Ladies and gentlemen, today Bapak would like to explain about the spiritual way that you have received and are practicing.
First, Bapak would like to express his feeling of gratitude to God. Through God's grace Bapak has been able to come here to be with all of you, in safety, in good health and with no problems whatsoever. This is a clear sign that it is God's will that human beings, especially all of you here in Mexico City, should be aware of God's greatness and mercy, and aware of the One who created each one of you.
God has given, and Bapak received through God's will, a training, a way for human beings to worship God that comes from God Himself. This impresses upon us that God and His power are supreme, and can enter the awareness of people in this busy age so that they wish to worship God.
Such is the importance of the spiritual training of Subud that has been awakened by the greatness of God. For in this age people have gone so far in using their brain and heart that hardly anyone is able to stop the working of their thoughts and desires. God's will is very timely. Indeed, God is All-knowing and Most Wise. Human beings will not be able to quieten the working of their hearts and minds without God's help, which God has given to us - first to Bapak and then to all of you.
Many people from outside say that this spiritual training, which all of you have received, cannot be right; for we receive it very easily, while we are still giving our full attention to our worldly needs and our families. Certainly, it is God's will that human beings, besides working for the happiness of their lives in this world, should not neglect or forget their worship of Almighty God who created humankind on this earth. For us who have received this latihan and the evidence it has given us, God's grace and love are not a fantasy or a pretence.
Others, however, who have not yet received this, do not have any clear evidence for their faith in God or of God's love for humanity. So they say that God does not exist and His power does not exist either. What exists for them is only the power and cleverness of their brain, heart and desires. This Subud is something that can give real evidence to such people. You might say that they will be sure to believe, because they will receive and witness proofs in their latihan, if they wish to receive and are opened.
Subud is not a religion, nor is it a teaching, or a method that you might practice in the ordinary way, with a certain technique. No. It is a way of worshipping God, and awakens ( in us ) through the power of God when our passions, heart and wishes have stopped. In truth, Subud is the reality of the content of all teachings, both in religion and outside religion.
It is an immeasurable good fortune that we in this present age are able to receive God's grace, receive this latihan, in a state that is completely calm, and still think about the worldly needs we have to work at and fulfil as perfectly as we can.
As you know, everything takes time. So Bapak hopes that you will receive this latihan, not in a hurry, but with patience, with surrender, with calm feelings and a heart full of love for God. For God is always within all of you.
Turn for a moment in another direction and take a look at other people who try to obtain this contact with God. They make efforts for years - not months, but years - so that their heart, passions and thinking can become calm. This is because only when their feelings and thoughts are calm can they be open and able to receive that God's power is always there, enveloping the self of human beings both inside and outside, but always obstructed by their thinking mind and desires, which they have for as long as they live. When, after years and years they finally receive the fruit of their efforts, they say it is the truth. After all, they obtained it as a result of the exercises they had been doing for so long. Actually, however, it is the same truth as all of you have received, and you received it in just the twinkling of an eye.
That's why people who have been through years of such exercises say that this Subud could not be right, because, as Bapak said just now, they cannot relate it to their own long journey. They forget - not intentionally perhaps, they just forget - that God is Almighty. They forget that God is All-knowing and knows about the human condition in every detail. God knows that people these days cannot possibly make such efforts. They cannot follow guidance and direction for years, pressured as they are by their daily needs, and driven by the progress of the age, which is now at its peak.
Take the example of Jesus and other prophets, who were born in humble places, in conditions that were very much below the norm for human life. Who would have thought they would be able to receive more knowledge from God than ordinary people? Yet God willed that Jesus would eventually become a guiding light for humanity.
With Subud, perhaps God wills that we human beings should not again stray too far. The current of human knowledge races on and makes people forget their worship of the One Almighty God. Perhaps God wills that this current should not always carry us away. Clearly, God can give to human beings wherever they are... ( The recording ends here. )