Personal copy; not for onward transmission
for News in Brief,
GREAT MEETING
IN THE CONGO
International Helper, Viktor Boehm,
writes about the Bizonal Meeting in
Africa which was held in February…
By the Grace of the Almighty God we
were able to hold the Bizonal meeting
from 19-26 February 2005 in Kinshasa, as
it was planned in the Bali resolution 2001,
11 years after the first one in South Africa
1994.
It was a miracle, how the budget of the
Bizonal Meeting was achieved by the
participation of many sponsors. Thanks to
the sponsors and also the RDC members
for their hard work.
Seventeen members from outside Africa
came and 16 country delegates from
African countries including Angola,
Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Nigeria, RDC and
South Africa.
There were also fifty more African
members, so that we were altogether 80 to
90 persons.
We had a very rich and harmonious
Bizonal meeting with always latihan
and testing in the morning. The big air-
conditioned halls from the Kimbanguiste
Centre were rented for this.
Before the latihan that we got a Congolese
breakfast at Odett’s Kimbanguiste kitchen
and often lunch and dinner. We heard
nearly every day the brass and drum music
of the Kimbanguiste.
On the Saturday 19 February the official
Bizonal Meeting started in the afternoon
with several speeches, country reports and
two theatre performances.
subscriptions to Subud Voice
and links to many other Subud sites:
www.subudvoice.net
APRIL
2005
The Yamba Yamba band at the African Bizonal Conference.
In the evening we were all invited to
Mateo’s wedding in a Catholic church.
Two buses brought us to this church to
witness the wonderful ceremony and
rhythmic music. Afterwards we were
invited to the wedding party, also with
dancing and Congolese music up to
1:30am.
On Sunday 20 February we held the keji-
waan day with discussions and testing,
men and women separately. In the after-
noon we held workshops. On this Sunday
10,000 Kimbanguiste attended for prayers
in the Centre.
On Monday 21 February the Susila
Dharma workshop was held and in the
afternoon with NGO people such as
FOLECO, OXFAM etc. Together with
Rida, Salomon and I visited the British
Embassy with DFID Représentant Bronte
Flecker.
And later we made the first contact with
the EU-attaché, Ana Maria de Sous
Ferreira, to find funds for Kingantoko. We
organised a meeting for the next day.
On Tuesday 22 February the SICA work-
shop was held along with SYA and SES.
The workshops went on to the evening.
Rida, Salomon and I visited the EU-office
with Filippo Saracco of regional forest
environment and agriculture.
On Wednesday 23 February we started
after latihan with the presentation on the
World Congress 2005. Later we had a
workshop on Kingantoko, where the Feasi-
bility study from GTZ/FOLECO was pre-
sented.
On Thursday 24 Feb. we had workshops.
Rida, Salomon and I visited first the GTZ
with Madame Dr. Nour. She made a direct
contact for us with the EU-office with the
expert Antoine Avignon for water supply
and infrastructure.
This seems an important contact. Kingan-
toko, with 51 ha, is only a pilot project; a
regional planning project involving several
villages will be necessary for a big pro-
posal to the EU.
On Friday 25 February we visited the
Kingantoko Centre and had a wonder-
ful sunny day. After latihan Nkanga closed
the Bizonal Meeting and we had a good
lunch with Jamb-Jamb music by Makape’s
band with the new amplifier, and later a
dancing clown on stilts made us all laugh.
On Saturday 26 February we tested about
which country should host the next
Bizonal to take place in 2 or 3 years. Nige-
ria was the best possibility.
At the WC 2005 it will be confirmed and
the Nigerians will look for a suitable place.
Then we tested about the possibility of
young people to go to the WC 2005, if the
budget and visas can be arranged. Nkanga
has the list. In the evening 7 of us left with
Air France from Kinshasa to Paris.
The Bizonal meeting was a strong experi-
ence for most of us. The liveliness of the
Africans is good to see.
And for a background story to the
Bizonal Meeting and the development
of Subud in Central Africa, go to page 3
for the life story of International Helper,
Mateo Alvaro Diabanza, who was mar-
ried during this Bizonal Meeting.
SUBUD VOICE - April 2005 1

WORLD CONGRESS NEWS
Advance Bookings for Concert
Buy your tickets in advance for the
amazing “Tranformations“ symphony
concert. Featuring the European premiere
of “The Seven Circles of Life“, a Cantata
composed and conducted by Lucas
Richman ( Principal Conductor with the
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra).
This inspirational work uses the text and
melodic lines of the Subud founder's
poetic work Susila Budhi Dharma. The
concert will also feature the Innsbruck
Symphony Orchestra and the finest
instrumental soloists from Subud. To learn
more and to order your tickets,
http://www.subudusa.org/
2005WorldConcert.php
Now in English and Spanish.
If you can’t order on line, contact
the Subud USA National Office
Important Notice
Register for Bus Shuttle to avoid long
waiting times. Please add your flight data
in the registration form. Only by adding
your flight data can we organise a
personal pick up! Bus Shuttle is now also
available on the 21st of July from Munich.
This Bus Shuttle is 75% cheaper than a
train. Register now and see you soon!
Children and Youth
The registration fee for younger family
members includes the entire child care and
youth program facilities which include
Nursery care, a Kids Daily camp, facilita-
tion for Youth Peergroup activities and the
use of all creative and sport facilities dur-
ing the whole congress.
A few special program offers might entail
minimal fees in addition. If you register
your children, it is the only way to ensure
that we can plan successfully for a great
program which considers all kinds of
needs and interests. 130 children under 12
yrs. and 210 from 13 – 25 yrs. have al-
ready signed up! For those youngsters who
may need support, check out the ‘We’re all
Going’ link on the web site.
Accommodation
Prices are usually per person NOT per
room ( unless otherwise stated)! Rooms
close to the congress centre are getting
fewer by the day, so to ensure you have a
good choice register now!
2 SUBUD VOICE - April 2005
Getting Involved
Talented, creative, dynamic, visionary
members wanted! To help with the
organising, or submit your program
suggestions, fill in the Get Involved form
on the congress web site.
We'll answer any questions a.s.a.p -
Patience please! Give detailed information
about languages, profession, hobbies etc.
if you want to join in with the organising.
Once confirmed, if you edit your
form please send a note to ariella.
schuler@aon.at about this so she can be
sure to notice important changes.
For all congress information go to
www.worldcongress2005.com
AND FOR THAT
APRÉS CONGRESS
MOMENT…
SKYROS!
Hermione Elliott brings news of a land-
mark event and a great opportunity for
travellers to World Congress. An event
with special rates for Subud people...
Skyros had been the happy holidaying
ground for many people in Subud over the
years.
This year, immediately following World
Congress, a session is being run by Subud
members, Alicia and Solihin Thom, for
Subud and non-Subud guests.
For those who don't know, Skyros is a
small, quintessentially beautiful island
off the coast of Greece.
It has been ‘put on the map’ and brought
to the attention of people all around the
world through two highly successful holis-
tic holiday centres - The Skyros Centre
and Atsitsa.
Many people may not be aware that Dina
Glouberman, one of the two co-founders
back in 1979, is a Subud member.
Both centres give people the opportunity
to go outside their normal range
of experience and have fun while they
grow and change, whether through per-
sonal development, creative arts, commu-
nity living or learning a new skill.
Last year Dina took over the operation
from her former husband and now, in cele-
brating the first 25 years of Skyros, she
believes it is time to make the spiritual
intentions, which have always been the
impulse, more overt in the programming.
The big question was: “How can we make
sure Subud has a presence?” Running a
whole two-week session on Subud itself,
just now seems out of the question.
Instead Dina has invited Alicia and Solihin
Thom to lead a session based on their
work that has been inspired by the latihan,
on the Life Forces. It is being billed in the
following way:
“Spirit Quest (with members of the Subud
Association) Solihin and Alicia Thom's
Being Human, and Intimacy, inspired by
the Subud spiritual practice, enable you to
integrate the life forces that shape your
actions, beliefs and identity through sur-
render to the Divine.”
The holiday also includes several other
workshop leaders and participants choose
freely which sessions they attend.
It runs from August 6th to 19th 2005 and
for international travellers to World Con-
gress, makes a great opportunity to drink
in the Greek sunshine and recuperate with
like-minded folk, as well as benefiting
from the life-enhancing work that Alicia
and Solihin do.
Dina, herself a psychologist and psycho-
therapist, is the author of two per-
sonal development books: "Life Choices
and Changes - develop your personal vi-
sion with imagework" and "The Joy of
Burnout". She also runs a course at the
Skyros Centre and Atsista, as well as Sky-
ros in Thailand. Anyone interested can
check out details at www.Skyros.com.
Hermione Elliott, UK. 44(0)2392632176
www.burnoutsolutions.com
THE DISPUTE
BETWEEN BSB
AND S. WIDJOJO
Most Subud members know that there is a
long running disagreement between PT S
Widjojo and BSB Trust. This has been
hard to report in Subud Voice as the two
sides present lengthy, technical and com-
plex arguments in support of their case.
It is difficult to simplify the history and the
issues. See Harris Smart’s column about
the issue at www.subudvoice.net. Click on
“Reflections: under News in Brief..
To read the BSB Trust point of view go to
http://www3.telus.net/open/bsbrat/ .
For S. Widojo go to Konrad Baerveldt
konrad@emseal.com

During the recent African Bizonal meet-
ing (see report page 1), International
Helper Mateo Alvaro Diabanza was mar-
ried. Here he writes about how he found
Subud in Africa. His account of the diffi-
culties and dangers with which he has
had to contend in his life help us to real-
ise how different life and the latihan is
for people in parts of the world less stable
and comfortable than for those of us who
live in affluent western countries.
Subud arrived for the first time in Congo
Kinshasa in 1971 when Bapak sent
Muchtar Martins to open the first Subud
members in Kinshasa. According to
Muchtar Martins it was a relief for Bapak
when he knew that members in Congo
were opened.
I knew about Subud in 1971 because one
of the members who was opened, Muinda
Fukieno, told me about it. At that time I
was really very young and was having a
difficult time in my life. This conversation
was very important for me, as I decided to
take seriously my prayers to Almighty
God and ask Him to allow me to have a
contact with His power.
After two years in 1973, the year that I
finished my high school studies, one Satur-
day afternoon, I had a visit from the Pastor
of Kimbanguist Church (the Christian Or-
ganization that allowed its Facilities to be
used to hold the 2nd Bi-Zonal Gathering.)
He shared with us the history of the king-
dom of Congo that was divided into 3
countries - Angola, Congo Kinshasa and
Congo Brazzaville and so on.
Before he left, he told my family that
something would happen that night in my
family but we did not have to be afraid
about it. I was saying to myself, “These
people talk a lot, what is going to happen?"
Receiving the Holy Spirit
The same evening, as it was a custom on
Saturdays for me to go out with friends to
drink and dance, I went to a pub close to
my house to drink, but that night I was a
little bit different because I wanted to
dance but something prevented me.
About 10 p.m, I left the bar with a friend.
We said goodbye to each other and I went
back home. At home, when the moment
came to do my prayers before going to
sleep, I received the contact of God’s
power. The Holy Spirit came upon me so
strongly that night that I made all my fam-
ily get up to experience what was happen-
ing. At the time I predicted the independ-
OUT OF AFRICA
ence of Angola, my country
that was under Portuguese co-
lonialism.
Just at the time, I received a
scholarship to study journalism
from the F.N.L.A (National
Angolan Liberation Front) that
was fighting against Portu-
guese colonialism. For two
weeks, I was still experiencing
the manifestation of God’s
power and I started asking Al-
mighty God to take back what
He gave me.
During these two weeks I went
to see brother, Muinda
Fukieno, to share with him
what happened to me. Lacking
experience, he could not tell
me anything.
On 3rd November to celebrate
my birthday, I went to the bar
to drink, and that night when I
was back home, I felt that the
Mr. and Mrs. Mateo Alvaro Diabanza.
Holy Spirit left me; but the
important thing was that the
could be opened. Instead he brought me to
experience marked my life.
the Christian Prayer group where I stayed
till 1988.
After the Coup
As it was God’s will for me to be a Subud
On 25 April 1974, there was a coup in Por-
member, finally, in May 1989 I was
tugal. Military officials took power and
opened. In 1991, I was tested as helper and
decided to decolonize all the countries that
in the same year there was reconciliation
were under Portuguese colonialism policy,
in Angola among the 3 traditional parties
including Angola.
and again my party sent me to Angola.
In the same year, there were negotiations
First Subud Group in Angola
between Portugal and the 3 Angolan lib-
eration parties where they agreed to form a
After the elections, the civil war started
coalition government which would prepare
again and I had to leave Angola. But be-
free elections and 11 November 1975 was
fore that, when I was in Angola, I formed
set as the date of the independence of An-
a Subud group that actually joined another
gola.
group led by Mambele and constituted the
formal Subud group in Angola.
In January 1975 my party sent me to An-
gola where I worked for the coalition gov-
During the civil war another member
ernment as a journalist. The process lasted
opened by me in Angola took refuge in
only a short time, because while my party
Congo Brazzaville and he wrote to me that
was preparing for the free elections, there
people were interested on Subud. Then I
was an international conspiracy; the com-
put him in contact with our beloved
munists started the civil war and took over
brother Ruagasore Mampuya (who passed
Angola.
away in 2003) and with Angelique Nlandu
(Fredericka, former IH) he went to Brazza-
I had to leave Angola and took refuge in
ville to open members and started Subud
Namibia from January 1976 to 1977. I
in Congo Brazzaville.
lived 5 months in Zambia, and 3 months in
the East of Democratic Republic of Congo
I went to Colombia. This was very impor-
and finally, on 17 August 1977, I was back
tant for me because I decided to study
in Kinshasa, after a long journey of 5,000
Public Administration to help my country
km by roads, railways and rivers.
and specialized in Human Rights. And I
worked hard to improve my latihan.
As soon as I was back in Kinshasa, I went
to see Muinda Fukieno to ask him if I
Continued on page 11.
SUBUD VOICE - April 2005 3
 HELPING THE TSUNAMI VICTIMS
MAGDALENA VERHEYEN, daughter
of former SDI Chair, Wilbert Verheyen,
was one of many young Subud members
– mostly Indonesian - helping tsunami
victims. Here is Magdalena’s personal
story told in reports about her and in her
own words…
Getting there: These extracts come from
an article on January 7th in the Indone-
sian newspaper WASPADA:
The earthquake and the two waves of the
tsunami that engulfed the provinces of
Aceh and North Sumatra, caused deep
suffering amongst the families of the vic-
tims.
The TV images deeply moved the feelings
of Magdalena, better known as Maggie,
Verheyen (aged 25), a nurse from Buck-
inghamshire Chilterns University College
(BCUC) and the Hillingdon Hospital in
London (England). The anguish of the
Indonesian people soon made her decide to
become a volunteer in Serambi Makkah.
“Although I am English and live in Lon-
don, I also have Indonesian blood and be-
cause of that I feel especially called to help
the Aceh people.”
Magdalena said that before she went to
Indonesia, she had the opportunity to ask
several of her friends to volunteer for
Aceh. But they would not go, because to
them it seemed a place always full of con-
flict and skirmishes. Nevertheless Magda-
lena didn’t feel discouraged. Although
alone, she was still determined to go to
Aceh. And on seeing her courage, Magda-
lena’s colleagues immediately supported
her.
A group of young people sold their Christ-
mas presents and gave the money to her
for the victims in Aceh. Then, after she
bought medical supplies and vaccines at a
pharmacy in London, the owner asked
where was she going to use them? When
she told him they were destined for Aceh,
he immediately added a cash donation of
£50.00 for the people there.
Besides gifts in cash, there were also col-
leagues who gave gifts in kind, such as
medical equipment. Even though they did
not dare to go to Aceh, they showed in this
way their sympathy for the suffering of
others, added Magdalena.
Magdalena thought that, besides the
evacuation of victims, the volunteers
would have to direct their efforts towards
protection against contagious diseases
such as cholera and typhoid. Therefore the
4 SUBUD VOICE - April 2005
survivors would have to
be given vaccines imme-
diately.
Although Magdalena is
an English volunteer on
her own, she hopes that
her presence will be of
some use to the people of
Aceh.
From Magdalena’s first
e-mail to her family:
I had to wait a long time
in Jakarta and then in
Medan which I found
very difficult to do. But
now I am here I am doing Magdalena and friend in Aceh.
what I can. I was working
in Anrungan for three days, we saw over
400 people and I was asked to give tetanus humble to be around such strong, kind
vaccinations to the children (130). I am
now working for Global Relief and we are
working very closely with UNICEF.
I have been offered many jobs here but I
have picked one which I feel is helping the
most people. I am covering one of the larg-
est areas in Meulaboh, called Samatiga.
The area now has about 10,000 displaced
people. I will help this next week to vacci-
nate 1500 children against measles. We are
doing this work with UNICEF and soon I
will be setting up lots of Primary Health
Care Clinics.
Samatiga has about 14 villages where I
will work. I think I have been very helpful
in translation and with my nursing skills. I
have also helped the French in their clinic
for a few days and they did not want to let
me go, but I felt that they did not really
need me as much as Global Relief.
From another e-mail:
We have vaccinated all the children in
Samatiga against measles - around 1100.
We are running mobile clinics each week
and continually assessing what is needed
and handing over information to various
NGO's asking them for assistance.
Every day is different. A few weeks ago I
went to the harbor in Meulaboh and saw
something I will never forget. I saw a man
going through mud looking for his belong-
ings and I started to talk to him. This man
had lost his wife and four kids. He then
went off on his motor bike; the man was in
his fifties. As he drove off all I could think
was “what do you now live for?”
I hear stories every day which stay heavy
on my heart, and I feel frustrated because I
wish I could do more. But then I feel so
people. Everywhere I go I am offered tea,
coffee and food, from people who have
nothing, absolutely nothing.
Today I am in Medan, and I have brought,
pens, pencils, school books, some leather
footballs, skipping ropes, clothes and a
pair of shoes. These are some of the things
people have requested. I thought it was
important to get some things that would
put a smile on the kids’ faces.
Brought closer to issues and concerns
I have been helping Global Relief and Sa-
maritan's Purse with the Malaria Interven-
tion Program. We go out to these areas by
helicopter, because it’s the only real way
of getting to the villages since many of the
roads have been damaged by the tsunami.
In the last two weeks our group has treated
over 300 people for malaria and provided
basic primary health care. I sometimes
hear NGOs talking about poor collabora-
tion with one another, but I have to say
how happy and lucky I feel to be involved
in this work.
I find it still hard to comprehend the utter
loss of life and destruction of livelihood.
As soon as I wake up I see mess around
me; mud, dirt and sadness. Because I
speak Indonesian, I feel it has brought me
closer to their issues and concerns.
Thanks to Ilaina Lennard who put to-
gether this story. Magdelena has just
been interviewed by UNICEF and landed
a 3 month contract with them. She will
now get a good salary, a house and a car,
and will organise and supervise the train-
ing of other nurses for the Aceh area.
 MUSIC TO
RELAX
The Ashgrove – Music to Refresh, Relax
and Inspire, By Leonard Paice, DJC Re-
cords DJC025
One of the latest offerings from DJC, our
Subud record label, is by Leonard Paice
who sings and plays solo flute and des-
cant recorder. He is classically trained,
but chooses to entertain small groups of
elderly people. Here Stefan Freedman,
musician and choreographer, reviews the
disc…
Do you ever feel that the world is getting
more and more noisy and cluttered? Even
music is now so multi-tracked that the ef-
fect can be ‘dense’ – contrived and indif-
ferent. This is what makes Leonard’s col-
lection of tunes more than welcome.
It’s so simple and fresh you feel as if
someone is playing just for you in your
own living room, and then speaking and
playing to you personally. You hear the
flute played solo, as sweet and uplifting as
birdsong, the timeless descant of the re-
corder, blazing trails in the air unfettered
by synthesizers or thudding drums.
The songs and tunes create a multicol-
oured weave. Several make me feel like
moving and dancing. Others carry the stir-
ring and heartfelt melodies of Scotland,
Ireland and Wales.
Then Leonard takes us deeper with the
sublime theme from “Scheherazade”. Just
as we’re lulled into an enchantment comes
“Papillon”, which exhibits Leonard’s skill
as a flautist. This is perhaps my favourite
track of all as the notes seem to cavort and
play.
Toward the end Leonard treats us to some
of his own tunes and songs. You feel he is
letting you in on his life as he plays “A
Dance for My Dad” and “A Song Whilst
Looking for Work”. Others take me back
to the feeling I had when I first ever heard
hymns as a child. His original spiritual
songs such as “The Little King” have a
touch of fairytale innocence to them.
Altogether the CD delivers what it claims
in a very personal and winning way. Leo-
nard announces each track just as he has
done at many delightful gatherings.
To obtain the disc contact Andrew
Clague. See Andrew’s advertisement on
the back page of every issue of Subud
Voice. Visit: www.djcrecords.co.uk
Email: clague@paston.co.uk
Tel: 01603 403052. 104 Constitution Hill,
Norwich, NR34BB, UK
WHAT IS HEALTH?
Maxwell Fraval of SIHA provides an
introduction to SIHA’s mission along
with some good advice about water...
The mission of the Subud International
Health Association (SIHA) is to promote
the attainment of true human health by
providing opportunities to share our ex-
perience and together receive a way for the
content of healthcare to be touched,
guided, and enlightened by the Power of
Almighty God through the latihan keji-
waan of Subud.
What is Health?
This question is not easy to answer. It is
certainly not merely the absence of dis-
ease. There are many people who do not
feel well but whose medical testing and
screening shows nothing positive. The
concept of “Health is ease of flow” pro-
vides a basis for a uniform approach to
health.
We can talk about this in terms of ease of
blood and lymph flow through the body;
ease of flow of air in and out; ease of flow
and digestion of food in the digestive tract;
ease of flow of movement; the ease of
fluid function; ease of flow of thoughts
and feelings; ease of flow of energy along
meridians. These themes will be covered
over the coming months in this SIHA cor-
ner.
In this issue we will look at that most fun-
damental of all substances….water.
Water sustains all forms of life. About
70% of our body weight is water, which
translates to about 45 litres (10 gallons) of
water for a person weighing 55 kilos (120
pounds).
Water is one of the most mysterious sub-
stances on the planet. Scientists are still
discovering new and amazing facts about
water.
Szent-Gyorgi (the nobel prize-winner who
discovered Vitamin C) in his classic book
on The Living State, described how he
envisaged macro-molecules inducing
structure in surrounding water molecules,
and how the structured water protects,
separates, and also links the macro-
molecules.
One of the unique properties of water is
that it is an oscillating dipole. What this
means is that water is positively charged in
one region and negatively charged in an-
other due to the combination of hydrogen
and oxygen. This enables water to line up
with protein surfaces which exist both in-
side and outside cells.
Cells have a mini-skeleton, whilst the ar-
eas around cells have a matrix of connec-
tive tissues, that provides a networks of
‘roads’ as well as giving structural integ-
rity to the areas around cells. Both the
mini-skeleton of cells and the connective
tissue matrix around them are able to
structure water because of the protein sur-
faces in them, which are negatively
charged.
Water molecules then become stacked one
on the other by the positive charge of one
water molecule linking to the negative
charge of the next one. About fourteen
layers of water, roughly 5 nanometers
thick, can be structured in this way.
Structured water appears to be better ab-
sorbed and helps improve the uptake of
minerals and nutrients. Drinking struc-
tured water therefore appears to have con-
siderable benefits for health maintenance.
Ionised water also appears to have distinct
advantages for health. The optimal pH of
drinking water is 9 or above which means
it is very alkaline. Much research on ion-
ised water has been done in Japan and Ko-
rea over the last 40 years. It has been
shown that ionised water acts as a free
radical scavenger and protects DNA from
oxidative damage.
It also appears to help kidney function and
wound healing. Other studies have shown
that ionized (alkaline) water improves di-
gestion and reduces the incidence of ab-
dominal disorders. Alkaline ionised water
appears to have a beneficial effect on the
formation and maintenance of bone as well
as normalising blood pressure.
For all these reasons drinking 7-8 glasses
of structured ionised (alkaline) water daily
will help both the macro-motion/flow of
fluid (i.e. the general circulation) as well
as micro-flow at the cellular and extra-
cellular level.
There are now a number of ionisers avail-
able for use in the home, two examples of
which are the Akai ioniser made in Japan
and the Jupiter ioniser made in Korea. An
alternative is to use Liquid Trace Minerals
available from
www.HumanDiamond.com or Alkalife
drops available from www.alkalife.com by
adding the drops to your drinking water.
It really is essential to drink enough water
to maintain your health.
References can be supplied.
Contact Maxwell Fraval at
mmfraval@ozemail.com.au
SUBUD VOICE - April 2005 5
 “AN IMMEASURABLE GIFT”
Ibu Rahayu, Bangalore, India 11th September, 2004, Recording 04 BLR 1
Final translation by Raymond Lee
Brothers and sisters, whom I love and re-
spect, good evening.
Brothers and sisters, as my last visit here
was eight years ago, many of you may not
know me. As such, I should first explain
that the talks I will give you are in fact the
same explanations that you have heard in
Bapak’s talks, and cover what you experi-
ence in your latihan. For that reason, if
you don’t understand something yet, just
accept it. I am sure that, even though what
I will say you will have heard many times
before, there are still those among you
who have not understood the process of
the latihan yet.
Brothers and sisters, when it comes to
teachings and advice about religion, or
about the spiritual life, there is already
much that is available or discussed in re-
ligions, that is, in every religion. That’s
because the aim of the advice or guidance
found in religion is to educate and guide
you to become a good human being, a no-
ble human being.
But in Subud there are no such teachings
that you have to study, because Subud is a
technique, or a way, whereby you can
draw close to Almighty God, you draw
close to the One who created you. In this
respect, clearly God did not just create you
then forget you - God guides you so that
you will know which path to take, so the
connection you have with God, as one of
God's creatures, is always present in your
being.
This is why, in Subud, we pass through
four phases or elements of life. The first of
these elements we call zat, which means
the essence of the Power of God, and this
essence of the Power of God is present
throughout the whole of creation, and it is
present in every nature or sifat (the second
element) in which God manifests. These
natures, or entities, include those we see,
those we can't see, those that are small,
and those that are large. All were created
by God. That’s why we call them natures
created by God. And because each nature
or entity in which God manifests was cre-
ated by God, each one is imbued with the
essence of God. Now, anything that is im-
bued with the essence of God is alive and
that means it moves, and if something
moves it can also develop.
As each nature can move, so too for us
human beings, as we are alive, we also
move. In our case, to move means to work
and we call this asma (the third element).
6 SUBUD VOICE - April 2005
Human beings will never achieve anything
if they don't move, if they don't apply this
essence they have inside them - this es-
sence of life, this essence of movement.
For a human being to move means to
work. In fact, everything has to work: ani-
mals work, and plants work too. Every
nature of God that lives, works.
So for human beings, if we are to achieve
something, if we are to find the reality or
proof we wish for, which we call a’fal (the
fourth element), we must make an effort.
We must make an effort as far as we can in
accordance with God’s will, to achieve
what God wills for us, and to find what
each of you is looking for.
‘That's why, brothers
and sisters, don’t feel
bored, and don’t have
a feeling, “Why doesn't
my latihan change?”
as though nothing is
happening in you. Even
though you don't feel
you are making any
progress, the latihan is
constantly working
inside you.’
What Are you Looking for?
What is it that you are looking for? You
want to understand the purpose of your life
and to understand why God created you to
live in this world. Why do we need to do
this? It’s because our life in this world is
clearly heavily influenced by this world.
This is why, brother and sisters, as God is
All Merciful, even though God has created
us in this world to face all the risks and
challenges posed by the influence of this
world, God is always Merciful, and time
and time again God has sent us messen-
gers, so that we won’t go too far, we won’t
stray too far from our origin.
What is our origin? God created you to be
a human being, so clearly God wills that
when you return, you should return as a
human being. So, don't lose what you pos-
sess during your time in this world and as
a consequence forget your duty or aim
which is to go back as a human being.
Brothers and sisters, we are human beings,
so let's talk about the nature of human be-
ings. Within each human being is a soul.
This soul is alive, it has a life without end,
in other words, it is eternal. As the part of
you that is alive is the soul, God, or rather
the essence of God manifests in your soul.
When I say the essence of God, I don't
mean that God is inside you, it is just
God's essence - the essence of the Power
of God. If God were inside you, no-one
else could have this contact.
This is why we call the latihan “training of
the soul”, because in Subud it is your soul
that does the work.
And God knows too that for you to live in
this world you need to have the necessary
equipment with you to survive here. We
call this equipment our “lower forces”. We
call them lower forces, since these forces
exist below the human forces. Even
though we need these lower forces to live
in this world, it is in their nature to disturb
us; they disturb us because they can trans-
form into our desires and passions.
An Immeasurable Gift
That’s why this latihan is an immeasurable
grace, a priceless gift from God as, even
while you still live in this world, you can
start to receive this contact from God,
from the Power of God that you were not
aware of, that you didn't know about be-
fore.
In fact, this contact - this connection be-
tween a human being who has been cre-
ated and the essence from the One who
created him - has always been there, it has
always been close. This could be seen in
the time of Adam and the other prophets.
They felt close to God and whatever they
did was what God willed. But the material
influences make this contact weaker and
weaker, fainter and fainter, and in the end
human beings have forgotten that they
were created in this world by God.
So, Bapak’s experience is a Gift from
God, as now, in this modern age, in these
difficult and trying times, Bapak received
this Grace - the contact with the latihan.
And because this contact came from the
Power of God, what Bapak received - this
contact that Bapak received - has been
passed to each one of you.
Continued on page 11.
 April 2005
Editor Ilaina Lennard
Email: ilaine@subudvoice.freeserve.co.uk
It was the
same in the
case of
Jesus
Extracts of Bapak's Talks from
THE LIGHT OF CHRIST - a
selection by Luqman McKingley
.. In the Ascension, Prophet Mohammed
had experiences which are a sign that, with
his soul, and throughout the inner-feeling
of his inner self, he was able to experience
things that cannot be experienced by the
physical body.
It was the same in the case of Jesus Christ,
who came back from his Ascension and
showed himself ~ actually, his inner self ~
to his disciples. Jesus returned from being
with God in Heaven and showed his
friends that he truly did live a life without
limitations, a life that was not like life on
Earth, a life that demonstrated the
Resurrection.
.. Jesus Christ came back to Earth and
came to his disciples and explained to
them and showed them that he was alive ~
just the way he had been alive in the world
before his death, but now more so.
Look at my hands!
Bapak has heard that Jesus was even
willing to 'prove’ it to one of his disciples,
one of his friends, who doubted.
So Jesus said: "Here, look at my hands!”
And Jesus’ hands had the marks of the
nails on them from when he was crucified.
Jesus in the next world was simply a
continuation of Jesus in this world.
Drawing by
Luqman
McKingley
“Long ago, something like what we received was received by prophets including Jesus.
That is why Jesus was able to awaken people’s souls. Whoever he touched, whoever he
wished, their soul awoke. But after Jesus Christ departed, this receiving gradually
closed up because of the rapid progress of the thinking mind of man which always
chases after greatness and heights of knowledge.” - Bapak
There was no difference. Jesus had taken
with him everything he had.
When Bapak met Jesus Christ
When Bapak met Jesus Christ, Bapak was
able to check Jesus’ experience when
Jesus received his Ascension, and, to
compare it with Bapak’s own experience.
Bapak found that what Bapak had
experienced was the same. Bapak
experienced the separation of Bapak’s soul
and body in exactly the same way.
You need to understand that you can live
in that greater, wider world ~ the world
where all God’s prophets live ~ exactly as
you live in this earthly world: except the
scope of the realm beyond is so much
greater.
Being able to live like that after death
makes it very, very important for you to
truly follow the latihan kejiwaan of Subud
now.
And really you must understand that
matters of money, questions relating to
money, are absolutely trivial in
comparison to spiritual matters, and
following your spiritual exercise. If you
can really feel this, and if you follow your
training in full faith, your life will always
be peaceful.
The Voice
.. In each of the holy books ~ in the Gospel
of the New Testament; in the Qur’an; in
the Psalms; in all of them ~ it is said that,
before anything existed, there was the
Word, the Word of God: a Voice from the
unknown, a Voice from the One God.
It was said to be a booming voice.
Prophet Abraham heard that voice, and so
did the other prophets, Moses, Jesus and
Mohammed.
Bapak's mission
When Bapak received the gift from God, it
was witnessed not by Bapak alone: but by
all the prophets who have been
messengers of God to this world, who
have heard God’s ’Voice’.
Indeed, if this had not been the case ~ if
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and
others had not all approved of Bapak’s
mission to spread this spiritual contact and
training to all humankind, then it would
have been impossible for the mission to
have been accomplished.
.. So, only with the condition that all the
previous messengers gave their approval,
was Bapak’s mission enabled to be
fulfilled.
.. In each age of the prophets, there were
people who did not want to be associated
with the prophets, and even fought against
them because they thought they might lose
their power and felt the prophets’ very
special messages, which could have
brought them to be of really good
character, were untrue.
People said that what Jesus and
Mohammed received, for example, was
just plain magic, or child’s play, or simply
was not real. Neither Jesus nor
Mohammed was educated, nor did they
possess the learning of someone you might
call shrewd or clever. Yet now, the words
and advice and messages of these and the
other prophets are believed in, followed,
studied and reputed for their efficacy,
depth and sublimity.
Continued on page 8.
INNER VOICE - April 2005 7
 Meditation, supernormal powers, magic and fakirs
The following are
some of Bapak's
stories and advice
on these subjects,
taken from
Dominic Rieu's
book A LIFE
WITHIN A LIFE -
now out of print. ..
Meditation is like chasing your
shadow
As you know, the latihan kejiwaan of
Subud exists and comes because of
the grace of Almighty God, based on
surrender to the power of Almighty
God with submission and sincerity.
Thus, the fact that we are able to do
the latihan free from the influence of
the passions is because of the
existence of God's power within us.
Subsequently, it only remains for us
to follow the will of God.
It was the same in the case of Jesus
Continued from page 7.
It is recorded that Abraham had enemies
during his lifetime and that even the king
opposed him, so that Abraham was forced
to defend himself and safeguard his
followers.
Moses’ enemies did not believe in the
existence of the One Almighty God and
pursued Moses until they reached a sea.
Through a miracle of God, it is related,
this sea opened wide for Prophet Moses
and made a path for him and his followers
to cross. But when the pharaoh and his
soldiers-in-pursuit reached the middle of
that sea, the waters closed up again in
great waves and drowned the pursuers.
Jesus Christ steadfastly spread the message
he received from God so that people might
change their ways and improve their bad
behaviour to their fellow human beings.
Most people did not follow his advice but
opposed him. And of them, some
slandered, tormented and, it is said,
crucified him.
Prophet Mohammed confronted similar
ignorance and stubbornness from people
who did not want to believe the message
he brought, and it became so difficult that
Mohammed was forced to make war on
them.
8 INNER VOICE - April 2005
Now, concerning meditation, it is
necessary for a person who is going to
meditate, first of all, to empty his mind
of thought and imagining. This is
necessary so that the whole of his
feelings and thoughts can be
concentrated in the direction aimed for,
and that which is aimed for is Almighty
God.
Whereas for you, who have received the
latihan kejiwaan of Subud, the One who
is aimed for guides and directs you so
that you can know your nature and life.
So, your desire to do the latihan and
meditation is in fact doubling the work.
Or, if you are unfortunate, your heart and
mind may easily become confused,
because it is like chasing your own
shadow - you follow it in swift pursuit,
whereas the shadow is always
accompanying you. Thus, in fact, it will
be just the same if you stand still and do
not chase after it.
For this reason, it seems that for us, who
Now, Moses is the prophet who
represented the distinguishing between
what is right and what is wrong, what is
good and what is bad, what is holy and
what is unholy. This is symbolized in the
cleavage of the waters ~ the separation of
the sea. Water is the symbol here for the
feeling of human beings.
Jesus was the prophet symbolized by
crucifixion. The crucifixion signifies that,
in reality, there is life after death, and there
is heaven and God’s Power beyond this
world.
Prophet Mohammed symbolized that all
power, both worldly and spiritual, in this
world and in the next world, is in God’s
hands.
Such are meanings of the histories of some
of the prophets.
There will not be a second Bapak
If you look back at the history of the
prophets, it has been before like it is now
for Bapak and you.
Once Bapak is no longer here, then it will
be all of you who have to sort things out
and carry things on.
There will not be a second Bapak.
When Jesus Christ died, there was no
second Jesus Christ selected to replace
have received the latihan kejiwaan, the
action of meditation is no longer of any
use.
Pewarta VI 3 pp.19-21 Letter to a
member in Sri Lanka
Supernormal powers
Dominic comments: Bapak from time to
time mentions the practices that enable
men to acquire abnormal or 'miraculous'
powers, such as the ability to walk on
fire, survive under water for long
periods, walk on walls like lizards and so
on. He never questions the existence of
such powers, as many Westerners still
do; after all, he lives in the East and
knows they exist. But he says that they
come from the lower forces and turn man
in wrong directions and not towards
God. Whenever men with such powers
contemplate joining Subud Bapak warns
them that they will lose them, and should
not be opened if they prefer to keep them.
Continued on page 9.
him. It was Jesus’ friends who then made
decisions and passed on his teachings.
When Prophet Mohammed died, there was
no second Prophet Mohammed who took
over. It was Mohammed’s friends, Ali and
Abu Bakar and such people, who got
together and carried on with the teachings,
to pass on the Messenger’s love and
spread it around the world.
Bapak is not meaning to compare himself
to the prophets; but the examples of the
situations are similar.
Was there any candidate to succeed Jesus
after he died? Who took Mohammed’s
place when he passed on? No one.
So, unless God Wills otherwise, the most
there can be is ~ not a deputy~ but, as it
were, a continuation: a continuation
through this spiritual contact and training
which, via yourselves, is spread widely
over the whole world ~ if Bapak should
die.
So if you ask Bapak who his successor
will be, Bapak cannot and may not answer.
Only the One God can answer, if God so
wills.
Plainly, where Grace or Inspiration or
Revelation from God to human beings is
concerned, you cannot compare it with the
situations of people holding certain earthly
positions.
Continued on page 9.

Powers that will leave you
Continued from page 8.
Magic practices
One time Bapak was in Medan, and there a
man came to Bapak who wanted to be
opened, and he was a man with very great
miraculous powers of the kind that Bapak
described. In particular, he used to be able
to stick to a wall and climb up it like a
lizard. In other words, he used to be able to
stick to the wall like that without holding
on to anything. He was also able, through
his magical powers, for example, to jump
across quite wide rivers. Now this man
was opened, and once after the latihan
Bapak noticed that he was very confused
and in a state of great agitation.
Bapak asked him, 'What's the matter? Why
are you in this condition?'
He replied, 'Bapak, I am worried because I
did my latihan fully dressed, with all my
clothes on, and in my pocket I always
carry with me an amulet, which is a little
bottle filled with water.'
Bapak asked, 'What's the use of this
amulet?'
It was the same in the case of Jesus
Continued from page 8.
A king can be replaced and someone else
gets crowned king. A president can
resign and someone else can be elected
president.
But a prophet or messenger cannot be
replaced. No one became a second Jesus
Christ. Jesus received the reality, the
hakekat, from God Almighty. Jesus was
able to pass on to some of his followers
that same hakekat or living reality. But
there were very few who were able to
receive it.
.. Before, in the case of the prophets and
messengers, God, as it were, sat 'Up
There’ on God’s Throne ~ and the one
who did the work down on Earth was the
Messenger: giving advice, caring for
people, and so on.
Now, with this latihan kejiwaan of
Subud, it is as though God has got up
from His Throne and has come into this
world to act Himself.
The passages above have been taken from
Luqman McKingley’s selection of Bapak’s
Talks, called THE LIGHT OF CHRIST. To
order, tel/fax (62) 021 750 3724 or e-mail:
canopy@dnet.net.id
The man said, 'The use of this amulet is
very great because it gives me all sorts of
powers. In. particular, anything I really
want usually comes about. Also, all
women always fall in love with me. But
during the latihan. this bottle has got lost
and I don't know what happened to it.'
This is a proof of the fact, which is a
general case, that through the latihan, if
you happen to have any powers that you
acquired before - in other words, through
these methods of meditation or spirtism
and so on - this will actually disappear. In
other words, any miraculous powers which
make you very strong or impregnable or
something like that, will leave you as a
result of doing the latihan.
This belongs in the realm of magic, which
Bapak usually refers to in the case of
spiritism, hypnotism, magnetism and so
on. And all these powers which are
normally acquired by people through all
sorts of practices and asceticism and self-
denial and so on, tend to disappear if we
do the latihan kejiwaan. So for this reason
Bapak, in the past, has always taken the
precaution that before opening someone
Bapak always used to ask them, 'Do you
have any objection if Bapak asks you
something?'
If the person agreed, Bapak would say,
'Well, do you have any powers or any
special knowledge, or any special skill or
some special magic which makes you
different from other people, or makes you
invulnerable, or something like that?'
If the person answered, 'Yes, this and that
power, or I have this and that teaching that
I acquired,' then Bapak would say, 'Well,
actually it is better for you not to be
opened because it is quite clear that all
these powers you have acquired will
disappear if you do the latihan kejiwaan -
because the latihan kejiwaan is a
manifestation of God’s will within man,
and God's will is that we become ordinary,
just ordinary people, and therefore you are
certain to lose these powers that you have
acquired. So it's better if you don't get
opened and don't join Subud.'
After Bapak talked like this to people, of
course there were some who preferred not
to be opened; but, on the other hand, there
were those who still asked to be opened
because they had a real sincere wish that
their physical bodies should be cleaned of
all these things that they had acquired; so
that as a result of finally becoming pure
again, or clean again, when the time came
for their death they would not then get
grabbed or sink into the world of these
lower forces, but would be enabled then to
return again to the world of their origin -
that is the real human world that is beyond
this world.
This that Bapak has described to you is
called Ishtitchrat. The name Ishtitchrat
refers to powers and strengths and
miraculous capabilities which are acquired
by man as a result of an effort of his will,
as a result of fasting, as a result of self-
deprivation, as a result of going off into
lonely places and practising asceticism and
so on and so forth.
These powers are the result, then, of man's
will and the working of man 's heart and
mind. It is clear from the existence of such
things in the world that God permits man,
God gives man licence to practise
whatever he wants. In other words, God
gives man permission and God gives man
the opportunity to use his heart and mind
and to develop it in any direction that he
would like; and that, therefore, brings man
to a point such as Bapak has described.
Pewarta Special Supplement 7 pp.1 - 39.
Paris, 22 August 1977
Fakirs and fire-walkers
Brothers and sisters, as Bapak has
mentioned before, the worship of God by
man is something that is extremely
difficult to attain; and because of this
difficulty and seeing the general
difficulties of the life of man in this world,
many of those who study these matters
(that is, spiritual matters) go to
extraordinary lengths in their pursuit of the
right way to worship God Almighty. They
bring to bear on this problem tremendous
effort of will, to the extent that they go to
great lengths, like practising asceticism
and fasting and self-immolation and self-
torture, in the hope of achieving
something.
Now, they themselves are not aware that
in these efforts they are actually moved by
the material forces, so that through these
efforts they actually are going wrong -
they are going in a direction which is
completely wrong. And through all these
efforts that they do they actually deliver
themselves up into the jaws of the lower
forces, or to put it more clearly, the
material forces.
Now, although these people have really
gone off the rails - or, it can be said, have
lost their way - yet through these practices
they receive all sorts of things which are
truly amazing. For example - and many of
you have heard of these examples - in
India fakirs who become completely
impervious to the sharp points of nails or
other sharp things. They are capable of
walking on fire without being hurt, and
they are able to dive under the water and
stay there, not for one or two minutes, but
for hours and sometimes even a whole
day.
Continued on page 10.
INNER VOICE - April 2005 9

Two More Stories
My new name
After I was opened, and over the course of
nearly nine years, I asked Bapak three
times for a new name before he chose one
from a proffered list of names beginning
with the initial he had at last given me. so,
I was 'Lydia' for the next 25 Subud years
when, in 1993, almost 6 years after Bapak
had passed on, I had a dream.
In the dream, I wrote a very long letter to
Bapak listing all my complaints! and
immediately received a two-line note from
him in response. it said,
"You need to have a new name. You
should be called Olivia."
I then saw myself writing the letter "O",
scrolling loops all around the outside of its
simply formed, basic roundness.
Just then, I was awakened by the sound of
my husband's footsteps and immediately
related this dream to him.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
Levitating off the couch and floating into
the next room, I answered, "that's it!", shut
the door, and found myself in a full blown
latihan.
A garment seemed to drop from me and
Olivia stepped forward.
Of several which clamoured for attention,
only one question, arising from the latihan:
"What is the meaning of this name for
me ?" was answered:
Of Fakirs..
Continued from page 9.
Now it is clear, actually, that all these
powers that they have acquired are
sornething that is completely wrong and
not in line with what is God's will for
man.
On the other hand, because these things
look miraculous and very extraordinary,
they impress other people and thereby
these fakirs become very proud of what
they have achieved, and they advertise
their powers as a gift from Almighty
God. Indeed it is always the will of the
heart and mind of man to be regarded as
somebody who is extraordinarily strong,
or to be regarded as someone who is
miraculous in every way. This is the
nature of man's heart and rnind.
In case you want to ask, 'Is it not possible
through teaching or advice to correct or
prevent these people who make an effort,
or who study spiritual things, from going
10 INNER VOICE - April 2005
"One who is able to follow the will of God
and be obedient".
The meaning of this name and the
experience of receiving and accepting it
seemed to be synonymous.
I have, of course, been held up against this
yardstick forever after, to measure the
progress in wearing this garment fittingly
(while my inner and outer bodies keep
changing shapes).
At the time, I was working as a teacher's
aide in a classroom of adult English-
second-language students and wondered
how to proceed to tell them.
Vibrating like an old refrigerator, I told the
teacher that I had written to my spiritual
guide and he had given me a new name.
Have we not borne witness that indeed
"God can do that which cannot be done"?
It was she who then told the class I was
now to be called 'Miss Olivia'. End of
discussion.
So this change was in several ways made
rapid and easy. but it wasn't until I spoke
about this experience with our Ibu Rahayu,
who was passing through Los Angeles
briefly a few months later, that I was given
a stamp of approval or authority acceptable
to those who questioned whether this was a
valid receiving because I hadn't written to
Ibu before or after receiving the name.
The experience of receiving this name
from Bapak was so complete, it seemed
redundant at the time to do anything
further.
Straightaway Ibu Rahayu asked if I was
using the name, and I said,
wrong and going astray?' in the way that
Bapak has just told you, well, the answer
is, of course, that there is a great deal of
advice from mankind, and for mankind,
which is designed to keep man from
straying off the right path in approaching
God Almighty.
But the problem is that the one who
tempts man, the one who always turns
man away from the right and makes him
unwittingly turn into a way that is wrong
or a way that is bad - that is, although he
embarks on a way that is right he
suddenly finds himself turning into the
wrong direction - the ones who do this
tempting are the lower forces which, as
Bapak has said, are part of man's being.
Pewarta Special Supplement 7 pp. 137-8
Paris, 22 August 1977
All passages from A LIFE WITHIN A LIFE,
Dominic Rieu’s selection of Bapak’s advice.
out of print.
"Yes, immediately. My only question
would be: Did I make a mistake?".
Looking me squarely in the solar plexus,
Ibu replied,
"No. This is for the evolution and
development of your soul."
So, with the breath of her blessing breaking
over me, I was fully confirmed and
officially "launched".
Praise be to Almighty God.
- Olivia Panopoulos, USA
An Experience at Rosh
Hashanah
I would like to
share an
experience that I
had some years
ago with Rosh
Hashanah. At that
time I was living
in Rockland
County about 20
miles from New York City.
Next to Israel, the percentage of Jewish
people in Rockland County is higher
than anywhere else in the world. I really
loved the influence this had on Rockland
County, and enjoyed the fact that my
children had no school on Rosh
Hashanah.
In 1998 I had an extra-special Rosh
Hashanah. That year God gave me a gift.
I was able to feel the prayers going up to
God all around me. I could feel prayer
going up from homes and synagogues all
over Rockland County, lifting the
pressure of the material forces from my
locality, giving us all some relief from
our constant load to bear. The prayers
were for all of us.
Then that morning when I went to do my
latihan I received a wonderful
understanding:
"It is not right that people of other
religions should ever dislike or despise
the Jewish people. The Jewish people
have carried the Ark of the Covenant
wherever they went, at a heavy cost of
suffering for hundreds and thousands of
years. The Ark of the Covenant is the
symbol of TRUE FAITH in the ONE
ALMIGHTY GOD. All the religions of
the world rest upon this TRUE FAITH ,
which the Jewish people carry as a
reminder to us all."
In Churches all around us, people are
praying, like my Jewish neighbors have
been doing each year on Rosh Hashanah.
- Prisca Maier, USA

IBU’S TALK
Continued from page 6.
To begin with, only Bapak had the contact,
but as Subud spread the helpers have
passed this contact to all of you, to the
point now that Subud has grown to be-
come a worldwide association. And, al-
though we don't know everyone else in
Subud, yet the feeling of the latihan, the
development we experience in the latihan,
is the same for all of us. So, brothers and
sisters don't think that if it's not the time
for international helpers, or for me, to visit
you, Subud will not develop here. The
development of Subud depends on you.
The latihan that is active in you is your
effort, your work. What kind of work is
this? It is the work you do to form your
true self, your true individuality.
Why do we need to form our individual-
ity? It’s because from the time we were
small, even when we were still in our
mother's womb, the living essence we pos-
sess has been affected by the influences of
this world. What are these influences?
Well, food, and, as I said earlier, the lower
forces. These comprise the material forces,
the forces in plants, the animal forces, and
there are even our own human forces.
So, brothers and sisters, that is the connec-
tion between a human being and the life
we have within each of us. This is why we
say this latihan is training without end, it
will never end, and it will never be com-
plete. Because the nature of the latihan is
life, we won't only do latihan in this world
- perhaps it is God's Will - but you will
take this latihan with you after you die.
So, this latihan is not only a preparation
for death. No! You will carry the latihan
with you as long as you live and, as I said
earlier, you have eternal life. That’s why
you shouldn't worry about when this lati-
han will be over, or when it will be com-
plete, as there is no end to it. That’s even
more the case when you live in the next
world - you cannot use your heart and
mind there, you cannot use your lower
forces anymore. So, in this regard, the life
I talked about means the life of your soul.
That's why, brothers and sisters, don’t feel
bored, and don’t have a feeling, “Why
doesn't my latihan change?” as though
nothing is happening in you. Even though
you don't feel you are making any pro-
gress, the latihan is constantly working
inside you.
How Does It Work?
How does it work? It works to educate
your self! You educate your self from the
inside, from the power of God inside you. your mind will work will change; it will no
And the aim is that someone who acts longer be filled by the working of your
badly will become good, somebody who lower forces. Your mind will be filled by
behaves well will become complete. That’s your soul so that your way of thinking will
what God hopes for! be wise, you don't seek to be right, or win,
it will be as if something guides you in the
Of course, to do latihan isn't as simple as way you think, and in what you feel.
that. We must follow all the processes of
But, you cannot study any of this; this is
the latihan with a feeling of willingness
not something I can teach you. I cannot
and an attitude of surrender. To surrender
show you how to quickly become a good
means that if you go through some diffi-
person, or rapidly reach what you are hop-
culty, you should ask God to help you, you
ing for. You have to find this yourself. But
should ask God to open the way for you.
you won’t find it from outside, or from
other people’s ideas. You have to find it in
That’s why in religion there are practices
your own self. But, this doesn't mean that
such as fasting, or quietening oneself. The
you shouldn’t listen to anyone else any-
aim of these practices is to learn how to
more.
distance yourself from your desires, from
the passions and desires that want to over-
So, brothers and sisters, this is why we
come your true self.
need to do the latihan. Indeed, many of
you who have been in Subud a long time
Now, brothers and sisters, by doing latihan,
think, “Why isn’t there any progress?”
your lower forces also come to life, this
Well, if we compare ourselves to other
means they grow too. So, if you don't go to
people, we don’t seem to change. But, you
latihan, it’s easy for these lower forces to
control you, you will easily be colonised, can feel your development yourself, you
can feel what you have achieved so far.
or overwhelmed, by these lower forces,
So, look at your own self, and don’t com-
and they will become the masters of your
pare yourself with others.
being. That’s not what God wants!
I feel my explanation is enough for to-
That’s because, brothers and sisters, when
night. I will finish now, as there will be
we come to die, our aim is to die free of
time later to add to this and to give you the
burden, in other words, the lower forces we
explanations you need about the latihan. If
use here will find their own heaven, their
I go on now, I will give you too much to
own realm. Then there will be no obstacle
think about at once, and that will disturb
for us to return home as God wishes us to
do. you, and you won’t sleep. Thank you.
In the latihan, we go through different
processes, from one level to the next. The
first process we experience is purification
OUT OF AFRICA
and the development of the soul. What I
Continued from page 3
mean by the development of the soul is
that, due to the nature of the soul, it will
In 1996 while I was working for Funda-
penetrate every part of your body - both
cion Amor, Rosanna Hille as SDI repre-
your physical body, and your senses. To
penetrate means that the soul occupies sentative visited F.A, and we talked about
the situation in Congo, where for 7 years
those parts of you. The reason you move
nobody in Subud from outside could visit
when you do latihan is because your soul
them. Their situation was hard and I of-
occupies your hands, for instance. And it is
fered to go myself.
not just your physical body, it also enters
your mind, it also enters your feelings, in
After the testing was positive, SDI decided
fact, every part of you will be penetrated
to send me to the Congo. I visited the
by your soul.
many projects and groups, doing latihan
and testing with the members. Then, with
Why is this necessary? The soul doesn’t
Ruagasore and Fredericka, I crossed the
just come to life and stop at that. We do
river to go to Congo Brazzaville where we
latihan, we do this work, so that the soul
opened 10 new members, 8 men and 2
can grow and blossom. But what is the use
of this process, what’s the point of your ladies.
soul filling every part of you? It is a prepa-
In 2001 in Bali, I was chosen as one of the
ration. What for? It is a preparation so that
International Helpers for Area 3 and I tried
you will understand what God wills for
to understand my mission. The receiving
you. Once you have been touched by God
was clear: working to help members and
and every part of you has come to life,
helpers to improve their latihan. This has
whatever you do will be, as far as possible,
been our mission as a dewan in all our
in line with the Will of God.
visits, endeavoring to improve and deepen
the members’ latihan in order that we may
And this contact will reach your mind; it
will reach your emotions. Then, after you have strong pioneers and strong Subud
groups in the world.
have been in Subud a long time, the way
SUBUD VOICE - April 2005 11
 ANISHA - FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT
When Ibu Rahayu visited Bangalore,
India last September, one of the most
interesting presentations of local Susila
Dharma projects was from the tiny non-
profit, Anisha.
Anisha is founded and directed by Valli
Rajan, and dedicated to improving the
lives of the people of Vandimode slum in
the “K. R. Market” area of central Ban-
galore. It is a profound and inspiring
project.
Hillel Natanson, Lawrence Fryer, and
Joe Rosario, visited the Vandimode slum
of Bangalore with Valli. Hillel says of the
visit and the project…
Jammed into the tiny seat of one of the
myriad autorickshaws of India, Lawrence
Freyer of Germany, Joe Rosario of Banga-
lore, and I were braving the nightmare of
Bangalore’s morning rush hour.
Like all the burgeoning cities of Asia,
Bangalore’s traffic is a chaos of cars,
buses, cows, trucks and the omnipresent
mini-vehicles that totter about on two or
three wheels powered by two-stroke
scooter engines producing sooty, black
fumes.
With marked relief we finally extricated
our western limbs from their confinement
and tumbled out onto the sidewalk to meet
Valli Rajan, the dedicated young director
of Anisha.
This is a small but effective project dedi-
cated to releasing some of the poorest of
Bangalore’s slum population from the
prison to which they are condemned by
poverty and illiteracy. Valli appeared on
the other side of street, so we plunged
across the crazy traffic and somehow
found ourselves safely on the other side
exchanging quick greetings.
Then we followed her to a small alleyway
that led back into a network of vehicle-
free streets and paths invisible from the
main thoroughfare. Negotiating the pud-
dles left over from the previous day’s rain,
and from something else which, our noses
told us, owed much to the nonexistence of
any proper sanitation.
We did our best to avoid the deeper pud-
dles. People out doing their morning
chores looked at us askance as we passed.
“I don’t think many tourists have seen this
place.” Lawrence later muttered.
The Vandimode Slum
The Vandimode slum is only 100 feet long
and 20 feet wide but, when Valli Rajan,
12 SUBUD VOICE - April 2005
the founder and director of Anisha, gave
Lawrence Freyer, Joe Rosario, and me a
tour last September it seemed much larger.
The one-room shanties are so tiny and the
walkway between them so narrow that a
Westerner’s eye automatically adjusts the
scale to fit his expectation. Despite its
small size, Vandimode is home to 40
families.
Three other families live around the corner
on the rooftops of two small shops, and
several others survive in a makeshift plas-
tic tent in the small gap between shops. It
is the people of this domain that Anisha
was established to aid.
“Perhaps the most
terrible thing is not the
poverty and hunger,
nor the pollution, nor
the extremely crowded
conditions and expo-
sure to heat, cold, rain
and noise. The worst
thing is that Vandimode
slum is a prison from
which escape is almost
impossible—a prison
into which children are
born and where they
serve a life sentence.”
There were a few people in the narrow
walkway, but within seconds our arrival
was known. The small space quickly filled
with men, children and a few women. Al-
though it was a quarter past ten in the
morning, there is little work available and
many of the residents were in or near their
homes.
We were invited into the children’s room
and, leaving our footwear outside the
door, we were soon seated. The room it-
self, while neat and clean, was tiny—
about eight feet square. There was only
room for the four of us, a handful of
young children seated on the floor, and the
young teacher, Ms. Alamelu.
A large group crowded around the small
doorway, peering in. Mr. Shakir, the com-
munity’s leader, brought soft drinks for us.
In spite of our welcome, the children were
not comfortable with two large Western
men entering their world. Their eyes
quickly filled with tears, and they cried for
the first few minutes.
Working Together
Valli originally conducted classes on the
pavement. This became increasingly diffi-
cult because of the traffic, so she identi-
fied some land and lobbied elected offi-
cials for construction of a community hall.
During this period a three-year-old girl
disappeared while her mother was away at
work.
There was nobody to look after her chil-
dren and no facilities for them, and the girl
was never seen again. This added real ur-
gency to the project. Valli found a bit of
funding, and some recycled materials were
donated from a couple of demolition pro-
jects.
The residents used a bullock cart to bring
the materials to Vandimode, and they all
joined in to build it. So, this little room,
which was built by the residents them-
selves, is a real sanctuary.
There is also a “sangha”, or community
room, built in much the same fashion, but
it was in use during our visit so we were
not able to see it. Soon after its comple-
tion, the residents moved religious para-
phernalia in and it now also serves as the
community’s temple.
This helps to ensure the safety and integ-
rity of the room from those who might
wish to damage or destroy it, but would
not have the foolish courage to violate a
temple. But, in fact, it is seldom idle.
We Couldn’t Believe…
After being greeted, we moved down the
walkway and were invited into one of the
homes. It was so small, and the ceiling
was so low, that it was really only possible
for Lawrence and me to stoop down and
peer inside.
We couldn’t quite believe it when we were
told that four families, totalling twelve
people, lived in this one room. It was not
much bigger than the children’s room we
had just left, and the ceiling was much
lower. There was no ventilation and acrid
smoke from cooking filled the room.
In the shadowy interior I could see some
cooking pots and dirty bedding on the
floor; there was little else. An older man
and woman inside smiled at us.
Continued on next page.
Next, we were taken to see the rooftop
settlement high above two shops. We
could make out some sort of structure up
there but, in order to really see how the
families lived, it was necessary to climb
up.
The ladder was hand-made and, though it
looked reasonably solid, we were warned
not to use the top rung. The rooftop was
high, there was concrete pavement be-
neath us, and the ladder did not reach all
the way to the roof.
There was a frightening scramble from the
second to top rung to the rooftop. Fortu-
nately, several of the men climbed up first
and helped us up. I learned that a young
woman had fallen in the past and been
seriously injured.
On the roof was a crude tent which housed
several families. There was also a more
substantial structure that had been im-
proved over the years. This had a reasona-
bly solid roof and walls to create separate
rooms; but it was rough and served as
home to several families.
On the Roof
It is very difficult to get supplies up there,
and most of the basics required for a rea-
sonably comfortable life were not avail-
able. There is no plumbing, protection
from the weather, nor even basic safety
precautions.
Bare electrical wires run close to the struc-
ture, and though there is a drain for rain-
water, it is not adequate in the tropical
downpours that the monsoon brings.
The rooftop itself is divided into several
segments by walls that are over a meter
high and difficult to climb over. Recent
new construction on an adjoining building
has cut into the meagre space available.
We climbed down and said goodbye to our
hosts. Valli then asked us to follow her to
the public toilet that is used by the Vandi-
mode inhabitants. Valli told us that the
slum dwellers must pay to use the facility.
Habit and Economic Dependence
Caught in a web of habit and economic
dependence, the people’s poverty is used
as a weapon against them by shopkeepers
who take advantage of their vulnerability.
There is little regular work in the area. The
shopkeepers give them occasional work
for low pay and the right to squat on the
rooftops or in the shanties in the alley.
In return, they are expected to do as they
are told, whenever they are told, and to
accept whatever comes their way. The
shopkeepers pull down the ladders at 9:00
a.m. and do not put them
back in place until 8:00
p.m. No problems with
weather, no medical
emergencies, nothing
restores the ladder—the
shopkeepers never allow
access during the day.
To get to the toilet that
the people of Vandimode
must use took about three
minutes through loud and
chaotic traffic. The toilet
itself is not an inviting
place and it smelled bad.
During the walk, I had
noticed other child la-
bourers working to pack-
age goods right on the
streets. There were many
other ladders leading up
to many other rooftops.
I have lived in India now
for almost three years and
have seen many slums
and have walked through
several of them; but it
was quite a different ex- Seeing it through the eyes of people who live there.
perience to see one
through the eyes of the people who live social events, and perform religious
there. prayers and rituals.
What we saw and learned that day left an There is also a small room for the chil-
indelible impression. Surprisingly, it’s not dren. They now have a leader from within
all bad—not by any means. The generosity the community to represent the interests of
and dignity with which the people manage the residents to government officials. But
to live under such circumstances is as- there is still much more to do.
tounding. But the circumstances are inhu-
man. Vandimode is what is known here as an
“unnotified slum”. The residents of a
We thanked Valli for taking the time to “notified” slum, which would typically be
show us her project, and hailed an larger than Vandimode, are entitled to
autorickshaw for the return journey. certain rights and services. These include
water, drainage, electricity, a community
About Valli Rajan and Anisha hall and a “patta” or certificate of posses-
sion.
In 1997, Valli Rajan was a busy student of
law and sociology. While regularly pass- They also have a certain amount of politi-
ing through K. R. Market on the way to cal clout. This is not the case for
school, she wondered where the child la- “unnotified” slums. Valli’s education in
borers frequently working on the streets law and sociology has been vital to her
lived. She asked the children, and they success. She has also had substantial work
took her home to the Vandimode slum. experience, despite her relative youth.
What Valli Rajan saw that first day She has used her education and her two
changed her life and inspired here to start years of legal experience to the advantage
Anisha—which means “Coming into light of the residents of Vandimode and has
from darkness.” It also changed the lives taught them to represent themselves to
of the inhabitants. government and organizational officials.
Since the inception of Anisha residents’ Just as importantly, she learned of Subud
no longer walk three or four kilometers and the latihan while working with Joe
each way to retrieve water—there is a wa- and Bella Rosario at Mithra, another local
ter tap installed for them to share within Susila Dharma funded project. She was
the slum. opened in January, 2002.
They now have a “sangha”, a community Continued on page 14.
room in which to conduct meetings, have
SUBUD VOICE - April 2005 13

ANISHA
Continued from page 13.
Valli is now married and works full time
as an administrator for the Institute for
Cultural Research and Action which pro-
motes sustainable organic cultivation with
small and marginal farmers in the state of
Karnataka.
In the years since she began her work in
Vandimode, Valli has come to know all of
the slum’s citizens, and they all know her.
In her scant free time she works tirelessly
on behalf of Anisha.
Perhaps the most terrible thing is not the
poverty and hunger, nor the pollution, nor
the extremely crowded conditions and
exposure to heat, cold, rain and noise. The
worst thing is that Vandimode slum is a
prison from which escape is almost impos-
sible—a prison into which children are
born and where they serve a life sentence.
India is the world’s largest democracy,
and there is a tremendous amount to ad-
mire here. It has a dynamic and growing
economy, complete with a burgeoning
middle class. It has the unmistakable feel
of a people and a nation on the way up,
and the spirit of entrepreneurship is every-
where.
But it is still struggling mightily with two
difficult and stubborn heritages: its own
indigenous caste system and several hun-
dred years of painful and exploitative co-
lonial rule. Valli is confident that educa-
tion is the key that can unlock the doors to
this prison. Her primary and immediate
goal is to improve what Anisha is now
able to offer to the children of Vandimode
slum.
She wants to hire a more senior teacher to
help the less experienced teacher who is
currently on-duty from 10:00 to 12:30.
She wants to extend the program into the
afternoon.
She wants to provide a nutritious lunch to
the students and to have the basic material
resources necessary to inspire the children
with a vision that could move them out of
the abysmal cycle of poverty and suffering
in which they are trapped.
She is also aware that successful education
depends on proper health and sanitation,
freedom from child labour, and personal
exposure to successful, caring adult role
models. Occasional day trips to nearby
cultural sites are being organised to help
build pride in the children for their ancient
culture.
She also wants to get them out of the slum
to see and experience the beauty of nature
away from the intense urban life of Banga-
SUBUD VOICE - May 2004
14 SUBUD VOICE - April 2005
lore. Preparations are underway to expand
Anisha’s work to include a small
neighbouring slum.
Valli gets regular advice and encourage-
ment from Joe and Bella Rosario at the
Mithra Foundation. She also has the sup-
port of her local Subud brothers and sis-
ters here in Bangalore. She told me in a
recent email, “When brothers and sisters
are there to encourage and support Anisha,
I get more strength to work for the poorest
of the poor, smoothly and also effec-
tively.”
The Goals of Anisha are:
To empower neglected children and
women in distress and improve their
socio-economic status;
To provide pre-primary education for
children 3-6 years old;
To provide alternative non-formal educa-
tion to working children;
To promote the effective implementation
and enforcement of government laws,
regulations and schemes that affect the
lives of its constituency through commu-
nity development and education;
To develop a library and communications
center to provide free access to knowledge
and information;
To provide free legal services.
Valli Rajan and Anisha can be contacted
at Anisha
Email: anisha.india@gmail.com
C/o Valli Rajan
No.498, Errappa Line
N.R. Colony, Murugeshpalaya
Bangalore-560017, India
CARING
COMMUNITY
A small group of Subud members in the
USA have been working for the last few
months to bring structure and organization
to the efforts conducted toward the Subud
Caring Community.
We have attached a summary of the work
we have done during the past few months.
We would like to invite you now to join
with us in this work as we move forward.
Specifically we invite you to participate
through the new interactive discussion
board at <www.carecommunities.net>
We invite you to share your vision of what
you would like the Caring Community to
be in five years. Our joined visions will
help define our sense of mission and pur-
pose.
LUSANA FALIKS
Rosetta Koach writes...
Our beloved sister Lusana Faliks past
away this morning at 6:30am March 3
2005. She was loved and will be missed
by many, many Subud members. Lusana
was born 1919. She was married to Leo-
pold Faliks in 1942. Together they had two
children Waqidi Falicoff and Rasada Rus-
sell. Lusana was one of the first Subud
members, being opened in 1959. She at-
tended the 1963 Briarcliff congress in up-
state New York--the first Subud congress.
Lusana's husband Leopold died in 1967
during a house fire and when Lusana asked
Bapak what she and her two children
should do, he wrote that she should come
to Indonesia and live near them in the
Subud compound. Lusana then lived many
years being close friends with Bapak and
his second wife, Ibu. Lusana had many
wonderful stories of Bapak and Ibu which
were captured on video tape by Jerry Cha-
lem and is available through Subud USA.
In 1978 Lusana had a horrible car accident
in Indonesia where she broke many bones
in her body. She was at that time brought
back to California, USA. After several
reconstruction surgeries she was put into a
nursing home in Sonoma County, Califor-
nia. The doctors said she would never
walk or use her right arm again.
My mother, Muftiah Weinstein, visited her
in the hospital and afterwards in Sonoma
County many, many times. One year later,
she came to visit my mother, by herself, on
a bus, walking and using her right arm.
She then moved out of the residential
home she had been living in and into her
own apartment, near her daughter Rasada
Russell who hired a male nurse to help
take care of her. The two of them fell in
love and eleven years after her husband's
death, Lusana became partners with Hyam
Glickman and they traveled around the
world together over the next 17 years.
Lusana spent many happy years in the Bay
Area near her daughter, Rasada, her 11
grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.
She continued to do latihan with the So-
noma group and when getting to the group
was hard, they did latihan with her.
Around two years ago she moved up to
Bellingham, Washington, with her daugh-
ter, Rasada. Aliza Albornoz and several
other Subud members from the Belling-
ham group visited her in her new residen-
tial care home to do latihan. Thank God
for the latihan, for guiding Lusana to
Subud, and for guiding our sister now on
her journey to a new life beyond this
world.

REMEMBERING RIDWAN
One year ago, on March 6, Ridwan Russ
died in a car accident near Melbourne,
Australia. He was 28.
The eldest son of Halimah and Alhazmi,
Ridwan was brother to Alexandra and
Magnus. Thirty years ago I was an atten-
dant at Muchsin (as he was known then)
and Halimah’s wedding in Cilandak. We
have known each other in differing cir-
cumstances over the years, and Halimah is
my closest friend.
When I got the call, I went to Melbourne.
Alhazmi and Magnus - then living in Bris-
bane - and Alexandra from London, had
just arrived. Halimah’s mother Joan came
from Perth, and Utami, wife of her brother
Mansur, came from Indonesia. It was an
extraordinary time, and I wrote about it to
Mansur who had been visiting Canada.
On this first anniversary of Ridwan’s
death, I felt I wanted to share the experi-
ence more broadly.
Alhazmi had expressed the significant ob-
ligation he felt to wash Ridwan’s body.
But after attempts to organise this with
other men in the traditional Muslim way, it
became clear that Alhazmi would need our
help.
And so it was that Ridwan was lovingly
washed and prepared by his father, his
sister, his aunt and friend, in what was an
extraordinary process for each of us.
We were fortunate that the funeral people
supported us completely - sensitive to our
need to be alone, and being on hand as
needed.
I felt prepared and willing for what we had
come to do, but it was still a shock to see
Ridwan’s naked body so completely with-
out life. To stand beside his father and
sister as they witnessed this reality was
achingly painful. It was so beyond what is
ordinary, I felt on the edge of being lost,
and of surrendering, and looked to Utami.
We so needed each other to be present for
Alhazmi and Alexandra - and together we
became strong, sister pillars.
The latihan was a powerful presence. We
sang and cried and prayed as we gently
cleaned Ridwan’s body, and washed his
hair. Utami provided the Islamic form,
giving a pattern for Alhazmi to follow -
first rinse the head three times, then the
right side, then the left.
The experience of washing Ridwan was so
powerful, and in the end the difference
was palpable. We witnessed the transfor-
mation of a young, broken body to a beau-
tiful, peaceful being, wrapped in rose pet-
als and white cloth, ready for burial. I was
Ridwan in Kalimantan.
filled with the sense that everything was
done just as it should have been – con-
firmed by the contentment on Alexandra's
and Alhazmi's faces.
When we went outside we were amazed
that it was many hours later… time had
bent into another shape altogether.
Ridwan’s funeral was a loving community
event that filled the church. Friends carried
his coffin, and a beautiful young opera
singer’s voice expressed exquisite joy and
anguish.
Love and support flowed from every direc-
tion. Flowers filled the house, food parcels
and meals arrived as needed, money and
messages came from the Subud commu-
nity worldwide, and from friends every-
where; Ridwan’s workmates, acquaintan-
ces, friends, parents of friends.
When I left to return home to Sydney a
week later, I felt I was stepping out of a
protective bubble that had surrounded us
all. In Halimah and Alhazmi I saw such
courage and surrender - each in their own
way very much living the whole experi-
ence - the shock, the blessings, the tears,
the love, and pain.
Able to be open to all that had happened,
and was happening. For each of them, and
Magnus and Alexandra, there was a long
journey still ahead.
It was a special time and I am so grateful
that I could have been of service.
My first experience of death was when Ibu
died in Cilandak in 1971. I was 13 years
old, and included with all the women who
came to wash her body.
Under a canopy of batik on the roof garden
of Bapak’s house, women sang and cried
and lovingly bathed Ibu for the last time. I
remember the heat, the scent of frangipani
and rosewater, and the beautiful feeling. It
was this experience that gave me the un-
derstanding and the courage to help pre-
pare Ridwan’s body.
Lilliana Week, Sydney
“HER DEATH
WAS HAPPY”
An obituary for Alexandra Green by
Paula Blacking..
Alexandra Green died in Cape Town on
the 15th October, aged 82. Her death was
a happy one, laughing and talking with her
daughter and a nurse beside her. She had
suffered ill health for some years, nonethe-
less always cheerfully and uncomplain-
ingly borne.
She and her husband Eddie were opened in
1965 by an Austrian couple, John and Irma
Rath, who were leading and helping the
Cape Town group at that time.
A neighbour had lent her a copy of Con-
cerning Subud, and this was the turning
point in both Alexandra and Eddie's lives.
Subud helped immensely to sustain them
when they were hit by tragedy. Their son,
John, was lost and succumbed to the ele-
ments whilst walking with a group of his
school in Hermanus.
After the Raths returned to Austria, the
Greens, with the greatest love, took over
the care of the Cape Town Group. Both
were renowned for their kindness to many
Subud members.
They fetched and carried Subud members
taking them to the latihan or bringing them
to their homes when needed. Their spare
bedroom was always available to Subud
members visiting Cape Town for meet-
ings, or for any other reason.
Alexandra was both National Helper and
Councillor Kejiwaan in her time.
For several years she and Eddie lived on
the South Coast in Natal, where they did
Latihan with the Durban Group. Eddie
died there at a great age in his nineties
some 10 years ago.
We can say with great certainty that Alex-
andra's (and Eddie's) spiritual bags were
packed, and that their passing was accom-
plished with great grace and ease.
SUBUD VOICE - April 2005 15

EVENTS
APRIL
3: WORLD LATIHAN
4:00 (CET) - 3:00 (GMT)
24-28: Theatre Workshop at La Source,
southern France. See NEWS for details or
contact: maya.bernardes@wanadoo.fr
28-May 2: Active Spirit Meeting at
Loudwater Farm, UK.
MAY
1: WORLD LATIHAN
12:00 (CET) - 10:00 (GMT)
5-8: Two days Kejiwaan Gathering
followed by two days Subud Norway
Annual Meeting.
27-30: USA National Gathering in Estes
Park, Rocky Mountains, Colorado.
JUNE
4: WORLD LATIHAN
22:00 (CET) - 20:00 (GMT)
JULY
3: WORLD LATIHAN
5:00 (CET) - 3:00 (GMT)
21 - Aug 4: 12TH SUBUD WORLD
CONGRESS - in Innsbruck, Austria. For
full information and registration:
<www.worldcongress2005.com>
AUGUST
7: WORLD LATIHAN
12:00 (CET) - 10:00 (GMT)
SEPTEMBER
3: WORLD LATIHAN
22:00 (CET) - 20:00 (GMT)
OCTOBER
2: WORLD LATIHAN
5.00 (CET) - 3:00 (GMT)
NOVEMBER
6: WORLD LATIHAN
11:00 (CET) - 10:00 (GMT)
DECEMBER
3: WORLD LATIHAN
21:00 (CET) - 20:00 (GMT)
See also the Events section on the Subud
World News website
www.subudworldnews.com
16 SUBUD VOICE - April 2005
THEATRE
WORKSHOP
An International Theatre Workshop at
La Source – Loubetas, French Pyrenees
www.lasourcepyrenees.com from April
24th to 28th, 2005 included.
A theatrical experience for all of those
over 18 years old, called the “Ritual of
thinking bodies”
This workshop will be run by Cleanthe
di Perelle, a Subud member who has
been trained in dance, rhythm and mu-
sic at the Institut Dalcroze in Geneva,
and who is an accomplished pianist and
sculptress, and Nicolas Mège who
studied at the Ecole Supérieur d’Art
Dramatique du Limousin, worked on
numerous stage productions and is now
part of the company ‘Bouche à Oreille’
in Paris.
The workshop will be for a maximum
total of 14 people, 18 years and older,
with no particular experience needed.
Real ‘natural playing’ is playing in an
organic manner where we aren’t imita-
tions of stereotypes, where we search
for the ‘right movement’ the ‘true act’
the ‘instinctive impulse’. Work will
also be done on the spoken and singing
voice.
The workshop will be for 5 full days,
six hours a day, in the beautiful retreat
of La Source - Loubetas in the French
Pyrenees.
One will need to arrive the day before
and leave the following day, though
earlier arrival or later departure are also
possible at normal accommodation
fees.
The cost including the workshop, the
food and stay is 340 € per person.
If you are interested, please contact:
Maya Bernardes at
maya.bernardes@wanadoo.fr
for more details and information.
B A P A K ’ S T A L K S
13
VOLUME
AVAILABLE MARCH
UK PRICE £13(Incl p&p)
ORDER NOW
CREDIT CARD
HOTLINE
01727
762210
email: spi@subudbooks.co.uk
MUSIC BY SUBUD ARTISTS
Yamba Yamba Orchestra - ‘Rainstorm’ £11.00
Robert Millard ‘Piano Recital 2 (Chopin)’ £11.00
Adrienne Thomas ‘Speaking In Tongues’ £11.00
Harlan Cockburn ‘Ship Without Rudder’ £11.00
Leonard Paice ‘The Ashgrove’ £11.00
Prices include postage anywhere.
(Credit Card option on website)
DJC Records
104 Constitution Hill,
Norwich, NR34 BB UK.
clague@paston.co.uk
www.djcrecords.co.uk
REFLECTIONS
Reflections is a new online column of news,
comment and folksy
philosophising by Harris Smart at
www.subudvoice.net
WORLD LATIHANS
APRIL 3: 4:00 (CET) - 3:00 (GMT)
MAY 1: 12:00 (CET) - 10:00 (GMT)
To find the corresponding time
in your part of the world go to:
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock
SUBUD VOICE
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DEADLINE FOR
NEXT ISSUE:
15 April 2005
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