WSA F.Y.I World Association September 2020

MESSAGE TO OUR MEMBERS INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Dear Brothers and Sisters, Celebrating Bapak’s Birthday…2

The form and pace of human communications have International Helpers……………8 been changing through centuries. The present change Subud Japan Congress………...12 is quicker than ever before. Physical travel and meeting are gradually evolving into virtual travel and PT PCB ………………...... 13 meeting. With those changes so do International Helpers travel and Subud gathering and meetings.

In this edition, we are featuring the IH Zoom meetings, and a special article from Daniela Moneta and Solihin Garrand, which will take us back to the 20th century: the article is about Susila Budhi Dharma. We will feature this article in two parts. The first part in this September edition and the second part in our December edition.

We have also been asked by the office of PT Pancaran Cahaya Bahagia (PT PCB) to include a survey for plot holders in Rungan Sari, Palangka Raya, province of Kalimantan Tengah, in the hope that it can reach Subud members who are plot holders in Rungan Sari.

We hope you enjoy reading our newsletter.

With warm wishes and may God keep you safe and healthy.

WSA Executive Office

Jakarta, 25 September 2020

CELEBRATING BAPAK: SUSILA BUDHI DHARMA, THE BOOK RECEIVED By Daniela Moneta and Solihin Garrard, WSA Archivists

The WSA Archives has many versions and editions of Bapak’s book Susila Budhi Dharma. The Archives has scanned several of these editions and translations to make them available to members on its website for Subud members only. See the end of this article to learn how you can request access to the Archives website where this material is available. This article attempts to describe the various editions in detail and give some historical background for each.

Susila Budhi Dharma was originally received by Bapak as a song poem in High Javanese. He describes his book in the first Chapter, SINOM, Verse 1 and 2: “In order to put into practice and give form to a spiritual reality that has been received both inwardly and outwardly, its entire essence is here expressed in beautiful melodies and metres, to help you obtain the evidence you need. These are the words of divine counsel received, and so far as was necessary written down, in the historic city of Yogyakarta in the year 1952.”1

Verses can be sung in various traditional Javanese melodies. Each chapter of the poem is written for a specific melody. On special occasions, Susila Budhi Dharma is sung by Bapak’s family and members of Subud especially on Bapak’s Javanese birthdays, which are celebrated every 35 days. He translated the Javanese poem into Indonesian prose because not many people could read the old Javanese. This Indonesian version was then used to translate the book into various languages. Today, it is not always clear which English edition was used to translate the book into different languages. The Subud Archives Online website and https://wsaarchives.org/ and https://subudlibrary.net have many of these translations online for members to read. Currently we have translations from the English text into these

1 From the 2001 edition, translated by Sharif and Tuti Horthy and published by Subud Publications International (SPI), with copyright by (WSA). Bapak had written several other books that were precursors to Susila Budhi Dharma that are in the Subud archives. All were written in Javanese. One was known as Trikanda (Three Speakers) written in the 1930s which was verses or songs about “a perfect way of worship” as described in its first stanza. Another book was Djati-makna (True Teaching/True Explanation) written in Semarang in 1936. This is a long commentary in several volumes on spiritual matters. Bapak said, on several occasions, that his earlier writings were superseded by Susila Budhi Dharma and it was not necessary to translate and publish them.

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languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Norwegian, Russian, Vietnamese, Serbian, Japanese, and Greek. Italian and Dutch translations are currently being worked on.

In a response to a request, by the authors of this article, for guidance about the breath and suitability of readership of Susila Budhi Dharma, Ibu Siti Rahayu, in June 2020, made it very clear that Bapak’s book should be read only by Subud members, and not made available beyond the Subud membership.

First Published version of Susila Budhi Dharma

The first published version of Susila Budhi Dharma was just the first half translated into English from the Indonesian by Husein Rofé and published privately.2 There was no introduction or preface to this publication. The Javanese is in italics, and the Indonesian and English appear on the same page. Vol. 1 ends with the 11th Chapter, which is the second ASMARANDANA, Verse 27. Volume 2 was not published at that time due to lack of funds.

If you have not heard of Husein Rofé, here is a brief account of his travel to Indonesia in 1950. He went there seeking to learn more about Asian mysticism and . This was where he met Bapak. Rofé was a linguist, fluent in many languages. You can read about Husein Rofé’s time with Bapak in his book The Path of Subud, published in 1959. He gives details about his adventures as a linguist and teacher and his time spent in . You can also see a four-part interview with Husein Rofé on the Subud Archives website.3 When Rofé met Bapak, he learned that Bapak had been waiting for him. Bapak had predicted many years before that there would one day arrive a foreigner who spoke many languages who was destined to bring Subud to the Western world.

Rofé stayed in Indonesia from late 1950 to 1954, living near Bapak and sometimes in his home. He was asked by Bapak to travel to various places in Indonesia to talk about Subud and open people. Rofé lived for a while in Jakarta, around 1953, and in Palembang on Sumatra before leaving Indonesia for Japan.4 It was in Palembang that Rofé received a copy of Susila Budhi Dharma from Bapak with a request to translate the Indonesian into English.5 When Rofé left Indonesia in 1954, he first went to Tokyo. He learned Japanese on the boat ride to Japan and upon arrival he was able to give talks in Japanese about Subud and open people. Then he

2 Susila Budhi Dharma, Vol. 1, 172 pages; [Hong Kong]: [Ye Olde Printerie]. [1955]. Square brackets denote information not found in the publication but determined later. 3 This interview of Husein Rofé was made in 1998 in England. He was the first Westerner to be opened in Subud. Rofé tells us about his early life before Subud and his first encounter with Bapak. He tells about his conversations with Bapak before he was opened, about his opening, about his inkling after his opening that perhaps he might have something to do with spreading Subud, and Bapak's response. Rofé describes Bapak's unassuming manner. He gives us an intimate description of what Bapak was like in the beginning days of Subud. 4 Notes from and email from Michael Rogge, 1 June 2020, in the Archives. 5 See Harlinah Longcroft’s History of Subud, Vol. 1, Book 1, page 156, for a letter Bapak wrote Rofé about the writing of his book in Javanese as a receiving and the difference between the two when he then translated his own book into Indonesia.

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moved on to Hong Kong. Michael Rogge, long-time Subud member from The Netherlands, was opened by Husein Rofé in Hong Kong in 1955. Rogge tells us that the translation into English of the first half of Susila Budhi Dharma, Vol. 1, was published in Hong Kong by Ye Olde Printerie, and that Rogge partly financed that publication. There was no money available to publish Vol. 2 and its whereabouts were unknown until recently. This unpublished Vol. 2 of Rofé’s translation from the Indonesian has since been found in the Subud Britain archives by Solihin Garrard, the archivist for the WSA Archives in the UK.

Bapak with the Yogyakarta Group, 1951 (Rofé on Bapak’s immediate left)

It is interesting to note that in the latter half of Rofé’s second book, Reflections on Subud,6 he included a commentary on Bapak's Susila Budhi Dharma. Bapak suggested that Rofé make a commentary and that he hoped others would make similar efforts. Rofé said about Susila Budhi Dharma: "The work is to him [Bapak] an inspired scripture; hence he believes that others who have been exposed to the same source may also have something constructive to contribute, despite differences in degrees of awareness."7 This may be an important comment made by Bapak relayed to us by, an eyewitness, Rofé, not long after Susila Budhi Dharma was written. It might to be an invitation from Bapak for all who read Susila Budhi Dharma to make an effort to understand it better and perhaps write about their own experiences in the .

1954 Unpublished Vol. 2 of the first printed copy of Susila Budhi Dharma recently found

This unpublished manuscript consists of 74 pages, typed on very thin paper of Foolscap folio size (8.0 X 13.0 inches). The title is written in block letters in pencil across the top of the first page. It was “re-discovered” by Solihin Garrard in the collection for which he has

6 [Tokyo, Japan]: Reflections on Subud, [1961]. 213 pages. 7 See page 14 in Author’s Foreword for this quote made January 1960. See also Introduction and The Argument to Reflections on Subud for Rofé’s explanations.

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responsibility.8 The manuscript for Vol. 1 was found alongside Vol. 2 and both were written on the same kind of paper. In the course of his undertaking in 2011/2012 a full inventory of the archives held by/in Subud Britain, Garrard had recorded the existence of Volumes 1 and 2 of Rofé’s 1955 translation of Susila Budhi Dharma into English. Both volumes remained on the shelves in the Subud Britain archive until Daniela Moneta, WSA archivist, came across further reference to Vol. 2, but thought it was lost. Looking at his spreadsheet in 2018, Garrard found the record he had previously made, and discovered both volumes together on the shelves. No copy has yet been made of Volume 2, but its preservation and significance make it a priority. The first page of Volume 2 of the 1954 unpublished manuscript, starting with page 173.

8 This is one of the five international locations that Bapak identified in a letter to Mary Thomson on 15 January 1977 for keeping what Bapak described as being “the most important material.” Mary Thomson was Chair of Subud Archives International at the time. Bapak said that it was necessary to make copies of material and that they should be stored respectively in places where there are active Subud groups. He suggested three places which included Japan (Tokyo), Australia (Sydney), and California (Los Angeles), in addition to the present location in Europe (England), together with the tapes of Bapak’s talks helb by Faisal Sillem (Belgium). When asked why he had not included Indonesia (Wisma Subud), he responded that the archives were already in Indonesia.

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Personal Copy of Susila Budhi Dharma published in 1958

The full title, of this widely circulated 1958 edition, is Susila Budhi Dharma: The Way of Submission to the Will of God. Rendered from his Poem in High Javanese into Bahasa Indonesia. by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo together with an English Translation by the Subud Committee for Great Britain. Published by the Subud Brotherhood, Mariendals Boktrykkeri A. s., Gjovic, [1958], Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo.9

Solihin Garrard also has in the WSA Archives collection in Britain the personal copy of Bapak’s Susila Budhi Dharma. This was, as the image below shows, given by Bapak to Varindra Vittachi on 3 November 1966 and eventually donated to the WSA Archives in the UK perhaps in preparation for a revised edition of Susila Budhi Dharma. The book has Bapak’s business card taped to the inside cover along with a note stating its source and “destination.”10

In the same way that Volume 2 of Rofé’s 1955 translation of Susila Budhi Dharma wasn’t uncovered until actively sought, this unique copy only became known when the archivists decided to make a bibliography of all known editions of Susila Budhi Dharma. The image

9 This edition includes a preface written in Indonesian by Y. M. Bapak which is translated into English by J. G. Bennett. The Javanese (in italics) and the Indonesian are printed together, and the English appears at the end of the book. The English translation of the text was done by Syafrudin Ahmed, E.I.M. (later Roseanna) Sawrey- Cookson and Reggie and Irina Hoare. 10 The deterioration shown by the color of the tape shows that it is not good practice to use Scotch tape or any commercial tapes on anything that is likely to be preserved for the future as it yellows and gets sticky. At some point, this will have to be restored by a professional paper conservator.

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below is an example of the corrections made by Bapak in his own handwriting on one page of the 1958 Javanese and Indonesian text. Bapak carefully examined each stanza and checked it off as being correct, or marking it as wrong (X), with the required changes made in ink. He corrected the Indonesian in nine stanzas and corrected the Javanese in 97 stanzas. These corrections were all integrated into the 1975 edition which appeared eleven years later. At the end of the Javanese and Indonesian sections of Bapak’s 1958 edition, he initials and dates his corrections as made on 11 April 1964. What is particularly striking in the text is the clear evidence of the care and attention to detail that Bapak gave to the task of ensuring that his book was absolutely correct.

[TO BE CONTINUED IN OUR DECEMBER 2020 FYI NEWSLETTER]

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Message from the International Helpers

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Each of the countries with Subud members has been affected by the Corona Virus pandemic. Some much more than others. Some are emerging from lockdown, for others the impact is still very immediate and for yet others you may be feeling relief that your country has been little affected.

For many, national congresses and zonal events have been cancelled – our annual opportunities to be together, to share the latihan and to contribute to decisions for the coming year. In some cases, and where possible, these have been replaced by virtual congresses, creatively offering at least some of the missing, personal connections. For most, group latihans have temporarily become distance latihans, sharing the latihan times but not the latihan spaces.Reactions to all of this have been positive and creative. Groups have been meeting socially and for meetings by means of Zoom and other applications. In many cases meeting more often than when doing latihan in the same space. Groups have reported re- connecting with members not seen for a while. Many have reported the deep-felt need to get back to latihan in our halls.

For the International Helpers, a significant part of our responsibility has been impossible for several months. Visits to countries, events and meetings have been cancelled and none have yet been re-booked although there are now some possibilities beginning to appear. So, the question arose, what is our role at this time?

Testing indicated that it was a time for being inwardly quiet, deepening our individual latihans and outwardly connecting with others. We now have zoom meetings with many – joining in virtual Zone meetings, WSC meetings, Kejiwaan Councillor meetings, virtual country visits - each Area organising according to the needs and wishes of its countries and zones. While these connections have not allowed the kejiwaan activities that we are used to, the value has been very real.

So what next? Of course, emerging from the lockdown brings its challenges. When do we start doing latihan together again? How do we feel about the practical risks? Do we wear masks? How can we do latihan and pay attention to social distancing? Groups all over the world are finding their own ways through this, some are not yet able to. Will this major disruption to our outer Subud lives, this limitation on outer activity give opportunity for inner change and development?

The Dewan of International Helpers

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Dewan of International Helpers Zoom Meeting 20 July 2020

Area 2 current and past International Helpers, with members from African countries during Zoom call on 2 August 2020. 9

Zoom with Area 3 International Helpers

ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM: No Travel but Lots of Connecting for the International Helpers Area 3

In our Area 3 Dewan, five of us live in the US and one in Canada. Four of us have multiple citizenships. We mention multiple nationality as it helps us with languages needed in different countries and cultural understanding also. We, like most of the world, have not gone anywhere since March. In 2020, we could only visit Cuba before the pandemic grounded us at our North American homes.

Our dewan has a weekly simultaneous latihan on Tuesdays and a meeting via zoom. We set up Area 3 simultaneous latihans so that members throughout the Americas can latihan together. These are NOT on zoom as Ibu Siti Rahayu made it clear to us that technology does not transmit the latihan vibration, and we tested regarding this for ourselves also.

We also set up weekly zoom calls for outreach to our area countries, one country per week. We do a simultaneous latihan with the national dewan first and then have a conversation on zoom, often for a couple of hours. We hear how members are doing in their countries and how each national dewan is reaching out to their members during this time that the world is staying home. In a few places (British Columbia) members are returning to group latihan wearing masks and practicing social distancing. That is happening in Cuba also.

We are deeply touched by these latihans and meetings afterwards face to face via zoom. We use WhatsApp with Cuba and Venezuela where internet and computers are sparse. Even though we would rather be together in person, we are grateful for the latihans and all that each country dewan does to serve their members during the pandemic, whether it is through regular latihans and/or sometimes distributing food or medicine where needed. There are country chats on WhatsApp that keep us in touch with what’s happening in multiple countries and one for women for all of Area 3.

The economic and political situation in Venezuela has been particularly difficult and impacts neighboring countries as people leave and become refugees in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. The food donations going from the US to Venezuela through an SD project were stopped due to pandemic regulations not allowing shipments into Venezuela.

Our worship brings us peace and calm in this chaotic time. We hope you all take advantage of the local, regional, national, area and world latihans for your worship and wellbeing. We look forward to connecting with you in person the next time we can visit! We miss the hugs, giving and receiving. We are grateful that our worship of God always connects us to each other around the world. We thank Ibu Siti Rahayu for her guidance and care, particularly at this difficult time.

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With love to our sisters and brothers around the world, Joan Fromme (Canada, Champagne Aishihik First Nation in the Yukon) Halinah Rizzo-Bussack (USA) Illène Pevec (USA-Brazil-Canada) Benedict Herrman (USA) Kohar Parra (USA-Colombia) Humphrey Williams (US, UK)

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Zone Representatives Report ZONE 1 & 2

The 61st National Congress of Subud Japan in 2020.

Because of the COVID-19, we had to postpone the National Congress twice form early May to August. Until the last minute, we were worried whether we were able to hold the meeting and we could not expect many members to come.

We revised by law at first allowing members to attend the meeting on the internet (zoom). 11 people attended the meeting and 7 attended on the internet. The venue was our national center at Sakado, Saitama Prefecture.

The first day, August 9th was a hot sunny day, and especially because an air conditioner did not work, it was lucky that no one got sick. Even the evening party was held in the heat with not so many attendees, we were able to have a good time.

On the second day, the air conditioner worked properly luckily, we could have a meeting in a comfortable venue. The issue of many members aging and the decline in membership was raised. We discussed the issue and many opinions were expressed, but we were unable to reach an overall consensus, and decided to continue discussions.

We would like to express our gratitude for God's grace that we could finish the national Congress safely, with no one getting sick due to corona or extreme heat.

Masato Ishizuki / C.C. ＆ Vice Chairman of Subud Japan

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HELP US PLAN WHAT IS NEXT FOR SUBUD IN KALIMANTAN

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Subud,

Warm greetings from the board of PCB, we pray all of you are well during these challenging times. PCB continues to follow its vision and mission as given by YM Bapak to pursue and assist with the develop of Central Kalimantan. With the World Congress scheduled to take place in the near future in Kalimantan we are using this unique time to study, plan and design the next phase of development.

PCB would like to kindly ask our brothers and sisters in Subud to let us know if they are interested to help develop and safeguard Subud's land in Kalimantan by purchasing an Interim Certificate to a plot and answer a couple accompanying questions in our brief survey at this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHXS23NFRXJ0k5QCZhEks9QT9HV6- DIlHEQv5REisk_Kl2NA/viewform?usp=sf_link

For more detailed information about PCB and the land in Kalimantan please view the 2020 Plot Holder Information Package via this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vnNCQ3qlUHLd46EpCMMqmBZqs4O2sCg0/view?usp=shar ing

Recognizing that one of Bapak’s goals was for Subud and its members to develop enterprises in Kalimantan, PCB would also like to incorporate this in its short and long-term planning by allocating land for a range of other uses. If this interests you, please indicate in the survey if you would like to purchase a plot to be allocated to non-residential zones – examples of such usage could be horticulture, animal husbandry, forest conservation, research, education, industrial and other commercial activities.

All information provided will stay strictly confidential and will not be shared with any party outside of PCB.

We thank you for your help in completing the survey, and please forgive any shortcomings in these communications.

If you have any further questions please contact PCB via "[email protected]".

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With love and best wishes,

God bless,

Andrina Kustiwulan Interim President Director

To access the survey, please right click on the links to open in a web browser or copy paste the link into your web browser address bar. Here are the links again:-

SURVEY: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHXS23NFRXJ0k5QCZhEks9QT9HV6- DIlHEQv5REisk_Kl2NA/viewform?usp=sf_link

PLOT CERTIFICATE HOLDER INFORMATION PACKAGE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vnNCQ3qlUHLd46EpCMMqmBZqs4O2sCg0/view?usp=shar ing

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