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STRUGGLE AND SUCCESS OF HINDUS IN INDONESIA
The
fall of Hindu empires led to mass conversion of populace to Islam. Some
converted under duress, some to gain patronage, some to avoid paying the Jasiah
and some to survive. There is little documentation about this topic but we have
seen how Islam progressed in other places, so it’s not an outlandish
assumption. Around the same time when Hindu kingdoms collapsed and Islam gained
ground Dutch and Portuguese colonial powers had also made their way to these South
East Asian islands. By 1800, all of Indonesia had been established as a Dutch
colony.
Like in
India, so in Indonesia freedom struggle ensued uniting Indonesians from across
religions and communities. On 17th August 1945, Indonesia became an Independent
country. The Dutch, however acknowledge the loss of colony only in 1949.
Nevertheless, Indonesia became a free country and the question about its
national identity and national narrative came to the fore. There was a group
(Darul Islam) that wanted Indonesia to be an Islamic sharia compliant state and
there was another which wanted a more plural republic that lived by the motto
of ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ (Unity in Diversity – miss not the Sanskrit in
there). Islam was by far the majority with over 85% of the population
Muslims but not all shared Darul Islam’s view.
With
the intention to find a common ground, indulging both Darul Islam and the
plurality group, the founding fathers drafted the Panchasila – the five
principles that would define the Indonesia state ideology.
The
very first of the Panchasila principles is : Belief in the One and Only
God. On the face of it, because no religion is named, it does look
inclusive. But effectively it excluded not just atheists but all non-Abrahamic
faiths. Hinduism, Buddhism and other polytheists, animist faiths being
practiced in many islands of Indonesia were deemed ‘not valid religions’. For a
religion to be valid, it needed to be monotheistic (belief in One God), have a
defined set of doctrines, a holy book, uniform praying ritual and international
recognition.
Even
among monotheistic religions ‘of the book’, only Islam and two larger
denominations of Christianity were included, not Judaism. What more,
no one was allowed to not have any religion. One of Islam, Catholicism or Protestantism
had to be chosen. In essence, this was an attempt at State sponsored conversion
of non-Muslims and non-Christians. The policy achieved some success too as many
animist tribes gave in to state pressure and gave up their native faiths.
What a
glaring paradox this was. The Bahasa word used for One God is Maha Esa (महा ईश) that is Mahesh (महेश), a Sanskrit word traditionally used for Shiva! Maha-Esa was
being used to deny Mahesha!
The
Hindus of Indonesia, however, chose to remain steadfast in their allegiance to
Dharma. Being less than 2% of the
population, they had little clout to overtly challenge the discriminatory
policy. They chose not to convert but convince the state that Hinduism
was definitely a valid religion that could be expressed within the framework of
state defined ‘valid religions’. The leaders of the community got together to
explore possibilities of giving an ‘acceptable structure’ to their faith and
preserve it for the coming generations without losing its inherent sahajta (naturalness), prakrit
samanvayta (symbiotic relationship with nature) and bahutvata
(plurality)
Rigorous
discussions, debates, consultations ensued and thus began the process of recasting
Dharma into the mold of Religion.
Role of India
India
too had a role to play in this churning process. Hindu students and
intellectuals from Bali came to India to study and consult Dharma experts in
Shanti Niketan, Banaras Hindu University and International Academy of Indian
culture. Indians scholars also visited Bali for consultations and discussions.
The most prominent figures amongst Indian intellectuals were Shri Narendra Dev
Pandit Shastri and Shri Raghu Vira.
Shri
Shastri found his way to Bali from Lahore after erstwhile British India was
partitioned. He married a Balinese woman and made Bali his eventual karmasthan.
Shri Shastri was pivotal in defining key structures of Indonesian Hinduism
(rituals, doctrines, prayer etc.). His book Dasa Sila Agama Bali,
published in 1951 helped provide ideological/theological framework for
formalization of Agama Hindu as it was eventually named. He
was also the brain behind setting up of Parishada Hindu Dharma – an overarching
organization that works for the cause of Hindus in Indonesia.
Shri
Raghu Vira was the founder of International academy of Indian Culture. He was
in Bali during this time of churn conducting research in cultural History of
Bali. He was instrumental in initiating the knowledge exchange between India
and Bali by arranging for study trips of Balinese students to India.
How was this recast accomplished? Here’s a simplistic summary
Pancha Shraddha
The
first step was to define key principles of “State acceptable Hinduism’.
Just like the 10 commandments of Christianity and five pillars of Islam (arkān
al-Islām), five overarching beliefs for Indonesian Hinduism were stated.
Named Panca Shraddha (पञ्च श्रद्धा), the principles drew heavily from the booklet of Shri Narendra
Dev Shastri – Dasa Sila Agama Bali. For one to be Hindu, she needs to profess
shraddha (faith) in following five concepts
1. Sang Hyan Widhi – One
Almighty God Almighty
2. Atman – Existence
of Atman or spirit in every creature
3. Karmaphala – Every
action has a consequence (karma theory)
4. Punar Bhawa – Reincarnation
or rebirth after death.
5. Moksha – Complete
liberation from the cycle of birth and death consequence of good and detached
conduct when alive.
Essentially, the same
concepts of Dharma that we associate with in India too, except for the first
one possibly.
One Almighty God
Hinduism
has many Gods. Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva being the supreme trinity accompanied by
Goddesses (Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati) the avatars and other deities (Ganesha,
Indra, Surya, Varuna, Bhu-devi etc.). At a deeper spiritual level, Hindu
philosophy also posits the monistic concept of Brahman – the one source of all
that is, was and will be. But Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) is passive, very
different from the Abrahamic God. To get around this issue, a supreme Almighty
God was re-imagined as a unity of Tri-murti of Brahma Vishnu Shiva. This
unifying entity was called Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa or Acintya (अचिन्त्य). Acintya is that which is beyond human imagination,
rather that which transcends human imagination. In this sense, it is actually
not different from Brahman. A thing to note is dual connotation of ‘Sangh
Hyang Widhi’. It could imply ‘Divine ruler of the Universe’ as well as ‘Divine,
Absolute Cosmic Law’. In the former, it satisfies the first Pancasila. In
the latter, it equates to Dharma thus retaining the Sanatan essence
of Hinduism.
The
term Sang Hyang Widhi itself isn’t a new one though. The Shaivite Hindus
had used it from long before, but for Shiva. The term Sang Hyang has been used
as a respectable epithet for religious figures and prophets. Hence, Buddha is
called Sang Hyang Adi Buddha, Adam as Sang Hyang Adam, Noah as Sang Hyang Noah
…and so on.
Standardization of
representation
Hindus
are murti-worshippers – a murti being symbolic (चिन्ह) of the Gods and
deities. Every murti is sanctified with specific characteristics of the
corresponding deity. But Sang Hyang Widhi is Acintya, beyond imagination. How
does one represent that?
Again,
the answer was found in an existing practice of installing Padmasana pillar in
Bali initiated in the 16th century by a Shaivite Javanese Hindu priest Dang
Hyang Nirartha. Nirartha popularized the concept of ‘Achintya and Moksha’ in
Bali. The Padmasana pillars were supposed to represent Shiva Mahesh. The Padmasana
Pillar indicating the seat of Achintya or Sang Hyang Widhi was adopted as
the central Shrine in Indonesian temples. Other Gods were not discarded.
Temples have shrines to other deities too as well as murtis sometimes,
especially of Ganesha, Sarawati, Garuda etc. Just that Padmasana pillar takes
centre-stage. Today, every Hindu House at the least Padmasana pillar,
more often along with shrines for Saraswati, Shiva or Vishnu, one for Pitrus (ancestors)
and sometimes one for family deity as well.
Given
the Hindu penchant for symbols though, Achintya has also been given a form –
that of a naked being surrounded emanating flames indicating pure consciousness
that has transcended the bondage of senses. A Padmasana pillar may be empty or
sometimes have an image of Achintya mounted on the top like in the image below.
Common Book(s) of religion
The
sacred texts for Hindus across the globe are Veda-Upanishas, Bhagvad Gita. The
same were formally established as holy canons for Indonesian Hindus as well,
along with two Javanese works- Sarasamucchya and Sanghyang Kamahanyanikan. The
Ramayana and Mahabharata continue be the most read and regarded historical
works but these are not considered ‘Holy’. Rama, Krishna are revered more as
Heroes than God avatars.
Uniform prayer ritual
On the
lines of Islamic Namaz read five times a day, Hindu scholars defined Puja
Tri-Sandhya to be performed three times a day – at dawn, at noon and at dusk.
The version of the prayer that is taught today to local Hindu children and sung
in household and temples was only adopted in 1991. The initial draft of
Puja Tri Sandhya was prepared by Shri Narendra Dev Shashtri back in the 1950s.
To be
clear, Tri-Sandhya is a new concept. Sandhya Vandana (संध्या वन्दन) has been and is still
being practiced in Hindu households all over since forever, though not always
as often or as regularly as Namaz now-a-days. Though, the mantras chanted and
style of Sandhya Vandana tend vary by sub-community and family tradition. Puja
Tri Sandhya is a more compact rather a toned down version of the original
Sandhya Vandana. The mantras recited are very much from the Vedas.
Today,
the Puja Tri Sandhya is broadcast thrice a day on Bali radio thrice a day –
6am, 12pm and 6pm. Miss not when in Bali. You might hear it in your guest house
in the morning or may be at some shop in the evening or possibly while passing
by a school during noon.
Conclusion
The above is just a summary of the Bhageerathi task undertaken
by Indonesia Hindus to remain Hindus. The efforts bore fruit. In 1963, 18 years
after independence, Hindu Dharma was finally recognized as an official religion
by the Indonesian state. Eventually, Buddhism and Confucianism were also
accepted. What also helped Hinduism to get recognition was the
silent backing by some in the State’s leadership, especially President Sukarna
who was influenced by Hinduism in his formative years growing up as a Muslim,
(probably) due to influence of his Balinese mother.
The
state acceptance of Hinduism gave a revival shot to other communities as well
that were struggling to preserve their native faiths. Many communities chose to
identify with Hinduism as their religion given its inclusive and non-predatory
nature. This movement towards Hinduism has gained ground in recent years
especially among tribal groups in east Java and Kalimantan.
Furthermore,
the entire exercise helped unite different sects and sub sects of Hindus in
Indonesia, a unity that has served them well since. Formation of Parishada
Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI) as the foremost body for Hindus has helped
strengthen the unity further and has given the community some clout in dealing
with the government. Present day Hindus in Indonesia are proud, assertive and
even protective of their faith. Visiting Bali feels like a pilgrimage of sorts
for Hindus who seek so!
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