We went in a rowboat with our guide Sunjay and made our way down the river to the 5 sacred spots, 2 of which were cremation spots. Holy smokes- this is a very accurate saying for what is going on down at the river. Right after you die if you are lucky enough to be burned at the Ganges you will receive salvation. We went by two ghats where they were burning bodies. The one that is overseeing the one being cremated usually shaves their head in respect and is there with others overseeing the body being destroyed and freeing the spirit. The ashes are then thrown into the Ganges. There were 4 bodies burning at one spot and you could see the body wrapped in what looked like cheese cloth. Everyone is cremated but there are some that cannot - pregnant women, those with leprosy or other illnesses- those bodies are tied to a rock and dropped to the bottom of the Ganges. Another reason I would not be swimming there!
The light was just glowing and see how the city had the name of City of Lights. It does feel mystical down at the water with the first light of morning and fires burning and people washing themselves in the river and purifying themselves- it is also a place to wash away your sins. There are big boats filled with monks and nuns and pilgrims that have come from all over. Infront of the cremation ghat the huge group of monks began chanting and the whole thing was eery but fascinating. We went further down the river where the locals come and there were people bathing and swimming in the river and washing clothes. I can't imagine more dirty water to wash your clothes in, although there were no cattle in the water. Our guide explained that it was all clean because the bodies diseases and parts have been burned and are clean and the wood acts like charcoal and a purifier and the bones are phosphors and for some reason that was good for the water too. But, regardless of it all and how I feel about it, it is a sacred place and you could sense this and it was fascinating to see so many people offering prayers and performing rituals and releasing their loved ones to the holy river of Shiva, Ganges.
Sam and I both took our floral offering and lit the candle and sent down the river. I used this as an opportunity to give thanks to our Heavenly Father. It was beautiful to see the lights floating as people let their offerings float in the water.
After we left the boat and were walking up to the ghat where we stopped a ghatia- priest of that ghat walked up and put a red dot on my head, which shows devotion. Yes, I have devotion for God and accepted the dot. We walked around this local area and saw everyone from barbers to people doing laundry and men bathing. It was part of daily routines for locals and it was interesting. We walked up the steep steps to the city and walked around. We made our way to our car where we went and visited a couple of temples include the monkey temple. There it is where they have the oldest temple in Varanasi and a depiction of the monkey incarnation of Visnu I believe it is. It is made from cow dung and is 400 years old. It is covered in marigolds and silver and so you couldn't see what now must be almost petrified dung. Pilgrims come here. Monkeys were everywhere. We also visited one of the largest and most prestigious universities that specializes in medicine and as we drove through the campus we ended at the largest Hindu temple in Varanasi. It is only about 15 years old I believe and we went inside to the inner sanctum where there was a priest giving blessings and people were sitting on the floor meditating. The Om, which looks like a a swirly 3, people were chanting, which was pretty awesome. It sounded like the earth moaning when the men there uttered it. It is considered a sacred word.
We went back to our hotel for breakfast for an hour and then went back out to see some other temples and come to find out right next to the Buddhist Stupa that holds a chest bone of Buddha and marks where Buddha during his life gave his first sermon to the people. We went to another temple where they also had a small zoo and bird park. Yes, Sam was so psyched! We checked out the bird for about 30 mins before making our way over to the stupa. There they also had a Jain Temple. Jain is a faith, another breakoff from Hinduism. This faith is actually older than Buddhism and involved 24 prophets and their teachings and those that follow Janeism. They have a written book and their spiritual leaders and gurus have turned away everything including clothes! They pluck one by one every hair off their head every 3 months and have shed their clothes as part of living purely. It definitely felt cult like and their temple had depictions of the 24 prophets including the last one that was during the time of Buddha and they are all sitting crosslegged naked. Today there are around 40 of these holy men that are like the hermits that we had heard of - holy men that study spirituality in the wilderness. They pilgrimage regularly to all the Jane temples and all just came by 4 days ago. I am not going to lie, wish I had seen 40 naked gurus parking into the temple. That would have topped all the wild things I have seen on this trip!
We also visited a Tibetan Monastery as well. Ganges is also sacred to the Tibetan Buddhists and so they come from Tibet to live here. His Holiness the Dali Lama comes to this temple once a year.
We made a stop at the silk weaving shop. Varanasi is known for their silk creations and patterns. We have been to several silk weaving shops but this was different. They had an elaborate loom that was part of a device that read punch cards- almost like a player piano, which shifts the stings in the loom to create a unique pattern. Before the punch cards, it was done by memory of the artist weaver. There are not many that can weave freestyle and creative a non repetitive pattern. Here at this shop they still have some of the old people that do that. 3 people will work together adjusting the strings like what the card does now and they create a solely unique piece of art work. I purchased a small wall hanging since it was so impressive and the process was so elaborate. They said that something that size takes 25 days for 3 weavers to make. It was so unique, was happy to purchase it.
We had lunch by the pool and enjoyed cooling off. We didn't go for the full Indian food since we feel we need to be with our guide to know what to order and get it right and not waste. I am not really a big fan of Indian food and I know we will be eating a lot of it over the next few weeks and want to make sure we order well when we do.
At 5 p.m. we were picked up and headed into the city center. Our guide met us at the rickshaw stop. There we boarded rickshaws and explored the city and made our way closer to the Ganges. We hopped off and wandered the streets and I purchased a couple of small necklaces. Sam purchase a few bananas and fed the monkeys we saw on our way. The seller was a grumpy guy with his mouth full of bettlenut- same nut, leaf, tobacco we saw in Myanmar. We made our way down after sunset to the Ganges where they would be watch the worship ceremony to Shiva/The Ganges. There Brahmins priests represented the 5 elements and did almost a synchronized worship ceremony. There were hundreds and likely thousands of people in boats on the water and on the steps surrounding these priests. There was a lot of singing involved as well which was a way to praise Ganges/Shiva. Again the lighting, the sounds, the music, the smells, the people, the beggars, the heat, the breeze, the sounds of bells ringing and of shells being blown ...is hard to capture in words of in photos or even a video. India is a place like nowhere else. Other places have chaos and noise- like Cairo, but this place has something else and part of it is the magical lighting and the peace people come in search of.
After dinner we walked through the chaotic streets filled with horns beeping, cows walking, women sitting side saddle on scooters, shops and bikes, and more horns and bells. We got to a point where we picked up the same rickshaw again and took us to our driver. The whole rickshaw ride which turned out to be 40 mins cost $2. We came back to our hotel and honestly all I wanted was peace and quiet. Anyone that knows me knows that I have an incredibly low tolerance for noise. Crazy to think I am in India for 3 weeks ;) But I am trying to let it wash over me rather than resist it. But I am also grateful that I have a new jar of advil, thank you Sydney for bringing it!, which I have taken twice today :)
I am so glad we came here. It is one of the places I have wanted to come see and have a better understanding of. Tomorrow we will go back to the ghats and to the golden temple, where apparently there have been several bombs go off over the years and so you can't bring your phones or any electronics. To go in we have to show our passports and be interviewed, that will be interesting. Looking forward to it and one more walk along the ghats of the Ganges.
At the Tibetan Monastery
At the mini bird park connected to a Hindu temple and next door to the Buddhist sacred Stupa
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