I've been told: GWK Park should have been built in Bali's North
I've been told by a respected Hindu priest that unless the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Park—more accurately the statue of God Wisnu--is taken down or better yet moved to North Bali, the island would never return to its previous peace and harmony. He firmly said: "God Wisnu is the author of the north."
I remember arriving in Bali in the last decade, a period when the island's tourism development was at its peak: international hotel chains started to plant their seeds, including Hyatt, Hilton, Sheraton, Imperial, Nikko, Melia Sol, Le Meridien, Accor and others. A lot of new tourist attractions were introduced also, like whitewater rafting, bungy jumping (there were five operators in 1990's, one survives today), water slides, and horseback riding. Yet one among the spectacular projects to attract much public attention was the mega project named "Garuda Wisnu Kencana", the construction of world's tallest statue of the Hindu God Wisnu astride the mighty Garuda bird.
I was quite surprised that the construction of a Hindu symbol, of which wood and silver versions are sold everywhere from the Sukawati art market to the art shops of Jalan Legian as well as in five-star hotel boutique shops, received such huge resistance from many Hindu people. It's a little like a Christian community who refuses the idea of erecting a statue of a cross while everyone wearing its look-alike as a necklace, earrings or part of their home decoration. It just doesn't make a sense, at all.
I was, as a newcomer to the Balinese community, too innocent to learn and fully understand the unique Balinese culture and belief. People were talking about "GWK going to shake Bali", "Park project breaks the ideology of the Hindu teaching" and these were amongst the headlines of the local newspaper.
I could understand the logic when the Balinese refused to build a hotel nearer and higher than a temple, or a Formula One racing circuit to be built in Negara, West Bali, or a highway that was about to be introduced across the southern coast, or a five-kilometer long bridge that was about to connect it to Java. But to understand a Hindu community refusing a Hindu symbol was just beyond my logical mindset. Unfortunately, even such a resistance is a temporary movement and it proved that the mega project was given a go.
I guess in the 90s the island's tourism development was much more orchestrated by Jakarta's businessmen, especially the close associates of the former President Soeharto. At least the fact that those associates still currently own most five star hotels on the island is proof. The Balinese may refuse, but Jakarta's got the money and political power to justify things.
I saw the project go on. But it has never been that smooth. (It might be because the Hindu gods and the Balinese were never happy with such a religiously disapproved project.) I've often heard people whispering that it's good that the project, already 13 years since its first inception in 1994, has never been fully materialized. They believe that once the project is completed, the island of Bali would be in an even more critical situation.
I wish I knew a lot more about Balinese Hindu philosophy and teachings. But something I do know, through asking people of many educational or religious backgrounds, is that the Hindu people believe that God Wisnu (or Vishnu in the Indian text version), one of the trinity representing the ultimate power responsible for keeping the universal peace and harmony, is the author of the north directions and should be positioned so. I kept listening and they went on to say that the two bomb blasts that destroyed the island as the world's symbol of peace and harmony should have been enough to remind people of the need to consider that any tourism project, no matter how significant its impact on the economy, must respect the Balinese beliefs and philosophy. "They argue that the statue is located in the north of a village and therefore shouldn't be a problem. But the fact is that it is not a village temple belonging only to the villagers. It is a 138 meter tall statue, the symbol of Bali, the symbol of Hinduism, and should be in its proper location," an Udayana University scholar said only last year.
I've been told by a respected Hindu priest that unless the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Park is moved to North Bali, the island would never return to its previous peace and harmony. He firmly said: "God Wisnu is the author of the north, as governmen by Hindu's nine point of directions, so Balinese should never allow themselves or anyone to build his statue in the south."
By Sad Ripu
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