seems there is no other way than that a man must be able to lay aside his heart and mind and imagination, which usually like groping about in what is unreal.

42. For when he is not filled with thoughts and fancies, or in other words, when he has been able to empty himself of all the thinking and imagining that usually occupy his feelings every day, he will soon receive a state from within that is felt as a vibration throughout the body and feels like the touch of a power never experienced before. This receiving will certainly progress in the course of time, until eventually he can recognize the content of his inner feeling and also know the character, use and activity of that content.

43. And in spite of the heart and mind being inactive and powerless at the time of receiving, their real role will also be seen. In that state a man is able to feel that the heart and mind are really just a servant of the forces in his inner feeling, and he also perceives, with deep regret, all the faults in his past deeds and conduct.

44. That is why the heart and mind are not to be relied on and cannot stand on their own. As explained, their role is simply and solely that of servant, and their appointed place should only be in the train of the inner self.

45. If a comparison is made with a lamp, the burning flame is its characteristic, while the oil is the force that fills the inner feeling and empowers the heart and mind to work. Clearly, then, the brightness or dimness of the lamplight depends just on the oil. Likewise, whether the heart and mind work well or badly, right or wrongly, depends just on the quality of the force that becomes the content of the inner feeling.

46. That is why, as has been said here often, the heart and mind cannot be used to become aware of one's human identity. The reason for this, as has been stated, is that their nature is simply to serve whatever commands them; or in other words, they only act and work when there is something that moves or activates them. It is fortunate if what stirs and works them is the highest power; otherwise they are sure to lose the best human way of life. That is why many people make mistakes which they claim to be correct, or act wrongly in the belief that they are doing right.

47. Thus it seems it will not be easy for a man to tell right from wrong in his behaviour except when he gets free from his heart and mind which have been fuelling his inner feeling. This done, the true state of affairs is clear - what it may be that keeps driving his inner feeling toward his heart and mind.

48. Because of this difficulty it often happens that many people do not realize what they are doing, while others act after careful thought, yet, as is plain in the end, they too go astray. This state of affairs derives in fact from the nature of the heart and mind. So it is really essential for you to be diligent in following the latihan kejiwaan in the manner spoken of earlier.

49. For eventually, by sincerely following the latihan kejiwaan, you will not employ your mind wrongly, and so the mind, which you have developed in the usual way, really will be used for your self.

50. Unquestionably it is very useful for a man to apply himself to mental study, and the more wide-ranging the better, provided his study serves as a tool only for his human self, not for a self filled with lower forces - a condition that can cause people very great suffering.

51. Now to change the subject. Before binding themselves in marriage, many young men often like to have sexual relations with women, some even making a habit of it, as though it was considered a recreation because it could relieve sexual passion. To others, to act in this way even seems a necessity, in order to satisfy their sexual desire before they have a permanent, lawful wife.

52. This is the same sort of mistake as made by men already married who still like to behave in that way. In other words, such conduct is nothing but that of a man who simply spoils and soils his own inner feeling. Of course men who cannot yet realize this regard it as normal, and thus feel it is merely a form of pleasure. But the truth is that such behaviour is extremely dangerous, especially for young men, who by nature, broadly speaking, will when they are married become channels for the seed of those who will come into being later. For pleasure of this kind is not easy to give up -it cannot be done just like that! - and moreover it is not an ordinary pleasure, but, incited as it is by low forces, gives rise to boundless inner suffering.

53. As stated earlier, the sexual union of men and women is in reality a struggle of forces that determines which of them will win, which will be defeated. So to feel and believe that such an activity is something ordinary and just a pleasure cannot be justified in the least.

54. So it is best to keep well clear of conduct and habits of that kind, for it is certainly true that they damage one to the jiwa.

55. That is why people who have sexual intercourse are said to be of one jiwa. It is quite clear, then, that conduct of that kind is not an amusement, but behaviour that results only in harming the jiwa.

56. A man will therefore feel deep remorse when he is able to perceive for himself all that has happened. For the damage suffered almost throughout his inner feeling can then really be seen.

57. He will also feel deep remorse when he discovers how his handsome and manly outer qualities, which he has used to lend himself distinction and superiority, have become filled with a low force unfit to be the content of a human inner feeling. Thus the qualities contained in his inner feeling make a picture quite alien to his own view.

58. So far-reaching are the results of that fault. Clearly, then, his habit of having sexual relations with women whose inner feeling is already ruined spoils almost all his qualities, changing his character to one far different from its original nature.

59. Even in such a case, however, sometimes a man will not forget the importance of his life - that is, he will still feel the need for a young woman to become his life partner, and will also wish to get a child from that marriage, who may be counted on in time to succeed him or to be a link with his existence. Indeed, men with just that sort of experience are cleverer at choosing good-looking and well-formed girls from nice families.

60. That really is the right way - the way in which a man would choose a bride. For by marrying a woman like that, first, his heart and feelings will be satisfied because of his wife's outward beauty; second, his heart and feelings will also become peaceful, because before him and beside him he will have a wife of good character; lastly, he will have high hopes of begetting a child with the best qualities.

1. For a young man who has behaved wrongly before marriage, however, the possibility of experiencing so good a state of affairs can scarcely be said to exist. His errors have been such that sexual relations with him cause havoc to the content of his wife's inner feeling, which also finally meets a fate like her husband's.

2. Thus does it happen that their hopes for their life to go well in the future are dimmed. This is a man's reward who acts only from desire, debasing what should be a good state.

3. Inevitably the low, depraved forces flowing from the husband have a terrible effect on his wife, soiling and degrading the once clean and pure content of her inner feeling.

4. The husband just does not think of his behaviour as corrupting, for his heart has become an instrument of the low, debased forces which entered into him before marriage, when he took pleasure in associating sexually with women filled with such forces.

5. So although in reality his conduct is destructive, nevertheless he feels it only as right and worthy.

6. Such is the fate of a man whose inner feeling - because of his own misdeeds - has been duped by low forces.

7. For this reason, if a man's inner feeling has been too long ensnared by low forces, his awareness has also been affected, and so what to him seems awareness really remains enveloped by the dark clouds of those forces.

8. This being so, neither his good looks nor even his mind are free from the grip of those forces.

9. So later on, when he begets a child, his child will also be swayed by those low forces and will have a character very different from that which his father had when still young and pure.

10. This is why a child or person can be filled with forces differing from or not matching those of his ancestors.

11. Because of this, the child will eventually have to suffer a great deal during his life, especially in becoming aware of his human identity.

12. The reason is just that almost the whole content of the child's inner feeling has been affected by the low forces, thus causing his thoughts always to be directed to the interests of those forces.

13. That is also the reason why there is scarcely any likelihood that thinking can be used to become aware of the true content of the inner feeling.

14. As a result, many of those interested in this subject fail in the end to reach their goal for the very reason that they still use thought as the essential means for doing so.

15. Therefore, without suspecting it, not a few of them veer in another direction and so claim as truth what is really error. The situation is thus turned upside down, and actions certainly wrong for the human force are yet claimed to be right, by the will of the forces which are fooling the mind.

16. Clearly, in circumstances like that, it is the person concerned who is at fault. The fact is that in man's original state those forces will not and indeed need not encroach on the position of the human force, for their nature is actually just that of ancillaries. But since the man himself cannot restrain his nqfsu, those forces make their own way into his inner feeling for the pleasure of occupying a place where they feel happier than in their own place.

17. But the man, having too long behaved wrongly, is finally made powerless and forced to give up all that belongs to him - from his inner feeling to his thinking - leaving those forces to make free use of it.

18. Of course, the way those forces use his properties accords not with human standards but with their own standards; so the man's inner feeling and his thinking are forced down into a state of degradation.

19. This illustrates what happens when those forces have gained mastery in a person's inner feeling. A man not yet aware of his inner feeling supposes that, however he behaves, it is bound to stay clean and unchanged. So, feeling only pleasure and enjoyment, he associates with attractive women who have often and for a long time mixed with all sorts of other men. Such are the circumstances of a man's life, including what goes on within him. So be assured that thought cannot possibly be used to find the truth about this.

20. In sum, then, to be able to know the truth of this to the point of having real understanding, there seems to be no alternative so easy as a way whereby the self is trained without having to arouse thought and imagination.

21. The training, however, need not be described here, because much has been said about it earlier.

22. For a woman too this is important, because after following the training in earnest she will be able to know the content of her inner feeling with all its ancillary forces.

23. Thus, eventually, in sexual relations with her husband the content of her inner feeling will not become the target of the low forces picked up by him through his association with other women.

24. Moreover, provided her latihan enables her to reach the level needed for a woman's role, she will be better developed and hence able to separate those forces correctly and channel them into their proper directions.

25. That point can be illustrated by the example of oil that is put with water. Although a person has the forces of matter, vegetation and animals all gathered together in him, each will separate spontaneously from the others and quickly flow towards its rightful destination.

26. Nevertheless, in receiving the feeling of passionate love, neither person will be disappointed; only, those who may be called channels of that passion cannot attain to the level known as "of one jiwa" - meaning that the husband's jiwa is united with his wife's. It may very likely be that in this they will fall short of the ideal, which is that sexual union between husband and wife is in reality a jiwa union and so accords with that term "of one jiwa".

27. However, this case is far different from that described earlier, because the aspect of rejection that has its place in this sexual union is something that arises of itself from the inner feeling, and in reality defends the self against the low forces brought by her husband.

28. For that reason, such a reaction by the wife is indeed not wrong; on the contrary, it is truly proper and praiseworthy.

29. In fact, that action safeguards not only her own inner self, but even that of her husband as well, because it enables him also to escape from the sway of the low forces.

30. A husband who has a life partner like that is truly most fortunate, because his wife is not only a partner skilled at managing household affairs, but she can also purify, or at least help to purify, her husband's inner state, which has been affected by low forces.

31. A woman ought to be like this, so that her attractive appearance and good family background are not wasted. Rather, in such circumstances her repute will grow in fragrance and she will become increasingly fitted for other women to take as an example.

32. Truly, a woman fortunate enough to have a being like that is blessed. It is therefore her duty to look after her outward appearance as well and carefully as possible, so that the outer may be absorbed into the inner. With such qualities she seems, as is commonly said, like a goddess come down from heaven.

33. So she will regret it later if, for some reason, she is unable to fulfil those good qualities.

34. For if she cannot match her behaviour to her pleasing outer features, then the attractiveness and good breeding that are hers will not be able to make her life happy.

35. This is especially so if the matter has gone too far for there to be any chance of remedying it, for she will then bring on herself even greater misfortune, because her charms will increasingly be exploited by the low forces which have filled and swayed her inner feeling and her heart and mind.

36. As a result, her attractiveness, outwardly radiant, becomes in the end only a veil over the low forces hidden within her. Here lies the danger for the man who acts without earnestly assessing the matter in his feelings, or for the man who is not yet conscious of the way of the kejiwaan. Not a few women who are attractive and perhaps also from good families have gone astray by doing only what pleases their heart, selling themselves to men who want them.

37. In the presence of such an influence, a man who cannot control his sexual passion feels that an opportunity is offered, and so, without giving a thought to his family, he just yields to the pressure of the low forces that are disguised by a pretty face and a shapely body.

38. Generally a man's feelings weaken when he faces such a situation. Therefore his inner feeling and his mind can easily be swayed by the low forces so that of course his emotions and thought become powerless to consider further what the consequences will be.

39. The result is that only after undergoing both outward and inward suffering will he remember that error. But the woman, as soon as she can see that her prey has come to such a state, unhesitatingly abandons him, then contentedly goes on to look for another target as yet unspoiled.

40. Usually the person easily misled by the influence of low forces veiled by attractive looks is a man still young and lacking in relation to matters of the kejiwaan. Especially if the charmer can entice him with honeyed words, then all his feelings will be more readily taken in, impelling him to give himself up to her outwardly and inwardly.

41. Yet this case does not differ from the one just mentioned, in that the charmer will not scruple to abandon this young man also when he has experienced a fate like that of the man referred to above.

42. Such is the outcome of a man's conduct when he follows only his passion or when he is as yet unaware of the way of the kejiwaan; so, without him suspecting it, his fine body becomes in truth simply and solely an organ of the low forces.

43. In such circumstances the low forces feel extremely fortunate, for they can array themselves in and make use of the qualities of a human body, which are much superior to their own. But for such a man, on the contrary, it means that he is self-destructive and hence is forced to suffer, both outwardly and inwardly, the debasing of his life.

44. The nature of the outer harm he suffers can be discovered with the aid of physicians; but the inner damage can be perceived only with the help of his own self, if he is able to have his inner feeling trained.

45. That is why it is found that many of those who undertake the training feel during the latihan as though they are suffering from a bodily ailment and also that they are not making much progress in the latihan.

46. But it is best for those following the training not to feel this deeply, for it is all in the past, and so it is no use regretting it any longer except by improving their present and future conduct.

47. Clearly, then, their earlier behaviour was really and truly wrong, thus forcing the self, which ought to be unimpaired, to suffer damage, beginning with the content of the inner feeling and spreading to the outer limits - that is, to the body.

48. Such is the way the low forces in human guise influence a man, or how a person filled with low forces influences one filled with human force, and the other way round. So it seldom happens as yet that a person filled with human force meets, as he should, another person also filled with human force. Yet, as has been said a little earlier, this is really what is necessary, for in this balanced condition a man can soon unify his content and will thereby be able to assume his human identity.

49. Achieving this will be extremely difficult for a man who has sexual relations with a woman only because of his appetites and without understanding beforehand what actually happens during erotic passion.

50. However, the feelings of a man already conscious of these things are not likely to suffer from any difficulty in this matter, for by himself he will reach a level where he cannot be influenced by a person filled with ihejasmani force or with the other, the low forces.

1. So, to make it clear, the obstacle to the perfect union of the content of the inner feeling of man and woman is, as stated above, not the nature of the man's body but the low forces which that body comes to contain.

2. Likewise, what can isolate the influence of all those low forces is not the body nor the man, but the great power that is felt to be in contact with the inner feeling after the mind stops working.

3. Be certain, then, that the man will not be able to rid himself of those low forces, for they are indeed his ancillary forces and have gathered in his being.

4. This will be the same for the woman too.

5. Hence it would seem that it is no longer useful if a man, because he needs a better life, forces himself to go away to some lonely place far from other people.

6. Similarly, it would seem to be of no use if men intentionally keep away from women and women from men. For in truth both are in the same situation, so a man's intention to have nothing more to do with women means just the same as if he could have nothing more to do with his own self; it is the same also for a woman.

7. So in reality there is no need for the two to wish to keep apart from each other.

8. Moreover God has willed that the union of men and women is required during their earthly life so that they may pass on the human seed.

9. This is in order that their descendants may spread over the earth and then everywhere adorn it with the variety of things they devise.

10. And that they may also make use of the world as a place to nurture the self both outwardly and inwardly.

11. For that reason they need to deepen and widen their knowledge, so that with knowledge of such scope they may get what they need for a happy life.

12. Furthermore, deep and wide-ranging knowledge makes it easier to organize society, so that it can be made peaceful and prosperous.

13. By this means too is created collective harmony wherein many people would help one another.

14. For instance, the talented ones would be willing to teach those still backward; the wealthy would not hesitate to give aid to the needy; and the strong would be glad to help those still weak. With conditions like that, the world we live in would truly be a noble and excellent place.

15. Besides that, the people would not neglect the way to guide their inner feeling towards their own self, thus making their standpoint firmer and so enabling them to have lives of outward and inward happiness.

16. As for the way to raise one's self up, it is a way that has become a commonplace for anyone who wants to carry it out. It is done by turning off the nafsu and thought until a state arises so truly quiet and peaceful that it cannot be described.

17. Such indeed is the way a person guides his inner feeling in that direction; it is far different from how he pursues scientific knowledge, which requires the utmost use of the mind.

18. Therefore those who follow this latihan kejiwaan will not use their thought in it; rather, they will need to empty out everything they imagine and think, so that they can then receive the Grace of God which already envelops them.

19. Thus it is; so what is found in that training of the inner-feeling has no trace of anything conceived by heart, imagination or mind.

20. The result of doing this is that they get evidence by which they can clearly and plainly be aware of all the forces that have become obstacles to their inner development.

21. Through the evidence obtained, difficulties that had always been met in the training of the inner feeling disappear, for the low forces that had obstructed their inner feeling separate themselves off and then take up their original places with contentment and joy.

22. So is it if a man can follow the latihan properly. More­over, precisely because of this, the life force present in his inner feeling transforms him, enabling him to take his place again as an exalted and noble creature.

23. And after that he will remain firmly the controller and regulator of all his ancillary forces.

24. Especially in the man's sexual union with his wife will he no longer be affected by the low forces; hence the content of his inner feeling can then unite with that of his wife and raise it to a higher level - the level, that is, of a complete human being.

25. Thus it is clearly not the bodily nature that has to be separated from his own self but the content of that nature. So too, that which can take him to a high level is not something that exists in any particular place but something that truly always envelops his self wherever he may be.

26. This is an illustration of the true aim of the training done by a person who compels himself to do it and extinguishes all his nafsu and thinking - something really difficult and heavy for people in the present age.

27. Of course in earlier ages people could train their inner feeling in that way, for in distant times man's life was still simple and the conditions around him were evidently extremely quiet.

28. Moreover, the ways of finding a livelihood were far fewer than they are today, so the possibility of carrying out such training was far greater.

29. This is why people nowadays cannot readily undertake that kind of training of the inner feeling. So to meet this need it is better to seek a path or way which does not require giving up everyday necessities.

30. And a way too that does not require them to isolate themselves and sit meditating in solitary places such as sea shore or river bank, mountain or forest.

end Chapters: 13 14 15

Chapters:
Preface / 1 2 3 / 4 5 6 / 7 8 9 / 10 11 12 / 13 14 15 / 16 17 18 / 19 20 /