Here is a comment on nafsu by the translation team in Bapak's talk on August 16, 1970 in Canada.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Notes
Nafsu: Since the beginning of translating Bapak's talks into English, finding the best translation for the word nafsu - has been challenging.
The words passionsns, ego, and most commonly desires have been used, but even when these work in context in the English, they do not fully convey the meaning Bapak ascribes to the word and they do not necessarily translate with accuracy into other languages.
In Bahasa Indonesian the word nafsu translates literally as lust or passion, which is far narrower in meaning than that given to the word by Bapak.
The Arabic - nafs - is closer, which in Islam is usually considered to relate to the psyche, self, or ego, and indeed Bapak often uses the Arabic words ammarah, lawwamah, supiyah and mutmainna to name the four nafsu when he is describing their attributes.
(Quoted Note: Although it is said to be Arabic, nafs is a word that appears in the Koran.)
But it is clear from listening to Bapak's descriptions that even these traditional meanings do not encompass Bapak's understanding of what the nafsu are.
As with some other terms, Bapak's use of the word nafsu was uniquely his own.
Therefore, following discussions between the translation team and Ibu Rahayu, it has been agreed that the best course is to revert to using Bapak's own word.
This has been implemented from Volume 32 onwards.
(Quoted Note: Quotations from Bapak's talk continue below.)
"Then something happened that could be called miraculous - miraculous does not mean it is strange; it means something beyond the grasp of the mind, beyond human comprehension - it was God's will.
As a result, a movement was generated in that state of silence and stillness, a movement that, in the language of those who have received the miraculous from Almighty God, is called khatir ilham [Arab.: the vibration of revelation].
That was the first time.
People could tell this story because later they received it from Almighty God.
That was the first time there was an awakening, a movement in that state of unspeakable size and breadth.
Then, from that movement, from the khatir ilham - that vibration - the state of nothingness separated into the coarse, the fine, the finer and the finer still.
Scientists have discovered those elements and call them: earth, water, air and fire.
Those four components - four elements - when they manifest in a human being and give us the drive to work, the drive to move, are called the nafsu.
There are four categories of nafsu: ammara, lawwama, supiyah, mutmainnah.
Once those four elements existed, they moved and rubbed against each other until they produced something alive, which was made from and composed of those four components.
So, life, anything that moves, is moved by those four elements - earth, water, air and fire."
Bapak, Purworejo, 1970. 70 PUR 1
"So, here inside you there are two vibrations.
There is the original vibration, which you feel when you quieten the nafsu.
But there is another vibration, which comes from the nafsu.
These vibrations are also known as the vibration of revelation and the vibration of temptation."
Bapak, Cilandak, 1968. 68 TJK 4
"The content of the nafsu is the wish to be capable, the wish to be good, the wish to receive more quickly, the wish to be cleverer than others, not wanting to give in, not wanting to be called stupid, and so on.
It longs for speedy receiving and to be close to God.
It also leads the feelings to imagine that one has already found God, met God, spoken with God, and become God's beloved, and so on."
Bapak, Paris 1959. 59 PAR 3
"So it is clear that God's guidance and direction, which have manifested in the latihan, will in time enable you to manage your being.
But what do you have in you that needs to be managed?
There are life forces inside you - the material life force, the life force of plants, the life force of animals, the physical human life force and the ruhani life force, and others higher still.
Having life forces inside you does not mean, in the case of the animal force, that you have a buffalo inside you, no.
If you had a buffalo inside you, how could you contain it?
No, it is the essence.
Essence means life essence.
When the life essences of the different forces ? matter or what is termed the satanic, plants, animals, people ?
are inside you, they give rise to what we call the nafsu ...
These are essential for your life in this world."
Bapak, Cilandak, 1970. 70 TJK 4
"Human beings possess these four nafsu in order to strengthen their will and their wish to work and to do the things they intend.
It is thus clear that these four nafsu, both the strong and the good, are very useful to human beings, because without them people's strength and will would be weak.
The nature of the nafsu in human beings is that of tools or instruments to be used as necessary.
But because of the faults in human beings, acquired during childhood and on into adulthood and old age, they always give precedence to the wishes that want to be or to have more than others, or which desire personal power.
So, of the four nafsu, the ones people use most are the strong nafsu, the nafsu ammara, the nafsu that very much wants to be more than others.
Whereas what Bapak just now called the good nafsu - the one that surrenders, accepts, is willing to give way to others - is very seldom used by human beings.
They are not really to blame for this situation, for the nature of people on this earth is really weak."
(Quoted Note: However, there is no such thing as human beings are not responsible for it or whether they are exempted from duty, of course.)
Bapak, Coombe Springs, 1957. 57 CSP 4
"Whenever we receive the latihan, whenever our inner feeling is touched by the contact from the power of God, the influence of the nafsu that nestle in our heart and mind ceases.
Whereas normally, stopping the influence of the nafsu in the heart and mind is something
that a human being cannot possibly do.
Why is it not possible?
It is because if a person no longer had nafsu in their heart and mind, that person would be dead - they would be powerless."
Bapak, Cilandak, 1970. 70 TJK 4
"Why do the nafsu you have within you, which are in all human beings, have such a strong influence?
The reason is that those nafsu are the content, the essences of life forces that participate in a human being's life.
The first comes from the material life force or matter - the essence of the life force of matter.
When that becomes active and starts working in a human being, it manifests as a nafsu that is called ammara.
The second one is the life force of plants.
When the life force of plants, which is a participant in a human being's life, starts working inside a person, it manifests as a nafsu called lawwama.
And from the life force of animals, once the animal life force functions in a human being, that essence manifests as a nafsu called supiyah.
Now for the fourth life force, the physical human life force: this is the life force of people, of human beings.
Once this life force works in a human being, it manifests as a nafsu called mutmainnah.
Could human beings survive in this world without these nafsu?
It is not possible.
That is why they cannot eliminate the nafsu from themselves; it cannot be done."
Bapak, Leicester 1970. 70 LCT 1
(Quoted Note: The following is a comment to word called hati by the translation team in Bapak's talk in Paris in November 11, 1959.)
"Heart: the word hati, which is usually translated as heart, is the feeling that is limited to our mortal nature.
Literally, hati means the liver - and is considered to be the seat of the feelings, emotions and desires.
heart is not a perfect fit however, for in Bapak's usage it is also the place where imagining and daydreaming take place.
Therefore in some places the word imagination has been considered to be a more appropriate translation.
The content of the human heart is the images of all that a person has experienced from childhood, throughout their life and into old age."
Bapak, Paris 1959. [Vol. 6, 59 PAR 3.]
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
After the death of Bapak, when the translation team who was progressing the official translation of Bapak's talk (Indonesian ーー＞ English) sequentially started "Talk of Bapak in Canada on August 16, 1970", It is a record that the translation word of Nafsu became a problem and consulted with Ibu Rahayu.
In that way, we can see that the translation team's official view on the correspondence of the four low-order forces and nafsus, and the content that Ibu Rahayu is tolerating is finally as follows.
Material life force ーー＞ Nafsu amara
Plant life force ーー＞ Nafsu lawwama (aka: Nafsu aluamah)
Animal life force ーー＞ Nafsu supiyah
Human life force ーー＞ Nafsu mutmainnah
In connection with this, for articles that understand how Bapak is the most reasonable to associate nafsu with material life force and plant life force for the correspondence relationship of four low-order forces and nafsu, See below.
Susila Budhi Dharma ・ Chapter 2 nafsu Amarah (anger) and nafsu Aluamah (greed)＜－－link
PS
Character size you can be changed in the top right corner of the page.
List of articles＜－－Link
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Notes
Nafsu: Since the beginning of translating Bapak's talks into English, finding the best translation for the word nafsu - has been challenging.
The words passionsns, ego, and most commonly desires have been used, but even when these work in context in the English, they do not fully convey the meaning Bapak ascribes to the word and they do not necessarily translate with accuracy into other languages.
In Bahasa Indonesian the word nafsu translates literally as lust or passion, which is far narrower in meaning than that given to the word by Bapak.
The Arabic - nafs - is closer, which in Islam is usually considered to relate to the psyche, self, or ego, and indeed Bapak often uses the Arabic words ammarah, lawwamah, supiyah and mutmainna to name the four nafsu when he is describing their attributes.
(Quoted Note: Although it is said to be Arabic, nafs is a word that appears in the Koran.)
But it is clear from listening to Bapak's descriptions that even these traditional meanings do not encompass Bapak's understanding of what the nafsu are.
As with some other terms, Bapak's use of the word nafsu was uniquely his own.
Therefore, following discussions between the translation team and Ibu Rahayu, it has been agreed that the best course is to revert to using Bapak's own word.
This has been implemented from Volume 32 onwards.
(Quoted Note: Quotations from Bapak's talk continue below.)
"Then something happened that could be called miraculous - miraculous does not mean it is strange; it means something beyond the grasp of the mind, beyond human comprehension - it was God's will.
As a result, a movement was generated in that state of silence and stillness, a movement that, in the language of those who have received the miraculous from Almighty God, is called khatir ilham [Arab.: the vibration of revelation].
That was the first time.
People could tell this story because later they received it from Almighty God.
That was the first time there was an awakening, a movement in that state of unspeakable size and breadth.
Then, from that movement, from the khatir ilham - that vibration - the state of nothingness separated into the coarse, the fine, the finer and the finer still.
Scientists have discovered those elements and call them: earth, water, air and fire.
Those four components - four elements - when they manifest in a human being and give us the drive to work, the drive to move, are called the nafsu.
There are four categories of nafsu: ammara, lawwama, supiyah, mutmainnah.
Once those four elements existed, they moved and rubbed against each other until they produced something alive, which was made from and composed of those four components.
So, life, anything that moves, is moved by those four elements - earth, water, air and fire."
Bapak, Purworejo, 1970. 70 PUR 1
"So, here inside you there are two vibrations.
There is the original vibration, which you feel when you quieten the nafsu.
But there is another vibration, which comes from the nafsu.
These vibrations are also known as the vibration of revelation and the vibration of temptation."
Bapak, Cilandak, 1968. 68 TJK 4
"The content of the nafsu is the wish to be capable, the wish to be good, the wish to receive more quickly, the wish to be cleverer than others, not wanting to give in, not wanting to be called stupid, and so on.
It longs for speedy receiving and to be close to God.
It also leads the feelings to imagine that one has already found God, met God, spoken with God, and become God's beloved, and so on."
Bapak, Paris 1959. 59 PAR 3
"So it is clear that God's guidance and direction, which have manifested in the latihan, will in time enable you to manage your being.
But what do you have in you that needs to be managed?
There are life forces inside you - the material life force, the life force of plants, the life force of animals, the physical human life force and the ruhani life force, and others higher still.
Having life forces inside you does not mean, in the case of the animal force, that you have a buffalo inside you, no.
If you had a buffalo inside you, how could you contain it?
No, it is the essence.
Essence means life essence.
When the life essences of the different forces ? matter or what is termed the satanic, plants, animals, people ?
are inside you, they give rise to what we call the nafsu ...
These are essential for your life in this world."
Bapak, Cilandak, 1970. 70 TJK 4
"Human beings possess these four nafsu in order to strengthen their will and their wish to work and to do the things they intend.
It is thus clear that these four nafsu, both the strong and the good, are very useful to human beings, because without them people's strength and will would be weak.
The nature of the nafsu in human beings is that of tools or instruments to be used as necessary.
But because of the faults in human beings, acquired during childhood and on into adulthood and old age, they always give precedence to the wishes that want to be or to have more than others, or which desire personal power.
So, of the four nafsu, the ones people use most are the strong nafsu, the nafsu ammara, the nafsu that very much wants to be more than others.
Whereas what Bapak just now called the good nafsu - the one that surrenders, accepts, is willing to give way to others - is very seldom used by human beings.
They are not really to blame for this situation, for the nature of people on this earth is really weak."
(Quoted Note: However, there is no such thing as human beings are not responsible for it or whether they are exempted from duty, of course.)
Bapak, Coombe Springs, 1957. 57 CSP 4
"Whenever we receive the latihan, whenever our inner feeling is touched by the contact from the power of God, the influence of the nafsu that nestle in our heart and mind ceases.
Whereas normally, stopping the influence of the nafsu in the heart and mind is something
that a human being cannot possibly do.
Why is it not possible?
It is because if a person no longer had nafsu in their heart and mind, that person would be dead - they would be powerless."
Bapak, Cilandak, 1970. 70 TJK 4
"Why do the nafsu you have within you, which are in all human beings, have such a strong influence?
The reason is that those nafsu are the content, the essences of life forces that participate in a human being's life.
The first comes from the material life force or matter - the essence of the life force of matter.
When that becomes active and starts working in a human being, it manifests as a nafsu that is called ammara.
The second one is the life force of plants.
When the life force of plants, which is a participant in a human being's life, starts working inside a person, it manifests as a nafsu called lawwama.
And from the life force of animals, once the animal life force functions in a human being, that essence manifests as a nafsu called supiyah.
Now for the fourth life force, the physical human life force: this is the life force of people, of human beings.
Once this life force works in a human being, it manifests as a nafsu called mutmainnah.
Could human beings survive in this world without these nafsu?
It is not possible.
That is why they cannot eliminate the nafsu from themselves; it cannot be done."
Bapak, Leicester 1970. 70 LCT 1
(Quoted Note: The following is a comment to word called hati by the translation team in Bapak's talk in Paris in November 11, 1959.)
"Heart: the word hati, which is usually translated as heart, is the feeling that is limited to our mortal nature.
Literally, hati means the liver - and is considered to be the seat of the feelings, emotions and desires.
heart is not a perfect fit however, for in Bapak's usage it is also the place where imagining and daydreaming take place.
Therefore in some places the word imagination has been considered to be a more appropriate translation.
The content of the human heart is the images of all that a person has experienced from childhood, throughout their life and into old age."
Bapak, Paris 1959. [Vol. 6, 59 PAR 3.]
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
After the death of Bapak, when the translation team who was progressing the official translation of Bapak's talk (Indonesian ーー＞ English) sequentially started "Talk of Bapak in Canada on August 16, 1970", It is a record that the translation word of Nafsu became a problem and consulted with Ibu Rahayu.
In that way, we can see that the translation team's official view on the correspondence of the four low-order forces and nafsus, and the content that Ibu Rahayu is tolerating is finally as follows.
Material life force ーー＞ Nafsu amara
Plant life force ーー＞ Nafsu lawwama (aka: Nafsu aluamah)
Animal life force ーー＞ Nafsu supiyah
Human life force ーー＞ Nafsu mutmainnah
In connection with this, for articles that understand how Bapak is the most reasonable to associate nafsu with material life force and plant life force for the correspondence relationship of four low-order forces and nafsu, See below.
Susila Budhi Dharma ・ Chapter 2 nafsu Amarah (anger) and nafsu Aluamah (greed)＜－－link
PS
Character size you can be changed in the top right corner of the page.
List of articles＜－－Link