( First part of recording missing ) ... First, Bapak would like to explain about the meaning of Subud. Although he has explained it many times, it may perhaps still be very useful for those of you who are new, so that you can understand the real meaning of Subud - Susila Budhi Dharma.

Subud is an abbreviation of Susila Budhi Dharma, which signifies the qualities of human beings who, because of their surrender, acceptance and faith in God's greatness, are able to have within them a contact from the greatness' of God. Susila means having the quality of humanity; Budhi means the power of the greatness of God that is within the self of a human being; and Dharma means the utmost surrender to the greatness of God by a human being or by any creature of God's creation. This is a symbol for you that it is only with such an inner self and inner state that you can possess that which God gives to all of you. Therefore you really need to implement this, which now has become the symbol within each of you.

So, this spiritual training of Subud is not a teaching or guidance from another person, but is truly a gift from God to human beings - to all of you - whereby you are guided and given what you need for your life, so that your life may become happy in this world and also later, after you die.

Many people make efforts in the spiritual field to find a contact with God; but, because their efforts are based on their will, their heart and their mind, many of them go only part of the way. Then they cannot find their way forward to that which they need for their lives; namely, the way to God that they should receive and go through.

Indeed, when looked at from the point of view of human understanding, everything should be knowable by the heart and the mind. But since this spiritual way is what fills the human body - its content - and is within everything that is within, this way cannot possibly be sought with the mind and the heart. Only through God, through the power of God, can it be found; through quietness, and when the desires, the heart and mind have stopped.

As you know, from the time you were small until you grew up and became adults, your brain, heart and feelings have been filled with experiences of the ups and downs of life in this world -worldly experiences. So, in our brain, in our heart, and in our feelings, there is nothing other than images of things in this world. There is nothing else.

As long as such a content remains within us and still overwhelms us, we will not be able to think about things beyond this world, to feel things beyond this world, to understand things beyond this world; not until all of it has been cleared away, cleaned by the power of God. That is why in the latihan, which you have been receiving and practicing, each of you needs to receive the purification of your self, so that, little by little, you can find something that is beyond your mind, beyond your heart, beyond your feelings - in short, beyond the things of this world.

For example, you know yourselves that when you were small, only just born, you couldn't yet see the forms of things in this world, and you couldn't yet hear the sounds or feel the things that are normally felt by us grown-up people. And yet, the expression on your face indicated that sometimes you were troubled, sometimes happy. This shows that you were, in fact, able to see, hear and feel something outside the usual experience of people in this world.

Then the small child - you, when you were still small - began to be able to see shapes, to hear voices that sounded pleasant or unpleasant, and also began to be able to feel things. At the same time, the connection between your feelings, heart and brain and your soul - which is your true content that could eventually become your guide - began to fade and become blocked. As time went on, and the closer your connection became with the outside -with this world - the more blocked your connection was with your soul. So, when eventually you grew up, you forgot the connection you used to have with your inner feeling when you were small. All you were able to feel and experience were the things of this world, which you always deal with by using your seeing, your hearing, your feelings and your thinking. So you have truly lost your instinct, which you really need for the life of your inner feeling, and for the life of your whole physical body.

So it's conceivable that the way you think about and imagine God, and God's power, as well as heaven and so on, is not far from the pictures of the world that have been taken in by your brain, heart and feelings. This is why you may picture God as a radiant and beautiful human being, seated on a magnificent throne; or see heaven as a really attractive place, with the most beautiful views that stimulate your heart and feelings. There are even some people - not you, but there are those - who imagine that heaven is a very luxurious place, where you have everything; where everything is inlaid with diamonds and precious stones. They imagine also that it is a happier place than this world, where you can own things that would surprise and amaze your heart and feelings.

The reason for this is that the content of your brain, heart and feelings is still controlled by all that exists and circulates in this world. That is why it is necessary for you to really surrender in your latihan, with great faith in the greatness of God, so that you can be cleansed of all these mistakes rapidly and continuously. Then eventually you can be filled with something from beyond this world, as you were when you were small.

So, ( what happens ) in this latihan is the same as restoring or repeating something you have already experienced, something you have already received. The only difference is that when you were small you received it before your brain, heart and feelings had worked in this world, whereas now you can begin to receive it while your brain, heart and feelings are still enveloped in the ambience of the world.

Don't ever worry that if the content of your brain, heart, mind and feelings were separated and put aside you might not be able to live any more as human beings. With the separation of the influences of this world that are in your brain, heart and feelings, and the coming of a content from an ambience beyond this world, you will be better, clearer and brighter in finding the way you should go to make your life happy, both in this world and later, in the life after death.

Indeed, it is God's will that you - human beings - should be able to obtain well-being in your life in this world, as well as in your life after death. That is why God gave the command to all His messengers that human beings, besides using their brain, heart and feelings for worldly things, should not forget their worship of God. It was so they might know and understand that, besides their human comprehension for living in this world, there is also the power of God, which envelops them always, and is the guide, the lamp and the light for their life.

Explanations like this have been given to people by the messengers of God since long ago, so that they may always remember that the power of God is within them. But now, because the brain, heart and feelings of people today are too full of the influence of this world - which is becoming stronger all the time - this kind of advice cannot possibly be given in the same way, the way it was given a long time ago.

The fact is that people these days often know more than those who give them advice; those receiving the advice know more than those giving it. So neither side can do what they are supposed to do. That is why, with the birth of Subud, you - and the whole of humanity - are required by God's will to put into practice the advice that already exists, that has already been received by human beings, but which people have not yet been able to carry out.

So in Subud you will be guided, you will be taught something that is beyond the lessons you have learned in the usual way in the world. The reality is that in the latihan you will receive lessons and guidance ( directly ) within your self. For example, God will show you something that you need to know, not by pointing with His finger, but through your own seeing. Also, God will give you something you can hear, not by making a sign that you should listen, but through your own hearing. So you will be able to witness whatever God shows you through a reality that is within your own self.

Similarly, God gives understanding to human beings, not in the way a person would, by drawing something on a blackboard, no, but within their brain, so they can think about something beyond this world, with their brain, spontaneously. Also, your feelings will be guided by the power of God, but not in the way humans guide humans; the feelings will arise and awaken by themselves, so you will witness everything clearly and not through the spectacles of others, or through the feelings of others. Thus you will really receive and feel how God's love for all of us - for human beings -has truly entered within us and exists in our selves, in both the coarse and the fine.

Many people say that God really loves human beings, and that God is really within human beings; but how can they confirm such words and draw that conclusion if they cannot yet really feel the closeness of God's power, of God's love for human beings? Such a belief, one that goes only so far, very easily disappears or is very easily put aside. The result is that many such people still do things that are wrong, or unconsciously do things that harm their body, ( harm ) the path of their own life. This is because they are not yet able to receive God's love and God's guidance within their self with complete clarity, in the way Bapak just described. But if you have that within your selves, you will not end up doing something wrong, because whatever part of your body you need to use for doing it will, by itself, become powerless and won't work. In this way you are really guided by the power of God in a direction that is right and pure.

So, although all of you are already good at running, walking, talking, thinking and so on, in the Subud latihan it is all repeated again; you are taught how to walk, how to move your hands, how to cry, how to laugh. But you do not cry, laugh, walk and move your hands from your heart and your will; it is done by the power of God that is within the self of each one of you. In this way your heart and mind can witness the difference between laughing from the heart - from wanting to - and laughing when you are made to laugh from inside, by your soul, which has been awakened by the power of God. Generally this is felt as something strange, something really amazing and funny, because it arises and awakens and works outside of your wishes and your heart.

Of course, everything takes time. There's no such thing as coming into existence fully grown, or being planted and instantly bearing fruit. No. Certainly things start small and eventually grow big. You begin by planting something, it grows little by little and eventually bears fruit.

So Bapak hopes that you will all be patient and have full faith and love towards God, trusting that God will always love His creatures - all of you - who sincerely believe in and worship Him. Other people - people who are not yet in Subud and who in their worship of God rely only on faith - worship every day without fail; so you, who have to an extent received evidence within your selves, should be even more sincere in your worship and love of God, because you have received proofs - if only a little - while doing this latihan that you have been practicing.

So you, who are Christians, Muslims, or of other religions, will be more sincere in practicing your religion and your worship of God, because in Subud you will meet with the reality of what has been taught in the religions. You will really have the Bible within you, or really have the Quran within you. This means it will not be just a book in front of you, not advice that you just read because it is written, but that you will be able to receive it within your inner self. It won't be your mouth reciting what is written in the Bible or the Quran, but the writing itself will show you where to go and what to do to have a happy life, both in this world and later, in your life after death. So then you won't just be followers of a book, but true followers of Jesus, of Jesus Christ. The same will be true for Muslims; they will not just follow a book - a book could be destroyed by fire or lost - they will really follow their prophet, who is in their soul, in their life; who is their leader, their guide, their light on their right path.

So God really will be close to you, when you are sleeping as well as when you are not sleeping. You really will be enveloped by something all-powerful, most blessed, and most wise. This is what exists and what happens in the latihan of Subud. As Bapak said earlier, this is a symbol of the sincerity and reality of a human being who is able to receive the commandments, the gift of God that is needed for his or her life.

Naturally, the process of purification, and the filling of the human self by something beyond this world, brings the correction and healing that human beings need. And the work within the inner feeling, as it improves all that is wrong and heals all that feels sick, cannot be done instantly. It is going on constantly, in a way that does not overtax the strength or capacity of the person concerned, and which is appropriate to his or her nature. It is not only the feelings and the visible parts of your body that have to be repaired during the period of purification and receiving. The heart and brain, which previously were filled with things that were wrong, also need to be cleansed of those faults, so that in the human heart - in the hearts of each one of you - are planted good, pure, truly humane feelings towards your fellow beings. So one can say that your physical body, your heart and your soul become clean and good.

Finally you will truly be taken up and guided by the power of God, so you will know and understand how to live beyond this world, above this world - which is usually called living in heaven or paradise. Really, it is not God's will that you should live in this world only to die, only to be buried. God's will is that human beings should exist on this earth in order to experience conditions in this world, so that eventually they can compare life on this earth with life beyond it. In the end they should be able to feel the true excellence: that being close to God and within God's protection is better and more excellent than living in this world. As the prophets said, 'If you want your life to be excellent, draw near to the power of God and trust the advice of the prophets, because only God can make your life happy.

Of course, people's hearts and minds generally say, 'How can we believe in God, how can we trust the advice of the prophets, if we can't see God with our eyes, and can't touch God with our hands? If God were like a table, that we could see and touch, then we would believe.' Indeed, you cannot blame such people for having this opinion, because they have not yet been given any evidence, have not yet been guided rightly so they can witness and know. The reason for this is that their hearts are still continually influenced by the low forces, which do not want human beings to leave them behind, but want human beings to give more importance to the low forces than to their own selves.

For you ( their opinion ) will not seem strange any more, because for someone who cannot yet know and witness the reality that is in their self, that's how it has to be. So Bapak hopes that you will not criticize such people, or blame them. Besides that, even though you feel the need to give advice to others who do not yet believe, don't forget your own latihan, your own worship of God. In this way you yourself can soon receive and be cleansed; and eventually you can really show proof of what you have, and what you possess as an excellent human being.

As Bapak has explained before - he would like to repeat it so that all of you can know- and understand it - the states that you experience, that you receive, in the latihan are in fact the results that are sought by those who make particular efforts to find the right way and obtain a contact with the greatness of God.

People's efforts to obtain a contact with the greatness of God, or to find the right way willed by God - which are generally referred to as theories, philosophies and so on - represent a search for something. And what is found as a result of the search, is ( the same as ) what you receive in this latihan. So what you have received is truly the fruit that is sought by people who search for years and years for the way to find the contact with the greatness of God.

This experience has a lot in common with the experience of the prophets long ago. They received something from God for their being, simply because they really obeyed and really believed, with patience and submission, that God would always guide them, and would always give them what they needed for their life. Therefore the reality you have received, and will receive, is going to demonstrate the truth of the advice that the prophets gave to their followers and to humanity.

As Moses told his followers, human beings will become shepherds of the animals they tend; but they will also be shepherded by their God, who is always within their self. In fact these words are only a symbol. The animals that are shepherded are the desires; so you will be able to shepherd, to command, to tend and arrange your desires, which are always at work. But you will also be shepherded and guided and informed by the One who is behind you, who is within all of you.

This is what Bapak has to say tonight about matters relating to the soul. He's been explaining that the latihan you have been doing and experiencing is not a training willed by the heart, but is one willed by God for each one of you, so you may each begin to know the true T within your self.

Therefore the latihan is different for each of you. Instead of A having to be like B, A has to get to know A and B ,has to get to know B. This is why in Subud there is no system that treats everybody alike, where they all have to do this and this and this. Instead everything arises by itself, according to the strength and ability of each individual. And because it is not based on the desires, heart and thinking mind, nothing that happens will be influenced by the low forces, which are always so closely connected with the desires, heart and thinking of human beings.

That is Bapak's explanation tonight. He will continue by doing some testing, so that all of you, and especially those who have been doing the latihan a long time, can receive and feel how far your body and your self have come to life.

Be calm. Don't think about anything, don't imagine anything; just feel your own being and whatever you receive.

( Test ) Show with your head, where is above?...where is left? ... where is right?.., where is below?.., where is your mouth?... smile.., stop.., smile again.., stop... Finish.

Were you able to receive? Again!

( Test ) Where are your ears?.., what are the ears of an elephant like?.., as you were... Finish.

Again.

( Test ) Where is your nose?.., what is the trunk of an elephant like?... Finish.

So, brothers and sisters, Bapak needs to explain that you are beginning to be brought to life. Once all these parts of your body have come to life as a result of doing the latihan, you can find out whatever you need to know. For example, how is this? or how is that? It will be shown within yourself.

Question ( to interpreter ): Dr. Zakir, I believe that many of the people here understood that, if they have not been in Subud for a long time, they should not try this...( inaudible )

( Interpreter to Bapak ): There are many new members who would like to try this but who are not trying it. It's only the members who have been in longer who are having a go, and the new members are not trying because maybe they don't feel anything. But now Joe is saying they should all try this.

( Bapak ) Yes. It's not a question of trying. You receive it. So this is not an experiment that you try, you receive if you can. If you can't receive yet, it doesn't matter, because you will be able to receive later, after you have followed the latihan for some time. So don't feel bad if you cannot receive it yet. Don't try it, but receive it.

Again. So, receive what you can receive.

( Test ): Mouth ... smile! ... how do you smile at something you don't like? ... and how do you smile at something you really like? ... how do you look at something you don't like? ... and how do you look at something you really like? ... Finish.

When you have received a lot in the latihan, you will really be able to receive such things correctly. Not deliberately - it will arise by itself.

Another example. Bapak will give another example.

( Test )You are wearing clothes; the clothes cling to your body ... Bapak moves your clothes away from you a little ... he puts them back ... he takes them away again ... puts them back ... Finish.

Were you able to receive it? Yes? Again.

( Test ) For the women, the jewelry that is on your ears, for the men, the tie that you wear around your neck. Move your earrings and ties ... strongly ... stop ... move them again ... they constrict ... they loosen ... Finish.

( Test ) Again. Just receive sitting, you don't need to stand up, so if you move, move while seated, it's not necessary to stand .... ( Bapak hums, then sings ) ... Finish.

Did you receive?

Brothers and sisters, this is the end of Bapak's explanation about spiritual matters, and of testing for tonight. He will continue on future days that will be announced. Bapak would like to say thank you, and hopes that his short explanation can fulfill your wishes and give you some satisfaction. He thanks you very much.