Subud

The wind bloweth where is listeth
And the rain it raineth where it wills

Subud is the acronym for Sushila Budhi Dharma. Sushila signifies right liv­ing and inner purity in harmony with the Di­vine Will. Budhi is the force of the Life Power within oneself. Dharma implies faith, sincerity and submission to the Al­mighty power. These principles form the triple foundation and qualification for a per­son to establish contact with the Divine Life Force.
Subud is a spiritual movement which had its origin in Indonesia in the first half of this century. Its founder and first exponent was an Indonesian Bapak Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo. He was born at dawn on June 22nd, 1901, in the village Kedungjati, Semarang, Central Jawa. Subuh is a derivative name. It means dawn and is associated with the time of his birth. It is also suggestive of the spiritual light he radiated in his later years. Bepak meaning father is a term of reverential address for the spiritual preceptor. Sumohadiwidjojo is his family name.

When Subuh was fifteen years old, a mysterious figure dressed in black and with a staff in his hand, woke him up in his sleep at dead of night and said that the Almighty God would call him when he was thirty two and disappeared. Subuh interpreted these words to mean that he worked in a railway station as signaller and latter joined the Municipality in Semarang as book-keeper. He little realised then that he was divinely ordained to play a significant role in the spiri­tual-field.

Even while young, Subuh used to visit spiritual Elders to seek enlightenment and clarification on matters spiritual. They, recognising his spiritual potential, said that it was not for them to enlighten or initiate for he himself would receive the Light of God direct. What was predicted by them came true in 1924. One night that year, he saw a ball of dazzling light shooting from above and merging into him. He was stunned and overpowered by this experience for a long time. When he recovered from its impact, he felt that he was bathed in an indescrib­able Celestial radiance. He also felt a surge of joy and peace not known before. He retired to his prayer room and started pac­ing up and down without his own volition, as if he was being impelled by some force beyond his knowledge and understanding. He practised this exercise for one thousand nights. No Guru in flesh and blood taught him this exercise. It came of its own ac­cord deep from within himself.

A series of mystical experiences convinced him that he was chosen by the Divine to initiate others into this spiritual practice. The spiritual exercise or discipline which he developed based on his direct, first hand experience is called Latihan Kejiwaan. It lies in surrendering one’s will to the Divine will and letting it act on one’s consciousness and body. Opening and Receiving signify the act of establishment of the line of contact with the current of Di­vine Energy. Helpers are those authorised to facilitate or assist in Opening and receiving. Latihan Kejiwaan awakens the prac­titioners to a deeper spiritual reality or dimension and releases them from the clutch of the passions, the mind and the heart. Besides discovering a hidden source of en­ergy, joy and serenity, they notice a surpris­ing and incredible increase and improvement in their efficiency and skill in their respective spheres of work. One need not give up one’s religion or work or turn a recluse to practise Latihan. A person practising this exercise gains a clearer understanding of and insight into his/her own religion. The train­ing is given to seekers irrespective of their nationality, religion and sex. Men and women are segregated for purposes of this exercise and women are initiated by women helpers.

In the fifties and after, Bapak Subuh travelled extensively opening a large num­ber of seekers in different parts of the world. He died on June 23, 1987. Latihan Kejiwaan has spread to nearly 80 coun­tries and the number of those practising it runs about five lakhs. The Subud Interna­tional Centre is situated in Cilandak, Jakarta and international conferences are held in dif­ferent countries.

Subud is not a religion or dogma or philosophy or teaching. It is receiving the contact with the great Life Force in one self In Bapak’s words “In Latihan we are begin­ning to train ourselves from ourselves for ourselves”.

Interested persons can get detailed information and literature about Subud from Mr. S. M. Mashure; Kejiwaan, Counsellor in Subud organization, 38, Rukmani Street: Besant Nagar, Madras-90. Phone: 491 3709. No fee is charged for counselling and opening.

            “Most men are other people their thoughts are some one else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation”
--OSCAR WILDE