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Extracts from Sunarto Brodjo's book 'My Journey in Subud'
Published in 1997 by International Subud Committee Media Services Pages 19/20 On several occasions he became aware of many satanic beings trying to attack him, but these he overcame with the Latihan and thereafter the difficulties disappeared. I came to understand that this planet Earth is inhabited by satanic beings, unseen by the human eye. Human beings are just like empty puppets being manipulated by these lower forces, and they must follow what these unseen beings order them to do. Earth is principally the abode of satanic beings and human beings are just temporarily on this planet, more or less subject to these beings, who in reality have mastery over them and get them to do what they want. Page 32 I found that I could communicate with the souls of the dead. Persons who are dead sometimes do not know that they are dead because they are as if in a state of deep sleep. It was only when I did latihan near their graves that these people came to realise that they were dead. The latihan revealed to them their present state. Page 34/35 The vibration we receive when doing the Latihan comes from the power of Almighty God. However there are esoteric movements that can produce vibrations from a lower level, from a satanic origin. When the mind and heart of a person are at rest, the soul becomes active. When this is so, the soul will eventually be able to enter the realm of the spirit and meet whatever is found in that realm. The greater the occupancy of the soul in the body, the more can be understood of what is going on on the other side. When a Subud member who is quite spiritually advanced travels, there is the possibility of meeting guardian spirits who rule over a territory – they are the real rulers of the place. Sometimes these beings have forms that are quite frightening Page 39/40 Suddenly I saw in front of me a beautiful Solonese lady sitting on my lap. She was really beautiful. My heart felt happy but when I looked more closely at her I saw she had fangs in her mouth. That made my body ice cold, for it meant that this was no lady but a satanic being. When we arrived in Solo I was given a bed in a middle-class hotel, not luxurious, but enough for me to lay my tired body down for rest or sleep. While thinking how to arrange everything for the night, a beautiful young girl announced herself. She offered to massage the tiredness away from my body and, furthermore, to be my bed companion for the night. As I was alarmed by the experience I had in the bus I was too frightened to accept any of her services, and pushed her gently and reluctantly out of my room, telling her to offer her services elsewhere. The reason that I talk about these matters is that after someone has been opened his soul is more or less separated from his course body and he comes into the realm of the spirit. He or she may encounter beings from another world. Living things of this outer world and their outlook and forms are many. People need to have no fear from another world. Sooner or later they will certainly meet them; the problem is how to make this connection with this other world. In the East it is not uncommon to try to use these spirits to obtain some advantage in our life, but for every service that is received a high price has to be paid – he goes on to give examples. Page 43 Mother Mary, Jesus Christ's mother, - no other woman has been known for her high state of completeness from Adam to the present day. A man who has intercourse with a woman, at that very moment she becomes his wife. When a man and a woman have reached a certain state in the spirit, any relationship they may have is always witnessed by their ancestors, because this relationship has spiritual consequences in that it might bring both branches of the ancestors to a higher state or to a lower level. Any female who has had sexual intercourse with man or men, will bring with her the dirt that she has received from previous encounters. At the time of death the woman's soul enters the man's soul to go to the man's destination. If everything is fortunate then everything will go well. If not, then they will have to purify their souls in the hereafter. Lucky are those who are acquainted with the Latihan. If a son finds his way to Heaven, it will be a very big event for the whole family, particularly for the mother. - - - - - Extracts from Sudarto's Experiences Originally published in the Pewarta, compiled by Solihin Garrard Page 11 For eight months he was surprised to find that everyone disliked him. He asked Bapak about it – he looked at me in such a way as if to say “Subud members must be strong enough to face these probations from the outside.” Finally I reached the conclusion: let everybody dislike me, as long as God does not. Then in the latihan, I received that I could not hate or dislike people any more, as my heart was now free from these forces. Bapak said “This is the way God purifies the heart of man. In the nature of man's heart there is hate, conceit, meanness, anxiety and other passions that will be purified in that way. What you have seen is in fact the nature of your own heart. People are generally not strong enough to face such a period, finally these obstacles will be purified by the soul for its development. Because of this you have to be cautious and not criticise other people for showing dislike or other feelings. They are just like mirrors which show the the working of your own heart, so always consider whether the feelings come from yourself or others. In the latihan you need to distinguish between these feelings, so that you know which force moves them.” Page 14 Bapak advised that when at night we are awakened, it indicates that our Inner Selves want to do latihan. One night he was awakened in a state of latihan. He heard two men preparing to burgle his house, he continued his latihan and then heard one say he was surprised to be thinking about God and that they should cancel their intention to steal. |
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Those who do their latihan after midnight feel more, for when most people are awake they are filling the atmosphere with waves of vibration caused by thoughts, desires and wills, which is the cause of heavy pressure. Another advantage of post midnight latihan is so as to get used to not letting our hearts be overcome by sleep. When the Inner Self is really strong it will be capable of keeping aside these pressures so that it will no longer depend on time and place. Page 20 Whenever you feel something out of the ordinary, you should do the latihan, so that setting aside your passion, you should have the opportunity to pray to God. There are latihans which at first are set in motion by the mind, but there are also latihans which come directly from the Inner Self. Page 22 Sudarto experienced doing the latihan at exactly the time of his uncle's death and after about 15 minutes he saw his uncle coming to him to say farewell. Not long after he felt something leave his chest, so later he asked Bapak about it. Bapak said “Due to your latihan, you were informed by the power of God of the coming death of your uncle. It will happen with your other relatives, brothers in Subud and others. The way one will receive this differs, one from another, depending on the spiritual purity of each. Usually these signs can be seen one thousand days before. The closer death approaches the more clearly these signs can be seen and they become very clear forty days before death. If you receive a spiritual experience during the latihan, you will feel something leaving your body, at that time your breathing and heart will stand still. After such an experience, your heart usually becomes afraid – 'Was I dead just now?' It is through death that a human being will know the Power of God. We are very lucky that we can receive the Power of God before we die. There is no other way to receive such an experience except by doing the latihan diligently. Page 27 - 30 I did not wish to marry before I was purified. I was convinced that our descendants are very important to us, as it is they who may raise us to heaven, in case during our life here on earth we do not reach perfection. Further more, a proper life partner is a very important factor for harmony and well-being in our life on earth and in the hereafter. When I was 24, Bapak suggested I look for a partner having conditions similar to mine in her, and the only way to find such a wife was by doing the latihan. One night at about 3am I was awakened by an old man wearing old fashioned clothes holding a cage. He nodded to me and a strange pleasant feeling came over me. Just as I was about to question him he disappeared. Two weeks later after I did a latihan at midnight I was again woken at 3am by the man with the cage, but this time there were two doves in it. He said “Now it is clear” and then disappeared. 30 days later I fell in love with a girl. My feeling for her was so strong that I could not contain it and when I did latihan, a voice came from my mouth saying “Yes, this is your partner.” I asked Bapak's advice. He said “This girl is willed by God to be you wife. The old man was one of her ancestors. During his life on earth he followed a spiritual discipline, but died before he could find the true spiritual way. Before he died he prayed to God that one of his descendants should become or marry a spiritual person. Later I found that her grandfather was a sage and most of her family were religious people. Bapak went on to explain that “The girl is the fifth generation after the old man. It would be better if you postponed your marriage until you have enough experience and strength in the spiritual field. Also you should do your latihan diligently to get rid of the impurities which you have inherited from your ancestors, and you should marry at 30. We were engaged for five years and married on 8.5.47 After my marriage, I experienced very great changes within myself. My heart and mind became confused and I felt I had returned to the condition I was in before I received the latihan. I felt my latihan was stuck and wondered how I had sinned. Bapak said “Before you were married, what you received was not yet recognised as official by God, and so did not have its full value. It was given as a sample. Now, after your marriage, you must start again from the beginning. This does not mean that you are going backwards. Ultimately you will receive deeper knowledge and wider experiences. Now you have a heavier task than before as you must also work out the impurities your wife has inherited. When they are removed you will feel light and free. This is a necessary condition for the real union between husband and wife, so later what you feel will also be felt by your wife and she will be able to receive what you are thinking. In this way, you and your wife can become a truly united pair, but to reach this state it is necessary for you to the latihan regularly and diligently. Sexual union should be regarded as a sacred and holy act and it should not be carried out for pleasure just to satisfy the passions, because at that moment you become a channel of the Power of God.” As I listened I felt as if fresh water was being poured over me and my feelings became very relaxed. Some months later Bapak sent for Sudarto who found Bapak cleaning the picture of a baby. Sudarto felt that it was somehow symbolic of him and his family. Bapak related the story of a Wayang play about a young man who came to Ardjuna and claimed to be his son. Ardjuna refused to recognise him. They fought each other and as Ardjuna could not kill him he realised that he must be his son. While listening, Sudarto remembered that his wife was two months pregnant and realised why Bapak was telling this to him. He told his wife, and after a midnight latihan his wife told him that she had seen a knight fighting a giant and finally killing the giant. As a dagger was plunged into the giant's chest she felt as if the child within her was also pierced with a dagger. That night she started to bleed and in the morning had a miscarriage. Bapak later said “You should be careful not to come to your wife driven by passion. It is like a writer, your first writing was not correct, therefore it was wiped out by your Inner Self.” One night it felt as if my head was enveloped by a very nice sensation and felt as if my Inner Self was entirely changed, as if another soul was entering into me. Later Bapak said “As a child comes into the world through his father, so the father ought to know the character and behaviour of the coming child. In this way he can refuse to receive a seed of low qualities. If you observe such a feeling which your wife shares, under these conditions then when you and your wife come together it is an act moved and willed by God, and you will experience a powerfully lovely feeling. Most people are intoxicated by the sweet sensations during the sexual act and so forget themselves. Those in whom the latihan has penetrated deeply enough will be able to observe where this comes from and to control it. - - - - - |