i feel immeasurably blessed to have spent over a year in one of the most water reverent cultures on earth bali also known as the island of the gods and i had the great honor of visiting many holy water sites and temples springs waterfalls and shrines as well as to study with a balinese water priest and learn more of the esoteric teachings about our liquid source of life that have been passed down from millennia and the balinese lineage of agamatirta the holy water religion where water plays the starring role in every religious activity and spiritual practice and holy ceremony whether a christening cremation the entry into a new home or the start of a new job or the first step on a long journey a new moon full moon half moon holidays even just every single day every daily morning prayer to the bolognese water is the foundation of life and divinity and prosperity and it symbolizes wholeness and the entire unmanifest realm the bolognese revere water for its mysterious power to make things grow and has a medium for spiritual regeneration and for how it facilitates communication between the worlds of humans gods spirits and ancestors and they say tirtha holy water is a doorway into the adoration of god so unless an offering ceremony a person has been purified by holy water it's unable to receive god's blessings and that's why holy water initiates and completes every ceremony and accompanies every prayer [Music] so in this video we're first going to talk about a few of the types of holy water in bali and how they're made and then we'll cover the most common and potent water ritual that's practiced there it's called melukat and how you can do your own water blessings at home so first let's talk about tirtha so the bolognese know that holy water is an agent of the power of god a container of mysterious forces and this power is called taksu and some water contains more of it than others so this power of water is not just a symbol of something abstract it's a secular manifest container of nisgala unmanifest forces and powers and as such water is sacred and holy in and of itself it strengthens and purifies everything it touches now there are a dozen different kinds of holy water according to the lone tar which is the main bolognese holy scripture and essentially holy water is just ordinary water that's been blessed and transformed into a divine state or water that's originated from a holy place like a holy spring the potency of holy water varies depending on how it was made where it was sourced and who made it and the more powerful the mantra is used to make it the more energy it will contain so the highest priest and priestesses carry the highest and most powerful mantras and incantations so for example the holy water that is kept at a family shrine or used for cremation ceremony or at a small temple festival that doesn't have to be blessed with as much potency or taksu as the water that's needed for bigger more sacred rituals sometimes holy water from a specific temple might be used if that temple is devoted to a particular manifestation of a certain deity that one wants to evoke it really just depends on the energy that you need for your particular prayer so often the climax of a ceremony involves container containers of various sources of holy water being mixed together before the priests administer it sprinkling it on the worshippers and on the shrines and then each family at the ceremony can take a container of the blended waters home to their family temple to combine all of those sources all of those spring water sources in their family temple but it's important to know that even the most powerful holy water made magical by the most exalted priest or priestess can lose its power if it's treated casually or disrespectfully likewise normal clean regular water from a family well if it's placed in a nice clean container and treated with reverence can become powerful and effective holy water because water responds on a moment by moment basis to how it's treated and it's always always always reflecting us back to ourselves so regular water can become holy or holy water can become mundane depending on how it's respected so in order for holy water to maintain its sanctity it has to be treated in particular ways so it's really important when preparing holy water to wear ceremonial clothing be freshly bathed and have a pure and uncluttered mind so right from the start when people gather water worshipers will get down in a squatting position almost like a begging gesture which implies asking to be favored with something precious it's even implied in the languaging you don't seek or get holy water instead the verb that they use translates to something like beg or ask to be favored with which implies intrinsic gratitude showing that even linguistically and even posturally you can't be ungrateful for water then the water has to be stored in a squeaky clean or brand new vessel and the container has to be handled with respect it's held or passed down using only the right hand or both hands with the left hand supporting the right and it has to be carried at the highest elevation possible so during some temple ceremonies the holy water is carried on top of women's heads and everyone nearby will squat or sit to be lower than the water at a home or family temple again it must be stored higher than people's heads and it should never be handled excessively or put down on the floor or stepped over as these gestures of disrespect cause the water to lose its toxu power and then whoever defiled it will be considered pramada which makes them vulnerable to negative energies like bad luck or curses now the process of making air or mundane water into tirtha holy water is called maguera and usually at least for the most common types of holy water it's done every single morning a padanda which is a certain level of priest will prepare himself for the ritual by cleansing his body and mind and then get into a trance state where he can communicate with the gods then in this trance he'll take some flowers with his right hand recite certain mantras and then throw the blessed petals into the water now this common type of padanda holy water can be used for purification ceremonies that are called panglu katan pabersihan or for praia's cheetah ceremonies both of which are to make your thoughts steady holy and pure it can also be used for rights like otonan which is a balinese birthday or methata which is truth filing and even at weddings on the other hand holy water that's made by less initiated pamungku priests is only made in temples and is only used for purification they use different mantras and chants than the padanda since pamunku are considered to have less spiritual power or taksu so there are three basic types of holy water that are made by maweda one is to purify the body one is to make your thoughts steady holy and pure and the third will drive away bad thoughts and negative energies now certain rituals only require one other rituals require combination it just depends but the easiest way to make holy water which anyone can do at home without initiation into priesthood or memorization of mantras is just to leave water on a shrine or altar now as long as the container is clean and your thoughts and feelings and intentions are pure it's simple and this is how most folks make their everyday holy water for their own family temples because remember holy water is necessary for every single aspect of spiritual life and the bolognese are constantly making offerings at family shrines and temples and their places of business and every single offering is accompanied by being spritzed with water from a flower so having a fresh supply of holy water at all times is really important in fact every single shrine no matter how small should have some sort of plain water container in it as a symbolic drink for the gods of the shrine as i mentioned there are extensive specific protocols for the use and timing of holy water rituals so just for one example if someone in the village banjar or neighborhood has helped wash a body for burial then he would draw water from the family well throw it on top of the roof of the kitchen and then allow those water droplets to run off the roof onto his body and he'll catch some of it in a rice steamer that water is called pamari sudan chuntaka and there are so many different kinds of holy water and different protocols for tierta just depends on the kind of prayer also water in an unripe coconut can be used as holy water ocean water can be considered holy especially for ceremonies at the sea or rituals involving fishermen and the easiest way to multiply holy water if you only have a little is by putting a bit of it into a larger container of clean water and then the whole container actually has the same powers as the small amount of holy water that was that was put into it and that's particularly useful for really large ceremonies so now let's talk about my favorite water ritual which is malukat mellow hot water ritual is one of the most important aspects of balinese religious life by washing the body in holy water people ask for god's blessing to remove negativity and bad energies from their body-mind souls so that they can be closer to god and feel the divine power now the most sought after milicats are conducted by the island's team of high priests and priestesses of whom it's most famous right now is ira maharaja the high water priestess now ira resi for short often says that milocat is like taking a shower but instead of cleaning the body the ceremony cleanses the soul and you don't need a special reason for doing it she encourages people to come whenever they're feeling low so melaka may be around 45 minutes or so but its effect might last an entire lifetime now it's performed to eliminate the da samala or the ten badnesses which are laziness procrastination dark thoughts spite stubbornness arrogance cruelty dishonesty adultery and greed and melukat can wash these out of us and return us to clear thoughts and senses so that the purity of our mind isn't stained by the dasamala it's also healing and purifying to any kind of disharmony in your life prolonged illness or life problems unhappiness sadness bad luck nightmares black magic it's even good for people who are seeking to find the right partner in life or find the right house because water hears all of our prayers and cleanses any obstacles in our path you just bring your intentions to water and she will uplift them now usually water is done on panama full moon or tilem new moon day or in any of the major holidays which there are so many it may be done to accompany various priestly ceremonies and healings but really you can do milocat any time that you need or want to get just a nice body-mind soul refreshment at melukat sites like water temples and holy springs both the secular the seen physical world and the niskala the unseen supernatural world have a really strong and sacred presence a two of the most sacred of all water sites are springs and the confluence of two rivers together which they call veggie and chump one you could also melokat at the ocean or a priest's house or at a waterfall the location again just depends on the type of prayers being made now often even in the same temple you'll make specific prayers under specific water outlets one might be for abundance another for health another for family etc so for example at the biggest water temple which is tirtha each water spout asks for different prayers in the first seven fountains one prays for the seven chakras then there are different fountains for health wealth family etc and there are certain fountains that are only ever used to bless a newborn baby or to gather water for a funeral right all right so that you can perform your own version of ameluka at home here are just the basics in a melakat ritual there are three important steps to follow the first is to give chanung sorry or to make offerings cha and nang mean beauty and purpose and sorry means essence and these are usually little leaf baskets that are full of carefully placed flower petals and each color has a different meaning and on top you place a lit stick of incense to offer to the goddess of water on your own personal milicat rituals you can include an offering like a song or a dance or a poem water isn't really picky it's just your generosity that counts when you're making your channel second after offerings you bathe under the water now sometimes a priest will instruct a very specific way to bathe depending on the energy of that particular fountain so for example in one spring you might make your offering and then dunk your head three times then dunk your neck three times drink and spit seven times then drink and swallow seven times or in another fountain you might make your offering and then turn around counterclockwise while the stream flows onto your lower back each waterway has its own personality now while you're bathing you internally pray or repeat a mantra or just tune in and feel the energy of the water then third after the mellow cat ritual is over you put on fresh clean clothes and go to the temple to make more offerings and pray if you go to a priest or priestesses house to do the ceremony it's a bit different it's called gria and it's basically the same except there's also a puja and different practices and offerings and they're usually only done on specific days and the priest will make certain prayers related to your birthday in particular regardless following both forms of milocat the priest will put some rice on your forehead and your neck and your heart and sometimes they'll tie a karaoista crown around your head that's made of reeds now there's one final aspect of akama tirta that i really want to mention and invite you to meditate on it's practiced every single day every single day balinese people handcraft their chanung offerings and place them prayerfully in every sacred corner of their homes and land and they always always always place these chananzari on bodies of water every bridge every river every pool even jugs on water dispensers in the kitchen every water receives offerings and prayers every day what have you made an offering to your jug of water today do you think that the water would feel their respect and nourish your body any differently the teachings of a gamma tierta run as deep as water herself and i feel so immeasurably blessed honored and grateful to have lived in this sacred watershed for over a year immersing in the holy waters and the ancient water wisdom practices and teachings that flow so abundantly there and especially in these times when the economy has been so hard hit i really recommend all water lovers to visit bali's sacred shores and support her beautiful people and rich culture now i'll include links in the blog accompanying this video on how to support balinese people non-profits and the economy as well as how to connect with some water priests and priestesses like ida rezzy who also conducts long-distance prayers if you want to do a water prayer with her and i thank you for watching please let me know your thoughts on akamatirta or your personal experiences that you've had with holy water in the comments below what is your favorite way to make holy water if you learned something new please like comment share and subscribe and if you want to learn more about water in general i have some free webinars and some epic e-courses available on my website waterslife.love and you can follow me on instagram at jenna's bell friend i hope you have a really beautiful day and stay hydrated