Ladies and gentlemen, before explaining matters relating to the spiritual life, Bapak would like to ask your forgiveness if anything Bapak says is out of place.

Ladies and gentlemen, the latihan, which Bapak calls the latihan kejiwaan [spiritual exercise or training], is in truth man's worship, your worship, of the One God. Why does Bapak say this? Because, as you have all experienced, you receive it only when you can be in a calm, free state, after setting aside your thinking, imagination and desires.

Indeed, it is this that men seek and hope to find when they endeavour to calm their inner feeling by isolating themselves in remote places, far from society. Clearly, the power or awakening you all receive is the real fruit that they try so hard to get. Such a state is a very great blessing; it is a very great gift for Bapak and for all of you that we really can receive it in a completely normal situation where we still use our minds to the full and live with others in society.

Many people say - and Bapak isn't implying that you, ladies and gentlemen, agree or feel that way - that no human being can receive something out of the ordinary in these circumstances. So it's easy for them to say this training [latihan] is just an ordinary exercise and has nothing to do with spiritual things or the worship of God. For they compare this receiving from God with rigourous efforts people make in isolated places, far away from society, as Bapak just described.

But they forget what they've heard or read in holy books like the Bible or the Quran and others: namely, that the One God, who is Almighty, and Most Wise, can decree something beyond man's fathoming. That's what happened within the self of the Prophet Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad. People couldn't guess, and didn't know or understand that God's grace was bestowed on those two prophets beyond their fathoming. So they said that what Jesus and Muhammad received was just plain magic, like child's play, and wasn't real. Moreover, neither of them had ever been to school; they had none of the education a person you would call clever or shrewd usually has.

And so people supposed and concluded that what the Prophet Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad had in them wasn't really from God and wasn't to be followed. But in the end, what happened? Until now, the words and advice of the Prophet Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad have been believed and followed, and they have been studied and are known for their goodness, depth and sublimity. This is how God decrees something by His own will.

Such things are really not strange. The truth goes without saying: God is Almighty, God is Most Wise; He is the One who can know, and decree something good, whether it has happened or has not yet happened, in a situation where it can be perceived by man and also where it cannot.

That's why those prophets and others advised human beings to obey God; they said human beings must believe that God exists and that the unseen world - conditions that cannot easily be known - certainly exists, because all is from the One God. However, ladies and gentlemen, it is not wrong if you, or people in general, are in no hurry to believe in something before you have evidence or real proof.

The proof is there to be found in the spiritual training [latihan] in Subud. You've all been able to experience the proofs that exist in Subud. All of you have experienced the way to receive something instinctive - a spontaneous movement, which awakens the self - something not intended because you're not thinking about anything. So you need not and should not worry. We don't obtain this because of our desires, thinking or concentration. We obtain it in a state that is quiet, clean, open and surrendered to God. So when we attain it, certainly it's because we receive a clear current, a clear, pure current, a current which comes from God Himself.

It says in the holy books that God will give direction, guidance, and a path to human beings when they can stop their thinking, desires and imagination. Why is that so? Because the working of the desires, mind and imagination is nothing but going before God's wisdom, omniscience and will. The truth of the matter is that man wants to seek, and wants to know, and wants to lead and outdo God. But God cannot possibly be outdone, because God is within all that is within, and outside all that is outside, and God goes before all that is before and comes after all that is after.

It really isn't difficult to receive this, to receive true direction from God. So what makes it difficult, or who makes it difficult for human beings on their journey to God? Only their own desires, thinking and imagination; they make it difficult for other human beings and for themselves. For they keep seeking and indicating the place where God is. But this cannot possibly be known and cannot possibly be found, because the purity and clarity of man's inner feeling have been closed over by his own desires, thinking and imagination.

That's why Bapak tells you to set them aside at the time of receiving and opening. For, when they are set aside, there is a spontaneous awakening. And this awakening - which is already taking place within the selves of all of you - will begin to clean, little by little, all the dirt in the soul [jiwa], until eventually the soul will penetrate all the walls that need to be penetrated within a human being. When one has reached that point, one can feel, understand and be aware that this life and we humans are in the lap of the One God.

That's why it is customary in Islam to precede everything one does, writes or says, with the words, 'Bismillahir rahmanir rahim' [in the name ne of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful], meaning: only because of God do I write, I speak, I do and I work. Perhaps people of the Christian faith have a similar custom. Clearly, life and the content of life, that's to say, all of us creatures, are in the lap of God. Such is the dimension and true significance of the training [latihan] you all receive and practise.

As for the course or progress of this latihan, Bapak says that within the self of a human being there are four walls, if they can be described as walls. The first wall - what Bapak calls a wall - is the coarse physical body, and envelops the whole of this [body], both what can be seen and what is invisible within, namely what Bapak calls the badan rasa [body of feeling].

The second wall is what Bapak calls the spiritual feeling, or rahsa [secret feeling] - in other words, the feeling of bliss experienced within the self of human beings, both male and female. It is situated - but don't say it's definitely there, this is only for clarification purposes - in the secret parts of man and woman.

The third wall is the wall of understanding, located in the hati sanubari [inner heart] of man.

And following that, there is awareness, so that you can be truly aware of what life is and how it is. This is in man's head.

Bapak says this is so, and yet it isn't. It's very difficult to explain. So don't assume that what is in the head is in man's brain, what is in the hati sanubari is in the heart, that the hati sanubari is the heart and that what is in the sex is in the ordinary secret parts. Not so. In reality the location is not there, and yet it is. For, if Bapak were to say it is indeed like that, you could then say everyone is the same. For instance, Bapak will put it like this: generally speaking, all of you are educated, and certainly you are the same as other people in what you do. But in some ways you are not like other people, because of their position in society or their cleverness.

Bapak will present it another way: what Bapak mentioned before as being in the sex, the wall of the sex [the second wall], in Islamic teachings is called Baitul mukadas [holy house], that is, the first place of man's worship of God. You can't say that every person has this. It certainly doesn't exist yet in someone who hasn't had instruction from God to the point where God gives him that place within his inner being. But don't say it isn't there, children, because it is there. This is the difficulty.

Likewise the third wall, which Bapak called just now the inner heart. In Islam this is called the Baitulmuharam [sacred house]; but not everyone has the Baitulmuharam within him, within his breast.

And the fourth wall is called the Baitulmakmur [blessed house]. This is the place of worship of God the Most High.

Thus, there is a first house, a second house and a third house - or a first room, a second room and a third room. But although they are there, they are not there, because it's not yet certain whether or not a person has been cleaned, has been given a divine revelation, and has been blessed by God to have a place of worship within him.

For example, what about someone who has a very bad character and behaves badly. Is there no pure heart within his heart? Indeed, not yet. One shouldn't say it isn't there. But it isn't there yet. If the person can eventually become aware of the true life and can cleanse his heart and be aware when he worships God, then it's there. But before that time, before the person can be aware or can cleanse his heart, you can say he doesn't have a heart that is pure and good. His heart is a very evil one.

Such is the state of man, God's creature; and that's why Bapak said it is there but one shouldn't say it is definitely there; it depends on a person's awareness.

Now Bapak will go back again to the beginning, that's to say, to the movements you've all received. What is the need for such movements? After all, you've been moving like that ever Since you were small and first began to move. Nevertheless, all of you must have felt that these movements are different from the ordinary movements you've been accustomed to: indeed, because these movements are from your soul [jiwa], not prompted or guided from your desires because of a given situation, or anything you can see or hear. Hence, these movements are guided and set in motion by the greatness and power of God Himself. It is apparent that you are now entering the stage of guidance and instruction from God Himself. So it's essential that you be patient, surrendered, trusting [tawakal] and sincere [ikhlas] towards God.

Patient means calm and aware. Surrender is surrender, that is to say overgave [giving oneself over], and trusting means steadfast. A steadfast person is not affected by this, affected by that. You see something and you wonder whether it's true or not; you look over there - 'Ah, maybe that's true' - so you're unstable. The fourth, sincere submission, means leaving everything to God who ordains all.

The four conditions Bapak just mentioned make it easy for you on your journey to God, or to receive what God gives to all of you. They are not for you to disregard worldly matters. No. They are for God, not man. If you are patient and surrender with trust and sincerity to men, well it's not disastrous, but it's not right and not as it should be. So this is how we direct ourselves towards the One God, who created us humans and all creatures. It is a responsibility of life, not just an ordinary duty but the true responsibility of life, so that later we can find the opening of the true way, a clear path that has no limit.

So, you always need to practise this training [latihan] regularly, little by little, even though you haven't received very much, and it's not that clear, and you can't understand it yet. Why does Bapak urge you to do this? Because God knows how your inner state is. God knows, for example, the strength each one of you has for receiving God's gift, and what constantly hinders your heart and inner feeling. God will give to man, and will guide him in the measure of the strength he has within him. And now we're beginning to prepare and fertilize the strength within us, little by little, so that we can be ready to wade through [an image from the paddy fields], to receive and to make a place for God's gift or whatever God gives to us later.

So the training [latihan] you receive is not yet a training where you receive instruction, but it is a training to prepare the instruments of receiving through which God will later give to us. Why is it like that? Well, Bapak hasn't tested with you because you haven't reached that point yet, but Bapak can give some explanation of what is in your inner feeling, and this may shed some light on Bapak's meaning.

In outward appearance you have the characteristics of a complete human being; all is complete from head to foot and nothing is lacking. However, seen in the soul [jiwa], Bapak can say, well, almost the entire body, not to mention the head, just the body alone, really hasn't appeared yet. Thus, the soul that a human being certainly should have simply doesn't exist yet, or is still like a tiny speck within you. How, then, can we walk, talk and do other things? Because previously, we were filled with a different power from that of a human being.

The power Bapak refers to is the spirit or force which gives strength to humans so that they can work and act in the usual way, because it is the greatest force within them. This power may be the spirit or force of materials, the vegetable force, the animal force, or the human force. These forces or powers Bapak is speaking of are called the roh rewani, roh nabati, roh hewani and jasmaniah. Because of these, man can think very easily about worldly matters, he can be easily affected by evil desires and he can easily have a heart which, instead of worshipping God, is not good, because it is oppressed by forces lower than the human being. So clearly, most humans don't yet have within them the right force, the roh insani, the spirit of a true human being.

This being so, it is clear that, in general, even though a man is married and has a wife, if they have a child, the ehild is not born of the true human force, but from a force below the human level. However, one needn't feel disappointed or upset by this, because man remains man; people remain people; and people are weak, not like the One God. So man generally has a nature that really sins towards God. To sin means to do something, wrong, or to take a wrong step that is not willed by God.

Now the first phase has begun for all of you, and even though it is still coarse, still within the lowest level, we begin to move by God's will. In other words, all of you are reliving your childhood at this time. Like little children, you begin to learn a, b, c; but a, b, c by God's will, not a, b, c from man's will. Later you'll be able to see like this and like this, by God's will, so that in your seeing you'll be able to feel a difference from when you used to see before

Similarly with the other parts of us. And so it goes on. In reality, this training [latihan] of ours is the true worship of God. Yet, because of God's power, it brings us to a state of physical health, if there is an illness in our bodies, and there is illness within the self.

So this training [latihan], Bapak says, as well as being worship of God, brings us towards physical health. For it is indeed true that the soul [jiwa] will not be clean and healthy if the body, this coarse physical body, is not healthy also. And within this coarse body are the four walls referred to. So it is not God's will that we should only be healthy in our coarse physical body; it is God's will that we should also be clean and healthy in the body of spiritual feeling - the sex - in the third body of understanding, and in the fourth body of awareness

This is because the soul of a perfect human being, which Bapak called insani just now, is created through the health of those four walls. Only then can one receive what God gives to man, because it is received through the state of a complete, perfect human being, when one is no longer obstructed or influenced by forces lower than the human being. And in that state, a human being can also be aware that the path to God is this, and the path to the world is this. He can also realize the difference between the trust of man to man and a human being's trust in God. So it's not that once you worship God, you will not do worldly work. A healthy body, a healthy mind, a healthy heart and healthy feelings are certainly clearer for doing things in this world. We can be aware: this is for the world, and that is for life after death.

Then later, when you are in the sphere of death, you will not keep thinking and feeling so that things go wrong again. Because the hidden world, the way to God, cannot be thought about by man, as Bapak said earlier. Where did Jesus study, where did Jesus go to school or receive teachings from man? Why then was Jesus able to give explanations beyond human fathoming? Because God gave lessons to Jesus. This is the way to worship God, while that is the way to do worldly work.

What Bapak is explaining here is quite clear. But Bapak must ask you whether it is quite clear to all of you. Are you able to receive what Bapak says here? You don't need to understand, not yet. Just receive. Because later on, as Bapak said before, you'll be guided in your understanding, spontaneously. Try now, a little, to see who can receive it, just to make it a bit clearer for you so that you can have proof, children. Prepare yourselves, as when you do the latihan ? [Testing.] I can see. With what do we see? Where is the instrument or organ for seeing ?? Finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, that was just a sample to show that we, as humans, are beginning to be acquainted with our organs. Bapak begins that way as an example, to introduce you to where the organ is that enables you to see. When we have begun to know the way of seeing, 'I see like this.' So later, when the way I see is like this, 'Oh, it's not I who am seeing. Ah, there is obviously another forcc, other than myself, within my seeing.'

So, in this training [latihan] we begin to become acquainted with our organs. Sure, we can say, 'This is my nose,' and, 'This is my ear,' but it's really only talk; the truth is, they don't yet exist, so at death I do not understand where they are. We learn to know them, so that when we die, 'Ah, this is my sight; yes, I still see.' That's why Jesus said, 'Life in this world is only for a while; eternal life is beyond this world.' We're beginning to know this, as Bapak said just now. Don't just want it: 'I want eternal life.' But, 'What do I take with me there, and what do I do there?' So don't just wish. Suppose Bapak wants to be rich, but he isn't rich, the wanting remains wanting. So I have to work to really become rich.

Only then can I say I'm rich; it's fulfilled. That's why it is said that the one who can enter heaven is the one who belongs in heaven. The one who can enter a good place is one who belongs in the good place. And if someone falls into a bad place, into hell, it's because he has the nature of hell. It's like that. And that's why we begin to become acquainted with this life within us, little by little.

Those of you who are already advanced in years have no need to worry, because God is Almighty. God can hasten whatever is required in the measure of the strength that is in each of you. So therc's no need to regret that you only know about this now. There's no point in asking, 'Why didn't I know before? Can someone my age reach that level?' There's no need to worry. Just surrender everything to God so that you'll have no difficulty on your joumey. As Bapak said before, this training begins with the movements you've all received, and gradually permeates the whole body, until the body is like an instinctive contact, and when you face someone whose heart is thus and so, at that moment you can receive it. So God gives, or creates in a human being, teacher and pupil as one within the self.

You are thus your own teacher. Indeed, that's the way you should follow. You should follow and believe your own seeing. And you should also have faith in your own thinking. Because when a person has lost faith in his own thinking, and when he doesn't believe in his own seeing, that is called hypocrisy, or disbelieving and disregarding God. Hence the advice that when one is able to know one's own inner self, it's the same as knowing God.

However, it's not only knowing with the eyes, but with the whole self, as far as one's thinking and awareness; so the three houses of worship mentioned earlier are created within one's nature. This is why it is usually stated, in prescribed religion [syariat], that man should create houses for the worship of God, that is to say, churches and mosques in the villages. The true meaning [hakikat] of this is that human beings should be able to create - or have created - places of worship within themselves; so you can worship God wherever you are; even if you are confined in a narrow cell, you can still worship God. Then you won't keep seeking: 'How can I worship? There's no church. I can't go out. There are bars. Well, I can't worship. I can't go out. There's a church over there, but I can't worship.'

But when the three main houses have been created in your inner self, as long as they exist you can worship God. Clearly, God gives human beings the place or the way to worship Him. There is no place that is narrow or wide. No place is necessary. The whole self can be used, outside and inside. That's why Bapak said just now that the power of God is within everything that is within, and outside everything that is outside. Thus we can worship God in our inner self as well as in a church.

What we need to do now is to separate or divide up the arrangements we make. We have to be able to distinguish between people who don't yet have this and those who have it. Let us not force explanations upon people who don't yet know, because this will create quarrelling and hostility in the community. Thus, if people attend church or the mosque, well, that's good, because they haven't yet found the truth; but once they've found it, they won't only go to church or the mosque. For it is set forth in prescribed religious practice [syariat] that one can worship God at home or in a mosque, at home or in a church. The true meaning of this is that one can worship without any hindrance whatever in any place, within one's own self or outside.

Bapak will tell you about a situation that occurred during the time of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, when everyone was ordered to pray facing in the direction of Tokyo. Many religious leaders shook their heads - their thinking wasn't shaken but their heads were - because they were made to turn towards Tokyo. But it was also their own fault. Why didn't they know this? If they had known it, they would have been able to pray in any direction. So you are trained; if you happcn to go to the cinema, you watch the film, but you're actually directed towards God and not the film, so it's not an obstacle for your inner feeling and your worship. But if you watch the film and are not directed towards God, and you go home and straight to sleep on it - only the film - well, then it's an obstacle.

Thus, we are trained in this latihan so that we can break through the world and be directed to God. Why? Because we've been created in this world. So certainly we go from this world and we have to function through what we have in us. We're not allowed to close our ears so that we can't hear, nor may we close our eyes so that our eyes cannot see; and the same with talking, smelling, and so on. That's why it is said in Islam that when you worship God, you should first close all your organs, including your heart and desires. Otherwise, you are musyrik [a person who attributes partners to God] towards God.

Musyrik means to make blind, to darken the inner feeling towards God.

Yes.

So we open as wide as possible. For that reason, in the syariat [prescribed religious observance], when a person worships he must also express his worship in words. For example, in Islam, they say the words, Allahu akbar wal hamdu lillahi kasiran [Allah is Greatest, all praise be to Allah], and also Bismillahir rahmanir rahim.

In Christianity also, in church, people recite prayers to God, which mean, in Indonesian, 'O God, forgive my sins and show me the right path to You,' to the accompaniment of the organ or piano. The piano and organ, musical instruments, signify power. In Java they have what is called gending [gamelan music] signifying power. But when the organ is played, people remain still. Why? Because it isn't alive. But if the player's fingers are made to strike by God, when he plays the organ, those who hear it will spontaneously feel, 'O God;'because it's alive. This is not yet to be found. Only now are you beginning to experience it.

Bapak hopes that eventually all of you, by God's will, through God's grace, can show the way to those who are not yet on the right path and are still lost, provided it doesn't conflict with anything they have already begun. That's why we have to have proofs. They won't believe if there's no proof. What is the reason why Bapak has come as far as London and as far as here? Because he has received proofs. Bapak understands, Westerners are expert thinkers, are they not? Indeed, there's no way they can believe without proof.

Now God has given this to mankind, and Bapak is one of those who have received it. Why does Bapak say, 'One of those'? Because there may be others. Bapak doesn't like to say it is only Bapak, because Bapak is not the only creature of God; only, the one who has just come to England and has just come as far as the Netherlands here, is Bapak. Bapak understands that you wouldn't believe what Bapak brought if he were only posturing and wearing a beard and a robe and said you have to do this, that and the other. You wouldn't believe. But with this, the atmosphere in England is like this. Only yes, indeed, an extraordinary power certainly gives rise to something of a stir.

So Bapak is setting this in motion carefully, little by little. And then, too, Bapak is not strong enough by himself, for the many people who need to be guided and protected. Bapak therefore requires that this should proceed little by little, so groups can progress gradually and can obtain and receive what they need. For, in this receiving it follows that you will later yourselves receive a responsibility in life that is also important to develop, and give to your fellow men. That's why Bapak received this. If, for example, it were not given to others, there would be no meaning for Bapak and for life. So, too, in your case. In receiving this there is certainly a purpose, which you don't yet know, for you to give it to others who don't yet know or understand.

Bapak hopes his explanation, although not very long and not yet complete, can give each of you a little satisfaction in your inner self. Bapak has only given clarifications in broad outline regarding the meaning and aim of the training [latihan] you have received, so that you won't think or feel that this latihan may go here or there, but really can feel that it goes to God and towards the greatness of God.

Bapak will now finish at this point and stop for the time being, with the hope that all of you will be patient and worship God by surrendering patiently with trust and sincere submission, in the way you have been receiving in the latihan. And if your heart sometimes still feels uncertain - because, indeed, you haven't yet reached the level required - there's nothing against carrying out your prayers and worship in the way you are accustomed to. The heart is led, little by little, until it can be aware spontaneously. So, besides this, if you still go to church or the mosque regularly, go to church and to the mosque as usual, and the time will come when you yourself can distinguish and separate the ways of working.

This is all Bapak has to say for now. Again, Bapak hopes you will forgive him very much. Bapak cannot give a long explanation, because it seems you're already tired. It's been one and a half hours already.