The WSA History Of Subud Project Update 2026

Photo: Bapak and party at Maiquetía airport, Caracas, Venezuela, 1959

Harlinah Longcroft’s work over 40 years of collecting and writing about Subud history is an entertaining and fascinating way to witness how the miracle of the Subud latihan came into existence and how it spread around the world in the 1950s.

Full of facts, insights and Subud stories, it is uplifting and inspiring! Not only does it honour and preserve the stories and experiences of those who came before us, it also gives context to Bapak’s talks and helps us to better understand his message and mission around the world. For future members who never met Bapak, these books provide a window into the remarkable times when Bapak received the latihan and first travelled around the world.

Bapak had previously explained that his talks were received and provided to suit the needs and capacity of the relevant audiences he was addressing. The history gives us the background of where he was and what was happening when he was giving that talk.

As an example, when you read talk 58 SYD 3 in the Subud Library, unless you were there you would not know that Bapak and his group were mobbed by reporters who were trying to get in to watch and photograph the latihan. Many newspapers around the world published articles about Subud at that time.

Harlinah’s first History of Subud book was published in 1991 and covered the period 1901 – 1954, and is about Bapak’s birth, childhood and the events leading to his first experience of the latihan and what happened afterwards.

The second book was published in 2001 and covered the period 1954 – 1957. Harlinah was working on a third book covering the spread of Subud around the world between 1958 – 1959 but it was not completed when she passed away in December 2022.

Since then, the new History of Subud team – Amalijah Thompson, Rashidah Pope, Ridwan Lowther and Sandra Creemers, have been working to revise, adapt, republish and complete her unfinished work. The three original books are being published in two new volumes (Vol 1 and Vol 2) and will also be distributed as eBooks and audio books.

The new Volume 1 is an updated revised edition covering 1901 – 1954 and Volume 2 is an adapted edition that combines Harlinah’s original Book 2 and the unpublished Book 3 and covers 1954 - 1959. Both volumes are available in English and Indonesian with further translations and audiobooks to follow. We hope Subud members will purchase the two books as one set as they are intended to be read as a continuous story.

The paperback books and eBooks will be available for Subud members to buy online using a specific link. If you are interested in buying copies, please email: historyofsubud@subud.org and we will send you a link that you can use to purchase the books.

All proceeds from book sales go to the WSA.