\SAMVAD श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Vaishakh Krishna 12, Vik. Samvat 2076 Yugabda 5121: 1 May 2019
1. FESTIVALS: Hanuman devotees paint the city saffron: Hanuman Jayanti was celebrated on April 19 in all parts of Bharat. In Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad) a grand procession started at 1 pm from Gowlinguda Ram Temple and reached Sri Tadbund Veeranjanyea Swami temple at Secunderabad at around 8 pm. The ‘Veera Hanuman Vijaya Yatra’ organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal passed through various prominent locations and culminated at a meeting after the devotees visited the Tadbund temple, where ‘maha haarati’ was performed. The entire route reverberated with ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and ‘Jai Bajarangbali’ slogans raised by the youngsters, who were seen dancing to devotional songs. Over 60,000 devotees took part in the Shobha Yatra. Hanuman Jayanti in Trinidad and Tobago: Chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa, repetition of special mantras, singing of bhajans and the spiritual invocation of Lord Hanuman heralded the celebration of Lord Hanuman Jayanti at temples and special places of worship across Trinidad and Tobago. Hindu groups and the individuals have been holding night vigils, prayers and meditation at hundreds of temples across the island. -GoTop
2. First Hindu temple to come up in Abu Dhabi: Marking a significant Millennial Moment in the history of the UAE, around 5,000 devotees and well-wishers participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the first Hindu temple in UAE's capital Abu Dhabi on April 20.
The Vedic ceremony was performed by His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
Prior to the celebration assembly, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj and the Ministers unveiled a Gift of Gratitude, an intricate piece of artwork comprising a base made of pink sandstone – the stone that will be used for building the Mandir and metal fins of various sizes forming an image of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The unique artwork celebrating the Year of Tolerance is a gift to The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on behalf of BAPS Hindu Mandir and the larger Indian community in appreciation of the support of the rulers and people of the UAE.
In conclusion, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj blessed the assembly, “Right now, peace, love and harmony are all over this campus. We cannot buy peace with money or intelligence. Peace comes to those who love peace. May goodness and peace spread further from here.”
This historic event was attended by devotees, volunteers and well-wishers from Bharat, USA, UK, Europe, Japan, Africa, China, South East Asia, Australia and many other countries. -GoTop
3. Indonesia releases special stamp on theme of Ramayana: Indonesia on April 23 released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana to mark the 70th anniversary of establishment of its diplomatic ties with Bharat. The stamp, designed by renowned Indonesian sculptor Padmashri Bapak Nyoman Nuarta, featured a scene from Ramayana in which Jatayu valiantly fought to save Sita, said a statement issued by the Embassy of Bharat in Jakarta. Bharat’s Ambassador Pradeep Kumar Rawat and Indonesia’s Vice Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir attended the event, which was jointly organised by the two countries to flag off the 70th anniversary commemorations of establishment of their diplomatic ties.-GoTop
4. “Islamic Terrorism is a global challenge. Bharat & Israel can come together to counter it”, Mukunda CR: Symbol of Bharat-Israel cultural ties, Narada Muni’s (Itamar Oren), punyatithi was observed at his samadhi sthal at Gonikoppa in Kodagu, Karnataka, on 24th April in a unique way by organizing a day long Bharat-Israel symposium. The symposium was attended by a gala of dignitaries from various parts of Bharat along with a team of nearly 20 devotees of Narada Muni from Israel. The symposium was organized by the Diya-Minorah foundation.
The inaugural Session started with chanting of Veda ghosha. Invocation by Israeli devotees in Sanskrit was applauded by all. A monograph by Shri Satya Bansal ‘What is our true Wealth’ was released on the occasion by the dignitaries.
RSS Sahsarkaryavah Mukunda CR in his keynote speech said, “Effort to bring like-minded and like-hearted people from across the world is possible only through sheer dedication and effort. Israel has been helping Bharat with technology and knowledge in countering terrorism. There are several commonalities among our traditions. The guru-shishya Parampara of Bharat and master disciple relation in Israel, meditation in our two cultures, and many other similarities exist and strengthen our bonding”.
Subsequently, a panel discussion on “Strong Relationship between Bharat and Israel: Responding to the Common Challenges” was held. The discussion was moderated by Swami Vigyananand ji of VHP. Others who participated in the seminar were retired IAS and former governor of Chhattisgarh Shekar Dutta, Dayanand ji Maharaj from Israel, Chairman VRL group of companies Vijay Sankeshwar and Prof Emmanuel from Israel. Smt Rachael, economist from Israel gave details about Narada Muni and Diyah Minorah foundation.
Moderating the second panel discussion on ‘Bharat and Israel further extending the bond through culture and economy’ Prof. Itimar Theodar provided the impact of Bharat’s culture on Israel and highlighted several commonalities.
Israel expert and senior prachrak Ravi Kumar Iyer said that Einstein and Oppenheimer quoted Gita. Tapan Ghosh of Hindu Samhati spoke about the Hindu resistance against Islamic aggression. -GoTop
Narad Muni – An Israeli Jew who took Deeksha as a Hindu Sanyasi: Narad Muni was born as Itamar Oren in 1945 in Yemen. He was raised as a Jew. He visited Bharat and was impressed by its culture and traditions. Consequently he took Deeksha from Swami Muktanand of Ganeshpuri near Vajreshwari on Mumbai Nasik Road and he took the Hindu name ‘Narad muni’. He returned to Israel but led the life of a Sanyasi. He breathed his last on 24 April, 2012.
Narada Muni’s teachings were based on Kashmir Shiavism, Vedanta practices and truths that he taught his students were based on classical ancient Yogic path described in the great Bharatiya scriptures of the Upanishads, the Yoga Vashishta, and the great epics Ramayan, Mahabharat and Shrimad Bhagvatam. He traveled many times with groups of students to Bharat when he founded a spiritual centre open to all. He always spoke highly of the great Bharatiya Traditions and the uniqueness of Bharat as the ‘Jewel In The Crown’ of the entire world unveiling for humanity, the knowledge of the Self, the Atman, with boldness and precision like no other culture has.
He spent several years propagating ‘Soham Yoga’ among Jews in Israel. Though he breathed his last in Israel, he wished to be buried as per Hindu rituals ordained for a sanyasi. Kuppanda Rajappa and Smt Chaya Nanjappa graciously donated the required land to construct his Samaadhi in their coffee estate in Attur village near Gonikoppa in Kodagu district of Karnataka.
The Diya-Minorah foundation was formed by Smt Chaya Nanjappa and others to take the work and teachings of Narad Muni forward to all sections of the society. -GoTop
5. Swayamsevaks do not Work with the Feeling of Competition: “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh works in the society taking the whole society with it. There are problems in the society, but their solution lies in the society itself,” said RSS Sarkaryavah Bhaiyaji Joshi, while releasing a book “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – Ek Vishal Sangathan” written by Ramkrishna Patwardhan on April 9 in Pune. The function was jointly organised by Maharashtra Education Society (MES) and Snehal Prakashan. Noted industrialist and chairman of Kinetic Group Arun Firodia, Air Marshal (retd) Bhushan Gokhale and other dignitaries were also present. -GoTop
6. RSS for united fight against terrorism, divisive forces: Addressing Shradhanjali Sabha in honour of RSS swayamsevak Chandrakant Sharma and his PSO, on 20 April in Jammu, Sahsarkaryavah Suresh Soni said, “Government alone can’t fight terror but the society has to unite and put a challenge to such forces.”
Making it clear that terrorism has to face an end soon as the resolve of the nationalist forces has been further strengthened with the supreme sacrifices of Chandrakant Sharma, he said it was the firm resolve of people alone which rooted out terrorism from Tripura and Assam.
Recalling the sacrifices of RSS volunteers for national unity and integrity in different parts of country, Soni ji said four Pracharaks of Sangh were killed in Assam in four years but Sangh did not give in and many Pracharaks from rest of country voluntarily offered their services in the State to imbibe the spirit of nationalism among the people there.
Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Arun Kumar while paying homage said, Sangh activists will continue the fight against terror till last terrorist is finished.
Brig (retd) Suchet Singh, RSS Prant Sanghchalak termed the security lapses also a cause for attack on Chandrakant ji and Parihar brothers. Many prominent personna from Sangh, BJP and other organizations attended the program. -GoTop
7. Continue the Process of Decolonisation Started in 2014: “The idea of Bharat is rooted in Hindutva, which is revealed as philosophy (rather Darshan) and poles apart from the concept of ideology. This Hindutva, emanated from the Vedas and Agamas, is all-inclusive and all-encompassing in nature and, has naturally created a heartening and enriching milieu that has shaped many eminent right-thinking intellectuals in our ancient society,” said national convener of the Prajna Pravah J Nandakumar, while speaking at a seminar in Coimbatore on April 15. The topic of the seminar was ‘Role of Intellectuals in Good Governance’ and it was organised by Indian Economic and Cultural Centre.
Luminaries like PR Krishna Kumar Warrier, MD of the Ayurvedic Trust, Praful Sejpal, Naam Hindu, and Prof P Kanagasabgapathi, Director IECC also shared their views. -GoTop
8. Need to Understand Babasaheb Holistically: “Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar always consumed poison, but thought only positive for the nation. Even then we did not look at his life and contributions holistically. He was forgotten after his demise in 1956, but when revived again in 1970 by communists that was selective. During the Dalit movement, started in his name, people used him as per their convenience. As a result, the country could not know his contribution in totality. That should be corrected now,” said Organiser editor Prafulla Ketkar, while speaking at a function organised in New Delhi on April 13. The topic of discussion was ‘Nationalism in the Eyes of Dr Ambedkar’. The discussion was organised by Delhi unit of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). National president of BMS Shri CK Saji Narayanan and north zone organising secretary Shri Pawan Kumar also spoke. -GoTop
9. HSS UK inspirES next generation of athletes in the City that will host the Commonwealth Games 2022: On 7th April, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK (HSS (UK))’s annual sports competition received a Royal welcome, as The Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands, Mr John Crabtree OBE attended with his wife Mrs Diana Crabtree.
The Lord-Lieutenant, who chairs the 2022 Commonwealth Games Committee, observed this flagship event at PlayFootball in Birmingham. With over 700 people of all ages (from 7 years to over 60) from across the country participating in five key sports, the atmosphere was electric. With all to play for, 69 teams from 32 towns brought their talent together to compete in the 176 games played on the day, in the hope of lifting the winning trophy.
Observing the games, the Lord Lieutenant commented that “A great sense of pride and enthusiasm was shown by all participants in the competition, with a fantastic sense of sportsmanship. It is initiatives such as these that provide great confidence in the development of our future generations, and especially now as we work towards hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham”.
Along with Football for both Under 11s and Under 16s, the Khel Pratiyogita has firmly established a national platform for Kabaddi, Kho Kho and Ring. The calibre achieved in these competitions has led to a number of its members being selected to represent England in International Tournaments. While Kabaddi and Kho Kho are not currently played in the Commonwealth Games, the world wide popularity is increasing. Following the success of the 2016 World Cup Kabaddi Tournament in India, this year’s World Cup in Malaysia is expected to attract participation from over 30 nations.
Someshwar Kalia, a member (swayamsevak) of HSS (UK)’s Woolwich Shakha and Captain of the England Kabaddi Team said: “I have grown up playing Kabaddi every week at my Shakha. It was here that we developed the understanding and importance of building confidence, working as a team, and always being there to support others. These core values were essential to playing Kabaddi at an international level, and especially now as we prepare for the World Cup in the summer. The Khel Pratiyogita is something I have looked forward to each year and has always been a fantastic platform to nurture talent”.
Commenting on the tournament, Mr Dhiraj D Shah, President of HSS (UK) said: “The Khel Pratiyogita is much more than just a sports tournament. It’s a channel to bring together the human spirit. As you observe each game being played at the Khel Pratiyogita, you will see a crowd of support cheering every player on irrespective of which team they are representing. It is this spirit of community and collective effort (Sangathan) that forms the cornerstone of HSS UK’s ethos. HSS (UK)’s Khel Pratiyogita has inspired other sporting events including that organised by Hindu Sevika Samiti (the women’s division), which collectively now attract around 2,000 participants annually to engage in national sporting activities. -GoTop
10. Tribute to Baba Saheb through ghosh: RSS swayamsevaks paid tribute to Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar on his birth anniversary on April 14 through the Sangh ghosh (band). The function was held near the statue of Baba Saheb installed at Board Office Crossing in Bhopal. Bhopal Vibhag Sah Sanghachalak Dr Rajesh Sethi and other leaders garlanded the statue of Baba Saheb. -GoTop
11. BHARAT FLIGHT-TESTS DESI N-CAPABLE SUB-SONIC CRUISE MISSILE ‘NIRBHAY’: Bharat successfully flight-tested its indigenous Nirbhay sub-sonic cruise missile, which can carry nuclear warheads to a strike range of 1,000-km, from the integrated test range at Chandipur off the Odisha coast on 15th April. The Nirbhay, which is touted to be Bharat’s answer to the US Tomahawk missiles and an effective counter to Pakistan’s Babur land-attack cruise missile (LACM), has been in the development stage for over a decade. At least three of its six tests till now have failed.
The DRDO said the test of the missile, which demonstrated its sea-skimming capability to cruise at very low altitudes, was successful in meeting all its mission objectives. The missile is highly maneuverable with “loitering capabilities” to first identify and then hit the intended target with precision. -GoTop
12. Hindu Yuva at Iowa State University won two students organization awards: The Iowa State University Student Activities Center recognized Hindu Yuva for its dedication and enrichment to the Iowa State University Community. In the academic year 2018-19, it received:
(a) Outstanding Commitment to Diversity Award of the Year (2018-19): Hindu Yuva organized several events last year to create social awareness about Hindu culture and values. Events like Universal Oneness Day (Rakshabandhan), Ganesh Utsav, ISU Yogathon, Friday night social, participation in the Multicultural night at an elementary school, etc helped in providing learning opportunities for the Ames community to know and appreciate Hindu culture. (b) Outstanding Student Organization Advisor of the year (2018-19) - Dr. Arun Somani. -GoTop
13. Gagandeep Kang is first bharatiya woman scientist fellow of Royal Society: Gagandeep Kang, executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad has been made a Fellow of the Royal Society, London. She is the first Indian woman scientist to have been selected as FRS in the 359-year history of the prestigious scientific academy.
“She (Kang) is investigating the complex relationships between infection, gut function and physical and cognitive development, and seeking to build a stronger human immunology research in India,” a statement on her biography by the Royal Society said while announcing the names of 51 distinguished scientists chosen as fellows of the oldest scientific academy of the world. -GoTop
14. Bharatiya-Origin ''Yogi'' Puranik Yogendra Wins Japan's Ward Assembly Polls: 41-year-old Bharatiya-origin Japanese, who goes by the nickname "Yogi", has been elected to Tokyo's Edogawa Ward assembly, becoming the first Bharatiya to win an election in Japan. Puranik secured 6,477 votes, the fifth highest of the 226,561 valid ballots cast, in the April 21 poll, part of unified local elections held across Japan.
"I want to be a bridge between Japanese and foreigners," said Yogi, who was backed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Edogawa Ward has the highest number of Bharatiya residents among Tokyo's 23 wards with 4,300 or so Bharatiya nationals registered, accounting for more than 10 per cent of Bharatiyas living in Japan. Over 34,000 Bharatiyas live in Japan. This is the first-ever victory of a naturalised Japanese of Bharaiya origin in elections in Japan. -GoTop
15. SAASCR Awards 10 Bharatiya American Scientists for Discoveries in Cancer Research: The Society of American Asian Scientists in Cancer Research March 31 handed out awards to numerous scientists and 10 Bharatiya individuals were honored for their contributions in cancer research. The honorees at the Atlanta, Georgia, event included Dr. Vineet Gupta, Dr. Ajay P. Singh, Dr. Deepak Kumar, Dr. Shailesh Singh, Dr. Dipali Sharma, Dr. Pushpa Tandon, Dr. Chendil Damodaran, Dr. Bipin Gupta and Dr. Vadivel Ganapathy. Dr. Rajvir Dahiya, the president of SAASCR as well as a professor and director of the Urology Research Center at U.C. San Francisco’s School of Medicine, presented the awards to the scientists during the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. -GoTop
16. China removes map showing all of J&K, Arunachal as part of Bharat: With the second edition of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Summit underway in Beijing, China has removed a map from the BRI website that depicted entire Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as part of Bharat. After reports emerged of the map "misrepresenting" China's stated position on Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and Arunachal Pradesh, the map now does not show up on the website.
The map had also portrayed Bharat as part of the BRI project whereas New Delhi has been opposed to the idea of joining this initiative since it has projects such as CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) which fall in PoK and violate Bharat's territorial integrity and sovereignty. -GoTop
17. Colorado Declares 2nd Sunday of Every April Sikh Recognition Day: The state of Colorado on April 1 announced that, going forward, the second Sunday of every April will be known as ‘Sikh Recognition Day’ in the state. The proclamation was announced during the religious and historic holiday of Vaisakhi. In the historic proclamation signed by newly-elected Governor Jared Polis, core aspects of the Sikh faith are discussed in great detail.
Concepts in the Sikh faith, such as selfless service, eternal optimism and the well-being of everyone, are woven throughout the proclamation to pay respect to Sikh teachings and how the Sikh community in Colorado has given back, the release said. -GoTop
18. California State Senate Unanimously Recognizes Telugu ‘Ugadi’ New Year: On April 8, the California state Senate unanimously recognized the Telugu ‘Ugadi’ New Year. “About 100,000 of Telugu speaking people in California celebrate the traditions of the Telugu ‘Ugadi’ New Year that are transmitted from one generation to the next,” Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said on the occasion. Grove, who represents the 16th State Senate district, welcomed members of two non-profit organizations, the Telugu Association of Greater Sacramento and Silicon Andhra to the state Capitol April 8. -GoTop
19. Veteran RSS Pracharak Prakash Kamath breathed his last on April 21 at Belagavi. He was 70. Shri Kamath was behind the starting of Vanavasi Kalyana activities which focussed on working with the tribals in the Karnataka state. Born in Sringeri, Karnataka on 10th April 1949, Sri Prakash Kamath won gold medal for his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical engineering from the Regional Engineering College, Surathkal. He has devoted his entire life to the society and the upliftment of Vanavasis. -GoTop
20. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Saumitra Gokhale Vishwa Vibhag samyojak reached USA after touring Singapore and Myanmar. Dr Ram Vaidya, sah samyojak returned to UK after touring Mauritius. Visitors: Jaydeep Choudhary – USA, Manoj Bhat – Indonesia.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Leave aside your regrets of the past and anxieties of the future and focus intelligently on the present. This is the best way of ensuring a positive future. – Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati -GoTop
JAI SHREE RAM
NEW YEAR FOR BALINESE HINDUS
Srikant Kumar
The Balinese Hindus have countless festivals and ceremonies year-round, but Nyepi is the most important one that has kept their traditional cultural diversity alive until now
E very religion or culture all over the world has its own way to define and celebrate the New Year. For example, the Chinese have the Imlek year, as they called it "Gong Xi Fat Choy" in their own language. The Muslim societies have their Muharram year, and many of the people across the world using the Gregorian calendar, celebrate the New Year on January 1. In fact, in Bali, the only Hindu Indonesian Island celebrates Nyepi day –a new year unlike any other in the world by observing silence by completely shutting down everything for 24 hours.
History of Nyepi
The name Nyepi comes from ‘sepi’ or ‘silent’ in Balinese, and is commemorated each year on different date according to the Balinese Saka calendar. And this time, falls on March 7, 2019. The Balinese has adopted the Gregorian calendar for business and government purposes only. But for the endless procession of holy days, temple anniversaries, celebrations, sacred dances, building houses, wedding ceremonies, death and cremation processes and other activities that define Balinese life, they have two calendar systems, the Pawukon system and the lunar Saka calendar.
The first is the Pawukon (from the word Wuku which means week) and Sasih. Wuku consists of 30 items starting from Sinta, the first Wuku and ends up with the Watugunung the last one. The Pawukon, a 210-day ritual calendar brought over from Java in the 14th century, is a complex cycle of numerological conjunctions that provides the basic schedule for ritual activities on Bali.
New Year’s Day in the West might mean a hangover, a walk and a pub lunch, however, in contrast, the Balinese Hindu open their New Year in silence which they called Nyepi Day
“People stay quietly with their families; it’s a very special day. It symbolises burning your own ego (SaptaTimira which means seven inner enemies) as well chasing bad spirits away,” says Prof. Suastra
The second is the Saka/Sasih calendar which has its origin in India, runs for 12 months of the lunar system with the month beginning a day after a new moon. It is equally important in determining when to pay respect to the Gods.
The Nyepi Day is celebrated with the new moon of the end of the 9th month, which falls on the day following the dark moon of the spring equinox, and opens a new year of the Saka Hindu era which began in 78 A.D.
It is a day to make and keep the balance of nature which is the core aspect of Hinduness. It is based on the story of when King Kanishka I of India was chosen in 78 A.D. The King was famous for his wisdom and tolerance for the Hinduism and Buddhism societies. During that age, AjiSaka did Dharma Yatra (the missionary tour to promote and spread Hinduism) to Indonesia and introduce the Saka year. Since then this day is celebrated as a Nyepi day in Bali.
In fact, Nyepi starts much before the actual New Year day; there are several festivals and rituals that are performed in preparation for Nyepi. It is their belief that while doing the rituals and oblige to the prohibitions during Nyepi, your life will be purified and blessed, you will be Kedewaan, or like having the qualities of a deity.
Nyepi Traditions, Customs and Activities
There are several traditions followed before celebrating the Nyepi day which are as follows: Melasti or Mekiyis or Melis (three days before Nyepi) Melasti is meant to clean the pratima or arca or pralingga (statue), with symbols that help to concentrate the mind in order to become closer to God. It is a self-cleaning process of human as well as the entire universe with the sacred Hindu rituals. During Melasti Hindu Balinese will go and carry all the effigies of the Gods from all the village temples to the holy sea water in long and colourful ceremonies. There, they are having a bath by the Neptune of the Balinese Lord, the God Baruna, before being taken back home to their shrines. The purpose of this ceremony is to clean the human body (Bhuwana Alit) and entire earth (Bhuwana Agung) from the bad influences, bad deeds and bad thought. Furthermore, all the Balinese people wear the Balinese costume with white colour dominant.
TawurKesanga (The day before Nyepi)
The day before Nyepi is known as Tawurkesanga or Pengerupuk and is the day on which evil spirit are driven away with most famous Ogoh-ogoh (the evil spirits) for carnival purposes. The Ogoh-ogoh monsters symbolise the evil spirits surrounding our environment which have to be got rid of from our lives. The carnivals themselves are held all over Bali following sunset with Bleganjur, a Balinese gamelan music accompanies mixture of the kulkul (traditional bamboo bell), claxons and drummer’s music. When Ogoh-ogoh is being played, everyone enjoys the carnival. In order to make a harmonic relation between human being and God, human and human, and human and their environments, TawurKesanga is performed at every level of society. Afterwards, they start making noises and light burning torches and set fire to the Ogoh-ogoh in order to get the Bhuta Kala (evil spirits), out of our lives.
Nyepi Day (New Year)
It is a day for strict meditation, fasting and silence for 24 hrs, starting at 6 a.m. and ending the next day at 6 a.m. Nyepi expects a day of absolute silence, based on the four precepts of CaturBrata such as: Amati Geni: No fire or light, including no electricity. Amati Karya: No form of physical working other than that which is dedicated to spiritual cleansing and renewal. Amati Lelunganan: No movement or travelling. Amati Lelanguan: Fasting and no revelry/self-entertainment.
On this day, every street is quiet - nobody does their normal daily activities except Pecalangs (traditional Balinese security men) who look after the street security. Pecalang wears a black uniform and an Udeng or Destar (a Balinese traditional "hat" that is usually used in ceremony). The Pecalangs main task is not only to control the security of the street but also to stop any activities that disturb Nyepi.
Religious rules state there should be no traffic, no fire, no work and no pleasure. Streets are eerily empty, shops and restaurants remain closed, the beaches are shut, use of electricity is kept to a minimum, there’s no transport – even the airport closes – and no internet. The Pecalang community police go on patrol, ensuring compliance and reprimanding anyone who steps outside their premises.
On Nyepi the world is expected to be clean and everything starts anew, with Man showing his symbolic control over himself and the "force" of the World, hence the mandatory religious control. It is meant to be a day of self-introspection to decide on values, e.g., humanity, love, patience, kindness, etc., that should keep forever. Balinese Hindus has many kinds of celebrations (some sacred days) but Nyepi is, perhaps the most important of the island's religious days and the prohibitions are taken seriously. Everyone stays at home and reflect on the past year and pray for blessings for the New Year that has started. This whole process is self-disciplined.
NgembakGeni (The day after Nyepi)
The day after Nyepi is known as NgembakGeni. After CaturBerataPenyepian is over people feel very happy and enjoy going out to visit family and friends to ask forgiveness for past mistakes and doing the Dharma Canthi. Dharma Canthi are activities of reading Sloka, Kekidung, Kekawin, etc. (ancient scripts containing songs and lyrics).
“It’s a day for contemplation, to meditate, to fast, to go inside yourself and reflect on the past year,” says Professor I. Made Suastra at Udayana University. “People stay quietly with their families; it’s a very special day. It symbolises burning your own ego (SaptaTimira which means seven inner enemies) as well chasing bad spirits away,” says Prof. Suastra.
The Balinese Hindus have countless festivals and ceremonies year-round, but Nyepi is the most important one that has kept their traditional cultural diversity alive until now. Despite the large influx of tourists over the year, they have their culture still very much alive and unique. Indeed, Nyepi day has made Bali a unique island.
(The writer is convenor-Vivekanand Vichar Manch, JNU, Organiser Weekly 3rd April 2019) -GoTop
Shri Vishwa Niketan vishwav@bol.net.in
