Bali, home to a variety of faiths, is predominantly Hindu. There is a small minority of Christians and Buddhists of Chinese and Balinese origin, as well as a number of Moslems. Balinese Hinduism called Agama Hindu Dharma is a blend of Shivaism and Buddhism originating from classical Java and is the primary religion of the Balinese. Indian philosophy provides the theological framework while indigenous beliefs are at the core of the rituals. Such blending of beliefs is legitimate in Bali where the saying goes as follows, The truth is one, the interpretations multiple.
Indigenous beliefs are clearly seen in the belief in natural elements and of the ancestors. Nature is viewed as "power" itself and each of its elements is thought to be subjected to spirits. These must be taken care of, provided with a shrine, fed with various offerings made from agricultural products and given respect.
The Mother mountain, Gunung Agung is highly sacred to the Balinese and central to their beliefs. It is the abode of the gods and the ancestors and where you return to when you die. As the origin of water and volcanoes, from which the wrath of the gods is issued, the mountain occupies the pole of purity, kaja. The pole of impurity in contrast being the sea, kelod. Balinese Hinduism revolves around this kaja-kelod axis and determines the spatial organization of rituals, architecture and daily life. One sleeps, for example, with one's head in the direction of the mountain.
Religion in Bali varies according to three principles : desa, place, kaka, time and patra, circumstances. Hinduism acknowledges five pillars of faith, respectively belief in the one Supreme God (Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa), belief in the soul as the universal principle of life and consciousness (atma), the belief in the fruition of one's deeds (karma phala), belief in the process of ' birth and death (samsara) and belief in ultimate release(moksa).
One of the consequences of the principles of karma and samsara is the existence of the wangsa system where an individual inherits his status as a result of his or h past life. The four wangsa in Bali are the brahmana, why deal with religion and the holy texts; the satria or ruler the wesia or merchants and the sudras the lower class.
God has a variety of names, being multiple and pervading he is the Ultimate Void or Sunya expanding an infinity of murti of manifestations from which people select one as Istadewata or a personal god. Some of names are indigenous; Sang Hayang Embang or San Hyang Parama Kawi. Ultimately however, all gods are seen as emanating from a single source.
The principle gods are Brahma, the God o Creation; Wisnu, the God of Providence; and Siwa, the God of Dissolution. These three move the world through an unending process of birth, balance an destruction. Man a microcosm of the world is subjected to the same process until he or she achieves moksa blending into the Cosmos and God. The cosmos and i movement is symbolized by the swastika.
Man should endeavour to maintain the harmon of the whole system, hence the role of ritual Only by adhering to the proper rules of behavior can the proper balance be kept between the two sets of godly and demonic forces. Balinese religion is known to the world through the richness of its rituals. Gods and demons see, to be everywhere and the life of the Balinese is therefore replete with rituals.
As the tools for maintaining the balance of the world, they are for everything imaginable, from knowledge, cleansing machines to marriage and birth ceremonies, all of different types and levels. Rituals consist of calling down the gods and the ancestors for visits from their heavenly abode in the country above the mountain. They come down during temple festivals and are entertained with dances and fed with offerings. They can also be called down through the entreaties of a priest.