Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen

His passing made people thoughtful and perplexed, full of questions. People close to him Ielt a great loss, and a series of experts produced a flood of commentary, proclaiming their admira-tion for this literary giant whose work was so full of TAKSU' (devotional power).Ir. Robi Sularto Sastrowardoyo of the Indonesian Architects'Association, was fullof praise: was the last traditionally skilled scholar. A priest who had been able to break the laws of traditional architecture comprehensively - a complete Eastern scholar." So went the words of Robi Sularto who presented an award to Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen in 1982

One of the region's top anthropologists Dr.I Gusti Ngurah Bagus also expressed his admiration: "He reminded me of the Indian thinker from the eighth century Sanskara, who performed religion through science. He is the greatest Balinese scholar as far as I am concerned. A holy man who used his scholastic knowledge for the benefit of the people. "And then there is IBG Agastia, a Balinese literary expert who believes Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen to be Bali's greatest writer of the century. According to Agastia, we can see from the work he left behind that his abilities were unbounded. He was a priest, an architect, a sculptor, a painter, a writer, a yogi, a servant before God, who exercised fasting faithfully and strictly. He was an excellent te4cher, showing keen integrity in his work, and he was both independent and giving. His architectural creations, masks, kulkul, statues, pictures, and in particular his writings (kakawin and Iddung) are in abundance for us to study and enjoy.

On literary context Agastia wrote: "Before the great man's literary works is like facing a mountain or great ocean. The impression we get is of greatness and vastness, As well as experts, laymen are likewise not short of commentary. I Tekek, one of the priest former subjects for over forty years, says that Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen was the 'light of his life.' ExpressiAg his admiration of the master, he added:lda Pedanda Made Sidemen was the second Danghyang Dwijendra. I have never met anybodylike him. Subjective astekek's opinion maybe, it is honest and essentially worshipful. Danghyang Dwijendra is a famous Hindus saint who laid im portant and basic religious doctrine to the Balinese Hindus, as it is inherited now. Born one day before the
Balinese Galungan  festival in 1858, in Intaran traditional village,  Sanur, he was given the name Ida Ketut Aseman.

Based on this, we could be forgiven for thinking he was the fourth child (ketut = fourth or eighth born!).  Nobody knows why, but when his status  was raised to that of a priest,'Ketut'becaine'Made', the name usually given to the second-bom child  (or 6th).  Neither I Tekek, nor the great man's daughter Ida Ayu Pidin, can offer an explanation for this.But then, what's in a name?  For the man him self, his name wasn t such an important issue, as can be seen from his writings, which rarely bore his real name.  He preferred to u@e aliases, such asTan Arsa, Tan Maha, Hina Arsa, Taman Sukeng Hati, all of which meant sing demen (sidemen) ordo not like.

At 27 years of age Ida Ketut Aseman had al ready prepared himself for life as a spiritual man. One day before sunrise (around 3.00am) he went on a journey with a young woman from the village, Ida Ayu Made Rai from Geria Sindhu, whom he would later marry, to a place he had chosen to receive his desired knowledge.  The couple walked for miles along the beach on the eastern coast of Bali, passing village after village, their footsteps  leaving a long trail in the sand.   With two bantal cakes each, their journey was slow but sure. 

Finally,  when the sun was already in the   west (around 4.00pm) they arrived at their destination: Geria Mandara  in Sidemen village, Karangasem.   And it was there that Ida Ketut Aseman sought the teachings of a  priest whom he referred to as his   teacher priest.Entering the housing compound of the priest in Sidemen,  they were warmly welcome by the teacher.  In his work, he wrote   that he was received by his teacher   as the last student of his teacher.
 
There, from the teacher, he got  various spiritual teachings, particu larly those which is connected to the priest teachings.  At this very  place which. is referred as   Mandaragiri, Ida Ketut Aseman  combined his two great talents: architecture which was inherited   from his mother side and the talent of writing from his father's.  In   his 50, he was dedicated to be a   priest to devote himself to God and to the people.  Being a priest, then  he was given a new name: Ida  Pedanda Made Sidemen. 

Sidemen is taken from the name  of  the  village where he got the knowl edge.  And the process of becoming priest is called to have dwiiad (= to be born  twice: first by his parent and second by his nabe the the spiritual teacher, and so he got a new nanle  from his teacher).Once he said to his wife, 1 All 1 want now is to  live a simple life, without owning property, so let's sew within our own selves instead."  This had a deeper meaning.By a simple life Of  course he meant life as an ascetic.  A life unattached to material concerns.  By sewing within himself, he meant filling himself with knowledge and experience so that it might grow, and one day bear fruit for the enjoyment of other human beings.Meaningful words, which were to have not a small  amount of truth.In his work Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen maintained the concepts of gandha sesa and bhasma sesa. 

The former was connected with the world of  writing of Bhagawan Wyasa, whilst the latter was concerned with the architecture of Bhagawan Wiswakanna.  As far as we know Bhagawan Wyasa was a great writer who composed the episodes of  the Mahabharata and has been identified as aprophet of the Hindu people.  Meanwhile Bhagawan Wiswakarma was an architectural figure much admired and highly praised by Hindus everywhere.The enthusiasm shown by Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen in pursuing his scholastic endeavour, was like the incessant ebb and flow of the sea near his  home in Sanur.  Never forgetting to haveSuryasewana-to pray to Surya (God of the sun)  every morning, he would every day read from lontar leaf manuscripts, study them in great detail, meditate upon them, and then wiite, and write.In this way he produced more than 300 manuscripts of his own, encompassing Iddung, kakawin,and gaguritan.  Researchers suspect that his earlier works were produced around 1938, and the later works by about 1948. 

None of them were ascribed to the name Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen,betraying his modesty and humbleness, and his unwillingness to display his ego in this holy craft.Whenever anybody expressed their admiration of  his work directly, he would reply modestly, "It'snot for me to judge".Title produced by the great man include: gaguntan Salampah Laku, kaka win Cayadijaya (or kakawin Gunatama or Cantaka), Kalphas Sangkara, Panglepasan (Patitip), Singhalanggyala, and Candra Bherawa.  His kidung oevre includes: Pisacarana, and Kidung Rangsang.  Meanwhile his great prosaic work was called Purwagaina Sasana (also known as Siwagama or Siwa Budbagama).He also wrote a liturgical document for ceremonial use called Puja Ugra Tattwa.  Researchersbelieve many other works exist that have yet to be discovered.  Difficulties they face in retrieving valuable lontar manuscripts include damage due to age, the use of aliases making identification and authentication difficult, or poor storage which has  led to damage caused by fire and animals.

As well as writings he also produced a number of religious artefacts, including sacred symbols,kulkul, masks, ceremonial equipment, symbolic drawings and so on.  And as a young man he wasboth a farmer and a weaver.  He was also a good friend of the king of Badung Cokorda MantukDirana, with whom he spent a lot of time playing gender, reading, and discussing literature, studying together, and generally sharing the samd in terests.The writings of Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen have already become the @asis of study for experts and researchers.  Admiration and praise comes from all directions, all the time, and so its not surprising that he received honorary awards from the government. 

Former President Soeharto presented him with the nation's Arts Award in Jakarta in 1980 along with 19 other people who operate in the realms of the arts, science, educa tion and sport.  He also received awards from the Director General of The National Hindu and Bud dhist Advisory Board for his religious work, and from the former governor of Bali he received the Dharma Kusuma award. Everbody who knew Ida Pedanda  Made Sidemen will testify to his passion  for work. And it's not simply poetic effect to say that for this great man, not a  day went by without working.

His cer emonial tools, holy places, his home, allhe made himself.  He even made his own  sarcophagus and cremation tower He  was able to choose an auspicious day on which to pass away, drawing on his  knowledge of the Balinese Hindu calendar to pick the right time.He chose September 10th 1984, or Uttarayana as  it appeared in the Hindu calendar, when the sun was in the north, the most appropriate moment to leave the earth and join the Gods.His departure reminds us in a sense  of Bhisma in the Mahabharata story, who was also given the right to choose the  best day to die.  He also chose Uttarayana,  and this is known as a blessing indeed, only reserved for those who  have led a life of servitude before God. Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen is now  no longer with us but his literary works live on.  He is also 'alive' in statuesque  form, thanks to the work of former pupil Ida Bagus Alit Pidada from Geria  Sindhu, Sanur.  The statue resides in the family shrine within a special housing,  and is wrapped in fresh white cloth on adaily basis.  For the family, this statue is  sacred, and always 'alive'.  Every day they present it with offerings,just as they  do their other deified ancestors.