Tri Hita Karana and Tourism in Bali (3)
Enliving Balinese Spirit

ri Hita Karana (THK), a concept applied by Balinese Hindu adhe-rents - whether recognized or not – is a main tool in self- control in the hands of Balinese adhering to the Hindu religion. Cruel ways such as anarchism, plundering, mutual killing etc of the same nationality misusing the oneness of religion as a cloak, are strictly countering principles of THK. This concept preconditions a continuous safeguarding of balance and harmony in inter-relations between men and God, among individuals to each others, and between a humane and an ecological environ-ment.
Thus, THK does not merely prohibit each-other killing people — whether it is accomplished by bombing, by spear, ‘celurit’ half-circled knife, or weaponless fist or by other means — but also could prove any action of damaging nature (flora and fauna) as righteous. Especially, if there is anyone who decides to bomb a house of ritual, or misuse a holy version in justifying a deed of damaging or eliminating other human beings, are in total contrast to philosophy of THK.
Devotion and sincerity to God, according to the concept of THK , should be shown by means of loving nature and reciprocal friendship between people. A stranger might not uphold confidence in this concept, but please do not allow him to make a living by damaging Balinese civilization.
Reminiscing Kuta’s Tragedy of 12 October 2002, Balinese people have proper reason to feel a mixture of sorrow and jealousy, and of grace and happiness. Even the hair on our neck seems to stand up for a long time when we think about this. Feelings of sorrow and jealousy fill us when we watched the cruelty of the terrorists, while on the other hand we are happy and gracious because of the absence of exchange of cruelty -against- cruelty. We are more thankful because of the authority’s swiftness of detaining the evil doers inflicted in the bombing tragedy.
If Balinese revenge in cruelty, it would be certain that a total crash and horizontal conflict would come to the fore. Sons of the nation would be easily provoked and plunge in to a contest of crushing each other, while holding banners of religious sacredness, on behalf of sub-national superiority or by misusing solidarity and intelligency. If this event comes true, Bali’s tourism would break totally into pieces.
This dark idea has not come into being. Balinese people did not get enraged, while security authorities soon succeeded in detaining the supposed terrorist plotters. These include not merely defendants of Bali’s bomb but also those inflicted in bombing incidents in Batam, Jakarta, Ambon, Ujungpanjang, The Philippines, and Malaysia. All these brought about a sharpening of a world-wide watch of Bali, while sympathy flowed throughout the globe. Ruling power personalities and entrepreneurs have spontan-eously gone into motion in the country. Time would respond later whether or not they are sincere to assist restoration of Bali’s tourism, merely targeting political gain, or protecting their private/group businesses. Time and reality would respond in the future whether Bali’s tourism restoration will come soon or travel warnings and travel bans.
It has been so far evident that there are nearly no top state officials of the Republic –- such as The President, Deputy President, coordinating ministers and other minsters of the cabinet — who have been liberated out of their mission to dedicate full-time thought over what to do about Bali. Even the Bali Recovery Committee (governmental or private) and ”Bali for the World” have emerged while showing various programs of restoring the tourism pulse in this island. Meanwhile, Bali’s officials have just seemingly been conscious of the injustice and uncleverness of highly praising tourism as reflected in their attitude so far, resulting merely into phraseology on returning back to agriculture. Would it be quite so easy? Behind the curtain of loudly speaking on tourism restoration by tourism restoration committees, almost fully handled by metropolitan persons and phraseology launched by local agricultural officials, Hindu Balinese people living in cities and rural areas with full serenity perform ritual proposals to God for no more bombs to blast Bali.
It has been an extreme contrast when on one side of the coin we see musical concerts and hectic entertainment piercing out of the state’s budget, and on the other side of the coin, (Hindu) Balinese, filled with purely self-help drive, have committed a variety of rituals and prayers, with similar goals in reviving the spirit of Bali and restoring tourism on this island.
Balinese people –- peasants, fishermen, traders, handicraftsmen, private company workers, tourism activists, and their officials – are always confident and believe that the crushing blows suffered by terrorist defendants, have been not merely because of the brilliance and professionalism shown by security officials. A more important element has been signals and a bestowal awarded by God. Has their been any proof of it? Bomb blasts in Jakarta, Ambon, Batam, etc., have almost disappeared from our memory. Nevertheless, following Bali’s Bomb Tragedy all things have come to the surface.
Even the speedy flow of sympathies from throughout the world, has been not merely because of the bomb blast suffered by this important tourist destination. It has not been also just because of many foreigners grounded as bomb victims. The speedy flow of sympathies has been more because of the sincerity of Balinese people in giving aid to victims, and sympathic and civilized ways demonstrated by locals in positioning their attitudes toward the giant case, affecting at last how the world has been given awareness of civilized people upholding civilization.
By Berata Asrama, The Chairman of THK Awards & Accreditations