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Hinduism Today Releases a Special Issue on Balinese Hindus The April/May/June 2012 issue of our flagship magazine focuses on the Hinduism of Bali, where we experience the people and explore the philosophy and temple culture of this unique Hindu outpost. If you ask the Balinese, they will tell you theirs is the real, the ancient and the true form of the faith! They may well be right. Our Delhi correspondent flew to the island and spent two weeks among the Balinese, diving ever deeper into their special expression of Sanatana Dharma and their tightly-knit and proudly Hindu community. To get us started, he relates the history of how Hindus settled on this unlikely island and later uncovers the little-known Lontar palm-leaf manuscripts which reflect Bali's connection with ancient India. An expatriate Australian married to a Balinese shares her keen insider-outsider cultural insights, and there is a rich sampling of the Hindu arts, music, painting and dance which permeate Bali's way of life. Dare we speak about Nyepi, the day of silence, when all of Bali comes to a complete stop? Yes, everyone, even the tourists, enjoy a day without noise. Discover why Bali's cremation rites reflect a cogent understanding of the soul's passage, and learn of Bali's reflective reaction to the 2002 terror attacks which killed hundreds and stunned the world. The amazing way they responded provides a lesson and a model for all communities suffering from tragedy. As if that we not enough, Rajiv bravely throws himself into the controversial practice of animal sacrifice in Bali, offering some not-to-be-expected insights. Understanding Soul Evolution In his Publisher's Desk editorial, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami takes us on a spiritual journey, showing how the soul matures from instinctive to intellectual to spiritual maturity, using the lotus flower as a symbol of our inner growth. Dada Vaswani offers insights on Atma Vidya, the science of the Self, telling a clever story to drive home his po
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