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Through the Eyes of Researcher: “Three Causes of Goodness: Environment in Balinese Hindu”

Thursday, May 1st, 2008 by Sidarta Wijaya

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.

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Buried in the Fire

Friday, September 21st, 2007 by Sidarta Wijaya

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.

mekingsan ring geni

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.

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