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DECEMBER 2009

W o r l d C o n g r e s s U p d a t e

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Performance: The COT has secured for the entire length ofthe congress five venues of variable size and quality whichshould allow performers with a wide range of interest tofind their moment upon the stage. It is hoped that mem-bers will take full advantage of the possibilities afforded bythe venues and the team will do its best to assist you to findyour way happily to the stage. It may be noted that includ-ed in the schedule of events/performance, there will be anopening and closing ceremony, a classical concert, aconcert of lighter entertainment (pop, comedy etc), afashion show, a film evening showcase and a music cafe.The program will certainly alter, grow and change as thecomplete picture emerges.

Member Projects Presentation Area: A large space, in theConvention Centre pre-function area, will be allocated tothe presentation of Subud members’ projects be they cultur-al, social, entrepreneurial or events. A sponsorship programhas been put in place: for more information please contactus at office@subudworldcongress2010.com. This area will be open to the public as well as Subud members

Help Needed: If you have some time and would like to dosomething to help out towards the congress we need you:contact us at office@subudworldcongress2010.com.

Childcare Co-ordinator Wanted: Would you like to beinvolved with setting up and running the childcare pro-gramme at World Congress? From now to Congress, youwould be working closely with the organising team and dur-ing congress you would be working with a team of volunteersto create a safe and fun environment for children betweenthe ages of around 5 and 12 years. We are looking for some-one who has experience.

Exhibitions: Members are invited to bring works to exhibit atcongress. Several places and media will be made available

in and around the main congress centre. Please sendrequirements, sizes of work and media torenatapeek@xtra.co.nz. There will be an exhibition of smallworks, as well as a screen to exhibit artists work on DVD. Artistsare encouraged to bring examples of work in electronic formwhich can be screened in the main halls as interludesbetween events. Please bring art cards and order forms formembers wishing to buy art and prints during Congress.

Carbon Credits: People are concerned about the carbonfootprint caused by flying. We are working on organisinga box for donations towards the Carbon footprintscheme, this scheme will help to make a carbon dioxidesaving. People will be able to donate money and thelocal council will plant trees in a specially chosen spot onbehalf of the congress. So look out for the donation boxat the congress.

Tourism Team: The tourism team have been working veryhard organising Tours to popular destinations includingAkaroa, Hanmer springs, Kaikoura, Arthur’s Pass,Raymond Herber’s Sculpture exhibition and a tour to theSubud property followed by a tour round the Port Hills.

Congress update: If you would like to add something tothe congress update, email to hassa@clear.net.nz

Jobs FilledCatering: Roslynn Greene and Rochana Sheward havetaken on the organising of the cafés for CongressTreasurer: Laclan Hunter has taken on the position oftreasurer.Childcare: Rodiyah Ben-Ami from Israel is here inChristchurch and will be working with children 12-17yrsCongress Video: The 2nd video for the congress is out, it isnow uploaded on the front page of the Congress Websitehttp://www.subudworldcongress2010.com/

SIGHTSEEING AND TRAMPING IN NZ Arid Matthee writes about more sightseeing and trampingduring and after the international congress...

The Congress Organising Team will be organising furthersightseeing and tramping (walking)trips. Besides the already advertisedtrips to Akaroa, Kaikoura andHanmer Springs, the following willnow also be offered.

1. An easy sightseeing DAY trip toArthurs Pass (two hours drive fromChristchurch) going through thespectacular Otira Gorge by bus withseveral short walks in the Arthurs Passarea such as the walk to thePunchbowl falls. This will give mem-bers a real appreciation of the spec-tacular scenery of New Zealand.

2. A moderately demanding DAY trip in the mountains

close to Arthurs Pass. This tramping trip to the BEALEY SPURis for fit members who can walk for six hours. The height yougain is about 850 meters. You will have panoramic views ofthe Southern Alps of New Zealand as result of your efforts.

3.A three day OVERNIGHT trip after the congress (18th till20th January) to Arthurs Pass withseveral moderate and demandingoptions for tramping with spectacu-lar views of the Arthurs Pass area andthe Southern Alps. Together withother experienced Subud trampersyou will be staying in a hut for twonights in Arthurs Pass. You must be fitand prepared with equipment (wewill provide a list) for this trip. (maxi-mum of 13 members). This trip will beoffered if there is enough interest.

Please advise us if you are interested inthe OVERNIGHT TRIP: transportation@subudworldcongress2010.com.

We look forward to offering you these trips in January 2010!

Arif Matthee will take you trekking

SUBUDVOICE PAGE 2 DEC 09

M S F S U P P O R T S E D U C A T I O N

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NEW CLASSROOMS ACCOMMODATE‘SURPRISE’ STUDENTS

The new classrooms funded by a grant from MSF wereofficially opened with a Selamatan (ceremonial prayers)in early June and were immediately used to accommo-date a total of 21 students, when 10 new exchange stu-dents came to Sekolah Bina Cita Utama (BCU) from agovernment school in Palangkaraya.

These students came to join the BCU students at therequest of the Head of the Education Department.Without these new classrooms this request could not havebeen granted, as the largest classroom capacity previ-ously was 12 students.

In July 2009, the School was able to accept an addition-al 20 students and now has 71 students in total.

The MSF Grant of US$ 20,000 in March 2009 was used toconstruct two new classrooms at BCU School,Kalimantan. These classrooms were urgently needed asthe School had reached maximum student capacity andwas unable to accept any new enrollments.

At the same time, there was aneed to increase student numbersin order to be able to movetowards financial break-evenpoint. Thus the School was in a dif-ficult position, and the grant cameat an extremely important time inthe growth and development ofthe school.

Two new classrooms were builtadjoining the Siregar Building,

which is situated on a double plot in Rungan Sari. Theclassrooms are 42 sq meters each and were designed toaccommodate up to 15 students.

A canteen/kitchen was also needed to provide theexpected 95 meals each day for the new students andteachers. Previously, meals had been cooked in a resi-dent’s kitchen, which was becoming increasingly incon-venient and unsustainable due to the ever-increasingnumber of students.

The classrooms were built on time and within the budgetbecause the School purchased all building materials andpaid labor costs directly. This success was also made pos-sible by Bachrun and Daniela Bustillo, who kindly donatedtheir time to design, supervise and organize the construc-tion, and by Raquel Alcobia who generously donated hertime to do the construction drawings.

Additional improvements such as landscaping, guttering,surface drainage, adjoining roofing and paving, werecovered by a donation from Hamid and Isti da Silva, whilstkitchen equipment, classroom furniture, tables, chairs,whiteboards, lockers, and cupboards were paid for bySusila Dharma Germany.

The School has a significant role in the growth and vitalityof the community of Rungan Sari. It provides a doorwaythrough which Subud is opened to the wider communityand creates a positive perception of Subud among thepeople of Kalimantan because there is no other schoollike this in South or Central Kalimantan.

For more information, visit: www.bcu-school.org

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS Subud Education Fund announces first Scholarship Awards.By Kumari Beck, WSA Subud Education Fund Coordinator...

The very first scholarship awards by the newly-establishedWSA Subud Education Fund were recently announced,making 13 young people from seven different countriesvery happy indeed.

The top award winner is Alfira Ni Luh Sukraeni Widyatmi, ayoung Subud member from the Rungan Sari group inKalimantan (Indonesia) who is training to be a nurse.Other award winners were:

Diana Rangel Ordonez (Colombia) – ManagementRosana Daandel (Ecuador) – Music and voice trainingSaminathan Samy (India) – PhD in DevelopmentCommunicationDmitriy Burkovskiy (Ukraine) – Diploma in EconomicsMiguel Angel Gutierrez Estupinan (Mexico) – Legal studiesRoberta Kalinichenko (Ukraine) – Final exam in BotmerGymnastics and pedagogyGregorio Ghofar Perez Paredes (Mexico) – Certification inhealth and nutritionChavisa Brett (Canada) – Masters degree inEnvironmental StudiesCesar Morales Mendes (Mexico) – Advanced studies in FrenchYanda Lestari (Indonesia) – Grade X-1, Upper Secondaryschool in JakartaRaditiya Pujiyanto (Indonesia) – Grade 1 student inBuaran, Jakarta TimurYunior Mohamed Fauzi (Indonesia) – Economics andManagement

The WSA Subud Education Fund was established to pro-vide financial support to Subud members or their familymembers towards completing an educational program,whether it is elementary or secondary school, vocationalschool, professional training, training in the arts, or post-secondary education.

We often talk about how education is 'the key to a betterfuture' but are sometimes unaware of the challenges andfinancial difficulties that may be involved in pursuing aneducational program.

The launch of the WSA Subud Education Fund was madepossible by a $5,000 grant awarded for scholarships by theMuhammad Subuh Foundation (MSF). After some thoughtand consideration on the terms and the criteria for the schol-arships, the call for applications went out early this year.

One of the challenges we encountered was distributingthis information to ensure that Subud members who mightbenefit from this program would actually get the applica-tion package and procedures, and in the language thatthey could work with. After the review team completed itswork, the results from this first round were announced.

The Subud Education Fund has started with a small sum –just $5000 – but look at how far it has gone towards help-ing the 13 recipients for 2009! The stories of these individu-als are very inspiring, and we will publish more detailsabout each awardee at a later date.

We hope that these results will inspire you to make dona-tions to this Fund, via the Muhammad Subuh Foundationwebsite, so that we can continue with this program in theyears to come (donate to the "General Fund" with thecomment added: "for the Subud Education Fund").

The grant came at an

extremely important

time for the

development of the

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the summer, overEaster and long week-ends. The rentalincome pays for thebulk of the mainte-nance costs of theSubud Hall. The groupadvertises rental of itsguest house on theinternet, forinstance, at:w w w . s u b u d w o r l d -news.com/centres/centres.php?countrID=7

At times, when there are major expenses, such as thosefor roof repairs, the matter is discussed among the mem-bers and somehow money is raised so that the place isalways in good shape.

The local group is small. Currently there are five membersbut in summer there are more as out-of-town Subudmembers come to stay in their homes on the property.

Subud Mina Clavero, Alfredo Gemesio-Regina BianchiSanta Isabel s/n 5889 Mina Clavero- Cordoba ArgentinaContacts: Efrain Gemesio email: fgemesio@gmail.commobile: 54-9-3544-610330Regina Bianchi email: rgnbianchi@gmail.commobile: 54-9-3544-468830

Muhammad Subuh Foundation 1996 Loan: US$15,000(repaid in full), and 1996 Grant: US$10,000.Total: US $25,000.

MSF & COLOMBIAYears of connections and support as MSF supports capac-ity building in Colombia. By Lucas Roldan, SubudColombia Chair and MSF National Liaison...

Colombia is graced to be one of the countries with thehighest number of Subud members – 530, distributedthroughout the country. Twelve groups are formally con-stituted, of which eight have their own premises and oneof them land on which to build a Subud hall.

Since its beginnings the Muhammad Subuh Foundation(MSF) has been present with their help to realize some ofthese Subud halls. Amanecer was the first, with itsMuhammad Subuh Great Hall, built and named in honourof Y.M. Bapak. At 2,000 square meters it is the largestLatihan hall in Latin America and it is where the 1993Subud World Congress was held.

Three additional and most important groups in the countryhave received help from MSF: Subud Bogota in the centerand the capital city; Subud Armenia, one of the oldest andmost constant in the practice of the latihan, and Popayanin the South, one of the cities of great cultural tradition,

architectural heritage and richness.

Last year MSF held its annual meetingin Colombia during the third"Americas Gathering" and new bondsof cooperation and mutual assis-tance were strengthened betweenthe two organizations.

Thanks MSF for always being present inthe life of Subud Colombia. WE LOVEYOU SO MUCH!

FLORENCE SUBUD HOUSE, ITALY At a Western Europe Zone 3 meeting in France in 1997,there was a strong feeling of mutual help among thecountries involved. This spirit of “Mutuo Soccorso”, ormutual help, found its first expression in the "Subud Housein Italy" project.

In less than a month premises were found, a feasibility studywas done and fundraising started. The Florence SubudHouse, a groundfloor apartment in the heart of Florence,has a floor area of 110 square meters (1000 sq. ft.).

The cost to acquire it, including all taxes, fees and restora-tions, was US$125,000. The house is centrally located: aten-minute walking distance from the central rail station(Santa Maria Novella) and very close to the monumentsand museums of the historical city. (These include:Michelangelo's David, the Uffizi Gallery with Piazza dellaSignoria, the Duomo and the Baptistery).

The 780 sq. ft. apartment comprises a large domed lati-han hall, plus a smaller room (with kitchen) and two bath-rooms. The Subud House hosts the activities of the localgroup, and is used for general meetings of Subud Italy. Itis also occasionally rented for other activities, such asworkshops or short courses, held by non-Subud individualsor associations.

Subud members are always welcome as guests, since theapartment is equipped with some beds. In the spirit ofmutual help, countries of the European Zone 3 assisted bySubud Italy, acquired this apartment in the heart ofFlorence. After much work and with financial assistancefrom these countries, plus a $20,000 grant and $10,000loan from MSF, Subud Italy bought the place.

Subud Florence, Via del Ponte alle Mosse, 36 Florence,Italy Contact: Lusiyah Bassi: duccio.bassi@alice.itAndrea.vivit@fastwebnet.it

Muhammad Subuh Foundation 1997 Loan: US$10,000and 1997 Grant: US$20,000. Total: US $30,000.

MINA CLAVERO, ARGENTINA Mina Clavero is a popular mountain resort in the centralregion of Argentina.

Subud members have created a lovely center on a large– 5,500 square meter -- plot on the banks of a river, threekm from downtown Mina Clavero. The Subud house isabout 220 to 230 square meters large with a 160 squaremeter meeting hall.

The principal use of the house is for the latihan and socialgatherings of members, such as birthdays, anniversaries,Christmas, New Year and the like. When members of thepublic want a place for seminars,teachers' meetings, graduations,baptisms and so on, the group doesnot charge for use of the space andonly requires payment for a 45 kilo-gram gas cylinder for heat in winterand a small fee for cleaning theplace.

Near the Subud Hall there is a guesthouse that can accommodate fivepeople. It is rented mainly to tourists in

PAGE 3SUBUDVOICE DEC 09•

MSF SUPPORTS SUBUD HOUSES & DEVELOPMENT

To support MSF and itsprojects, please visit:www.msubuhfoundation.org/fundFS.htmor contact Lillian Shulman at:lillianshulman@netscape.net

The articles about MSF included inthis issue of Subud Voice have beenselected from the MSF Enews. Toreceive the Enews contact Lillian.

Mina Clavera

PAGE 4 SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

L iv ing We l l , Dy ing We l l

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Hermione Elliott writes about one of the most importantissues that faces us in life…

I have always been curious that so much time and effortgoes in to preparing for a birth, yet so little goes intopreparing for death. Isn’t it odd too, that death alwayscomes as a shock, when it is the only thing in life that iscertain?

I have been musing on these themes for a very long timeand have had a lot of first-hand experience, both person-al and professional. I have been a nurse, midwife, coun-sellor, Imagework trainer and someone who has accom-panied many people in their last days.

I am beginning to see I can speakwith some authority. The conclusion Ihave come to is that the way we goout is just as important as the way wecome in.

Preparing for DeathThe sad fact is we live in a death-denying society, where fear per-vades and those who reflect upon ortalk about death are consideredmorbid. It seems to me that a lot of fear arises because it isan unknown. Most of us have never encountered anyonewho is dying, witnessed a death or seen a dead body.

Similarly, if we have never spent time reflecting and com-ing to terms with the inevitability of our own death, howcan we feel at ease enough to share the journey withsomeone who is terminally ill, or know the best way tocommiserate with someone who has just lost a loved one?

It is all too emotionally charged and unfamiliar. As long aswe have such gaping holes and no-go areas in ourhuman experience we will never be able to acknowl-edge the importance of the dying process, or create thecircumstances where souls can leave with a clear senseof direction.

Getting to Grips with RealityThe question I am addressing right now is: how can I makea difference? I see what’s needed is information, conver-sation, a safe environment for deeper reflection, as wellas enlightened practical support – there is a lot to do.

Several years ago I ran a pilot workshop called DeathMatters! This has now evolved into a project called LivingWell, Dying Well and it includes all these elements. I amworking with others to develop a programme of conver-sations, seminars and professional training that provideopportunities for people to talk, listen, share, ask the bigquestions, plan, or reflect more deeply.

For myself I have discovered that “talking” toLife and Death brings great insight. I check-inthrough a process called Imagework, which isjust about the best resource I know aside fromtesting. When I do this with others, I see thatby setting aside the taboos and lookingdeath squarely in the eye, planning for iteven, it removes that terrible lurking anxietyand – what do you know, life itself starts tolook a whole lot different.

Fundamentally, on the educational side Living Well, DyingWell aims to foster communities of people who feel com-fortable around the subject of death and are more pre-pared for it.

What Are the Options?When it comes to dying itself there are four possibilitiesopen to us at the moment, (well, more if a sudden acci-dental death is part of your destiny …) and among these,what I call ‘enlightened practical support’ where death isacknowledged by carers as a profound and sacredevent, is not the norm.

There is the merest nod in this direction from say, chap-lains and counsellors, and covertly from some doctors

and nurses, who recognise it as such. Butthese days, spirituality, love, compassion,kindness or quiet prayerfulness are a bitof an embarrassment and no longer val-ued as central in health care.

So here is how it goes, if you find yourselfin a hospice, you are doing pretty well —the clinical and nursing care is generallyvery sophisticated, the emotional andspiritual support can be excellentthough it is patchy.

On the other hand, sadly, it is rare for people who die inhospital to receive enlightened anything, and end-of life-care in nursing homes can range from brilliant to very wor-rying indeed.

For people who want to die at home, the communityservices are generally very good, but by their very naturethey are intermittent, perhaps only an hour a day. This is ashame in the light of a 2008 YouGov survey suggesting formore than seventy percent of us, dying at home wouldbe our preferred option.

How can we do it differently?Looking after loved-ones at home is a complex decision.To return to the birth/death analogy, when we arepreparing to welcome a new baby to the world we havean EDD (Expected Date of Delivery). Although I am sureeach of us has an Expected Date of Death, our growingalienation from the process means we have lost our intu-itive-knowing of it and have no means of predicting it.

Not easy for a family to press the pause button on life foran indeterminate period of time. Not only that, even withgood community nursing and medical support, it is afrightening prospect. It requires a level of confidence,trust and know-how to commit to this journey.

The missing piece of the jigsaw I see, is a person who ‘holds’the situation with or for the family. The closestdescription I can get to is the Doula, a birtheducator/birthing companion. Hmm, the birthcomparison again.

Imagine this: Doulas for the DyingWe cannot forget that death is a process,always unknown and unique to each individ-ual. Even in our secular society, the mysteryand awe that surrounds it is ever present. Therole of a doula for the dying is that of com-panion, someone who has been

Hermione Elliott

The sad fact is,we live in a

death-denyingsociety

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As I write I realise what marked this out was thevery same thing – the desire to be in service toRos on her journey. On both occasions theunforeseen consequence was an enormous sat-isfaction and the sense of a sacred duty fulfilled.The fact that both Grace and Ros were fully pre-pared to meet death added another dimension— awe perhaps — at the privilege of witnessingtheir ultimate act of surrender.

Where Do We Go from Here?This is what a doula can provide. Right now thesedoulas don’t exist, not formally anyway, butwatch this space — our aim is to start training

next year. We already have a waiting list of people whofeel drawn to this work, some lay people, as well as formernurses, counsellors and therapists. My special wish is todevelop a service that we can offer to our Subud com-munity very soon, and that it will develop into a publicservice not long after.

Of course the question of funding is ever present. I am inthe process of setting up Living Well, Dying Well as aCharity and alongside that am exploring an insurancescheme — a kind of Dignified Dying Fund, eventually tofinance the Doula team.

The training and personal development will be self-fund-ing and the plan is for the whole project to be self-sustain-ing within five years. We are now approaching individualsand grant-making bodies to support the start-up — anycontributors big or small, or leads would be very muchappreciated. www.livingwelldyingwell.net will be up andrunning very soon – do check it out.

For further details including workshops and other eventsyou can contact me on 01273 479114 or 07767 638074 orat hae@livingwelldyingwell.net

Also Myrna (Roselind) Jelman’s film Happy Endings, which cov-ers many of the issues described here, will be available soonfrom her website at: www.springfilmproductions.co.uk

there before and, even though they might notknow which route the journey will take, aren’tafraid of the territory – they feel at home in theunknown.

They support the whole family in whatever way isneeded, leave room for conversation, facilitatesharing, discuss practical requirements, liaisewith the community nurses, act as an advocatefor the dying person and, in respect of and sen-sitivity to the religious and spiritual beliefs of thefamily, hold the spiritual space, be as a guideinto the next world.

I know of many nurses working in palliative care who tosome extent do this, but because their job is task-orientat-ed ‘spending time’ or ‘being with’ is always low priority.Even if people do not have spiritual or religious beliefs,they can still understand the qualities of love, compas-sion, holding, presence — of ‘being’ as opposed to‘doing’ – and see them as enormously helpful.

Death as a Sacred JourneyI attended many deaths as a Marie Curie nurse; somehave left very powerful memories. But the impulse todraw together all the threads of my professional life now,and especially to develop a doula for the dying training,has arisen because of two very significant deaths, one mymother Grace, and the other Rosalyn Coles.

At ninety, my mum made a conscious decision to die a fewweeks after being traumatised by a fall, a broken hip and sur-gery. She was doing well when she left hospital and returnedto Wisma Mulia, where she was living. I was with her a lot ofthe time and could see her struggling to regain mobility.

She was weak and had heart complications, and overone weekend I could feel her wrestling with the decision– whether to push on, or let go. I went into her room onMonday morning and she told me she was ready to passon, she asked my permission, she talked to the doctor,who responded so sensitively. He managed her beautiful-ly and gave her all the support she needed, withoutunnecessary interference.

She faded quickly and died within two days. Whatmarked this out as a beautiful, blessed and fulfilling expe-rience for me, was that everyone was there in service toher – the Wisma staff, the other residents, community nurs-es, GP and hospice nurse who came for two nights – ANDthey supported me, in my support of her.

When Rosalyn Coles was coming to the end of her life,Lambert and Daniela wanted to grant her wish to die athome. Everything amazingly fell into place. Jilly, Ros’sniece and I, both nurses, moved in to look after her, withfamily and friends as the back-up team.

Over that week as we sat together in Ros’s room welaughed, cried, talked and reminisced, we prayed, did thelatihan and sought guidance about how best to be. Roshad a miraculous moment of rallying a few days beforeshe died when she had her family around her offering atoast with a favourite bottle of wine, the most extraordinarycocktail party, forever etched into our minds.

The community nurses came and went every day to han-dle her medication and GP back-up was there if weneeded it.

PAGE 5SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

Death is aprocess,always

unknown &unique toeach of us

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•S P A C E W E E KOne of Subud’s newest members Dennis Stone, aRocket Scientist at NASA, is the son of one of our old-est, Lola Stone. Dennis feels some of you Subuditesmight like to know about UN World Space Week ofwhich he is International President.

Although this year’s celebrations, in more than 60countries is over, exciting plans for 2010 are nowunderway.

Careers in Space will soon be opening for our youngmembers who are proficient in Math and Science.Check out how you teachers of these subjects andyour students can participate in Space Week’s year-ly contests and awards.

You older Subudites may wish to contribute time tothis exciting project that began in 1979 and wasadopted by the UN twenty years ago. We are all inharmony with their goal of building bridges of friend-ship amongst people everywhere.

For more information check out: www.worldspaceweek.org

PAGE 6 SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

cont on p7>

TALK TO NEWLY OPENED MEMBERSCoombe Springs, England, 1957

Bapak

Talk

Talk # 2 From Bapak's Talks Volume 1. Published By Subud PublicationsInternational 1996. Copyright © 2007 the World Subud Association. All rightsreserved.This talk was given for people practising the spiritual exercise known as theSubud Latihan. For those not practising this exercise, reading the followingtalk is not recommended as it could be misunderstood.

For those of you who are not yet opened it is not time foryou to listen to this, for what Bapak would really like to dois to continue with the explanations that you all need, butbecause quite a few of you have not yet heard whatBapak has already explained, he is obliged to repeat a lit-tle about the spiritual way that you have been practicingand receiving.

To begin with, Bapak lets you know that the training lati-han that you have all received is not really like training; itis simply receiving, so its practice requires you to emptyout everything that is in your daydreaming and your think-ing. That is why in this training or receiving you cannotforce yourself to be able to receive quickly. All you cando – as far as you can – is to empty your feelings anddaydreaming, which always disturb the progress of yourpurification during the training.

Therefore you cannot force this, nor should you feel jeal-ous of others, for everything that you have received orare receiving depends on the state of preparedness ofyour own being. Those of you who feel left behind, or whohave not yet received what you hoped for, must notworry or feel depressed, with the idea that you are tooheavily burdened. On the contrary, you should surrendermore and have a deeper faith in the greatness of God, sothat you may obtain whatever you need to have withinyour self, or whatever you need to be given by God,based on your individual capacity.

What Bapak wants to explain about the spiritual path isthat the thing you felt that made you quiver and causedyour body to move in various ways is in reality the powerof life (kekuatan hidup), the presence of life that is withinevery created thing, especially mankind. It is the same asthat which preceded all things that can be seen, and it isconnected with the power of life that always envelopsthe world and therefore human beings too, on the out-side. So the condition of the human body is that it is in themidst of this very great power of life.

And why is it that other people, who have not yetreceived this receiving or training, are unable to feel thiscontact in their inner feeling? It is because, from theirchildhood, when they were babies, until they grew upand became adults, their coarse bodies and their senses– their seeing, their hearing, their smelling, their feelingand their speech – were completely covered up by con-ditions that constantly influence the inner feeling.

The conditions Bapak is referring to are the state of theworld (which is perceived) continuously from the time achild begins to be able to see forms, hear sounds andsmell smells that are in the world, until he grows up andbecomes an old man. All of these are filled with forceslower than the human power – namely with the forces ofmatter, of plants, of animals and of men and women.These forces constantly come and go, putting pressure onthe human inner feeling (rasa diri) and cause it to loseconsciousness and become closed, unable to look back-wards to its true origin.

The reason why your movements, when you first receivethis training latihan, are on the level of your physical body,is that the dirt or disruptions in your inner feeling, which gotthere through the pressure and influence of all the forcesjust mentioned, started from the coarse and proceededto the fine. Therefore these movements that purify theinner feeling have to start from the coarse (body) and willproceed step by step until they reach the body referredto as the body of the peace of the soul (badan ketenan-ganjiwa).

Only then will you be able to receive, understand and beaware of the true nature of man and to become con-scious of the true origin of your own soul (jiwa). You willthen also be able to understand the real nature of thecontact between the Great Life (hidup besar) and thehuman inner feeling, which it envelops. This is referred toas the state of the perfected human being, or, in the lan-guage of Islam, the insani soul. In everyday language itcan be called a spirit that is holy.

So it is clear that what you have just received is the begin-ning of the process whereby the human soul gets to knowthe Great Life and also gets to know the greatness andpower of God which envelops everything. This requiresthat everything within you, starting with the coarse, iscleaned and made pure, which constitutes a completeand perfect preparation within your feeling and yourbeing.

So the training or receiving that you have received andare practicing is simply a preparation for you to be ableto get to know God's power that is within and outside ofthe world and of life. Clearly then, God is not someonewho you ask for something and who then has to give it toyou, as happens between people.

Because of God's omnipotence, everything has beenprovided for us, on our right and left, above and belowus, and inside and outside of us too – so that God's giftsto all God's creatures are enough, more than enough,and perfect. But because of the mistakes of those crea-tures themselves, they are not able to make use of whatGod has given them because they are easily disturbedby forces below their own level.

And now, what is the reason and what is the need forwhich God created these forces that always disturbhuman beings? In reality God knows that without theseforces below them, human beings cannot be complete.Compare this to your household. If you don't have a wife,children and servants in your house, your family life won'tbe complete.

Organizing Your HouseholdBut if you are good at organizing your household – whatyou have to do as the master of the house,

Code Number : 57 CSP 2. Authorized Translation by Tuti and Sharif Horthy

is definitely more valuable than things,plants and animals. That's how it is if a human being is able tocorrect, oversee and understand what heought to be and what he ought to do in hislife, both in this world and in the hereafter.This is what you have all received, whichhas manifested as this thing we call thetraining latihan. So in reality, what you havereceived in this training is nothing less than agift from the One God. It is only with God'shelp that you can achieve what Bapakhopes for you, which he has just described. Such is Bapak's explanation about the spiri-tual way, so that it may be clearer and pro-vide you with some understanding for now.

Please wait a moment.(Bapak draws a diagram)

This is just a diagram to illus-trate man's bodies. Don'tconceptualize this in yourtraining latihan in the hope ofseeing it in this way – it is onlya diagram to help youunderstand better.

This, here on the outside, is man's physical body, both itsexternal and its internal parts. The second circle repre-sents the body of feeling and emotions, where willing andwishing originate, also enthusiasm for work and the wishfor this or that. The third circle represents the body ofunderstanding. The fourth circle represents inner peace orthe consciousness of the inner feeling. All of you have hadthese four bodies since you were small.

Bapak won't go into your ancestry; to make it short he willjust look at the period from your childhood through youryouth and adulthood to old age. Throughout that time allfour of these bodies were under the pressure of, and influ-enced by, the forces below the human level.

So when you felt something, you could not be really orone hundred percent sure that that feeling was awak-ened by the human force – it could have been awak-ened by an essence or force below the human level, suchas that of a material thing, a plant, an animal or a person.

So, suppose you were to claim that your inner feeling hasbeen made pure, clean and authentic, you cannot yetbe certain that this purity is truly that of a perfect humanbeing or that it can guide you and show you the way thatis true and noble.

The same is true with regard to the third circle, your under-standing – your understanding regarding life, your under-standing regarding all that has to do with the develop-ment of the human soul (jiwa) – it is not one hundred per-cent certain that this understanding arises from yourhuman soul. There is a strong possibility that it is influencedby or originates from forces below the human level. Thatis why you cannot say whether your understanding aboutyourself, your soul or inner self is true and genuine – youaren't yet able to check for yourself where it comes from.

Similarly, with regard to the peace of the inner self thatwe just talked about: suppose that you have just quietedyourself, and you believe and feel that you

what your wife has to do as mistress of thehouse, what your children and your servantshave to do – then your household will beorderly, tidy and harmonious.

But if, on the contrary, you, the householder,are always absent, and engage in work thatis inappropriate for a householder, and allyour servants who should be helping with thehousework instead take turns at being themaster of the house because you have neg-lected the obligations of a true householder,then it is certain that your household will bechaotic. The same is true of human beingsand the forces below the human level.

The forces below man are accessories for man – meaningthat they are supposed to obey your orders when you,the human being, order each of them to do their ownwork in an orderly manner and to not interfere in the workof the master of the house – so that both they and thehuman being can live in happiness and safety. It's clearthat when God gave man these accessories it wasn'tGod's intention that they should disturb him, but ratherthat man should be able to use them to enhance his ownnobility. So the actual situation is the fault of man himself,not that of his accessory forces.

This is in fact what Bapak means when he talks of the spiri-tual way. As for what you have all received so far, this is thefirst level, which is in no way yet the beginning of the realpath – by which Bapak means the straight path that leadsthrough the various inner and outer levels. This is becauseyou first have to return to their right place all the things with-in you that have become misplaced since the time whenyou were small up to the time when you became an adult,so that eventually you should be able to progress andmove straight ahead, in your outer life as well as your innerlife, without meeting any obstacles whatsoever.

This is actually what is meant by and what is contained inthe training and receiving that you have all obtained. Inorder that you should be able to receive it correctly it is nec-essary to start from the bottom; it is necessary to start fromthe outside, because that is the source of all your errors.

Even in the world, the hardest lesson is at the beginning,when a child first goes to school. The same is true for theteacher – there is nothing so difficult for a teacher asteaching children who are just starting to learn, for in thatsituation the teacher has to be able to get to know thefundamental nature of each child, so that each of themshould be able to continue his or her studies in the rightdirection, one that is in line with their individual souls.

That is how it should be, but up until now that is not how itis. Bapak doesn't want to say that teachers are wrong, butonly that they must become aware of this, in order that alltheir pupils, all children who wish to learn and who dolearn, should eventually become useful for society. In real-ity there is no such thing as a useless person – for even ani-mals whose level is inferior to humans are all useful, as aretrees and plants and, on a yet lower level, material things.

But, through the mistakes of human beings themselves,there are too many people who are useless – even lessuseful than material things, in spite of the fact that ahuman being is a soul or creature that is higher than allmaterial things and all forces below the human level, and

PAGE 7SUBUDVOICE

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DEC 09

If you are goodat organising

your household... then your housewill be orderly,

tidy and harmonious

“

“

rience the life of the perfect self (pribadi yangsempurna).

This will enable them to adapt themselves towherever they may be and to experiencehappiness in their life in the world and in thehereafter. The same holds for you as well –you will be able to meet with the right way foryour life in the world and in the hereafter,because your inner self will show you how towork in such a way that what you do not onlymakes your life happy but keeps you con-stantly in touch with the Great Life (hidupyang Maha Besar).

Looking atBapak's illustration, if youcan achieve all of this,your state will resemblethis: (Bapak draws)

Although you will stillappear to be an ordi-nary person, you will bepenetrated from alldirections by the powerof the Great Life, whichenvelops human beingsfrom the outside as well as from the inside. Therefore,once you have attained perfection, your feelings, yourunderstanding and your consciousness will be able to fol-low in the footsteps of the Great Life, which envelops thewhole world, both within the universe and beyond it.

This is not something Bapak wants to describe. It is notsomething that ought to be described by human beings,for it is beyond the human, but you will be able to experi-ence it when you reach that state. For in that world youdo not see with the eyes in your head, nor do you hearwith these visible ears, nor (can you use) any of thesephysical organs that you can see. You can work thereand see with qualities of the self that are nothing likethese things that are visible to you. These organs that wehave ... the physical form of our body is limited to thisworld. Beyond that, it will dissolve.

That is Bapak's explanation, which has been rather long,but it may be useful for you because it will enable you tobecome aware of and understand the direction of ourtraining latihan, its goal and its content. In fact, if you wereable to receive just a little at the second of these levels,Bapak could right now do some testing with you, butbecause you are still new you haven't got to that yet, andthere is a strong possibility you wouldn't be able to receivecorrectly. Therefore Bapak postpones this to a later occa-sion. Maybe he will be able to show you this eventually.

This is the end of Bapak's explanation, which was not verymuch, but he hopes that it has given you some satisfac-tion. If you have questions you wish to ask, Bapak is willingto answer them.

Bapak then proceeded to answer some questionswhich you can peruse in the whole talk in Bapak’sTalks Vol 1 available from SPI (contact informationavailable on the back page of this issue).

PAGE 8 SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

are truly at peace – you cannot be onehundred percent sure that it is the peace ofa perfect human being. The chances aregreat that that peace is still from the forces below man, and it could take you in adirection that will damage your soul andyour body.

So there are not a few people who claim tobe good hearted, and whose behavioralso appears to be good, but who, whenthe time comes and an opportunity pres-ents itself, are capable of strangling some-body. This shows that their apparent good-ness is simply a device to bring misfortuneor ruin on others.

This is the way in which the forces below the human leveloppress and influence the inner feeling of a human beingwho is not yet able to bring order to the household withinhim. That is why Bapak explained earlier that there is atrue way to free human beings from the hold of theselower forces, and that way comes only from the OneGod.

What you have received in your training latihan is notsomething new, nor is it a method being felt for the firsttime; rather, it has existed since before everything else thatexists. But because you have been cut off from it by theforces that have covered, oppressed and imprisoned yoursoul, it is only now that the time has come for you to feel it.

As for the fact that you are not yet able to understandwhat you are receiving: that is because the body of theunderstanding, which you need for understanding it, isnot yet ready, and this is because your physical body isstill chaotic. That is the reason why, although this trainingawakens from within, the part of you that is first to feel it isthe outermost part.

If All Four Bodies Were Complete...If all four of these bodies within you were already com-plete, then you would be able to receive with all four ofthem from the first time you receive this training. Butbecause you cannot yet receive with these bodies clos-est to the center, even though this training passes throughthem, you fail to be aware of it. So the thing you feel is avibration within yourself which eventually spreads throughyour whole body. This starts by making (your physicalbody) healthy and repairing what is wrong, so that thewhole can become healthy again and you can progressto the second body.

As for how long it will take to complete this process in yourphysical body, Bapak cannot determine this individuallyfor each of you, because some of you have a lot to putright, others have less; some of you are denser and thereare those of you who are light. The errors that are presentin some of you are slight while in others they are great andserious. But all of that can be overcome, even though itmay take more than a little time.

To cleanse the inner feeling that is not clean is an obliga-tion for all of you, in order to make your own life more for-tunate, and also that of your descendants. Then the errorswithin you will not continue as they are and inflict them-selves on your descendants. Instead, you can become aboundary beyond which your mistakes will not go,enabling your descendants to become people who expe-

Through the mistakes of

human beingsthemselves, there

are too manypeople who are

useless

“

“

A CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE Extracts from an article by Robert Winans, first published in‘The Chronicle’ of April 1963...

For many years I have been struggling with my beliefs, atfirst feeling them to be childish and posing more questionsthan they answer. However, recently I have been finding agreater meaning and basis for real faith in God than everbefore. One of my principle stumbling blocks has been thetrue place of Jesus in my religious beliefs, and the relationof Jesus to me and all mankind.

With the coming of the Christmas season, I had oneunvoiced question almost constantly in my mind: “What isthe true meaning of Christmas and the stories of the birth ofJesus?”

The Christmas stories have always stirred me, but I felt thatI did not really understand them. Later, when reviewing mythoughts on this question, I realised that my unvoiced ques-tion was being asked in relation to the Subud experienceand action.

As Christmas Day approached, I began to despair of get-ting an indication and I could see no means of receivingany answer. However, during the quiet and worshipfulatmosphere of our church service on the Sunday beforeChristmas the answer came.

While listening to the reading about the birth in the stableand the coming of the shepherds, suddenly the baby Jesuswas the awakened or reborn sol of man – just a babe, butwith an unlimited potential. Mary and Joseph became youand me, the lowly of the world, and the stable indicatedthat this could happen anywhere, in the humblest of sur-roundings. Thus this miracle of the awakening or rebirth ofour soul can happen to any of us, as it has through theSubud opening.

The Angels and the “multitude of Heavenly Hosts”remained just that, rejoicing any time a human soul is thusawakened. The shepherds, representing all men who care,could recognise the miraculous change and be awoken byit, for they too have wished for this experience.

Then came the Wise Men, thesearchers after Truth, the philosopherswho, more than others, recognisedthis priceless gift, as they had been fol-lowing its ‘star’ for a long time.

This gift is so priceless that one couldeasily and gladly give up his ‘gold’ orwealth and luxury for it. The frankin-cense represented the dropping offormal ritualistic patterns ofapproach to this rebirth, so that the

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This miracle ofthe awakening or

rebirth of oursoul can

happen to any of us

“

“

•

Inner Voice welcomes stories and letters. Please send to IlainaLennard, NEW E-MAIL ilaine.l@blueyonder.co.ukIlaina (Ilaine for the e-mail) can be contacted at her NEWADDRESS: 8 Sissinghurst Grove, Up Hatherley, Cheltenham,Glos. GL51 3FA UK NEW TEL NO: (+44) (0)1242 707 701

I N N E RV O I C E

needs of each individual could be better realised. Themyrrh represented the death of those parts of us whichmust go on before the awakened soul can reach its matu-rity.

Every item and part of the story had its meaning andplace. I was amazed that the story could be so full ofmeaning and yet so concise.

I was aware of all this and yet at the same time I was awareof all that was going on in the church service. I was so emo-tionally moved with awe and thanks that I could barely sup-press the tears. All through the day, this image was strength-ened and expanded so that all the Christmas stories, andeven those parts of Isaiah which are used in Handel’sMessiah, took on their corresponding meaning.

My heart gave thanks for this wonderful revelation, a trueanswer to my prayer, which I hadn’t even put into words. Irealise that what I have received was in the terms in whichit was asked, and that my understanding is only capable, atthis time, of absorbing this much of the true meaning ofChristmas. I hope that at some future time I shall be able tounderstand more fully, not only the true meaning ofChristmas but also the true place of Jesus as well.

Right now I can only again give thanks for what I have received,and the renewal of faith which has come to me through thisexperience, which but for Subud I would have missed.

A LIFE IN SUBUDSome extracts from Raymond van Sommers’ book abouthis life with Bapak and at Cilandak. The book can beobtained through SPI...

One day on a Sunday outing to his farm at Patjet, Bapakwas sitting talking to us on the terrace. When Bapak talkedI always relaxed and felt the latihan, so my mind would qui-eten. This was so normal that I can’t say I noticed anythingdifferent that day.

But at a certain moment Bapak looked at me and startedto talk. I felt so open that his words passed into me withoutobstruction and went into some place deep inside me. Hewas talking to my inner self. I just stayed perfectly still, inthat receptive state, as Bapak continued to talk for half anhour or more.

Suddenly I wavered ever so slightly. Bapak stopped and itwas over. I had followed the feeling of what he was sayingrather than the detail and could not remember what hesaid. The nearest I can say was that he was talking to mypast, or to that part of my soul that had been in the past.But I felt changed. I felt more connected with my past,more connected with my ancestry.

SudartoIn those early days in Cilandak I would occasionally visitSudarto at his home in the evening and ask his interpreta-tion of a dream*.

(Bapak’s explanation about dreams at the Tokyo Congressin 1967 was that whereas most dreams are a projection ofa person’s own unresolved concerns, there are ‘some-times, too, dreams which are an indication of what is goingto happen.’)

The things Sudarto said about dreams were mostly expla-nation of the symbolism rather than interpretations of thepersonal meaning. He was always hospitable

About the working of Bapak’s sekretariat he saidthat Bapak replied to most spiritual questions andwas the only one who answered questions aboutfate: names, partners, occupations, and placesto live.

He said that he himself helped with some spiritu-al questions, ‘not because of a high soul, butbecause of wide and long experience.’ Brodjo,he said, helped Bapak with general matters andPrio with matters of organisation. Usman wasresponsible for finance.

I become a MuslimIndonesia was a predominantly Islamic country and theeffect of this religious environment was that a number ofSubud members were converted to Islam. Although I wasnot active in my Christian religion neither was I attracted tojoin Islam just because others were doing so. I respectedthe teaching of Islam and was aware of its place in the reli-gious history of the West. I also noticed that Moslems inIndonesia had a greater sense of brotherhood thanChristians in my own society. In October 1968 I had a cleardream:

I was dressed in a simple, long white linen robe walkingalone down a road in open countryside. I came to a placewhere the road divided into two and as I arrived I heard myname called from the minaret of a mosque down the lefthand fork.

I awoke with the feeling that I would like to enter Islam.

Soon afterwards, together with six other Westerners, I wentthrough the preparations and on 30 October 1968 before about200 guests made the declaration of faith: ‘There is no God butthe One God, and Muhammad is God’s Messenger.’

At this ceremony Bapak gave me the Islamic nameLamaan.

This conversion had a strong impact on me. I felt cleansedby the circumcision. I learned the five daily prayers andpractised them conscientiously. I felt that I was starting anew inner life.

I accepted the value of the annual Ramadhan fastobserved by the majority of Subud members in Indonesiaand committed to it, otherwise conversion was a very per-sonal experience and therefore remained a private mat-ter. I never identified with the wider public aspect of mem-bership of Islam, such as worshipping in a mosque or seri-ously studying the teachings of the Koran.

In the months that followed I attended general latihanheld three times a week in the hall near Bapak’s house inCilandak and the extra latihans for men helpers withBapak. In one of these latihans for helpers I had a strongspiritual experience.

As I stood with my eyes closed a bright light came towardsme and entered me. I felt it came from a high source. It filledmy body so that for a few moments I was completely madeof light. My whole body was transparent light. I was consciouswithin it and outside it and in all directions. It was a wonder-ful experience and the knowledge of it never left me.

A Life in Subud by Raymond van Sommers can be orderedfrom SPI, price £11.00 (eleven pounds) plus P&P, atwww.subudbooks.com/SBDtobuy

and kindly. Sometimes we would be alone, atother times with a few others who had come toask questions or simply listen to his spiritual expe-riences.

He often volunteered his advice on how weshould benefit from being near Bapak. When Istarted to go to his house in December 1966 Imade notes of what Sudarto said:

‘When Bapak talks with us late into the night hegradually raises the spiritual level. By so doing oneby one those present fall asleep. He then drops thelevel and each one wakes up. What Bapak talksabout may be daily matters, but at the same time Bapak ispassing things to our inner feeling, individually. If we are sensi-tive we will feel this happen.

‘If we use our thinking when we are with Bapak (on thesenights) we will also probably fall asleep. A useful techniquefor freeing oneself from thinking is to drop the tongue fromoff the palate and breathe easily—if possible receiving thelatihan at the same time.

‘If we are ten per cent purified then we are taken care ofby our guidance ten per cent, the remaining ninety percent has to be dealt with by the passions. Sometimes Bapakmay see that a purification will take a long time but hedoesn’t tell the member because it would only cause theperson to feel discouraged. Instead Bapak indicates thedirection and improvement possible bit by bit – like whenone wants a child to cross the room one offers a series ofattractions which will encourage the child across.

‘While undergoing purification it is better to find a job whichyou really understand and which satisfies your feelings.’

Sudarto often spoke at that time about the reported signsof Bapak’s coming and what Bapak would bring.

Husein Rofe, he said, found in Holland a prophecy writtenfive hundred years ago, that a man bringing a true mes-sage would be born at the same time as three kings.Bapak was born in the same month as Sukarno, and thesame year as Leopold III and Emperor Hirohito.

Bapak’s great grandfather had a vision before he died thathis third generation descendant would receive the way toGod. This was passed down to Bapak’s parents. Bapak'smother experienced a light from heaven entering her andradiating from her body during her pregnancy.

Sudarto also liked to advise the visitors about their relation-ship with women:

‘A woman’s nature is of this world—of the heart—so if herheart is satisfied then she is satisfied. A woman likes herman to be relaxed so that the vibration from his inner feel-ing will enter her heart and she will be satisfied. Everywoman has an affinity for a certain flower. If we see thisflower in our latihan (it is a sign that) our wife will love us.’

In those days I often dropped in to the Sekretariat for anhour or so to sit and enjoy the peaceful company.Sometimes Bapak would be there and I would listen to himdiscussing things. If Bapak sensed I needed to know some-thing he might involve me in the conversation.

At other times, if Bapak was not there, Sudarto might volun-teer to speak about something that had come up in thecorrespondence or that he felt was important to share.

PAGE 10 SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

•

if we are ten

percent purified,

then we are taken

care of by our

guidance ten

percent

“

“

person to attract people to the mira-cle of the latihan. Thinking and wordsalways get in the way. But when thisfeeling comes to me I try to feel whatI can do to meet the real need ofsomeone in some way that is withinmy capacity.

Because of how I was at that time oflife, and I guess how many of us were,we regarded Bapak as something likethe return of Jesus Christ, someonewho knew and understood everythingand who had power over events,such was the wonderful atmosphereof the miraculous around us. I certainly was in awe of him.

He did his best to disabuse us over that and to say that hewas only a channel for the Power of the Almighty. Laterwhen he asked forgiveness at the end of a Ramadan andsomeone said that he did not need to ask us for forgiveness,he became quite stern and said he was a human beingwho made mistakes and again asked us for forgiveness.

This was a great comfort to me later. BUT what we wit-nessed at Coombe was a man who walked and talked likeno other we had yet met. When he walked there was a vis-ible sense of Presence and Self Awareness.

When he spoke about spiritual matters there was a sensethat he was talking directly from his experience rather thantalking learnedly about something. His words had the deepring of truth and somehow made me quiet as they found their mark in my inner feeling.

They were such contrast to the words of the highly charis-matic and intelligent Mr B who had held us in thrall for theprevious five years.

Bapak was always keen to hear from us what was or is theProof of what has been the benefit of the latihan in our lives.

If I try to answer that question now I would say that I knowI have the power of choice. To be miserable and complainabout what I don’t have and this list is actually very small,or to be happy and be grateful for what I do have and thislist is very long, and top of it is what we call the latihan.

I could go on about the proofs and I have had manyproofs. We need to remember them and thank theAlmighty for the Gift of Bapak to this world and theOpening and the Contact that he brought to our ownInner Selves.

Recently in Subud Voice we published the interview withJohn Bennett by Steve Allen. Maria Svestka writes to saythat many years ago that interview led to the founding ofSubud in Prague….

Recently I was very much moved while reading again,after a long time, the interview between John Bennett andSteve Allen. My instant thought was that this was the sametext I read long ago in 1963 as my first introduction toSubud , which made at that time an unusually immenseimpression on me.

In the mentioned year I was very unexpectedly allowed tomake a trip from my country Czechoslovakia to theNetherlands. At that time it was my first trip from

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•

It was

accompanied by

intense, blissful

happiness and a

feeling of being in

my real home

“

“

Abdurachman Mitchell, for many years Bapak’s personaldoctor, and now resident in Perth, Australia, writes about hiscoming to Subud and his gratitude to Bapak, “Dawn andHerald of a New Age”…

We live in extraordinary times with the pace of change,ever accelerating, especially in the field of science, tech-nology and communication.

Our minds are sometimes overwhelmed, and it becomesmore and more difficult to be connected to one’s EssentialSelf and through that to All that exists or as some put it God,Allah, Brahma or whatever language tries to express theinexpressible.

As an adolescent and young man, I could only dimlyremember that connection, I say dimly because I hadmostly forgotten it and believed in my conscious reasoningmind that it did not exist. However deep within me, per-haps in my subconscious Inner feeling, was a longing forthat connection to come alive again.

The coming of Bapak to Coombe Springs in June 1957 washeralded for me six weeks earlier by an experience whichwoke me in the middle of the night, and which I nowrecognise as my Opening to the Love and Power of theAlmighty.

I was suddenly very wide-awake and became aware of aball of bright light above the French doors in front of me.It moved first into my head and then filled the whole of mybody. It was accompanied by intense blissful happinessand a feeling of being in my real home.

My heart felt itself expanding but it knew it could notexpand enough to contain it all. I heard my own voicetelling me to follow what the Man from the East had tobring.

A few days later walking along a path I found myself leap-ing in the air saying “ Eureka I have a soul”. I began to behappy.

One reason for this was the healing of the grief over myfather’s death 11 years earlier. I experienced him sittingbeside me sharing my happiness while on a train in theLondon underground.

MiraclesThat a human being can have a set of experiences whichincludes hardly sleeping for a thousand days while he istaught about the structure of Man’s being, has anAscension and is given the task to open Mankind to theLove, Power and Guidance of the Almighty is already amiracle many times over.

That this experience can be handed to others who need itthrough, what we call the Opening (a most revealingword) is another extraordinary miracle.

Bapak’s hopes for us all were expressed in a few simplewords “ All you need to do now is to put it into practice”and “ Everything that you need is there from A to Z” “ Thelatihan is a continual learning from your Inner Self”.

I confess that there have been many times when I feel thatI have disappointed his hopes for us and me in particularthrough not being enough of an example of a true Subud

The G i f t o f Bapak

From Prague

Then something astonishingbegan. I felt and watched myleft arm being articulated aboutby some external force that wasnot by my own will. I said tomyself, "I am being tested!"

Suddenly, I actually popped for-ward like a bubble out of mychest, rather pleasantly into atwilight void. Then I saw a flowinghorizontal river of light, notingthat it was in the same directionas the Earth's rotation, except much faster. This was fol-lowed by a howling roar of wind, like the sound of a jetengine at full power. I felt afraid and was returned to mybedroom. I went to close the window, thinking a storm andstrong wind was blowing the curtains horizontally. But thewindow was closed and it was a quiet night. Then I noticedI was still out of my physical body, when suddenly I“awoke” in bed.

Astral and Jiwa BodiesAfter my Subud opening, my out of body experienceschanged from a mystical sort of wandering, to a moreclear and conscious activity that now had a purpose.Often, a spirit guide would appear, to help or explain whenI did not understand something. It was a 'different kind' ofbody that improved in subsequent experiences with the'Real Bapak', before and after he died. I was being taughtto recognize the difference between my former astral, andwhat must now be a jiwa body experience.

In yoga, the astral body will drift about helplessly, unless it ismoved with a strong human will by mental concentration.In Subud, we learn that such a body, is still a fine materialbody, and so it is limited to the invisible fine material realm.Whereas the jiwa body, if already able to work even a lit-tle, is operated by the power of God, or a Higher Will. Itseems my random 'astral wanderings' had ended after mySubud contact.

In 1963, I told Bapak about all of my out of body experi-ences, including a “dream” of meeting with Satan (veryfriendly fine chap at first... or until... when I was rescued bythe Virgin Mary!) I had intended to confront Satan with thepower of words like "Jesus Christ", but I was astonishedwhen I opened my mouth to say those words, I heardinstead my voice say, "The Virgin Mary!" – thus vanquishingSatan! My rescues seem to happen in the nick of time, andalways with some "higher help".

This was a long episode, when a 'tall spirit guide' appearedand said that to begin my spiritual journey, it was necessarythat I die and lose my will. After agonizing, I agreed to die,but only after he offered to accompany me in the 'crossingover'. Then, hand in hand, we both went to 'my death',where I witnessed events that were remarkably the sameas in life. But soon my guide left me, and that's when thehorror began. I had also lost my self will! There was anunspeakable “ultimate suffering and hopelessness” – ofbecoming something like a mere atom, or a link, draggedalong helplessly in a chain of beings like myself.

A New WillFortunately, I was soon released with a 'new will', or actually,'a will that is not my will', which enabled me to confront Satanwith the 'right words'.....! This means that a 'higher will' or thepower of God actually enabled my voice to say those words"The Virgin Mary." It's an astonishing feeling, when without anywarning, someone else 'uses' your body!

SUBUDVOICE PAGE 12 DEC 09

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Thensomethingastonishing

began

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our communistic country behind the "iron curtain". Once ina free world I was just generally interested in many thingswhich were oficially forbidden in all communist countries.

My Dutch guide and colleague saw my curiosity andbrought me one day a text from his sister and said: "Maybethat you will find it interesting to read this", and I am sure itmust have been this text.

A few days later he fulfilled my big wish and introduced meto his sister and her husband; both were already experi-enced Subud members and met Bapak if not in England’sCoombe Springs, then in Holland. On my way back to mycountry, I smuggled this text in between other things in myluggage. It was strictly forbidden to bring from abroad anywritten things which could do harm to communism.

Now, after reading this interview in SV I was going throughall my oldest Subud papers that I still kept and I found to mybig surprise the Czech version of this whole dialogue print-ed on an old typing machine.

After my return home I obviously printed it in Prague andmade then copies for some of my closest friends who sharedinstantly my enthusiasm about Subud. Afterwards it tooksome time before we could start a real small Subud group.

A couple of years later, with my family, I left my country forever, but always had a strong bond with these friends. Thegroup has survived till the present time. Sometimes it grew,sometimes shrank, which varied mainly with the politicalconditions in the country.

At the time when our country was liberated from commu-nism there remained again a small group, but all of themembers of this group have been in Subud already for 20years or more.

They are now mostly old or very old,. Their group survivedfor all this time in deep communism. The members weremore or less isolated from the outside world the whole time,and did latihan secretly in their small flats by dampeningout all latihan sounds.

Now living in a free country, they have to use all their effortsand remaining energy to support and accompany eachother in sickness and other needs, but still, as far as it is pos-sible, they do latihan together regularly.

I am sure that in the whole world there must be a greatnumber of old devoted Subud friends, living far from otherSubud brothers and sisters and yet doing latihan still, andever more grateful that they got the opportunity to meetSubud.

David Likas tells of his first out of body experience inSubud...and some other strange experiences...

In 1962, I awoke at night after a dream of trying to explainabout Subud to a friend, then sat on the edge of my bedand wondered.

Suddenly, from a distance I saw a black solid figure of aman approach like a zoom lens image that stopped in frontof my face and then passed through or surrounded me.

Next, I sat up in bed and a strong electric current went rightthrough me from head to foot, like millions of crawling antsand I heard myself say, "So this is what a real latihan feels like!"

Out o f Body

An Extraordinary Man contains overtwo hundred stories of Subud mem-bers’ experiences of Bapak. The storiesare organized thematically. You’ll findsmall sub-groups here and here – asequence of Bapak dreams, a pair ofovercoat stories, two miraculous ricestories. A list of contributors is includedat the back of the book.

“My intention was that the book wouldhave a choral feel: scores of voices telling their stories, oneafter another, each story bringing to life both the story-tellerand the man they are about.

“There are lots more Bapak stories out there. This is not thedefinitive collection.”

We hope that next year in Subud Voice we will be able,with the permission of the compilers, to bring you storiesfrom this invaluable collection.

For more information and orders contact EmmanuelWilliams emmanuelriddlemaker@gmail.com. The book willbe on sale at World Congress.

PAGE 13SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

“An Extraordinary Man”

•

•

Now I have a small sampleof the feeling Bapak proba-bly had, when he gave usthose hundreds of 'sponta-neous talks', without notes!This means that God worksonly through a live jiwa orsoul, but only when theastral or sukma bodies havebeen arrested, and arequiet and still.

Gurdjieff called our physicalbody- "Your cheap animal!"The ultimate astral world ofthe immortal Said Anwas isNirvana. 'G' had explainedthat if you are lucky to evenhave one, the undeveloped“kesjan” or astral body sur-vives only a few days afterdeath.

But when fully developed sucha “fine body” can become“immortal within the limits of thisUniverse”-perhaps as somethingsimilar to what Bapak alsoexplained about Said Anwas.

This would also agree with Prio's description of persons wholed a generally good, even religious life, but failed to con-tact the Spirit of God in their lifetime (Read that some timeago in Subud Voice). All parts of them disintegrate includ-ing their egos, and the undeveloped seed of a soul returnsto its origin without any benefit of an earthly life. Yet this lat-ter condition would be far better than for those, who by

The ancestral background of David Likas. That is his father reclining on the left with “friends and musicians” in Lithuania around 1929

concentrating their mind, can develop an astral or finesukma body, that then enables them to hang around forhundreds of years as “ghosts”, or as Bapak remarked “smalldevils who just roam around” (hinting it's better in that case,to be a “big devil” ).

Mercifully, the Subud spiritual path is a slow purifica-tion, but a gradual progression towards the right truehuman destination.

Harris Smart writes...

I have just seen an advance copy of the book AnExtraordinary Man which contains more than 200 stories ofSubud members’ experiences with Bapak. It has been com-piled by Emmanuel Williams (USA) and Ilaina Lennard (UK).

I believe this is a book that many Subud members havebeen waiting for. I know I have. The compilers have doneus all a great service. I believe this collection helps amplifyour understanding of who Bapak was and what Bapak saidin his talks and wrote in Susila Budhi Dharma. It helps bringus into a more intimate relationship with Bapak.

Emmanuel Williams writes in his Introduction...

“Although I’ve been in Subud since 1961, and lived inCilandak for 7 years, until I worked on this book, I had noidea who Bapak was, or is. I love him even more than I did.And I’ve found that, as my understanding of Bapak deep-ens, so does my latihan. This may be because, as PakKuswanda says, “Bapak is the latihan”. This spiritual boost isan unanticipated and very welcome gift. May it be givento you, dear reader.

“Recently, a young, newly-opened Subud member toldme she feels Bapak in her latihan and wishes she knewmore about him. There are and will be many more like her.It’s my hope and prayer that this book will bring Bapak clos-er to the younger and future generations of Subud mem-bers who never met him in the flesh. This book includes sto-ries from members who never met Bapak in the flesh.Bapak is still with us.

As my understanding ofBapak deepens,

so does my latihan

““

DUTY HELPERS Mason Cook of Subud Brisbane, is looking for expressions ofinterest from those who would be willing to be duty helpersin Christchurch. This would be for personal testing after lati-han, and for personal testing throughout the day. Thereare rooms set aside for this in the town hall. Having helperswith a mix of languages would be ideal.

Mason can be found at masonic46@yahoo.com.au •

PAGE 14 SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

The One-handed Wheelchair– Production Begins

cont on p15 >

Wisma Mulia – A trueCommunityPhilip James writes from Wisma Mulia…

Wisma Mulia in Frampton-on-Severn is a unique and wel-coming community which offers both independent com-munity living and a more structured system of residentialcare.

The accommodation on offer is as varied as the needsof the people who live with us. You can choose from afully equipped flat, a bedroom in the main house, a bun-galow in our beautifully maintained grounds, a room ina shared house or a cottage or annexe with its own gar-den. We cater for people of any age and will tailor apackage of personalised support for anyone who nolonger feels they wish to or are able to manage all thedemands of daily life.

A call system means help is always on hand when needed. Our recently opened “Garden Room” is worth a visit initself. The heart of Wisma’s social life, it sees regular coffeeand sherry mornings, craft activities, or can simply be arelaxing place to sit and chat. It is not unusual to find agame of cards or scrabble in full swing in the evening andthere is always room to pull up a chair and join in. Ourhome cinema is the venue for many a film viewing andeven the occasional evening social when members of thevillage join us to enjoy a recent blockbuster.

The Art Studio is another wonderful facility used by accom-plished artists and dabblers alike. A regular art class pro-vides guidance once a week but the studio can be usedat any time. One of our most recently built and well usedamenities, our new hairdressing salon, is available to alland is staffed by experienced hairdressers.

Wisma Mulia is fast becoming known for its home cookedmeals in which we use locally grown produce and in whichall dietary needs can be catered for. Food is served“restaurant style” making each meal a special dining outexperience with a homely feel.

The beautiful landscaped gardens add to the wonderfulambience of Wisma and are the scene of many barbe-ques and tea parties in the summer months.

We are always happy to see old friends and to make newones. So whether you know us of old or are hearing aboutus for the first time please feel free to contact Philip James,the Home Manager, on 01452 740432, at any time for achat about what we have on offer or to arrange a visit.

Fountain Housing Association the owner of Wisma Mulia isa charitable based Housing Association which has beenestablished for more than 30 years.

“

“

A unique andwelcomingcommunity

Wisma Mulia

•

Samuel Lesley writes from the UK…

Progress on the one-hand wheelchair was documentedin the December 2002 and January 2007 editions ofSubud Voice. This article is the closing chapter of thewheelchair story.

The chair was designed for use by people with hemiplegia– paralysis down one side of the body, due to a stroke oraccident. Their active hand is used for propulsion, and theiractive foot is used for steering. The project was 50%financed by Quotec, the body overseeing the researchprojects of the National Health Service in Britain.

People with hemiplegia were invited to the sports hall ofBrighton University’s Clinical Research Centre to comparethe one-hand wheelchair with an existing hemiplegicwheelchair. For the same energy input the trialists complet-ed the course with our chair in 2/3rds of the time taken withthe existing design. The course involved only forwardmotion around a set of traffic cones.

This early version of the chair used the weight of the user’sleg to engage the steering. Rotating the foot to the rightmade the chair turn to the right, and rotating the foot tothe left turned the chair to the left.

But this presented a problem when the tri-alists used the chair in their own homes.When they needed to reverse the chair,they had to lift their foot off the steerablefootrest to disengage the steering, pro-pelling the chair backwards about 45 cm(18 inches) until the front castors turnedthrough 180º, and then re-engage thesteering. The trialists complained that theaverage home didn’t have enough space for thismanoeuvre.

So the manufacturer, Jon Michaelis, and I worked interac-tively, brainstorming to find a solution. Three months laterwe had the solution and applied for a patent. Our solutionallowed the user to reverse without lifting their foot off thesteerable footrest, and even do 3-point turns.

At the next Quotec meeting we demonstrated the revisedchair and explained the delay. Quotec was delighted withthe improvement and agreed to extend the funding foranother 8 months to allow us to complete the delayedresearch programme and do more home trials.

Home TrialsWe gave the revised prototype to a selected few trialists foruse in their own homes. They told us it was a big improve-ment on the original. One man (at his own risk) even tookit outdoors to a garden centre and a large departmentstore, and was delighted.

After the home trials we wrote our final report and sent it toQuotec. A month later, Quotec sent us the following mes-sage: ‘I am very pleased to let you know that theCommittee were very impressed with your project andhave agreed a score of 10 [the maximum score].

Specifically, they were very impressed with your team'scommitment to ensuring that the optimum

““Butthen the

unexpectedoccurred

PAGE 15SUBUDVOICE DEC 09

•

•

device was produced and how popular ithas become with users in care homes,and how you have continued to makeimprovements based on their feedback.

They also hope that wheelchair manu-facturers will eventually take it up, giventhe potential of the device. I do hopeyou are pleased with this outcome.’

But manufacturers were not convincedthat there was enough demand for thechair to make it economically viable. Thelargest manufacturer refused to allow usto demonstrate the chair to them. Butthen the unexpected occurred. Dr AnneMandy, the Senior Research Fellow at theClinical Research Centre, was supervisingone of her mature PhD students, whenshe learned that the student (Carol) wasa consultant to the largest manufacturer.Carol then arranged for us to visit theirresearch centre in Wales.

About 35 occupational therapists (OTs) andtechnicians were gathered there, includinga technician from Germany. After we demonstrated the chair,the OTs and technicians tried it for themselves. They all saidthat it was easier to use than the chairs made by their compa-ny. We had given the wheelchair user full control of the steer-ing, but the company’s technical director said that this left thecarer with no control over where the user wanted to go!

A few weeks later, after the technical director had consultedhis colleagues in Sweden, Germany and France, he told usthat all his colleagues wanted the carer to have control of thesteering. However, the technical director agreed to allow usto invite hemiplegic patients to use the company’s indoorand outdoor paths to evaluate the performance of our chairversus the company’s chair. Again our chair was quicker forthe same input of energy.

The company declined to support the project, but aftermuch lobbying they agreed to sell us their standard light-weight chairs at a discount, for us to convert them with ourone-arm-drive kits. The condition was that we had toremove the company’s name from the chairs, and take fullresponsibility for the guarantees.

Passed All TestsAnother necessary part of the programmewas to submit the wheelchair to theMedical and Healthcare productsRegulatory Authority (MHRA) for safety tests.It passed all the tests, and was given theEuropean CE certification.

Jon made a batch of five chairs to thenew design, and Anne distributed themon permanent loan to four of the trialists.Jon kept the fifth chair and exhibited it atthe National Exhibition Centre’s Naidexexhibition in April 2009 under the nameNeater Uni-Chair. The positive response ofthe public at the NEC made Jon decideto go into production as soon as possible,and ordered components for a batch of25 kits. The Uni-Chair was exhibited atEurope’s biggest exhibition for the dis-abled in Düsseldorf from 11th – 14thOctober 2009.

The wheelchair was not my idea, it was thestudent’s. Lucy knew that I designed equip-

ment for the disabled and asked me to supervise her designproject. Since then, all manner of help has been given tome. I was led to Brighton University’s Clinical ResearchCentre, where Anne Mandy knew how to get grants forresearch projects.

Then Jon Michaelis asked to be our manufacturer, and wehave worked well together. So it seems that I have been givencustody of this project, and that I have been obliged to seethe project through to its conclusion – getting the chair intoproduction, 10 years after Lucy came to see me!

Although I was the only Subud member involved in this project,divine assistance seems to have guided me to a pleasing out-come. For example: after I retired in 2002 a former colleaguepaid me to do some design work for him. He even gave me anexpensive computer! After doing the job for him, the comput-er was used to design the wheelchair.

For a 1-minute v ideo c l ip of the chai r in act ion,demons t ra ted by Jon Michaelis, go to You Tube:www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av0rJ51L-1k

The production version of the wheelchair, withthe steerable footrest turned to show the angle

of the steerable castor

M U T I A H L E S T I O N OMutiah Lestiono was for many years Ibu Rahayu’s faithful sec-retary in which role she assisted many Subud members intheir communications with Ibu Rahayu. She was also anextremely creative person and active in television inIndonesia. Siti Isamana writes from Jakarta…

Mutiah passed away around 1AM today on 9th September.She was buried at Suka Mulia, Bapak's grave today.

Her condition got worse with breathing difficulty yesterdaymorning and she was taken to the hospital. I felt she sufferedenough and she is happy now.

May God guide her to the right path and may her soulrest in peace.

THE HOTTENTOT VENUSMonica Clarke, currently living in France, has written a bookabout Saartjie Baartman, the so-called “Hottentot Venus”.Monica writes…The year is 1810. An 18 year old girl thinks she is going overseasto be a nursery maid. She ends up being forced to display herbody in entertainment halls in London and in Paris. She was fromSouth Africa. In my book Saartjie Baartman tells her own story.

This story is a must-read for all young people of today who areeager to travel and to explore, but who might not beequipped to deal with a modern world of drugs and prostitution.

I am a descendant of Saartjie’s nation, the Khoikhoi, the abo-riginal people of S.Africa. Saartjie is a hero to many, women,black and white, especially those of us who grew up underApartheid. Although a much-admired ancestor, many of uswho have not been in higher education do not know herstory, because her story is almost always written for academ-ics, in their language. I felt there was a need to tell her story inordinary language which is readable by young people.

I also wanted to rewrite Saartjie’s history, to remove it from theconcept of the “Hottentot savage” - the alcoholic prostitute -who courted her own degradation to earn money. In the bookI speak through Saartjie, asking her to say that the stories abouther are not true, and why they could never have been true.

I also wanted to discover for myself what my own ancestralculture is. Under Apartheid we blacks were told our history bythe colonialists, and were not allowed to draw strength fromthe heroes of our own past. Through the research I did for thebook, I discovered the power of my ancestral line – and I try,through the book, to pass this strength to my contemporariesand descendants, as a line to be proud of.

Child trafficking for the purposes of prostitution is 21st centuryslavery. The justice department in America say it has reachedepidemic proportions (The Guardian, 30 October 2009).

It is now 200 years ago that Saartjie was trafficked, yet it is stillon the increase. I am interested because I am part of thissick society.

continued on p16>

PAGE 16

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MUSIC BY SUBUD ARTISTS• Yamba Yamba Orchestra

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THE DAWNINGA Grace Untold

The Secret of Fatima and theComing of Subud

by Emmanuel Elliott

A selection of comments by Subud readers:

“Shining your light into the world and illuminating us all. Bravo!”

“Has brought the magic back intoSubud.”

“Like a light coming through a cloudy sky.”“Has had a tremendous impact upon me.”“A collection of treasures.” “Convincing.”

“Very impressed.”“Enjoyed it very much. We plan to

re-read it together.”“Couldn’t put it down.”

And by non-Subud authors:“This book will take you on an

extraordinary journey with a manas he seeks enlightenment.”

Nick Bunick, author of the U.S. best-sellerThe Messengers

“A real life spiritual adventure story thatreveals the amazing

possibilities of change within each of us.”“A message that could

change the world.”“Amazing.” “Compelling.” “Addictive.”

“Fascinating.” “Profound.”Various

The Dawning is available from:Subud Publications Internationall

£9.95 + p&p.

In the U.S. from subudusa@subudusa.org

In Canada from rohanna@shaw.ca

In Oz and NZ fromharrissmart@optusnet.com.au

God masters His Universes. What happened to Global Warming?

Great Nature and solar radiationdrives inexorable Climate Change.

Your view to anthonybrightpaul@googlemail.com

Continued from page 15 > Telling Saartjie’s story is one way to raise awareness of theproblem amongst young people. Many of them might consider themselves securefrom the threat of trafficking. Whether they are or not, they are also, as I am, part of thissociety and we all have a responsibility to those children who become commodities forsale and trade. I want our young people to realise that each of us can do somethingabout it, and to consider what it is we individually, or as groups, could do.

They Call Me Hottentot Venus By Monica Clarke (Lulu Publishing, 2009)ISBN 978-1-4092-7170-3 And in Bookstores – (Being translated into French andAfrikaans) 10% of all profits go to Charity www.susiladharma.org YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QbP81Z0Ju0Amazon http://www.ama-zon.com/They-call-me HottentotVenus/dp/1409271706/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256136330&sr=8-1

I also offer STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS especially to Schools and LibrariesMonica Bennett (formerly Clarke), Caillou de Cogulot, 24500 Eymet, FranceTel (Home) +33 5 53 27 09 45 Mobile +44 7880 698 240 •