The Experience
Cokorda Rai is sitting in his Balinese temple compound's outdoor 'clinic' chopping up an intriguing mix of roots and herbs.
His patient, a man from Jakarta who is lying quietly beside him on a straw mat, has endured a painful diagnosis involving points in his head, neck, face and feet being pressed by one of Bali's most revered traditional healers (either by hand or a small, pointy wooden stick).
It would only be fair to point out that occasionally, yes, this man did howl from the pain (I can certainly sympathise because I experienced a share of that during my own consultation).
Cokorda's diagnosis: disharmony in Mr Jakarta's blood and various problems with the major organs.
The fresh concoction Cokorda Rai is creating will hopefully get to the heart of Jakarta’s problem. But in a flash, something strange is happening. Cokorda is putting the mixture into his own mouth, not the patient's, chewing deliberately, and being deep in thought.
Then, before I can quite manage to ask him what is going on, why this unexpected turn, Cokorda has got the patient sitting up and has shot out the remedy, skilfully, through his teeth, onto various parts of the man's face.
It's all part of a day's work for Cokorda Rai, who at “80 years and six months” looks not a day over 60 and is hugely popular among Indonesians and westerners alike.
Whether this has to do with his good grasp of English, his playful irreverence, gentle nature, capacity to heal or close proxity to Ubud – a meeting place for spiritual folk – remains a mystery.
What is clear is that he refuses to take any credit for what transpires during his healing sessions.
Being A Channel
“I'm not a balian,” he says almost immediately after we first meet. A balian, or dukun, is a traditional Balinese healer. “I'm stupid, dark and forgetful but Nature gives us a way to turn darkness into light and to turn forgetfulness into remembering. I'm stupid, but plants are very, very clever.”
Or later: “I'm just a bridge between that (pointing to the heavens) and people to help them heal, not add to the confusion.”
Cokorda's life philosphy is this: that we have only one life, and it is our duty and birthright to have a good crack at it by creating harmony between our material existence and minds. Only then, he explains, can the spiritual well of “bliss, ecstasy and excitement” within us awaken.
And how does one do this? By learning to controlling the “mind, food, sleep and power” and by doing so, “to make soft the world”.
The popularity of balians such as Cokorda has peaked, largely due to the bestselling book – and more recently movie – “Eat Pray Love.”
But visits to traditional Balinese healers are simply a way of life for locals on this lush tropical island.
In fact, some statistics show that there are about 8000 balians practising in Bali – about four times the number of doctors.
A Balinese scholar and academic called I Made Surya who spends half of the year living in the United States, has been researching the subject for about 15 years. During this time, he has met about 70 balians.
His fascination began early, as a boy.
Plants For Healing
“My uncle was a well-known healer in South Bali and had many collections of sacred palm leaf books, or lontars, which are engraved with burnt candlenut and herb ink,” he recalls.
“The information that was stored in these lontars were not only about healing, but mythology, folk stories, architecture, religious matters and customary law.
Not only that, the balian pharmacopoeia was written in such a way that the plants speak to you. For example, 'my name is frangipani, you can use me for this and that'. I understood then that they have this spirit and power that we humans are allowed to share.”
Surya is keen to emphasise that the methods of balian usadas (who specialise in medicine rather than those who channel the spirits of dead relatives or others who are said to physically manifest healing objects) come from a strong foundation of learning.
This is because while under the “apprenticeship” of a learned balian, they are required to complete a rigorous study program of anatomy, biology, diagnosis, herbal remedies and psychology.
They are also trained in the cultural and religious aspects of Balinese life, a harmonious combination of Buddhism, Hinduism and animism.
There are numerous protocols when visiting a balian – and also some surprises in store if you're not prepared.
“If you visit a balian, they can use a number of tools from manipulation through massage, meridien points, magical drawings and incantations through to mantras, mudras or medicines,” explains Surya.
“They are all a form of 'dancing', where the healer moves the energy of the universe in order to help the person.”
What Is Illness?
Illness, according to the Balinese tradition, stems from an imbalance between the individual, external environment and divine nature.
This explains why each session will focus as much on a person's mental and emotional states, as well as the physical. The ultimate success of a treatment, however, depends as much on an individual's willingness to heal as the balian's level of skill.
I get just a small taste of the extensive breadth of balian knowledge during the interview with Surya, which leaps fluidly from one fascinating thread to another.
The conversation touches on subjects such as the restorative compounds of plants, the Balinese belief in the spirit world and the existence of Right and Left Knowledge – loosely interpreted as white and black magic.
“The spirituality we practice is uniquely Balinese. It's a journey of understanding oneself,” Surya says.
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