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).

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A beautiful woman, having four hands, standing on a big lotus, and is accompanied by a swan and a peacock are a little bit appearances of Saraswati. Who is she? Balinese sometimes call her The Goddess of Knowledge and she is given homage every 210 days by special ceremony and various offerings. She is the eternal consort of Brahma (the creator)

The Goddes Saraswati has four hands. Each hand holds respectively Genitri, Keropak, Wina, and Lotus. Genitri is something like rosary beads. This is a symbol of neverending knowledge. Knowledge will never be destroyed all around the age, knowledge is everlasting. That is why it is symbolized by Genitri; when we count it we will never find the end of it. It is similar with knowledge that has no end.

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Yesterday I found an interesting writing on Balinese culture, religion and people which is entitled “From Royal House to Nation” by Scott Johnsen. Here is a piece of his insight on Balinese religion:

Bali, with its thousands of temples, has long been known in tourist literature as “The Island of the Gods.” Now one can find a new slogan alongside the old: “Bali: The Island of God.” It would be incorrect to say that Bali has only recently acquired ideas of an ultimate divine form: the god Siwa has long had something like a “highest of the high” conception, and there were a variety of other concepts of ultimate divinity known primarily to Brahmana priests, including that of Sang Hyang Widhi. Nonetheless, when Christian missionaries chose this latter divinity as the Balinese “one god” (Covarrubias 1994 [1937]:263, Bakker 1993) – the most notable missionary achievement in an otherwise rather bleak record of failure (Hanna 2004 [1976]) – this began a popularization of this deity that grew after the second world war (Swellengrebel 1960:71-3) and became the centerpiece of Balinese efforts to gain formal state recognition for their religion.

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When a grand ceremony is held, the performance of Wayang Lemah is obligatory. As its name suggest Wayang Lemah is always performed in the daylight (“wayang” means “puppet” and “lemah” means “day”) and is usually performed as long as the high priest officiates the ceremony. Wayang Lemah is an exorcistic play, it is performed primarily for invisible audiences: the spirit, divinities and the demons, it is a part of ceremony which functions to ensure the success of a ceremony and obviously not an entertainment for mortals.

The stage for Wayang Lemah is simpler than the spectacular Wayang Peteng (Night Shadow Puppet) since it does not need a screen and wick lamp and there will be no shadow. Wayang Lemah stage consists of three young, cut banana trunks for placing the puppet during the play (the pointed handle of the puppet can easily stuck into soft banana trunks), on either side of long banana trunk, which runs across and forms the actual stage, two big branches of evergreen dapdap tree had been pushed vertically through the banana trunk into the ground; at top they branched out in three directions symbolizing Hindu trinity.

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Over the last eighty years, visitors have contrived various names for Bali praising its richness in culture, its extreme fertility, its endless beauty, and the artistry and the charm of its people. The names are range from ‘The Last Paradise’ to ‘The Morning of the World’, from ‘The Island of Gods to Island of Thousands Temples. If we imagine Bali as a product, various brands have been given to this single product, and the last attempt to give another brand for Bali was not come from the visitor to the island but from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

A new brand for Bali which called “Bali: Shanti Shanti Shanti” has been launched by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Culture. To shed a better light on this new brand for Bali, here is the explanation on the new brand provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture:

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Ulun Danu Bratan Temple may seem like floating on the surface of the Lake Bratan, as a matter of fact, it is situated on a small promontory jutting out from the western shore of the lake, flooded periodically by the rising lake. This sacred temple is a historical monument of peaceful amalgamation of Buddhist and Hindu in Bali. this half-Hindu, half-Buddhist temple was built by the king of Mengwi in 1633 A.D, dedicated to Dewi Danu, the Goddess of Lake.

Lake Bratan is looked upon as a source of irrigation water for the south part of the island. Therefore, the Ulun Danu Bratan Temple is the central temple for thousands of irrigation temples and shrines that spread all over southern region of Bali. Island-wide ceremonies are held every year in this temple to ensure a steady and continued supply of water and thousands of pilgrims come from all over the island to pay homage. This sacred temple is also regarded as a central temple by the blacksmith (pande) clan that its members spread all over the island.

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