Acintya

Acintya (from Sanskrit: अ च य, "the inconceivable", "the

Acintya, Tunggal
unimaginable"),[1][2] also known as Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa
(Balinese: "The Divine Order") and Sang Hyang Tunggal ("The Sanghyang Widhi Wasa
Divine Oneness"),[1][3][4] is the Supreme God of Indonesian
Hinduism (formally known as Agama Hindu Dharma), especially on
the island of Bali. Acintya is equivalent to the metaphysical concept
of Brahman of Indian Hinduism, and is the Supreme God in
traditional wayang (shadow puppet) theatre.[4] All gods, goddesses
and existence are believed to be the manifestation of the Acintya in
Balinese Hinduism.[1]

Contents
Role
Political aspects
See also
References Depiction of Acintya as radiating
sun god, on the back of an empty
throne, Jimbaran, Bali
Role Affiliation Supreme God
Symbol empty throne
Acintya corresponds to a
rather recent trend towards
monism in Bali, according to which there is one supreme deity, and
that all other gods are only manifestations of him.[5][6] Acintya is
emptiness, and considered as the origin of the Universe, all other
divinities emanating from him.[7]

He is often associated to the sun god,[5] and depicted in human form

with flames around him.[5] His nakedness expresses that "his
consciousness is no longer carried away by his sense-faculties".[3]

Prayers and offerings are not made directly to Acintya, but also to the
other manifestations of the deity.[5] He is often not even represented,
in which case he is only evoked by an empty throne on top of a pillar
(the Padmasana, lit. "lotus throne"), inside Balinese temples.[8]
Empty throne to the Supreme God The introduction of the Padmasana as an altar to the Supreme God,
was the result of a 16th-century Hindu reformation movement, led by
Dang Hyang Nirartha, the priest of the Gelgel King Batu Renggong
(also Waturenggong), at the time when Islam was spreading from the west through Java.[9] Dang Hyang
Nirartha built temples in Bali, and added the Padmasana shrines to the temples he visited.[10]
Political aspects
Since the end of World War II and the Indonesian War of
Independence, the Republic of Indonesia has adopted the political
philosophy of Pancasila (literally, "The five principles"), which
allows for freedom of religion. The statute, however, requires that the
religion in question be monotheistic, i.e., based upon the belief in a
single, omnipotent deity. Under this system, six religions are
recognised: Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism
and later on Confucianism.[11] To comply with regulations, Balinese
Hindus have felt the need to reinforce the monotheistic component of
the faith, thus the more emphasised role of Acintya.[12] To refer to
him, they selected the term Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa (glossed as
"God Almighty"), which although coined in the 1930s by Protestant
missionaries to describe the Christian God, was thought to be well-
adapted to describe the Hindu supreme deity.[11] This is thus the name
which is now more commonly used by modern Balinese.[5]

See also Statuette of Acintya, Bali Museum

Bhagavan
Brahman
Hinduism in Indonesia
Hyang
Ishvara

References
1. Margaret J. Wiener (1995). Visible and Invisible Realms: Power, Magic, and Colonial Conquest
in Bali (https://books.google.com/books?id=5Kpbq-5J1ioC). University of Chicago Press.
pp. 51–55. ISBN 978-0-226-88580-3.
2. Helen M. Creese (2016). Bali in the Early Nineteenth Century: The Ethnographic Accounts of
Pierre Dubois (https://books.google.com/books?id=tQpRDAAAQBAJ). BRILL Academic.
pp. 226–227. ISBN 978-90-04-31583-9.
3. Hobart, Angela (2003). Healing Performances of Bali: Between Darkness and Light (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=iheRgW_T0_MC&pg=PA151). Berghahn Books. p. 151.
ISBN 9781571814814.
4. Hobart, Angela (1987). Dancing Shadows of Bali: Theatre and Myth (https://books.google.com/
books?id=WksOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA48). KPI. p. 48. ISBN 9780710301086.
5. Toh, Irene; Morillot, Juliette; Guthrie-Haer, Debbie (2010). Bali: A Traveller's Companion (http
s://books.google.com/books/about/Bali.html?id=Y4WGcgAACAAJ). Editions Didier Millet.
pp. 45–46. ISBN 9789814260268.
6. Reader, Lesley; Ridout, Lucy (2002). The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok (https://books.goog
le.com/books?id=JlcL6HeY-uAC&pg=PA97). Rough Guides. p. 97. ISBN 9781858289021.
7. Wiener, Margaret J. (1995). Visible and Invisible Realms: Power, Magic, and Colonial
Conquest in Bali (https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1uc1UNXNYC&pg=PA51). University
of Chicago Press. p. 51. ISBN 9780226885827.
8. Bali & Lombok (15 ed.). 1 May 2015. p. 26. ISBN 978-1743213896.
9. Bali & Lombok (15 ed.). 1 May 2015. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-1743213896.
10. Eiseman Jr, Fred B. (1990). Bali, sekala and niskala. Periplus Editions. p. 266. ISBN 0-945971-
03-6.
11. Eiseman Jr, Fred B. (1990). Bali, sekala and niskala. Periplus Editions. pp. 38–39. ISBN 0-
945971-03-6.
12. McDaniel, June (2013), A Modern Hindu Monotheism: Indonesian Hindus as ‘People of the
Book’. The Journal of Hindu Studies, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/jhs/hit030 (https://do
i.org/10.1093%2Fjhs%2Fhit030)

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