Ladies and gentlemen, Bapak welcomes you all and gives much praise to the One Almighty God that it was possible for him to come and be with all of you here in Chicago. Before he explains about the spiritual way that you have all received and practice, Bapak first wants to explain the true meaning of the name Subud, which is the name of this spiritual training.

Subud is an abbreviation of the name Susila Budhi Dharma. Susila, in a rather broad sense, means the character of a human being that is good and pure and in accordance with the will of the One Almighty God; in other words, a character that is truly humane. Budhi means that in every material form, especially in human beings, there is an invisible force, a force from the greatness of God, that exists within them. However, this is something that cannot be known by anyone who hasn't yet been able to receive it. Dharma is the submission of a human being to the One Almighty God, with a heart that is sincere, willing to let go, accepting, and patient. That is the true meaning of Subud, the abbreviation of Susila Budhi Dharma.

Although Subud is an abbreviation of Susila Budhi Dharma, in the old language, the language of ancient times, ( the word ) Subud also has a meaning you should hear and understand; that is, Subud explains that what comes from God returns to God; what comes from the Creator returns to the Creator. In reality, Subud describes a circle, something round, which means it has no limit. It also means it cannot be classified and has no ending. So what we have received or what we will receive in this spiritual training of Subud, will not stop at a certain point but will always continue toward the greatness of the One Almighty God.

Such is the meaning of Subud, the abbreviation of Susila Budhi Dharma that you all need to hear and understand. This is a symbol for human beings, for only human beings who are like that can receive the gift of God in its fullness and greatness, so they come to understand their way of life in this world, and later on in the life after death.

This is no different from that which exists elsewhere, such as in the religion of Islam. The word Islam means purity and worship -the purity and worship of humankind towards the One Almighty God. Likewise, the word Christian means human beings who have become aware of their life in this world as well as their life at the end, after they die. So what exists in Subud is a symbol for all of you, so you may become like that and be able to receive as quickly as possible what is needed for your soul and your complete individuality.

Let Bapak explain what really happened and the way things were when Adam lived, a long time ago. He was said to be the first human being. In the era of Adam, human beings had no religion, meaning there weren't yet any rules as to how to live one's life and how to live together in harmony. That is why Adam and Eve were depicted wearing no clothes, or still naked, to signify that long ago human beings were not yet as influenced by the world as they are today. Also in Adam's era, human beings were still close, still in very close contact with God, like children with their parents. So Adam, in truth, seen from the point of view of the soul or the spiritual realm, represents the nature of a child.

After the age of Adam comes the second age, called the age of Ibrohim, or Abraham. At that time human beings received a religion from God for the first time - that is, rules that lay down how people should live together. This is why that age was called the age of adolescence, meaning that the child who was small has grown up, is becoming an adult, and is beginning to understand 'I am a man and you are a woman' and 'I am a woman and you are a man'. Therefore it was said that the color of Abraham was red, meaning that was the time when human beings began to possess real passions.

Also at that time, what Abraham received from the greatness of God was the advice - in Islam called firman - that human beings must acknowledge and be aware that they were made and created by the One Almighty God. So during that era, all of Abraham's followers were taught to believe in the existence of the One Almighty God who had created all of them in this world. Indeed, at that time people believed in God, believed in the greatness of God, and were aware that they were created by the Almighty. They began to be ( truly ) aware that God is the ultimate Creator of human beings and all living things that exist in this world.

It is said that Abraham received God's revelation on a hill called Tursina. But you should all realize - maybe later you will be able to receive this in your latihan - that what is referred to as a hill, was not a hill made of earth, but a hill that was within his own being. Also, the holy water that ( Abraham ) received in the story, which gushed from a source or spring, was not an ordinary fountain or well as you might think, but something that arises within a person's being. Bapak doesn't need to explain this now - in the end you will be able to receive in the latihan the reality of what Bapak has said - because if Bapak tells you now, it will simply create images within your thinking. And in Subud we don't need to use our thinking and our desires.

Following the era of Abraham came the third era, that of Moses. It is said that the color of Moses was white, meaning Moses was the first to receive and to bring God's commands regarding a way that leads to purity; he was the first one to possess purity of heart and mind. It is told in history that Moses was a person who was able to divide the waters when he was being pursued by the Pharaoh. This is a symbol of the fact that Moses was able to separate right and wrong and to distinguish between human intelligence and the knowledge that comes from God.

After that, the fourth era followed: the age of Jesus, whose color was said to be green. It was also said that Jesus was Spirit - Spirit meaning 'the child of God'. Jesus' life is symbolized by a cross, meaning that he was a human being who was able to receive and understand how to live in this world, and how to live in the kingdom of Almighty God.

After that in the history of the prophets, we come to the age of Muhammad, who is symbolized as the one who completes ( the cycle ), meaning the small child grows up, marries, has children, then those children grow up and the whole thing repeats. So one who was a small child creates another small child, thereby repeating the process of human life as people experience and live it.

These are the symbols - or stories that have become symbols - for humankind, whose true meaning you should know and become aware of. This history of the prophets, together with all the advice that was received and absorbed by the human race, became symbols for us. In reality the advice we have received up till now -advice that is so far reaching - is already complete. The book of Abraham, the book of Moses, the book of Jesus and the book of Muhammad, which are called the Zabur, the Torah, the Gospels and the Quran, provide a great deal of advice that is real. If we could be aware of it, it would provide guidance and instruction for humankind. But this is very difficult - especially in this age where the world is full of all kinds of things, full of this and that - because human beings cannot easily sort out their hearts and passions, and cannot easily calm their thinking.

Bapak himself doesn't know why God has willed it so, but with the birth of Subud, God works on our being, so we begin to be able to receive and understand how, in reality and in practice, we can carry out all the advice that is contained in the Zabur, the Torah, the Bible and the Quran. So in Subud we don't need any more advice; we don't need any more theory; we don't need any new method for worshipping God. Because God will guide all of you in how to worship and how to live your life, both in this world and later, in your life after death.

So Subud is not a religion, but it is willed by God to make real what is contained in our respective religions. So, for those of you who are Christians, once you have received a lot in Subud it will become real, meaning the reality of your religion will become clear to you. In other words you will become real Christians. And if there are Muslims among you they will become real Muslims, not 'Muslims yesterday but not tomorrow', or 'Muslims tomorrow but not the next day'.

This is the evidence Bapak has heard from people everywhere. Christians have confirmed the truth of what they have received and practiced in Subud, saying that Subud is very much in agreement with Christianity. Likewise, those who belong to the religion of Moses and Abraham say that Subud is very much in agreement with what they have read and understood from their holy books. The same is also true of Muslims, who say that Subud really fits well with what exists in the Quran.

So the latihan of Subud, the spiritual training of Subud, is in reality the worship of human beings towards God, which comes and begins working by the will of God, when our heart, desires and thinking stop. Those of you who have been able to receive and feel the movement within your self, are not thinking while you are moving, and you don't feel as if you are thinking. But those of you who do not move yet, your thinking is still working. That is why the spiritual training of Subud cannot be done through, or in competition with, the working of our thinking and our desires.

God knows the weakness of human beings in dealing with their hearts, their passions and their thinking. So with the birth of Subud, human beings are truly helped in facing the temptations of their hearts, passions and thinking. Therefore truly the latihan you have received can be said to be very easy, which is the reason why many people consider Subud to be just an ordinary exercise that, they say, does not lead you towards God. But they forget that God can decree anything by God's own will, which is beyond human understanding.

And God also knows that human beings with their passions, heart and thinking, are always followed and always influenced by the low forces, which are in reality only subordinates. But, because of people's own mistakes, these low forces have gradually become the masters, have become the leaders, have taken charge within the human self. That is why, the ( first ) time you surrender, it is necessary to have present a witness who has received God's grace before you.

For those of you who were not able to receive for some time after you were opened, and perhaps said to yourselves, 'I wished to stop my thinking and desires, but was not able to stop them, so I was not able to receive what I ought to receive', you should feel and accept such a condition with patience and full trust in God. Indeed it is not yet the time for your moment of happiness. It is as if some sugar or something sweet is being offered to you. The sugar or the sweet has been placed in front of you, but there are those of you who are not yet able to taste it, while there are others who can. So to be clear, you have all been opened, but there are those among you who do not yet receive because you cannot yet feel what has been prepared within you.

This doesn't only happen here - on the contrary, Bapak considers that things are rather better here than in some other places, where many people have done latihan four, five or ten times, and they cannot feel it yet. There are even those who could only receive after eleven months, as when Bapak was in Florida. So if all of you here can receive after two or three months, that is already very good compared with other places. But there are also some among you here, who when they were opened, could immediately receive. Yes indeed, that is your good fortune. It's just a question of sooner or later. As for those of you who cannot yet really feel it, Bapak hopes you will have a feeling of patience, submission and obedience to the greatness of the One Almighty God.

As Jesus advised in the Gospels, for human beings to find the guidance from God that always protects their being, they need to possess a character and feeling that is patient and loves the greatness of Almighty God. For it is only God who can lead human beings - the human soul - to a noble world after death, as described by the prophets. This is for those of you who are perhaps a little worried, a little doubtful and anxious, because you cannot yet receive the reality of what you should get in the latihan of Subud.

As Bapak has already said, the spiritual training of Subud is a training that comes by the greatness of God; so what we have received in this training is beyond the realm of our understanding, beyond the realm of our thinking, beyond the power that a person has over his or her being. If we could think about God, if we could visualize God in our hearts, it would mean that God is of the same kind as ourselves. ( But ) God is All-powerful, more powerful than human beings; so what God possesses, what God has within his Being, is impossible for human beings to know. Because of that, it is said in the books of the prophets that God precedes all beginnings, comes after all endings, is inside everything that is inside, and is outside everything that is outside. This means that God is within our deepest understanding, and - beyond our speculations and the images created by human thought, no matter how advanced - God is always right there. What this description means is that God cannot possibly be sought by the human intellect - rather, human beings need to submit and surrender.

So it is said in the advice of the prophets and in the Gospels, that human beings should surrender and have faith, for one day God will require that which they love. And what is it that human beings love? Nothing other than their soul, their heart and their mind. As Bapak said, at the moment when it is willed by God, a human being has to, and needs to, surrender all of that to God's will, with acceptance and a willingness to let go. And it is in this way that a human being can get guidance from God, and can feel and know how God works on his individuality - on his soul, his body and his thinking.

Ladies and gentlemen, the feeling or question might arise within you, 'In this receiving, will we not be influenced by the low forces, which will take us to their low world?' ( But ) because our spiritual training does not require the use of our thinking and desires, the low forces will not influence our being or our feelings. This is because the influence of the low forces - which are below the human force - on our inner feelings comes and goes through the working of our passions, heart and thinking. That is why, in the spiritual training of Subud we do not use the thinking, the desires or the heart. It is in order that our receiving should not become mixed or combined with the low forces, which constantly make trouble, and always disturb what we have received through the gift of God. By avoiding our thinking, our ego and our heart, we are able to receive a clean current, from a Spirit that is truly clean, which becomes the guide, the pathfinder for our human life. And we will be guided by it in accordance with what exists within us, meaning whatever we each have within our individuality.

So what each of you receives is not the same; which means that God is guiding us according to our respective strengths and capabilities. So, brothers and sisters, A doesn't need to be like B; B doesn't need to be like C. Or to put it another way, you all don't need to be like Bapak. No. Because what exists in Subud is a gift of God for humankind, not for a particular nation. So, whatever you receive, all of you will be able to witness it with your own eyes, your own ears, your own mouths, your own feelings, your own understanding. You will not borrow from someone else. Because if all of you were to receive like Bapak, you would forget your children and your family. Likewise, if Bapak were to receive like all of you, he too would forget his children and his wife.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is enough of Bapak's explanation for now. It is not a theory. It is just an explanation of experiences on this spiritual path, which Bapak has experienced and which you will also experience. So it is not a theory that has to be like that. No. It is simply an explanation of what happens and the way things are in the spiritual realm.

Bapak does not wish that you should believe in things you have not experienced yourselves. So Bapak hopes that you will not believe too seriously what he has just explained. You need to experience for yourself whatever it is you receive, only then will you be able to say whether what Bapak told you is true or not.

Bapak will continue with these explanations on Saturday. He hopes this short explanation will have given you all some satisfaction.

Bapak says thank you very much.