Ladies ( and gentlemen ), Bapak bids you welcome to the talk he is going to give this evening.

As you know, the spiritual training of Subud, which you have experienced and are following, is not set in motion by the will of your heart and mind. On the contrary, it is the surrender of your heart and inner feeling that attracts the power of God, which envelops the being of each one of you and sets in motion whatever God wills for you.

The soul came into being and existed before it was covered with its new attributes. These started as water and developed until they eventually became the human physical body, complete with everything it needs. If we bear this in mind, it becomes clear that our new attributes - the thinking mind, the heart, the passions and the feelings - cannot know the soul or bring about its awakening. This can only be done by God's power, which envelops us inwardly and outwardly, and works when our thoughts, feelings and desires are quiet. Our new attributes - the mind, heart and desires - are only of use to us for learning and thinking about our life in the world.

For these reasons, many people who make efforts to understand their true life, their soul, and the power of God with their mind and heart, get stranded on the way, and never seem to find what they are looking for. That is why in the various religions people are advised only to love God, to surrender to the greatness of God, and to conduct themselves as well as possible, in a truly humane way. That's what people who belong to a religion do, because indeed, one cannot look for God's power with the mind. But if our behavior is good and truly humane, God's power will draw near to us in a way that is beyond the understanding of our mind, heart and desires.

Those who received - meaning those who were able to receive inspiration from God - said the same. They told people to believe in God, love God and surrender to God. But they not only said that, they also said people should always be attentive and aware of their actions and behavior in their daily life. In times long ago, before the world was as advanced and modern as it is today, many people were able to do this, and received contact with the power of God. Therefore that advice was right for those times. So we shouldn't find fault with the behavior and actions of those who received long ago, because what they did was completely appropriate for humanity at that time.

Interpreter: What was that, Pak? I don't understand ....

Bapak: Yes, for that reason we cannot find fault with the advice of those who received from God long ago. In this present age, however, it is very difficult to implement such advice, as the world has progressed and people have to go on developing their hearts and minds whether they want to or not. In general, people in the present century find it hard to believe something for which there is no proof. So these days it is no longer appropriate to harangue people with advice and theories that no one verifies through actual practice.

Now, with the coming of Subud - this spiritual training you have received and are doing - you have no choice but to believe, having obtained clear evidence, even though your experience in the latihan hasn't yet reached the level you need.

On the other hand, because in Subud we receive the contact we need for our life so easily and quickly, many people assume that our latihan, or what we obtain in it, is not right. Therefore there are many who say that what happens in Subud is some kind of 'ism', like spiritualism, magnetism, hypnotism and the rest.

Brothers and sisters, any so-called 'ism' is a product of the human thinking mind. An 'ism' is a system, something formed and devised by the thinking, whereas in Subud you have received and witnessed for yourselves that what you get is beyond the devising of your mind, beyond the imagining of your heart and desires. All those 'isms' are created and set in motion to achieve what they do by means of the will - by a very strong desire. This is usually called wilskracht ( Du. ) or will power, and can create the power that is referred to as spiritualism, magnetism, or hypnotism. That is the reason Bapak always says that ( such ) 'isms' are on the same level as the human mind, heart and desires. In Islam such things are called tarekat or tauhid which refer to a sincerity of the wish or the will.

However, people do not realize that the thinking mind, heart and desires are only tools for their human individuality, or rather, for the individuality of the life that fills their being. People are as yet unable to know who is in command and has the power in their self. If a material, plant or animal soul is in command and takes the lead within them, then their thinking, their heart and desires will simply be manipulated and used by these lower forces. In that case, when people use their thinking mind, heart and desires, of course it only benefits the low forces that fill them, not their human soul.

This explains why there are educated people - not all, but some - who have received the best, most praiseworthy advice and yet still go and do something inhuman. It is like having a tiger in your house. You give it bread and all kinds of food to eat and you tame it, thinking you will make it really gentle so that it won't bite people or other animals. But at a time when it is really hungry, without being aware of it, it will eat the person who looks after it. It will bite you.

In the same way, clever people, in the end, are struck down by their own cleverness, as a result of their low, subhuman soul. That is why it is necessary for you to surrender and submit your soul to the power of God, so God may replace those souls that are out of place with a truly human soul, one corresponding to your visible outer nature. Certainly, as Bapak has often said, everything takes time, and it will take time for you to reach the level you need.

It is only natural that those of you who are already old will feel disappointed because you come to this latihan late in life, and you have had your children already. But you must not be disappointed, because you will at least influence the children you had before you received the latihan, so that of their own accord they will wish to worship God in the right way and, we hope, receive the latihan like you.

The soul influences the whole of us; its influence is not limited to our heart and feelings. Every part of us, everything in us is always influenced and filled by the low forces. In the way we think, the way we picture things, the way we daydream, the way we feel about things; in everything we do in our life on earth, we cannot escape the influence of the forces that are within us. That is why it is necessary that everything within us - our thinking, our heart, our feelings and passions - should stop and be quiet, so we can see who is steering, who is influencing us within our being.

So that is the reason why in our spiritual training, during the times when you experience the awakening ( of the soul ), the passions, heart and mind come to a stop. As a result the low forces that have influenced us will realize their mistakes and will spontaneously go back to where they should be. And the human life force, which should be the leader within us, will reoccupy its rightful place. This is because our feelings, and later our understanding and then our awareness, will become conscious of how these forces, which are not our own, have treated us.

Then if we study to make our brain and our heart clever, sharp and wise, they will be used by, and become the tools of, our own human soul, and no longer the tools of the low forces that lead us away from our true goals as human beings.

Your latihan begins on the lowest level. Although you can already walk and so on, in the latihan you have to begin with this. This is because the influence of the low forces, which ruled you before you started the latihan, has infiltrated your being from the inner to the outer, from the outer to the inner. So starting with your legs, which you use for walking, and with your hands, which touch things, you are getting to know two different realms ( of experience ). One is awakened by the human soul, while the other is awakened by other kinds of souls and by your desires and your thinking.

As an analogy, think of your household. When you eat the food that has been prepared for the table, you know who has cooked it, who shopped for it and also who paid for it. So in our worship and in becoming aware of our true way of life, we are not required to avoid the lower forces that have tempted us in the past. As human beings with human souls, we have to be able to put in order the forces that work in us. We cannot abandon the material soul that is within us or throw it out, because we need it. For instance, we need clothes for our life on earth, and a house; in short, we need things in this world that we can touch and use.

Also, we cannot get rid of the vegetable soul that is within us, or throw it out; we need it to fill out our body, so that we have blood, flesh and strength. We cannot throw away the animal life force either, because we need it to give us energy, strength of will and desire, so that we can accomplish what we want to do. Nor can we throw out, or dispense with, the soul of the human level, which Bapak calls jasmani, because we need to live together in society with other people: men with women and women with men.

So it's clear that people who do not know the truth and the reality, are tempted away by the low forces from their inner feeling, which they need for worshipping God in the right way. For us, the low forces are actually our enduring partners in life, so that we can live happily in the world. In your latihan, little by little, you will experience the reality of all that Bapak has been saying.

Although many of you are still new, Bapak will do some testing with you so you can experience how these forces influence your self. For too many explanations and too much theory will not make your latihan any smoother or your inner feeling any clearer, but will only make things dark for you and stop the flow of your receiving and your latihan. After all, the spiritual life is not meant to be pursued and known through the thinking, but through God's power, which blesses and inspires human beings.

As Bapak said just now, the soul existed before these newer attributes existed, so the mind cannot understand or measure the life of the soul. Only your inner feeling can do that when God has brought it to life so it can receive and feel how your soul's journey is proceeding within you.

This is Bapak's explanation. Bapak might just add that the voice is trained too, and so is the breathing. Although you might say that breathing is not an organ of our body, in reality it is, because it is essential for our life in the world. The training you receive in this latihan is not limited to this ( coarse physical body ). Our breathing and voice, as well as everything we require for our life in the world, are trained so that they come to life and worship God in the right way. As everything moves and comes to life, this ( process ) has an effect on whatever is not right within us - for example illnesses and so on - so we get better and become healthy. So it is not only our soul that is made healthy by the power of God, our physical body, our voice, and our breathing are brought to life too and made healthy.

Bapak hopes that you will not misunderstand this. Subud is not an association or society for healing the sick, but is truly our worship of God. And that is why it brings us happiness and well-being, both coarse and fine, both in the world and in life after death; we become creatures who are both well and happy.

This is Bapak's explanation for tonight about the spiritual way. He will continue with some testing, and he will explain the meaning of what you receive, of what happens in the tests, as we go along.

Brothers and sisters, we are not finished yet. Please sit calmly as in the latihan. You do not need to stand, just sit and receive what Bapak will say. This is a test for all of you - like a review for children at school - to check how you are getting on, and what state your body is in after experiencing the latihan, whether for some time, or for a few days.

( Test ) A human body is able to see. Which is the instrument you see with, and where is it?... What do you have to do in order to see?... ( Recording interrupted ) ...Where is the organ, the instrument that can smell?... How does that instrument behave?... The human body has an organ that can hear sounds. Where is that instrument?... How does it behave?... The human body has an organ that can speak. Where is the organ of speech?... How does it behave?... Human beings have an organ that can taste food that is salty, hot, sweet, or not sweet. Where is that instrument or organ?... How does it behave?... A human being has a part that can bite. Where is the part that can bite?... How does it behave?... Finish.

Bapak will explain. In the course of our spiritual development the power of God begins to move and to educate us as to how we see with our lower self, and how we see with the power of God. Seeing with the power of God is seeing without the passions, which means our sight is alive. We are guided to listen to something not because of our lower self but because God's power is at work within us. The same thing happens with the rest of our organs.

( Test ) Again. We breathe with our body. What moves and where does it move when we breathe?... Stronger... Weaker... Stronger again... Weaker again... Strong again... Now only the left side works, not the right... Now change to the right side, without the left... Now keep breathing, but both sides stop and do not move... Now begin to move again... Finish...

How was it? Were you able to feel it? Were you able to receive it? Yes?

( Test ) Again. In your abdomen, there are intestines... Move... Stop... Move again... To the right... To the left... To the right... To the left... Back to normal... Finish.

Did you feel it? ( To the interpreter:) Ask them...

( Test ) Again. In our chest we have a heart. Work! As usual... Now, go fast like an express train... Now very slowly like a person who is walking... Now go fast again... Back to normal... Finish.

In this way, all our organs are trained so they really become alive. Then, when everything in us - our feelings, our understanding, and our awareness - is alive, we will be brought to the world of the perfected human soul. We will be able to feel, understand and experience how our life was before we lived on earth, and how our life will be after we die.

Bapak will give you an illustration. Of course, a person cannot be aware that 'my soul is an animal soul.' This is because, as Bapak said earlier, the soul existed before we could use our thinking, and so we cannot think about it. So, many people say that of course a person's soul must be human. Well, yes, based on their thinking. However, if they can stop thinking and receive from beyond their mind, they will know and experience that the soul that used to rule within them was not yet a human soul.

( Test ) Again. Someone who has a very good character: how is his nose, the feeling of his nose, or the nose of his soul?... And how is the nose of someone who has a bad character?... How does the character of a good person show in the sight or the feeling of the eyes?... How is it if a person has a very bad character?... Finish.

In this way, the power of God will gradually show you, educate you, and give you evidence about the best way to behave and act if you want to be a good person. You will also experience the truth of the mistakes you have made in the past; you will be able to know and receive all this spontaneously.

( Test ) Again. Now suppose that in days to come you are going to have a bitter experience in life, and there will be difficulties and grief. How does this show in your bearing now?... Now, on the other hand, how is your physical bearing if in days to come you are going to experience happiness in your life?... Finish.

How was it? Did you feel it? Not yet?

The things you experience will no longer take you completely by surprise, because you have received this latihan and your instinctive nature has begun to be restored; your understanding and awareness will follow.

( Test ) Again. Suppose you are walking forwards, but in front of you there is a dangerous hole in the ground. Can you go on walking forwards, or do you turn away or turn back?... Finish.

This agrees with what is said in religion: namely, that your guide is within you, because that is where the power of God always protects you, watches over you and loves you.

( Test ) Again. ( Part not recorded. )

...( when a woman ) has union with her husband and has a child, if she can already receive, the child will be from God's will and not from the will of the passions, even though it is from her union with her husband.

It seems that the one who has been doing the talking is tired, so he will stop now. Bapak hopes you are satisfied with the explanation and testing you have had. Thank you.