Brothers and sisters, first of all, Bapak would like to thank the committee of the Subud branch in Jogjakarta for the opportunity they have given Bapak to tell you about his experiences abroad and to give you some explanations concerning the meaning of Subud - our worship of the One God. Although, on a previous occasion Bapak has already told you about his last trip, the time available was limited, and so there are still many things to be said about how Subud is developing abroad.

While it is not essential for you to hear news about the development of Subud abroad, Bapak hopes that his account can be evidence ( for you ) of the reality of God's greatness and the grace He has bestowed upon ( Bapak ), His creature, in the performance of his duty. This duty consists of calming peoples' hearts and opening a way for human beings so that they can worship God in truth and without going against their God-given nature and their inner self.

The reality Bapak is talking about is not an empty picture, with no content or substance. It is real, it has spread and developed, so that many people outside our country are aware of the benefit and necessity of worshipping God in the way all of you are doing and receiving.

Because of the dedication and sincerity of all the brothers and sisters abroad, our Subud latihan of worship has spread and grown, spontaneously and unexpectedly, until there are now nearly ten thousand members outside our country. Bapak recently received the news that in England alone there are already twenty three branches and a membership of about four thousand. While in other places, for example in Central Europe - in France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Austria -and in Northern Europe - in Norway, Sweden and Denmark -there are nearly two thousand members. This is not counting those in America, who cover almost the whole of America from Canada to South America.

How has Subud spread so quickly, gone so far in such a short time? It is thanks to God's grace, through the dedication of our brothers and sisters abroad, through their hard work; because they are courageous, because they are determined and accept this as a way, a guidance, that does not conflict with the beliefs they already hold. They have made efforts in each of those places, so that in each place not less than fifty to a hundred people have been opened. So now it has happened that Subud has spread not only in Europe, not only in Asia, not only in America, but everywhere, to not less than forty countries.

From the point of view of the ordinary mind and feelings, it is really amazing that Subud can spread so fast. One could say that it differs from anything that happened long ago. Bapak takes Christianity as an example. Christianity was able to spread until it covered the whole world, but only after about two hundred years. It was like that also with Islam. Only after at least two hundred years did it spread everywhere until it covered almost the whole world. Compared to anything that happened in times long ago, the progress and strides Subud has made are unexpectedly quick. Not because of human beings, not because of Bapak, but maybe it is God's will that this Subud should be a way for human beings to save their lives and not fight one another.

Bapak himself has witnessed this in foreign countries far from Indonesia. To take an example close at hand - Ceylon ( Sri Lanka ). In Ceylon there are many religious streams in society. There are Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. Before Subud spread and developed there the Muslims and the Christians could not get close to each other. They did not want to get to know one another. Moreover, they were always quarrelling and fighting.

Why was this? Because they were always wing with one another, wing to be more holy, competing for God's love, to be close to God. After Bapak came there and after Subud spread there, they were able to unite - that is, one religion with another. This happened spontaneously, that is to say, without their being told, without their being advised, and without their being forced.

And then recently, when our brother Ikhsan died, three people from Ceylon came on the trip back to Indonesia. One was a Buddhist, one a Christian and the other a Muslim. On the way here, their attitude towards one another was very harmonious - there was not a trace, not a hint of any hostility between them.

Bapak witnessed experiences like this, not only in Ceylon, but everywhere abroad. He takes the example of Ceylon because, as Bapak said before, those people from Ceylon came here to Jakarta to attend the funeral when our brother Ikhsan passed on.

Such happenings show us and are testimony for us - Bapak does not say for everyone in general, but just for ourselves - that our worship, our worship of the One God through the way you have received, is a way that can close gaps between human beings. This shows that it does not only close a gap between one religion and another, but that people of different nationalities also remain united and close to one another. Bapak might also add that they feel there is no difference between them.

Bapak experienced this when he was abroad. Before he left, many people said, 'I only hope that when Bapak is abroad he is not hated by the people there, and that they will be willing to be close to Bapak. People there are very brutal and look down on us, in particular, as an inferior nation.' Indeed, that is so. Eastern people in general are regarded by Westerners, by white people, as being, as they say, only half human. Those who are fully human are those people who have white skin! Such views have gone deep into their bloodstream, so that now, in foreign countries, what is called racial discrimination has come to the surface.

But, through the blessing and grace of God, when Bapak came to Europe - yes, Bapak is telling the truth, but as you did not witness it, you are allowed to disbelieve it - Bapak is telling you frankly that the welcome the brothers and sisters abroad gave him was really astonishing, really amazing. They washed and cleaned everything themselves, including what is normally done by a servant or someone who does that job. For example, they cleaned the toilets and the bathroom, they washed the dirty clothes, even the underwear. Bapak felt uncomfortable about handing over ( his laundry ), but he was asked sincerely and respectfully to give it to them so they could wash and clean it themselves.

Bapak himself witnessed the circumstances of the people who cleaned and washed Bapak's clothes - what their house was like and what their status was. One of them was a wealthy doctor. Her husband was also a doctor. In her house, she only had to give orders, as a lady of means. But when she came to the house where Bapak was staying, she was more humble than a servant. She did the rough and dirty jobs. Ismana, the Subud sister Bapak took along on his trip, asked her, 'How can you enjoy doing that sort of work? We were expecting all that would be done by someone who would be paid to do it.'

'It's not like that' she replied. 'When I do such humble and dirty work here, I feel happier than when I keep company or party in beautiful places with doctors and people who are high ranking and wealthy.' That's what she said.

This shows that when Bapak arrived there, he was welcomed and received in a way that was really amazing, completely beyond anything one could have expected or imagined. For Bapak, such happenings did not have the effect of making his heart or inner feeling proud. He did not become arrogant. Instead, Bapak felt like bowing down, worshipping and repenting to God, because God had given His blessing to the trip that Bapak was making abroad.

In general, most of the letters Bapak has received so far are from clever, intelligent people. Not a few of the letters came from university professors. Bapak felt small and inept, and felt inadequate to the task of giving explanations to them, because outwardly they were more clever and more educated than Bapak himself. But Bapak repeats, thanks to God's grace - which has been given to Bapak because he really is small, stupid and powerless - he was given all the guidance and direction he needed to be able to answer their questions. Bapak was surprised - but, yes indeed, if God wills it, nothing is difficult.

On reflection, Bapak compared these feelings of his with those of the prophets in ancient times. Jesus became the light and leader of the world - even if it is just the Christian world. He became the leader, enlightener and adviser of millions of people - yet in the beginning, when he was still small, he did not study or go to school.

From the standpoint of the thinking mind, it is impossible for someone who has had no schooling and who is uneducated to obtain such an extraordinary ability, which enables him to deal with all the questions society needs to ask. But, if people are willing to calm themselves and just feel that the power of God is outside, inside, above and below them, as in the prayer 'God is Almighty', ( then they will know that ) God can erase something that exists and create something that does not exist. He is able to make something good from something wrong, and can make something wrong from something good. So, clearly, if God wills it and if God blesses someone, even though that person is not educated and has had no schooling, he will be able to find something beyond the expectations of the human heart and mind.

Therefore, how and in what way can one obtain such grace from God? Simply by doing what the prophets did - what Jesus and Prophet Muhammad did - that is, to have what is called in Javanese, sabar-drana, tawakkul and ilhlas ( Jav.: total patience, Arab.: acceptance and submission ). In Islam it is referred to as tawakkul and ikhlas. So, through our surrender, through our acceptance, through our patience, through our willingness to let go of whatever God wishes to take from us - meaning that I give more weight to God than to my own self and I love God more than my own heart - God will give and we humans will be able to receive the Grace of God that is needed for human life. Bapak himself has witnessed what he is talking about, right up until today and until tonight. In the history of the world nothing ( like this latihan ) has happened before.

For instance, Bapak met a professor in Holland, in Amsterdam, whose name was Professor Dr. Heeringa. He was chairman of World Moral Rearmament. He talked with Bapak and Bapak answered all his questions. He asked Bapak, 'Which school did you attend, Bapak?'

Bapak said, 'I had very little schooling. I went to an elementary school, which used to be called a one talin ( quarter rupiah ) school or one rupiah school. No more than that. I confess that I am not from what one might call a big school.'

'Impossible! You must have studied, Bapak!'

'No, I am only from a Lagere School ( Du.: primary school ). I haven't been to a M.U.L.O. school ( Du.: junior high school ); I haven't been to an A.M.S. school ( Du.: general secondary school ); and I haven't been to a university. My children have, but I haven't yet. And I won't - it's too late, I am already too old. ( So I ) shouldn't say "I haven't yet", just "I haven't"! Because if I say "haven't yet," I have to become a child again.'

He asked further, 'How is Bapak able to answer my questions, which are more or less aimed at someone who has at least been to university?'

'I myself do not know. I don't understand, Professor, how I can answer. But, Professor, you yourself are a Christian - don't forget the story of Jesus.'

He was surprised. 'Oh, yes, yes, yes, now I understand,' he said. 'Eh, eh, that's how it is. Yes, yes, yes, that's true, Pak Subuh. Yes, indeed, if God gives His grace to a human being, indeed it is like that .'

Indeed, in Javanese, there is a saying: 'Whosoever receives God's revelation will instantly be enlightened by the Lord's wisdom that awakens within them.'

Many people might then say, 'Well, in that case I'm glad - I don't need to go to school.' Oh, but that's not certain. If you don't go to school, later you may end up with nothing. So don't do that. Bapak is only talking about himself. Don't imitate him. Then you will not send your children to school! Don't do that - you must send them to school.

Bapak has experienced and witnessed this. God gives to human beings whom He chooses, such as Jesus and Prophet Muhammad. They were chosen - I don't know why. Whether they are human beings who are exceptional, or what, I do not know. That is up to God.

But Bapak tells you: it is necessary for people to study and go to school. For the minds and feelings of people who have had schooling are sharpened and whetted, and undergo a change in nature. Their nature changes, so that if the sound they used to make was 'duk duk', it becomes 'ting ting'.

God will give to human beings according to their nature. So a person who is clever will at least ask, 'What are planets, O God?' But a person who has never studied and has never been to school might ask, 'What is a ditch?'

So their questions are different. One may ask, 'What is chemistry, O God, O Allah?' The other, 'What is a snail?'

People need to go to school, because they ask questions there that are necessary for man's life in this atomic age. Why is it like that? Bapak will give an example to illustrate. Take our fellow Indonesians in Irian, that is, Papua. Many of them are able to meditate, to calm their inner feeling and concentrate. But, because their feelings and thinking have not been sharpened and they have not had any schooling, they do not have many questions to ask God. Their questions are only trivial ones like, 'Oh God, how can I catch a load of fish?' This is different from what you ( would ask ), 'How can I sell this thing and make a fantastic profit?'

That is already different, but all these needs are to do with this world and with human life. As long as we are still in this world, whether we want to or not, we have to be close to this world. After all, we need worldly things to be able to live securely in this world. It is said that the best thing we can do in this world and in the hereafter is to work and be active. The prophets expressed this in their books and through the religious traditions, and it is also in the commandments that human beings have received from God.

Now Bapak will give some explanations concerning the human physical body - your physical body. In your physical body, in your life and in your inner nature, you are equipped and furnished with everything you need to be aware of your life both in this world and in the life after death.

In this physical body there are two natures. ( One is ) the nature that is able to receive the content of the self, that is, God's power, which manifests in the human self in accordance with the state of that particular human being. This first nature is called the body of the feeling, which evolves and which should have its own senses. And this body of the feeling exists in the inner heart, also referred to in Islam as the heart, the qalb ( Arab. ). Qalb means a heart that is honest, a heart that is really true. So, if it hears this sound - 'tok' - it says so. If, for instance, you look at that wall and you see the wall is white, then, because you see it is white with your own eyes, you say it is white and you cannot deny it. That's how it should be. But the five senses are always influenced and confused by the desires, the heart and the thinking, which nest in the false heart, usually called pulung ati among us Javanese.

So there are two hearts. One is called the little heart and is the nest of the passions and thinking. The other is the heart of the feeling, the heart of the body, which is in the inner heart.

Before all of you were opened - Bapak says 'opened', but not as a door is opened - before you were introduced to your inner nature, your feelings and the heart of your feelings were confused and disturbed by your false heart, that is, your passions and thinking. You know the wall is white. But when someone asks you what you see, you say, 'Oh, it's green,' because you are worried that if you say it is white, it will create a problem. So the thing that is always playing tricks, always trying to change what you really see, what you really hear and what you really feel is in fact none other than the influence of your passions and thinking.

This is why it is essential that in your opening and in your latihan the heart of the passions and the thinking should be separated from the heart of the body. Bapak often says, 'Don't think about what you receive and don't keep daydreaming about what you receive.'

Perhaps you do not agree with what Bapak has just said. Indeed, philosophers say, 'What is the use of one's thinking mind and what is the use of one's heart if one is not allowed to think about and reflect on whatever you face? 'Well, Bapak says that indeed it is very necessary for man to think. That is the use of the thinking mind. It is God's will that man should think about the things he has to face; that he should be able to weigh up what is wrong and what is not, and what is profitable and beneficial and what is not. That is indeed right.

But, brothers and sisters, in the latihan and in our worship, we face God, not man. When we face human beings we need to think. When we have to deal with material objects we need to think. Thinking is for this world. I really need to use my thinking to relate to human beings, because they are the same as I am. But it is impossible for us to use our thinking to relate to God. Why? It is said, not only by Bapak, but in the Quran, in the Gospels, in the Psalms and in the Torah, that God is before everything that is at the beginning and is after everything that is at the end; within everything that is within, and outside everything that is outside. This expression means that we really are completely powerless, and that everything is enveloped and surrounded by the power of God. Indeed, this is true. If it were not so, how could God have created us?

So it is clear that God is Almighty, for He was able to create us. We have no power before God because we are His creations. That is the difference. In the latihan we are not permitted to think, because we face the One who created our soul and our body, in other words, you and me. Once we just receive it and don't think about it and we don't look for it, it will be easy for us to receive something that is necessary for our lives.

What is the reason why our heart, passions and thinking are separated from the body of the feeling? It is so that the body of the feeling can come alive, free from any influences. They are separated so that its original nature can show itself and be seen. Therefore, by God's will, even in spiritual matters, in matters of the soul, chemistry - the science of separation - is necessary, so that through that chemistry, we can know what is true and what is not, or that which is not influenced and that which is.

The outer chemistry, the chemistry known as a science, is very useful. It can be used as a criterion, a standard by which people can know things that are not easily known. Before human beings received and got to know chemistry, they had not yet discovered gold, iron, oil and other substances. It was only after human beings acquired a knowledge of chemistry that they were able to produce gold and iron, which formerly were combined with earth. So if you have a good knowledge of chemistry - I am talking about the outer kind - you can discover what is iron, what is not iron and what is earth; and also what is gold, what is not gold and what is earth. It is the same in the spiritual realm. If you have a knowledge of chemistry in your soul, you will get to know 'who it is that is steering me, who makes me behave like this or like that'.

Before you received this ( latihan ), perhaps you considered that what you referred to as I was your real 'I'. But in truth, it is still a question whether, when you say I, it is always your real I, or the I that is influenced by forces or entities lower than human. You can know this and be aware of it when eventually your soul has completed ( its course in ) chemistry and you have really mastered it.

This is why Bapak has told you that you need not put aside your thinking and passions, but you should not use them in the latihan. As you yourselves have experienced, when you are receiving or doing the latihan, your latihan stops if you ( start to ) think just a little. Clearly, you yourselves are aware of and have experienced what Bapak is saying - that we may not involve our thinking and passions in our worship of the One God.

You may ask, 'Are not the heart, the passions and the thinking mind useful? What is the point of our having them, if they are not useful for us in worshipping God?' Bapak explained this earlier, but Bapak can add that the passions and the thinking mind that you have are indeed your main equipment and instruments. So it is not wrong to have them. Only it is still necessary to keep them separate while you are worshipping, because you are not yet able to be aware and you have not yet mastered the chemistry that is within your self. But later, once we are able to separate them, we can use the thinking mind and the passions. We need to have them and use them, because without the passions we are powerless.

As an example, you all know and have heard, seen and listened to the wayang stories. Prince Arjuna is said to be a good knight. He has both a fine appearance and a pure heart; a fine outer covering and a fine inner feeling. He is known for his willingness to help his fellow beings, and always helps those who are suffering and in distress. So he really has a very good heart. However, occasionally you see Arjuna in the guise of a very cruel man. His cruelty consists of the fact that when he kills his enemy, it is not in anger. No. He laughs as he runs them through and kills them. Seen from the mind, if a human being overpowers and kills another and enjoys doing it, it means he is really a fiend and a very cruel person.

So there you are! You can check it for yourself. Pity there isn't a - what do you call it? - a judge. Or a lawyer will do. If a person kills someone and is seen to be remorseful, his sentence will be less severe, will it not? But if a person is seen killing someone while laughing and enjoying himself, 'Ah, this is clearly intentional. He has that sort of character. He deserves a heavy sentence!' So, sometimes Arjuna's behavior is very cruel. How come? Arjuna is supposed to be good. But when he kills someone, like those giants, he just goes cut-cut, stab-stab and smiles while he does it. So what does that mean?

Bapak said a moment ago that the passions, the heart and the thinking mind are our main equipment and accessories in life. What we need now is to be good at using them. So do not be afraid of a weapon that is just hanging there. Do not be afraid of a sharp knife. But it makes sense to be afraid of a sharp knife or a weapon if they are being used by someone who likes to do wrong. So it is not the weapon you are afraid of but the person! If you are near a rifle every night, but the rifle is never picked up by someone who likes to kill people, there's no danger.

So we still have passions just the same, but we have to be good at using them. We have passions, but we use them for doing right, for actions that do not lessen the happiness and safety of our life together. That is why the passions are segregated, so that the feeling in the body is trained to feel and recognize what is right and what is wrong. Our desires and our thoughts are segregated. They also are trained to become good desires and good thoughts.

Like the prophets. Even Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, also had the passions ( within them ). If they had had no passions, they would not have been able to get anything. Certainly they had the passions. Only, as Bapak said a moment ago, what is necessary now is that we should know ( how ) to use all our life equipment and accessories.

It is not just possible but certain, that you can find evidence of Bapak's explanation in any of the Holy Books you have seen, read and are aware of. In all the countries Bapak visited, people said things like, 'Pak, in that case it is very much in agreement with ( the teaching of ) Christ, which I have studied.'

'Yes, indeed' Bapak said, 'Christianity is like that.'

So, what Bapak is saying is indeed the aim and the content of religions today, the religions that you follow. If your religion is Christianity, it fits. And also in countries where there are many Muslims, people said, 'That is in agreement with Islam.' The same is true of Buddhists. Like brother B. B. from Bombay, who has just been introduced to all of you. He is a Buddhist, and after receiving this latihan, he feels that in reality, human beings who worship God, even though they are of this or that religion, are really not different.

If we always follow stories, we will become confused. For the tellers of those stories are still influenced, sometimes intensely so, by desires and thoughts. 'The proof is there,' they say. 'This, and this.' This religion says that if you strike someone of that religion, it is not a sin and is not counted as a sin by God, rather you will be raised to heaven. And that one says that if you strike this one you will go to heaven.

So, if someone from here strikes someone there, they say he goes to heaven. And if someone from there strikes someone here, they say he goes to heaven. The two groups confront each other to contest which one is stronger and more solid. So between them, they always face confusion and disturbance in their worship of God.

This has been understood and witnessed in Subud - in the spiritual training we always experience and receive, both during the latihan and outside the latihan. Further, Bapak hopes that all of you - not that Bapak is expecting you to do him a favor, no - but Bapak hopes very much that all of you will really worship God sincerely, and turn to God and obey God, both in latihan and outside the latihan.

For we cannot only worship God and obey God at the times when we do the latihan, or when we do the latihan together. Why is that? Because, as Bapak said before, God is within everything that is within, and outside everything that is outside. So God knows everything, both what has already happened and what is still to happen. Therefore Bapak hopes that you will be steadfast in your awareness and worship of the One God, submitting willingly and with pure feelings to the greatness of the One God.

This is the end of Bapak's account of his trip abroad. And, later... well, yes, Bapak needs to explain something. Bapak has just come home from Ceylon. But many letters have already arrived, asking if Bapak would come, even if it is only for five days, they say, 'Because, I don't know why, but I really need - my soul really needs - to be near to Bapak, even if it is only for a short time.' So it's not that Bapak is forced to go, but he surrenders to the greatness of God and will do it. That is, he will go abroad later, on the first of March.

Moreover, Bapak's trip will be further than the last. But Bapak will divide it up so that it does not take too long. If every country is for ten days and there are thirty countries, that's three hundred days. Yes, nearly one year - at least. In America alone, fourteen countries are ready to receive Bapak. How can Bapak not go, when the invitations have come and the tickets have come. What to do? If the invitations had come but not the tickets, Bapak could refuse, because there are no funds for travel. The invitations have come and there are tickets! So I'm scratching ( my head ). Ah, they're clever, the people over there. It's as though they have signed me up.

This is the situation Bapak will soon be facing and he will carry it out. So, Bapak will go again for a short time, and will return home here to Indonesia in 1960. It's not long, it will not be ten years! No, in approximately just over a year, he will return to Indonesia. And Bapak hopes all of you will do amal ( Arab.: good works ).

'What is doing amal, Pak?'

'Doing amal means offering, promising and doing whatever is God's will.'

'What is God's will?'

'It is our worship of God - man's worship of God. You need to... If you are given something it is not only for yourselves. You are given an ability, and even though it is only a little, it is not just for you but for human beings in general, for you and others.'

'For what purpose?'

'So all of you can perform your worship without any obstruction...'

( Section missing )

...going abroad, leaving his homeland, leaving his grandchildren, leaving his children. Well, that's hard but Bapak does not feel it as hard, because it is necessary for me to do amal - to offer amal to God for our fellow human beings, for my fellow human beings.

This is what Bapak expects from you, brothers and sisters, that you will do amal, that you will do this ( latihan ) for humanity, for the harmony of the human race, so that all of you can live happily without much disturbance, even without any disturbance whatsoever.

With this, Bapak will end his explanation about the trip and also concerning the meaning and content of the latihan. Bapak would like to ask you to forgive him if he has said anything out of place.

That is all. Thank you.