View source for Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo

{{Short description|Indonesian religious leader (1901–1987)}}
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{{Infobox person
| name          = Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo
| image         = Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo.jpg
| alt           = 
| caption       =
| birth_name    = Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1901|06|22}}
| birth_place   = Kedungjati, [[Dutch East Indies]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1987|06|23|1901|06|22}}
| death_place   = 
| nationality   = Indonesian
| other_names   = Pak Subuh, Bapak
| occupation    = Spiritual leader
| years_active  = 1930s–1987
| known_for     = [[Subud]]
| notable_works = 
}}
{{Subud}}
'''Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo''' (born June 22, 1901, in Kedungjati, near [[Semarang]], [[Java]], [[Dutch East Indies]]; died June 23, 1987)  was an [[Native Indonesians|Indonesian]] who founded the movement known as [[Subud]].<ref> "Subud", by Gisella Webb, in ''America's Alternative Religions'', Timothy Miller, ed. (SUNY Press, 1995) p272</ref>
Muhammad Subuh said he received as a young man a series of intense experiences that he believed gave him contact with a spiritual energy from a higher power. By the 1930s, he believed that it was his task to transmit this energy—which he called ''[[latihan]] kejiwaan'' (Indonesian for "spiritual exercise")—to others, but that he was not to seek people out but simply to wait for those who asked for it.

In 1956, Pak Subuh, or "Bapak" as he was called by members of Subud (the word "Bapak" is [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] for something akin to [[father]]), was invited to England by [[J. G. Bennett]], where many Westerners joined [[Subud]]. He was then asked to go to other countries such as the [[United States]] and [[Australia]]. In this way, Subud spread rapidly around the world.

When he died in 1987 he left many talks on tape, video and in print, which Subud uses to guide the organization he founded.

== Biography ==
{{expand section|date=April 2014}}
Muhammad Subuh was an Indonesian who founded the [[Subud]] movement. "Subud" is a contraction of three Sanskrit words: ''sushila'', ''budhi'', and ''dharma''.<ref name="randi-1995" /> Subud centres on the mystical phenomenon of ''[[latihan]]''.<ref name="randi-1995" />

Muhammad Subuh wrote in his autobiography that, about the year 1932, he had a visionary visit to the highest heaven, the "Seventh Heaven".
By his account, one night he felt drowsy and went to lie down in bed. Instead of falling asleep, he felt himself "lengthen, widen and expand into a sphere" and then entered a great space. He saw a group of stars far away and was told that it was the universe he had left behind. He then traveled at great speed through a great expanse and beyond, there were seven (7) "mountain-like cones of light, one stacked upon another". He described how he entered the cones of light one after another until he entered the seventh, the last. Then he returned to earth and saw what looked like stars in the sky but later realized they were the lights of Semarang, the hometown where he lived. He even tarried a little over the rooftop of his own house trying to lift up some roof tiles with his fingers but instead found himself inside his own room. It was about the time of Subuh or dawn.
 
In his description Muhammad Subuh implied the seventh cone of light represents the highest heaven.

From his first visit to Britain in 1957 until his death 30 years later in 1987, Muhammad Subuh is estimated to have travelled 594,320 miles outside Indonesia, visiting Subud groups around the world.<ref name=SPI1>Brochure, "Bapak's Extraordinary Journey" (SPI 2007)</ref> On these trips he gave explanations about the nature of the [[Latihan]] spiritual exercise and the purpose and meaning of the spiritual association of [[Subud]]. Approximately 1,400 of these talks were recorded,<ref name=SPI2>Bapak's Talks, Volume 1 (SPI 1993), Publisher's Introduction</ref> with provisional translations to English made available at the time. These talks are currently being re-translated and republished by [[Subud Publications International]]. There are now Subud groups in over 70 countries, with a worldwide membership of about 10,000.

In the late 1950s, British academic [[John G. Bennett]] came under Pak Subuh's influence and funded his career, believing Pak Subuh to be a messiah.<ref name="randi-1995">{{Cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=[[An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural|An encyclopedia of claims, frauds, and hoaxes of the occult and supernatural: decidedly sceptical definitions of alternative realities]] |date=1995 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=978-0-312-15119-5 |location=New York, NY|author-link=James Randi}}</ref> By 1960, once interest in Subud had faded, Bennett had left Subud and became a Catholic.<ref name="randi-1995" /> The actress [[Eva Bartok]] was also a supporter of Pak Subuh.<ref name="randi-1995" />

==Works==
*{{cite book
  | last = Sumohadiwidjojo 
  | first =  Muhammad-Subuh 
  | title = Autobiography: The History of Bapak R.M.Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo, Founder of the Spiritual Association of Susila Budhi Dharma, or Subud 
  | publisher = Subud Publications International 
  | year = 1990
  | isbn = 1-869822-07-2}}

*{{cite book
  | last = Sumohadiwidjojo 
  | first =  Muhammad-Subuh 
  | title = Bapak's Talks, Volume 1
  | publisher = Subud Publications International 
  | year = 1993 }}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110703082721/http://www.subudbooks.net/ Subud Publications International] Organisation dedicated to translating and publishing talks by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo

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[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:Subud]]
[[Category:Indonesian Subud members]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]