Om Swastiyastu
For the past few months or even years, I have been trying to recapture a much simpler and inspirational time in my life.
Nights have been spent on YouTube watching videos which "resonate" at my level, so I have decided to start a thread to share them all and each day, I will contribute something more to this thread. It gives me something to do at least.
The Gayatri Mantra is very huge in Bali, and their prayers/pujas always begin with it and end with "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti Om". The prayers themselves are in Sanskrit, but the intonation and meter is totally different from the practices in India...each syllable is long and drawn out, much akin to the Tibetan Buddhist way of chanting, but then again, Balinese Hinduism also has direct influences from Buddhism and Animism as well...and that is why I personally subscribe to this branch/school of Hinduism which is called Agama Hindu Dharma.
It is said that Hinduism in Indonesia was founded by Rishi (Rsi) Markandeya....the same Markandeya who is a great Bhakta of Lord Shiva (known as Siwa in Bali), who rescued Markandeya from the jaws of death (Lord Yama Maharaja) and made him an immortal so he could spread the message of Hinduism throughout the world.
Today, I am going to share a few of my favourite videos...and I will do so each day, so that there is a library of them on here, for perusal by myself and others who may be interested, for their uplifting and energetic content.
The first, is the main prayer of the Balinese school of Hinduism. It is called Puja Trisandhya:
Puja Trisandhya
https://youtu.be/1L4pm8vUF4c
The next video I will share, I found yesterday. It is a popular reggae group from Bali called The Small Axe and the song is entitled "Om Nama Siwa". I just love the scenery in this clip:
Om Nama Siwa - The Small Axe
https://youtu.be/jDkBkst4iQs
The checkerboard cloth you see everybody wear is called saput poleng. It is a Tantric design of black/white, good/evil...in fact ALL manner of duality interwoven on one piece of cloth to represent the non-duality...the unity of all things existing in a single dimension of Consciousness.
Here is a more traditional song...it is called "Sanghyang Jagatnatha" by Rsi Ida Lokanatha. Although the Balinese worship the Trimurti (Brahma, Wisnu, Siwa), their name for Brahman or the Absolute is Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa which very losely translates as "One without a second" and is synonymous with Siwa in most cases.
Sanghyang Jagatnatha - Ida Rsi Lokanatha & Ida Rsi Gayatri
https://youtu.be/vpp3qC5lyvc
Basically the words of that one say "my obeisances to the primordial Lord of the Universe, who is also the Lord of all creatures, the partner of Uma/Sati, the blissful Lord Shiva".
I shall conclude with today's offering by sharing a trance dance on the holiest day of the year...the Balinese New Year called Melasti which falls in March...about the same time as Maha Shivaratri:
Bali Trance Di Pura Salem
https://youtu.be/q3D94O-Y7g4
There we go...enough for today. I hope you have all enjoyed this short lesson with video accompany on the religion I love and practice myself...more will follow tommorrow and over the next month or two, to fully educate all on the history, tradition, culture and practice of Agama Hindu Dharma...and the similarities between the Balinese language and ancient Sanskrit.
Aum Namah Shivaya