Postcards from Bali - 25 Dec 07

Today, we head off to Pura (Temple) Besakih, one of the most important & holiest temple in Bali. From the foot of the hill, we stopped at a "Tourist Information Centre", put on the rented sarongs and hired a guide. At first, we were skeptical about hiring the guide as they are reputed to be "illegal". It started to rain and we had to walk up a steep slope before arriving at the foot of the temple. It's aro 700m of walk. Boy, it was a tough walk. Each step I took seem to cause pain in my back.

What did we learn from the guide?

"Pura Besakih faces East of Bali but devotees pray in the direction of West (the rising Sun)... The Hindus believe in good and bad and therefore they pray to both as they believe in creating a balance & harmony in life... The left and right sides of the temple are decorated with good and evil guards. You can tell by studying the facial expressions... The spilt gates on each entrances symbolises positive (right) & negative (left) energies and as devotees enter by centre, they are supposed to leave their thoughts behind and focus on only God... Hindus believe that all Humans are born knowing Yoga through our regular activity. Eg: a driver focusing his mind and concentration on driving... The younger generation of Hindus in Bali are not really keen to practise yoga anymore and not many can read the traditional Balinese language... What is most remarkable was that he shared his understanding and interpretation of the caste system (Balinese practises the caste system like the Hndus in India). The guide interprets the system as such - a man who is wise & educated should be considered upper caste. The fate of his caste should not be determined by his birth (ie: the family he's born into)... sounds logical to me. What do you think?... Finally, the Hindus believe in 1 Supreme God... All other forms of God are its manifestation..."

A pair of divine guardian dragons placed in front of the temple (left & right side of entrance).

The good side The Spilt Gates

View from the top of the temple

Fortunately, the rain stopped as we mounted the final steps into the temple. It was a panoramic view from the top of the temple. We could see Sanur and Nusa Dua (south of Bali). The winds were strong and it was slightly chilly.

This is my third trip to Bali and I've been to many temple visits. However, I feel this visit is the most enchanting one of all. I have never felt really calm & at ease when I visited the Balinese temples in the past. The view was simply breath-taking, the sight, the serenity that surrounds it... even the 3.5year old felt calm by the sight and was willing to walk all the way. (This is a rare treat for us as we always end up carrying the heavy fella all over the shop!)