What is Spiritual Purification at a Holy Water Temple in Bali like?

I received a spiritual purification in a Holy Water Temple in Bali,

and it shifted something inside me

I’ve been journeying to become a more conscious traveller, and to me, this means participating in at least one activity or experience that is led by a local guide. It’s so easy to visit a place, stay at a resort, and not take the time to understand a fraction of what the local experience is like. But I find that this detracts from my meaning of travel, which is to meaningfully engage with a culture different from my own. I don’t want to fly somewhere without having learned foundational phrases to communicate or superimpose my ideas about what I perceive a culture to be. 

I was scanning through Airbnb experiences and found one that truly resonated, it was an experience named “Balinese Purification at a Holy Water Temple with a Local”. I was immediately drawn. Throughout these years, I’ve set out to engage in more authentic healing experiences and try my best to move away from appropriated practices.  Bali is a place where spirituality is a way of life, especially for local Balinese Hindus. Statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are be-speckled around the island, as the island of Bali is ubiquitously known as the “Island of the Gods”. Deity veneration and prayers are carried out daily, a few times a day even. I have had the incredible fortune of visiting Bali twice before, yet this time I wanted to immerse myself more deeply in Balinese culture, and experience healing rituals through their lens. 

The experience offers visitors a chance to cleanse the body from energies that no longer serve me, and experience chakra healing, this process of spiritual purification is named Melukat in Balinese. These past few years have been extremely heavy, and I’ve been seeking to connect more inwards with myself and practice more ways of releasing limiting beliefs and blocks. Without hesitation, I immediately signed up.

The Morning Of 

Our local Balinese guide Tunik Putu Pande, drove all the way from his village of Mas in Ubud to pick my partner up from our hotel in Nusa Dua by car (which is 2 hours away!), just to drive us all the way back to his village. We prepared a spare change of clothes and towels as we knew we would get wet, and jetted off North to Ubud. Tunik explained that Melukat is practised after not-so-ideal circumstances occur in their lives, including sickness, accidents or feelings of mental and emotional unease. Their way of being and beliefs include reducing negative energy in one’s body and soul, which ultimately leads to feeling innate calm and peace. 

We left at 8 am and arrived by 11 am, as not only the distance was far but also traffic in Bali isn’t smooth. Our first stop on this spiritual tour was Sebatu Temple, the place for water purification that Balinese locals frequent. The architectural structure isn’t grand like some other holy temples, but rather it’s a modest temple perched on a river bank with vigorous currents of water flowing through. It’s organised in three layers, the highest pagoda is adorned with altars for praying, offerings and meditation before the water ritual. The middle pagoda holds statues of Hindu deities for visitors to offer their prayers after the water ritual. And the base of the valley lies the flowing water currents where the actual ritual is carried out. Each section hugs the natural elevation of the valley. Because we visited Bali during the rainy season (Dec/Jan), the main entrance to the temple was shut because of minor floods, and instead, we had to take the back route which involved going down a flight of stone stairs. It was particularly strenuous going downhill, please note that it’s not the most accessibility friendly because of all the steps. Since the grounds were quite wet, we ended up walking in our flip-flops instead of trainers.  The slopes can be a bit steep and slippery, so if you’re not the most experienced hiker please be careful! After trekking through the forest path, we finally arrived at the temple after 10 minutes. There’s a locker area where we could safely store our belongings, and a bit of space to change. The facilities are not lavish, but ample enough for their purposes. We are each given a sarong to wrap around our bodies. 

Then we dove into the cleansing process. Our guide, Tunik prepared Balinese offerings for us to offer at the altars. These offerings are known as ‘canang sari’. The offerings are made up of a woven bamboo container and include rice, flowers, sweets, fruits, spices, and herbs such as tobacco. These offerings are given to the Gods and are a gesture of profound appreciation and thankfulness. The offerings are an integral part of Balinese life, as they prepare Canang Sari fresh every day, and this gesture of gratitude is done to nurture the land and protect the Balinese people. Additionally, the offerings are meant to attract the Gods’ presence to the island - a detachment from the idea of praying upwards to the gods, as they recognise the presence of God not only in the temples and altars but in nature as well. 

Stunning, lush and healing

Tunik led us to the first altar prayer area, where we were invited to sit on the ground, in front of an altar.

We each placed our canangs in front of us and lit an incense. The smoke exuded from the incense is believed to awaken the gods, and mark the start of the worship process. He then guided us to first pray to the Sun God through the symbolism of the frangipani. We placed the delicate flower on our second and third fingers, brought our hands together in a prayer pose, and placed our thumbs on our eyebrows, connecting this prayer with our third eye chakra. We then proceeded with the same prayer procedure but using different flowers of various colours. Each flower has a specific placement that signifies the direction of worship and a different  Hindu god for worship. Red represents Brahma (the creator), Yellow represents Shiva (the destroyer), Green and Blue represents Vishnu (the protector), and White represents Iswara (the God of nature). When Tunic mentioned the destroyer the idea seemed daunting, yet he reminded us that actually, the destroyer is an essential part of life and an integral part of the karmic wheel. Along with the offerings, we were able to make our own personalised prayer. It was an incredibly peaceful and relaxing experience, to get a chance to offer our prayers, meditate, and feel grounded in such a sacred space. After we completed this, it was time to head to the water stream. 

I was nervous and excited, but also extremely ready. Water is an integral element of my life (just a side note I’m also writing this in the era of the full moon in Cancer). I’ve been practising spiritual bathing in my own tub for a while now, yet this would be a whole other level. We slowly made our way into the stream, wading through the icy cool water. While Bali is warm all year around, the day we visited was quite rainy which made the temperature drop a few degrees, but also because the Holy Water Temple is situated at the base of the valley, it becomes inevitably cooler. 

There are three main streams, the first one being a medium current, the second one being the strongest, and the third being the mildest. Tunic advised us to take a deep breath, and stay under the current for as long as possible. Seemed easy enough. So I took a deep breath, and put my head under the first stream on the very right. The current was already so strong, and it felt like my face was being rinsed through a washing machine. I stayed strong and counted to eleven at least, and then came out. I felt refreshed but also a bit shaken. And now for the strongest one. For this one, we were allowed to place our backs in the current instead of having to face it. Yet even though our faces would be facing forwards, the streams of water above were still incredibly strong that we had to hold our breath otherwise we would inhale the water. it was more manageable this time around, yet the current sent shivers tingling from the top of my head all the way down to my toes. The third one felt like a little water blessing because the current wasn’t strong at all, and I couldn’t help but smile while putting my head under the milder current. To finish the Melukat ritual, we then waded out of the water, and up to the prayer area situated in the middle layer. The process was the same as in the beginning, and this time around I felt noticeably different.  I’ve never felt so refreshed, awakened and alive. There is something so powerful and poignant about this water cleansing ritual that is completely immersive and intentional. In my own culture prayers and incense offerings are normal, but it never feels fully immersive as coming from Hong Kong we’re so submersed in urban life. 

This process is about surrender and release. I’m a devout believer in having to first let go of the layers that conditioning that we receive that don’t serve us anymore.  As Don Miguel Ruiz echoes in his seminal work The Four Agreements we each have a dream, but we become conditioned by the dreams of our parents, others, of society. It’s not our or their fault, but it’s our responsibility to try our best, and live to our true and fullest expression by leaving behind dreams that aren’t ours and expressing our own dreams. 

When I booked my flight to Bali, I knew in my bones and being that this experience would be a priority. Since our bodies carry so many physiological memories, I’m confident that mine will always carry the feeling of rushing river water over my head and flooding down my spine, of renewal and how it feels to be so fully alive.