Ladies and gentlemen, although our hearts and feelings are affected and we feel dismayed and sad because we have been left by one of our brothers, Ikhsan Ahmad Muhammad - our souls, our inner feelings, our inner selves give thanks to God that God Wills the soul of our brother Ikhsan Ahmad Muhammad to be called before the presence of God's power. It is generally the custom for people who follow a religion, or are obedient to God, to say, when a human being dies, that he has been called by the One God.

Viewed superficially, it really feels very heavy to be left by a friend, or someone we know very well. But if we reflect more deeply we realize that we who are still alive will also not escape death, and it becomes clear that our brother Ikhsan's death was only a question of time. There is time a long way off there is time near at hand. So there are those who still have a long time; there are those who do not. Clearly, we who are still alive are sure to follow him one day, we don't know when. This is why we simply give thanks to God that God has willed our brother Ikhsan to go on before us. Such are our feelings and reflections on human death, and on the death of our brother Ikhsan whom we have known for so long.

In connection with our brother Ikhsan's death, Bapak feels it very necessary that his body be taken home to his country, so that it can be seen, acknowledged and looked after by his family. Bapak therefore considers it necessary that our brother Ikhsan's body be taken back to Indonesia. And to show his family and the brothers and sisters in Indonesia that Bapak is not neglecting Ikhsan, Bapak is obliged to accompany him back to Indonesia at once.

So tonight Bapak takes the opportunity to take leave of you all, because the day after tomorrow he will leave Singapore to return to Indonesia. As he leaves Singapore Bapak prays that later, when he has gone, you will always worship God diligently so that you may obtain all you need for your lives. This is what Bapak has to say to all of you concerning Ikhsan's death and Bapak's return to Indonesia.

Apart from that, Bapak would like to thank you all very much, brothers and sisters, for your welcome and hospitality and all you have given Bapak and his party; and also for your sincerity and willingness to contribute your efforts in connection with Ikhsan's death a short while ago. On behalf of Ikhsan's family, Bapak would like to say thank you very much for the willingness and generosity you have shown, brothers and sisters.

And if Ikhsan has made any mistakes towards any brothers and sisters here - whether these were actions or still within his heart -I, on Ikhsan's behalf, and with his sincerity, ask all of you please to forgive him as much as possible, so that his departure on the way to God is not hindered by an obstruction from any sin he may have committed towards you.

For sins and mistakes between human beings are heavier for a person than sins a human being commits towards God. That is why human beings, before they die, need to ask forgiveness from their friends and relatives, whom they may have offended or sinned against, or criticized, so that in death they may come by a wide, clear way towards their destination, as willed by God. Why is this? A human being's sins towards God are like a drop in the ocean.

There is no need to beg and plead for those sins to go away, for when he or she remembers God, they will vanish by themselves. But sins towards fellow human beings are difficult to get rid of, because human beings are as small as each other. So it is hard to make even a little ( sin ) go away if the one sinned against is not asked. That is why Bapak asks you: please forgive all the sins and mistakes Ikhsan may have committed towards you, and wipe out completely any feeling of dissatisfaction in your hearts.

This is all Bapak has to say about his return to Indonesia and about Ikhsan, who has returned home to the world willed by God.

Now Bapak will begin to give explanations about the spiritual training you have received. As you know and as you have experienced, in this latihan of ours a separation is necessary between the heart, desires and thinking on the one hand, and the inner feeling on the other. For, as long as the inner feeling is still enveloped by the desires, heart and thinking, it cannot receive and feel its own life, free from them. When it is separated from the heart and thinking, the inner feeling can come back to life as before, so that a human being can receive and feel who it is that makes his being move and works within his inner self, and from where this comes. Once he knows who is working and who is in charge within his inner feeling, a human being will be able to discern where and what is right and wrong - that is, between a low life form and one that is higher than that - so that the inner feeling can distinguish who is steering within his or her body and self.

Even though the heart, thinking mind and desires are separated from the inner feeling, they too continue to receive the latihan, and are trained by God's power that manifests within the human self. And what are the fruits and results if the desires, heart and thinking mind do the latihan? They will be able to behave as well as possible, in a way that is good and really humane. Humane means knowing what is right and wrong, good and bad, honest and dishonest, in whatever one does, so one's actions will not reduce the happiness, welfare or safety of other people.

The way human beings try to acquire the kind of feelings and desires - the sort of heart and mind - which have that quality called selflessness, is by means of talking and counseling. True selflessness is really only ( taught ) in religion. For religion is indeed willed by God in order that human beings may behave and function in this world in the best possible way; in a way that does not lessen the happiness of others or interfere with their welfare. This kind of behavior will create a society that is harmonious and united, where people value each other - a society that is truly humane; of one nation, and with One God. One nation meaning the human nation. This is how it will be if, as Bapak said, the desires, heart and mind of human beings receive the latihan and are trained by God's power that manifests within the self.

As Bapak said before, the inner feeling has to be separated from the desires, heart and thinking, so that both can receive the latihan; so that both can really receive instructions from God that are needed for their life, both in this world and hereafter... ( section missing ) ( This is analogous to chemistry, whereby human beings have learnt how to separate gold and other minerals, so they can know which is ) sand, which is silver; which is oil and which is not oil. So it is clearly very necessary for human beings to be able to use chemistry in relation both to things in this world and in the spiritual realm.

Why is it that since long ago there have been human beings who have sought spiritual truth and the reality of their true self by forcing themselves to go off into isolation...? ( inaudible ) ... ( but they are unable to find ) what they want, what they are looking for, because they have not yet found or been able to receive God's gift, which would enable them to separate the inner feeling from the desires, heart and thinking..

It is not God's will that the desires, heart and thinking mind should be put aside from the human self, but rather that human beings should be able to separate them from the inner feeling. Then they can use their desires, heart and thinking in accordance with their nature, and their inner feeling in accordance with its nature -as when, for example, you know this is gold, and that is not. Of course, you will use the gold in a way that is appropriate and suited to its nature. You would not use gold to cut wood, or to make a railway line or a bridge. You would use it for jewelry, which is appropriate to the value and nature of gold.

This is what you will later receive in the latihan, which you have now started to practice. In your way of worshipping God, your movement, your inner feeling, and also your calmness, will be very different from how you are when you are making a living, earning money, looking for work - in short, when you are dealing with this world. This corresponds to religious practice, where we are required to be clean before we worship. In other words, everything that is inappropriate must first be separated, so that one can worship God in a way that is clean and pure, as willed by God.

Now regarding the content of the human self, Bapak also needs to explain to you here that the human self- Bapak says human, but it is true of all creatures, including stones, plants and animals - is always occupied, that is to say, is always enveloped and filled by the life forces, starting from the lowest: the material, the vegetable, the animal, and the human. And there are others that are higher than human beings. Altogether there have to be seven forces within man's nature or being: the material, vegetable, animal, human, and perfect human forces, plus two more above that, making seven. Besides these, there is yet another force filling the human self which is not included in this scheme. It is called the Holy Spirit, or the ruh ilafi ( Arab. ).

The Holy Spirit is a supreme life force, given or created by God with the power to provide the way, to open or to be the light for all creatures, so they can rise up to wherever they are able to reach. So even material objects, plants and animals have the opportunity to rise above their own life force, above their own sphere, if they can really receive and can also separate what is right and good from what is wrong. Therefore, the issue between the inner feeling and the heart and mind of human beings is none other than the issue of what is right and what is not.

Besides this force, which is God's agent with authority to be the light, guide and opener of the way for every kind of creature, especially human beings, there is still another life force, which is willed by God to guide and look after human beings from outside, and to enable them to find and distinguish where that is which is right and good. This is called the ruh-al-qudus ( Arab. ) . The ruh-al-qudus is also called the spirit of the angels.

Clearly then, human beings are reminded from inside and also reminded from outside. Nevertheless, many people are not aware of this, because their hearts, desires and thinking are still mixed with their inner feeling.

This is why, in this spiritual training of Subud, it is necessary for us to possess the ability to sort things, to enable us to separate the inner feeling from the desires and thinking mind. And who can separate them? None other than the spirit that has the authority as God's agent, and manifests within the human self, which Bapak called a moment ago the Holy Spirit or the ruh ilafi. And it comes when a human being's desires, thinking mind and heart have come to a standstill and are powerless. This you have experienced when you were opened and in your subsequent latihans. So it is clear that what does the separating is not your will, but the power of the Holy Spirit or ruh ilafi, which is the lamp within your being.

It is for this reason that Bapak always advises you not to let your mind interfere, and not to think about what you have received, because this is not the job of the thinking. Moreover, the thinking mind should be kept far away from ( the latihan ), so that you can receive with the utmost clarity how the Holy Spirit is separating things within your being. Of course, you won't be able to receive this at once, but little by little, so that neither of the two parts is damaged because of it.

This is Bapak's explanation about the spiritual ( way ) you are receiving and following. Bapak will finish now. Bapak thanks you very much for your sincerity and for feeling the need to hear his advice. As Bapak will be leaving Singapore the day after tomorrow, on Friday, Bapak prays that, after he has gone from here, you will always be under the protection of the One God, in safety and in happiness, and that you will be able - perhaps not straight away -but that you will be able to receive the grace of God as you would wish. Also, Bapak asks you to forgive him very much for all his mistakes towards you, those that have happened as well as those that have not yet happened. That is all. Thank you.