Varanasi
Varanasi, the holiest city of the Hindu faith. Varanasi has also been known as Kashi, “the City of Light” or Benares. It is situated on the west bank of the Ganges River with a spiritual and religious legacy that goes back nearly 3000 years. It is the city of Shiva, the god of protection.
Upon arrival in late afternoon, we got in tuk-tuks and rode towards the river about 45 minutes. Varanasi is crowded, dirty, noisy, and chaotic just as Agra. After the ride we walked another half hour through crowded streets and alleyways. We got on a boat and traveled to one of two cremation sites. Varanasi is where cremation can take place 24 hours a day. (Away from here, cremation is only done during the day.) We saw bodies carried on pallets to the river to be splashed with holy water and then taken to a cremation site. There were four or five fires going at the same time. Our guide said the bodies burn for 2-3 hours.
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- greeting dot received at hotel
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- tuk tuk ride
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- crowd
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- going down to Ganges
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- boat
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- our rowers
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- cremation site
We boated a bit far out in the river. We were each given a light saucer. We had a Brahma priest recite a Hindu prayer as we all mediated silently on our loved ones who have died. We then put the candles in the water and watched them float away. A holy moment.
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- lighting candles
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- sending them afloat
We went up the river to a Hindu service being performed on a large open platform with seven priests. Our guide said the priests were praying to the River Ganges on behalf of everyone. There was a large crowd with many tourists. We wound our way through the crowd till we walked right beside the platform. Fascinating evening.
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- priests
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- cow praying!
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- women worshipers
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- perople coming for prayers
We returned early the next morning (5:30) to the river to participate in morning activities. It was not quite as crowded. We had head and neck massages. Others had religious symbols painted on their foreheads. We saw holy men praying with the person bringing the ashes of his relative which he will place in the river. Some got haircuts. Men bringing ashes for blessing shave their heads. Some women also shave their heads after visiting the Ganges. We saw a priest leading the morning prayer to the River. Eventually, we got in a boat again and rowed up and down the river bank. There is about four miles along the bank where many daily activities take place. There are temples and shrines. Daily bathing and laundry as well as yoga, religious rituals all take place. The following day was a special day for mothers and we saw several groups of mothers and daughters together in the river. We saw where the Beetles stayed.
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- saving Ganges River
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- massage
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- massage
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- morning prayer
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- receiving a Tilaka (painting)
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- blessings
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- gathering at River
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- bathing in Ganges
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- River Ganges
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- laundry on bank
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- bank of river
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- Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva
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- crowd
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- food for poor
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- ancient paintings
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- food stall
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- puri and curry
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- blessing the ashes
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- holy water
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- holy man
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- praying
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- morning sun
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- laundry
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- mothers and daughters
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- Beetles stayed here
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- women
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- wall painting
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- temple
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- another site where mothers & daughters were gathering
In the afternoon we visited the site where Buddhism was started–Sarnath. It was the site the Buddha preached his first sermon after becoming enlightened. There was also a temple where the walls had paintings of Buddha’s life.
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- Buddhist temple
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- sign
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- gems – Buddha, truth, community
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- shrine
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- Buddha’s birth
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- sign
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- prayer wheels
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- entrance
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- Buddha & his first disciples
The last evening we had our farewell dinner. Women were dressed in saris and men in the white tops and pants. We began with an hour sitar and drum concert – very good.
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- sitar and drums
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- final evening