On SICA in SUBUD
On culture
On developing talent
The Content Of Subud
Ibu Rahayu's Opening Plenary Address to the 1Oth World Subud Congress
Official Translation by Sharif & Isniastuti Horthy. Spokane, Wednesday, 6 August 1997
Subud brothers and sisters whom I respect and love, on the occasion of the opening of this tenth Subud World Congress, I will say a few words which express the content of Subud.
We start from the beginning, when each of us was decreed by God to become a human being. A human being is one kind of entity (sifat) created by God. I say one kind of entity, because the power of God envelops every entity that He has created. And every entity that has come into being or been created by God lives, works and moves.
And by God's grace everything that He has created is accompanied by the essence of God, which exists within each creature. And we all know that every religion certainly has within it or acknowledges the existence of this essence of God, although they call it by many different names. In Islam---because I happen to be familiar with Islam---it is called khatir ilham. And this essence of God is connected to a human being by way of his human soul (jiwa), and this is the reason why we call this Subud training we receive the 'training of the soul' (latihan kejiwaan).
As the latihan makes progress in the soul of each one of us, it will give rise to something new, leading to the arising of human culture. This is why we have established an organization for this development in Subud, which we call SICA (Subud International Cultural Association), which will become a vessel for whatever develops by way of our soul that has the character of culture.
This development will be very broad because it embraces every kind of talent that exists within our membership. So, for example, one who is a dancer will become a beautiful dancer, a singer will become a beautiful singer, and if this flowering takes place in the human intellect it will lead such a person to excel in medicine, architecture or some other discipline.
Apart from that, as people who enjoy God's grace and God's love of humankind, we must in return express our gratitude by demonstrating our worship of God through loving each other. We have an obligation to love our fellow human beings and help them with their needs. That is why in Subud we have Susila Dharma for our social and charitable activities.
And in order to put this social work into practice and to prepare ourselves to help our fellow human beings, we need to become strong and ready to shoulder the burden so that, if possible, we don't have to rely on others. That is why Bapak always used to say that before we can help others we first have to be strong. That is why he advised us to start enterprises and implement enterprises in Subud. And that is why in Subud we are urged not to neglect enterprises besides deepening the life of our soul.
Besides that we are all aware that we will not live in this world forever, the young will become old, and therefore it is essential that we are always preparing the next generation to be ready to continue the development and challenge of Subud. Therefore in Subud it is very necessary to train and direct the young generation who are our hope. That is why we have an organization for young people known as Subud Youth.
And I know that you have already started all this to take care of all that is needed in Subud now and in the future. For it is our duty to thank God and not forget what Bapak received, which is God's grace. You are witnesses of what Bapak received and passed on to each one of you. As a Subud member you have a responsibility and duty to continue what Bapak received.
Actually what we have to do is not so overwhelming. If we can just do the things I have talked about, if we can really put them into practice in our lives, then what we have set out to do in Subud can materialize and succeed.
I believe that I do not need to say more in this opening and in the next few days there will be opportunities for me to talk more about spiritual matters.
Thank you, until we meet again.
The Role of SICA and Susila Dharma in Subud
Excerpt from Ibu Rahayu's opening the WSC meeting on August 1, 1997 in Spokane WA.
Brothers and sisters whom I respect and love, I welcome you as we meet together again. I believe that this is our last WSC meeting, as there will be new people taking over.
As we know, in Subud there is no difference between the organizational and the spiritual jobs, because our experience has shown that we in fact complement each other. The organization is necessary to serve and provide whatever is needed for our spiritual life, while the growth of Subud also requires a body that deals with the spiritual side. And to make ourselves known to the outside world we already have our social and cultural wings, Susila Dharma and SICA. I hope that these will continue to grow and develop in line with the needs of Subud.
Culture and Subud
From a talk given to women helpers and committee in Cilandak, 15 September 1991
"In accordance with your own individual nature, through the latihan, culture can emerge. This is why we talk about culture in Subud, because we hope that, from the culture which comes from within you that you will be able to produce something that can be seen and appreciated by by other people, indeed the world.
The expression of culture is also very wide. Perhaps someone has been doing the latihan for a long time, for example, and then she is guided so that she is able to help other people. Let’s say that merely by massaging someone, she is able to help others. This is indeed a kind of culture.
This inner power does not come because it has been asked to come. Sometimes it just happens by itself. But this doesn’t mean that after she is able to a massage, after she is able to draw, for example, the process is complete, the receiving from Subud is finished; no. That is just a small part of what can be achieved in Subud.
Let me add a bit here so that you don’t get confused. For example, someone has the power to heal, to make someone well because of Subud. That doesn’t mean that Subud is just a source of healing, now. The person involved was able to do what she did because of the latihan. She was able to help someone, but that is only a part of her receiving. So don’t be mistaken and think that Subud is just a source for getting cures or for having someone tell you about the future. If we are able to tell fortunes or know of something before it happens, for example, that is only one small part of what we can get from the latihan. Each of these talents merely indicates a stage or phase of what that person is obtaining from Subud. It is only one aspect of the latihan as a matter of fact.
I hope I can make it clearer, explain to you, that with the latihan it is as though we are being awakened. So, for example, let’s say that previously we didn’t really understand what our own skill was — what were we able to do? Sometimes we simply didn’t pay attention to it. But then, with the latihan kejiwaan sometimes we are able to come to know it ourselves. For example, someone who previously couldn’t draw comes to want to draw, and then apparently she can indeed draw. Many have had an experience similar to this. And then, to give another example, let’s say there’s someone who has never cooked, who then starts to feel like cooking. Then, when she’s finished cooking, she is happy, and apparently her cooking is delicious and praised by other people. This then means that she has a talent in cooking, for example.
Culture is very wide, and is of many sorts. She who cooks is manifesting cultures as is the one who gives massages, and these talents have come alive from the inner. And for those of you who would still like to put into practice the talents which you get form the latihan, you can look for a way to express or apply these skills in public.
Culture and Talent
Ibu Rahayu's Talk at the WSC Meeting, 28 June 1998, Bali
Re-translated by Raymond Lee, checked by Shari f Horthy
Beloved brothers and sisters, good morning!
This morning is the last we will be together at the WSC meeting, and God willing, I will be able to give some more explanations and clarifications about the latihan. Although I have often given these explanations and you have heard them before, I hope my explanation today will give you a deeper understanding of what I am saying.
As you know, the aspect of God’s power that manifests within the human self is located in our soul. And, as the nature of God is something that lives, so too our soul will live without limits – meaning that it will live in this world and later in the hereafter.
A soul that is growing, a soul that is alive, will produce some form of human culture. This culture is extremely broad. It covers the culture of life, as well as the culture of religion, and the culture of each person's individual nature.
And this culture will develop to a point where the person concerned can feel and enjoy it. This is the culture arising from the growth of our souls. This culture is contained within each individual's talents, for example they develop as a dancer, as a writer and so on. And this growth, when it manifests through their mind, results in someone who is truly alive in practising their work in this world.
So, don't have the idea that what we learn through study, what we obtain from experience, is not a talent. It is a talent too, but one which is channelled through the human mind; and what generates this activity becomes the content of your work in this world.
Don't let this give rise to misunderstanding, as it did when I talked about this in Spokane at the recent World Congress. Some people felt that healers are better, because a healer receives directly through their talent, whereas doctors obtain their knowledge through their minds. It is not wrong to do that, but what we need to understand is the process. It is not the outer characteristics that are important, but the content. It all comes back to the content of the soul – the content of each person. It's not the case that a healer is higher than a doctor, or that doctors are inferior to healers and so on.
Try to feel what I am saying. Don't just take in what I'm telling you with your mind, but understand it with your feeling. Of course they are different. Healers, whether they have learnt healing through study or not, feel guided from within; whereas doctors practice what they know based on their studies. This does not mean that there is any difference in their content. A doctor who is guided from within and has a talent for medicine, will be guided continually, and their work will not block the growth of their soul. The same goes for a healer. It's not the case that only a healer can be guided from the soul. It all depends on the content of the individual.
Returning to the question of talents, brothers and sisters, it is not easy for helpers to discover someone's talent. I get many letters asking about the talents of young people, who are growing up and would like to know. And indeed, when Bapak was still alive, he advised that discovering someone's talent should be the helper's responsibility. But in practice, most helpers are not yet able to handle this problem properly. So this work comes back to me. But this is not an effective solution, as I will not be here forever to help you! However, if I don't reply, I will cause these young people to lose hope. So, what's the answer? We need a basis for handling this problem.
Although it appears to be a simple problem, Subud keeps growing. For example, Subud families have children, and these families want to know the talents of all their children, from the eldest to the youngest. In fact, this is unnecessary. As these children grow, let them experience life, then at the right time, with this experience, they will be able to assess for themselves the kind of feeling that is growing within their soul.
What's important for you as parents, is that you do not just to leave this God; it's your duty to pay attention to your children. Their development resulting from their environment outside the home will be brought back into the family. So it's best if parents with children take responsibility and participate in their children's development.
To understand and become aware of your children's way of living is not easy. But if possible, parents should understand what each of their children's talents is. It can be observed from their daily activities, subjects which they are good at in school, and their hobbies. Later, at the right time, you can assist, if necessary, by testing which direction the child should take.
Experiencing your talents is not only necessary for young people, it can also become an issue for those of you who are mature or who have experienced life. You get a feeling that your soul is no longer comfortable working the field you have been in up till now. This often happens. But as human beings, we have been given minds which can be filled with God's guidance, so don't let this feeling become something that you cannot pass through. Don't let this feeling block your inner feeling so that, as happens to many of you, you experience inner conflict and stress. Because such stress means that you are lost – you have lost your way – all there is in front of you is a feeling of despair.
If you experience this, you must, if you are still able to, turn as fast as possible and face Almighty God. Through surrender, God willing, you will be given a way forward. But if you block your own path, how will you know that there is still a way open for you? With a feeling of surrender and through your own efforts, hopefully you will be guided to a new field which you will be able to work at easily, with enthusiasm and a feeling of well-being. As long as you feel this, your soul is able to develop freely.
I want to stress that there is a great difference between Bapak's state and our state. When Bapak was here, you could, or rather Bapak could, test your nature clearly. But for us, and perhaps for most helpers, we don't have the ability yet to know someone else's nature – even to know our own nature is beyond us. So clearly, we cannot rely solely on the helpers to be responsible for this, and then have the members complain that the helpers cannot help them in the matter of their talents.
To get over this, as a helper you can of course help with this, but please make it clear to the member concerned that what you receive is only an attempt to approach the truth, for the One who knows truth is only God. Then, whatever you tell the member will not become an unrealistic expectation for that member.
So far we have only talked about one problem, the question of talents. But the goal of members in joining Subud is not only to worship God, but, if possible, that Subud should help them provide for their lives and find happiness in this world and the next. I am sure that this is the hope of every Subud member.
This is why our work, when we carry out our duties in Subud, is not easy, because our life is now two-fold. By two-fold, I mean that we have to prepare ourselves and our families to receive [what we need] by the will of God, but we are also expected to help other people to find their happiness.
So for us as Subud members, the latihan is a training that is obligatory, it must be followed by every member. Because from the latihan we hope to achieve a harmony within our being.
What is this harmony? It is a "readiness" within each human being. And how does this readiness come about? It grows from the latihan. So your soul, which is alive, will penetrate each of your five senses, until it reaches your feelings, your thinking and your understanding.
So with harmony within yourself, you create a space for when you need it. Then, when you experience difficulty, that space will be filled with guidance, guidance from your own soul, which has been touched by God's power. Then, through experience, when we feel blocked, if we are calm and surrendered, the way will open up, without our willing it, the way forward will open. So do not feel that life is hard. Indeed life is hard if you don't understand the meaning of this life.
So, if you have been able to find harmony within your being, I hope that you will find it easy to create a harmonious atmosphere around you. For us, as Subud members who must always solve our problems harmoniously, we need to help each other. If you don't understand, be willing to be advised, and if you have understanding, share it with those who don't.
As I said at the beginning, I am only going to add a short explanation today. So I won't talk further, as I know that you still have a lot to do at this meeting. Then we will get closer to the reality of all that we need to do before we meet again.
Let us pray together that we will part and be able to meet again on another occasion.
Thank you.
