Bali, Land of the Gods

“Bali is our world”

On our earth there are so many wonderful and beautiful places to visit that one lifetime is not enough to see them all; but we have found many ways to visit places without having to physically go everywhere. Technology these days is so amazing that you can reach almost every corner of the earth virtually and learn and experience new places. I have physically visited many countries in my lifetime and more recently have started visiting many virtually too, by reading about them, watching videos and so doing feeling like I am there.

My son travels a lot, all over the world, for both work and for pleasure and exploration, and he always comes home with beautiful stories and photos and souvenirs. A few years ago he visited Bali and brought back home a statue of Lord Ganesha, the elephant God, as well as a coffee table book about Bali for us all. He told us fascinating stories about the people of Bali and their country. I loved everything he told us and was hungry for more, so decided to read more about Bali and find out more about this incredible country.

Bali is one of 17,000 Indonesian Islands. It was inhabited from around 2000 BC. The people of Bali are very friendly and hospitable people, and have a rich and strong culture. The island has stunning natural beauty and spectacular beaches. Its population is over 4 million. Balinese are known for their gentleness, humorous nature and creativity. In the old days they were also known as fierce and strong fighters

For the Balinese people, their island is the entire world for them. Other countries exist of course, but their country is enough and complete for them; a bountiful provider of all physical and spiritual needs important for their existence and their daily lives, which they enjoy with many celebrations, prayers and festivals.

The scientific explanation of the island’s birth and development too is quite wonderful. Once connected to the massive Asiatic mainland, Bali became an island after the melting of polar ice caps nearly 120 million years ago.

Religion

The people of the Indonesian islands are predominantly Muslim, with Bali being an exception, where 83% of its people identify themselves as Hindus after independence from the Dutch colonial rule in 1945. The 1945 constitution of Indonesia guaranteed freedom of religion to all citizens. The Indonesian ministry of religion came under the control of an Islamic government, who created a very tight criteria of what constitutes a “religion” and refused citizenship to anyone who wasn’t religious by their definition. The minority Balinese Hindus worked very hard to convince the government that their Hindu religion met the criteria and were finally accepted as “religious” and given citizenship.

Hinduism is the most widely practiced religion in Bali. They don’t follow a specific Hindu leader, rather their beliefs and practices come from a large collection of the ancient sacred Hindu texts and Shrutis (spiritual philosophy passed down by the monks in ancient times) – mainly The Vedas, The Puranas, and many more books and texts written thousands of years ago. These sacred books provide all Hindus with rules governing their moral duties, rituals, worship, customary practices and day to day lives.

The earliest evidence of Hinduism in Bali dates back to the 1st century. Long before the birth of Islam in Indonesia, Hindu trading merchants arrived in Indonesia and started to have an influence on people through Hindu philosophy, culture and traditions. They brought the great Hindu legends of the Ramayan and Mahabharat with them, as well as stories of their Gods Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Hanuman and Devi.

Temples

Hindu Balinese celebrate Hindu festivals and have built many Hindu temples; in fact each village and home has a temple. The village temples are very beautiful. There are over 20,000 temples across the island of Bali. Each temple is associated with a certain characteristic and attributes of one of the Hindu Gods.

One big difference between Indian and Balinese temples is that the Balinese temples have no Murtis (statues of God). There are no images of God and therefore no concept of ‘Darshan’ or ‘Sighting of the murti’ which is very popular in India. Instead, there is an empty throne. During prayers, the Balinese Hindu focus their minds and invite their Gods to come, making offerings to welcome them. This custom also causes less conflict with the Indonesian muslims who do not believe in idol worship.

Religious festivals and processions are very common in Bali, with a great deal of dance and drama; so much so that Bali is nicknamed the ‘Land of the Gods’.

The famous Pura Besakih temple complex has 22 temples in one complex. The complex lies under the shadow of Mount Agung, the mountain of Gods, at a height of 3000 feet. It represents the most sacred point for the Balinese. There is also a famous temple in Bangi. This 800 year old temple is made of reddish pink brick and has very intricate carvings in grey and pink sandstone. The Balinese Hindus celebrate temple festivals for a whole day and a night in a community gathering. The whole village attends the prayers in the temple. Balinese girls dress up in their finest clothes, carrying very beautifully decorated palm trees.

Religious Practise

Along with the traditional Hindu gods such as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Balinese Hindus worship a range of deities unique to their branch of the religion. Sang Hyang Widhi (also known as Acintya or Sang Hyang Tuynggal) is the designation for ‘One God’ in Balinese Hinduism. Acintya is associated with the concept of Brahman or Brahma.

Balinese Hinduism can be simply defined as a combination of two sects: the Shiva sect of Hinduism and the Mahayana Buddhism, that is why it is also often called the Shiva-Buddhist Hindu-Dharma, Tirtha religions and also the Holy Water Religion. Unlike the polytheistic Indian Hinduism, in the belief of Balinese Hinduism they ultimately worship only one God, called Sang Hyang Widi or Sang Hyang Widhi, Acintya or Sang Hyang Tunggal.

The majority of Balinese practice a form of Hinduism that is entwined with Buddhist and animistic beliefs. Although the main Hindu gods are worshipped, equal attention is paid to local agriculture and ancestral deities. The Hinduism of Bali has been described as a religion that emphasizes correct conduct above precise knowledge of a unified religious system.

The primary focus of each ch ritual is to thank or appease the positive and negative forces to ensure protection and prosperity. An ordinary villager is much more aware of the many offerings, ceremonies, and festivals that are a part of daily life than of any particular religious texts. These rituals differ from region to region, village to village, family to family.

Despite having common roots,with Indian Hinduism, the religious ideology practiced in Bali is called ‘Agama Hindu Dharma’ and in India they follow ‘Nigama Dharma. Agama Dharma’. The Balinese ideology encompasses the spiritual beliefs of Hinduism dealing with the idea of Tantrism or Tantra. It deals with doctrines of yoga, cosmology, philosophical ideas and the cults of Shiva (Shaivism), Vishnu (Vaishnavism) and Shakti (worship of the goddess).

On the other hand, the Indian ideology is associated with Agama as well as Vedic and Puranic Hindu practices. It finds its causation in the Yajna-samstha or sacrificial ritualistic traditions as celebrated in the Epic and Vedic periods by kings to gain prosperity and wealth.

While there are no idols in temples, elaborate statues and sculptures of the various characters of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana dot the landscape depicting an Indo-Balinese link where even neglected characters in India like Sahadeva and Nakula are celebrated in Balinese Hinduism. Most of the Indian festivals are based on Vedic and Epic practices and chanting of mantras, while most Balinese Hindu traditions are from the original spiritual induction of Hinduism and not a product of contemporary recitation and understanding.

The festival of Nyepi or ‘The Day of Silence’ is equivalent to the festival of Diwali in India. It is widely celebrated by all Balinese Hindus and consists of not speaking, fasting and meditating for a full day culminating in the celebration of the New Year.

Every Hindu student in Bali and Indonesia takes two hours of Hinduism classes a week and takes an exam. It is amazing how Hinduism has travelled all over the world. Of course when a religion travels far and wide and mixes with different societies, there are bound to be some changes in interpretation and implementation. One has to adjust and adapt to the new place and its lifestyle.

Indian and Balinese Hinduism

While reading about Hinduism in Bali, I noticed a lot of similarities and some differences between traditional Indian Hinduism and Balinese Hinduism.

Lets understand the similarities first:

• The basic concepts of Dharma, Artha, Karma, Moksha (Goals of mankind) are the same in both. This incorporates the concept of lifecycle & reincarnation and the philosophy of 'harvest goodness in this life, reap benefits in the next life.

• Multiple deities like the Trinity (Creator, Preserver and Destroyer) and the female Goddess Trinity (for knowledge, wealth and power) are the same in both forms of Hinduism. The names of the deities (like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Saraswati, Maharaja Dewa - Mahadeva) are the same or similar. The epics like Ramayana or Mahabharata are widely read and the characters as well as the stories are the same or similar. Many Gods are exactly the same in looks but with slightly different names.

• They also have a strong belief in ancestors like most Hindus and have similar events with the same names like Pitru-paksha, in which the ancestors are worshiped and the sacrifices made by the current progeny help them to move ahead in the cycle of life and death.

• There is a strong caste / Varna system in Bali. They still believe in the original message of Varna based on profession rather than lineage, and inter-caste marriages are more common there too.

And now the differences:

• They believe in one Supreme Being called ‘Ida Sanghyang Widi’. This is very similar to Advaita (the concept of Atman and Brahman) in Vedanta, but the difference is that all the multiple deities are manifestations of this Supreme Being ("Avatar"). The empty chair at the top of the padmasana shrine found outside houses ,and temples is for this supreme being.

• They are influenced by Buddhism as Buddhism came to Java and Sumatra in the later half of the 1st millennium.

• Most of their festivals are from their original religion, though they have blended some Hindu traditions into them (eg 10 days of fasting ending in a celebration). They also have a lot of animism and nature-worship similar to ancient Hindus and many current tribal Hindus.

• They eat non vegetarian food, but then we also have Hindus from Kerala and many sub-castes / tribes across India that do.

I found the information about the Balinese Hindus, their lifestyle and their strong faith and belief in Hinduism very interesting and amazing. I wish one day I can visit this incredible place.