At a spiritual seminar held in mid December in Jakarta, the compere --
a female professor -- was amazed to note that the spiritual ambiance emanating
from our fellow practitioners was very different to that of other participants.
Therefore, she curiously inquired where we were from. We told her that
we were followers of Supreme Master Ching Hai and gave her a copy of "The
Key Of Immediate enlightenment (Volume One). Happily, she said that she
would definitely read Master's teachings thoroughly to find out why they
were so wonderful!
This seminar was the first of its kind in Indonesia, and was held at the
five-star Sari Pan Pacific Hotel. Speakers came from several meditation
groups. Many people traveled a long way to attend.
The convener invited the former Army Chief of Staff, General Wismoyo Arismunadar,
now Chairman of the National Athletic Association, to deliver the opening
speech. General Wismoyo said that he had taken part in innumerable meetings,
but it was the first time he had ever joined a seminar about meditation.
His humor provoked a burst of laughter from the audience, and the atmosphere
became very harmonious.
More than 90 percent of Indonesian people are Muslim, and the country has
the largest Muslim population in the world. The chief speaker of this seminar
was Professor Ace Partadiredja. He is sixty-one years of age, and piously
believes in Allah. All his life, he has prayed sincerely and chanted the
scriptures, but he has not attained any lasting fulfillment. Every Muslim
believes in three things: God, contemplation to know God, and being one
with God. To experience and realize this oneness with God, Professor Partadiredja
travelled everywhere seeking the Truth. During decades of searching he
learnt many methods. To his amazement, he discovered that all religions
talk about the same thing! Therefore, he said, "Though we have different
ways of thinking, we should accept others' ways of thinking as well.
He also explained, "God taught human beings to recite the scriptures
in different ways and on different levels. The first is Jahar -- reciting
loudly to help us head in the right direction, become very virtuous, very
peaceful in mind, and close to God. The other way is called Khofi in Islam,
which means reciting silently with total concentration until all thoughts
and feelings are extinguished, then we can get in touch with God directly.
meditation is equivalent to scripture chanting. He then conducted a slide
show showing the auras of spiritual practitioners in meditation. With great
sincerity he shared his insights cultivated from his many years of spiritual
practice and searching for the Truth.