Abstract
On the island of Bali in Indonesia, the traditional Hindu religious leaders are the pedandas, or brahmin high priests. Their religious status is largely based on their mystical states, during which they create the highest and most valuable form of holy water, which is needed for all religious rituals on the island. It is one of the rare examples in world religions where mysticism is not only integrated into the daily life of the community but is vital to it. These are the religious authorities who maintain the ancient forms of Indonesian Hinduism, standing against the encroachment of Westernization, Islamization and modernization. Little ethnographic research has been done on them—there are no books about their lives and experiences in any Western languages, and only a few biographies in Indonesian. In this paper, we examine the lives of some Shiva pedandas, discussing their mystical experiences, and the ways that their states fit in with other sorts of mystical experiences in Bali. These other sorts of experiences include those of Buddhist priests, local healers or balians, and the debatably mystical experiences of possession trance.
Highlights
Hinduism in BaliBalinese Hinduism is widely known for its elaborate ritual, stylized religious imagery, and chiming gamelan music
We examine the lives of some Shiva pedandas, discussing their mystical experiences, and the ways that their states fit in with other sorts of mystical experiences in Bali
These other sorts of experiences include those of Buddhist priests, local healers or balians, and the debatably mystical experiences of possession trance
Summary
The study of religious experience, especially mystical experience, is full of debates about language, the influence of tradition and culture, the roles of emotion, vision and imagination, and its impact on individuals, history and culture. The person can be aware of the deity at the time and often retains a memory of the experience, while in the lower states of possession trance, the person blacks out, and often has no memory of what happened Those who enter the state of mahabhava are highly respected, and often initiated and trained in meditation according to a lineage, and focused on a high god. Those who are possessed at festivals or as a job (being a medium is a popular village vocation, especially for women) tend not to be trained or initiated, and they can often go into public trances and be possessed by several deities.. We will define Balinese Hindu mysticism as the alterations in identity, emotion and perception which occur in meditation and deep trance in Bali
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