Bitter experience at Prambanan

Bitter experience at Prambanan

From Bali Post

Earlier this month, we, from The Hindu Center Mahendradatta in
Denpasar, Bali, accompanied a group of overseas students for
doctoral and Ph. D. programs to study and observe Hindu heritage
on the island of Java. One of the program schedules was to visit
the largest Hindu site, i.e. Prambanan Temple in Central Java.

Having completed the observation, as adherents of Hinduism, we
performed our prayers in the temples of Brahma and Wisnu,
applying only incense and flowers available at the Prambanan
complex. The prayers we performed in the two temples went well
and undisturbed.

But when we were about to proceed to the third temple of Siwa
for our last prayers, we were checked by the security guards,
because, as they claimed, we had not reported our visit to the
management of the Prambanan complex. Upon inquiry about what was
wrong with our intention to worship at the Siwa temple, they
unthoughtfully replied that Prambanan Temple was a tourist
object, and not a place of worship for the Hindus, adding that
our activities had disturbed the visiting tourists.

We also inquired about the legal basis for their action, to
which the answer was that "there is no legal basis, it is only a
policy of the management". Unfortunately we had no written record
of what they said.

After giving some arguments, we then performed our worship
without caring too much of the weird rules they explained to us,
and only justified our activities on the basis of freedom of
religion as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution.

Later a couple of Javanese Hindus told us that such
discrimination was also experienced by many Javanese Hindus,
particularly those who live in the Prambanan area. The Hindu
individuals there had to pay Rp 6,000 for the ticket to enter the
complex in order to worship God, and another Rp 5,000 for
parking. They were treated just like ordinary visitors.

Sadly it may sound, it is still a long way to go for Hinduism
to be placed on an equal footing with other recognized religions
in this country, in spite of the fact that Prambanan Temple is
renowned worldwide and thousands of other Hindu temples do exist
in Indonesia.

AA NGRH. ARYA WEDAKARNA

The Hindu Center Mahendradatta

Denpasar, Bali