A spiritual journey down a stony path

The inner power of a strong woman can move mountains.

This can certainly be said of Made Surati, a grandmother of three living in the remote and impoverished Tianyar village in Karangasem regency, East Bali.

Dog stones

Fifteen years ago, Surati would never have thought of opening a stone museum, which she calls Pasraman Agung Gedong Batu, that is now home to thousands of “real” mountain, coastal and river stones.

Entering the modest museum building is almost magical. Numerous stones of various forms, shapes and measurements were scattered all over the place. “It is like visiting a miniature Stonehenge,” commented a visitor.

Surati is not a geologist nor an expert on stones. She is just a housewife who one day began picking up stones. “I have collected these stones one by one for the last fifteen years,” she recalled, adding that she just followed her instincts whenever picking up any of the collected stones.

Her motive behind starting a stone collection stemmed from loneliness and depression.

“I was married at a very young age. My husband’s extended family in Ban [village, Karangasem,] seemed to hate me so much. Marriage for me was not happy, rather a dark nightmare,” Surati recalled.

The new married couple moved to Tianyar, a village on the cusp of Karangasem regency in the East and Buleleng regency in the North, to build a new life to raise their three children.

Living far from her in-laws did not free her from troubles and sadness.

“[My husband’s family] kept torturing my heart. I felt so depressed and confused. I kept questioning Sang Hyang Widhi [the chief Hindu god] what was wrong with my life,” she reminisced.

Deeply confused, Surati decided to take an extreme step. She started fasting and meditating for 42 days. “For 23 days, I did not eat a thing and only drank holy water sprinkled during a prayer, the remaining 19 days, I ate the petals of frangipani flowers,” said Surati

The 55 year old woman also made a spiritual journey Tirta Yatra to all Hindu temples in Bali and other sacred places on the island.

Her fasting and meditating had gave her new courage and sharpened her spirituality and intuition.

“I felt like I was reborn — my mind and heart were clear and pure. I could see and feel the intangible things,” she explained.

Surati’s spirituality lead her to experience vivid dreams, in which she was told to pick up certain stones along the rivers, mountains and seas.

“I first went to Bukit Mangun to follow my intuition and collect some small stones,”she said. Hundreds of stones in the collection are indeed small but many are heavy and bulky.

“At times, I had to ask up 20 persons to carry the bigger stones,” she said.

Statue stones

For years, she collected thousands of stones with different shapes. There are some stones in the museum that resemble the faces of heroes like Patih Gajah Mada, prime minister of the ancient Majapahit Kingdom in East Java. Others are shaped like household and ritual utensils like holy water carriers, while others resembling statues of Hindu gods and goddesses.

The stones are placed around the museum’s yards like an art installation, and some are even said to possess spiritual and magical powers.

“Many people have asked me to sell some of the stones, offering handsome prices. But, we have refused to do so,” added Gede Tantra, Surati’s husband.

The stones, Surati said, may mean nothing to others. “But, the process of collecting them was based on my strong belief in God. That’s what really matters to me.”

The Pasraman Agung Gedong Batu Museum is now a place for those seeking spirituality.

“We invite anybody to come to this place and to share their spiritual experiences to enrich their lives,” Surati said.