Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung

Early life and background

Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung was born in Gria Gede Purnawati Kemenuh, Blahbatuh, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. Not surprisingly, Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung often appeares in various media, both electronic and printed media, to give dharma talks (holy sermon) to the Hindu community of Bali and Indonesia as a whole. He gave dharma talks not only in Bali, but also outside of Jakarta, Bali and Kalimantan. He also had travelled on a holy journey to India with Dr. Somvir.

After completing Elementary School (1965) in Blahbatuh and Junior High School (1968) in Gianyar, he then continued his education to the State Teachers Top (1971) in Sukawati. He then worked as a Field Officer for Family Planning Gianyar (1972–1974), then became a primary school teacher in Ubud (1975–1983) and hereinafter moved to SD 7 Saba (1987–1994). In 1992 he was ranked as the ideal teacher and good example for Blahbatuh. On the sidelines of teaching, he continued his education at the Institute of Hindu Dharma (IHD) to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in 1986. He underwent the ceremony into Hindu Priesthood or became a Pedanda in 1994 and from 2002 to the present he has become ranked an extraordinary lecturer at Usada Faculty at Hindu University of Indonesia, called IHD now.

In addition, he is also active in organizations since the late 1960s. First in the field of sports, a volleyball player selected for PON, coached karate, and then joined the religious organizations. First, he is active in the Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI) of Blahbatuh subdistrict, PHDI Gianyar (1989–1994) PHDI Bali (1994–2001) and the PHDI Bali local version (2001–2006)

Entering priesthood

Two years before entering priesthood, Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung begun to reorganize patterns of thought, word and deed in preparation for entering priesthood. One day, about 4 months before the ceremony, he went to visit Sanglah Hospital to see how people were treated there, he wanted to feel the conditions and suffering of those who are sick, he also goes to visit the ER, visit home ward to another until the end in front of the morgue. After that he visited the Hospital Wangaya for the same purpose. He also visited the Super Markets, just to see how the children played and enjoyed their morning meals. There he was followed by security guards, who felt a little awkward because they spotted this bearded, long-haired, headband-wearing man visiting place like that with no apparent purpose. After that he visited another supermarket that just opened. He did not visit any discos or other entertainment places as to visit such a place one must pay in advance. After that he went on a trip to the bird market, listening to the birds chirp and see the different types of pets that are sold there. Besides, he also helped to follow truck drivers who was driving his truck to send sand from Klungkung to other areas of Bali. He did it to know what it feels like to be a truck driver. After he had enough experiences, he began to develop programs to make a Tangkil (meeting) with the Sulinggih (priest) in Bali.