Ibu Rahayu's talk to Subud members - Conway Hall, London

Talk Ref: 99 LON 01

Approved Translation
(Retranslated from the recording by Raymond Lee and checked by Sharif Horthy)

Brothers and sisters whom I respect, I give thanks to Almighty God that I have still been given an opportunity to meet you here in London. I feel very happy, as it is a long time since I last visited England. I did not expect that we would have this opportunity, that we would travel here safely and meet all of you here. And it seems that you, too, are eager to be here and to listen once again to the explanations about this spiritual path that I will give tonight.

I will use this opportunity to give you explanations, but these explanations don't signify that I am adding to what Bapak has told you. Rather, they are to re-awaken you, to remind you of Bapak's role as the pioneer of worship through the latihan of Subud, so that you will remember what Bapak gave to us all.

That's why, brothers and sisters, in explaining this spiritual path I will go over once again where it comes from. As human beings, we are one of the creatures or forms of life created by God. The reason I say 'one of the creatures' is because God's creatures are everywhere. God created them all and manifests within each one of them.

Within a human being, God's power manifests in a person's soul. Why in the soul? Because the soul is eternal. Eternal means that its life is not limited to this world, but extends beyond, into the hereafter.

This is why the Subud latihan is called latihan kejiwaan, which means 'training of the soul', because what is working is the human soul. At the time of the prophets, God's power was still one with the human soul or close to it; but now, with the growth of humanity and the worldly processes connected with it, the connection between the human soul and the power of God has weakened over time until human beings have even forgotten it.

So this latihan started with Bapak, who received God's grace which took the form of a contact between Almighty God and His creature. It was a reconnection between the human soul and the power of God. This of course then goes through long processes that require a great deal of surrender on our part, so that sooner or later we will draw close to what is in truth our soul. We are re-introduced to our own soul which we were unaware of and could not feel until now.

And now you in turn have received this contact, which you felt at your opening, and feel when you do latihan. This is because Bapak received that what he was given was not for Bapak alone, but for all of humankind who need to devote themselves to Almighty God through the latihan.

And during this process, as human beings living in this world, we have two duties: the first is our duty to worship God, and the second is to meet our needs as human beings. Naturally both duties pass through various stages. For example, on the spiritual side we cannot achieve what we hope for in a short time. It depends on our own state, our own capacity and the extent to which we surrender in our worship of Almighty God.

The only way to do this is through your latihan, and the process passes through various stages that we can identify. For example, there is the process of purification. While you are still going through this stage it can be pleasant and it can be unpleasant, and many of you experience tests or trials. That is purification and testing by Almighty God.

Second comes the process of the awakening and development of the soul, which we can call 'growth'. The human soul is not formless; it goes through a complete development until it has organs for hearing, organs for seeing, organs for smelling, and so on, because this is what God wills. God created you as a human being, so when you return to God, go back as a human being.

This means that the parts of the soul are brought to life and are then ready and willing to receive something that is given by Almighty God. This is of course not easy; it needs your surrender, your honesty and your submission, so that what you have is the same as what you show to God. Because God is Almighty, and although you are unaware of it, God watches you and pays attention to every human action and it is all recorded within your own being.

This is why the latihan needs patience and acceptance which means you should not expect anything, because when the time comes, meaning when God wills it, anything is possible. This can give rise to impatience, because some of you may feel that you have done latihan for years but cannot feel its benefit yet. But remember, this latihan has no deadline. Why isn't there a deadline? It's because the life of the soul is not limited to this world, it lives on in the next. For us Subud members, death is a progression towards eternal life.

Because it is so difficult for us to uncover our soul which has been covered up by all the influences of this world, all we can do to become clean is to surrender all this to God. It is through your willingness [to surrender] that God will do whatever is best for you.

But many people still don't believe this, or they are impatient; so they turn to something else to accelerate these processes. The evidence, however, is that this will not facilitate their progress but instead will burden them and make it harder to uncover what is within them. For example, the person concerned uses other teachings, or practices such as meditation or yoga, and so on. If some of you still want to persist with these methods, don't use them in the latihan.

The reason is that what you have received in the latihan is the essence of life that you receive from the power of God. When you mix this with something else, you don't necessarily know where the power that is behind this 'something else' comes from. Usually, it is still only from the power of the human mind, or the human will, and you know that you cannot take that with you when you die; so then when you die, everything dies.

Brothers and sisters, there is much discussion today about mixing and for you too it is still a question whether mixing allowed, or not, in Subud. I want to explain, or try to explain, that you are allowed to use a teaching, for example meditation and the like, if you need it or use it to earn your living. [But] you must discriminate between what is for God and what is for your needs in the world.

We know that from the time we are born, we are bound by our environment, our religion, our traditions and culture which have developed in our community. Culture is not just from one place; every place has its own culture. The question is, if we continue to follow these customs, do they constitute mixing? No - if you still feel you need them, or you wish to follow what you inherited from your parents and your ancestors, then you certainly can.

However, brothers and sisters, you also need to be aware that human beings have a habit of forgetting the limit between what is necessary and what isn't. Many people exceed the limits of the usefulness [of these traditions], and [the traditions] can become a passion (nafsu) for them. Once they become a passion, it will influence and may even destroy the people concerned.

Therefore, Subud doesn't forbid people from using what they had before Subud. However, because this use is often motivated by your own self-interest, it means that if a conflict arises within yourself, then you will have to decide whether to continue with what you are doing and stop the latihan, or [the other way round]. It is a choice you have to make to save yourself.

This is especially true for helpers. As helpers, you are the gateway to Subud. By 'gateway' I mean that you are responsible for openings, for explaining Subud to people who want to join, or who are already in Subud. So you must keep these things separate. Don't bring any non-Subud influences into your dealings with members.

Why is that? It's because if you make a mistake and then pass that mistake on to someone else, you are responsible for two mistakes. As helpers, pay attention to this. In Subud, don't apply anything that you obtain elsewhere. If you use [other methods] to heal someone, to help someone, it's not a problem, because that's your work. But, as I have just said, in this worship of God through the latihan - where people want to become clean so that their souls will return to God - if you mislead them or lead them away from the truth, that cannot be forgiven.

But some of you claim that when you heal others, when you use these theories, or use therapies, you still feel the latihan within you. This is a proof, brothers and sisters, but doesn't mean that through mixing you succeed. What it proves is that your inner self is already accompanied by the benefit of your latihan. It proves that you are alive when you work. It does not mean that your method is right, but that when you use your method you are guided by your latihan, so your work is alive. Don't turn this around, so that because you experience this, you then apply this method in your latihan. Don't do that.

It's the same in other fields of work. Take a doctor, for example; he practices medicine but because he is in Subud there is a plus factor. He doesn't just practice what he has learnt, there is something extra which comes from an inner feeling that is alive. He feels guided in his work, in helping people. The same applies in other occupations.

So I hope that this clarifies that we must live in this world and we must differentiate between the needs of our soul and the need to make a living. This is an issue now among us, when each one blames the other and the one who is blamed feels the need to defend himself or herself, with the result there is no harmony among the members.

So, if you have an occupation as I have described, where you heal people or help people - there are all sorts of things nowadays - then carry on, as this is your livelihood. Don't quit that line of work because of something that is actually unimportant. But for you who truly wish to free yourselves from all these influences, I hope you will have the understanding to differentiate between what you need to worship God and what you need for your life in this world.

I feel this explanation is enough and I hope my brief talk will re-awaken you to diligently follow the latihan and that you will always be patient so that you will all receive God's grace.

Thank you very much.