The Secret of Life

Brothers and sisters, if we speak badly about something or criticise something - it needn't be a human being, it could be anything, an object, a material thing - it means that we have already committed a sin. Because that thing - whatever it is we speak about - was created by God Almighty. By a sin Bapak means something that leaves a trace within our being.

And that is not all. In living our life we have to make things, we have to wear clothes, we have to eat, we have to eat animals, we have to slaughter animals, we have to kill trees - if we want to make a table out of wood we have to kill a tree which is a living thing created by God, decreed by God. Actually, all these things and actions are sinful, so that it can be seen that no matter what man does in this world, he cannot avoid committing sins.

So that the belief that some people have that providing you follow exactly what is laid down in religion - in other words, you follow exactly the description of how to worship God and what to do - then you will be free from sin - this is not true. In fact, man cannot live in this world without being affected by sin all the time. But the point is that these sins, or these traces that build up inside man - these are the things that prevent him from being able to feel and be aware of his worship of God Almighty.

When we have the opportunity to feel our bond with the Creator

Now the possibility for man to correct this situation, or to feel his relationship to God Almighty, can only come about - or he can only get over this situation of all the sin that he has to be part of when he is living in this life - if he can receive something at the moment when he is not influenced by the lower forces. And, actually, the moment when a human being is not influenced by the lower forces is the moment when he unites with the opposite sex. In other words, at the moment of union between man and woman. Because at that moment when we experience the union between man and woman, at that moment we are not aware of our needs in this world, of our worries, of our problems and so on. We only feel at that moment the bliss of our being.

And this is something Bapak tells you - actually, it is a secret of life, but Bapak feels it necessary to explain this to you - so you have a rather wider understanding of life than heretofore. It is at that moment that we have the opportunity to remember our Creator, or to feel our bond with the Creator. But usually it is not like that. Usually, at that moment, the man is only aware of the woman, and the woman is only aware of the man. But, in fact, that moment is provided in order that they can both be aware of God. So for the man, the existence of the woman at that moment is only the equipment, or what he needs, for that. But actually the purpose of it is to be aware of his connection with God Almighty, and vice versa for the woman.

True for every form of life

And this is true, not only of man, but of every form of life. That is why, you know, for every form of life there is male and female. Even little insects which fly around, like mosquitoes or fleas or whatever, you always know that there is male and female; and you know that very well because if you see two little mosquitoes you immediately know if they are a man and a woman because when they meet they fly around like this.

So, actually, man and woman, or male and female, exist throughout creation. The only One who is not male or female is God Almighty - because God has no sex, God has no age, God has no colour, God has no attributes at all. His span, people say, God's life is the life of the universe. But when all the universe has disappeared, God will still exist. So from God down, everything other than God, everything that has been created has male and female. If there was not male and female in everything, this world could not exist. So that, actually, the moment of union of male and female is the opportunity for all creatures to feel their connection with their Creator because at that moment they are free from the influence of any other extraneous forces.

This is something that is very much in line with what we receive in the latihan Kejiwaan. Therefore, the latihan Kejiwaan is actually a source of knowledge and understanding whereby all the secrets of life can be opened up and can become clear and understandable to us. This fact, that Bapak has just told you, is something that is particularly understood or emphasised in the religion of Islam. That is, that man really must not put aside the experiencing of the union of man and woman. But the trouble is in Islam sometimes it is taken too far, and people only imitate it outwardly - that is, they do not really understand what is the purpose or what is the real meaning of the teaching of Islam. So it is important for us to understand that this is a secret for us, that we can know, that it is through this that we can experience - that what is meant by worship of God, by the words 'worship of God' for man is, in fact, the union of man and woman.

Therefore, we cannot criticise or we cannot blame a man if he needs a woman, or a woman if she needs a man. Only what is very important is that at the moment of union, we must approach it without leaving aside or letting go of our feeling, the feeling of our own being, which is submitted to God Almighty and which remembers and worships God Almighty. Then this union of man and woman will become for us - will bring us closer to God Almighty. We will experience - very often as though unintentionally, maybe we say something, or we express in some way the greatness of God Almighty, because at that moment the male and the female become one, so there becomes one human being - one human being who worships God Almighty.

The moment of awareness

It is for this reason that, at that moment, the man can become aware of the thinking and the feeling of the woman, and similarly the woman can become aware of the wishes and the needs of the man. So it will be that at that moment we can receive a real understanding and knowledge from the power of God Almighty, exactly as we can when we are doing our latihan Kejiwaan. This is why, in the latihan - if we do our latihan and we can become truly quiet so that we remember nothing except the power of God Almighty, and are not influenced or disturbed by anything else - we receive a feeling which is a bliss that has no comparison, and is in no way less than that which we experience at the moment of union with our husbands or our wives.

It is true that what Bapak is talking about is what is usually referred to nowadays as sex, but this fact - that is, the union of man and woman - is actually the basis or the most important thing in the life of man, because it is the cause or the motive for a man to work hard. In other words, the thing that makes a man willing to work hard in life, and to wish to achieve something in life, is his wife. And through his wife he will receive children. So it is clear that the fundamental or the foundation of man's life in this world is the union between man and woman.

What is forbidden.

A man will not strive to achieve in life unless because of the needs of his wife and his family. That is the reason why, in religion, it is very strongly forbidden for a man to have sexual relations with women of bad character, or something like that; and also it is very much forbidden for a man to have relations with a woman other than the woman who is his wife, because if he does that he will not be able to obtain the reality of the union of man and woman, such as Bapak has described.

Put aside everything

That is why Bapak advises us Subud members now who have received the latihan Kejiwaan - from now on, whenever we experience, whenever we have a union with our husbands or wives, that we should, at that moment not bring into it any form of thinking or any problems or anything at all that we have, but rather to put aside completely everything other than just to be aware of the power of God and to be aware of ourselves exactly as when we are doing the latihan Kejiwaan. If we can do that we will, sooner or later, be able to receive the proof of the reality of the union of the jiwa. That is, as a result of the union, at the moment of the union and afterwards, we will experience a satisfaction which we cannot compare with anything else in this world. From that feeling which we get at the moment of the union of the jiwa, there will arise a true feeling of love between husband and wife, so that they will feel completely united and this will make their life together completely harmonious.

The way for us to be aware of heaven

So this is, in fact, the way for us - because who are the people who know heaven? The people who know heaven are the people who have been there before. Similarly, a person who knows London or can describe London, is someone who has often visited London. Or an Englishman who knows Paris is someone who has been in Paris often. So someone who knows and understands about the life after death, is someone who has been there before.

And the way to follow if we want to know heaven and to be aware of heaven in this world is to practise the union of husband and wife in the way that Bapak has described, because it is through the jiwa that we can get into contact with other jiwas and the other levels and other things in this world. That is the meaning of the seven circles that is the symbol of Subud - that is, the various levels of the life forces, that is the seven circles. You see that between them there are also seven lines connecting seven circles, and these are the lines through which the jiwa can get in contact with and experience everything that exists in this world, and it is through this, it is therefore through the jiwa that man can receive understanding at that moment, as Bapak said, of the union of husband and wife.

Because this world is a place of trial for man. This world is a place full of suffering, full of danger, full of trials and accidents and difficulties. But at the centre of this life, which is a life of suffering and a life of trial for man, there is also a great peace and a great bliss - if we are able to surrender everything at that moment, if we are able to surrender everything to God Almighty and put aside everything else other than our worship of God Almighty. Then in the middle of all this difficulty and all this suffering that exists in this world, we can experience the life in the next world, that is, heaven.

So it is true to say that the union of man and woman is the most important thing in the life of man, because it is at that moment that man and woman can become aware of their relationship and their worship towards God Almighty; and because this is the foundation of man's life in this world, a great deal of attention is paid in religion to the relationship between man and woman.

For example, in Islam, when a man and a woman want to marry they have to go through the wedding ceremony, in which it is essential for both the man and woman to say the creed - that is, to say 'I am convinced that there is nothing that deserves to be worshipped except God Almighty.' And they add 'And I believe that the Prophet Mohammed was the messenger of God.' And if they do not say this, then the wedding is not legal or not official - and the purpose and reason for this is because in Islam they attach a great importance to the fact that man and woman should always, in their relationship, be aware of and remember the power of God Almighty.

Why then is Bapak talking about this now? Why is Bapak referring to this fact in talking to you today? Because in the latihan we receive the worship of God as one, in a state of unity - that is, we do not feel male or female, we do not feel man or woman at that moment. And that is why if the latihan were done together between men and women - in other words, if in the latihan men and women were doing latihan together - then if they really followed the latihan they would end up having union between male and female, between man and woman. In other words, having sexual relations. And this is something you are not allowed to check for yourselves if it's true or not. But Bapak does not mind if a husband and wife wish to check it for themselves. Then they will understand how it really is.