The Journey

Thank you

You've been marvellous. You sent us wonderful stories, letters and reports. There was so much, we couldn't possibly use everything, so in order to get as much variety as possible, we've used just the most delightful paragraphs or parts of some very good articles. We were amazed at the amount of joy and humour that came from all over the world and we think that as you flip through this book you will be glad it had so many authors.

Thank you to each person who wrote. Even if we couldn't get all the material in, you are all authors today, because this book couldn't have happened without your caring, willing support. Bless you.

Susanna, Toronto

"Why is Bapak coming?"

I suppose I shouldn't, but every time Bapak travels abroad I marvel at the strength and energy he brings to it. I say I shouldn't because after so many years of observing the same phenomenon over and over again we should expect it as something normal, especially since Bapak advises all of us to be "normal" and insists that he is an "ordinary man That is all well and good, but he is the most extraordinary "ordinary man" I have ever known. Always it seems that he has access to certain reserves of energy that we "ordinary" people are given only on rare occasions when some extraordinary task demands a higher octane fuel supply than that which sustains us in our commonplace undertakings. So I tell myself that it must be a question of quality and therefore "normal" for Bapak.

When the journey that has just come to an end was first announced some members, among them helpers, asked me some questions that sounded very strange to my ears. "Why is Bapak travelling again so soon after the last journey?"

Sometimes the question implied concern for Bapak's health or a simple wish for information. But sometimes it sounded like an administrative officer at the United Nations asking whether your journey was really necessary; it seemed ungracious and unwelcoming.

I guess that one of the "reasons" for Bapak's journey was that he sensed in the Subud world a kind of malaise, a weakening of the fibre, which prompts the kind of inquisitive questions that were being asked.

Now observing the response to Bapak's visit in Europe, the United States and Canada and having read the report from councillors, I am heartened that the atmosphere has been so rapidly transformed. No one now asks, "Why did Bapak come?" The answer is not in our head, as those early questions were, but in our feelings.

Varindra Vittachi, U.S.A.

Between June 13. 1977 and February 15th. 1978. Bapak and his party logged 53.000 miles (85.000 km)in 247 days, visiting 52 towns in 25 counties

Bapak delivered more than 140 talks totalling over two, hundred hundred hours, recorded on well over 50 miles of magnetic tape

Since May, 1957 Bapak has now travelled 527.000 miles that's not counting the 12.000 miles Bapak has travelled in Java during the same period

Vincent Tape Preservation Unit, Belgium

On this trip, as on many past trips, Bapak interspersed his visits to US renters with journeys to Canada and Latin America. making long vertical sweeps in this hemisphere as though to exhaust all visits to one time zone before proceeding to the next hand to the westward

Livingston, U.S.A.

Itinerary

"Herbert, how is it for the chairman of I.S.C. when Bapak is on tour?"

Well, I'll tell you Susanna -- Bapak is moving pretty fast. The whole tempo of this office speeds up even before the party leaves Jakarta. All the normal correspondence goes on as usual but at the same time, we move into another gear so we can cope with many more letters, wires and phone calls. You see, once Bapak has said he is willing to travel, the entire world wants him. Even long after the itinerary has been established, some centres still ask Bapak to visit them, and being the indulgent father he is, he agrees. It isn't that we are faced with a constantly changing itinerary but let us say I.S.C. stands "on the alert" for the unexpected. But that is how we need to be in Subud -- flexible and prepared for the unforeseen.

Once Bapak is on the move, this sets off a chain reaction of movement in our members who try to be with him as much as possible. So the phone is ringing in the middle of the night, from Johannesburg or Honolulu or wherever, wanting to know where he is and where he'll be a month from now. I guess the Bell Telephone company must love it when Bapak goes on tour.

In the beginning, wonderful new lines of communication open up with countries that are stoically silent the rest of the time. Spurred on by the prospects of Bapak coming, these centres gather up generous amounts of money and fire it off to Toronto and then they fall into a stillness beyond belief, probably struck with the enormity of their commitment. For example, when we try to find out the address and phone number of the place where Bapak and his family will be staying, it is like trying to wring a false confession out of a martyr. There are times when we have to reach Sjarif immediately and "phoning around" in a non-English country can be dismaying. But armed with the right number, it is amazing how quickly you get him on the line, cheerful and reassuring. Sjarif, like Bapak, has this wonderful ability to put you at ease in two seconds flat.

I saw Bapak and his party in New York, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver and I think during this trip I really came to feel like "family . While I was always trying to be as brief as possible so I wouldn't be taking up their time, they were always asking me to sit down to a meal and relax. Maybe I gave them the Impression I was running around like a chicken with its head off and needed to slow down. I think these gracious gestures of hospitality gave me a better understanding of the people in Bapak s party. Each one is truly remarkable in his or her own right, quite apart from the central figure. My admiration for each one of them knows no bounds. They are resourceful, flexible, charming, fun-loving, patient and long- suffering. Their stamina and endurance simply staggers me. I have done some touring around myself visiting groups and after a week or two, I was quite exhausted. Their capacity to withstand eight months is quite beyond me.

Did we feel at the end of the trip as if we had done well by Bapak and his party? The answer is -- no! A journey of eight months puts demands upon people that have to be experienced to be understood, and Bapak and his family are far too polite to ever tell you your shortcomings. You really have to be open and aware enough to try to anticipate some of their needs. For example, it was only after the trip was well under way that I realized there was a need for one more person in the party -- another man with a good strong back for carrying luggage who could also type letters and maybe take shorthand. You see, Susanna, a lot of the mail Bapak normally receives, follows him around the world. I know because it comes to Woodfield Road and we forward it. Bapak and Sjarif are busy late into the night trying to cope with all this mail.

To go back to your original question of how it is for me when Bapak is on tour -- in a word, it is an "inspiration". When that party arrives I find before me a half dozen people with qualities that I only hope will be apparent in me one day. To sum it up, using an American expression -- they've got class!" You have to be a little philosophical about your own insufficiencies and hope that next time you'll do better. I think, generally speaking, the Subud members do try their very best and even if our efforts fall a long way short, it is because we try that Bapak doesn't give up on us and is willing to undertake an eight month world tour.

Herbert, Canada.

Bapak leaves

When Bapak leaves Cilandak, he is leaving his home in this world, he is leaving the city in which he lives, and the Subud people to whom the presence of Bapak is the norm, not the exception. So preparations for departure are not just a matter of packing a few bags and setting off -- nothing so simple. First there is the house to be packed up, usually everything has to be packed because of painting or extensive renovations. This is a very bad climate for houses so repairs are usually necessary. The staff have to be found other work, the garden has to be cared for, and a thousand other details. The Subud people also have to prepare because Bapak will not now be here for weddings or housewarmings or the other big events In private lives where Bapak is usually there to bless his children.

Now in this island of Java people do not get married at any old time which seems convenient nor do they move house or get engaged when the mood moves them. Everything is planned to fit in with the propitious times which are determined by both Javanese and Islamic calendars. It so happened that the two weeks before Bapak left was a very propitious time. We had selamatans or parties at the rate of about two to three a day! Bapak's family took turns accompanying Bapak to these events. No family wanted to wait for nearly a year before Bapak returned, everyone wanted Bapak to be present, and Bapak somehow managed to be there!

Of course the most memorable of these events was the opening of the Bank Susila Bakti office in the Widjojo building and Bapak attended this housewarming and also gave a talk. The very next day there was a talk in the latihan hall at Wisma Subud, and the following day Bapak left

Departures happen so often here that they fall into a pattern. Bapak goes to the airport, to the VIP lounge which has been booked by the National Committee. With Bapak are members of his family. Outside we wait, and messages are exchanged. "Please remember to tell so and so to do such and such · · · Oh dear I forgot to . . !" And so on. Then it is time for Bapak to board the plane, and we watch from the visitors gallery.

This time something happened which brought tears to the eyes, or goose pimples to other parts! A small rainbow formed and arched immediately over the plane as it stood on the runway. It was an individual rainbow, starting in the airport and finishing there too. It formed as Bapak went into the plane. The Biblical story of God's promise to Noah -- God's promise -- what did it mean? The plane moved to the end of the runway and started its run for take-off. And a second rainbow followed by yet another formed over it, higher and higher in the sky.

We went back to our cars and home again, not quite knowing what it could mean but with a feeling of the presence of God, which, after all is always everywhere. Next day Bapak would be in Greece, some of us would be there too, and some would wait here for Bapak's return, but the latihan would go on -- here and all around the world. Allahuakbar! Allahuakbar! God is Great! God is Great! We have surely been blessed -- all of us everywhere!

Harlinah, Indonesia.

"The astonishing thing was the rainbow."

The astonishing thing was the rainbow. This is not New Zealand, where rainbows are two-a-penny; this is monsoonal Jakarta. When, every few years, a rainbow does appear it's an Event, and people rush out of their houses to look. So it was a rare phenomenon ... and there it was ... arched over the airplane as Bapak got in.

Salamah, Cilandak.

"May God protect them on their long, long journey."

Laurence, Leonard, Belgium.