Spirituality, Temples, and Ceremonies

I'm a spiritual healer and found myself intensely interested in the spirituality of the people of Bali. One of the reasons I first chose to travel to Bali, was that I had heard they were extremely spiritual (like the Mayans of Mexico, with and from whom I studied a few years ago); yet I had also heard the Balinese have carefully and selectively integrated contemporary society (very unlike the Mayans). I wanted to see how they "did" it!!!

The Island of Bali is highly spiritual. They see the God-source in every being. They believe they are holding the spiritual resonance for the planet, functioning, they believe, as Earth's "spiritual belly-button." They believe the purpose of life is to find pleasure, in balance appropriately with worship, service to community, and doing a good job. They believe in reincarnation. When a Balinese looks at you, you both feel and know that s/he sees the soul in you first; then the physical body you happen to be inhabiting this life-time. There is a very strong aspect of One Mind, of Community Consciousness. Even the animals have it.

Spiritual ceremony is part of every Balinese's daily life. The ceremonies take the form of both daily thanksgivings and prayers to the various gods of the elements or emotions; and events marking the passages of life. The most frequent ceremony is cremation. The dates of cremation ceremonies are established by the priests and there can be delays of up to one year before a body is cremated. (It can be buried for up to a year, but then it is dug up). Cremation is mandatory for all Balinese. It is an honor to be cremated with a member of the (former) Royal family, and the numbers of bodies stored and subsequently cremated on such occasions can be in the tens of thousands.

The largest cremation ceremony in Balinese history and possibly in the history of the world was in preparation while we were there. It was to be held in late September and was expected to surpass the ceremony of 1992 (pictured above) when over 22,000 bodies were burned in one week-long celebration.

The religion is primarily Hindu, honoring all paths, but different from East Indian Hindu, since they retain the heavily animist influence of the original inhabitants of the Island. The Balinese version of Hindu is remarkably similar to other indigenous cultures I've studied. We were amazed to see our Teacher and Guide, Sugina, draw a Medicine Wheel very similar to that of the Lakota Native American Indians.

Balinese spirituality permeates virtually all aspects of their lives. Balinese TV begins each broadcast day with a Hindu chant.

They are a very gentle people. Gentleness, the practice of harmlessness, is so important to the Balinese that at puberty, teeth are filed as a ritual gesture to remove the canines, which they believe are reflexes of the demonic nature of man.

Official "temples" are numerous on the Island. Spontaneous temples and shrines are everywhere. The Balinese frequently make offerings of prayers, fruits, and flowers, to their gods and goddesses at shrines throughout each day.

Larger offerings , also of prayers, fruits, flowers, and food delicacies, are made at the time of ceremonies of passage, frequently the cremation ceremonies. The offerings typically are carried for miles on the bearer's head, prior to being placed in a temple.

Processions to ceremonies are always on foot and stretch from hundreds of yards to up to a mile in length, depending on the size of the family or village making the pilgrimage. Processions have the "right of way" and all vehicle traffic pauses for them. Often the worshippers walk for many miles.

Considered by the Balinese to be the most spiritual of its temples, Ulu Watu is high on a cliff overlooking the water. We were able to participate in a majestic sunset ceremony there.

Lake Bratan (right), lies in the crater of a former volcano in a mountain range delineating the north and south of Bali. The most important irrigation lake in Bali, the temple is devoted to Dewi Danau, the goddess of water.

The largest and most frequented temple in Bali is on Mt. Agung. Temple Besakih is also called the Mother Temple, and all Balinese pilgrimage to this temple at least yearly. The split column architecture, representing the path between good and evil which every human walks in its life-time journey, is prevalent. So are numerous steps which reminded me very much of the Mayan Temples in Mexico, where I studied with shamans and healers several years ago.

We participated in several Hindu ceremonies. The Balinese welcome people of all faiths into their temples; their only request is that proper ceremonial dress be worn and that conduct be respectful. Here, a priest prepares to douse with ritual water used to cleanse the aura especially of the crown and palms. This is followed by offerings of flowers and receiving of rice by the worshipper. The ceremonies were very peaceful and quite beautiful.

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