Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung

Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung (31 December 1952 – 18 May 2016) was a Hindu high priest in Bali, Indonesia. According to sources, he taught and interpreted Hindu philosophy for a wider audience.^[1][2]

Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung
2016
Born	Ida Bagus Gede Suamem (1952-12-31)31 December 1952 Blahbatuh, Bali, Indonesia
Died	18 May 2016(2016-05-18) (aged 63) Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
Spouse	Ida Pedanda Istri Raka
Website	http://www.idapedandagunung.com

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 appears 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.^[1]

Entering priesthood

Two years before entering priesthood, Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung began 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 went 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 were 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 have a Tangkil (meeting) with the Sulinggih (priest) in Bali.^[1]