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Sahlan Diver - Why Only Subud?

NOT SPLITTING -- BUT SEEDING. From Merin Nielsen, October 4, 2008. Time 5:46

Having just read this article for the first time, I think it puts forward brilliant and wonderfully refreshing prospects! This is precisely the sort of freeing up and opening up that the latihan and its practitioners have needed for decades.

Going in this direction is really easy -- provided that any new organisations are created purely to support practice of the latihan. That is to say, while acknowledging certain fundamental recommendations about latihan practice, they presumably wouldn't emphasise any specific belief systems or sources of advice (including Pak Subuh). This seems to sit comfortably with the spirit of David Week's proposed leaflet -- Introducing the Latihan -- which is presented in his Subud Vision article "History and Myth".

The people choosing to participate in such new organisations wouldn't need to quit Subud, and some newcomers to the new organisations might even decide to try Subud as well -- but that's basically beside the point. Subud, as an organisation, might eventually cease to be a significant 'latihan caretaker', but if a reasonable number of Subud members are open to the ideas in this article by Sahlan Diver, then perhaps the latihan itself can continue to be appreciated, nonetheless. And even if Subud does disappear, then at least it would have set these beneficial results in motion.

Sahlan -- I hope that some suggestion along these lines can be included in the 'Solutions Project' to be presented through this website in the near future. While Subud might indeed benefit greatly from several internal reforms, it would surely be fantastic if Subud could somehow officially endorse the pursuit of this avenue that you're suggesting.

Regards,
Merin

P.S. Of course, perhaps I'm just being prejudicial in presuming that offshoot organisations would work best if they were doctrine-free. In any case, the people concerned would determine the outcome


From Sahlan Diver, October 5, 2008. Time 10:47

Merin,

I think there is a whole spectrum of possibility from a new organisation or organisations eventually replacing the Subud organisation, down through such organisations happily co-existing with Subud, doown to at the least a new organisation not surviving but nevertheless triggering greater awareness of the need for reform in Subud itself.

However I'd be wary of expecting official endorsement, at least not in advance. I agree with what Sjahari Hollands says in some feedback to my Subud-think article: "The proof is in the evidence which follows from the action, not in the theoretical construct." So I think people just have to go ahead and do it and see how it develops, as you yourself are also saying,

Regards

Sahlan


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