The Touching Light of Bali

On October 12th 2002, for the first time a bomb was exploded in Kuta, Bali, with hundreds of victims. Sad, grief, touched, and concerned are suitable words expressing the feelings of many souls at that moment. As if commanded by an unknown force, a lot of parties from Indonesia and abroad responded to the incident as indication of sympathy and empathy. Funds, efforts, medicines and news were streaming vastly.

However, there was something even more touching. Kuta citizens those were stricken by the uncertainty of their future, put upon a trial of patience, those whose birthplace and hometown was devastated by the bombing and stained with human blood, surprisingly carried out a touching response.

We have witnessed countless pages in the book of time where anger was counteracted with anger, blood compensated with blood, hatred followed by hatred, and destruction accompanied with nothing than another destruction. Hence, is a moment where human blood responded by calmness, destruction brings friendship instead of animosity, suspicion to other party replaced with empathies to share, not a rare one in humanity? In addition, there was no single place of worship been violated, moreover been destroyed.

It is even more exceptional for, whereas the suspect was Al Qaeda and the incident was happened in a place where majorities are non-Moslems, the particular episode astoundingly established a Hajj Bambang as one of the messengers in conveying Kuta citizens deepest feelings. It was not only that the fact reported in the media, numerous humanity acknowledgements were as well awarded to Hajj Bambang.

Together with Nyoman Bagiana Karang and other Kuta citizens, Hajj Bambang took action immediately. From transporting human remains, carrying the bleeding ones on their back, saving those who might be saved, to calming their publics emotion. As the result, though it has been years since the incident and the court has determined the guilty ones together with their sentence, there is no change in the expression of Kuta. Hatred is not always has to be followed by hatred, destruction does not always has to be accompanied by grudge, human blood does not always has to be compensated by human blood, and Hajj Bambang is still an honored and respected citizen of Kuta.

God in the Heart

For whoever owns sensitivity and lets this event to make a dwelling in his/her heart, this occurrence might open doors of contemplation. Most people are very devoted and deeply in love to God that they greet in Mosque, Church, Monastery, Konco, and Pura. Our Moslem friends do their prayer five times a day, our Christian fellows have countless adoring songs for God, our Buddhist acquaintances even prostrate to Buddha statue, and our Hindu comrades have hundreds and even thousands rituals to worship God in Pura.

The question then is: if the devotion to God in places of worship could be that sincere, is there anyone who conducts similar devotion to the God within ones husband/wife, parents, children, neighbor, superior/inferior, government, other human beings, animals, plants, and other God manifestations?

Many religions agree that God is everywhere. In Buddhist language, all possess Buddha nature. All of us might be proud with the great amount of donation to build a house of worship, the high intensity of praying in ones site of worshipping, still the question whispers: Is human devotion to the God they find on shrine more important than God who is immanent in all beings?

           

Quoting the Dalai Lama’s opinion, God is infinite  compassion. In this understanding then Hajj Bambang, Nyoman Bagiana Karang, together with their associates in Bali restoration, have found God (read: the boundless compassion) and become living proofs that love is the one may perfectly exorcise hatred, blood spilled by war and fight, anger, and grudge. This is the touching Light of Bali.

As a comparison, the September 11th 2001 terrorists attack on the World Trade Center New York has been followed by aggressive act upon Afghanistan and Iraq. How many bullets that have been shot, bombs that have been dropped, military aircrafts that have been let loose, warships and tanks that roamed behind grudge and revenge. However, as has been recorded by history, there is not a single indication that the terrorist will stop spreading death and tragedy, as well as there is no clue that U.S. and its allies are satisfied with their grudge and attacks. In particular, human beings fear on the imminent/latent terrorist attack is not subsided.

Bali is not a superpower country; it is only a small island. Bali is frequently accused of pawning culture for tourism. Nevertheless, both of the 12th October 2002 incident and the second bombing in Bali were monuments of life that Bali has provided a torch about how humanity affairs/ problems/ conflicts should be solved.

Moreover, it has escorted Hajj Bambang, Nyoman Bagiana Karang and their associates before God. Therefore, upon an issue of what name should be given to the monument of Bali bombing, a friend suggested it to be “Torch of Humanity”. The light is simple, whoever fills his/her life with compassion shall gain happiness. Whoever fills his/her life with anger, sadness shall he/she obtains.

Hajj Bambang was not only saved from the bombing, he was even acknowledged with a number of international awards. More than being regarded as a successful leader of the Institution of the Management of Kuta Citizens, Nyoman Bagiana Karang is a member of local legislative. We also know that the terrorists caught were given death penalty by the court, as well as we recognize the troubles of U.S. government and its allies.

From all of these stories, Bali bombing indeed took priceless sacrifices. Isnt it a great waste if such event then merely flies by the time and vanishes? Is there any fellow touched to comprehend that the Bali way of resolution is as well the manner of reconciliation for humanity?.