Visiting Paradise Island, Bali April 20th to 27th, 2016

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Bali is a popular tourist destination that has seen a significant rise in tourists since the 1980s. Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian, Chinese and particularly Hindu culture. It was during this time that the people developed their complex irrigation system that they called subak to grow rice in wet-field cultivation. The majority of people in Bali are Hindu and, according to their belief, every Balinese family also has an obligation to take care of its family shrine located at the native village. Bali is a very unique island because this place was strongly influenced by Indian culture; therefore, this place is very close to the Vedic culture. That is the reason that in this small island of Indonesia we find five large ISKCON temples and three centers, with almost every regency having an ISKCON temple or center.

In keeping with their culture, Balinese people keep local cows but unfortunately these cows do not give milk. As the Balinese do not have much knowledge about the importance of cows, they do not understand how to protect cows in the mood of goodness. Even many of our ISKCON devotees in Bali do not have much understanding about cows, resulting in cows being given less importance. To address this dilemma, His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami Maharaja, one of our ISKCON initiating gurus, has recently been giving more attention to this subject matter all over Indonesia and especially in Bali. His Holiness loves to share his knowledge about cows and the importance of traditional Vedic agrarian lifestyle. He has been training and educating people in general, especially our devotees in Bali, about the important of living with cows in the villages. Our Founder Acarya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, has spoken on this point on many occasions. Following in his footsteps we must also train and educate others and ourselves.

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On his recent visit to Bali in April, Maharaja arranged for Sriman Kishora Krishna das to accompany him and act as his secretary. They first visited the Sri Sri Radha Kunja Bihari temple located in east of Bali in a place called Klung Kung. The program was well attended with approximately forty devotees amidst a warm and welcoming atmosphere. His Holiness spoke about the need for ISKCON to train young boys within traditional Gurukula and thus help create qualified Brahmanas. After the program Sriman Kisora Krishna prabhu distributed the book “Sacred Cows” that was recently reprinted in Bahasa Indonesia with ten devotees purchasing books.

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The second program was conducted at the Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha temple the largest ISKCON temple located in West of Bali Province. The program was very special due to the presence of His Grace Nitai Priya prabhu who led a three-hour kirtan. Nitai Priya prabhu has spent many years in Sri Dham Mayapur heading up the daily Harinam kirtan party and has become very popular. This was his first visit to Bali and everyone appreciated his melodious kirtans. In his second discourse, Maharaja spoke about the connection between cows and brahmanas. More than 50 devotees attended the program and some 20 books were sold after the program. Maharaja also showed a few videos demonstrating the importance of cows and brahmana thus making all the devotees more eager to hear these messages.

The third program was held on the auspicious day of Purnima at the Sri Sri Radha Madhava temple in Gianyar. Devotees in Indonesia conduct a Go Puja (worship of cow) on every Purnima day in all ISKCON temples. The Sri Sri Radha Madhava Temple is located in central Bali and has its own goshala with three cows. This is the temple where His Holiness generally stays when he visits Bali. The local devotees were very enthusiastic to join this program that started at 6:00 PM. After the Go Puja devotees held a three hour-long kirtan with His Grace Nitai Priya das prabhu leading. This was followed by a class on the topic of Gurukula. The temple of Sri Sri Radha Madhava is home for twenty-eight families with a population of approximately 100 residents with a growing population of children. The topic of Gurukula was thus very much suitable to discuss as it is meant to help create qualified young leaders in Krishna consciousness. Close to 100 devotees attended the program, not only from the Sri Sri Radha Madhava community but also from neighboring villages and towns. More than twenty Sacred Cows books were sold. After giving the class, His Holiness showed a video describing the Mayapur Gurukula.

The fourth program was held at the Sri-Sri Radha Rasesvara temple that is also located in central Bali. The temple has beautiful deities of Sri Sri Radha Rasesvara, Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra as well as Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. When devotees visit this temple, they can easily remember the Lord’s pastimes related to various rasas in Vrindavan. The temple has the largest Goshala with nine cows that give milk however the cows are not desi cows but from the Australian breed. The devotees here also have three peacocks. In his presentation, His Holiness explained about the qualities of brahmana and spoke about the importance of the brahminical culture. Maharaja explained that to become a real brahmana one should develop the nice qualities mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita. A brahmana doesn’t mean just a priest who does puja in the temple. Brahmanas can also take occupations that are in the mode of goodness such as astrology, architecture, Yoga and Ayurvedic doctor amongst a few. At the end of his presentation, Maharaja showed a video that explained more in detail about brahminical culture. Some sixty devotees attended the program and twenty books were sold out.

The fifth program was different from the other programs that were mostly in the evenings. In Denpasar, the capital city of Bali, devotees hold their Sunday Feast program every Sunday morning at the Sri Jagannatha Gauranga temple. Although conducted in the morning the Sunday Feast attracts a good crowd with close to 100 devotees joining to hear the class given by His Holiness. The temple hall being somewhat small, some of the devotees sat on the grass in the small courtyard near the temple. During his class, Maharaja explained the importance of simple living and village life. This temple being located in the city, the topic was relevant to discuss. Maharaja explained how the recent trend has been that villagers move to the cities for some material gain and the result is that cows, land and villages all become neglected. In Indonesia only 44% of the population still live in villages. Our Balinese devotees were very shocked to hear this. At the end of the presentation devotees distributed only a few books as most of the fifty newly printed books were already sold out.

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The sixth program was held in Singharaja, the last of our programs in our ISKCON temples in Bali. To reach Singharaja one must travel near the famous Kintamani Lake, a great touristic attraction, and travel two and half hours from Gianyar to reach the local temple. Only local devotees who live close to the temple could join the program, approximately forty all together. The program was designed a little differently than earlier programs. Usually devotees sit in the temple hall but since this temple is the smallest in Bali the program was held in the open courtyard. During his presentation, Maharaja spoke once again about cows, land and brahmanas. His holiness explained briefly how they are all directly related and connected to our lives with the aim of elevating everyone to the mode of goodness. According to the Vedic culture, we cannot live without cows and land. Furthermore, without cow products brahmanas cannot perform their various sacrifices involving offering of oblations. The last portion of the evening saw a very lively kirtan with all the devotees chanting and dancing of ecstasy in Harinam Sankirtan.

The last program Maharaja conducted in Bali was a public program at the Institute Hindu Dharma Indonesia. The Brahma Vidya Faculty of the university invited Maharaja to give a seminar on the importance of Cows and Vedic Culture in the Modern Era. That was an amazing program because of the last minute preparations just one day after the other temple programs. However, the feedback from the university was very positive. The Vice Dean of the faculty, Mrs. Dr. Retnawati, greeted the devotees very respectively. She gave the official opening of the program along with other Faculty. She made a humble request that this kind of program should be held not only once but twice a year. She also requested His Holiness to explain about the evolution of life to her students. A total of 75 students and 15 lecturers joined this program.

Written by Hari Kripa das

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