Bali and the daily offerings

The daily offerings to God in Bali are an integral part  of balinese spiritual life and culture. As a visitor to the island I was immediately drawn visually to the arrangements of  flowers, incense, rice on banana leaves that are placed everywhere, in home entrances, on temples, God statues, but also on the beach and in the middle of the street. The offerings are left alone and untouched, therefore to be vanish by natural means.

When I visited Pura Petitenget, a Hindu Temple in Denpasar, I witnessed a ceremony of blessings and offerings. I am not particularly religious myself, but it is hard not to connect on a spiritual way to the act. The time and craft making spent making this blessing is so beautiful and one can't help, but feel a sort of serenity and peace inside.

Here are some of the photos:

As about Hindu beliefs on Bali, I read on streetdirectory.com that the offerings are an act of giving back what has ben given to you by the Gods.

"In reality, Balinese Hinduism is strongly influenced by animism and naturalism, where the power of spirits houses in all objects and elements of life. All elements of nature are manifestations of the supreme spirit, in the same way that sun, moon and stars are all different manifestations of planets.

Good spirits are believed to reside in the mountains, whereas the seas are home to demons and ogres. Then there are the spirits of the deceased. Balinese believe in reincarnation of the spirit, the partition of the spirit from the body is a process that is not an end in itself, but merely a continuation of cycles. All basic principles in Balinese Hinduism revolve around obtaining balance and harmony between the different elements in life and afterlife, the dasar asasi. The key to balance in life is obtained through a harmonious relationship between the spirits other human beings, and the nature that surrounds us"