Notes from an Old-timer
Click this link to read the PDF VERSION of
this article
Click this link to SEND FEEDBACK on the article
Click this link to VIEW FEEDBACK on the author's articles
By Old-timer
I qualify for the term Old-timer because: I was opened forty-six years ago, have been
local, regional, national and international helper, traveled with Bapak, lived
in Cilandak, etc.
I cannot supply you with chapter and verse but Bapak
did say, “Don’t believe what I say without your own evidence.”
“Don’t believe what I say.” This is an
important statement, because it lets everyone off the hook—especially the new
people in Subud, and the second and third generations. It throws the experience of the latihan back
at them, as something they have to verify for themselves. It’s much harder that
way, of course. Choosing, for example, not to read talks or explanations
(because of the ‘inflammatory, sexist, old-fashioned, culture-bound, elitist
content’) means that they’re going to have to stumble around and find some
answers for themselves. Or maybe not!
Another reason why this statement is important is
because it should shut everybody up. No
need to complain about ‘Bapakists’ or whatever other distasteful label is being
handed out, —because we have been given a choice by Bapak himself, to ‘believe’
or not to believe what he has said.
So what is all the fuss about?
The fuss is about us Old-timers. We are the ones who
have wanted to be believed. “Believe
us, and you’ll be doing the ‘right thing’. Follow our rules, and you can’t go
wrong. Carry the old culture, lock, stock and barrel, into the future, and you’ll
be rewarded.”
There’s a fine line we have to watch out for. Subud has not grown, and I am still partly
convinced that this has nothing to do with us, that it is indeed God’s will
(and this without quotation marks). The fact is, I don’t know.
But I do know one thing: something doesn’t feel right.
The latihan has not yet become available, as a normal
occurrence in everyday life, for everyone on the planet. I used to tell my
kids, “Latihan is like brushing your teeth.
You just do it. You don’t say, ‘I’m not sure brushing my teeth has any
value’ or ‘How about if I just don’t do it’ or ‘I can’t be bothered.’”
Many of us Old-timers, steeped in the Old Culture,
have had our feelings hurt by disrespectful comments from the young:
repudiations, scoffs, verbal middle fingers. So let’s ask them: “What have you
got to offer? How would you do
it?”
How do you introduce the latihan to your peers so that
it is something they’ll want to taste and ingest? And having done so, how will you ‘close the deal’?
I throw this gauntlet to all young Subud members.
Where is the new Concerning Subud? Where is the new Stairway to Subud? Where are your new pamphlets, flyers, zines, web pages,
blogs? Come on! For God’s sake, share it, the SY’s and you
local guys, in a language, a context appropriate for this world, at this time.
Don’t just indulge in spiritual masturbation! There, I’ve said it. Apologies.
We have failed, okay?
Except for the brave souls who have ‘boldly gone’ and brought the
latihan to foreign shores for the first time. To them I raise my hat.
I dream of a day when a Latihan Room will be located
beside the Workout Room, the Yoga Room, the toilets, the newspaper stand, in
every airport of the world, and in every mall, in every hotel. When the
businessman at JFK will latihan beside the janitor and the Ethiopian
Ambassador. When the CEO of a large company stops by the Latihan Room after his
lunch break or before his morning coffee, he will know the latihan as an
unexpected taste of bliss, a source of guidance. It will be nameless,
country-less, culture-less, without any association for him. (Oh, he might have
a membership card; I’m not saying no organization at all.) It will be a part of his life. He will do
latihan there at work and in his latihan room at home. That’s how common it
will be. Like brushing your teeth.
For now, let’s disengage from the ‘Culture’ in our
introduction of the Subud latihan to others. Let’s remind them of a Universal
Receiving. A Universal Training. As deeply respectful as I am of Bapak, let's
speak of him later on in the process, or—unless specifically asked—after the
new member has been doing latihan. Let us remove cultural, religious, and
mystical terms from our introduction to Subud. We have no choice, at this time
in history, but to clear the board of past associations in our discourses—no
choice, because the old approach is not working!
As Ibu Rahayu has suggested, introduce the
educational, developmental aspect of the latihan. Also, the works of SDI and
the Wings as they become better known examples in their own right. The key word
is ‘example’.
The above are some of my personal reflections on
introducing Subud.
To the Helpers, I give this advice: “Above all, do no
harm!”
And for our ‘younger members’ on whom our future
stands, I mean it. Bring a brochure, a flyer, a film, something, to the
congresses. Show us what you’ve got.
God bless us all.