Ladies and gentlemen, before Bapak explains about the spiritual way, he would like to say something about forming the committee. As you are all helpers or candidate helpers, you are able to choose from among new members and those who have been coming for some time, those who are suitable to become chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer, assistant treasurer, and additional committee members. These people should not be picked with regard to how long they have been doing the latihan, but according to how regularly they attend. Choose people who are active and really able, and who would like to work on the committee of the Subud organization here.

Bapak is not forming the committee here in the same way as in other places because there are already enough helpers here. So the committee will be appointed to serve for at least one year from the time of their appointment. After they have served for one year or longer - whenever you consider it necessary to replace them - they will automatically become helpers, not as a reward but as a sort of next step. Bapak would like you all to think about it, and make arrangements at the next general meeting to choose people to be on the committee.

The helpers and candidate helpers in our association have the position of advisors to the committee. If the new committee is able to do its work and develop its programs by itself, Bapak will be very grateful ( to God ). But if they are not yet able to do this, former committee members, who have now become helpers and candidate helpers, should give guidance and advice as to how to arrange things and make by-laws suitable for Los Angeles, and which are in line with the laws of this state.

For as Bapak has received, it is God's will that in Subud, as well as worshipping God, we still have to work in this world. We still need to use our brain, our heart and desires, but only for worldly matters. What concerns our spiritual life is already taken care of, meaning that God Himself will do the work. So it's easy and light for us, because in our life there is a division between the work we can and should do and the spiritual work, which we cannot do and only God can do.

This is God's will for human beings. So, Subud is not an association or brotherhood that is only mystical. No. Subud is our worship of God as God wills it to be, without abandoning our worldly obligations. The proof of this is that we can receive this ( latihan ) in a state where we are fully engaged; for example, when we are still working, still thinking of this and thinking of that. Clearly, Subud is as God wills it to be, and it is also in line with what was received by the prophets, the messengers in times long ago. In Islam there is the saying: 'wal dunia wal akhirat', which means 'both this world and the hereafter'. So, we have to be able to do it while we are still living in this world.

Why is that? There are many people who still... ( inaudible ), that is, when people enter the mystical world or associate with mystics, they forget their obligations in this world. Also, in religion - Bapak is not criticizing religion, no - but many religious people do nothing but worship God. They just worship God and build places for their worship - mosques, churches, and so on.

Eventually, people in general will be able to understand this. The proof of this is that now, many learned people, whose minds have worked very hard to acquire all kinds of knowledge, don't believe any more. Believe in what? They don't believe in the kind of worship they are told has to be that way, abandoning their worldly obligations. Moreover, there are many people who follow religion who have become backward and accepting; they have become people who easily accept whatever happens. Many of them even say that, however good it may be to be rich in this world, it is better to be rich in the hereafter; however good the glory of this world may be, the glory of the hereafter is better. So, in this world, they intentionally stay poor and lower their standard of life, and accept whatever there is - whatever they get.

Through these misunderstandings, and perhaps the misunderstandings of those who gave them advice, there are many backward people who have a very hard life. This is especially true in the Islamic world. Bapak himself knows and acknowledges the decline of these people, in Persia, for instance, and elsewhere. Why is it? It's because of the wrong advice they have been given. For example: 'Why should you seek more things in this world than you need, or an abundance of wealth, or high position and prestige that have no meaning, when you will leave them all behind one day? The glory of life after death will be better for you.' Through such advice, and the misunderstanding of those who accept and follow it, things have turned out as they are now, with many people willingly accepting their miserable fate. Whereas in fact this is not God's will. God does not wish humans to live without using their minds, their hearts and everything that is in them. No. God has provided for human beings: 'Human being, be alive and use all the parts of your body to fulfil your needs.'

And because of this misunderstanding, people who are really clever can use this advice to exploit those who are willing to accept their miserable fate, and to treat them like slaves. Whereas, in the stories of the prophets, the advice they gave was: 'As fortunate as a person is who finds happiness in this world, more fortunate still is the person who is able to truly worship God'. It is clear from this, that if a person can find something that reaches God, and can really receive from God what is meant in religion, all the parts of his or her body will become alive. Then, it won't be only his thinking that helps him find money and make a profit. Even his hands can find money and the way to get it; even his hands can be used to good advantage.

This is really true. The reality of it, brothers and sisters, is experienced in Subud. So, once you are able to receive Subud properly, if you are a merchant: 'Will this sell or not in New York?' ( Gesture ) 'No.' So you won't sell it. 'Will this sell?' ( Gesture ) 'Yes.' You can receive the answer, 'This will sell in New York'. In all things God has already provided the way. Similarly, if you are a farmer, when you plant a seed for a fruit tree you will be able to see: 'Later, when this grows into a tree it will bear a lot of good fruit.' You will also know which seeds will produce poor trees that will not bear good fruit, so you won't plant them.

Everything you do will be considered from within, by the power of God. It will also be like that for a carpenter who specializes in making tables. The table he makes may be the same as others, yet, because the person making it is moved by his soul and not his heart, when it is put on display in the shop many people look at it: 'That table is the same and yet somehow it's so different. Why do I like it so much?' Many people will be after it and the table will sell quickly. Then he can make as many of them as possible and earn more money.

Clearly, God's love for human beings is not half-hearted. God does not love human beings, create them, and then tell them to stay just as they are. No. They are certainly created to be useful, and they have a use. They must become useful people. They mustn't become useless.

That is the difference between this Subud and other ( ways ). That's why Subud is not called a religion. Subud is not called a mystical way. No. But in Dutch, Bapak calls it mistiek wetenschappelijk ( Du.: mystical and scientific ), or geestelijk wetensdlappelo'k ( Du.: spiritual and scientific) . It is both wetenschap ( Du.:science ) and geestelijk ( Du.: spiritual ), because that is how we are trained. When we do the latihan we are made to go: 'Aa-naa-naa-naa.' And we can make a separation: the spiritual is God's ( work ), the science is human ( work ); and both go on within the self of one human being. The self of one human being contains the spiritual work done by God here, and the science acquired and used by the human being here.

So, Subud does not require Subud members ( to pray ) every day and every night 'Allah, Allah, God, God, God' to obtain money. It's not like that. God will not give you money from above: 'Here, people, here's some money'. That doesn't happen. God doesn't give money to human beings. No. So, if you just pray like that every day and every night, you will get nothing. God gives guidance within the self of humans: 'Use the whole of your being so that all of you is alive.'

That is why in Subud all the parts of our body are brought to life; then this ( body ) knows its duty, the legs know their duty, the eyes know their duty, the ears know their duty, the nose and mouth know their duty. It should not be only the thinking that knows its duty. No. The whole ( body ) should know its duty. And once it knows its duty, it will know 'how I am'. So the eyes can see 'where is the food for me that will satisfy me?' The ears can hear 'where is the person who is selling something I can eat and that is acceptable to me ?' And similarly with the other members of our body.

The result will be that you will really make a name for yourself. And you will have a name that is good and clean. People in this world want to have a ( good ) name. Once they have one, they won't need a lot of money for capital. They won't need to look for a lot of capital because they already have a good name. That is really how it is.

What is a name, really? Both here and in Indonesia, people are often given a name, or look for a name, that is suited to their work. A farmer might take a name from any of the trees he works with. Someone who works in an office might take the name of something in the office. It's the same for a carpenter who makes tables, and so on. That is the reason why people's names correspond to the work done ( by their ancestors ) in the past. For instance, in the Netherlands, there are people who were called Westbroek, or Kousenkouwer, or Steenberg and so on, because these are all names that corresponded to their work. In fact this expresses a reality, for it expresses their soul. So, if your soul has become a truly human soul, you will become well thought of. And if you are well thought of, whoever sees you will smile, whoever sees you will love you.

For these reasons, Bapak proposes to those of you who sit on the committee that, besides your committee work - keeping a register of members and a record of incoming contributions and finances, and communicating with other countries by newsletter, including articles that all members should read - besides all this work, the committee needs to establish a business, a company. The capital for the company can be raised with the help of your members' contributions. The capital is then put to work, and the profits can be divided between the Subud group funds and those who put up the capital, who bought shares in the company. Then, for the cost of the work of the helpers and the committee - going here and there, providing a house for latihan, and providing whatever you consider necessary for your group here - you won't need money from other sources; you can take it from the income of the company.

We can also employ our own members in the company. In this way we are able to lighten the burden for the members and not make them pay every time they come. It's not that everyone will feel it as a burden, but Bapak considers that, if they have to pay every time they come, there will be times when they have no money and therefore won't come and do the latihan. They will feel uncomfortable and so they won't come to the latihan. So, this is to make things easier for all of you, and for those who are unable to pay but need to come to worship and do the latihan.

The work of those who are on the committee is an example for us that besides receiving the latihan - our worship of God - we should not forget our need to work in the world; to live as people normally live. It is clear, that through our receiving in Subud we will be guided in whatever we do by the life force that fills us.

This is Bapak's explanation about the need to form a committee, and the need for people who work on the committee to be able to provide everything required for your life as a group. If Bapak were to go on, there is a lot more. For example, not only does the committee need to work to put up its own building for doing latihan; it should also set up a school if it can, and a place for the poor. Then poor people can be educated the Subud way, bringing to life every part of their body so they are able to work. It's not that Subud tries to change them, but we pray that God will help them, so that people who can't work become able to work, or people who are lazy are not lazy any more.

So, it is clear that the aim of Subud, and the essence of Subud, is not to teach people to be lazy and depend on fate. No. God does not decree that people... ( inaudible ) rich. God decrees that human beings should live with every part of their body, and be able to work. So if a Subud member asks, 'What am I to do, Pak? I'm having a difficult time.'

'Why?'

'I don't have any work, so I can't eat; and I can't find a job. What can I do?'

That's not Subud. If he really had Subud inside him, he would know where there is work; he would know where to find rice or where there is bread, because the instinct would be there already. He would smell where the food is.

Consider, for a moment, the birds. Birds are animals. At night they chirp, 'Tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet'. In the morning they wake up, fly off, get some food, come back and chirp some more. But people: how come that they sleep at night, get up in the morning, look for work and can't find anything? And yet, people are higher than animals. Why then aren't they cleverer than animals?

This is not God's fault, it's not that God is not giving. It's the fault of human beings themselves. Why can't they find something that can bring every part of their body to life? And the thing that makes it possible for all parts of one's body to become alive is none other than what you have received in Subud: a contact from the greatness of God, beyond the thinking mind and heart of human beings. This is really what people should find and receive in churches and in mosques, where the followers of advice congregate. Why don't they get it? Bapak doesn't need to explain this and doesn't wish to explain it - it is their own fault. But we already have it in Subud.

This fairly long explanation was for the committee, in order that those who are appointed should not feel disappointed and have the idea that, when they are appointed to the committee and work on ordinary things, they are giving up their worship, or neglecting their worship and reducing their receiving in the latihan. Your situation is actually in accordance with the symbol of Subud: that is, Susila Budhi Dharma. This is a symbol of a human being who is truly humane, meaning someone who has the condition of a true human being, contains within their self the powerful life force that can guide them, and who sincerely surrenders to the greatness of God who loves them. Bapak feels it is unnecessary to explain the meaning of Susila Budhi Dharma here, because he has already explained it.

Now Bapak will continue about the spiritual way you have received and are practicing. In receiving the latihan you don't need to have any feeling in your heart of hoping to receive quickly, or being able to know quickly the things you want to know. Any such desire and wish will not speed up your latihan - make it easier to receive something, for example - but will block it instead. 'Block it' in the sense that it will slow down your receiving of what God gives to you.

The way to receive and do the latihan is for your feelings to be very free. 'Free' means still and empty of all influences, whether from outside or from your own heart. For example, suppose you have studied something spiritual from this or that teacher, and then sometimes in the latihan you remember it. As you remember it, you take to thinking about it and comparing it with what you are going to receive in your latihan. Such a condition will just block you, you won't be able to obtain anything in receiving the latihan.

Your position in the latihan is truly that of one who receives. As for what God will give us, that is up to God Himself, because God knows our capacity - the capacity of human beings. If we have this attitude, it makes the work of God's power within us easier, and sets free our feelings so we will be able to experience a feeling that is really clean and peaceful.

Feelings that are clean, peaceful and free give us a reality within our being that doesn't just feel nice, but feels blissful and also beneficial. So it's clear that if you don't feel like that when you receive the latihan, it means your heart and thinking are still disturbing you. When you are truly receiving the latihan there is nothing but a heavenly feeling. And you should know that this heavenly, blissful state brings health to the entire body, so you will have a natural radiance. You will not look like someone who's alive yet looks dead. No, it is the glow of life, meaning truly radiant. So those of you who are old will not look your age. It's not that your age will be reduced. No. But you won't look like old people. This is even more true for those who are still young.

In reality, when human beings worship God and the worship is truly by God's will, as with us in Subud, not only will it bring us well-being in seeking our livelihood, but also all the parts of our body will become clean, good and healthy again. And certainly our soul will become the soul of a true human being, who is able to distinguish between this force and that force within our being. And eventually we will be able to manage them within our self.

Brothers and sisters, that is Bapak's explanation about the spiritual way. It is not necessary for him to go on too long; a lot of explanations will not improve your latihan. If they enter into your thinking they may even become an obstacle in your latihan.

Now Bapak will start the testing, so you can, little by little, begin to become aware of the forces, and the influence of these forces within your self. But after the testing, please do not ask, 'Why can't I do it? Is it because of this or that?' No. Don't say that, because it all depends on the self of each one of you. If you can't receive yet, never mind. Just accept it - you can't receive yet. But continue doing the latihan and eventually you will be able to receive. And don't ask Bapak, 'Is there another special way to get more, and to be able to receive the tests quickly?' No. There is no way other than doing the latihan diligently.

( Testing )