Starlight Press

“The word ‘Adam’ does not apply to a physical human being. The real meaning of the word Adam is 'the origin'. Adam was a primordial being without physical substance or form. He lived unconditionally. Without name or sex. Adam was the light, the seed of Man, created before anything else.”

In this way begins Adam and his children, a unique story of the development of human life from Creation through history to the present day. Its extraordinary perspective provides remarkable answers to provocative questions:

What is the purpose of human life on Earth?
How can a human being today escape from the culture of mistakes he has inherited?
How can we experience real peace and bliss? What is the real function of sexual union?
Can we achieve self-awareness every moment, every pulse beat?
Can we work and succeed in the world without being consumed by materialism?
How can people discover their true natures and talents?
What kind of schooling is needed to direct people not according to the needs of existing power structures but according to their real needs?
Were the ascensions of Jesus, Muhammed and other prophets real?
Why can't people today see the radiance of the Holy Spirit anymore – yet they can still feel Its vibration if they truly surrender?
Who were Anwar and Anwas?
Was Zeus originally a human being who willed himself into becoming a disembodied god or dewa?
What is the difference between Heaven and Nirvana? What are ghosts?
Was there human life on Earth seven million years ago?
Did civilizations higher than ours exist on Earth hundreds of thousands of years ago?
What transpired when the Earth’s Poles changed and cataclysm struck the planet?

The narrative explanations given by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo in these excerpts from some of his spontaneous, unprepared talks, illuminate as they surprise. They are, in turn, illuminated by more than 50 colour and black-and-white paintings which evoke some of the inimitable character of the story told.

Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo, (b. 22 June 1901, d. 23 June, 1987) came from a village in Central Java. He received spontaneously at age 24, a contact with what is variously called the original Life Force, or the Holy Spirit, or the Power of God. He underwent remarkable spiritual experiences which culminated in his being able to transmit this contact or 'opening' to other people. The opening, occasioned by a person's sincere surrender to God, and the Great Life, is marked by vibration, movement and other manifestations arising from beyond expectation, will, heart and mind; and initiates a process of spontaneous inner regeneration and development. This spiritual receiving or exercise – the latihan kejiwaun – was given the name Susila Budhi Dharrna or Subud.
Since 1957, this experience has spread naturally, without propaganda, around the world to more than 80 nations and tens of thousands of people from virtually all religions, races and cultures. As a result, Muhammad Subuh, known also by the Indonesian term of respect, ‘Bapak’, meaning father, travelled the world 25 times, covering more than a million miles, and glving extemporaneous explanations to people thus opened. More than a thousand of these talks were recorded and many hundreds have been transcribed and translated. It is from a collection of Muhammad Subuh's 1977-1978 world tour talks that this book of excerpts has been, in the main, compiled.