This recently-published book by Sylvia des Tombe was compiled from interviews conducted while she lived in Russia (2002-2012) and after. The following quote is taken from the chapter entitled “Istafiah Is’harc’s Account of the Opening of the First Russians”:
“The idea that anybody from Russia might one day be opened had been like a distant dream, something that Bapak had touched on from time to time in his talks. And here we were [in London], a small group of Subud members struggling to put together a translation [of the opening words] that would be the key to participating in and witnessing the realisation of this dream. . . .
“It felt truly momentous as we sat quietly preparing for the moment when the first Russian members would be opened. Then, for the first time in history–as far as we knew–the opening words were read in Russian.
“Of all the openings that I have participated in, there has never been one to compare with that one. If felt as if the opening was not just of one person, but of the whole of Russia. Nothing existed–the walls did not exist–it was simply the vastness and power of Almighty God that enveloped us and took us to a place far beyond ourselves.”
Sylvia is presently part of Subud Palo Alto. Andrew Morgan was the graphic organizer of the book.
