Ladies and gentlemen, Bapak would like to give an explanation about the way of the spiritual training ( latihan ) that you receive. Bapak has already explained that the training you have received is not an exercise willed by the heart, but a training in which we prepare to receive God's gift or God's work in the human self. It is, in the words of those who have received ( God's gift ), the truth, or reality. It is not a theory or a teaching that must be learned by the thinking mind, but a real practice in receiving.

So, for example, a person can see with his eyes, but there's no theory that makes him able to see. Similarly, when a person walks, there is no theory that he has to walk like this, using his feet; his feet walk by themselves. This is how God's power works in the human self. Therefore the way God instructs human beings, so that they can see, is already there within the human sight. Likewise, when God gives understanding to human beings, it is already there within the human brain.

This is how God's power guides, organizes and teaches human beings. It is what is called the truth or spiritual knowledge, in the words of those who received long ago. That's why Bapak always says that the latihan you receive is a cleansing and preparation for the real receiving that is necessary for you.

So God gives to human beings, and guides them to be able to see heaven, not by giving them a theory, but within the human eye, so that they can see how heaven really is. This is why it is said that God is Almighty; we cannot go before God, we cannot study God, but only God Himself can teach human beings.

However, many human beings study spiritual matters and the worship of God as theory, in an effort to find the contact, and to be able to pacify their thinking mind and their will, so that their inner feeling becomes calm and aware. In the words of those who received long ago, theory in learning spiritual matters was called tarekat. The tarekat takes place in the heart and brain or thinking mind of human beings, and they learn how to worship, how to meditate, how to contemplate, and how to calm the inner feeling. Philosophy and other terms are sometimes used for similar practices.

In such a situation, it is still largely guess-work whether they are right or not, whether they find the power of God or not. Many of these ( followers of the ) tarekat are unable to find what they are looking for - Bapak means the truth - because they are still groping in the dark in an effort to find where and what the truth is. Whereas what they are searching and groping for is none other than God's gift, that is, the life contact that you have now received, ladies and gentlemen, what Bapak called just now the hakikat ( truth ). So the hakikat, or truth, is the reality, or God's work, and the tarekat is human work and cleverness.

Many human beings go through the mystical way hoping or thinking that they can arrive at the truth. But many of them do not succeed, because these tarekat always use the thinking mind. Whereas the truth comes and is received when a human being is empty of thinking, wanting and desires; it is, as we often say, a toeval ( coincidence ), which suddenly occurs beyond the expectations of the human mind and heart. And that state of the truth -which Bapak says is toevalig in Dutch - we now receive in the latihan. We are now training in something that is beyond the ability of the thinking mind and desires to fathom.

An example is that when the Prophet Jesus was alive he was able to receive God's gift, so that he was able to give advice that is now believed and followed by many human beings - not because of the working of his brain and heart, or because of some teaching, but really because of God's gift, which was within his inner nature. This is why the ability and understanding that Jesus had can be said to be beyond the ability of the human thinking mind to fathom.

You have now begun to be trained, and to receive, ladies and gentlemen. How far each of you will go, and how it will happen an each of you all depends on the actual capacity - kwaliteit ( quality ) in Dutch - of each one of you. This cannot be determined by how often and how long you have been doing the latihan. It may be that a new member can receive more than an older member, and perhaps an old member can receive more than a new member. Also, it cannot be determined whether an old person will be able to receive more than a young person, or vice-versa. This is illustrated in the life of the Prophet Jesus and other prophets. The young were able to receive, while others, who were older, were not yet able to receive.

When Bapak mentioned quality just now, he meant the strength within the human self. In the case of a material object, it is immediately apparent. Because of the low nature of material things, we can know what strength there is in the object. The quality in plants can be ascertained by the human feelings. Human beings can also know the quality of animals, by way of using the awareness that is deeper than the feelings. And human beings, or you, ladies and gentlemen, can only know the quality of your fellow human beings if you have really gone deep within the human soul ( jiwa ). So, in order to understand the state of the inner selves of each of us, we must have been able to develop to a deeper level than the feelings or understanding, that is, to what is called the awareness of the soul, the awareness of the inner self.

Now in explaining your situation, ladies and gentlemen, Bapak has so far begun with you yourselves, without taking your heredity into account. But heredity also brings faults that are there in the human self. Bapak will take an example that is close to you, in order to make a brief analysis.

When you first came into this world, when you were newborn babies, ladies and gentlemen, at that moment your eyes could not yet see, your ears could not yet hear, and all the members of your whole body were not yet able to function like human beings in this world. When you were still babies you were able to receive, you were able to see, you were able to hear, you were able to feel, and you were able to smell things, but not like people who had been born a long time before, like your parents, for example.

All the parts of a baby's body are still as if turning and looking back instead of forward. The real state of the baby is that it still knows its own inner self better than it knows the world. So when it is born crying, this means it is shocked or surprised because it experiences an atmosphere quite different from the state or atmosphere ( it knew ) before it was born. Soon after, the expression on the baby's face is sometimes happy, sometimes sad, sometimes disappointed, and sometimes, momentarily, as if it is frightened. These expressions are not without reason. The baby certainly sees something that makes it frightened, or something that makes it happy, or something nice or beautiful. Then as the weeks and months go by, the baby begins to see the shapes and forms that are in this world. So he gradually leaves what is within and finally sees clearly the shapes in this world, and hears clearly the sounds of this world; but the sights he formerly saw so clearly are closed up and he forgets them.

From this time on, the influences of the world begin to enter the inner self of the baby, until they fill all his members. And these influences become bigger and bigger as he learns more and more, so that to be able to ascertain something, a human being's belief becomes dependent on the worldly influences in the human brain, or is reinforced by them. For this reason there are quite a few people who, even when they quieten themselves, picture to themselves that Almighty God is like a beautiful human being, with a beard, who sits on a magnificent gilded throne and wears a crown, and so on - while heaven is pictured as a place with lots of lovely trees - because these people's brain and heart are entirely filled with worldly influences, which they have accumulated since they were small.

These instruments are used by humans for understanding about God. But this is impossible, because the instruments they use for trying to understand the power of God are the instruments that have picked up all these influences from the world. This is why the Prophet Jesus himself said, 'Human beings cannot see heaven or see the reality with their eyes, because they are closed up by their own seeing. Also, human beings cannot think of the power of God because they are closed up and obstructed by their own brain and thinking.'

Clearly the way to God, or to be able to receive the real gift of God, which can later become an instrument for you to return to the perfect world, the true human world, is only ( possible ) when you can leave behind the thinking mind, will, desires, and so on. Although you are all adults and you are good at speaking, good at counting, and good at this and that, in the latihan ( Bapak makes a sound like a baby ) you make sounds like this before you are able to speak. The explanation of this is that after you are opened and have been doing this latihan, you repeat your life again as you were when you were a small child, when you were not yet influenced by this world. So the cleverness you have by now acquired, however advanced, is zero in the understanding or power of God. It has no meaning at all. ( Bapak laughs )

This is why Bapak always says, 'Don't think about it, don't let your thinking mind interfere.' Well, now Bapak will describe how it is. If you go on with this training ( latihan ), and you receive, receive, receive, in the human self there are two entities, or two states. Bapak will illustrate this by describing the brain, for example. The brain can be filled by worldly influences when it thinks of worldly things. On the other hand the brain can also understand about the situation after this world, when it is filled by God's power within the human brain, and is separated from the influence of this world. So, if you say T like this, it is from the thinking mind and desires; but sometimes when you latihan quietly you may say 'I', not from the desires but from the human soul ( jiwa ), with a voice that has been cleaned and separated from the desires.

So when you die, the human brain, which is filled with thoughts of this world, and remembers your wife, your children, your money in the bank, your work, and so on, comes to a stop. But an understanding that is beyond this world manifests in the human inner self. An illustration of this will make it clearer for you because you have often heard how the Prophet Jesus was when he died, and after his death. The Prophet Jesus did not live on with his desires; it was his soul that lived; his desires were dead. This is symbolized by Jesus’ crucifixion when a lot of blood flowed. This means that what died was his desires, and what lived on was his soul.

Now, your state in this training ( latihan ) is like that of the Prophet Jesus, although you are not as high, or as deep, or as clean. So, for example, the Prophet Jesus could write 'A' like this, but you write it like this ( Bapak demonstrates ), ladies and gentlemen. Well, it is not God's fault. Why should God treat you differently from the Prophet Jesus? It is the faults within human beings, within your own selves. The Prophet Jesus had a good heredity, and his forbears were not so affected by the influence of the world, right up to the time when he himself was born. Whereas when you all came into the world - Bapak does not wish to offend your forbears - but when you had just been born, you had already been to the cinema, been to the theatre, seen the ballet, and seen all kinds of things. And all of that is an obstacle, like dirt within all the parts of your being.

These are illustrations of spiritual matters, which you will certainly receive and experience. So you only have to receive this latihan. Do not look for the meaning of what you have received. Later on it will come by itself. Bapak does not blame you for always wanting to ask questions, because you are old, and your thinking mind and desires are older than your soul. Your desires are forty, or fifty, or sixty, but your soul was born only one month ago. So, in fact, your thinking is more clever than your soul, and you think about everything. Later on, when the soul develops and gets bigger and bigger, they will be equal. When they are equal they will run parallel to each other. Ah, it is this that we hope for, that there can be a balance, where we can think of this world and also think of the life after death.

This is why, for example, sometimes, you want to go to the latihan, but you feel unpleasant, or you have a lot of work to do, or something, ( and you say, ) 'Ah well, I won't go to latihan,' because your thinking mind is older. For this reason it is necessary for you to do this latihan together. The latihan with other brothers and sisters strengthens your spirit to do the latihan. If you do the latihan alone at home, well yes, certainly, it's nicer in your own home, because there is no one else and you can receive calmly. But many of those who do the latihan alone at home do not do the latihan, but just fall asleep. However, if you are already able to do it, and you really don't have any time, you can do the latihan at home.

There is also another benefit of doing the latihan together. You need to remember which of your brothers and sisters are not yet strong, so that in the latihan together you help those who are weak; and those who are weak can get a bit of a lift from those who are strong. So there is a benefit from remembering the brothers and sisters who are weak. Actually, if you receive and experience it, the latihan alone is different from the latihan with a lot of friends. Indeed, it is nicer alone than with many friends, because if someone does latihan with a lot of friends and most of them are still weak, he doesn't support them, but he may even be pulled back. So it is necessary to do the latihan together, and then do the latihan for yourselves after the general latihan. Later when Bapak has left you need to do a latihan for helpers only. ( A discussion follows about general latihan, helpers' latihan and latihan alone )

This the end of Bapak's explanation this evening about the spiritual way, and Bapak will proceed with a little testing, which is also practice, also the latihan.

Translated by Sofyan Brugger