A Religion of Action
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 by Sidarta WijayaBalinese religion, in a broad sense, Hindus, even among the priests, is concrete, action-centered, thoroughly interwoven with the details of everyday life, and touched with little, if any, of the philosophical sophistication or generalized concern of classical Brahmanism or its Buddhist offshoot.
The most important aspect of religion to the Balinese is the performance of five related ritual cycles. These are five yajna, sacrifices, and are derived from ancient brahmanic theology. They are dewa yajna, sacrifices to the gods, which are made in the temples; buta yajna, sacrifices to the negative or demonic powers or “elements”; manusa yajna, rites of passage; pitra yajna, offerings to the dead; and rsi yajna, consecration of priests.
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