For those of you who are not yet opened it is not time for you to listen to this, for what What Bapak would really like to do is to continue with the explanations that you all need, but because quite a few of you have not yet heard what Bapak has already explained, he is obliged to repeat a little about the spiritual way that you have been practicing and receiving.

To begin with, Bapak lets you know that the training latihan that you have all received is not really like training; it is simply receiving, so its practice requires you to empty out everything that is in your daydreaming and your thinking. That is why in this training or receiving you cannot force yourself to be able to receive quickly. All you can do - as far as you can - is to empty your feelings and daydreaming, which always disturb the progress of your purification during the training.

Therefore you cannot force this, nor should you feel jealous of others, for everything that you have received or are receiving depends on the state of preparedness of your own being. Those of you who feel left behind, or who have not yet received what you hoped for, must not worry or feel depressed, with the idea that you are too heavily burdened. On the contrary, you should surrender more and have a deeper faith in the greatness of God, so that you may obtain whatever you need to have within your self, or whatever you need to be given by God, based on your individual capacity.

What Bapak wants to explain about the spiritual path is that the thing you felt that made you quiver and caused your body to move in various ways is in reality the power of life ( kekuatan hidup ), the presence of life that is within every created thing, especially mankind. It is the same as that which preceded all things that can be seen, and it is connected with the power of life that always envelops the world and therefore human beings too, on the outside. So the condition of the human body is that it is in the midst of this very great power of life.

And why is it that other people, who have not yet received this receiving or training, are unable to feel this contact in their inner feeling? It is because, from their childhood, when they were babies, until they grew up and became adults, their coarse bodies and their senses - their seeing, their hearing, their smelling, their feeling and their speech - were completely covered up by conditions that constantly influence the inner feeling.

The conditions Bapak is referring to are the state of the world ( which is perceived ) continuously from the time a child begins to be able to see forms, hear sounds and smell smells that are in the world, until he grows up and becomes an old man. All of these are filled with forces lower than the human power - namely with the forces of matter, of plants, of animals and of men and women. These forces constantly come and go, putting pressure on the human inner feeling ( rasa diri ) and cause it to lose consciousness and become closed, unable to look backwards to its true origin.

The reason why your movements, when you first receive this training latihan, are on the level of your physical body, is that the dirt or disruptions in your inner feeling, which got there through the pressure and influence of all the forces just mentioned, started from the coarse and proceeded to the fine. Therefore these movements that purify the inner feeling have to start from the coarse ( body ) and will proceed step by step until they reach the body referred to as the body of the peace of the soul ( badan ketenanganjiwa ). Only then will you be able to receive, understand and be aware of the true nature of man and to become conscious of the true origin of your own soul ( jiwa ). You will then also be able to understand the real nature of the contact between the Great Life ( hidup besar ) and the human inner feeling, which it envelops. This is referred to as the state of the perfected human being, or, in the language of Islam, the insani soul. In everyday language it can be called a spirit that is holy.

So it is clear that what you have just received is the beginning of the process whereby the human soul gets to know the Great Life and also gets to know the greatness and power of God which envelops everything. This requires that everything within you, starting with the coarse, is cleaned and made pure, which constitutes a complete and perfect preparation within your feeling and your being.

So the training or receiving that you have received and are practicing is simply a preparation for you to be able to get to know God's power that is within and outside of the world and of life. Clearly then, God is not someone who you ask for something and who then has to give it to you, as happens between people. Because of God's omnipotence, everything has been provided for us, on our right and left, above and below us, and inside and outside of us too - so that God's gifts to all God's creatures are enough, more than enough, and perfect. But because of the mistakes of those creatures themselves, they are not able to make use of what God has given them because they are easily disturbed by forces below their own level.

And now, what is the reason and what is the need for which God created these forces that always disturb human beings? In reality God knows that without these forces below them, human beings cannot be complete. Compare this to your household. If you don't have a wife, children and servants in your house, your family life won't be complete. But if you are good at organizing your household - what you have to do as the master of the house, what your wife has to do as mistress of the house, what your children and your servants have to do - then your household will be orderly, tidy and harmonious. But if, on the contrary, you, the householder, are always absent, and engage in work that is inappropriate for a householder, and all your servants who should be helping with the housework instead take turns at being the master of the house because you have neglected the obligations of a true householder, then it is certain that your household will be chaotic. The same is true of human beings and the forces below the human level.

The forces below man are accessories for man -meaning that they are supposed to obey your orders when you, the human being, order each of them to do their own work in an orderly manner and to not interfere in the work of the master of the house - so that both they and the human being can live in happiness and safety. It's clear that when God gave man these accessories it wasn't God's intention that they should disturb him, but rather that man should be able to use them to enhance his own nobility. So the actual situation is the fault of man himself, not that of his accessory forces.

This is in fact what Bapak means when he talks of the spiritual way. As for what you have all received so far, this is the first level, which is in no way yet the beginning of the real path - by which Bapak means the straight path that leads through the various inner and outer levels. This is because you first have to return to their right place all the things within you that have become misplaced since the time when you were small up to the time when you became an adult, so that eventually you should be able to progress and move straight ahead, in your outer life as well as your inner life, without meeting any obstacles whatsoever.

This is actually what is meant by and what is contained in the training and receiving that you have all obtained. In order that you should be able to receive it correctly it is necessary to start from the bottom; it is necessary to start from the outside, because that is the source of all your errors. Even in the world, the hardest lesson is at the beginning, when a child first goes to school. The same is true for the teacher - there is nothing so difficult for a teacher as teaching children who are just starting to learn, for in that situation the teacher has to be able to get to know the fundamental nature of each child, so that each of them should be able to continue his or her studies in the right direction, one that is in line with their individual souls.

That is how it should be, but up until now that is not how it is. Bapak doesn't want to say that teachers are wrong, but only that they must become aware of this, in order that all their pupils, all children who wish to learn and who do learn, should eventually become useful for society. In reality there is no such thing as a useless person - for even animals whose level is inferior to humans are all useful, as are trees and plants and, on a yet lower level, material things. But, through the mistakes of human beings themselves, there are too many people who are useless - even less useful than material things, in spite of the fact that a human being is a soul or creature that is higher than all material things and all forces below the human level, and is definitely more valuable than things, plants and animals.

That's how it is if a human being is able to correct, oversee and understand what he ought to be and what he ought to do in his life, both in this world and in the hereafter. This is what you have all received, which has manifested as this thing we call the training latihan. So in reality, what you have received in this training is nothing less than a gift from the One God. It is only with God's help that you can achieve what Bapak hopes for you, which he has just described.

Such is Bapak's explanation about the spiritual way, so that it may be clearer and provide you with some understanding for now.

Please wait a moment. ( Bapak draws a diagram )

This is just a diagram to illustrate man's bodies. Don't conceptualize this in your training latihan in the hope of seeing it in this way - it is only a diagram to help you understand better. This, here on the outside, is man's physical body, both its external and its internal parts. The second circle represents the body of feeling and emotions, where willing and wishing originate, also enthusiasm for work and the wish for this or that. The third circle represents the body of understanding. The fourth circle represents inner peace or the consciousness of the inner feeling. All of you have had these four bodies since you were small.

Bapak won't go into your ancestry; to make it short he will just look at the period from your childhood through your youth and adulthood to old age. Throughout that time all four of these bodies were under the pressure of, and influenced by, the forces below the human level. So when you felt something, you could not be really or one hundred percent sure that that feeling was awakened by the human force - it could have been awakened by an essence or force below the human level, such as that of a material thing, a plant, an animal or a person. So, suppose you were to claim that your inner feeling has been made pure, clean and authentic, you cannot yet be certain that this purity is truly that of a perfect human being or that it can guide you and show you the way that is true and noble. The same is true with regard to the third circle, your understanding - your understanding regarding life, your understanding regarding all that has to do with the development of the human soul ( jiwa ) - it is not one hundred percent certain that this understanding arises from your human soul.

There is a strong possibility that it is influenced by or originates from forces below the human level. That is why you cannot say whether your understanding about yourself, your soul or inner self is true and genuine - you aren't yet able to check for yourself where it comes from. Similarly, with regard to the peace of the inner self that we just talked about: suppose that you have just quieted yourself, and you believe and feel that you are truly at peace - you cannot be one hundred percent sure that it is the peace of a perfect human being. The chances are great that that peace is still from the forces below man, and it could take you in a direction that will damage your soul and your body.

So there are not a few people who claim to be good hearted, and whose behavior also appears to be good, but who, when the time comes and an opportunity presents itself, are capable of strangling somebody. This shows that their apparent goodness is simply a device to bring misfortune or ruin on others.

This is the way in which the forces below the human level oppress and influence the inner feeling of a human being who is not yet able to bring order to the household within him. That is why Bapak explained earlier that there is a true way to free human beings from the hold of these lower forces, and that way comes only from the One God.

What you have received in your training latihan is not something new, nor is it a method being felt for the first time; rather, it has existed since before everything else that exists. But because you have been cut off from it by the forces that have covered, oppressed and imprisoned your soul, it is only now that the time has come for you to feel it.

As for the fact that you are not yet able to understand what you are receiving: that is because the body of the understanding, which you need for understanding it, is not yet ready, and this is because your physical body is still chaotic. That is the reason why, although this training awakens from within, the part of you that is first to feel it is the outermost part.

If all four of these bodies within you were already complete, then you would be able to receive with all four of them from the first time you receive this training. But because you cannot yet receive with these bodies closest to the center, even though this training passes through them, you fail to be aware of it. So the thing you feel is a vibration within yourself which eventually spreads through your whole body. This starts by making ( your physical body ) healthy and repairing what is wrong, so that the whole can become healthy again and you can progress to the second body.

As for how long it will take to complete this process in your physical body, Bapak cannot determine this individually for each of you, because some of you have a lot to put right, others have less; some of you are denser and there are those of you who are light. The errors that are present in some of you are slight while in others they are great and serious. But all of that can be overcome, even though it may take more than a little time.

To cleanse the inner feeling that is not clean is an obligation for all of you, in order to make your own life more fortunate, and also that of your descendants. Then the errors within you will not continue as they are and inflict themselves on your descendants. Instead, you can become a boundary beyond which your mistakes will not go, enabling your descendants to become people who experience the life of the perfect self ( pribadi yang sempurna ). This will enable them to adapt themselves to wherever they may be and to experience happiness in their life in the world and in the hereafter. The same holds for you as well - you will be able to meet with the right way for your life in the world and in the hereafter, because your inner self will show you how to work in such a way that what you do not only makes your life happy but keeps you constantly in touch with the Great Life ( hidup yang Maha Besar ).

Looking at Bapak's illustration, if you can achieve all of this, your state will resemble this: ( Bapak draws )

Although you will still appear to be an ordinary person, you will be penetrated from all directions by the power of the Great Life, which envelops human beings from the outside as well as from the inside. Therefore, once you have attained perfection, your feelings, your understanding and your consciousness will be able to follow in the footsteps of the Great Life, which envelops the whole world, both within the universe and beyond it.

This is not something Bapak wants to describe. It is not something that ought to be described by human beings, for it is beyond the human, but you will be able to experience it when you reach that state. For in that world you do not see with the eyes in your head, nor do you hear with these visible ears, nor ( can you use ) any of these physical organs that you can see. You can work there and see with qualities of the self that are nothing like these things that are visible to you. These organs that we have ... the physical form of our body is limited to this world. Beyond that, it will dissolve.

That is Bapak's explanation, which has been rather long, but it may be useful for you because it will enable you to become aware of and understand the direction of our training latihan, its goal and its content. In fact, if you were able to receive just a little at the second of these levels, Bapak could right now do some testing with you, but because you are still new you haven't got to that yet, and there is a strong possibility you wouldn't be able to receive correctly. Therefore Bapak postpones this to a later occasion. Maybe he will be able to show you this eventually.

This is the end of Bapak's explanation, which was not very much, but he hopes that it has given you some satisfaction. If you have questions you wish to ask, Bapak is willing to answer them.

( Question ) Is it necessary to make some preparation before coming here for latihan? And if so, what kind of preparation is useful?

( Bapak ) As Bapak said just now, this training latihan is like a receiving, and the receiving can take place if we are clear of everything that is contained in our feelings and our thinking. So, clearly, in what concerns this training or receiving, you should do as little as possible by way of preparation, for preparation will have the opposite effect, blocking the receiving of your inner feeling. So just receive what you receive in the training, and you will go on receiving it spontaneously, until eventually it will enable you to organize ( your daily life ) in accordance with that which God has given you.

So there is no preparation. You just need to be clean. The true meaning of preparation is making yourself clean.

( Q ) I don't understand what is meant by the opening?

( Bapak ) Have you been opened?

( Q ) Yes, I have. Mr. Bennett explained that what is needed is to surrender to God by surrendering to whatever God wills, and I try to do that.

( Bapak ) Yes, wish for what God wills not for what "I" will.

( Q ) I have no vibration in my body, there is no movement at all.

( Bapak ) Bapak told you earlier, maybe your nature is too dense. But don't worry - it is certain that later on you will get it spontaneously. The pressure from within is always there but ( what it's pressing against it is still ) too strong. Please be patient, because if you desire it very much it can be like the cork on a bottle of mineral water: when it blows it will explode and the water will all get spilt. But with God's gift the cork comes out like this, nice and slowly.

( Q ) Is it true that if we associate with people who are in a dark state we can be affected by their state, even if we don't wish to be?

( Bapak ) No. With this training you can still go on working in the normal way. And when you have finished your work, then you can do, or receive, your latihan. So you don't end up walking like this, but like this, with your two legs parallel. ( Bapak demonstrates. )

( Q ) If the latihan arises in some other place, not here, should we just let it continue, just receive it?

( Bapak ) Well, in fact if it arises spontaneously the intention behind it is certainly that we should make use of that time for the training. But in receiving it, we should remember where we are, so as not to cause problems. For instance, if this starts when you are going for a walk, it's best to go to a quiet place where you can go on with it.

( Q ) During the day I find that I really have a wish to be more open with my body. It is just a feeling, and I don't know what I want to be open to.

( Bapak ) Is it just a feeling or do you get movements?

( Q ) It's just a feeling.

( Bapak ) That is a pressure from certain forces. This disturbance will be removed, but it hasn't happened yet because there is no sign of movements yet. You already have the feeling that will eventually manifest in the form of movements.

It sometimes happens in the opening that people who haven't yet started moving experience a feeling as if their chest is opened or expanded. This is actually a presentiment - a feeling that shows that they are going to be opened, which will then manifest through physical movements. But it hasn't happened yet.

( Q ) Sometimes the movements I receive here in the latihan are repeated spontaneously the next day. Is that a genuine effect or a result of having thought about those movements too much?

( Bapak ) It is genuine, because your training wasn't finished yet.

( Q ) Is the purification limited to the time of the training or does it go on afterwards?

( Bapak ) It goes on.

( Q ) Is it connected with this continuation that sometimes my nights are very restless ?

( Bapak ) Yes, that’s right. But there will also be times when you will sleep very soundly and you won’t be able to stop yourself.

( Q ) There was only one occasion when the process did not go right during the training, and I had a completely restless night, waking up every half an hour.

( Bapak ) So what do you want to ask?

( Q ) Is it necessary to do something?

( Bapak ) Oh no, just accept.

( Q ) Is there anything one can do about persistently disturbing thoughts, thoughts that are skeptical about all this?

( Bapak ) Bapak said earlier that when people try to find a way to quieten their thoughts with their will, even supposing they succeed, that success is only apparent, not real. This is because human beings generally are not capable of overcoming their own selves, unless they have been given the power by the power of God. So this quietness will arise by itself when it has been bestowed by God or when you have been able to receive it.

For instance consider someone who is sitting quietly. Other people say that he is sitting quietly, but the one who is sitting quietly is in reality not quiet at all - the longer he sits the more he thinks about. Indeed, that person is unable to control himself. That is why we only receive, so that later there will be a power that can overcome our own power.

For we have no way of knowing whether our power is already fully that of a perfected human being or still a power that is awakened by forces from below. So we only surrender that to the greatness of God so that with God's help we can overcome that which is within us. For with the power of the Great Life, these things can be seen as if they were dirt, or objects, in a glass of clean water; you can see which ones are good and which ones are not, which ones are large and which are small.

( Q ) Many of us have been trained for many years to make efforts. Many of us have come to believe that nothing is possible unless these efforts are made. Is this training of any use to us at all or is it an obstacle?

( Bapak ) The method you followed previously was a teaching whose effect was limited to softening up your feelings and your thinking, and also to bringing understanding to your desires ( nafsu ) and your forces below the human level, so that they too might thereby become more tractable. What it did not enable you to do was to lead them back to their right place, and away from the place that is not theirs but which they intentionally usurped in order to influence you. That is why you also need a receiving from the All-Powerful, the All Holy, in order that the forces below the human level, which always exert a pressure from this inappropriate place - this place that is not theirs - may vacate it of their own free will.

( Q ) If the training starts spontaneously when we are at home, how long should we let it go on for?

( Bapak ) One can request beforehand that the training should not go on longer than one hour or three-quarters of an hour; it will then spontaneously stop after three-quarters of an hour or an hour. But Bapak doesn't intend this for all of you, because there are still a lot of you who can't yet stop your own training, so if you find the brake doesn't work you may have a hard job stopping it.

( Q ) Earlier, at the end of the training it wouldn't stop for about ten minutes. What can one do about that?

( Bapak ) You haven't yet got to the point where you can stop yourself, but if you are stopped by someone who has been doing this longer, or is clearer than the ones who are being stopped, then it won't go on.

But it does sometimes happen that there is a delay of five to ten minutes, so that when the training is stopped some people don't stop right away but go on for a little while. Everybody is different, just like there are some people who get dressed quickly and there are others who take a long time over it. Everybody can't be the same.

( Q ) Do all people show a similarity in their reaction to this training or do people differ?

( Bapak ) They differ.

( Q ) Will we be told when we can start doing this training alone?

( Bapak ) Yes.

( Q ) Since I have been doing this training it seems to me I've needed much more sleep.

( Bapak ) That is also the training - that sleep. Because when you are not asleep you think a lot.

( Q ) After the end of the training, I'm often in a state I'm not usually in. I wanted to know if I have any responsibility towards that, whether it's a time I should use for something, because I find that it can often end up in just silliness and physical exuberance. I just want to run around - am I wasting that time?

( Bapak ) Oh, no. Don't think that if you don't use that time for something, to do some work or something, then it's wasted. Not at all.

( Q ) Very much of what has been said tonight appears to have a very great resemblance to the teaching of Christian Science. Would you agree with that?

( Bapak ) We don't claim that this is the same as that. This arises and opens up spontaneously - so whether it is similar or the same depends on the thing over there that you are comparing it with. What Bapak has talked about here is in reality the experience that is obtained on the spiritual path. So whether it is similar or not to something else, Bapak leaves it to you. Indeed, this is what happens in the realm of spiritual experience. This applies to other things, such as Islam, and also to Buddhism. Bapak has been told that that which Bapak explains, as he did just now, is in line with what is told in their holy books and in their history. Bapak simply leaves this to them.

But this can be a sign for all of you that what Bapak has told you and what you will experience later on doesn't deviate at all from what has been told in the religions, and that we therefore don't isolate ourselves from them.

( The recording ends abruptly )

Translated by Tuti and Sharif Horthy