( The interpreter ( Dr. Anwar Zakir ) announces that the people appointed by Bapak to be the committee will work for three months and then automatically become helpers and openers. After that a permanent committee will be formed, chosen from among the members in a general meeting. They need not be people whose latihan is better than the others or who have received more than the others, but they should be people who have ability and are willing to work for Subud. )

That's what Bapak wants of the committee. Wherever he has been, Bapak has proposed that, besides getting a place - a building - for the latihan, and recording how many or how few members we have, the committee should work to set up something that produces an income and can make a contribution to our organization. By this means we won't overburden the members.

The members should collectively raise the capital for this profitable undertaking; the capital comes from the members themselves. They will of course share in the eventual profits of the business, ( but ) the larger part of the profits will be given to Subud, to the committee. In this way, besides lightening the burden on the members, we will be able to spread our wings and help Subud to grow in the community.

Also, we will be able to provide money for helpers to be sent where they are needed, which of course involves a lot of expense. We will be able to establish schools and, if necessary, a hospital for those who need medical treatment, who want to get well and be healed of their illnesses. Certainly such undertakings will involve a lot of expenditure and produce no income, which means that Subud will need to spend lots of money. That is why the committee really needs to make an effort to set up something that produces income. In that way we can cover our future needs.

Once we are able to set up hospitals, don't think we won't need doctors to work in them. We do need doctors, to enable us to bring about a collaboration between the knowledge of the mind - which is science - and the knowledge we get from God, which is spiritual knowledge. In these hospitals there would be doctors and nurses with qualifications from the medical schools. But, besides them, there would also be those who have done the latihan, to help in the hospital. These two can then work together to heal and fulfil the wishes of the patients.

It is even better if the doctors themselves, the nurses themselves, already have a lot of experience in the spiritual field. That's even better, because then we won't need so many people to help. The doctors and the nurses will already be able to work in both fields, the scientific and the spiritual.

Perhaps there are still many other things the committee can try to do in the humanitarian field. That will depend on the strength of the committee itself.

Such work and such actions would be proof that Subud and our latihan doesn't just emphasize the spiritual side. As normal people in the world, we need to work so we can reach the level where we are happy in this world and the next; where we are all right in this world as well as the next one - in our life after we die. We are able to work for our own welfare, based on our worship of God.

This is certainly the aim and true meaning of what we receive in our Subud latihan: that we should be able to worship God in a normal way, without abandoning our responsibilities in this world. ( Because ) what usually happens when people do nothing but study mysticism, or spiritual matters, . and abandon all that needs to be done in this world is that, eventually, they lose their enthusiasm for work. That is certain to be detrimental to their society and their nation.

This agrees with the words of the prophets - God's messengers in ancient times - who said that, besides doing everything that we need to in this world, we must also worship God. Then, in whatever we do we will always be accompanied by guidance and by God's power, which will always direct us in our encounters with other people and in the situations we face every day.

Bapak will give the rest of his explanations later, after he has finished talking about and forming the committee and helpers' group, whose names Bapak is going to announce.

After three months, the members of the temporary committee Bapak is appointing will automatically become helpers. Among the helpers there is no chairperson, no vice chair, treasurer, and so on - they are all the same. So in testing, in accepting new members, the helpers should be unanimous among themselves. Likewise, in giving explanations or clarifications to those who need them, it should not be just one person who responds. It is preferable if at least half the helpers' group is present.

And the members of the helpers' group are advisers to the committee. So, for your group here, there will be two parts: one is the spiritual part and the other the worldly part, the committee or organizational side. The helpers should not have to be involved in thinking about money, but only concern themselves with, and feel, how they should welcome and accompany the members in their worship of God.

But if, among the members who do the latihan, there is someone who can write a book, then they should donate a certain percentage of the proceeds from the book to the committee, as a contribution to the Subud funds.

As for those whom he has appointed to the provisional committee: although they are provisional, Bapak hopes that during the three months they are on the committee - the organizational side - they will prepare by-laws. These can then be put into practice by the new committee that will be elected at a general meeting in three months time.

That is Bapak's explanation about how the committee and the helpers' group should work. And now Dr. Grad will read out the names of those whom Bapak has appointed to the provisional committee - its chairperson and so on.

( The names of the provisional committee are read out, followed by discussion between Dr. Grad, the interpreter and Bapak about the size and composition of the committee. Members of the new committee are asked to stand. Bapak authorizes the chairperson and the assistant chairperson - a man and a woman - to open new members during the three months before the provisional committee becomes the helpers' group. He introduces a waiting period of not more than three months for local applicants. Bapak asks whether the members of the committee accept their appointments and Dr. Grad says that they do. )

Bapak thanks God and feels very happy that all of you whom Bapak has appointed have been able to accept with a sincere heart, and are willing to work.

Ladies and gentlemen, having finished with the business of appointing the committee and candidate helpers, Bapak would like to continue with some explanations about the spiritual ( way ) that you receive and practice.

As Bapak has explained before, this spiritual training we do is based on the benevolence - meaning the grace - of God, which we have received. Therefore, since God wills this of human beings, and God is Most Wise and knows our true condition, the way God works on what is within us is in accordance with God's will, and not in accordance with the wishes of our hearts. Our heart and thinking just need to follow God's footsteps within our selves, so we can eventually follow them wherever God wills.

In reality what you have received - although it's still at a stage that is insignificant as yet - is truly the fruit many people have obtained only by struggling for years, by meditating, stilling their thoughts, and isolating themselves in deserted places. For those who carry out such practices will finally receive something called a voice from the life after death, or the voice of death, or the voice of their own human souls. And, because they have made efforts for years and years in the spiritual field, they claim that what they have received is really the truth of truths; they consider it to be the realest of the real. But for all of you, you have received the same thing, but instantaneously, in an ordinary state. So you have felt it while your hearts and minds are still in a state of doubt, or uncertainty.

Therefore, even though you have received it in the easiest of ways, Bapak advises all of you not to look upon what you have received as something trivial, something easy, with the result that, because it is so easy to receive, you have no enthusiasm for it and are not serious about continuing with your latihan.

Brothers and sisters, in doing the latihan you are not required to do this or that, like cutting down on this and that, because God knows how difficult it is. God understands how weak human beings are in this age, when it comes to quieting the thinking mind and the desires by cutting down on their food, or their sleep - by cutting down on all pleasures. God knows and understands how impossible it is for human beings at this time to do what people did in ancient times.

For this reason, because God always loves human beings - God always loves whatever God has created - at this time, meaning now, God has given us a way that is very easy, a way that is no different from the way people followed the spiritual path in ancient times, but one that doesn't require us to give up all our enjoyment, one that doesn't require us to cut down on what we are accustomed to in our daily life. And so it is a happiness for us, a boundless good fortune, that we can worship God in a way that is easy - really, truly easy.

This fact has been confirmed by several people, such as ( John ) Bennett, ( Meredith ) Starr and others, who, before receiving the Subud latihan, made spiritual efforts for years and years. Mr. Bennett did it for at least twenty-five years, and Mr. Start for not less than twenty-five to thirty years. But it was after Mr. Bennett, Mr. Starr, and the others joined Subud that they received the fruits of what they had been doing for such a long time. So it is clear that what they had been looking for, which required such a long time, wag no different from what they received in Subud in a very short time. This is the evidence and the proof that this, which you have all received, is the same as that which people get from all those years and years of effort.

And since this result is received only after human beings have been able to free themselves from their hearts, their thinking and their desires, what you have received cannot possibly be thought about, cannot possibly be known by the thinking mind. So it is clear that the real result, which we receive through the sincerity of our worship of the One God, is something that cannot be connected with human thinking, with human desires. ( It comes ) only through God's love and God's grace.

Why is it that our minds, our hearts - everything within us -are not allowed to meddle? ( Interruption while reel is changed. ) Why is it that our hearts, desires and thinking minds ( should not, or are not allowed to, meddle in these things - in the work of God within the human self?. It's because God knows that, because of our own errors, the heart, desires and thinking mind, together with the feelings and the entire contents of our bodies, are already filled with life forces below the human level. So it's certain that all the parts of our being that are now under the influence of forces lower than human, will bring us unhappiness in the conduct of our own lives. )

Bapak will give you an illustration. We have been given a sharp instrument, a sharp weapon. God's will for us, as well as our own, is for it to be used to slice bread, cut meat and this and that, alt things intended for our use as food. However, because of the pressure exerted by the low forces, which continually rule within the human self, instead of being used to cut meat or to slice bread, it is used to kill people. That is what happens. This way of using it does not come from the human soul, it is due to being influenced by the low forces. It is in accordance with the wishes and the purposes of these low forces, but brings disaster to human beings.

Bapak will tell you about these forces. The material force is called the satanic force. If the material force, the satanic force, influences a person's inner self, as well as their heart and mind, they will have a character that has no pity in wounding or killing other people. They will have no feelings about harming other people's well-being, swindling, exploiting them or taking their lives. That is the way that this low force, the satanic or material force, influences the inner self of human beings. They will feel happy, delighted, to see fighting, or a riot - in short anything that involves human casualties and things like that.

If the vegetable force, the force of plants, influences a person's self, it will cause the inner feeling or character of that person to be self-centered. They will be unwilling to acknowledge the suffering of others, and unwilling to give anything to those in need. They will not have the compassion to guide others and help them become good people.

The animal force: if the animal force rules or influences the inner self of human beings, their nature will be characterized by exaggerated desire and greed. They will have a desire to pursue sexual pleasure, and they will greatly enjoy chasing after victory and winning over others. They too will have no compassion or pity for those who are willing to submit. They will continue to hurt them even after they have already submitted. They will continue to humiliate them still further, and won't stop until their victims go away or die.

And the force of human beings themselves, the human force: if the inner feelings of people are influenced by their own force, they will have the character - if they are rich and powerful - of acting as if there were no God who created them. In fact they will consider themselves to have full authority; they will feel that they are god, as in the history of the prophets, where the Pharaoh in ancient times claimed there was no God, no Allah. There was none - only Pharaoh alone.

You probably know, or have heard, that there are many people , who are intelligent and educated, who have been given good advice, and yet still behave in a way that is inhuman. Such is the power of the forces below the human level. These low forces work within people without them being aware of it. They influence people's inner feelings, causing them, unconsciously, to act in accordance with this influence.

And only if the human self has been released from all the influences Bapak has just been speaking of, only then will that person receive forces higher than human. These are forces that give indications to human beings, forces that make things have a meaning for human beings in their understanding, forces that can penetrate the human feelings, even the most delicate - with the result that a person will spontaneously remember God, worship God, love God and know what the real life after death is like.

These are the basics. Therefore, in the Subud latihan, don't use your thinking minds and hearts, because the mind and the heart are really only tools, and they are still being used by the lower forces, which are still present and having a picnic in our inner feelings.

So, it's clear that in our latihan, we are beginning to be cleansed of the influences of the low forces, so that all our organs can once again become tools that are pure, that can return to their original state, when they were not yet under the influence of the lower forces.

Yet, suppose you have not yet been cleansed of all that has filled your being, and you have an experience in which you see angels and so on: it is not yet certain that what you have seen within your inner self is true, because your sight, your instrument for seeing it, is not yet being used by the force of the perfected human being. It is still being operated by the satanic force. So, although you may believe that what you have seen are angels, in reality they were not angels, because you saw with the sight belonging to the material force, not the human force.

Bapak will give you an analogy. You will not be able to truly understand a very rich person if you are not rich yourself. And you will not understand the intelligence, and the deep understanding attained by a doctor if you yourself are not a doctor. So it is evident that the only ones who can recognize angels are the angels themselves. It is clear then, that to be able to recognize someone you must be of the same kind as the one who is recognized.

This is how God educates human beings, how God cleanses all the mistakes within them, so they can get to know something that is real, seen through spectacles that are truly appropriate to human beings. God knows. God understands. God won't give anything to human beings unless they are real human beings; for if God's gift is received by the wrong person it will be misused. For example, if you gave gold or diamonds to a person who lives in the jungle -yes, if you gave him something of great value -because he doesn't understand it, he would say, I’d rather have a snail'. ( To him, ) a snail is of greater value than gold and diamonds.

So, ladies and gentlemen, don't any of you... Yes, of course Bapak knows that none of you would do such a thing... But it could happen that you have the feeling 'Why doesn't God love me? Even though I really worship Him, He doesn't give me anything.'

It's not like that. God really loves human beings. They will receive whatever they need for their lives, providing they can really and truly make use of what they receive. So for those of you who have still not received what you need: yes, just reflect that it is indeed not yet the time for it. It's because God knows the weaknesses you still have within you. Therefore, in this Subud latihan, you need to go through purification. You need first to be cleansed of all that is wrong, all that is dirty. Once you are clean, then God will prepare your being, so that later, when God gives you something, you will be able to use it.

Let's say, for example, that you want a car. But you don't yet own a garage - you don't even have a house - and you don't know how to drive. For that matter, you can't pay the wages of a driver, because your own income is very small. So, if you are given a car, it won't be a pleasure for you, it will be a problem. You'll have to spend all your time keeping an eye on the car, but you won't be able to do anything with it. Not only that, soon you will even sleep in the car as if it were a house. Then you'll start cooking in the car and the car will catch fire. That'll be the end of it.

Such is the wisdom of God, God looks after people's well-being. God makes sure that whatever they get, whatever they have, they can use it fully, in happiness and without lacking anything.

Many of Bapak's friends in Indonesia have said - and when Bapak was in Germany, a woman journalist said it too - 'Bapak is a spiritual leader, but most spiritual leaders dress all in black, and have to wear different clothes from other people. Why is it that Bapak just wears regular clothes, likes to laugh and to socialize with ordinary people? It shouldn't be like that.'

Bapak replied, 'Bapak is willed by God not to reject the normal ways of life in this world, so he can mix with any kind of people at all. And not only with grown-ups - he can mix just as easily with little children.' So it's clear that the reason why God has judged it right to give ( God's grace ) to Bapak is because Bapak is already able to make use of it where it's needed, and knows where it's not needed.

This is also how it was with the prophets in ancient times. The lives and the customs of the prophets were no different from the lives of other people. This is exactly what God willed for everybody: that human beings be able to worship God through doing their daily work the way ordinary people do. Yes, the way normal people live in this world.

Through the latihan we've been doing, and as you progress in what you have received, you will become aware of your own original talent, the authenticity of what you need to do, and the work you should be doing and how to do it. This will always be present within you. What this means is that you will become aware, and understand the plan of your life that is present within each one of you individually, which belongs to you, and which you have been given by God.

Even human beings, when they construct an automobile, or this or that instrument, always provide drawings and instructions for operating that machine. How much more will God do so! God is far wiser, far more skilled than human beings. So when God created the human race, God didn't do it in vain; God didn't just create them and stop there. No! Certainly God has placed the drawings and the instructions within them. The thing is, that because these are a gift from God, and so not like a gift from a human being, they are very, very secret. That is why, in your latihan, guided and led by God, you will come to know what they are, these plans of your life, these plans that need to be carried out according to the instructions willed by God.

These are Bapak's explanations for this evening. He will finish here. Perhaps these explanations, which haven't been very long, have nevertheless given you some satisfaction. And apart from that, Bapak would like to take his leave of you, since tomorrow he will be leaving this city and continuing his journey to Toronto. In leaving here, Bapak hopes that God will bless you all, and that you can easily and always receive, through God's grace, whatever you may need for your individual selves.

Bapak would also like to express his many thanks to all of you. Although Bapak has expressed them to one or two of you, he would now like to thank you all, for your service and hospitality towards Bapak and his family while they were here.

( Discussion with the interpreter )

Bapak will add a little about how to test about new people who wish to join Subud. The right way is to test it with other ( helpers ). First you ask in your feelings, in your hearts, whether this person who wants to enter Subud is sincere, or whether they are just curious and want to have a look. Maybe under such conditions many of you will be able to receive a 'No' or a 'Yes.'

It's the same if you ( helpers ) wish to visit another place. If you consider it is necessary ( to go ), you also test together as to who needs to go there. You test who should be responsible and who ought to go. You will certainly be able to get a clear answer.

And if you're still in doubt, you can get explanations about these things by writing to Bapak wherever he may be. He will reply and explain whatever is needed.

That's all. Bapak will end his talk for tonight. He thanks you and wishes you all good night.