Religion 

The religion of the Balinese is not the same as the Hinduism found in India. Based on both Hinduism and Buddhism, it also incorporates local indigenous customs, practices and beliefs, which were present on the island before the Hindu-Buddhist influence. It is generally referred to as the Hindu-Bali religion. The religion is theologically extremely complex and it is not really possible tot reduce it to any simplified formula. It is basically monotheistic. The Balinese believe in one central omnipotent God, who encompasses the whole of the created universe and who is called Sang Hyang Tunggai or Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa. This all-embracing deity manifests himself to man in three main forms: Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver and Shiva, the deity who dissolves the material universe and returns all things to their basic elements at the end of each cycle creation. But it is only Brahmana priests who can devote a large part of their lives to the study of the complex theology and philosophy underlying this seemingly simple structure, who can reach any full understanding of the religion. This doesn't mean that the religion is hopelessly beyond the reach of people who have to concern themselves with the more immediate problems of everyday living, for the Hindu-Bali religion lays an equal stress on ritual, in which the whole of the population can participate. This is the aspect which has given the religion its reputation for love of gaiety, color and ceremony. To the Balinese, no action can be complete without the prescribed daily ritual, no week lacks a special holiday, no month is without an important festival and every year is an opportunity for worshipping God in a thousand and one ways.

TOP