Connect Magazine 2018 ENG

MESSAGE
Our dear Subud sisters and brothers,
As our Subud World Congress 2018
approaches, we prepare ourselves
inwardly and outwardly for it. Our big event
has different aspects; one of them, the
official one, relates to the assembly of the
delegations from all country members,
during which we decide together on policies
and priorities for the upcoming terms.
Officers change every four years but the
time frame for the development of Subud
is long term. The rotation of people in the
functions should not mean discontinuity in
the work.
So we need a long-term plan based on a
shared vision and then take incremental
steps to address our needs. That will allow
us to grow and make progress. In our path,
we are accompanied by the guidance of
God Almighty, which then helps us navigate
through the challenges and changes in the
world.
The essential quality necessary for this
journey of ours is unity.
Unity means that at every corner of the
world we practice the same and pure
latihan kejiwaan, as received and spread by
Bapak. This allows us to be called Subud.
There is one Subud.
Unity also means that all aspects - the
kejiwaan, the organization, the wings - they
are all part of the same Subud: the inner
and the outer come together as one. Unity
also reminds us that there is only One God
and one humankind.
This is why we have selected the word
unity as the theme for our World Congress
2018 because it sets the foundation for our
future.
Indeed, this is the time for us to strengthen
our foundation. We live in a moment of
transition. There are generational changes
taking place in Subud. Life in the world
today has become very complex, and
people are confused about what is
permanent and what is transitory. We are
very fortunate to have Ibu Rahayu with us
reminding us of what is permanent and
true. We need to be prepared and ready to
stand on our own feet, based on the legacy
we have received and the guidance of the
latihan.
The World Congress is the opportunity we
have to remind ourselves of what we are,
why we are here and where we are going in
the future. We acknowledge our origin and
look at our future together.
So, for this Congress, we plan to offer our
members a less fragmented experience,
one more focused on the essence and
basis of Subud. We intend to be consistent
regarding content, program and physical
space. Two large spaces of hall #1 and #3
are dedicated to the Latihan
With love and respect,
Elias Coragem Dumit
WSA Chair
For this World Congress, we received
an unexpected gift: a huge 6000
square meter space – linking the two
latihan spaces. Originally, we thought
it would be too expensive to use this
hall as the extra charge was enormous
and out of our budget. But after
signing the contract, we suddenly
realized that this space was added at
no additional cost. So, there it was:
the gift of an enormous empty space.
At our 2017 WSC meeting in
Freiburg, members of the council,
working together with many youth
representatives, started to develop
a wonderful content for this space,
which is now developing into what is
known as the “Subud Village." It will
be the physical representation of our
Subud organization: Subud centers,
the zones, helpers, wings (SDIA, SICA,
SIHA, SESI, SYA), WSA services, the
Muhammad Subuh Foundation, and
more. We envisioned presenting all
the services and activities of Subud
to the members – to many, this is
still unknown or invisible. To prepare
a space for all to interact and work
together.
parts of our organization stand for. If
the national Subud organization is
already out of sight, the international
one probably has no real relevance
and meaning at all.
When we write and talk about the
Subud organization, those who
really resonate with this concept are
mainly members who experienced
the active days of Subud when
Bapak was around; all were inspired
working together and starting big
and small enterprises, projects to
change the world into a better place
for humanity. Newer members now
don't necessarily share the same
vision. A lot has changed since the
pioneer days; Bapak passed away,
joint projects failed, digitization and
an accelerated lifestyle have changed
our daily life. This sometimes makes it
difficult for members to get to latihan
regularly, let alone start projects.
What we envision with this Congress,
is to change the awareness in all of
us, not only to understand but to
support Subud as a whole, latihan,
organization, social aspects, and
community outreach. To see and
hear what our sisters and brothers
around the world are already bringing
into life. As we visited various
groups in different countries, we
discovered something wonderful;
almost in silence hidden from the
awareness, many members have
followed their latihan, their receiving
and put it into practice in their own
lives; starting enterprises, cultural,
social and healing projects. Subud
groups have started to work with the
communities around them renting
them Subud premises and taking part
in community projects.
how the expression and manifestation
of each wing exists within themselves.
How the different aspects of the
organization can support each one of
us to bring the latihan into action, into
our daily life.
At the World Congress, we thrive
to connect those who are already
active in the world to those who wish
to be by supporting them with our
many resources. We would like for
everyone to know that we are already
working on the same picture even if
we don’t realize it and that the World
Subud Association is the support
system for our member-countries
and members at large. Now is time
for all to begin to know with an inner
reality what is behind the acronyms;
SICA – culture, SDIA – social work and
welfare, - SIHA health and healing,
-SESI Subud enterprises and support
– SYAI supporting our young members
to discover their path in life. WSA is
at the center of the wheel, the cog
that allows support of the oneness
of Subud; of all religions, cultures,
languages, and ways of life.
At Congress we have the chance to
bring alive our huge support system
as we do latihan, find and talk with
like-minded sisters and brothers,
helpers, elders, mentors and, in
doing so, realize that we are all
connected to each other and God,
we can create our network of joy and
support. If we make our latihan a
reality, we create more true humanity
in this world and we fulfill – almost by
chance what Bapak has envisioned
for Subud: being truly alive in this
world, expressing the qualities of
Susila Budhi Dharma in service of
humankind.
For many of us, to do the latihan
is most important if not the only
important aspect of being in Subud.
The organizational as well the activity
aspect being of less or sometimes
even no importance. Asking around,
you will see that many members don’t
even know what the acronyms which
we use to demark the organizational
The wings, during the Basara Youth
camp in Kalimantan, coordinated
their presence by working together
in support of the young members
searching for their path in life. Now we
want to give space to this same spirit
of unity in diversity during the World
Congress; inviting members to find out
With love and respect,
Maria Ismanah Schulze-Vorberg
WSA Executive chair