Subud FAQ Based on My Experience

What is Subud?

Subud is a spiritual movement centered around a practice known as the latihan, or training. Subud was founded by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo (known as Bapak, a respectful and endearing Indonesian term for "father", to Subud members) a Javanese Indonesian who purportedly received the latihan directly from God. Detailed information can be found at the official site.

What is the latihan?

The latihan is practiced with fellow Subud members of the same gender for a duration ranging from one half to one hour. One doing the latihan attempts to relax enough to quiet one's thoughts and feelings and surrender oneself to the power of God. The latihan is said to be unique for each practitioner. When internally quiet, the latihan of a person may physically manifest itself as actions such as walking, running, and rolling on the floor; verbally as speaking, shouting, or singing (in known and unknown languages); and in what is generally outwardly chaotic behavior. Internally, Subud members profess, is where the real spiritual development occurs. Obstructions such as daily thoughts and feelings, a bad childhood, and problems in ordinary life are pushed aside as the soul is awakened to communicate directly with God.

Why haven't I "experienced" anything in Subud?

Subud members sometimes claim to have received experiences directly from God during the latihan. These experiences are also said to occur in mundane daily life by those who are truly in tune with their latihan.

Why do some members fail to have significant experiences beyond those which can easily be explained by ordinary thoughts and feelings? Well, maybe they're not trying to quiet themselves hard enough -- Subud is about surrender without thinking to an all-powerful force, after all. In a cold, dreary way, there probably is nothing to experience during the latihan beyond baseline mental activity and emotional noise.

Consider the following:

The ideomotor effect - The influence of suggestion on involuntary and unconscious motor behavior, a well-known and researched psychological phenomenon. Many Subud members, having read all the Subud literature and listened to the stories of other members, expect to receive experiences such as movement and vocalization during the latihan. It could be that such expectations lead to perceived physical experiences, that is, thinking makes it so.

Insincerity - Not truly believing or not willing to let go of the mind and heart. Subud members attempt total surrender to God during the latihan. How sincerely can you surrender? Are you really forgetting about the layoffs at work or the cute girl at the coffee shop?

Indoctrination - Acceptance of others' experiences as fact and replacements for your own. This can be a result of genuine honesty, as in not having any experiences, or simple laziness, as in not doing the latihan regularly. Reading Subud literature and the influence of strong personalities within a Subud group can cause members to stop thinking and questioning for themselves. After all, it's taken for granted that for Subud members certain activities are appropriate while others are inappropriate (bacon anyone? - eating pork is frowned upon); yet, few, if any, members can relate a personal experience beyond the mundane that supports these beliefs. Merely feeling woozy after accidentally eating a pork dumpling does not justify saying that God told you to not eat "the other white meat".

In Subud, the individual determines the source their own experiences. A person is free to assign an experience or thought to whomever or whatever they please, and the experiences of others can only be believed. Naturally, without having attempted the latihan one cannot say what experiences it holds, nor can one logically explain away what others claim to have experienced.

Are there any actual benefits to the latihan other than receiving experiences?

Subud members have reported benefits of the latihan ranging from total clarity of thought and emotion to the curing of afflictions from hay fever to cancer. While the end goal of the latihan is for the practitioner to become a "true human being" and join God, many Subud members talk about the everyday advantages. See this site which illustrates some of the experiences and advantages as told by Subud members. Regardless of actual miracles, quietness of mind and heart can't be that bad.

Whether these benefits can be linked to God is, of course, questionable and the subject of individual interpretation. Did God really tell me to buy a new Ford, or was I simply remembering the ad on TV I saw last week?

Who joins Subud? Why do people join?

Seekers join Subud. Those searching for guidance through life's complexity and fatality, those requiring faith in something but are disenchanted with traditional religions, and those who see truth in all religions frequently join Subud. Social outcasts, people looking for easy answers, and those with a few screws loose join Subud too. Converts from other spiritual movements such as mainstream religions, the Gurdjieff movement, and the Ba'hai faith also often find Subud. Subud has members from all backgrounds: laborers, professionals, scientists, doctors, artists, you name it.

Many Subud members also subscribe to other related beliefs and practices, and some even scoff at these as they unwittingly practice them. New age mysticism, homeopathic and alternative medicine, faith healing, and end-of-the-world theories all find homes in some Subud minds. Subud shares with these a demand for true belief from the individual.

What's with the first names of Subud members?

If you've had any contact with Subud members, you'll be familiar with names like Hussein, Rohanna, and Rashid. Most tend to be Arabic or Muslim or vaguely so, many are not, and are even ordinary. According to Subud, each soul has a true name, and a soul cannot be called to heaven by another name. Upon joining Subud, members are encouraged to ask for a Subud name, which is usually conferred by a designated member (Bapak did this himself before his death, and others have inherited the duty). Many times the name giver sends back an initial letter only along with instructions for the member to select an appropriate name by themselves. Strangely, no direct contact is required with the name giver, a mailed request and reply being typical. A dedicated member will usually have their name legally changed to their Subud name.

However, this name changing causes some Subud members to lead double-lives. That is, to their family, non-Subud friends, colleagues, and the public in general they go by their original names, while Subud members know them by their Subud names. How far this goes depends on the person, with some less courageous people ending up with two distinct social circles.

Is Subud a cult?

That depends what is defined as a cult. If a cult is simply a small fringe religion, then yes, Subud is a cult. If a cult is a malicious money hungry pseudo-religious organization with an infallible leader, then no, Subud is not a cult. While many members do look up to Bapak and hold his writings and teachings as sacred texts, this is not required and indeed was discouraged by Bapak himself. From the material perspective, funds inside the Subud organization are largely raised by member donations and enterprise.

Whether Subud is a cult also depends on whom you ask. Members of other religious movements, especially mainstream ones, would probably consider Subud a cult, where the skeptic on the street might just consider it a bit goofy.

Who are you, anyway?

A former Subud member.

Having done the latihan regularly for about eight years, I have finally determined that I have not experienced anything noteworthy, anything that could only be explained by a higher power such as God. Perhaps I was insincere in doing the latihan, perhaps I don't need Subud anymore. While I was never a "hardcore" Subud member who read every book and could recite sections of Bapak's talks word for word (I reasoned that this was contrary to Subud anyway), I did grasp the fundamentals and attempted true sincerity in the practice of the latihan.

I don't consider my time wasted, as other former members have expressed, since a real and personal spiritual need was filled for me. Likewise, I don't bear Subud members any grudges and think that the movement itself, on the whole, is filled with honest, kind, and decent people. I hope that I can continue to be friends with those that I know.

I realized that writing about my short experience with Subud would help me better understand myself.

April 21, 2003