About Subud

Subud is something natural. Its process takes place in anyone who wants it, at his or her own pace, according to his or her nature. It is the renewal of contact with the essential force of life, positive and constant, with which we have lost touch.

We seek what we think will make us happy, but we are endlessly mistaken in our actions and thoughts. Only sometimes, when we are still and quiet, or in an unusual heightened state of awareness, can we be suddenly, brilliantly aware of this deeper life going on. The process of Subud reconnects us and keeps this special awareness alive and active.

Subud was founded by an Indonesian, Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo. He is usually referred to by Subud members as 'Bapak', which is an Indonesian word for a respected older man. The experience, the spiritual training, which we call by the Indonesian word 'latihan', came to him as a revelation, suddenly. He was able to share it, pass it on to others, and it is now known in more than eighty countries and practised by thousands of people.

Latihan

To practice the latihan is to stand relaxed in a group of people, men and women separately, and to simply allow the process to take place. Many people feel a vibration, most soon feel an impulse to move, to utter sounds, or to sing. The impulse is spontaneous, not suggested or controlled by thought. During this time, the person is fully alert, with mind and desires passive, and follows the movement and allows sounds to come as these naturally unfold. The latihan continues for about thirty minutes, and is repeated twice a week. However, the positive effects continue by bringing more awareness and heart into one’s ordinary daily life.

The experience varies, indeed it is different for each person. For some the development is gradual and changes are noticed in the outer life before there is much physical movement in the actual latihan. The process is one of cleansing, purification, which reaches more and more deeply into every part of one's being.

Some practitioners report heightened intuition and synchronicity, others notice less physical pain or that life's bumps seem to have smoothed out with ease. Yet other people state that they have become more caring and compassionate, less judgmental or critical of themselves and others, while others notice a greater sense of reverence for life, a naturally arising gratitude and sense of connection to all of life.

It is necessary to be a member before one may attend a latihan and for most people a waiting period of two to three months is asked before joining. This gives opportunities to meet people experienced in the latihan and to learn from them something of what may be expected. It allows one to draw near with respect to a spiritual movement which is likely to change one's whole life. The moment of actually joining Subud is when for the first time, a person stands with other members who are feeling the latihan, and receives the contact. This is experienced by some immediately, by others after a while, as a quickening of their inner-most being.

Often in life we do not know, as we say, 'which way to turn', we do not know what is right. In Subud we learn to trust in a higher wisdom, to receive guidance through the latihan. The effect for most people is shown in a greater understanding of oneself, and happier personal relationships, or often something newly positive in one’s work experience. Improved health is often a by-product of the latihan, discrimination about food and drink and in habits of living. There is guidance to find one's right work in life, and so to use one's talents to the best advantage. For some there is considerable pain. The process of purification may bring out problems, remind us forcibly, painfully, of past mistakes. Many things have to be faced, accepted and let go of before they can be left behind.

The Subud organisation is world-wide. There are national and international officers and committees and there are local groups where people meet to practice the latihan together. The association has been established in the West since 1957 and is working for positive benefit in the world. Subud members are setting up business enterprises, an aim of which is to support the welfare projects of Subud, especially for children, refugees and old people. Much of the welfare activity is in the Third World.  The ultimate vision is to effect a united and more humane world wide culture.

Spiritual terminology is often used to denote a source of higher power and wisdom: ‘God’, ‘Allah’, ‘Krishna’, ‘Jehovah’, ‘the Great Life Force’, ‘Ultimate awareness’. All religions have words which have evolved through human attempts to identify and describe another dimension of life; prayer and surrender to a power greater than we can imagine and yet of which we are a part.

Subud is a process, a receiving, not a teaching. There are no teachings or theories in Subud. Nobody is expected to believe anything, only to recognise and trust what he or she experiences. People of different religions find their faith deepened, and practise the latihan in complete harmony with each other and with those who have no religion.

Gradually for most people, quite quickly for others, it becomes possible to recognise a little of the immensity of which we are a part and to live to some extent in harmony with it and with other people.

This is what Subud is about.