History of SIHA
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SIHA History & Milestones
The Subud International Health Association came into being at the 10th Subud World Congress in Spokane during August of 1997. It was by no means a new idea.
The intention to have a registry of Subud professionals working in the health and caring fields dates back to the late 1950's in England when the first attempts to make this happen took place. It came alive again at the Anugraha Congress in 1984. At that time, Bapak gave the name of "Subud International Health Association."
Health is a universal issue that touches everyone. SIHA provides a resource for Subud Members, and helps to support the many Subud professionals who work in the health and caring professions.
The Early Days 1957 -1959
FROM HISTORY OF SUBUD VOL.1; BOOK 2, PAGE 185, LETTER BY J. BENNET:
In July 1957 we invited as many doctors as were doing the Latihan to a meeting at Coombe, asking them to advice on a proposition which had been made by Pak Subuh that “Sooner or later we would need a Subud hospital”. Soon after, Melissa Marston invited Pak Subuh to see various places and selected Brookhurst Grange as the most suitable. Brookhurst Grange was then purchased in mid-November 1957 and became known as Brookhurst Grange Nursing Home.
QUOTE FROM TALK BY BAPAK MUHAMMAD SUBUH SUMOHADIWIJOJO, MONTREAL 18 MAY 1959
"Once we are able to set up hospitals, don't think we won't need doctors to work in them. We do need doctors, to enable us to bring about a collaboration between the knowledge of the mind - which is science - and the knowledge we get from God, which is spiritual knowledge. In these hospitals there would be doctors and nurses with qualifications from the medical schools. But, besides them, there would also be those who have done the Latihan, to help in the hospital. These two can then work together to heal and fulfill the wishes of the patients. It is even better if the doctors themselves, the nurses themselves, already have a lot of experience in the spiritual field. That's even better, because then we won't need so many people to help. The doctors and the nurses will already be able to work in both fields, the scientific and the spiritual."
It Is Real
: BAPAK APPROVES THE NAME OF SIHA 1983
The name of SIHA was approved by Bapak at the Anugraha World Congress in 1983. There is an old copy of Subud World News from after the Anugraha congress that has a story about the setting up of SIHA and about the idea of setting up a Subud hospital. During the congress, Sjahari Hollands, a medical doctor from Canada, organized a meetings of doctors and at that time Bapak gave the name SIHA (Subud International Health Association). Bapak was very pleased that the doctors were organizing and also offered to test the Chairman of SIHA.
"The fact is that God guides man to be his own doctor, his own teacher, so that he does not need to depend on anyone else. And once you can do that, once you can be independent of everybody and stand on your own feet, it will lead you to a feeling of confidence in yourself."