THE WONDERFUL VISIT OF BELOVED BAPAK... TO SOUTH AFRICA... AFTER SIX LONG YEARS... OF WAITING FOR HIM... Beginning Part I ... Thursday 1/20/11...

Not long after Mrs. Henrietta Ellison's Miraculous Encounter... with the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs... we were finally Blessed... by the presence... in our midst... of our Beloved SUBUD Father... BAPAK...


It was May 1966... around Grazia's official fifth SUBUD birthday... being 19th May 1961... although she Was Miraculously Touched... already in 1960... in Bulawayo Southern Rhodesia... 


And again in February 1961... when her Heavenly Father... Commanded her Beloved soul mate Richard... to be the channel... to Gloriously "Open..." ... and "Awaken..." ... her Inner Self...


She had drowned herself... for him... in her previous Japanese incarnation... having lost face... because he... as her Englishman betrothed... had betrayed her... the daughter of a prominent... ruling Shogun... with her younger... beautiful "chiisai Itoko" (little cousin)... Isnaini... then Ismana... in this lifetime... with whom she was reunited... at the SUBUD House... in San Francisco... in 1982...


(Read about Nadia and Dimitri... featured on Muftiah's Notes Page... or under Muftiah's free legacy... to all of mankind... in her first book... "From The Shadow... Of The Rising Sun..." ... Part  III  Chapter 22... "How Two Devoted Children Of God..." etc...


and about the poignant memory... of her Japanese incarnation... born in this lifetime... already speaking fluent Hiragana... the language of the upper classes... as a tiny tot... whilst living in Peking China...! ... under Part  I-A  Chapter 11... via link:   subudstories.info  )


Our long-awaited... SUBUD Father... Beloved BAPAK... finally arrived... being invited to stay at the lovely home of the Baervelts... with his translator Usman...


The spacious Wilgespruit Hall... was rented for a whole week... for the momentous occasion...


What a delight...  


But at the very outset... even before BAPAK's actual presence... amongst some 200... of his assembled SUBUD children... from all over South Africa... we were already learning... some very important lessons...  


In our ignorance... out of respect... and deference... to BAPAK... and as an extra token... of SUBUD South Africa... welcoming him... as a man from the Orient... the organizing committee... from Cape Town... had arranged for lit incense sticks... to be put into two beautiful... large urns... set up on each side of the stage... which BAPAK... and his translator Usman... would be occupying... 


But to our consternation... we were kept waiting... and waiting... as a half hour went by... with the air... filled with the excited voices of South Africans...


Then another half hour or so... with the pungent aroma of the Joss sticks... filling the air... reminding Grazia... of her ten years... of living... and growing up... in Japan... in the 1930's...


Because of her great height of now six feet... out of consideration of others... she always sat in the back row of theaters... but somehow found herself sitting... in the very front first row...! ...  


The audience getting restless... they were BEING TAUGHT... THE VERY VALUABLE LESSON... OF HOW TO BE PATIENT... one of the most important requirements... for the SUBUD Way of Life...


Grazia and her Dutch South African friend... Esme... whom she had brought into SUBUD... and who had driven them to Wilgespruit... in her car... were sitting next to each other... feeling calm and quiet... and not talking to each other at all...


Then a tall... elegant... grey-haired figure of a man... being Usman... BAPAK's translator... suddenly appeared at the side door of the Hall... 


And he announced quietly... speaking excellent English... that BAPAK would not enter the Hall... until the incense sticks were removed...!

Once again... the committee was embarrassed... as red-faced... four men... immediately scrambled up onto the stage... and heaving and grunting... sweating profusely... making quite a comical spectacle... between them... they finally managed to haul the offensive to BAPAK... heavy large urns... with the lit incense sticks... off the stage...  
   
And flustered... and shame-faced... and totally undone... they forgot to turn the tape recorder on...!  So that BAPAK's most memorable Talk... given by him... at the Wilgespruit Hall... in 1966... was never recorded...!


BAPAK's request... having been carried out... his children waited... but still BAPAK... did not appear...


And another hour went by... with the audience... becoming more and more restless... and somewhat annoyed...  


Then Usman appeared once again... and announed that BAPAK would not enter the Hall... because there was too much noise going on...!  


So everybody forced themselves... to stop talking... not an easy task... because everyone was so excited... to see their Beloved BAPAK... at long... long last... 


Finally... it was so quiet in the Hall... that you could hear a pin drop...  


And still BAPAK did not appear... and another long... long passage of time went by... until the atmosphere was filled... with a beautiful sense... of utterly peaceful calm...

And only then... did almost sixty-six year old BAPAK... whose birthday was June 22nd... followed by dignified Usman... finally enter the Hall... with BAPAK striding forward briskly... with a youthful cadence... in his step...  


And the very first thing BAPAK did... after thanking the Committee Chairman... for his welcoming speech... was give an explanation about incense...!  


All about how the lighting of incense "Joss" sticks... because for many centuries... man had used them... as a way to invoke spirits... in their practices... of black magic rituals... had ultimately given any incense sticks... whenever lit by anyone... anywhere... even for social purposes... the power to actually attract evil spirits...!

And as an example... he mentioned the Americn Hippie... and their fondness... of following the Oriental custom... of lighting Joss sticks...     


And how crazy some of them behaved... when befuddled by drugs... they were even being possessed... by evil spirits... which they had attracted to themselves...! 


And BAPAK "recommended"... that all SUBUD Members... throughout South Africa... refrain from such a practice... from then on...


And then BAPAK said... that he would reveal... another Spiritual Secret...


Whenever a Member... deliberately clapped his or her hands... during their Latihan Kejiwaan... because it added a certain... pleasant rhythm... to their Movements... Received from ALMIGHTY GOD... they should refrain... from such a practice... because they were actually attracting evil spirits towards them...! 


Of course... if Clapping of their Hands... Arose in them... by the POWER OF GOD... then such Movements... Were Willed by Him... for Spiritual Reasons... Known only to Him... and they should not resist them...


BAPAK went on to say... that we should never ever resist... any Movements... that Arose in us... by the POWER OF ALMIGHTY GOD.. as we stood sincerely... and patiently... surrendered to Him... in our Latihan... for all Received Movements... were very important... as ALMIGHTY GOD... Was Gradually Bringing to Spiritual Life... the counterpart... of our physical bodies...


So that we could exist... in our Afterlife... being able to move our Spiritually Awakened Arms... and Legs... and use our Spiritually Awakened Voices... in Speech and in Song...


(To be Continued with... THE WONDERFUL VISIT OF BELOVED BAPAK... TO SOUTH AFRICA... AFTER SIX LONG YEARS... OF WAITING FOR HIM...  Part  II  Insha Allah... God Willing... Monday 1/24/11...)