Swamiji’s Trip To Bali
Swamiji’s Trip To Bali
From the book on Gurudev’s Jeevani—- Yogeshwar Guru Gangeshwar
By Ratan Ben Fozedar
(Audio: This Pravachan is during Swami Gangeshwaranandji’s Maharaj Trip to Chicago, USA on 30th June- 1975 )
On 2nd November 1974, Gurudev was welcomed by the people of Bali. The ladies were dressed in very fine attires and they performed songs and dances to welcome Gurudev and His entourage.
Gurudev stayed at ‘Santoor Veshakai Courts’ which was by the beachside. Shri Narendra Shastri stayed with the group. He was the one who had contributed a lot to restore and establish Hinduism and its culture here. He had also contributed to the restoration of Sindhi and Sanskrit languages in Bali.
On 3rd Nov. Gurudev arrived in a village called Chandidas situated by the beach. A social worker by the name of Smt. Ganga Oak had formed an organization here inspired by the social work of Shri Vinoba Bhave and Gandhiji. Her husband Shri Oak was the ex-Vice-Governor of one of the states. Both of them were immersed in social and religious causes.
Gurudev’s mandali was welcomed by a large group and after that they were taken to the site where the Ved Mandir had been constructed.
‘Bhagwan Ved’ sthapana was first performed by a Balinese Priest according to their rituals and customs, followed by the traditional Hindu way of India. Dada Apte who had accompanied Gurudev introduced Him as the modern Ved Vyasa.
He emphasized the revival of relations, after several centuries, between the native Hindus of Bali and of the large Hindu Community of India which lived there and further said that they should not forget this moment that has re-united the friendship.
Kaundanya and Agastya Rishis were the ones who had spread Hinduism in Indonesia and Bali. The culture, the temples, the architecture, the pooja rituals and the Hindu features of the Balinese people endorse the fact that Bali is an Indian Hindu Island. 28 lakh people are staunch Hindus here and they still follow the Vedic Path as prescribed by Agastya Muni.
Gurudev were extremely pleased with this re-union after several centuries and spoke with great affection with the brothers and sisters of Bali.
Gurudev said-“The Vedas are a great heritage that the forerunners and religious people have left the for us. They are for all mankind and they are the purest and oldest literature. Brahma created the world as prescribed in the Vedas. The Vedas promise long life, good health, happiness from wealth and knowledge about the Self for those who follow the teachings of the Vedas.
The lost islands have been resurrected and stabilized by the Vedas. The fame of the Vedas has convinced me that you all will now take over the responsibility of spreading the messages in the Vedas which are for all mankind. It is without any doubt that the messages are for all mankind and which were popular centuries ago when there was no division of the human race nor were there any opposing groups and religions. This is the first time that the Veda Sthapana is in a place where the people have forgotten that their ancestors were Hindus. On the other hand the rituals and the old culture have been kept intact by the priests of the island.”
Gurudev returned to the cottage after all the festivities following the Ved Sthapana. Katy Behn and Apteji who were in the mandali stayed back while the writer (Ratan Behn) proceeded with Gurudev. At night, the group went to watch the famous ‘kejak’ dance and the Ram Leela of Bali. Gurudev remained seated in the car while the others watched and returned after a while.
On 4th November, Gurudev visited the Bali cave where Agastya’s disciple stays. Here one can get the pooja items that were in use in the 8th century.
One also gets to see the old statues, damaged idols of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga and Agastya. These statues seem to speak about their deplorable state. The world famous Boro Budur temple was just a little distance away, which can be called the museum for the old Hindu sculptures. There are statues from the epic Ramayana and of Buddha. We also visited ‘Chintamani’ Volcano. Shri Narendra Shastri and Shri Punyalalji accompanied us. Gurudev returned to Jakarta after the trip to Bali.
VED KRIPA ON THE PEOPLE OF BALI
Indonesia has two main states, Java and Sumatra. Bali is the third and its capital is Denpasar. This city is built on the concept of the four heads of Brahma. In the midst of the city is a 4 headed statue of Brahma and all the 4 heads point to the 4 bazaars of the city. One can get darshan of Brahma while approaching from any of the streets.
28 lakh hindus stay here, and their ancestors came here several centuries ago. The neighboring culture of the Muslim states is not visible. The people here still live by the teachings of Agastya Rishi. One can see mutilated statues of Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Durga.
Although Vedic mantras are chanted here, the pronunciation is different.
Sometimes it is difficult to recognize them as Vedic Mantras but when any one syllable is understood, then one can relate to the entire mantra.
Gayatri Mantra is important here. ‘Dhoop’ is made up of fruits and vegetables and the method of invoking God is obviously the Hindu prayers. There is a dwelling in Bali called Mini Indonesia.
There are churches, mosques and temples here made according to the Balinese culture. During the 1965 Chinese uprising, many people lost their lives. The rulers of the land realized that communism surfaces when there is no faith in any religion to hold the land together. The rulers announced that each person should declare their religion and have no fear as the government would support one and all.
Three questions were asked–
- What is your religion?
- Who is your deity?
- What is your religious book (Dharma Pustak)?
The Muslims and Christians had direct answers to these questions.
The innocent people of Bali had no solid answer for these questions. They would say-“Our religion is Bali and our deity is Bali.”
The officials did not understand this reply and thus only the two religions of Islam and Christianity were recognized.
People had to write a letter to the church or the mosque when they wanted to get married. Traditional people of Bali were perturbed at this because for the sake of marriage they had to declare themselves to be either Muslim or Christian!
Gurudev’s disciple, Pandit Narendra who studied in Udasin Sanskrit Maha Vidyalaya during the year 1926 was very helpful to the Balinese to sort out and resolve this problem. The Lord does great work through ordinary people sometimes.
Pandit Narendra would often read books to Gurudev and also listen to His pravachans. He had been staying in Bali since 1940. He met the Religious Minister Shri Mukti Ali along with five Brahmins, three Kshatriyas and eight kings who had lost their kingdoms. (When Gurudev met him, He told him that your name – Mukti + Ali is a symbol of Hindu Muslim unity.)
Shri Mukti Ali heard the pleas of Pandit Narendra and agreed that the people of Bali had not succumbed to the pressures of Christians and Muslims and had retained their Hindu identity and so they should be called ‘Hindus’.
When Gurudev arrived in Bali, the decision was still pending with the government. The Ved Sthapana in Mini Bali was done with a lot of pomp and fervour. Many government officials were present. The topic of the true identity of the Balinese was very apparent now.
Gurudev told Shri Mukti Ali that the people of Bali are our co-brothers of the Hindu religion. Bhagwan Ved is their Religious book (Dharma Pustak) and Bramha, Vishnu etc are their deities.
Their religion is Hindu.
This impressed on Shri Mukti Ali and it was immediately declared that the 28 lakh Balinese were Hindus. He said that he was convinced about it after meeting Gurudev. Henceforth the people of Bali will take a letter from this temple whenever they want to get married as Bhagwan Ved has been formally presented and established here. This was the miracle of Bhagwan Ved ! The problem was resolved and the people of Bali could now follow their own religion. That which could not be achieved with lakhs of rupees was accomplished with the mere words of Gurudev and the divinity of Bhagwan Ved.
When Gurudev had arrived here, the governor Sukarno had said that he was happy to meet a saint of his own religion. Pandit Narendra was the interpreter between the two. The governor was familiar with Hindu traditions and even if many were Muslims the people were still familiar with Hindu customs, as their ancestors were Hindus.
It is believed that the people on the island of Sumatra are staunch Muslims like the Arabs. They had wanted to demolish the temple at Jog Jakarta but the then ruler Maharaj Himanshu, although a Muslim had declared that anyone doing any destruction would be penalized.
Overall Gurudev’s visit to Indonesia was spectacular. There was one person called Hassan who looked after the needs of Gurudev’s group. He expressed a desire to come to India to study the Vedas and fight communism sitting in ‘Veda-Fort’. He had the following conversation with Gurudev –
Questions asked by Hassan at the marvel of Swamiji’s stamina and ability to travel the world at the age of 90
Que. How are you able to work so hard even at this age?
Ans:-This is miracle of Ved-Vidya. Chyavan Rishi was made a young youth with the blessings of Ashwini Kumar [Rig-Ved]
Que:.So your energy and stamina is due to the grace of the Vedas?
Ans:-There are 5 kinds of graces on me—
One is the grace of Bhagwan Ved
Second is the grace of the Lord
Third is the grace of my Guru
Fourth is the grace of aged saints as VIDYA DEVI is pleased only when you serve the aged.
Lastly, the grace of good people and devotees like you.
Gurudev arrived in Jog Jakarta on 5th November and visited Boro Budur temple. There are 3 main temples here: Chandi Mount View, Pavan and Boro Budur.
The first 2 are on plain land but the last one is on a mountain that has 10 peaks (shikhar). Military personnel are brought in to guard this temple and you would be surprised to know that even today, in the royal families, the Ramayan is recited or enacted. Such bhakti is not even present in the royal families of India.
Gurudev emphasized the importance of religion whenever He met people in Indonesia. He said that progress was not possible without the following:
- Rashtra Bhakti—-Love for the nation
- Ishwar Bhakti—Love for the Lord
- Manavta—Humanity
- Nispaksh Nyaya—Unbiased Justice.
- Dharma Par Vishwas—Faith in religion.
Buddhists believe that the devotees can climb step by step and reach the peak of Boro Budur temple signifying the steps taken to achieve Mukti or Nirvana. This is the second temple in the world that has Hindu craftsmanship in the architecture. Ramayana and Buddhists inscriptions are seen here. Gurudev and His mandali were happy to visit this site.
