Journey to "Tri Hita Karana" - Bali " D Paradise Island"-n Epilogue

"Tri Hita Karana" or a tripartite concept that include the spiritual relationship between human and God, and their environment- This is wat summarises Bali- The Paradise Island. The island really live up to its name. I am still mesmerised by the ancient temple of Tanah Lot which i will elaborate in detail wif pictures soon.

I learned that Denpasar where the Airport is located is the capital for Bali.

Co-incidently it was Visit Indonesia year 2008 so the place was full of tourists...most of them are from Australia and other Europians. This has lead to an expensive cost of living in Bali whereby the price or costs of food, clothes, lodge is expensive or almost the same as Malaysia- There goes the Rupiahs...

One thing i liked wat i saw was their humility to others and of course to God. Everywhere you go you can see a small basket filled wth rice and flowers or two. These offerings are known as "canang sari" that the Balinese offer to their Gods three times a day.

I was confused as to why are these baskets for and why do they place these Canang Sari on the sidewalks, at the corner of the swimming pool, shops, temples and almost everywhere...so i began to do some research on my own (as i am a local CSI) since i was so curious.....and this is wat i manage to dig out......

Offering made of palm leaf, flowers and foodstuffs are an art form associated with every ritual occasion in Bali. The Balinese belief in the forces of the invisible world dictates that offerings be created with a spirit of thankfulness and loving attention to detail. The Balinese seem never to tire of producing these colorful and highly symbolic, ephemeral creations for every ritual, from the simplest daily household offering to the gods, demons, and ancestors to massive ceremonies such as Panca Wali Krama held at Pura Besakih to purify and bring blessings upon the entire world.

Apparently its a basic ritual of you thanksgiving and repaying to Gods for all the things which has been given to you. It is understood that is is a sharing that is not based upon fear but on gratitude to the richness of life, regardless material items or emotional needs.These offerings soothes or pacifies the spirits and brings prosperity and good health to the family.

Then there are the different temples. The temple dedicated to origin is the pura puseh which faces the mountains. The village temple can be found in the centre and it is called pura desa. The pura dalem is aligned with the sea and dedicated to the dead.

Even in cooking, the search for harmony is the underlying ideology and a balance between the sweet, sour, salty and bitter is the aspiration of every cook. They have offering before and after cook, you can see from the waiters to all the kitchen staffs have several pieces of rice on their forehead.. These offerings are called "Banten Saiban".

Banten saiban or jotan is a daily offering that is offered everyday after cooking or before eating. It is very simple consisting of a pinch of rice with other food like vegetable or fish or meat, on a small piece of banana leaf/other leaf. Due to its everyday usage so it is grouped into “Nitya Yadnya”. Actually what is offered; rice and its companion food like vegetable and meat that are cooked; that means pinch of rice is just the sample, therefore Banten Saiban is also called “Yadnya Sesa”, that means offering is a priority.

Banten Saiban is offered to:
1.
God / Gods, it has a philosophy to thank God for His blessing.
2.
Ancestors before ‘Memukur’ ceremony are done, with the aim to ask for their protection.
3.
Panca Maha Bhuta for not disturbing us.

There is more than this i have learned and experienced but it is unexplainable in words as you need to sense it. However, i wil try to pen down as much i can to elaborate on my beautiful experience in Bali which i will treasure for the rest of my life...

More to come....