By Aneeta Sundararaj

I had, previous to visiting Bali, been told that the Hinduism practised in Bali was 'undeveloped'. This comment, I found deeply intriguing for being Hindu myself, it was wonderful to visit Bali and discover that the Hinduism that is practised is most certainly not undeveloped.

Hindus believe in the One Great God, Ishwara. When called Brahma he takes over the Creation of the Universe. When called Vishnu, he assumes the role of the Preserver and when he is the Destroyer, he is called Shiva. There are ten incarnations of Vishnu of which only nine have appeared thus far. Brahma, Vishnu (together with his nine incarnations) and Shiva make up the basis of the entire mythology of the Hindu faith which is described in the two main epics of Mahabharat and Ramayana.

The Mahabharat, in very simple terms is a story of two noble families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, who quarrel over who should have possession of their Kingdom and this quarrel culminates in the famous Kurushektra war. The Ramayana is the story of Rama, sent into exile by his father; whilst in exile, his wife, Sita, is kidnapped by Ravana, the Demon. Rama eventually rescues Sita and vanquishes Ravana with the help of the monkey race. The leader of the monkey race is Sugreeva, whose brother is incidentally called Bali. The one character that appears in both these epics is Hanuman, the monkey God.

Every part of Bali's panorama is infused with stories from these epics. For example, almost everywhere one goes in Bali one would see a statue of some character from either of these two epics. The one that easily come to mind is the depiction of the fight between Rama and Ravana at the roundabout just outside of Ngurah Rai International Airport. A note worthy point to make is that unlike statues elsewhere, most of the statues in Bali are of figures in motion. These statues do not depict characters that are static but in the midst of combat. The ability to depict these characters in fluid motion proves the capabilities of the master craftsmen of Bali and also shows that they do really understand the characters they are carving.

Of course one of the things that one cannot miss on a trip to Bali today, is the site of the bombing in Kuta. Even here, their faith and religion is evident because the most amazing fact is that in the bomb blast, everything in the building, including the building itself was destroyed but for the statue of Ganesh. Ganesh is the god with an elephant head who happens to be the son of Lord Shiva. He is also known as the Remover of all obstacles in Life and the first God that every Hindu person would pray to before undertaking any new project.

As a people the Balinese generally seem to practise the rules or tenets of Hinduism properly. There is of course the normal harassing and badgering of tourists that occurs in any tourist spot. But look closely behind the veil of tourism and one would see a people so rich in their heritage and culture that it is hard to imagine that people who look like many of their counterparts in the Malay Archipelago can actually practice an ancient religion like Hinduism and more so with great pride. Indeed when waiting for our taxi driver at the taxi stand, with whom we had had an agreement to take us shopping, we were not harassed by equally eager and waiting taxi drivers. They merely informed us that they would go look for our driver and we were stunned. In any other part of the world, it might have been customary to offer a cheaper fair to a customer, just to get his custom. Here in Bali, they respected each other enough to know that there was a binding agreement between their colleague and the customer.

Furthermore, it was amazing to read the following paragraph in the brochure Be Our Guest, Bali is Bali Forever:

'Temples are presided over by a lay priest, called a pemangku. He or she is often of the lowest caste. A pemangku is not a holy person, but rather, one who is respected as one with spiritual influence. ' They may be thought of in some respects as temple caretakers. They keep the place clean, decorate it when needed, furnish holy water to those who seek it, and are in charge of all ceremonies that occur within the temple. One of their important jobs is to prepare and provide holy water from the temple for those who seek it for various occasions.'

This is amazing for two reasons which touch on issues of gender and caste bias. In other parts of the world where Hinduism is practised, women are not allowed to take part in temple duties. Worse still is the scourge of the caste system that does not allow a low caste person to even enter the temple let alone provide holy water to people who seek it. The ability of the Balinese to treat their fellow man as human, if not equal, is like none other in this world. Nowhere else could it be possible for a low caste woman to keep the temple clean or decorate it and indeed be in charge of all ceremonies that occur within the temple. Indeed the Balinese must truly be liberated people.

Even for the future, the Balinese have thought of a manner in which they can fuse Hindu mythology with economics and technology. The Wishnu Garuda Kencana project, we were told, is an enormous undertaking by the Balinese Government to construct a structure that will, when eventually completed, be taller than the Statue of Liberty in America. It is apparently a project that is going to cost around US$42 million and the Balinese are currently looking for investors from around the world to invest it this noble project. The aim apparently is to place the completed structure of Vishnu riding his vehicle, Garuda on top of what they call a 'pedestal'. This 'pedestal' is intended to house a museum, shops and conference centre. By the time one has spent a few days in Bali, it is not surprising that the Balinese would choose to depict Vishnu - to be in tune with Nature, what better character to depict than the Preserver to preserve the peace, tranquillity and beauty of their island.

Even in a short space of time, what one comes away with from the island is a feeling of peace. Here in this corner of the of the world, there are a people, so developed in their understanding of the freedom that Hinduism gives to man that they live in true harmony with Nature and fully respect her and indeed thrive on her bountiful gifts. Hinduism in Bali is most certainly not 'undeveloped'. In Bali, it is ever so easy to explain to a newcomer to the religion the stories, the tenets and what it is like to be Hindu as it is there for all to see; little verbal explanation needs to be given. One just has to experience it.

It might not even be too way off the mark to say that in today's age, Bali is probably the only place where Hinduism is closest to being practised in its true form. Bali has been given many other names like, The Island of Peace, Island of Gods, The Morning of the World and so on. Perhaps to this list should be added The Island where Hindu Mythology and Legend are Reality.

Aneeta Sundararaj, a storyteller, is the creator of the bestselling program "How To Tell A Great Story". Aneeta's technique and famed "R.P.I. Principle"© has been used by many people and offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable universally. She is also the author of two 'traditional' books The Banana Leaf Men and Mad Heaven: the biography of Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. M. Mahadevan. Visit http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com to learn more.