Subud Symbol        

A Collection of Anecdotes and Recollections
SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS ON MY EXPERIENCES.

Written to commemorate Bapak's birthday 22nd June, 1998

Muchtarudin Siregar, Jakarta, 22nd June, 1998

(As published in booklet form.)



Foreword

I give praise to Allah, God the most Generous, in that I still have the opportunity to write down several of my experiences in this small booklet in commemoration of Bapak’s birthday on 22nd June 1998

At the same time, maybe this booklet can be a reference point for my Subud brothers and sisters, especially the younger ones who may wish to know a little of the experiences of those who are older.

I hope that this booklet will be useful. Jakarta, 22nd June, 1998 Muchtar Siregar

(A brief note about Pak Siregar - webmaster)

Table of Contents



 

OPENED

I was opened more than 43 years age,, to he precise in 1954, when I was still a student in the last year of my first level (intermediate) secondary education in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.

After praying the Maghrib (sunset) Muslim prayer, I was invited by one of my family to meet a "guru" from Java. I was told that later I could ask his advice: so that I would get good grades at school.

We went to a company’s premises in Jalan Sutomo Medan owned by Pak Bachtiar who at that lime was called Sharifuddin Nagri.

In the front office, we stood before Bapak who apparently was already wailing for us. Re asked us why and for what purpose we had come. I remember that Bapak only smiled al the answers we gave. Then he asked us to stand quietly, calm and with full faith and surrender to, the power of God. Then we were opened. Without any waiting period as candidates. In my first latihan that evening, I only received a little movement in my hands and body. I did not yet understand (anything about this Subud latihan kejiwaan that I was following.

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A STRANGE SICKNESS

When I returned to Indonesia after completing my studies in the USA in 1966, my attitude and viewpoint did not reflect an attitude or feeling of surrender to God. Shortly afterwards I suffered a strange sickness that lasted for three months. Physically, there was no medical problem or disturbance, but my chest would suddenly feel constricted, my heart would speed up, accompanied by a feeling of extreme fear. At night, I could only sleep if the room was illuminated by a 200-watt light bulb. I felt that I was continually being followed by ghosts, not one, but several. These creatures once showed themselves, their frightening visages appearing on the wall in front of me, while I was praying. A heart specialist doctor, internist and psychiatrist all of whom I consulted, were unable to help me. Finally, I went to ask Bapak. Because I felt my sickness was very serious, I told him the whole story in a serious voice, speaking forcefully. However, this drew no special response from Bapak. It was as though Bapak said - why did I have to get so panicked, when facing just an experience like that. He asked me to continue to do my latihan diligently. It was only after some time later that I understood that indeed this experience was nothing much!

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ACQUITTED

In 1969, I experienced a calamity in the form of a traffic accident resulting in the loss of a life. This was a very difficult life experience to go through and difficult to forget.

One morning I met with Bapak and conveyed all this to him in his office in the Big House in Wisma Subud, Cilandak. Bapak just said that he would pray that hopefully this matter would work out. He asked me to be more diligent in doing the latihan kejiwaan of Subud. At that time I had just returned from the USA and for all my lime there I had not done the latihan, because there was no Subud group in the cily where I was living.

The case was heard in the State Court in Jakarta several weeks later. Alhamdulillah (thanks be to Allah) I was acquitted.

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GURU JAGAD (GURU TO THE COSMOS)

One day, before leaving for Kalimantan, I went to do sungkem to Bapak to ask for his approval as an elder, and at the same time to ask him what I should properly be doing there. Bapak approved of my journey there and reminded me to inwardly say who 1 was when I arrived there, especially when going into the interior of Kalimantan. Bapak said..."just say....I am the child of Pak Subuh. They know Bapak and call Bapak - Guru Jagad.

Indeed, I never had trouble at any time I went to Kalimantan, including my journeys in and through those areas that were said to be eerie or haunted. This statement that I was the child of Pak Subuh really was a guarantee of safe passage to enter Kalimantan.

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THE JOURNEY OVER THERE

Bapak once told me that his journey, when he was called to go before God, was different from the stories of the Mi'raj (ascension) of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

"It's like going to Senin [a suburb of Jakarta], son,....of course what is experienced is not the same. If you departed [say] tomorrow or today, then also what you see on the journey is of course not the same..... As with the Respected Prophet, when he was called to go, a golden stair descended that then carried him", said Bapak.

Then Bapak added: " What Bapak experienced was that Bapak's body expanded to include the earth within it, getting bigger and bigger....until finally it encompassed the entire creation, layer upon layer...., going through the Sidratul muntaha [the Lote Tree of the Uttermost Boundary - located at the extreme edge of the created universe] until finally he was there...-There Bapak asked: where is God? From Bapak's mouth were uttered ....Allah....Allah.....Allah....

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THE ROBE

On the day of the death of Pak Temenggung [ the late husband of Ibu Rahayu], after paying my respects to the deceased at his house in Jalan Ungaran I went straight to Cilandak and there met Bapak who was in the veranda in the front of the Big House with Ibu Mastuti, waiting for the arrival of the jenazah (ritually purified body prepared for burial) that was then to be taken to the Karet cemetery.

While we were waiting, Bapak talked about his visit to the Masjid Il Haram in Mecca. Of course this was not a visit in the physical body as he had never physically been there. During his visit, Bapak met with all the Prophets. He was invited to choose one of several robes that were available. He tried several but they were all too small. Only one was the right size for Bapak. Those present explained that that robe was the same as that owned by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Then Bapak was asked to give a sermon, which he gave speaking fluent Arabic. Bapak himself was surprised at how this could be, because Bapak had never studied the Arabic language.

Jokingly, Bapak said that if I was ever in Mecca I should look to see whether that robe was still there, because Bapak had left it behind when he left,

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AGE

While waiting in the waiting room in front of the old latihan hall in Cilandak for those who were doing their latihan on Thursday evenings, Bapak sometimes do testing with those present.

On one occasion Rachmad Pane was asked to receive some testing about Bapak's age. As usual for someone doing testing, he stood up with his eyes closed to receive whatever would be asked about the age of Bapak's "inner".

Staring with the figure of a hundred years....two hundred years.....five hundred years......a thousand years..... five thousand years.....and so on until one million years,..-.. The testing was then concluded, as it was not necessary to continue it, even though his age had not been reached at the last-mentioned figure.

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THE FALLING MOON

I built our house at Cibulan in 1976, in stages - starting from a small very simple building to eventually becoming a building that was suitable to be used as a guesthouse at weekends or holidays.

The house was guarded by one of the local villagers. Some time after it had been built, one night the guard dreamt he saw the moon fall down into the yard beside the house. According to him, this meant good fortune, but he was unable to give any more detailed explanation.

Not long afterwards Bapak visited the house and for a considerable period of time continued to visit there frequently. As well as at weekends, Bapak went there on weekdays. Bapak said that he felt relaxed there and enjoyed its fresh air.

On several occasions we held meetings there that were attended by Subud brothers from within Indonesia as well as overseas.

The front room and furniture that were previously often used by Bapak I have kept as they were until now. Bapak once asked me not to .sell the house as Bapak liked it there.

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THE RAJA CURE

One afternoon during Ramadhan, on my arrival home I was given an envelope. My wife said that the envelope had been brought to the house by Tuti (one of Bapak's granddaughters), and contained a sheet of paper with what appeared to be like Arabic writing, all winding around. Tuti said that the paper should be soaked in water and the water drunk: "You shouldn't fast any more...because your illness is actually quite serious, but you aren't aware of it. That's the message from Bapak."

I did what was asked. Actually I was suffering from the flu and had a throat infection, but considered it would be a great pity to break my Ramadhan fast that was in progress. Only after I didn't fast the following day did my sickness really became evident, and I felt really in.

This medicine from Bapak, I Finished over two days, after which time I felt cured. Bapak really showed his love for us, his children. Tuli told me that the raja I had been given had both inner and outer benefits.

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IN THE CAR

As I was often confronted with various problems connected with my day-to-day duties in the National Development Planning Body, there were many projections and estimates about the economy and political situation about which I was uncertain. If an opportunity presented itself I would ask about these and other things that were being predicted by many people would happen. Bapak's answers were always very clear that all of this should be just left to God. Hopefully God would fulfil our hopes and Bapak would pray for this, provided that what we hoped for was beneficial.

Once on a trip with Bapak and Ibu Mastuti, where Mas Adji was driving, we started talking about the current situation and political developments in Indonesia. When Mas Adji reached the point where he was relating a certain guru of kebatinan's prediction of what would happen lo a well-known public figure and to the political situation in Indonesia, Bapak -straight away asked for the conversation to stop. "That's enough Dji [Bapak's nickname for Mas Adji], I don't like that... it's better to find something else to talk about.", was Bapak's reminder from the back seat. He spoke so firmly and strongly that both Mas Adji and I stopped in our tracks. So, it was very clearly shown to us what was Bapak's attitude on anything relating to predicting the future.

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HISTORICAL VALUE

Many of our Subud brothers and sisters have felt the importance of holding on to anything that was once owned and used by Bapak. So when Bapak wanted to sell the Big House in Cilandak to get additional funds for the hotel that was going to be built, this caused strong reactions and objections from Subud members.

This building in Cilandak should be preserved for its historical value, they said. On the other hand, I heard from Bapak that we shouldn't be tied to possessions. If indeed the sale was necessary to raise the funds, then that building should just be sold. In fact Bapak once told me: "not only the Cilandak house, but if I was offered 2 billion Rupiah for the Pamulang house, I would have no qualms about selling that as well."

Bapak told me that when I was accompanying him as he was inspecting the progress on the building of his Pamulang house, which at that point was in the finishing stages.

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KERIS

I heard that Bapak once owned a small keris, which was reputedly an ancestral heirloom. After having heard from Mas Adji several times about the powers of this keris, I became curious as to whether Bapak still kept these heirlooms, and as to what benefit they would have for Bapak.

On one occasion I steeled myself to ask him about the keris - did he still have it, and, if so, what did he use it for? Bapak answered that yes he did own that keris. "Bapak doesn't know where it is now, son....better ask Adji. He's the one that likes to keep things like that", said Bapak.

Apparently, that keris meant nothing to Bapak, which was rather different from what 1 had previously heard. Bapak's answer became guidance for me as to how our attitude as Subud members should be towards such things.

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ONES OUTER SITUATION

Bapak once said that there had been thousands of people opened in Subud over the years. But if I observed, for example, those who regularly latihaned at the Latihan Hall in Cilandak, they were only a few in number. Bapak said that this was primarily caused because the outer situations and lives of Subud members in general were still difficult. That's why their outer situation could be best be tackled by enterprises that would improve their welfare. Later they would then be able to do their latihan regularly and they would also be diligent in following it. Bapak said this was because — well- Subud is us and we are Subud, so enterprises should be developed properly for the development of the Subud brotherhood.

This could be taken as a yardstick so that Subud can continue to improve welfare and human values in general, together with our worship of God the All-Powerful.

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THE KEY

One day I started working at BSB on floor 2 of the S. Widjojo Building after having been officially appointed as a member of the supervisory board of directors. Mas [Pak] Sutanto who worked in the supervisory board's office every day, on that morning had not yet arrived so I was the only one there.

Suddenly the door of the room was opened. Bapak came in and straight away asked me whether I had read the draft of his autobiography, the typing up of which was currently being finished by Mbak Tuti. He especially asked about the part concerning his journey to God.

Bapak said that "there" Bapak had been given a key that could be used on anything that had not yet been opened. " Bapak accepted the key, and Bapak can use it to open [things]", he said while illustrating with a hand movement the way people usually turn a key in a lock. At least twice Bapak repeated the story of the that key, maybe to ensure that I had caught his meaning.

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ASKED TO ASK

Bapak felt that what had been experienced by Ibu Rahayu was something quite extraordinary. At one time he said something like: " how come it was possible for Rahayu to be called before God while even the Walls [Muslim saints] haven't, son...have you [Siregar] ever heard about this from Rahayu?"

I said that I had never heard anything about this from Ibu Rahayu, but I had heard about Ibu Rahayu's experience from Mas Adji.

Then Bapak said I should see Ibu Rahayu and ask to hear about the experience from her. I passed on Bapak's message to Ibu Rahayu. 1 said : "Bu, 1 have been told by Bapak 10 ask [you] to tell me about your experience when you went "there".

I repealed this request on several occasions, stressing that Bapak had asked for this, but she never told me of her experience. Ibu Rahayu just said: "Oh - that Bapak!"

It was only after several years went by that ibu Rahayu revealed her experience in summary form in her talk commemorating Bapak's 96th birthday in Cilandak in 1997.

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JUST LIKE HERE

One Sunday after lunch in the front room of the house in Cibulan we were sitting around Bapak whilst enjoying the fresh hill resort air. We all very much aware of the bliss of the harmonious atmosphere among us, bound together in a feeling of worship towards God the All- Generous.

Bapak said that an atmosphere like that could not only be enjoyed in Cibulan, but could also be savoured "over there". "Getting together like this... well ..we can do that over there too, children", he said. Bapak also said that he was the one called the "Akhirul Hakim" - who would be the judge at the end of the age. "So, over there if Bapak sees [you] (my son) Siregar in a place that's not so nice...well Bapak will lift you up and move you to some place better." That was Bapak's commentary on the close family atmosphere that we felt on that day.

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IN THE BEDROOM

Next to Bapak's bedroom in his Pamulang house - myself, my wife, Mbak Muti and 2 or three other Subud members - were listening to Bapak, who was sitting on the sofa, explaining about the results of our latihan and other matters related to the latihan and the kejiwaan.

When he was explaining about the differences between the Subud latihan and "kebatinan"s [mystical training through discipline], Bapak also touched on Buddhism and the Buddha Himself. When he was saying this, suddenly Bapak quickly looked to the left for a few seconds, and then turned back to look in our direction, as before.

All of us were surprised to see these sudden movements of Bapak's. before we could ask he said: " How come when he was just being talked about a little, ..suddenly there he was...." Apparently the one involved was also present there when Bapak was giving us his explanation.

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WALKING STICK

My work in the Government was directly involved with the interests of those connected with development So it was not surprising if there were all kinds of strange things that were attempted in order to influence me. Even a colleague of mine once did something unpleasant to me. But because of the blessing of the latihan, everything was able to be controlled, even though it often felt very heavy and I had to remain on my guard.

Bapak knew of my situation in this. One day when I was visiting the Big House in Cilandak, Bapak called Mbak Tuti and asked her to give me one of the walking sticks that Bapak normally used. It was given to me just like that, without any special message for me.

One day a friend of mine was visiting my office and was shocked to see a beam of very bright light suddenly come from my desk, striking another beam of light that was just starting to come in - that in the blink of an eye disappeared. My friend said that the beam that came in had been sent with bad intent to attack me, but had failed! He asked me - what did I have in my desk! I said only that I had put Bapak's stick on the desk.

He commented: "that's really crazy.... It was as if what happened with the beam of light from that stick was like the story of what happened with the staff of the Prophet Moses when he divided the Red Sea when he was being chased by the Pharaoh."

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OWN YOUR OWN

Bapak once said that the Al Qu’ran could not be translated, because the words in the Al Qu’ran were a revelation from God to Prophet Muhammad ( peace and blessings be upon him). All that could be done was an approximation, and the value of that depended on the capability of the one doing it. He also said that Al Qu’ran was Prophet Muhammad's (peace and blessings be upon him) and was the Holy book for the followers of Islam.

Bapak added...."you should also have your own"....while glancing in my direction and watching whether I understood the meaning of what he was saying.

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COFFEE AND CIGAR's

In the waiting room in front of the old latihan hall, where latihan was held prior to 1971, Bapak always sat with those who were waiting for their turn before or after latihan. He chatted about many topics when he was sitting there together with those going in and out of the latihan hall. Glasses of coffee were always set out after Bapak came down from the Big House after 9 p.m. The sessions would go on 'til about 2 am, when the first crow of the cocks could be heard.

On one Thursday evening I was sitting in a chair in front of Bapak. I glanced at the coffee that had been left untouched, sitting on the table, and in my heart I asked myself why we hadn't been invited to drink. No sooner had the question arisen in me than Bapak said:" oh... why haven't you had anything to drink, son... the coffee maybe cold already"

On another Thursday evening, I had a feeling connected with the expensive cigars that Bapak often smoked on those occasions. In my heart I asked myself, how come Bapak is smoking those expensive foreign cigars in difficult times like these........Once again the same thing happened before the question had died away, suddenly Bapak said about the cigars;.. ..."these foreign cigars are very expensive, son.. .but, well..... Bapak smokes them because they continue to be sent to Bapak by the children[ Subud members] from overseas. Before I've finished up what I have.. ..another lot arrives!"

Since that time I never again had any questions in my heart about anything when I was near Bapak.

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ACCOMPANIED

Every latihan night on Thursday nights and sometimes on Sunday mornings Bapak would be present in the waiting room at the front of the Latihan hall. Sitting in his chair that had been placed there, Bapak would join the members waiting to begin latihan. Sometimes Bapak would also join in accompanying those doing latihan. Once my latihan became stopped when I felt there was someone standing beside me. Before I could do anything Bapak had already said:" go on, son, continue your latihan". Once when we were doing latihan, suddenly Bapak said to follow the movements we received. Then I heard Bapak chanting several short verses from the Qu’ran very melodiously and we felt the movements of our latihan become light as though they were free and this was mixed in with a cool and happy feeling that is difficult to put into words. Instantly we felt as though we had "disappeared". In that condition, suddenly we heard Bapak's voice: " that's enough, son, enough....enough....carry on with your latihan" Then Bapak left us and we sat down again in the chairs in the waiting room.

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CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

One day Mbak Muti called, asking us to come to the Big House in Cilandak, bringing the robes (for the ladies) needed for prayer. That evening we were invited to say our Maghrib (sunset) prayer in congregation upstairs with and lead by Bapak as the imam. Other than my wife and I, and Mbak Muti, Mbak Tuti , there were several other Subud brothers and sisters there.

The prayers that night felt different from my usual prayers. I didn't experience anything really special, except I felt cool, peaceful and as if guided. Actually, it felt like I wasn't praying although it felt natural and there was a feeling of oneness, especially when at the second rakaat (cycle of prayer) Bapak asked my wife: " daughter Tati...what did you feel?" She answered: "I felt truly absorbed (khusyuk) Pak" and Bapak asked us to continue with our prayers.

After these prayers lead by Bapak he gave some explanations about the meaning of prayer for Muslims.

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INDIAN DANCE

When attending the Subud World Congress in Toronto in 1979, my family and I joined Bapak's group in visiting Niagara Falls in Canada, which was just one of the places they visited. Without us being aware of it, apparently Bapak's arrival was awaited by the ancestral spirits of the Red Indian tribe of the area, so that immediately after Bapak emerged from his car he was greeted with a ritual welcome dance. All of those dancing were wearing ceremonial attire, moving in ancient steps, in a dance that would normally be done to welcome someone important. Such was the high regard in which they held Bapak.

One of our group took advantage of this occurrence. When our request to extend our stay in the Hotel Hilton Toronto was refused, this person called up the "chief of those Indian spirits. The chief and a small group of other spirits actually did come and danced in front of the hotel manager. This seemed to be effective, as we were able to extend our stay by another 3 days at the hotel. The extension of our stay was at Bapak's request.

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SUNGKEM IN TORONTO

The closing day of the Subud World Congress in Toronto coincided with the Idulfitri celebration at the end of Ramadhan, and hence with the sungkeman ceremony. All the Congress participants were there with their families and small children so there were about two thousand people.

By 9 p.m. the sungkeman had been going on for around 2 hours but there was still a long queue. Those who still some distance from Bapak stood, while those who were already close were moving forward on their knees to then kiss Bapak's hand or knee while he was sitting down. It seemed very strange to see all the Westerners doing sungkem.

I was asked to assist in regulating the queue, and became surprised that the line of those waiting wasn't getting any shorter. I asked one of the European brothers that happened to be in front of me, whether he had done sungkem yet, because it seemed as though I had seen him earlier in front of Bapak. He said that he had, but only twice - he wanted to do it 1 or 2 times more.

Only then did I understand why the line of those wanting to sungkem was not shrinking, even though the process had been going on for two hours. Such was the love of the foreigner Subud brothers towards Bapak.

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ASAHAN PROJECT

Since being planned at first by the Dutch colonial government around 70 years ago, the Asahan electrification project, with a potential of hundreds of megawatts had not been able to be built. There were always disturbances that slowed the implementation of the plan to build that hydroelectric scheme. It wasn't just a problem of lack of funds, but also of other obstacles.

At the same time the construction of the project was going to start again, at the end of the 1970's Bapak was visiting Medan to meet the Subud Branch there. I invited Bapak to visit the site of the Asahan project, in particular, the location of the waterfall where the turbine generator station was to be built. I told Bapak that there had been many obstacles encountered during the work and there had been many accidents there. Just recently many staff of the project had been injured and some died, even though the actual construction had not yet commenced, because the technical design was still being completed by the Japanese consultant.

Before we reached the waterfall, Bapak did something that was a little unusual. He asked to be given 7 young (green) coconuts, which fortunately were available from around the town of Prapat. One of the coconuts was peeled of its covering, given a straw, and Bapak drank the milk. The others in the party were invited to drink from the remainder. Bapak then ordered that the seven empty coconuts should be thrown into the waterfall. Then the group returned to Medan. After this, the project preparations went very smoothly and the construction was able to be completed ahead of schedule. There were no more accidents, even though the construction activities were very complex. The waterfall was successfully relocated and rebuilt as a big tunnel that provided the energy to drive the turbines. This project became a case study for university students studying that discipline, because of the application of the advanced technology in the project. The disturbance there was apparently because the unseen guardian in charge there did not want to lose the waterfall that was its shower for bathing.

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THE EASTERN REGIONS

I told Bapak that I had had been deputed by my office - BAPPENAS - the national Planning Body, to do a study and prepare a program that would speed up development in the 10 backward-most provinces in Indonesia. One of them was the Province of Central Kalimantan. To carry out this task, I visited there and held discussions with many regional Government officials who were attending an official meeting in Palangka Raya.

The conditions in central Kalimantan and the nine other provinces located in Eastern Indonesia were rather backward when compared to the others. I conveyed this to Bapak on my return to Jakarta. Bapak stressed that the development in the region of East Indonesia should really be paid a lot of attention to, as, if not, there was a possibility that the region could split off from Indonesia.

It turned out that what Bapak had said was also realized by the Indonesian Government. The message to spur the development of KTI (Eastern Indonesia Region) had been accommodated in the 1988 and 1993 State 5-year plans. A board to tackle the development or the Eastern Indonesia Region was formed in 1995 and chaired directly by the President of Indonesia. But until the present time, not a lot has taken shape, just as the several Subud plans for Central Kalimantan.

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ORDERED TO BUILD A HOTEL

One day I was telephoned by Mbak Muti to ask me to straight away come to meet Bapak at BSB. As soon as I arrived I was invited to go straight to Bapak's office where he was already waiting.

Bapak said that two nights ago he had just received guidance from God to build a hotel. I was told that I was so far the only one to be told about this and I was asked to think about the preparations needed for building it. In the next few years there would be many foreign visitors to Jakarta which meant that the hotel's prospects were rather bright. The hotel was to be five-star and completed within 2-3 years.

Several weeks after that a team of Subud brothers was formed with the foreigner management of PT S. Widjojo as its core, to also help tackle the preparations. Pre-construction meetings for the hotel project were held regularly on the second floor of the Big House in Cilandak every Monday evening.

At the beginning the preparations for the construction went smoothly, but later did not. There were too many things which were made problematical by some of the group, which, in my opinion, originated from our having too much ego, that later led to Bapak's guidance being ignored. Eventually, the Hotel did not get built.

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DIFFERENCES

I had often asked myself in my mind, whether a well-known public figure with thousands of followers would also reach a high level "over there" after he had died. I asked Bapak about this one day at Cibulan.

Bapak did not give any answer, other than to invite me to stand up, because Bapak was going to do "testing" to ask to be shown how was the situation "there" of a certain well-known public figure that had just died. Because the one who was doing the testing was myself, then I could feel it directly. While standing, I surrendered myself to the One Almighty God. Suddenly I had lost my balance and then fell to the floor, face down onto the tiles. Bapak then stopped the latihan, while saying to me, "yes.. ...that's how it is, son"

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PIONEER

At the end of the 1970's Bapak once again began talking about Subud in Kalimantan, after having a long time previously talked about it on several occasions and in his talks.

One of the things he talked about was about the Subud members that would go there, build there for Subud, for humanity, progress, welfare and as our worship to the One Almighty God. It is very difficult to mobilize our Subud brothers to go there. If any do want to go, they expect to be given work, whereas what is needed are those who are ready to pioneer the necessary efforts there. That is those with a pioneering spirit, not people who are looking for work and especially those who demand big salaries.

What Bapak said has been proven, as there hasn't yet been any successful enterprise in Kalimantan, maybe because the aims and motivations of our Subud brothers aren't yet those that Bapak had pointed to.

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FINAL VISIT TO HIS ANCESTORS' GRAVES

The last time Bapak visited Semarang was when he visited his parents' graves in Semarang and both his grandparents' graves in Kedung Jati.

Because of Bapak's poor health, several parts of his afternoon program in Semarang were cancelled. However, that evening we were called to the guest room in the cottage of Hotel Patra Jasa where Bapak was staying. While tasting the special Semarang food that Bapak so liked, he talked about many matters with us. The discussion finished around midnight.

It was really strange what happened that night. In a physically weak condition, Bapak did not rest but rather invited us to discuss several matter with him, mainly about Kalimantan.

After returning to Jakarta I felt that maybe time was growing short. There was still a lot to be done and concrete steps to be started to give shape to Subud's plans in Kalimantan.

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