Ashram Gandhi Candi Dasa offers spiritual enlightenment

By Dewi Anggraeni

CANDI DASA, East Bali (JP): Mention Bali to most tourists and they will very likely come up with stories about their stays in Kuta, Sanur, Ubud or Nusa Dua, probably in that order as well.

Another place which is increasingly gaining a reputation for its upmarket tourist industry is Candi Dasa, on the east coast of Bali some 80 kilometers northeast of Denpasar.

Candi Dasa is in the region of Amlapura, where Tenganan, an indigenous Balinese village, is situated. Amlapura is also the cradle of the local royal residence, or the Puri Agung, of Karangasem, with its nearby floating palace.

Those are without doubt big tourist attractions. What is not common knowledge is that people in all corners of the world have known of Candi Dasa since the late 1970s, thanks to a remarkable Balinese woman known as Ibu Gedong Bagoes Oka, also a current member of the People's Consultative Assembly.

In 1976, Ibu Gedong, without fuss or fanfare, founded a Gandhian center now known as Canti Dasa Ashram, or Ashram Gandhi Candi Dasa to the locals.

From outside, especially at a glance, there is nothing special about the Ashram, nestled among shops and tastefully fronted hotels on the main road of Candi Dasa.

The front yard, while well maintained, is pretty ordinary, dotted with frangipanni trees and a decorative basin where a fountain seems to be missing. However, if you are privileged enough to be invited beyond the main house into the inner area, you will not only see, but also feel the unique beauty of the place.

It may have a lot to do with the basic tenets of Gandhian teachings, Ahimsa, or nonviolence, and Swadesi, or self- sufficiency, which the Ashram members profess to hold dear.

While you do not usually expect violence in a hotel or even in a private house, the ambience of the Ashram is inexplicably and overwhelmingly peace-inducing, as if it were a tangible blanket enveloping you. The members do not kill animals for food. But this does not mean their diet is deficient in any way, because they use substitutes such as soya beans, liberally included in the diet to provide protein as well as taste.

And barring a telephone-cum-fax machine, which is discreetly covered with a locally woven cloth, everything the members use are made in situ from local materials.

Several times a day the sounds of puja, or prayers, insinuate themselves into your consciousness, often to settle later in an unassuming way in your subconscious.

In the center grassy area where coconut trees and other smaller plants provide not only shade but also sources of nutrition, a fawn-colored cow grazes quietly, adding a rustic element to the atmosphere.

The cow blends in with the visual and sensual peacefulness. More than half of the whole community, at present 28 members, consist of secondary school students.

While the Ashram opens its house to paying guests, it only accepts those who are introduced or referred by members or Ibu Gedong herself.

And guests are expected to observe strict rules, such as no loud noise, no alcohol, no smoking and people of the opposite sex who are not married are not allowed to share a room.

The food served to guests is vegetarian, but the guests are given conventional crockery and cutlery, unlike members who eat out of bowls made of coconut shells.

Though guests have no obligation to join in the regular prayers and discussions on Gandhian teachings, many indeed come once or twice, out of interest, or maybe mere curiosity.

The length of time the guests may stay is not limited. Some stay only one night while others stay for months. Many of the latter are "volunteers", who pay less than ordinary guests but are expected to share jobs and tasks with members, such as farming, carpentry, general cleaning and maintenance of the place. And if they are native speakers of English, they may be asked to teach members who want to learn the language.

Many long-term guests are writers, artists, social or academic researchers, or people who simply like the type of life provided by the Ashram.

Robin Tatu, a historian from the University of Hawaii, is studying Balinese language and culture, and finds the Ashram not only very conducive to her learning, but also a wonderful home away from home.

Terry Cox, an agricultural scientist-turned-therapeutic masseur from New Zealand, has been going to the Ashram since 1977, not long after it was founded. At the time he was in Jakarta for an international conference and a Dutch doctor friend of his introduced him to Ibu Gedong, and he eventually came to stay in the Ashram.

The experience affected him so much that when he went home to New Zealand he could not stop talking about the Ashram, gradually exasperating his family who were unable to relate to his stories. Terry admits that it was a culture shock, but a culture shock that grabbed, then captured him.

"For me, being in an Asian country was new enough. But the Ashram really blew my mind. Yet I felt completely at home in it," Terry recalled. After that, he came back regularly, even if it was not easy for him. "I had a full-time job and a growing family. However, whenever I had to attend conferences in the region I made a detour to Indonesia and stayed in the Ashram as much as I was able to. But now I come here whenever I want to."

The basic lifestyle might cause those who are used to the convenience afforded by modern gadgets shrink back and think twice before committing themselves. However, this does not mean the Ashram is not attractive to young people.

Ayu, who has been a member for nearly 12 years, likes the spirituality that dominates the routine in the Ashram. She believes that the simplicity of life there also invokes inner peace.

Members have the opportunity to work closely with nature, including working in the fields and making furniture and other items from natural materials. Apart from cooking rice they grow themselves, they also make tomato chutney, pineapple jam and peanut butter, all from ingredients they grow themselves. Some ingredients have to be bought, like the wheat flour for making bread and additional rice when there are more paying guests than usual.

Kadek, who joined in 1996 after completing his degree in tourism and hospitality, found the spiritual aspects of Ashram life provided the calm he had unconsciously sought, so he stayed on. "This is my fourth year, yet it seemed like yesterday when I joined," he mused. Kadek often meditates with the sounds of the waves in the background.

Ibu Gedong still comes frequently to lead discussions about Gandhian thoughts. When she is not in Candi Dasa, the current leader, Pak Kawi, heads the discussions.

Canti Dasa Ashram is without doubt an extraordinary place, where at night, if you listen, you realize that the waves break in different tunes, recede and return in different rhythms of roars, and where occasionally you feel a "presence" in your hut. But if you have decided to have an atavistic experience, would you let a spirit or two stop you?