La India parce! Varanasi.
Hola a todos!!!!! Well yeah, India it is. And as I had heard from many people, it’s busy, dirty, crowded and loud but so far I like it!!!
I first arrived in Vanarasi (Benares) on the 10th of January. It was a big change coming from the quiet Chitwan to there, but I survived.
This city is holy place for hindus, and it is belived that dying there will release the person from the cycle of reincarnation, so a lot of old and sick people are seeing on the street sitting and waiting for death to take them away. In hinduism the corpses are burned in a pile of wood, and the ashes are thrown in the Ganges river. The shore of the river is full of Ghats (places for praying) and some of them are also for the cremation of people. It is the biggest cremation place in India, and about 350 corpses are burned everyday. It is a very nice ceremony, although a bit shocking for us westeners. The corp wraped in a white sheet, is transported on a bamboo strecher by memebers of the family to the shore of the river and submerge in the holy waters of the Ganga to purify it. Then it is placed on top of the pile and the eldest son of the family, after bathing in the river, dressed in white and with his head shaved, starts the fire with some fire proceeding from the eternal fire, a fire that according to their belives has being burning for the last 9000 years. Then incense and sandal powder are thrown into the fire. The fire starts to grow and to burn the corp and then a man that works there is in charge of keeping the fire going. The burning takes about 3 hours and it’s not at all cheap. Around 350 Kg. of wood are necesary for the whole cremation and every kilo cost around 3 Euros. This is alot of money in India if you have in mind that you eat lunch for 1 Euro! After the body is consumed, the eldest son takes some water from the river and throws it into the ashes, then he breaks the pot he used into the ashes as well. The ceremony is now finished. Crying is not allowed, because they say that the soul won’t rest or go to heaven if someone does. Women are also not allowed in the Ghats. This is a new regulation, after some women jumped into their husband’s fire to die with him and so they would reincarnate at the same time.
Not everyone is cremated. Babies, pregnant women and Saddhus (holy men) are thrown in the river with their bodies tied to a rock. They do this because babies and Saddhus are pure and don’t need to burn their sins.
Another thing that shocked me was the state of the river. I wasn’t expecting a river with clear and blue waters, but the river is really dirty and polluted. You see people being cremated in one place and some other taking a bath or washing clothes just some meters away from there. Also the amount of rubbish that is floating. Even a person that wants to take a holy bath has to clear the place from rubbish before going in.
Anyway, it was a very interesting city, where I could see a little bit of the culture from India. It’s not an easy place to visit but well worth it. See it by yourselves.
Love
SAI
The first picture from india had to be from cow. They are everywhere, they eat everything and they are holy so no one tell them anything.
Offering of flowers called Puja
Saddhus
Tags: Asia, India, Travel, Varanasi
simonuribe@yahoo.com
thank you for sharing your experiences and pictures. I´m looking to go to India and visit and stay in holy places and hoping to learn from humble, pure loving Spiritual Masters. At the moment I´m in Argentinia trying to find economical plane tickets there.
metta
Heather
[…] El cementerio de la recoleta is one of the poshest places to rest in the afterlife, just as Varanasi is one of the holiest on Earth. The size and magnificence of the graves is overwhelming and it looks more like an upperclass neighbourhood than a graveyard […]
Just back from India–you have caught Varansi so well. Pictures great too. Quite the experience for me–not for the faint of heart!