Originally published as Selected Sumarah Teachings by the Department of Asian Studies, Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), Perth, 1977, 34 pp.
= Relaxed Meditation:
Selected Sumarah Teachings =
Paul Stange, trans. ed. & introduced
Introduction
Sumarah is a Javanese word referring to the condition of total surrender. Thus the name Paguyuban Sumarah, the Indonesian spiritual association our practices have grown from, is itself nearly an adequate description of both the aim and nature of our practice. The aim of meditation, most often called ‘sujud’ within the Indonesian group, is to surrender every aspect of personal being so the self functions as a vehicle for God's will.
Keynotes of practice
Sumarah is practice and has no canon of official teachings or sacred texts. Meditation sessions do not involve special rituals or mantras. There are no ‘guru’; in principal every person is meant to focus only on learning through what registers in their own interior experience. While there is understanding that levels of consciousness differ, that some members are ‘elder’ in the practice, there is no validation for focusing on personalities. The direction of attention is firmly ‘inward’ and the authority meditators are meant to attend to is that of the ‘true teacher’ (guru sejati or hakiki being terms for this) inside. No one is supposed to rely on the authority another claims.
The keynotes of practice are simple: First centering, through attuning intuitively to the whole body, in all its dimensions and parts. Secondly surrendering, opening totally and relaxing to allow the release of all tensions, resistance or blockages. Within Sumarah it is understood that this happens naturally in the sense that even the process of opening and realization is guided by God or Nature and does not require concentration, pressure or stress.
Guidance (Tuntunan) within group sessions is a critical vehicle for practice--through it each individual increases awareness of both their own process and of the ways our inner worlds are linked. Guides, called pamong, speak spontaneously on the basis of their attunement to those participating and to the Tuntunan. If their words have value to others it is understood to be because they articulate experience which is collectively witnessed.
Alternatively meditation may take place in silence, or with only a few pertinent comments. In any case even conversation within the meditation context is meant to catalyze movement on a path each participant is understood as treading individually. There is no fixed form of teaching, not even of technique; as each practitioner or guide finds their own way or style.
Variation is validated by the theory implicit within Sumarah. Where there is uniformity in experience or style that often implies mechanical reproduction or imitation rather than allowing the free flowering of life energies. This understanding is even linked to acknowledgment that in every country or local cultural context the textures and styles of interaction and imagination will be different. Thus leaders within the Indonesian organization have often stressed that it only facilitates networking of practices within the country. Meanwhile internationally followers who have come to know it there must discover through the way guidance is received in their own contexts how collective practice is experienced in their homes.
Nevertheless, those who enter the practice have often begun with the Sesanggeman, a term which literally means "vows". In English it may be closer to the intent of the term to stress that these points highlight the convictions and objectives which underlie practice. In summary the Sesanggeman clarify that:
Sumarah is a brotherhood dedicated to total meditative surrender. It is grounded in certainty that one Truth underlies all religions. It works toward spiritual and material harmony; toward health of body and peace of heart. It works to strengthen the brotherhood of man through compassionate acceptance of daily responsibilities, response to social needs, and harmony with life as it is. It needs no force, haste, pretension or egoism; but respects others and endeavors to raise consciousness of our common goal. It is not fanatical, but grows from and relies on the Truth which benefits all.
Sumarah emphasizes the autonomous revelatory origins of its practice and the movement has always stressed that it is not a ‘religion’ and has no connection with a particular religion. Nevertheless some keynotes of common practice resonate clearly with Sufism. This is natural, as most members within Indonesia are Muslim so Sufi vocabularies are the natural vehicle for their ideas. Certainly as practice is geared toward conscious realization of and surrender to God it can be seen as focussed on what orthodox Islam terms "the greater jihad", the path of inner and self critical purification.
Meditation sessions take place on a weekly basis in ordinary homes, most often of advanced members who may function as guides. Most members attend a group session each week while continuing individual practice at home. The core of dedicated mediators and active pamong often spend every night of the week with the Sumarah groups. But no matter how much time is spent in meditation or in sessions with other members, all Sumarah members continue to lead normal existences of working for a livelihood and participating in family life. The aim of practice is not isolation from society, but a balance of outer (lahir) and inner (batin) being. According to Sumarah it is only when we manifest compassion for all beings through service within society that we are really showing we are in tune with God's will, harmonized with all being. Synoptic history
Currently Sumarah is an association of about six thousand. The seat of the organization, the Dewan Pimpinan Pusat (DPP) is in Jakarta. Other major regional centers include Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Semarang, Magelang, Madiun, Ponogoro, Kediri, Malang and Surabaya. In Jakarta and Bandung membership is small and confined largely to ethnic Javanese civil servants and professionals who were members before moving there. In the heartland of Central and East Java membership is more heterogeneous and in a few regions, notably Madiun, a large number of villagers joined.
The origins of Sumarah lie in the experiences of Sukinohartono during the 1930s. By then Pak Kino, as he was usually called, had been an active spiritual seeker for several decades. He was born at the turn of the century in a village in Wonosari, not far from the court city of Yogyakarta. He began as a teacher, then worked as a minor court official and bank clerk until his death in 1970. After his revelatory experiences of 1935, a small circle of friends began to share his practice and by 1940 the seeds of an organization had been sown through most of the major towns Central and East Java. Those seeds began to germinate during the Second World War, under Japanese occupation. During the revolutionary struggle of the late 1940s an influx of many new and younger members gave rise to the need for a formal organization.
Thus just as Indonesia gained acceptance in the world of nations, the association crystallized into what is now ‘Paguyuban Sumarah’, usually referred to as just "Sumarah". From 1950 until 1966 the formal organization was led by Dr Surono and still centered in Yogyakarta. From 1966 until his death in 1997 the key leader was Arymurthy in Jakarta. Since 1997 first Sumarsono and then Sukosudarso have been organizational leaders. Throughout the period since independence Sumarah has been one of the several dozen most prominent national movements within the sphere of aliran kebatinan. (mystical groups). Although not one of the largest movements it has been especially important, because its leaders have simultaneously been active within the umbrella organizations which represent kebatinan on the national scene.
In Sumarah the revolution brought together two contrary vectors of change. Socially there has been institutionalization; spiritually a democratization, a spreading of charisma. From a social perspective the key turning points for the movement came in 1950 and 1966. From a spiritual perspective different ‘phases’ have been identified with shifting focus in meditation practice. Phase I began in 1935, phase II in 1950, phase III in 1957. Phase IV was recognized in late 1974 and several others followed in rapid succession. From this spiritual vantage point the core process has been a diffusion of hakiki from the center down to the roots.
Hakiki, the defining characteristic of Sumarah as a spiritual association, is the source of spiritual authority and authenticity, the channel through which spiritual guidance comes directly from God or Nature to the individual. Between 1935 and 1950 it was felt that hakiki was concentrated within a small circle of half a dozen founding members. From 1950 to 1957 it became accessible to leaders throughout the organization and since 1957 it has reached a far larger circle of advanced members. The spreading of hakiki has not been a matter of leaders ‘revealing secrets' to initiates. By definition hakiki cannot be controlled by individuals - the process has been based on the gradual maturation of practice and fuller consciousness on the part of practitioners. While there have been associated changes in meditation technique and guidance, from an internal perspective the central process has been a spreading of hakiki and increasing surrender to God's will that receiving it implies.
International developments
Sumarah has no formal international organization. Paguyuban Sumarah in Indonesia has consistently held that its function was only to facilitate connections for practice within Indonesia and so only Indonesians are 'members' of the organization. Nevertheless an informal network of international 'followers of the practice' (anggota berjemaah as they are called in Indonesia) began to become active in 1971, after Paul Stange connected with it and, then together with Suyono Hamongdarsono, began to interpret to facilitate foreign participation.
Most international followers have known the organization through its Solo (Surakarta) branch, especially through the guidance of pamong as Pak Sri Sempoerno, Pak Wondo, Pak Darno Ong, Pak Reso and Pak Arymurthy. Friends from Europe, North America and Australia have remained in contact with each other, only as an informal network, mainly through repeatedly revisiting Indonesia and meeting there.
During these three decades there have been several dozen western followers who have spent periods of years joining in Sumarah practice in Indonesia and taking it with them as an active part of their lives at home. Several hundred have joined for periods of months. Perhaps a dozen international Sumarah friends have at times been able to function as guides (pamong; there is no 'official' measure of such status) in their home contexts.
In North America, where friends have been scattered, it became clear in the 1970s that most continued connecting to Sumarah 'internally' while 'externally', in formal activities, connecting with other related spiritual practices--a pattern very consistent with Sumarah principles. In Australia concentrations of friends started meeting together informally in Perth, Canberra and Melbourne in the late 1970s and in several places have continued to the present. Since the l990s there have also been meetings in Greece, Germany, France and Italy.
Informal meetings which include guided meditation continue in all of these places without being actively linked to each other; in each place developments take a different pattern (also consistent with Sumarah principles). During the past several years networking, leading toward the creation of this web site, has been stimulated through the pattern of 'workshopping' Sumarah practice which has been developed by Laura Romano at first through the invitation in 1994 by Andrea Bocconi an Italian therapist from the Psycosynthesis school (Assagioli) and then in 1995 by Christina Stelzer a former student of Suprapto (Prapto) Suryodarmo, a Solo based teacher of healing movement who in the past had also practiced Sumarah meditation. Prapto's network began to develop in the early 1980s through collaboration with German movement and therapy teachers and many of them have also practiced Sumarah meditation during their periods in Java.
These days the Sumarah international network continues to grow steadily.
Selected Sumarah Teachings
A. Surakarta, December 11, 1973 (Journal x:17)
Last night there was a very fine, light, clear meeting with Pak Darno. Perhaps a dozen of the older and more mellow Chinese regulars were there talking with him when I arrived. Someone had asked why Paul Brunton's guru refused to acknowledge him as a follower and this led into general reflections about teacher-pupil relationships in spiritual matters. Sudarno said that possibly the guru was indicating purity by not wanting to encourage falsely dependent relationships. He emphasized that the problem of personality cults arises from both sides of the teaching boundary.
From the pupil's point of view there are many people claiming interest in spiritual awareness who are actually simply looking for security, safety, and something to invest belief in that will calm their personal insecurities and fears. For those people it makes little difference whether they believe in gurus or not- in either case their own spirit lies in a fatalistic sleep. Their own consciousness is not working, but whenever they encounter a clever person who can give them a sense of security then they begin to blindly believe everything he mouths and fanatically close themselves to other ways of seeing things. This attitude is even characteristic of many Sumarah members who end up being closed to other practices. The guru syndrome is simply the converse and those who fall into it are people who get pleasure from the fact of a following or security when others accept their beliefs.
Problems always arise when people find a teaching that seems to hold true in one situation and then start clinging to it as a dogma. Actually we should never get stuck with any particular theory. A theory is only a momentary event, a temporary expedient. We ought to face reality openly because once we do we will find that we will learn from everything rather than just from specific theories or people. If we remain truly open then we will become fully aware of the activities and functioning of our own tools as well rather than being manipulated by external forces or internal emotions. We will never become open if we guide ourselves by theories.
Usually we are afraid to let go of theory because we fear mistakes, we are afraid of being wrong. This fear, this effort to guard within us, is already a mistake. Actually we should act spontaneously so that when we make mistakes we realize them right away. Realizing our errors should be no cause for regret, or for that matter for pleasure should we happen to do the right thing. Whatever happens is only something to learn from so that in the future we can act with fuller awareness. If we are wrong, then just let it go, accept it. Face things as they come, no two instants are the same. Be free.
When we meditate we don't need to set up special guard mechanisms inside to make sure we are always on the right track. We do not need to cling to theories about how we should relax. If we do that then we will always be self-consciously trying to create the condition and it will be forced and unnatural. Let go of theories and just be aware of what is happening. Every time you realize you are not relaxed, let go and you will be.
Reflection about the nature of compassion can help us here. The Buddhists have a meditation they call "metakaruna" in which they try to practice love. All too often what they do in their practice is recall the symptoms of love in the mind and then use the will to summon up the feelings they associate with it. This is a false love. Most of the time it becomes a heavy feeling that is pervaded by pity and caused only by specific circumstances - love for "my" child or because someone is sick. True compassion springs spontaneously from within and requires no specific cause. It is pervaded by lightness and pure joy. It is not a feeling of pleasure, it is not mixed with pity, and it is not tied to the results of action. In true compassion there is no closing off of the self from anything or anyone. Whenever we are attached to the results of our actions, to how people receive them, to whether they are right or wrong, then we are being motivated by desires rather than pure compassion.
As we speak of all these things we need to be aware that none of them can be grasped concretely with the mind or senses. The closest we can be to picking up on them is with our intuitive feeling. As we are asking questions there is no use doing so simply to satisfy some mental curiosity. Our questions should be based on whatever concerned experience we are having in our meditation. Then as we ask it we need to be genuinely grappling with it inside ourselves. In receiving answers we have to be following with our feeling so that we can experience rather than simply understand what is meant. Not only do we need to be understanding and experiencing, but we also need to be aware what we are experiencing so that it does not just pass right through us. The most important thing is to learn directly in your own consciousness so that we are not just noting down theoretical points but actually making the realization ourselves. If we do not do that then our awareness is not really growing. We should never be closed off to something just because we have read it a hundred times before. Perhaps we have, and then if we are hung up on the level of words we may become bored. But if we are tuning into the interchange without total attention, if we are appreciating the whole experience, then it is always new and always relevant to our spiritual evolution.
B. Surakarta, December 14, 1973 (Journal X:21)
We began the Thursday evening session with the unannounced meditation that is beginning to become a habit as we gather for a meeting. Because Steve and Glenn had just come back from a long session of Vipissana (a Theravada Buddhist meditation practice) at the Vihara (Buddhist temple) in Semarang, we began by trying to work out the contrasts between some of the techniques we have all been exposed to. To begin with we explored which aspects of consciousness Vipissana seems to develop. Glenn commented that Bhikku Jinapea had told him that consciousness, according to Buddhist theory, could only be of one thing at a time. For instance, if we are pinched in the leg, then in that instant that is our awareness. Even if we become aware of something else a split second later, the two events of awareness are consecutive rather than simultaneous. Glenn wanted to know how this sense of "awareness" related to what we have been working with since on the face of it they seemed rather different.
Sudarno said that as he sees it there are many kinds of consciousness. There is consciousness of feeling, of thought, beyond both, and another, which he characterized as "dissolving consciousness". By the fourth type of awareness he means the tool which, whenever we become aware of anything, dissolves or finishes it off. Once we have become aware of something, then it is this tool that releases us from it. He said this final form is crucial. Finally, he did say there is consciousness beyond these which subsumes them simultaneously. In reflecting myself, it seemed that what Jinapea had termed "consciousness" is closer to what we speak of as "attention" in Solo. Then Suyono commented that as we were talking the frogs were croaking loudly outside the pendopo (hall), that these were two simultaneous events. This reminded us all that related and seemingly separate events are all part of one constellation that is the moment we are in. If our awareness is open and receptive, then we will be aware of the harmony that is all of those events rather than narrowly focusing on any one aspect of the moment.
Then we spoke about what it is that is developed by Vipissana ... To Glen it seemed to be the capacity to concentrate. He found himself experimenting by alternating between Vipissna and relaxed meditation techniques while at the Vihara. The switches in technique led him into spaces he had not experienced with either, spaces he was unsure of. To Steve it seemed that Vipissana functioned mainly to discipline the "observer", to focus concentration in the head. He found it useful even though quite different from what he had been doing in Solo. Carol contributed some thoughts based on her exposure to Zen in Japan. She said that Zen warns students not to try to pin down the nature of realization or of Oneness because it is ineffable. It rejects the proliferation of elaborate techniques because of the danger that students will become preoccupied with the technique rather than reaching the realization. That is why in Zen they use shock methods like the koan - which can only be experienced and never analyzed. Zen also stresses that satori is not something that can be created, that we just have to be open so that it can happen.
Sudarno said that he felt he has been learning a lot through all of our discussions because it has given him indirect exposure to gurus and methods from all over the world. His impression has been that even though the aim of all the various techniques is the same, that most of the methods seem to stop at the level of concentration - never reaching true meditation or contemplation. In every case the methods aim to still the mind since everyone acknowledges that that is a prerequisite to full spiritual consciousness. He said that it is true that we need to start by stilling the mind since usually our awareness is caught by the binding power of thoughts and personal convictions.
Concentration techniques and many schools of meditation are concerned with this first phase of keeping the mind still and in place. To begin with the mind jumps all over the place, so many methods suggest use of a mantra or a chakra (point of concentration). But there is an element of force implicit in those methods because whenever attention wanders it is necessary to hold it in place with concentration. After considerable practice the mind will begin to stay still and at that point there is no longer any real need for the controlling agent. The practice only begins to evolve into genuine meditation when the controlling element has relaxed and opened up. Beyond that, awareness begins to move into the realm of contemplation when the mind is still, the controls are relaxed, and the mind then opens up to flow by itself. Then the entire process becomes spontaneous without any of the force of self-conscious intention implicit in the beginning stages.
One of the problems that reemerges persistently in the use of concentration techniques is dependence on the initial method used to still the mind. It becomes a sort of security we cling to as a counter to our fear that without it the mind will no longer stay in place. The crutch becomes a habit after it has served its true purpose. This is why in Sudarno's opinion it is best to dispense with techniques altogether. To him it seems that the best way to still the mind is by taking away the source of energy that gives it the capacity to run all over in the first place. The way to take away that source of energy is simply to remove attention from the mind into feeling, into intuition. In the terminology of relaxed meditation, this is to move attention from the observer in the mind to the observed inside the feelings. As long as attention remains in the mind then we continue to feed it energy and there is no end to thoughts, unless we accidentally let go after getting tired of watching. But if we begin with our attention fully in feeling, in rasa, then there will no longer be energy feeding into the mind. It may continue to seem as though there are thoughts flowing through the mind for a long time after that, but actually that process is simply a releasing of subconsciously stored up energy. Because it is a releasing, once it is finished then that is the end of it - there will be no energy left in thoughts.
In the past Sudarno has used the analogy of taming a wild horse to make this point. We could choose to rope the horse, tie its legs, and leave it quivering in a ball of tension for however long it takes for the horse to wear itself out. We could also choose to let the horse loose in a corral, to let it run as hard and long as it can until it is totally spent and falls into an exhausted sleep. The second strategy results in the genuine stillness we are seeking - rather than simply the absence of movement on the literal plane.
To do this, that is to put our awareness into feeling and work with it from there, we have to begin with a sense of what is meant by our thoughts and feelings, of what the contrast is. In the past Sudarno has usually begun by telling us to be aware of the observer, that is looking instead at the observed. Then he instructs us to not only look inside, feel inside, but actually to be inside. To just do this, not to think about doing it or what it means to do it. In this way the observer merges with the observed, or in Krishnamurti's terms the mind enters into the heart. This time, rather than recommending these stages, Sudarno suggested that for those who could it would be simpler to begin with an awareness of what thoughts and feelings are, then to just witness the releasing of energy pent up in both until they are absolutely passive. Then the witness dissolves automatically and we are one.
To sense the contrast between thoughts and feelings he suggested that usually if we are experiencing through our eyes it registers on the mind, when we are receiving through our ears it registers on feelings. The shortcut is that if we can really sense the difference between thoughts and feelings, that means automatically that we are not located in either, but rather in the witness. So he suggested that rather than getting involved in any set of techniques, it would be better simply to truly witness the process of internal events. Through this the mind will become still naturally by itself.
The second area of conversation was of how fantasy, imagination, and reflection relate to meditation. Steve found during his Vipissana experience that fantasy seemed to be the surfacing of repressed and unfulfilled desires. While fantasies stopped whenever he was using Solo style meditation, he found that in doing Vipissana he kept retracing the roots of it in his repressed desires, becoming more conscious of himself in the process. Sudarno commented that Steve's understanding of fantasy was essentially correct, but he stressed that there was really no need to reflect on them, - it is enough to stop when we realize it is happening. While that sort of reflection, which Pak Wondo calls "renungan" and recommends, can be all right, we have to be extremely careful that we stop as soon as our specific purpose has been achieved. It is just as easy to get caught up in reflection as in fantasy. In the end they rarely differ. In any case, neither is necessary since all we ever really need to be aware of is the moment we are in. Whenever we get carried off into a train of thoughts then that awareness is lessened.
Then Elsa asked what the true functioning of imagination is because in the West we so often associate that with artistic creativity. Sudarno responded that imagination and fantasy amount to the same thing and that they are equally escapist. Neither is truly necessary. To realize this he suggested that we need to be aware of the contrast between the kind of pleasures we experience through fantasy and the beauty we apprehend through direct experience of reality. If we are fully attentive and open to the moment we will be experiencing the essence rather than outer form of things. No matter what we are dealing with we will see the true beauty of it, we will experience the Life in it, and we will experience it from the essence within ourselves, which is the essence we are experiencing. This can only happen if we are fully within and open to the moment as it is happening here and now.
One way we can sense the difference between real and imagined beauty is by experiencing the joy of a purely rural setting. If we are only experiencing it, then we will know the true beauty of it. If we compare it with other scenes we remember as having been more beautiful, our attention is no longer in the moment. The imagining takes us away from the real beauty that is in front of us all the time.
In daily life we usually close ourselves off by making judgements, assuming that others are guilty when we are equally so. For instance, when we bargain and feel offended at the "unreasonably high" prices others ask, actually we are doing the same thing by being emotionally attached to "low prices". In all daily situations we lose a lot of energy through attachment in our emotions to ideas which we have fixed in our minds. This eats up most of our energy and accounts for physical exhaustion. If we respond actively to external things without attachment, then the mind and emotions never consume nearly as much energy as they do when we sit silently at home with a head full of unfulfilled thoughts. It is impossible to judge stillness of mind or emotions just on the basis of the external activity they perform.
To illustrate the detrimental effects of fantasy he told a story. Once there was a young girl engaged to marry an army officer, but just after the engagement he went off to the front and was killed. Although she was notified, she scoffed at the news and insisted that he would return any day with high rank and she would eventually become the proud wife of a general. This conviction never weakened with time and continued until she was at least fifty. Throughout that period she never looked older than thirty, except during occasional depressed moods. Every day she cheerfully did herself up and rested with the assumption that her loved one would arrive anytime. So there she is, Sudarno concluded, happy (or so it seems) with her illusion and behaving and looking much younger than her age. So what's wrong with that. The trouble with illusion, he continued, is not what you can see on the outside, but rather what is happening to the spirit within - it remains clouded by an obscuring haze and closed over by fear and unwillingness to face reality as it is.
What we might think of as creative imagination, Sudarno refers to as inspiration. As he puts it, inspiration occurs when the mind is still. Then when an event occurs within the mind, when it is apprehended by consciousness, it does not originate from thoughts. Then it is a truly creative inspiration. Most of us experience this in flashes when we are doing things like writing letters - almost without our knowing it a section will spill out onto the page and we can surprise ourselves by what we have written. In those times it is as though the mind is asleep and from one perspective, we are not conscious of what we are doing.
C. Surakarta, November 22, 1973 (Journal X:1)
As the meeting began to get together here at Suyono's place we all arrived and began meditation without any fuss. Later in the evening Sudarno pointed out that our meditations at that point were more relaxed and natural than later on. Once the whole group was self-consciously meditating then we tended to try to manipulate the experience rather than being brave enough to take the chance that it would not go "well". As a result we became stiff and awkward. Pak Darno said that this illustrated one of the typical problems occurring in practice - the more mental understanding people have about meditation then the more their minds meddle in it and the less relaxed they are.
Carol asked about daily meditation because she still lacked a clear sense of what it means to be meditating during everyday activities. Sudarno explained that we are automatically centered in a state of daily meditation if first: the senses are working receptively, our attention is inside, and we are letting things come to us rather than reaching out for them. Then our thoughts work to handle whatever business is at hand, but in doing so they are working "in the now" - that if we are planning for tomorrow we will not be daydreaming about it but simply preparing ourselves. Finally, if our feelings are relaxed and we are not pushing uselessly in an emotional way.
Sue asked how it was possible to meditate when it seems that you are endlessly hung up on thoughts, not even able to begin to center in feeling as he advises us to. Sudarno responded that to begin with we have to be serious and responsible in our daily lives. As long as we are inattentive to mundane activities, then will never begin. He told us how a few weeks before he had been asked by Pakem (the Justice Department agency supervising mystical groups in Indonesia) to provide ten passport photos, ten copies of his life story, and ten copies of a letter certifying that he had not been involved in the communist movement in 1965 (Surat bebas G 30 S). Since he has neither inclination to write nor a taste for bureaucracy he let the errands slide, even going so far as to suggest to Pak Sri (the leader of the Solo branch of Sumarah) that he ought to quit the organization rather than bothering with it all. Then when all the other Sumarah pamongs had completed their papers Pak Sri came round and reminded Sudarno that the whole group would not get permission to continue unless he finished his errands. Once it sank in that his negligence would affect everyone, he forced himself to take care of it. As he went about it he found that his feelings resisted each step but that each time he finished something it was as though a weight was being lifted off him. Once he finished he noticed that his meditation began to open and flow, as it had not throughout the period of dragging his feet.
Then because some of us were just about to leave for the States, he had a few words of advice: Do not look for all sorts of new distractions and practices to fill yourself with, but don't cling to what we have been learning here either. Throw everything away so that you can face events spontaneously and naturally. Face things not through a filter of your fixed ideas, but just at they are. Don't ever get into the trap of viewing everything through the lenses of your particular methods and theories. Then he told a story about a wandering seeker....
Once there was a man who became sick of the perverse nature of the society he grew up in. He found it depressing that everybody there was into a cutthroat ego battle, all using each other crassly. In distaste and rejection he decided it would be better to become a recluse. So he left the city and went by himself to a cave deep in the forests. He stayed there for a long time accompanied only by a few favorite holy books such as the Vedas and the odd essentials of material survival. He meditated, did yoga, read holy books, and lived in peaceful and silent isolation. After a long time it came to him that what he really needed was a guru who could guide him directly in his spiritual quest. Picking up his holy books, he left the retreat in search of a master.
As he wandered and drew nearer town, he sat down to rest in the shade of a huge tree by the side of the road. He opened the Vedas and began to read of sacred things. A bird, sitting in the tree above, shat on the book. Flabbergasted that any bird would dare to so desecrate a book he held so holy, he glanced fiercely at it and it was immediately burned to ashes. Satisfied that karma deals justly with the foolish, he cleaned up the book and resumed his trek into town.
Arriving in town he sat down to beg for food at one of the houses he passed. In that country townspeople customarily gave food to wandering holy men because they highly respected them. However, the lady of the house couldn't serve the wanderer immediately. Although she knew he was waiting, first she had to feed her crying baby until it had fallen into a contented seep. Then her husband returned from work and she had to cater to his needs. Having finished her household tasks she finally got around to the wanderer. As she offered him food she apologized for having taken so long. She added that actually she feared holy men because of the powers they accumulated during their long isolation. As the wanderer seemed curious about her comment, she elaborated that they were even able to kill birds with a single glance. Taken aback by what seemed to be clairvoyant knowledge of his actions, the wanderer concluded that she was no ordinary woman so he asked her where he could find his guru. Without hesitation she responded that he should go to a small village a long way south of there and look for the guru in the market place.
Pleased that his aim seemed on the verge of fulfillment, the wanderer made his way directly to the village and arrived at the marketplace just as it was closing one day. As he neared the market he hesitated in front of a stall, wondering who he should ask. The man in the stall asked whether he was looking for the guru. Then when told that the wanderer was indeed looking for the guru, the man confessed that he was the very guru the woman had sent the wanderer in search of. Then the guru, who happened to be a butcher, asked the wanderer to wait while he finished cleaning up the shop.
While waiting the wanderer wondered scornfully whether anyone who bloodied his hands butchering cattle could be very holy, it seemed incongruous. Once the butcher had finished tidying up his stall the two began to walk toward his home on the edge of town. While they walked, the butcher began speaking in a reflective manner, commenting that he was not a butcher because he either hated cows or gloried in blood, but rather because it was his social duty in response to the material needs of his family. Again the wanderer was taken aback, now it seemed the butcher was reading his mind. Concluding that the butcher had to be onto something after all, he decided he really might be his guru.
At the butcher's home the host suggested that the wanderer bathe, relax and make himself comfortable after his long travels. Although he had finished his work for a livelihood, the butcher explained that he still had chores to take care of around the house because his parents were old and needed practically everything done for them. When all of the chores had been done and the two had eaten and rested, they began to talk. As the evening drew near and deepened a small group of neighbors collected at the butcher's home and they all explored spiritual things far into the night, just as we do here. Finding it a congenial environment, the wanderer settled down for a period of months, probing deeply into the spirit all the while. Gradually the wanderer began to see the butcher as his guru. Then one day when the two were alone, the butcher spoke to the wanderer.
"In all this time you have learned many things and you have come to look on me as your guru. This has been fine, but now you are different and it is time for you to go home and assume responsibilities in the society that bred you."
Upset, the wanderer responded that, "I left my society because it is corrupt and ruinous to the human spirit, here I have found freshness and purity, what use would it be for me to throw myself back into the corruption I left. If I do then won't I simply lose everything that has been gained in my quest?"
"Friend wanderer," answered the butcher, "Now things are different than they were when you left. Most importantly you are different. When you left home you were responding to your own feelings of disgust and rejection. Now you have an awareness you never had then. When you go back it will not be the same as it was. There is a difference between two men who struggle to extract themselves from the gutter; the one fell in without knowing what happened or where he is - so he founders uselessly, the other who stepped in purposely to help the first when he saw him as he was walking peacefully along the road. Both may seem equally dirty in the eyes of a passerby, but there is a vital contrast between them. Beyond that you will find that it is no longer as it was when you came. Since you came here I have been like a guru to you and you have been doing your learning through me. But you will find that in fact your teacher is everything and anything, that all of life is your guide if you become open to awareness of it. When our spirit is locked up with fixed ideas, if our minds are filled with assumptions about things, then we will not be experiencing them purely as they are. Instead we will always be judging in terms of the ideas we are already filled with and the desire to prove them right. But if you can be open and empty, then you can be learning and experiencing the essence of life even when in contact with an inanimate rock. If you are filled with your own conclusions, no matter how right they may seem to you, then you will not be able to receive knowledge even if the gods themselves are lecturing to you. Even more, you will now find that you have to play a constructive role in society. For a long time now you have been living a pleasant life off the fruit of other men's labor. Now it is time for you to earn your part in the society that bred you. As you leave to face your duties in the world there is no need for you to cling to new teachings to fill yourself with. There is also no need for you to cling to the teachings you have learned up to now. The only important thing is consciousness and the opening of the spirit. There is no need to cling to specific methods or understandings. The spirit will always bloom differently as the things teaching us change. The lesson is Life."
D. Surakarta, February 20, 1974 (Journal X:48)
As Glenn, Laurel and I were about to leave Solo on our way out of Indonesia, Pak Darno offered us a few final comments ... Don't think of meditation as focusing on a special aim or place or state, it always changes and grows in ways we can't expect. Once we are centered then the process of letting go is an unfolding realization of moments in which we discover that we are holding back, trying to force things, or lost in memories. It just goes on and on. In our centering we need to be very careful not to get hung up on particular feelings, feelings are only a tool and phase we need to move beyond in order to be fully conscious. We need to be receptive and at rest so that we are not attached to whatever happens to be going on. We should always remember that the process we are going through is leading to the place where the only force moving our being is universal compassion, a compassion which does not distinguish between people and things according to likes and dislikes, but sees and spontaneously experiences the beauty that is in everything.
Arymurthy on Guidance in Sumarah
I am here now as an organizational officer of Paguyuban Sumarah. The Sumarah organization was begun in embryonic form by three founders (Pinisepuh): Pak Kino, Pak H. Soetadi, and Pak Hardo. Each of them was responsible for a different field of its development. Pak Tadi in Solo was especially active in pioneering the organizational guidelines and formulating the Sumarah Vows (Sesanggeman). This was already an indication that some basic guidelines are essential. We might well ask why. Actually guidelines are only necessary as an aid to action and not in dealing with matters of conviction. Convictions cannot be manipulated by rules, but it is essential to have guidelines on our social relations. This is because we no longer live in the isolation of ancient times, now we have collective responsibilities for social harmony and world order.
I want to continue by clarifying what these guidelines imply. Naturally I can only speak through the culture that I experience personally but everything I am going to explain in this meeting I am only expressing as God wills it. In case there are questions, then ask freely about anything you need to. If there are, then I will try to clarify what Sumarah is through guidance from Hakiki. There are no limits but if we don't get to everything, that is fine too. Whatever fragments come out is enough. Gradually you will become aware of what it is that is guiding. Remember that guidance does not really come from the person who is pamong (guide) but that it springs up within each of our individual feelings.
We are not just meditating because of the desire to, even though that may be the starter. Of course we may need to have the intention to meditate, people seem to need it that way. There has to be a suggestion, "okay, let's meditate". This is already a healthy direction and we can enter the dimension of meditation freely without any specific rules, free of anything. For the time being this is not only okay, but good.
Within meditation we look for explanations about method. This is the start of a desire, a hope, and a prayer for guidance from something in our meditation. In the beginning sometimes the pamong will give directions but as we go on we have to become aware that the direction must come from within our meditation, from our own spirit and being. Guidance does not come from outside the self since in fact no element outside has any right over the self. Guidance will appear in our own body, in our spirits. Normally within a session the pamongs help by creating a favorable environment for all present so that each can come to know this guidance gradually. This guidance is pointing toward the self, body and spirit. I am talking in terms of the personal identity, I don't just mean the mind or the feelings, but your own identity, whatever you choose to call it. If Arymurthy, then Arymurthy; if Paul, then Paul. In any case the totality and not just parts, but the overall identity. This is so that the individual can find the place where meditation develops. The location is crucial.
According to religions the place is the church, mosque, or the temple. From the very beginning some place has always been designated for those who worship God. This is where the term God originated, as clarification that from his origin man has had guidance in this meditation. In our worship, in our meditation, in our sujud (surrender), there is also a place. Once in its place, the self can be more firm in the meditation; this is the place to sit in meditation and this place becomes the basis for the ordering of life. Life is not aimless and chaotic. There has always been an ethical code directing humanity to behave well, not to disturb others, to live for more than just the self. We need to know our place in the world, there is order and culture. All of this is part of meditation. People cannot just go in whatever direction they like, there are patterns in the cosmos. So from the beginning of humanity there has always been a specific place for worship and meditation; whether under the bodhi tree, in a church, or in a mosque, Nowadays in this atomic age most people don't have the time to search out specific places in the way they used to. At the same time it is now clearer than before that the place for worship is within the individual body and spirit. So if a person says to you that he is meditating then it is because he is located in the inner space of meditation. He is in the place, which gives the self optimal consciousness of worship in both body and soul.
So perhaps you are not yet interested in worshipping God, you may say you just want peace and that is the beginning. Hopefully it will evolve toward greater intensity increasing purity of spirit and awareness, and then pass through many levels of meditation. As a personal experience this will only happen if you flow with the tune of the guide, of the guide within. This is what, later on in Sumarah terms, we talk about as Hakiki or Hak. Hakiki is the science, it is the vehicle for the science. It is independent and autonomous and cannot be defined. It cannot be restricted by books no matter who writes them and its manifestation within each of us depends only on Hakiki itself ....
All of us stand on the principle of freedom, including Indonesians. In fact, there is now an increasing emphasis on freedom of experience and convictions. This is as it should be, it is a universal trend. But there is a second aspect and that is that within freedom there is order, not doctrine, but an order. Whoever rejects order in his life fails to tune into the age we are in. In the past it was possible. now it isn't. So okay, begin with freedom as a state toward meditation. Then there are instructions, perhaps to meditate under a particular tree or here or wherever. After that the direction it toward the place in your own body. You have probably frequently heard pamongs speak of the "sanubari". It is just a term, but there is no way to relate to where it really is unless we begin with entering the realm of meditation.
This is the first phase. Here we use the word "dirasakan", meaning to feel the state rather than to understand it. To begin with the meditation has to be felt in much the same sense that we feel when we are physically enjoying something, listening with pleasure, or eating tasty food. In the sanubari we talk of "feeling in such and such a way" and it is just a manner of speaking. Then what next? What does guidance bring once the total identity is known and the different aspects of it have been grasped. Even in the beginning it is best to start with the total self rather than specific tools or aspects of the being. It may be all right to begin working with one tool but it is a waste of time, it is inefficient. Eventually there is guidance in meditation toward awareness of the total identity, but this awareness will come automatically. As we realize the different aspects of our identity we should see it within the context of the whole. This is what is taught now because it is what man needs now, he needs to know where his true self is within the dimension of his meditation. Secondly, within that dimension we grow to know what our identity consists of, we are introduced to the individual aspects of our character as a totality and with an impact on the whole self.
Frequently we become tools of our own tools. Take the mind for example. We might have hopes, which are useless, so that then the whole self becomes oppressed by the mind. It is not enough just to know the mind, but we need to know how it functions within the whole. If you want to learn Sumarah then you have to do it with the whole self, to receive the impact of experience on the total framework of being. Unless you do that then the human being is becoming a tool of his own tool. The tools can be placed in the function appropriate to them through awareness. We can calmly and continually remain aware of every aspect of ourselves rather than just a part - this is why there are frequent reminders to worship with the whole being rather than halfway.
Within this context, when it is clear that your mind is acting up then it will also be obvious that it is the whole identity doing so. If the mind acts up then the feelings will be uneasy. God has given us principles intended to rescue us from the temptations that exist even within the self. For instance there can be disturbing feelings of rejection, "I don't want any interference from outside!" Good, fine, but please look inside because there are disturbances there too. Sumarah members may talk about someone else's consciousness saying "that person over there claims to be a pamong but just look at his behavior!" If he does, then in doing so he is forgetting to look at the total identity of the person. Within the sanubari we have been referring to there is opportunity to calmly and clearly know your own identity. The point is that these aspects which are not good can be purified. We cannot cleanse ourselves, but we can become purified through the guidance of Hak. This develops through the natural course of events. Purification only becomes possible as an experience when we are located in the sanubari. Because if we are then we not only see what is inside, but it can become harmonized with the true identity so that we can become exemplary people. This becomes true in both spiritual and material dimensions, not just inside but also in our external dealings with people. You might ask what the use of all this is?
Our logical facility continues to function, it does not need to stop. Perhaps for a while it will seem like a disturbance, but eventually it will function simultaneously with guidance from Hak - it can also accept and receive what is happening. This is why this method is suited to modern man because logic can accept it. In fact logic will become subordinate to Hak so that humanity can aim toward purity. Why is this direction necessary rather than some other one, why not something with more excitement and impact on the masses? No, God says this is not the trend. The evolution is toward purification and we must past through phases like this one.
What then happens to the whole self once it has been introduced to all of these categories. I prefer to call them "categories" rather than "tools" because "tools" seems a bit derogatory, like talking about a knife, whereas the term "category" brings with it a sense of groupings and functions. "Category" more closely approximates what is meant without leaving out a sense of the whole. This is just a matter of terminology and it is entirely up to personal tastes. If we reflect on the categories within the self, we realize we need to be watchful. I have been practicing Sumarah a long time, since 1947, so then what kind of processing have I undergone. I do not mean what I know about the contents of my body, maybe I do not understand or perhaps I know less than nothing about that does. What I want to stress is performance, how my internal and external actions benefit the evolution of the world. Then what is the purpose of our knowing the categories in our sanubari and beyond? In the end this is up to Hak, to the guide, it is directed by a power beyond any of our desires. Little by little the categories within, which are not right are purified, not because we do it as though we were taking them to a basin of hot water, but because God or Hak purifies us.
Surrendering is a very important thing because in the process of it we follow the rhythm provided by Hak. The process is not determined by our desires, by the pamong, or by anyone else. The guide arises within the self and in the old days this is what we would have called the "prophet". Actually it is the agent of God which emerges within the self and teaches from the sanubari. Once we know this within the sanubari, this is not the endpoint. Ask the pamongs you know to tell you about the process. Gradually your categories become blank, clean, clear - not one hundred percent white, but at least grey rather than the various shades of darkness they emerged from. This is the sweetness of it all. These colors of the spirit can actually be seen and we can know from them what percentage of cleansing has occurred. It is possible but that capacity is given by God rather than because of our desires to have it. It is like a token or diploma given to acknowledge the fact that you can see what is happening to yourself. But the important thing is not that, the important thing is that once we know our categories then they become refined. If in the past we flashed into anger, then perhaps now we won't quite so easily. There is a shifting toward healthier categories and then our performance benefits society and humanity more directly.
Once this has happened, once you are relatively blank, you become like a mirror. You can see your own identity more clearly: that you are grey, or very black, or red, or that you are becoming rose. You can see it all yourself. When I say that you become like a mirror, I mean that then you do become aware of your total identity. This means that functioning as a pamong is also directed within the self, that a pamong is headed in healthy directions internally. A mirror takes shape within which we can see our own reflection. Don't be tricked by those who say that it is like seeing yourself in front of you. Sure you can do that, there are plenty of external elements which can imitate your shape. It may be possible but that is not what I mean. The mirror I mean is within the self, recognizing the self as a whole. If we cannot recognize the whole composite of categories that comprise the self, then we will not be able to surrender totally. If as we surrender we do not know ourselves, then parts will be left behind. First we need to see our whole self within a pure consciousness coming from the guide. The process is extremely interesting to the intellect. We realize these aspects of the self concretely, it is clearly not an illusion because we experience it directly and our body and soul are clearly gaining in optimal awareness.
Once this is happening, a pamong has to begin with the task of guiding himself, of knowing the ups and downs within. Once these are clear to him then he has responsibilities. This is where we fully realize that there is an order and that man does not live in isolation or for himself alone. In one way or another there are social relations - the clever teach the slow, professors instruct students, the rich contribute alms, the poor are given things. Within Sumarah a pamong does not announce himself as such. He becomes pamong through signs from the guide in which the reality of it is simultaneously obvious. A person could say a thousand times that he is a pamong and yet not be one. It cannot be faked. In spiritual things this is evident even if the person says nothing. It is partly a matter of etiquette too, because a pamong does not announce himself as one except in his organizational function. A pamong cannot be one simply through declaring the fact. Pamongs have functions, that is why in Sumarah we say that we are carrying out our responsibilities. Duties are given and you become a pamong so that you can perform the functions implied. Some people are just allowed to become pamongs; others are designated as such. Being a pamong involves very heavy responsibility and risk so it can sometimes be okay if you do not want to do it. But there are also those who are appointed to their duties and for them it is heavier- refusal to follow through on them brings heavy consequences on the spirit. For those of you who are free it is okay to develop as a guide or not depending on your commitment.
At the moment of duty the pamong's situation is not like that in daily routine. It is not as though you happen to be in the marketplace and find yourself feeling the duty to guide someone. You cannot simply put on your role and assume that they should then follow your instructions. Duty as a guide, as a pamong, only happens in the instant that the task if given by Hak. A person is a pamong only in that instant of duty, otherwise we only call him a pamong for administrative convenience. Whether he then actually performs as one or not depends on the functions that arise within him. Outside of that he has no special rights or authority over others. A professor has authority in the classroom, but not in the market place. Perhaps in the classroom he is matchless, but even though he carries the title with him outside, he does not exercise his function. A pamong is not always a pamong, but only in the instants when that duty and function are necessary, when they happen to him. This point requires clear recognition among ourselves as a form of security. Guiding involves a risk and wrong advice backfires on its source as well as dirtying the receiver. We might make the mistake of trying to guide someone who is purer than we are and that can be not only destructive, but also sinful.
We should guide only under total certainty that the responsibility is given and that it obligates us to function within that particular social setting. Even then we should not touch the soul of another. What we can do is to give witness. Once the mirror within us has begun to clear enough to that we can see ourselves, then when it is turned toward others they can see themselves reflected to whatever extent their own mirror has not cleared. If we do not have the use of our own mirror then it is as though we can borrow that of another. At the same time that other mirror does nothing except reflect. A pamong is only truly one when we see ourselves more clearly in his purity of consciousness. Ultimately those who make use of a pamong's guidance can cleanse themselves to the point that they can see with their own mirror. But while our own mirror remains scratched up we can benefit from willingness to temporarily borrow the mirror of another. In any case it is the spirit rather than body of the pamong which provides the mirror.
There is no reason to hang on every word a pamong says. Even as I am saying all of this now it is just for information's sake. Everything I am talking about is something you will learn directly in your own meditation. You needn't listen for every word because the real learning takes place in each individual soul. It is not a matter of terminology or language. On this path the mirror in each of us can become gradually clearer through the mirror of the pamong. The support is only necessary in order to cleanse ourselves. This is the function of a pamong. Unless he realizes this a pamong is likely to become confused in front of this audience, wondering what to say. If he is, it is because it is not his function to say anything and the most he can do is repeat some of his personal experiences, but that is not true guidance, it is not being a pamong. This is all by way of clarifying what is meant by a pamong within Paguyuban Sumarah. So a pamong is in the first instance a person who can see himself clearly within the mirror in his own sanubari, he knows his own behavior in both inner an outer worlds. Aside from that he is given the task of supporting and aiding so that other people can gradually awaken the functioning of their own inner mirror.
Here we are touching on the processing of man, on the harmonizing of the inner and outer beings, on the equilibrium between spiritual and physical, on peace and on relaxed meditation. Looking from the vantagepoint of the total self, there is peace and then from within that peace there is guidance for those who seek a deepening of meditation. The first "degree" that you get is the ability to look into your own mirror and see yourself. Then all sorts of things happen. Thoughts arise, but you laugh and never lose the firm base you are standing on. Then later it is the whole self, which begins to carry out duties which benefit the world spiritually and materially. Don't close yourself off from social roles and contacts with others. This is essential. Just look anywhere and you will see that rising consciousness is a mutual interaction. To be a pamong requires not only looking into your own mirror, but friendliness and helpfulness. Once finished with his task a pamong returns to being an ordinary self.
Realize the nature of things. A pamong cannot force a meditation to happen. It happens only when it is needed. Approach people openly and then when there is a gathering for meditation see it only as an opportunity. A pamong is present and whoever wants to come is welcome, all the better if the pamong happens to be really given the task of guidance. If not, then that is fine too, then we can just meditate together. Sometimes it happens like that - the pamong doesn't feel that he has been given a special task so the group simply carries on an ordinary dialogue. Sometimes he does get the duty and when that happens the results are rich. Conversely, at times there are pamongs who try to force an exercise even though they haven't been given the responsibility. Whenever this happens the negative results are pretty much self-evident.
One of the interesting things among us is that what is right and wrong is witnessed collectively. For instance if there is an instruction form the central leadership (Dewan Pimpinan Pusat or DPP) there is not the slightest chance that it will be merely my personal instruction. If it is an organizational or spiritual guideline, it will only become an instruction after it has been collectively witnessed in a meeting. In the same way if it is a matter of general concern then it has to be witnessed generally. Guidelines and instructions only happen through the organization. This means that the organization itself is a product of meditation rather than the other way around. The organization never determines meditation. In making simple and routine decisions such as where a meeting is to be held it is enough just to act in terms of who happens to have a free house and might be willing to use it. But in checking out more important decisions it is not enough just to go by the mirror of your own consciousness. In dealing with social matters that affect many people the responsibilities of power go far beyond the individual. This means that within the group there is a collective higher authority that can reflect truth at a higher level than anything witnessed privately.
The organization is open to anyone, not only to you but also for members of other groups and government officers. It makes no difference whether you are from outside the country. So far in this session I have explained how guidance works within Sumarah. I have done so openly and without keeping secrets. I am only telling it the way it is, the way it comes to me from Hak. We are free and open in this way due to one belief: conviction in God, the universal, or whatever you want to call it. The very name Sumarah implies that ultimately we all return to God so it would not be logical if it were to be only for Indonesians - naturally it is open.
Perhaps most of you are only looking for relaxation and you may see meditation as a way of reaching calmness, of working toward equilibrium between the spiritual and material spheres. This is a healthier and more natural way of releasing tensions than the escapism of drugs and the rest. It is a new foundation based on facing rather than fleeing from reality. Of course relaxation can provide calmness and freedom, it is a healthy aspect of spiritual life. As such it can co-exist with Sumarah. So even if your guests call what you do "relaxed meditation" while we might call our practice "sujud Sumarah", there is no conflict and we can do it together. These paths are parallel in the human evolution toward health of spirit. Sujud or meditation, it is without question the same. So our attitude is open and we can do our meditation together.
There is a difference, however, if there are some among you who ask me what Sumarah really is. In answering that I have to return to the authority of hak. I wouldn't dare answer simply in terms of my personal experience. Whether I am explaining Sumarah internally or outside the organzation I have to return to hakiki as the source of guidance within the organization. For example just now I have been passing on an explanation which touches somewhat on what Sumarah is. I haven't dealt with what it means to be a pamong in the Sumarah sense. As I have said, a pamong only functions as one when hak permits it.
I also need to explain your official relationship to the organization. When asked by the Justice Department, the Department of Religion or the Police, we respond that you Westerners are doing relaxed meditation and that you occasionally do it with us. I stress that you are not members of Paguyuban Sumarah but that relaxed meditation is something that can benefit from the setting provided by sujud Sumarah. Not only is there no conflict, but actually your experiences and opinions through relaxed meditation are of great benefit to us. It makes us much more aware of the worldwide trend toward a more natural balance between spiritual and material progress. Whenever the spiritual and material are out of balance then there are going to be frictions and frustrations, which create problems for all of humanity.
If there are some among you interested in becoming members of the organization, then there are additional facts you need to know. These facts are important because historically Sumarah has emerged hand in hand with the Indonesian national struggle. You might be interested to know that the founder of Sumarah was not looking for magical or mystical experiences. He was deeply concerned at the national destiny of several centuries of spiritual and material colonization. In his concern Pak Sukinohartono experienced a spiritual crisis. At the peak of his crisis he was told that freedom would come. It would come not because Sukino had prayed for it, but in any case this illustrates the depth of concern felt by Indonesians. He was also instructed that as a nation Indonesia should return to totally rounded conviction (iman bulat) in God. These two themes are interwoven and ever since then Sumarah has been evolving not only spiritually, but also within the context of and phases of Indonesia's national struggle. In fact at times the phases of Sumarah have been somewhat in advance of those of the nation. All of this constitutes an identity that we can share frankly with you.
hak has also stated that in the near future Sumarah will spread throughout the world, but at the same time it has made clear that it would not be correct for Sumarah, as it has evolved within Indonesian culture, to spiritually "colonize" other nations. Wherever Sumarah spreads it will flow with the local cultural setting just as it has in Indonesia and guidance will come directly from God. Organizationally each will form in terms of the culture he lives in. We who spread it here cannot escape our Indonesian identity. Surely we can develop relationships of mutual support and exchange of perspective and experiences. We will meet later on and as long as I live, but developments will be autonomous in Canada, in the United States, and so on. It is on this basis that we ourselves were given an indication that it was not correct to add "Indonesia" to the name Paguyuban Sumarah. Whether this is an indication that Sumarah will develop internationally within the framework of one group is up to you to decide. As a "paguyuban" we are a cooperative, an association for mutual help, but existence of formal organizations depends on cultural and governmental constraints. If there happen to be some among you interested in experiencing directly what is meant by "hakiki" then we can arrange a special meeting. Then we will meet with the understanding that you honestly want to experience Sumarah and that that is what will grow with you where you go. But if it is to be simply relaxed meditation then go right ahead.
If you have reached hakiki then there is the identity of Sumarah. In this sense if Arymurthy or Sri Sampoerna say something in the organization, then it is from hak and that is really Sumarah. I am stressing this in representing the organization because it is the guiding identity of the organization and we are only vehicles of it. I can only provide guidance if God wills it, otherwise I am simply an ordinary individual - I am only a pamong when the function is given to me and not in everyday life. You are all welcome, you can join us in our exercises, you can join in our organizational activities, and you may speak from your own personal viewpoint. But if you want to talk about the identity of Paguyuban Sumarah, then that is different. If that is clear then it touches the universal development of Sumarah. In some sense I am of course responsible for whether the international development of Sumarah is attuned to the guidance of hak. I do want to pass on one more comment from the founder: do not let Sumarah develop purely as a personal experience, but rather work as channels for hak in accordance with guidance from God.
This is enough.... Thank you all very much.
Sukino on Awareness and Revelation
Alchamdulillah. Welcome and peace to all brothers gathered here today. We are here to seek and receive guidance from God, teachings we need to comprehend in order to fulfill our organizational responsibilities. La illaha ilallah. Whatever he wills, whatever direction is given is okay, Pak Kino remains only an agent and channel. Allah Akbar, la illaha ilollah. Salummualaikum. We Sumarah members depend on whatever direction (dawuh) God wills.
Salammualaikum. Peace. La illaha ilallah. We need to know the source of everything in order to fulfill our human responsibilities. As Sumarah members we depend on firm conviction in God as a base for our actions on the world. The first thing we need, the basic fact of being, is a sense of how we can be directed toward purity. The foundation of that path lies in drive, conviction, and surrender (tekad, iman, sumarah). They are the basis of whatever purity can be reflected in our actions in this world and the beyond, of whatever guidance we get toward peace. Once they have become the cornerstones of our meditative surrender, then they are the tools through which we can manifest harmony pervaded by devotion to God. Then the heart can lie in peace and passivity of senses will show devotion to God. We need to understand how the process works and that the seed of it lies in drive, conviction, and surrender. If we are already in a relaxed state of surrender to God then we will be calm, clear, and aware (eneng-eneng-eling). Then our meditation will become continuous and the body, mind, and spirit (Trimurti) will gather into union. The mind (angen angen) is a vehicle for the physical body; the intuition (rasa) is a vehicle for the spirit; and compassion (budi) is a ray of illumination from that which is the source of life. If these three have united then meditation centers in the chest (sanubari). Once centered, once the body and spirit are united, then they can become illuminated by compassion (budi) which is a light from the source of Life. This illumination can then direct human action.
Normally the spirit sits in the baital makadis, which is associated with the male and female sex organs, which is how we give rise to seed. This is why people experience such a tremendous battle with their sex drives as they approach maturity. Once awareness has blossomed within the spirit as it sits in the baital makadis then there is an initiation and it moves into the sphere of the Masjid il Makadis. With continuous meditation, continuous sujud sumarah, it then moves into the baital mukaram. Then once it is firmly in the chest (sanubari) continuous surrender leads to a shift of meditation into the heart (kolbu) until finally the spirit can progress into the realm of the Baital Makmus. At that point the spirit encompasses the three realms and submits totally to the law and flow of nature. At that point the nature of meditation is surrender to God and the sphere of consciousness lies beyond the Janaloka, Guruloka, and Indraloka; beyond direction, colors, sex, time, and death; in that which cannot be expressed. Consciousness and God are then in and beyond all realms. All of this is the progression of the human spirit. In the beginning we are alike as individuals in the study of surrender. If we are serious in the science and blessed by the Will of God, then this unfolding is where our actions will lead. Salammualaikum, Peace.
All of this is the meditation of the spirit and inner being. It begins as an understanding but there is no reason to purposely explain or teach it to those who have not reached the season for it. It is not something we need to hope for or ask for from God because it springs spontaneously from the struggle and devotion of our lives. La illaha ilalloh. When the two have become one then we enter the realm of the pure spirit, the pure will. The pure spirit is the true inner being, it is the manifestation of self as prophet for this is the body of the prophets. Actually the prophet is the pure intuition (rasa) of the spirit itself. The spirit lives most when there is the responsibility to guide others toward true faith in God, and the practice lies simply in submitting to the Will of God. La illaha ilalloh.
Naturally people do not all respond in the same ways. In Javanese we call God "Ingsun". Ingsun is the one that is only one, that is God the most High. He is the source of Life, giving Life to everything in this world and the next. All of the planets, the earth, the stars, and everything alive have been given life by God. La illoha ilalloh. Sumarah members who really and truly submit to the Will of God know the Wahyu Awas Eling, know that it is the foundation of practice. Awas Eling are essential to Sumarah members in their effort to put themselves in order, they are the tools or conditions implicit in the body which are necessary so that the body can act in tune with the manifestation of nature. The form of nature is the revelation of Nature. Sumarah members are obligated to guide humanity in the world and that is the revelation of Nature (Wahyu Alam). Yet this does not need to be expressed in the way that religions have through the gurus, prayers, teachings, and Holy Books. It depends entirely on the drive, conviction and surrender (tekad, iman, sumarah) of the individual members themselves. What do I mean by "tekad"? What is required is total commitment to the duties we have before us now. Actually, what carries out the duties is the source of Life itself, Ingsun. The Wahyu Awas Eling gives shape and guidance for humanity in the natural realm, in the Wahyu Alam. Everything depends on drive (tekad) and willingness to act according to the Will of God toward peace in the world.
The process of carrying this out, of how indivudal members should behave, cannot be put in the form of formula instructions because it depends totally on the individual. In our behaviour, in our style of expression, and in our methods we are each free but the intention is always the same: to work toward peace in the world, which nowadays cannot be done through the guidance of leaders and prophets. If we have the same faith in God then personal differences are dissolved and the true self in the One humanity which is united in body and soul and with one aim in the world. Then we can have clear minds without quarrelling, imperialism, enslavement, and egotistical competition, without a generalized teaching - we won't need any of that. The same principle applies to the use of technical and scientific progress so that they can be used for the direct benefit of all humanity. Still the aim is the same - to carry out our responsibilities in the world. It isn't easy for man to serve God. But if we all have firm faith in God then we will all develop the character and spirit of humanity. Then there will be compassionate brotherhood without feelings of caste, competition, enslavement, and differences. La illaha ilallah.
So the source of purity lies in drive and conviction (tekad, iman) that is total. Jinem is the basis for our struggle within the world to eliminate the sins of humanity and the confusions of the world. The source of guidance for humanity in the natural world is from Ingsun, the one that is God the most High. There are many names for him such as God the most bountiful, the greatest, the holiest, the inspiring, the compassionate, the loving, and so on. Yet we need to realize that God pervades everything as what we call an essence (dhat), an aspect, a name. He is that which has power to take form from essence and with a name. His nature is in all forms in the shape of Nur. He is the universal order.
The science is only to be found by doing it. All Sumarah "experts" ought to be willing to follow through on their commitment to serve God and to accept that their responsibility is immense. Ultimately the task for the future is to foster prosperity and peaceful order in the cosmos. That is the Will of God. The way it is done depends on those who do it. There is no need to wait for detailed "instructions". It is enough to know what your duty is and then to carry it out as you will. Everything has always been totally within the power of the source of Life, of Ingsun. The only thing that can change the desires or condition of the world is Ingsun, the most powerful. No human being has that power. It is only God's power that can change things and that is the nature of the universe. The leaders and guides within Sumarah must understand this. That is why our actions don't need to be guided by elaborate explanations of guidelines. It isn't easy but when we comprehend that we ourselves are only channels or vehicles, then it can be. Beyond the commitment, the response, the willingness, the firmness of our vow to God our method will come freely from within each of us. The essential thing is that our aim is the same. Knowing this you can then understand any discipline at all. This is the foundation and the details depend on individuals in their own struggles. We all understand that: there can be no force because it is simply a matter of whether you are willing or not. Oh ....God who gives rise to life, this is the basic law underlying the struggle of Sumarah members.
This is what needs to become the aim for our people and country. Eventually it will become an international phenomenon and it will raise the level of the Indonesian people in the international scene. But this doesn't mean we ought to feel any pride or confidence that we are capable of guidance and direction for whoever needs it - it all depends on God.
There is no need to be asking for anything from God through prayers because all that we need is to carry out His will with our total being. This is the path of Sumarah. There is no room for theories because it is only a matter of remaining a faithful servant to His will. There is no need to bother differentiating religion from mysticism or other spiritual practices, it is enough to assume and to know that all are from God. All too often human reception of revelation becomes mixed in with thoughts. Then it is not free from force because there are internal pressures influencing the person who is receiving the revelation. Okay, slowly now, all we need is whatever God wills for us at the moment. It may first come to us in the form of an understanding but that doesn't mean there is any point in testing whether we can do it or not. All we need to know is to understand what God's will is. After our commitment to follow God's will then the evolution of the science is as He wills it. The basic patterns have been laid out above. Whatever level there is a higher one. Even hakiki and everything that is perfect has higher levels to it. This only reaches our understanding. After we receive lessons from God about existence and the origin of man then the only thing left for us to do is surrender (sumarah). There is no need to go around telling everyone about it. Do it. This is the path.
The path toward purity is aided by the angel Gabriel, Gabriel who is straight from the Will of God. Wrong desires, whatever works to curse, the source of reaction and resistance is the Devil. The angel Gabriel is related to the pure desires whose seed is from hakiki, from, Truth. Gabriel guides the holy science; the Devil the lost science. But actually we don't need to be preoccupied with details of cosmology, all that is really required is increasingly correct surrender to God. Then the natural progression of consciousness will lead us toward purity and on that path we are automatically accompanied and influenced by Gabriel. It isn't our business as human beings to understand of God's nature. All we really need to do is surrender. If we are shown understanding then fine, but if not just surrender (sumarah). There is no point in feeling cheated once we feel that we have carried out our duties for a season - perhaps sacrificing what we think of as energy, possessions, body, and thoughts - without noticing benefits. Just take things as they are given and with the understanding that all things are a gift from God. Then if we have something and are willing to give it up, all we are sacrificing is something which had been entrusted to us by God so that we could carry out our duties. But if we cannot take the step, don't push it or force it. We just have to take things as they come ... Oh God we only ask for forgiveness for all our past sins, we want only to dwell in God's sphere, we want to be permanent servants of His compassion, we want only guidance in carrying out His will for humanity .... Peace ... All we need is this last understanding. There is no need to try to explain all of this to others, there is no fixed image. In the physical sphere there is no absolute direction that can be given, but internally you need to realize your duty.
When Pak Kino (Sukinohartono referring to himself) explains that he is an ordinary person, that means that these things are not from Sukino's will. Pak Kino himself doesn't understand anything about it unless he is given to understand. We can say that humanity cannot do anything at all. This is the way things are. If you are getting the idea that I am being modest, that is not the point. I am just telling things as they are, as I receive them. My sense of brotherhood is that we are all brothers sharing servanthood to God. As far as the organization of Sumarah goes it is not a binding or disciplined set of rules. It is only a brotherhood. Sumarah is only devotion to God, surrender of body and soul for whoever needs that. For those who don't need it, fine. There is no criticism and emphasis on the deficiencies of others. Our actions should be straightforward. There is no need to come down on someone for regressing, we should simply offer clarification of how to progress. For those who have been initiated then the oath has been witnessed within by the spirit, the body, and the life essence, (rasa, angen-angen, budi). If we don't follow through on our oath, then sometime in the future we will automatically pay whatever price is involved. We ought to follow up our commitment. If we do then the level of consciousness achieved is going to depend on individual drive and the willingness to receive guidance.
I don't understand exactly how, but if you are firm in what we have been talking about then you will be given understanding of what God is. I cannot give you understanding, that is not my function. As human beings we can only shorten the process of spiritual-physical evolution by applying the science ourselves. People have to reach the realm of purity through their own effort. As far as the method goes, about how you actually do it, it is up to you. There is no need for fixed instruction such as you do this, you surrender there - that is it, let go, none of that is necessary. It is automatic. Occasionally we don't understand ourselves and naturally so - we are only channels. This is the form of our duties in Sumarah.
If you are already in contact with hakiki then you can open yourself up to receiving direct instruction from God. If we describe His power, then we call Him the source of Life, the one and only, or all that feels as one. These are all only parts that are in process. In dealing with a general audience, in our explanations, it is enough just to say God. There is no need to elaborate details in that context. The basic pillar is God. It would be mistaken to assume that all the levels we have been speaking of have been with us since the womb - these levels are not simply in the alam Goib (the magical-mystical dimension). In Javanese we say that the realms of Sahir and Kabir are the same. Sahir is the realm of humanity; Kabir is the general realm of the cosmos. The spiritual realm is much greater and more spacious. I have not been given to know how far it goes.
What is necessary is that we meet our responsibilities in the world, that is to the brothers we have been talking about. Oh how much more Indonesia is going to be suffering in the future! A large proportion of us will be starving. Of those living in villages many still have rice paddies and even those who don't can work with those who do. With many of us starving, work will come only in little bits and everything will be hard to come by. If we truly realize our responsibilities then those in the villages will find it much easier to take in fellows needing work, exchanging work for food. If we can not do that then that is just the way it will be. Salammualaikum ... Because of this situation we in Sumarah have to pray in name of our country just so Indonesia can be forgiven and blessed with ability to eat, just enough plain and simple food to satisfy our basic physical need. All the more thanks if we can then also have justice and prosperity. But before justice and prosperity we will be grateful if there is just enough to get by. Alchamdulillah. As far as our relationship with the government goes there is already a guideline: because Sumarah is not a political organization, our relationship to the government is that we can offer advice when it is requested, we can make suggestions. If there is no need for that then what can you do except be still and only seek protection in the spiritual sphere. The physical body has its needs for clothing, food, and so forth; the spiritual body has its need for peace, calmness, and the surrendering of our fate to God who is the source of life.
So this is the path for Sumarah people. The various descriptions here serve only as understandings for Sumarah. We are obligated to carry out our duties as representatives of our people and in order to bring harmony to the cosmos. It is up to you. It depends on your individual drive and will as a Sumarah member. It is not right for us to neglect our household duties because they remain our responsibility. But if there is any energy left over then it is for work in society. There is no need for excesses, just to contribute naturally. The science depends entirely on drive, conviction, and surrender (tekad, iman, sumarah). Everything else is a continuation of that practice. Tekad that is a fixed pure drive, that is Taukid. Iman or conviction that God is omnipresent as the giver of Life to all things. Sumarah in that we devote ourselves in surrender to God. This is the nature of Sumarah. Then this gives birth to other realms. Once these three have been mastered then we progress toward oneness with the source of Life, with the body and soul of humanity. But if the progression is genuine then it must flow outward into society, it is not the monopoly of individuals. Everything I have been saying applies to all of humanity. Anyone alive in the world carries sins. If we were pure then we would not have been reborn into the world.
Okay so we need to rest and let these understandings sink into our feelings .... Peace ....
Budi - An Exploration of the Path to God
Drs Arymurthy Consciousness Building Group, Semarang, late February 1989 (adapted into English by Paul Stange)
It would be extreme arrogance for anyone to believe or act as though they could exhaustively and precisely explain God--he is the highest and greatest so an individual is as a speck of fine dust in his presence. But as a child of humanity who is conscious of being his creature, in which is also contained an echo, an innate divine essence, this represents the offering of one person to others toward remembrance that with knowledge of God's overwhelming power we can wake up to the responsibilities of our life and a future of humanity which increasingly faces challenges and feels cut off from itself. With this in mind it is obvious that the thoughts, desires and feelings of humanity have their limits. Nevertheless the innate echo of God within us is integral to our birth and to the manifestation of humanity on the natural plane. For thousands of years Indonesians have contained and perceived this echo in tune with the age they lived in.
Here I am trying first to explain the values contained within humanity, among which the highest accessible to us is Budi. Then I will expand on the connection between guidance for humanity and the realization of God. Encountering our essence is a fundamental precondition for humanity in search of God. Then there will be an explanation of an image of the "complete man", a humanity capable of facing the challenges of life, a humanity conscious of the highest values within and living on the basis of that awareness. Finally this will continue into exploration of the responsibilities of humanity for the future. We have been in crisis in all dimensions for so long that we face potential extinction
Budi as the highest aspect of human essence
The term "budi" is frequently used in Indonesia but people forget its true meaning. We only know that it is always associated with what is "good", such as when we use terms like "character" (budi pekerti), "generosity" (budi darma), and "nobility" (budi luhur). But generally people have no idea what "budi" itself means, apart from understanding its spelling. Even in dictionaries, our own or foreign, there is no translation, just association of "budi" with "morality".
In their social life every human society needs systems of value which become a measure of human consciousness. These systems are expressions of philosophy. Systems of value result from the variety of norms or laws, which depend on differing social conditions, depending on the philosophical basis of the groups of humanity in question. This results in a situation where humanity lives boxed within differing systems of value. Because of this the path of our lives are often rocked by waves of war, natural catastrophe, or plague...even technological progress often brings disaster. This era is often presented as one of a "crisis of humanity" through which it has been precisely our human attributes which have led to a loss of our true and integral humanity. Humanity must find something to help us out of this crisis.
The impetus to find assistance must be supported and fostered until eventually it takes shape as reality. This is the meaning of consciousness, consciousness of life, which must be guided for each person if they aim to succeed in this life. The process of guidance and the supporting of consciousness in the end takes substance in what is called"Budi". This becomes the connector which lifts humanity above the limits of what we are. It is Budi that will lift humanity in both microcosmic (individual) and macrocosmic (global) senses. It is the highest value and can lift us, cutting through the limitations of our humanity and connecting us to the dimension of absolute reality. As a substance the Budi which exists in each individual must be activated so that humanity also always exists within the ray of life which becomes enlightenment. It is this ray of life which will provide light for humanity within the process of existence which now seems dark and shattered in crisis.
guidance for humanity on the path to God
As we can see, people who are committed to acknowledgement of God must become capable of encountering the ray of life which is within them. This ray of life is Budi, the Budi which represents the highest value of humanity. It is what can break through dimensions and connect us to the plane of ultimate truth. People who are capable of activating the function of Budi will not be victims of the lower self and thus able to harm others. Instead they will be beneath the supervision of the higher force of Budi and it will consistently establish the limits of attitudes and actions. Every utterance or act, whether for the self or others, has to be within the responsibility of Budi. This is the fundamental truth of what it means to speak of "total consciousness", where there is always introspective awareness of Budi within our heart. With Budi always present we will function in accord with natural law and be able to receive Guidance, guidance in life through the power of God.
Why so? Because it is only through Budi that a person can be receiving guidance, whether personal guidance within their culture or spiritual guidance. In fact if a person is able to activate the function of Budi, then Budi will become a measure of how far their inner certainty is balanced by consciousness of selfhood. Because Budi is higher, it is often referred to as the "higher self". We can imagine that if each person wanted to and was capable of activating their Budi, then human life in this world would be healthy and peaceful, without malice and jealousy toward others. If a person's Budi is awake continuously, all the time, then he is a complete person who has encountered their true self.
This is what is actually means to speak of a complete person (manusia seutuhnya), a concept which has for so long been sought by Indonesians. Thus we can conclude here, even for every person directed toward God, that one must be conscious and encounter Budi as a continuous process. Thus also it is precisely correct that the first principle of the Indonesian national philosophy, in the Pancasila, is that of direction toward the one God. With this principle, each Indonesian must be directed toward God in the sense that they hold a philosophy of a transcendent in which ultimately humanity depends on the transcendent called God. This attitude in life has to be reflected in words and deeds which are responsible to the source of life, that is God. Every Indonesian person, in their personal consciousness of God becomes aware of themselves as a speck of life in the process of returning to Him.
an image of holistic humanity
The source of all the systems of knowledge we know is philosophy and we know that it is not capable of explaining completely the fundamental essence of human existence. The farther explanations are pushed, the more we encounter new matters which have not been considered. However far a science develops it is evident that it is the result of human tools, that is of thought (cipta), will (karsa) and intuition (rasa). In fact in the realm of philosophy in the end we must question the function of human thought. There are opinions that humanity is an entity defined by the fact of thought. It is evident that humanity, so long as he uses the tools of humanity, cannot and never will be able to explain completely the fundamental basis of human existence itself.
Thus to give a complete picture of humanity and the essence which connects to him requires connection beyond the ceiling of human limits. What lies beyond this ceiling can only be known through human consciousness which goes there. That consciousness of life needs to be guided and protected through a system, and what is behind the ceiling takes form in substance called Budi. Budi in essence is a ray of life which is part of humanity and which will be capable of giving wider scope to humanity.
Humanity which has activated Budi will see life as something originating from the source of life and hidden within the self to which we must be responsible. This is not a responsibility to other people, but to God who has loaned us a life which will also return to him. So to connect with this image of complete humanity it would be nonsense if we still clung to our human tools, that is thought, will and intuition. An image of the complete self will only emerge if we break through the ceiling of these dimensions by seeing Budi as an element which is beyond these limitations.
To conclude this point, what is meant by the complete person is a person who is conscious, with that consciousness guided and protected by the life which is within. In the end values arise which are higher than those we have known until now. These values will test us in our perception of what we have known through our introspection. Through Budi the tools of thought, will and intuition will be purified. This is actually the meaning of introspection (mawas diri), which we frequently speak of but misunderstand. Introspection is often taken as involving "remembering" or "recollection" of what we have done, but this is false--that is only "evaluation" and not true introspection. In the end we can conclude that Budi is the highest value of humanity which must always function for a person to meet their true self. The true self is complete, as we were when we were created.
responsibilities of humanity for the future
In the path of humanity from one era to another there has been progress, but this progress has obviously gone hand in hand with crisis in all areas. The effects are felt even in advanced countries, much more so in those such as Indonesia which are developing. Evidently technical and scientific progress obscures the true meaning of human life as God's creature. Human beings have lost their identity as glorious beings through exaggerating their own capacities in the form of their thought, will and intuition. But if we reflect more deeply we will realize that those three are actually only tools of our existence physically in this world. If we give them too large a role, past what nature establishes as their function, then our spirit fails to take part, being oppressed by elements from within ourselves.
It is due to this we hear talk of "oppressed being" or "screaming souls" which give us a picture of a human condition, one fundamentally capable of acting as a transforming receptor of Budi, so narrowed down and closed that we speak of "blackened hearts". The path of our nation, of Indonesia, appears to be to an era in which every progressive step is attributed to human capacities alone. So much so that now we have to look just to find the concept of a complete human. In doing so we always come up against the limits of our thought, will and intuition--they block us with their limits. Thus we need the connections Budi offers.
In the past this has been well known by our nation, but we have now lost its meaning, now we only know it in its outer forms. By knowing Budi again, we will be capable of reconnecting with our true self. If all humanity were to practice this, then the crisis in every sphere of life would dissolve and the future of humanity would be more hopeful. Humanity will become conscious of itself and return to the condition of its creation by God, if Budi is always working as a monitoring agent, shining within to guide the path of life, both within the macrocosm and in the microcosm.
Every thought, desire or feeling can then be responsible to the source of life which is God. If every human being practices this, then the birth of the age of Budi will change the face of the world and life will be in tune with its origins for humanity and all that is. With all that we have said, it can be concluded that humanity must become more conscious of itself and what it contains. Budi has been as though asleep, because it has not been functioning as nature intended.
conclusions
From the above we can conclude that humanity in this era has reached the limit of what it can reach though its own tools--it has lost a sense of its own central basis in being and thus needs something to reconnect it, to break through the ceiling it has met. The crisis of humanity can only be transcended if we become conscious, we need to comprehend the meaning of completeness in humanity, with everything we possess returning to the condition of its origins in creation. The notion of Budi is something which has been present in Indonesia, but we have lost its fundamental meaning and now know it only in its shell. With the awakening of Budi in humanity, we will all possess the highest values of selfhood, far beyond the values we know and at once constituting a substance which will enlighten the paths of our lives.
Paul Stange, Perth, Australia, April 2001
New: 15 October, 2009 | Now: 23 October, 2021
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally hosted at freotopia.org/people/paulstange/relaxedmeditation.html, and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.