Introduction to Sumarah History, Paul Stange
'Sumarah' is a Javanese word referring to the condition of total surrender. Thus the name 'Paguyuban Sumarah', the Indonesian spiritual association our practices have grown from, is itself nearly an adequate description of both the aim and nature of our practice. The aim of meditation, most often called 'sujud' within the Indonesian group, is to surrender every aspect of personal being so the self functions as a vehicle for God's will.

Notes on Sumarah Meditation Practice, Laura Romano
"The purpose of this article is to introduce some basic principles of Sumarah meditation. It is not my intention here to explain everything about the method or in any way to give the full picture of this particular meditation. My wish is just to briefly introduce those elements of Sumarah theory and Javanese philosophy that one is at first faced with when begins to practice. ..."

The Logic of Rasa in Java, Paul Stange
"We may have the adage that 'knowledge is power', but beneath it lies an epistemology implying that knowledge' is primarily a matter of intellect, of qualities of thought and quantities of information. Closely linked to this is a sense of person', profoundly conditioned by Enlightenment notions of equality, which results in sharp resistence to suggestion that there may be qualitatively different orders of consciousness. ..."

The Way we Study and the Way we Learn, Laura Romano
About Truth Gandhi said: 'What seems truth to one person, may seem a mistake to someone else. If we sincerely commit ourselves to truth, we will see that different truths are like the leaves of a tree which seem different but are yet on the same tree'. ..."

Selected Sumarah Teachings, Paul Stange
"Last night there was a very fine, light, clear meeting with Pak Darno. Perhaps a dozen of the older and more mellow Chinese regulars were there talking with him when I arrived. Someone had asked why Paul Brunton's guru refused to acknowledge him as a follower and this led into general reflections about teacher-pupil relationships in spiritual matters. Sudarno said that possibly the guru was indicating purity by not wanting to encourage falsely dependent relationships. He emphasized that the problem of personality cults arises from both sides of the teaching boundary. ..."

Sumarah: The Awakening of the Inner Teacher: a book review
"Sumarah is a philosophy, a way of life and a form of meditation originating from Java. The practice, which is based on developing sensitivity, receptivity and acceptance, guides towards a deep relaxation of body, feeling and mind. This is the first step in the process of personal transformation and meeting our total self. ..."

Sumarah - Den inneren Lehrer erwecken
Lauras book in German

Harmonie und Widerspruch in den Überzeugungen von Meditationsanleitern der Paguyuban Sumarah
Susannes Magisterarbeit(Acrobat-PDF-Format, 575kb)

The Evolution of Sumarah, Paul Stange [PDF 1.3MB]
This text is a revised and partially updated version of the PhD thesis completed in 1980 for the History Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.