SACRED CAVES OF BALI
PART I
Throughout the centuries caves on Bali have been used by yogis, hermits, shamans, sages, priests, and royalty to meditate, pray and to be spiritually reborn. Ketut Sunarta says that he meditates everyday for one hour inside of Goa Maya. “You stay there for one hour, sealed in the darkness, listening to your own breath and the spirits begin to speak to you.” There are many caves on Bali. In this two part article we will explore Goa Maya in Bayad, Goa Lawah in Kusamba, Goa Gajah in Bedulu, Goa Giri Putri on Nusa Penida, and Silyuti in Padangbai.
Ketut is the general manager of Bali Eco Adventure and Resort. Goa Maya is located on the land that the resort, Bayad community and the surrounding rice farmers cooperatively steward. The cave, near the Petanu River 15km north of Ubud, is at the center of a serpentine matrix of tunnels originally dug as irrigation canals. Three years ago, Peter Studer the Swiss proprietor of Bali Eco Adventure and Resort, rediscovered Goa Maya when he and Ketut arrived at a crevice shaped opening in the mountain. Peter asked Ketut, who grew up in a nearby village, if this was the opening to the ‘dangerous’ cave he had been hearing about. The cave had a reputation for being dangerous because it and the network of irrigation tunnels served as hide outs for the Balinese during the Dutch, Japanese and Communist occupations.
Ketut warned Peter not to go into the cave at which point Peter promptly slipped through the crevice and into the mountain. Peter crawled on his hands and knees, along with spiders, snakes and squeaking bats until he came into the perfectly round room that is Goa Maya. He called for Ketut to follow. Reluctantly, Ketut crawled in. “I was afraid, but I went inside. The moment I arrived at Goa Maya I began to remember the stories my grandparents told me about the history of the cave.”
In the 11th century the kingdom of Bedulu was ruled by an evil king, Maya Denawa. His subjects grew weary of oppression and called up Indra-the lord of heaven and of goodness-and Siwa-the godhead and the god of immortality-to help overthrow Maya Denawa. Their prayers were answered, the king was killed and his blood flowed into the Petanu River. No one wants to drink bloody water and the people needed to find a fresh water source for ingestion and irrigation. A spring was discovered flowing from a mountain into the river.
Ida Pedanda Griya Sakh Manawatla, a priest, was walking along the Petanu River when the men were digging irrigation tunnels. Ida instantly experienced a profound power from the mountain and commanded the diggers to dig into the center of the mountain. It was here that the men carved a sacred space that the priest named Goa Maya: The Hidden Cave.
Today the original crevice is still the entry point. It is very narrow, yet opens up into a tunnel. Bali Eco Adventure Resort and the community of Bayad expanded the tunnels to allow for ease in walking the 1000 meter serpentine path into Goa Maya. Flashlights are provided, as the tunnels are pitch black. A few bats hang out, yet there is a noticeable absence of spiders and snakes. Daily, locals feed the spirits of the tunnels and the Hidden Cave with offerings. Full moon ceremonies are celebrated in this sacred chamber that comfortably sits ten people.
The moment I entered Goa Maya I felt my heart open. As I circled around the temple to look at the sandstone statues of Siwa, Indra and Maya Denawa (all carved by Ketut) I began to comprehend my heart opening: The presence of Maya Denawa, the evil king. The Balinese honor the light with the dark. Evil, or those rejected parts of us that have separated from the light of our Being simply exists. The dark is not separate; rather the light is contained within the dark. This is one reason why for centuries caves have been revered as sacred spaces in many cultures. Encased in complete darkness, embraced by the earth a yogi is able to safely face hidden fears to be reborn into en-lightened Awareness. When fears fall away the heart opens and our ‘little light inside’ shines forth.
Goa Lawah or ‘Bat Cave’ is revered by the Balinese as a temple that personifies the transformative power of a cave. The Balinese believe Goa Lawah is a vehicle to transport a deceased family member’s soul into deification. The cave, located near the beach south of Padangbai, was discovered by a wandering Javanese sage, Mpu Kuturan. He is also credited with developing the temple complex around the cave. The cave is the home of thousands of tiny fruit bats. In many cultures the bat is recognized as a symbol of death into rebirth. Bats indicate it is time to face fears and to die to what no longer serves us and be reborn into a new identity.
In the United States I visited a 2km long cave that was all about bats. The National Park department stewards their cave home, closing the cave during mating season and only allowing a few visitors inside of the cave the remaining time. They want to ensure the survival of this particular species of bat and preserve the natural growth of the cave. From that cave I surmised that bats need to live in an enclosed, dark place. Goa Lawah deleted this summation.
Goa Lawah is a shallow cave, with the bats clinging to the rock that forms the open face of the cave. A fence stands in front of it and visitors are allowed to view the bats as if they are in a zoo. It is forbidden to actually enter into the cave, thus ensuring the preservation and sacred, natural interdependent relationship of the cave with the bats. The entire cave face is plastered with bats happily hanging upside down. Some bats are sleeping, others are rapturously copulating and many seem to be chatting about the coming night’s hunt. The ancient Balinese Lontar (scripture) Babad Dalem states that Goa Lawah is a potent place for purification and spiritual awakening because of its location with the mountains, the sea…and of course the spiritual guidance of the bats. Goa Lawah invites us to contemplate the awareness of the cycle of death and rebirth in our own lives.
Goa Gaja is an animal of a different size. This cave near Ubud in the village of Bedulu is known as Elephant Cave, although it looks nothing like an elephant. The origins of its name are not known. In the rock that is the face of the cave is carved a delightfully looking demonic face. Its large eyes are looking west, to the demon’s right. Underneath the ‘cheek’ are five thick fingers. Goa Gaja is an ancient site and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995. The statue of the primordial earth mother of Tibet, known in Mahayana Buddhism as Harati Ajima resides near the cave to ensure abundance and protection. This and other relics date back to the 8th century. Records also show that Goa Gaja was used by a Buddhist hermit in the 900’s. I ascertain its elephant nature derives from the shape of the cave: We enter through a short, tunnel…the trunk of the elephant. The trunk opens up into a small rectangular room-the body of the elephant.
Although Goa Gaja is now a popular attraction for busses to deposit tourists, this ancient site retains a profound, sacred power. The cave contains a shrine with Ganesha, three black Siwa lingams and a middle shrine whose details have eroded back into the stone from which it is carved. Six rectangle shaped meditation chambers line the cave. I lift myself up into one of the chambers and notice that the edge is smooth and round, indicating a number of people have lifted themselves up to sit in this meditation chamber throughout the years.
I drop into meditation as tourists continue to travel through the body of the elephant. The average length of stay: Enough time to see…smile…snap! When the cave is empty of travelers I observe its natural allowing nature. This sacred chamber seemingly refuses to retain the energetic imprints of the tourists and myself. Its presence is truly open and accommodating to all that arrive.
Walking beyond the bathing pool, the waterfalls and the Balinese temple the trail arrives at a second cave. The mouth of this cave is wide with a narrow tunnel leading into the mountain. The tunnel is too narrow for a human body to pass. In the front of the cave sits a natural shaped Siwa lingam (divine masculine) stone set into a yoni (divine feminine) composed of a circle of rocks. In front of this sits a barely recognizable statue of an ancient yogi.
Few tourists stop at this cave and I take the opportunity to retreat as far back into the tunnel as possible to meditate. The energy joyfully dances around me, rushing in from the back of the tunnel. Although the space is tightly closed, a feeling of spaciousness surrounds me. I feel a presence next to me and open my eyes to see only the statue and cave opening. The photographs taken from this vantage point are populated with pure white orbs. Many people say these orbs are the presence of the spirits of the cave.
The sacred caves of Bali invite us into the spirit of adventure and to explore our awareness of the Spirit in matter.
Om Swastyastu
To experience Goa Maya contact: Bali Eco Adventure and Resort: www.baliecoadventure.com
To contact the writer: tarakhadro@yahoo.com
SACRED CAVES OF BALI Part 2:
For centuries caves have held a long tradition for meditation, ceremony and transformation on Bali. The Balinese feel that caves are a womb for spiritual rebirth. The moist darkness nurtures us to relax into the safety of the light of our own Inner Truth. The ancient yogis, hermits, priests, sages, shamans and visionaries of many cultures felt this connection to Mother Earth. They retreated into caves to die to their fears and be reborn into their radiant True Nature.
I was given a twenty-four hour shore leave upon arrival at the ferry terminal in Padangbai where the ferry leaves twice daily for Nusa Penida. Nusa Penida, an island east of Bali is the residence of Goa Giri Putri, a sacred cave temple to which people all over Indonesia make pilgrimage. On this Saturday, the waves were too treacherous to travel. The ferry would leave the next day at 1:00p.m. The following morning I spontaneously happen upon the conclusion of a ceremony taking place in a cave overlooking the sea.
As I walk down the steps toward the cliff in which the cave is located, a man stops to speak to me in perfect English. Agung has spent years working on cruise ships. He tells me that his meditation group visits the cave every Sunday to sing bhajans, (devotional songs to the divine) pray, perform ceremony and meditate. The altar is alive with gold and white cloths, water vessels, flowers, incense and offerings. I ask Agung who the central statue, an elderly man with a long white beard, represents.
‘He is guru.” Agung simply stated.
A week later after talking with Ubud yogi guru Ketut Arsana I learn that this statue is simply ‘guru’. He may or may not be an embodied being. Agung also refers to this sage statue as the man who brought the Hindu religion to Bali, Sri Makadewa.
I ask Agung why his group comes to this cave: “A cave…the entrance is small, like going through the birth tunnel. In a cave we can more easily enter into our inner temple, the heart. We ask for protection from the cave. The older generations used to regularly meditate in this cave. At that time there were no statues. The name of this temple is Silayukti.”
Ketut Sunarta, the general manager of Bali Eco Adventure and Resort, meditates daily for one hour in Goa Maya. Goa Maya is located on this resort land near the Petanu River in the village of Bayad. We visited Goa Maya in the previous article. Ketut told me that “Many foreigners have come to this cave. Yes, there is power here. Sometimes, when people enter the cave they cry.” One friend told me that when she exited Goa Maya, her prayer beads broke. I returned to Goa Maya for a second visit to sit on the cave floor and meditate in this pitch black space. Indeed, the cave’s energy prompted my body to move from side to side. This movement released energy blocks within my body and I felt the unwanted energy flow into the earth.
I attribute the transformational healing energy of a cave to two main factors: The Devas, or nature spirits of the cave and the presence of negatively charged electrons in the earth and their scientifically proved effects on our nervous system.
The earth is mobilized with free anti-oxidant electrons that neutralize the over balance of positive electrons that our bodies are inundated with on a daily basis. The earth’s electrons bring the body into a homeostasis, decreasing inflammatory problems and slowing down the aging process. The rubber soles of our shoes prevent these electrons from entering our bodies. The moment our skin-bare feet or our bum covered with thin cotton cloth- touches the earth our body is flooded with these negatively charged electrons. As a result our mind begins to slow down. Our heart rate decreases. We begin to feel ourselves residing within our skin. We become aware that we are not separate from the earth. We enter into the infinite place of here…the eternal time of now.
The Devas of the caves make themselves known in various ways. At one point during a meditation in Goa Giri Putri my eyes spontaneously open. It feels as if a human is standing next to me, yet there is no one. I had the same experience in the yogi cave at Goa Gaja. When I view the photos taken at both sites they contain many pure white orbs. Many people say these orbs are the spirits of the cave. If so, their presence indicates that the stewards of the caves feel them, respect them and nourish them.
Mangku Ketut Darma grew up in a Brahmin family in Karangsari, the village on Nusa Penida at which Goa Giri Putri-‘Mountain Lady Cave’ is located. A lone rooster fell into the hole that is the cave entrance and that is how the villagers discovered the cavern. Gde, as he is known on the island, was enjoying a successful career in the hospitality industry when a strange Indian man came up to him in the Bangkok airport to tell him to stop his work: ‘It is time for you to return to the hole.” At first Gde did not know what he meant. Then he realized the man was referring to the cave in his home village. Gde dismissed the man and boarded his plane back to Bali. After a strange Filipino woman told him he was to stop his work to become a priest, Gde surrendered to ‘God’s plan for me’ and returned to Nusa Penida to become a priest in service to the ‘hole’ in the mountain.
In 2001 as Gde was making the transition from the hospitality industry to full time priest he began to implement plans to transform the cave into a Balinese temple. He trained 14 priests to become stewards of the cave, built a limestone staircase leading up the mountain to the cave entrance and began to determine the deity statues that would take up residence within the Mountain Lady.
The entrance is indeed a small hole yet comfortably large enough for a human body to pass. Dressed in a sarong, carrying a bag of offerings I pay the 1500IDR donation and follow a priest with a flashlight down the hole. The priest is dressed in white and I feel like Alice following the White Rabbit. We crawl on our hands and knees for a few meters before the cave opens up into what feels like deep outer space. Perhaps a couple of jet airplanes can comfortably park in this cavernous hall. With the curiosity of Alice, I eagerly step barefoot into the darkness, a mystery waiting to unfold.
As we approach the Ganesha statue I begin to recognize that this cave is a personality unto itself. I am drawn to discover the many natural alcoves, tunnels, shelves and rock formations that the Mountain Lady has birthed. The caretakers also recognize this and wrap a black and white checkered cloth around an innately formed yoni-lingam. The lingam is a thick straight rock rising out of an opulent round flat stone. Again, I experience a heart opening as I did in Goa Maya. The lingam, as a representation of the descending divine Masculine, Heaven force merges with the rising divine Feminine, Earth force within our hearts.
I met Joseph from Melbourne at the warung across from the Bali Bird Sanctuary in the village of Ped. I asked him about his experience in Goa Giri Putri. Joseph is a highly energetic adventurous man. “You can drive several trucks through that cave!” He then paused for several seconds, took a breath and said: “I also got that I am to relax more with my life.” Caves have a natural tranquilizing effect due to the darkness, silence, and warmth.
Goa Giri Putri is hot and high in humidity. Eye glasses fog up immediately and sweat slides down the body throughout the 310 meter journey. The ceilings are 15 meters high and are continually releasing water onto the cave floor. At one point the priest guide shines his flashlight on a green plant growing out of the cave floor. I stop at a ladder leading up to a shelf. I gingerly step onto the first rung, several feet above the floor, and immediately find myself on the ground. My ribs are still bruised from not checking to notice that the ladder is basically made out of mold. Small bats secured on the dome of the cave sweetly serenade us as we continue to mindfully meander through this sacred earth temple.
We arrive at a glorious golden dragon staircase. In front of the staircase is arena style seating facing two very large alters. There are many minor temples erected within the cave, and this one feels like the main temple. The staircase leads up into a shelf with a hidden pool fed by a spring. The Balinese feel this water is very special and make pilgrimages here to obtain it for special ceremonies.
Parwati, the earth goddess greets us in the room at the top of the staircase. Her alter sits next to the sacred spring fed pool. Although the physical space is small, the area feels vast. The pool provides a sense of flow, opening and immediate relaxation. We follow a small tunnel and descend into a cloistered room where a statue of Visnhu, the god of waters and the preserver of life, resides. This room is a natural meditation chamber. Comfy mats are provided on the floor for this purpose.
A large empty space greets us as we leave the dragon staircase and the dim light bulbs flicker signaling our approach to the large, naturally lighted exit room. The cave exit is as large as two trucks and the exit room is flooded with natural lighting. The space mirrors the size of the cave mouth and contains an electrically charged temple room with Dewi Kwan Eem. The three statues of Dewi Kwan Eem feel alive surrounded by an abundance of flowers, candles, and offerings. The entire room radiates affluence.
You might know this goddess of compassion by her Chinese name, Kuan Yin. Gde told me that he initially placed a statue to the supreme Mother, Dewi in the exit room. “I began to notice that many of the pilgrims who entered into trance began to speak in Chinese. That is when I decided to make a temple to Dewi Kwan Eem. Dewi Kwan Eem is a simple goddess. All people, regardless of religion can pray to her and receive her blessings to relieve sufferings and to help their family. She is like a Nature goddess.”
This room does not invite meditation, rather celebration. It is a perfect ending to this two hour pilgrimage through the womb of the Mountain Lady. The Balinese feel that a cave allows us to be spiritually reborn. We are held in the darkness as we commune with the cave and emerge reborn into the light of day. We feel refreshed, renewed and revitalized. We re-enter the world with new eyes as a new born. The monkeys playing on the tin roof to Dewi Kuan Eem’s temple jump down to greet me as I exit onto the trail that leads through the verdant ravine back to my motorbike.
These crazy creatures are chattering to me as if they are saying: “Welcome to the world! We have been waiting for you.”
Om Swastyastu
