Om swastiastu, Om awighnam astung namo sidham!
A lot of people are commenting (negatively as well as positively) over why the government of Bali didn’t cover the statues with clothes during the visit of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.
Also, when he and his group of more than a thousand people arrived at the international Ngurah Rai Airport of Bali, a group of 50 female dancers performed Pendeta dance to welcome them. The costume of Pendeta dance is open/bare at shoulders-arms.
And yet, the fact is, that King Salman has decided to extend his holiday in this Hindu-majority island!
I would like to tell those who gave negative comment on the Balinese government’s stance of not covering our statues during the king’s visit, and on the welcome dance performed by Hindu Bali girls is, that king or princess or queen or anyone, I mean anyone, who comes to this Hindu majority island must respect Bali the way it is with its culture, tradition and the way of life of the people.
When in Bali, respect Hindu culture:
If they can’t respect that, they better don’t visit!
And also, the fact is that one of King Salman’s son has also been to the island some time ago. He enjoyed Bali the way it is, he went to the Temple for purification ritual for himself and he also wore a traditional Balinese outfit….So what have the negative commentators got to say to that?
The point is, why we, the Balinese Hindu, should sacrifice our self-dignity just for the sake of a visit of others?
Why should we sacrifice our own culture just so that someone visits Bali?
Human beings must be able to respect each other as social creatures.If they can’t, they aren’t evolved yet!
P.S.: Just got the latest news from Bali that the king’s group went for shopping in one of the malls in Kuta area and the bought lots of Aroma therapy products and statues at discovery shopping mall.
This post has been written by a Balinese Hindu A.P. and she is reachable for comments and queries: agungparwati@yahoo.com