May 2011 - Subud Voice

WSA and the world
Osanna Vaughn, former chairlady of WSA, writes about WSA
interfacing with the world community...
I was first led into the External Relations aspect of our Subud life
when invited, as WSA chairlady, to attend the World Conference of
Religions for Peace in Kyoto in 2006. This was not the first time a
WSA chairperson had attended, but this time I spoke about it in
advance with members, to get a sense of the interest.
Apart from announcing my intention to attend about 5 months before
the event, I organized working groups/listservers on the subject. I was
surprised and delighted by the participation and interest. After I had
attended the Kyoto event (along with about a dozen other Subud
members, including a Zone Rep and an International Helper), I wrote a
report which also received positive feed-back from many members
around the world.
Osanna Vaughn, former Chair of the
World Subud Association
When I was in Kyoto, I asked one of the event organizers why I had
been invited, as Subud is not a religion. His response was, “because we see a need to include more 'spiritually'
focused associations – ones that are not tied to one particular religion.” As far as I could tell, the WSA was the only
such association present at that time.
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
When asked to speak about Subud at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in 2009, I had no concern in doing
so. About 200 Subud members were present among the 1500 or so people filling the pews. I cannot begin to
express the feeling of 'appropriateness' (in the sense of place and time) of speaking openly there about Subud. I felt
a strong sense of community among us all – the Subud members, the pilgrims, the tourists, and the clergy
(including bishops and priests from as far away as the Philippines and Argentina).
The priest's sermon immediately afterwards, picked up on aspects of what I had read out about Subud. This was a
beautiful moment. Even Subud members who had formerly been sceptical about our interface with the world were
moved with an added sense of confidence to be more open about Subud themselves. After I wrote about it, I got
much positive feed-back and requests for copies of what I had read out.
During my whole term I frequently wrote open letters, and the theme of our presence in the world came up more
than once. I received hundreds (no exaggeration) of replies and, in the whole 5 years, only one member ever
expressed vehement opposition to our being involved in interfaith and intercultural events. Interestingly enough, in
the videoed message Ibu Rahayu sent to the Thank You event soon afterwards. She also said it was quite right for
us to participate in such and other international forums.
In 2009, when I attended a meeting in Melbourne with the Coalition in support of a UN Decade for Peace and
Understanding, I was amazed to meet friendly, open people, some of whom knew about Subud through working
with Katherine Carré at UN NGO meetings in Geneva. It was a relief to be with non-Subud people who were
positively predisposed towards us and just as open to our input as to anyone else's. The same was evident in a
follow up meeting in Geneva in 2010.
The Parliament of World Religions
The Parliament of World Religions was held in Melbourne just before World Congress. Around 20 Subud members
attended, of which about 3⁄4 did not hold 'official' positions. The WSA (after discussion with the council and in collaboration
with the GHFP) had submitted three themes for presentations – one on Subud itself, one on education,
and one on peace. The Parliament asked us to talk about Subud.
Again, we informed the membership in advance of all this, and got much support and interest. Members, from
various countries, including France, USA, Israel, New Zealand and of course Australia were inspired to participate.
Apart from the enormous benefit personally felt of being at the Parliament, the interaction with other people
SUBUD VOICE PAGE 8 MAY 2011