Here is another good articles on climate change by Balinese high priest Sri Bhagawan Dwija Warsa Nawa Sandi from Buleleng regency who has great concern on environment and climate change without further ado here is the words of Bhagawan Dwija.

TRIHITAKARANA for UNFCCC

The relevancy to the world climate change anticipation
By : Bhagawan Dwija

Introduction
Mpu Kuturan who came to Bali at 11 AD by request of King Udayana and Gunapriadharmapatni, not only succeed to unite various existing Hinduism sects at that time under Trimurti belief system, but also have placed social religious life foundation in the form of Desa Pakraman. Desa Pakraman as Hindu-Bali community, is developed with Trimurti belief where God with his manifestation as Brahma, Siwa, and Wisnu are placed at Pura Desa for Brahma, Pura Dalem for Siwa, and Pura Segara or Pura Puseh for Wisnu. These three Puras, known as Trikahyangan. Based on that, concept of Trihitakarana also developed, with human as central or determinant for kindliness and prosperity. Trihitakarana means three things needed to make kindliness and prosperity happen, i.e Parhyangan (well-balanced and harmonious relation between human with God); Pawongan (well-balanced and harmonious relation between human with each others); and Palemahan (well-balanced and harmonious relation between human with environment).

(more…)

Here is an interesting article on environment in Balinese Hindu by T. Nirarta Samadhi:
Two core conceptions within the Balinese Hindu thoughts which the respondents from seven desa adat in Gianyar regarded as addressing the existence of nature and environment are the psycho-cosmic concept of cosmoses relationships and Tri Hita Karana or literally “three causes of goodness”. They are among the core Bali Hindu conceptions of space and also serve as fundamental philosophical principles which underlie the socio-cultural and natural worlds of Bali (Samadhi, 2000).

PSYCHO-COSMIC CONCEPT
The psycho-cosmic concept is a Balinese Hinduism conception, which can be explained through symbols of the spiritual world within the sphere of physical world (sekala) and its relation with the metaphysical world (niskala) in a way similar to the relations between the bhuwana alit (microcosm) and the bhuwana agung (microcosm). As such, the human body is regarded as the world of microcosm which is differentiated from his immediate environment or universe (macrocosm).

The psycho-cosmic concept, being the most general conception of all is implicitly mentioned in many articles within the law. The philosophy of Balinese Hindu urges that a man as a bhuwana alit (microcosm) should harmonize himself with the universe as a bhuwana agung (macrocosm), because the human body and the universe are originated from the same elements, the element of Panca Mahabhuta or five basic elements (Puri, 1995) i.e. pertiwi (earth/solid substance), apah (water/fluid substance), teja (fire/light/heat), bayu (air), and akasa (space/ether). Thus, in regard to man-environment relationships within the Balinese Hindu conceptual framework, the maintenance of balance or harmonious relationships is one of the religious goals to be attained.

(more…)

Ngaben is always translated into “cremation ceremony” in English, but unfortunately not all cremation ceremonies in Bali can be categorized as ngaben. There are two types of cremation ceremonies in Bali, Ngaben and Mekingsan ring Geni (buried or left in the fire) with the main differences lie on the offerings and paraphernalias which are used and the function of the ceremony.

A Ngaben ceremony can be done in a modest to extravagant way, a modest ngaben needs a few basic offerings and preparations; while the extravagant ngaben will involve massive offerings, cremation tower, cow sarcophagi (befitting the caste of the deceased), gamelan orchestra and hundreds of manpower; while Mekingsan ring Geni (buried in the fire) is always a simple affair regardless the caste of the deceased, with only a few offerings, few manpower and little preparations.

(more…)

The world of Balinese is the equilibrium of two forces of nature, positive and negative force. The positive force is represented by the God and negative forces represented by the Bhuta Kala, But what exactly is, or are, bhuta kala? The average Balinese would reply that bhutas and kalas, or bhuta kala, are evil spirits that cause a great many of the small and large problems of mankind, from a lost watch to a crippling disease. To them, the bhutas kalas have no other mission on earth than to annoy and persecute humans, making people ill, disturbing and polluting anything. They can go into people’s bodies and make them insane or turn them into idiots.

flickr.com/photos/myfenek/

(more…)