A sharing by Alan Ho Chok Chan
Historically, pre-modern Indonesia was a polytheistic country, where Hinduism, Buddhism co-existed peacefully with local paganism : inter-religious marriages was an accepted way of life, the people, the Deities all lived happily under the Banyan trees : Life was idyllic.
The rise of Islam and the people’s embracement of the monotheistic religion probably coincided with the decline of the two august monuments erected to commemorate the two south Asian-based religions.
Stamford Raffles
During the period of Dutch East Indies very little was heard of it until the short British rule between 1811- 1817, when Stamford Raffles, yes, the same gentleman who founded Singapore a few years later, governed Java, By coincidence he heard about lost civilisations reclaimed by the jungles outside Jogja, and ordered the exploration and the clearing of the jungles : the rest, is history.
Prabanan
When we reached the outskirts, we did not see any grand visages : remember this is a flat volcanic plain, and the Prabanan complex is perhaps only 3-4 storeys tall.
But the grounds surrounding it is massive, verdant and well kept. You have to walk about 20 minutes from the car park, through tree-lined paths before you catch a glimpse of the sharp steeple-like Candis, one huge central temple surronded by 5 smaller candis, like slender, graceful fingers of a Javanese dancer pointing at the sky.
You only get an idea of the scale of the buildings as you get nearer. And you see the wanton destruction wreaked by Nature: an earthquake in 2006. Everywhere, the signs of ravages: massive boulders of volcanic rocks strewn over the countryside, half-demolished candis…
The main temple complex, several smaller candis dedicated to the gods Shiva (Destroyer), Vishnu ( Keeper ) and Brahma ( Creator ), are still intact : symmetrical, massive, minimalistic and elegant , as if saying : religion is a matter between you and your god. It’s that simple. And the architecture symbolises this.
You should climb the main candi, enter the sanctum sanctorum, and find the Truth. The Truth according to our forefathers, is an empty antechamber, with a mural of Shiva, staring at the visitor with blind eyes…as if saying : All Life is emptiness, when you accept this, you have attained the Highest Truth.
A lesser truth greeted us when we stepped out of the chamber — a tropical rainstorm, which drove us to take refuge in the Prabanan museum.
As the rain showed no signs of abating, we had to forego the ballet in the evening and settled for an early bedtime in the Phoenix Hotel, a building as elegant as the Raffles in Singapore.
Zzzzzz…….
(This trip was undertaken in 2015)
Dr Alan Ho Chok Chan is a Paediatrician in private Family Practice. He also spends his time golfing, swimming, playing tennis, wine tasting, playing guitar and singing. He is also a bibliophile and a voracious reader.
