1925 - A vision of a bright ball of light
Late one night, in 1925, when Subuh was out walking, he had a vision of a bright ball of light which appeared above him. As he watched the ball of light touched his head, and he was seized by an uncontrollable shaking. Thinking he may be having some sort of life-threatening seizure, he rushed home and lay down on his bed. Subuh felt that he was about to die and decided that in the circumstances the only appropriate response was to sujud (surrender to the Will of God). No sooner was he stretched out on the bed than he felt himself compelled - by some mysterious force - to stand, then complete the ritual of the Muslim prayer. This was the first experience of "latihan kejiwaan" and the beginning of a series of mystical experiences which lasted for about one thousand nights. These nightly experiences - including a series of wahyu (divine revelations) - were seen as a process of spiritual cleansing, culminating in Subuh's ascent to heaven and mystical gnosis. Subuh states that these extraordinary experiences were completely unexpected and had no connection with the teachings of any of the spiritual guides with whom he had contact previously. Nor was it the result of any form of tapa (ascetism) or semadi (meditation) (Longcroft, 1993:48-49).