Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to this meeting tonight. As promised last time, Bapak will give some more explanations this evening about the spiritual way you have received and are practicing.

Before Bapak explains the needs and characteristics of all that concerns the soul, he hopes that you will not look upon these talks as a teaching, but rather as explanations of things you yourselves will experience one day in the latihan. So you should not take notes in your mind and then imagine to yourself what may happen later.

Why is it like that? And why is this latihan called a receiving and not a teaching? The reason is that, although your nature is human, you are not yet aware that the force that directs and does the work within your personality is not the life force that corresponds to your outer form. On the outside you are human beings, but on the inside it is uncertain; it cannot yet be determined whether your soul is also human.

This state of affairs began with your forebears and has come down to each of you. You cannot know or be aware of it directly, because for a long time you have been obstructed, governed and used by forces below the human force. This has been caused by the constant repetition of behavior, actions and ( circumstances ) experienced in life, both in the past and in your own life right now.

This is why the way each of you is awakened within is different. You are awakened differently, you are moved differently, and you are purified in different ways of the life forces that constantly rule within you.

In the case of material objects, what is called a table is different from what is called a chair or a cupboard. It's the same with plants: what we call an apple tree is different in its nature from a coconut tree or a mango tree. Likewise with animals: what is called a tiger is different in nature from a cow or a goat. But people, although they have different names, ( appear to ) have the same essential nature. In fact there are differences, but since a human being is a creature of high degree, higher than other creatures, you need to know the secret of what is there within the human self.

Usually, it is only possible to say that a particular person's soul is not good after you have witnessed them doing something wrong, or behaving in a way that is not good. In general, only then is it possible to know and understand that, although humans are all human, some of them are controlled and influenced by low forces, so they do things that are not in keeping with their human nature.

Evidently, it is not only material objects that differ in name and quality, or plants or animals that differ in name and nature; humans also differ in name, and certainly differ in their inner content. For example, a person who has a soul that is inappropriate for a human being may become good in character and behavior through advice and education. But when he loses touch with these good influences, through the pursuit of pleasure and high position or the chase after success, then this person will forget what he has learnt and the original force ruling within him will be laid open and revealed plainly for all to see.

As for the forces that influence human beings; there is, for example, the material force. When the material force works within a person's being and takes the lead directing their brain and understanding, the person behaves as one who does not know their friends, has no compassion, does not look upon their fellow humans as God's creatures, and does not realize that there is such a thing as sin in human nature. A person who is influenced by the material force will, without scruple or remorse, do harm to others; for instance, inflicting death or injury upon them.

When humans are influenced by the forces of plants, which are always present in them, they will have a greedy nature and will have no concern for others, as long as they themselves can live. And when the self of a human being is influenced by the animal force - Bapak will only take the main characteristic so as to avoid too much detail - that person will be full of passion: a man is filled with desire to unite with a woman, and a woman is filled with desire to unite with a man.

When it is the human force that influences the self, a person will believe more in his or her own ability, and won't like to admit that God exists or that God created him or her. Whereas, when the force above human beings, the rohani force, influences the self of a person, he or she will be aware and know that the power of God exists, and that there really is a continuation of life more blissful than life on this earth and that it can be known.

This is all Bapak will say now about the influence of forces on the self of human beings. It is unnecessary for Bapak to explain here about forces higher than the rohani, which is the force needed by human beings, because there is no description that could fit the life of forces higher than those Bapak has already described. You won't be able to prove the existence of even the one above the human force as long as you still make use of your thinking, heart and desires.

In the latihan, it is God's will that you should follow what awakens from within you, because the awakening received and experienced by all of you results in your inner feeling being freed from the grip of these low forces. You can feel and witness for yourselves that, after the latihan, you feel as if you are freed from the heavy burdens you were aware of or experienced before the latihan. God's power clears away all the mistakes that are within human beings in a way that will neither damage nor weaken them.

We shouldn't be proud of our thinking, rely on it or trust it, even if our thinking is brilliant, because our clever brain and thinking are only a means or instrument for the low forces that are at the helm within us. If we are seeking the right path - the way to God - and we still rely on our brain and heart, this means that we empower, reinforce and strengthen the low forces that have power within our selves.

That's why in your latihan, your mind, heart and desires disappear, so that you really become empty, and only then are you able to receive and experience movements that feel blissful, pleasant, light, and so on.

There are many people who, by fasting or abstaining from meat and other kinds of food, make efforts so that their inner feeling may become clean and pure, free from the influence of animal and other low forces. What they don't realize is that their very wish to do this is the will of the low forces ruling within them.

That's why, if the people who do as Bapak just described achieve something - no matter what that something is - they claim that they themselves are God, that they are Allah, and have authority. But the fact is that God would not be on this earth in that way. Bapak will illustrate it like this: before someone becomes, king, he is still willing to live in a small house in the village; but once he has become king, it is impossible for him to live in a small village any more. It would be impossible, for example, quite impossible, for the present Queen of England to live in a small house in a village. So it is clear that, if God was there and that person was really God, he wouldn't be in this world.

It would seem that the 'God' within that person still needs to eat bread and meat, and still needs to wear clothes the way people do. Is that the real God? It is said that God created human beings, the heavens, the whole universe - all that you can see as well as that which you cannot yet see. So the claim is nothing but an assertion of that person's desires, heart and thinking. Indeed, the heart, desires and thinking that are under the power of low forces are not aware of reality; they don't know the truth, the real truth.

For this reason, in the spiritual world, in order to receive awareness of our spiritual nature, we are not required to make use of our thinking, heart, and desires. However, the heart, mind and desires are necessary for our life in this world. They are not to be thrown away. We shouldn't fall into the error of neglecting to use them, because these three instruments are the means by which humans can live here on earth in an orderly manner, in the right way, and organize this world as well as possible.

Besides that, what is really willed by God is that humans should not neglect God's gift that exists within their being. At a time when all of a person's desires and thoughts are cleared away, while sitting quietly, they may be reminded of what a good human character means. So, even when a person's heart, desires and thoughts have forgotten to do good, sometimes they do feel there is a good way. Before doing something wrong under the influence of the low forces that can bring down the level of a human being, they may think, 'Maybe it's not good if I do that.' But due to the influence of the low forces, the person is forced to do it anyway.

It is because of this that we can't receive the power within our selves. So, how fortunate it is for us - for all of you - that at this time, in this age, God has given us the latihan, so we can really receive a reminder from the power of God that exists within our being, even if at times we may not be able to feel it or confirm it.

That is why movement is necessary in the latihan. At first, the movements can be seen from the outside; that is, they are coarse physical movements. Later, they go deeper and wider, so that what is moved is not only our hands but our feelings, and even our awareness and understanding. This is the way the power of God works within us, which is impossible for us to do ourselves.

So not one of you who has received the latihan receives it in the same way as anyone else, because what is required in order to be purified and awakened is different for each person. So, in our latihan, there is no such thing as a method or system; a system really wouldn't be appropriate.

Bapak will give an illustration. If Bapak plants a coconut and gives it some fertilizer, he doesn't have to do it in the same way as he would plant a mango seed; and the way he plants a mango seed doesn't have to be the same as the way he would plant a pineapple or a banana. So it's clear that your growth, which will lead you to a happy life, will also be different for each of you.

That is why this Subud training is not Pak Subuh's training. The spiritual training is based upon the inner self of each one of you. So, in this latihan, Bapak never says that you have to do this and you have to do that, or that you have to know Bapak's language. No. Yet you are able to receive, because the work God is doing within you adapts to what is there within the self of each one of you, not to what is within Bapak. No.

Each of you needs to clean out that which is within your own self. Just suppose, for example, that within you there is a carpenter, then the way of working within will be planning wood; within another there is a blacksmith and he hammers iron; within another there is a writer and he writes. Bapak can't say to someone, 'You must write!' when he doesn't know how to write, all he knows is how to plane wood.

This is different from anything with a system. No matter what the system is, if the followers have to follow the teacher's instructions it is really not right. How can each individual, each of whom is governed by a different content, follow the same instruction given by their teacher? If they really followed what the teacher told them, they would find a way that is wrong ( for them ); they would not be able to follow it. It would be as if, for example, a mango seed were forced to produce coconuts - how can it? Or a coconut seed to produce apples - it cannot. In this latihan of ours, the experiences that arise will be different for each one of you, because the clearing out of all that is within the self of each of you is certainly different, and always will be different.

As you go on with the latihan, you will be able to experience and be aware of the change in the forces influencing you within your selves. Bapak will illustrate it this way. When Bapak sees, of course he sees with his eyes; but there is still a question as to who is within his seeing. Sometimes his seeing is moved by the material force, sometimes it is activated by the force of plants, sometimes it is moved by the animal force, and sometimes it is moved by the human force. Well, it's better when the seeing is moved by the rohani force because, in that case, when Bapak sees, he is not influenced by what he sees. No, it is Bapak who influences it.

But many people - perhaps there are some among you - are always attracted when they see a beautiful object. Now you know the reason. Clearly, the material force influencing you within your seeing is still very strong, so that when you see something you consider good you just want to buy it, you just want to have it.

And suppose you do buy it. You ladies, for instance, buy a very beautiful object, which can be pinned here or attached here. After buying it, you put it on. And whereas before you wore it, you walked like this ( Bapak demonstrates ), when you wear it...

( Bapak demonstrates. Laughter )

This is the way the material force influences the personality of a human being. The person forgets that such movements are influenced by the object she is wearing. And that's when it hasn't even reached the heart. The longer she wears the object, the deeper it penetrates into her heart, and her heart becomes proud. Because of the pride that conies from wearing this beautiful, expensive object, when she sees someone who is not wearing ( something like ) that ( expression of disdain ) - she doesn't like that person any more!

In the latihan, these influences are now beginning to be cleared away and eliminated, so you can begin to receive the growth of your human soul. This will enable you to be aware of something that is not from the influence of the low forces within your self. You will continue to be freed from the other forces that have influence within the self of human beings, including the animal force. And, in particular, something that is especially dangerous -Bapak asks the ladies to excuse him - when the animal force and other forces below the human level influence the selfhood or a man and he does whatever they make him do, then he is not aware that what is at work when he conies together with his wife is not a human being, but the low force that is activating him.

In truth, this spiritual training we have received from the greatness of God enables us, before it is too late, to have children who really have human souls and are no longer filled with the low forces that bring about chaos and confusion in the world. So we are really God's representatives in this world to develop good human beings and organize the world as well as possible, so it becomes a good place for worshipping God. This Subud latihan of ours is really a training, to practice and bring to realization what was advised by those long ago, who received revelations or grace from the One God.

In the time before there was any religion, that's to say, before there was any order in the life of human beings here on earth, there were no rules. So rules were sent down, and brought by Abraham. Then humans began to believe in the existence of God and to believe that they themselves were created by God. In the time before Abraham, people still liked to kill one another, and there was no compassion between them in the way they lived. Also, people still believed in whatever they could trust: if they trusted a stone, they believed in the stone; if they could trust a tree, they believed in the tree. It was still the age of heathens.

Apparently, ( even ) with all the advice given by Abraham, there were still many who did not believe in .the existence of God, or that the human race was decreed by God. So eventually another messenger was born: Moses, who was able to distinguish between what was good and what was not good.

There are some symbols in the lives of the prophets. For instance, in the case of Abraham, is it true that he brought mankind to faith in the power Of God? Yes, it is true, because Abraham himself became a symbol of this faith ( when he was told ) to kill his own son - his only son - born when Abraham was already at a very advanced age.

And Moses, as Bapak said, was able to distinguish between good and not good; between what is good and what is bad; what is pure and what is base. The symbol of this was when Moses parted the water - he was able to separate the waters - for water is the symbol of the human feeling.

Yet, even though ( the message ) was so clear and good, there were still many who did not obey or follow in his footsteps. So again a messenger was sent to earth: Jesus, who gave the image of the crucifixion. The true meaning of this is that there is life after death, and that heaven and the power of God certainly exist after death.

Then there followed another, that mankind in this world might come to awareness: Muhammad, who showed that all power is in the hands of God, both in this world and in life after death.

Clearly, the advice brought by those men in ancient times is enough. There is no need for any more advice. These days, people no longer need to be told to do this or that, because their brains already know all the advice. Rather than being given advice, they are able to give it. In fact, some people might say of such advice that it's only the same old tune being sung again - a tune that doesn't fit this age. Indeed, there are many human beings today who, because of the progress made by their brain and intelligence, say they don't believe in the existence of God.

The birth of what you have now received is really a boundless grace, because we no longer just follow and conform to advice, we practice it in reality. Inevitably, we will always believe, because of the life and movements that are within us. And with the life and movements within you, you will surely be able to experience the truth of what the prophets said long ago: that God is within you and you are always protected by God; God is always with you so you should worship Him. Remember your own house, namely, God's house that is within your self.

We can find and draw near to God through walking, through the movements of our hands, through seeing with our eyes, through listening with our ears, through the way we smell with our nose, through speaking and tasting, the way we speak and taste with our mouth. So in our daily work in this world, whether we are writing in the office, or on the stage in a theatre, or in a ballet performance like this ( gesture ), we always feel the greatness of God and we will not forget it.

Thus, truth is created in one's own self. For example, a hand that wants to strike someone but should not strike them, will not be able to hit the person, because truth has already manifested in the human hand. Similarly, the eyes, of themselves, won't want to look when they see something that is not good, because the truth of the law of seeing has been created within the eyes. So also within your ears; you will no longer like to hear people quarrelling. If you do hear people quarrelling, your ears are as if closed. This is different from before: then if you heard the sound of quarrelling you listened all the more!

And the ladies will be taught within themselves how they should be as women. They will no longer just imitate their friends, because their original nature is re-created within themselves. Bapak will give an analogy, just to illustrate: the cock won't need to use horns like a goat, and the goat won't need to crow like a cock.

Also, our thinking, which used to indulge in nonsensical thoughts, and speculate about things that should not or could not be experienced or carried out, will of itself work as it should on useful, feasible things. So eventually, for all of you, your way of life here in this world as well as after death will really open out, and you will have no doubts or anxiety as to what should be done next and what will be experienced in the life to come.

This is the end of Bapak's explanation about the spiritual way you have received and are practicing, and he will finish now. But he will go on with a little testing for you all, so that you can verify more or less what Bapak has been saying.

( Testing )