by Reynold Ruslan FELDMAN, ph.d
In May 1961, a year after receiving my B.A. in English, I was opened in Subud. That took place in Chicago. At the time I was also attending the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Hindu Fellowship near where I lived. Back at Yale Graduate School that fall and an isolated member, I began studying Indonesian and hanging around with “people who looked like Bapak.” It wasn’t until the fall of 1969 in Honolulu, with Mas Prio Hartono a recent houseguest, that I first tried the Muslim Ramadan Fast. It was challenging, to say the least, with world-class headaches appearing every day by three. But with Muslim students and professors at the East-West Center, where I was working, for companions, it was a dramatic experiment for me—one that I have since repeated 36 times.
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Members said this very individualized and personal connection with God is received through "latihan kejiwaan" — Indonesian for spiritual exercises. Members meet twice a week for the exercises, which last for about 30 minutes. Through the latihan, "we're receiving in a very intense way . . . what it feels like to be guided by God," Feldman said.
Regional helper and member of the Subud faith Deliana Fuddy, right, meditates at one of the group's meetings at Richards Street YWCA. Meditation is followed by spiritual exercises. Kyle Sackowski • The Honolulu Advertiser