Varanasi – holy city of the Hindu

We are staying right on the waterfront of the river Ganges here in Varanasi; to Hindus what Rome is to the Catholics and Mecca to the Muslims.

Lord Vishnu, one of the three major Hindu gods, through one of his incarnations recognized the Ganges at Varanasi to be an especially holy place. For reference, Vishnu is the god of maintenance/preservation. The other two major Hindu gods are creation and destruction. The fun loving rascal Krishna was one of Vishnu’s avatars (incarnations).

This site is so holy that to die and be cremated here greatly speeds the release from the cycle of re-birth. Maybe even a direct/immediate escape. So, lots of people come here to die. Our hotel was re-purposed from a 120 year old building built/donated for people to come and die in.

The next best thing is to die and be brought here for cremation and dispersal in the holy water.

The cremations go on at the water’s edge 24 hours a day.

These are photos of small areas for simple pyres for poor people. We could not photograph really elaborate areas.

All along the waterfront are buildings built by various past rulers, maharajas, etc. from all over the country and as far away as Nepal .. for their people to use. The donations enhanced their karma.

There are over 700 temples, countless shrines, schools for persons pursuing a life in the religious orders. Some religious instruction takes place in classes right on the waterfront.

Just a dip into the sacred Ganges at Varanasi will relieve one of their bad karma. Sometimes ever the accumulated bad karma from previous lifetimes too. Millions of pilgrims come here to dip and splash and wash in the river, especially in the morning. Bus groups from other areas arrive for this cleansing.

One can purchase a polyethylene jug to take some river water home for future use.

Every evening the Temples must conduct elaborate ceremonies (involving much fire/burning things) to encourage the river to continue to accept the bad karma.

It is easy to scoff at all of this, but numbering at around a billion there are probably more Hindu than Catholics. And as for the Lutherans, they should never let any controversy over these religious things come to a vote.

Along with the pilgrims there are 3 million people living here, thousands of sacred cows, all manner of loose farm animals (bullocks, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs) roaming around the two streets. With every manner of vehicle. So walking is impossible. A taxi which we clocked in two journeys made 5 miles an hour average speed.

Here are a few pictures though:

Tasty snacks

There are beggars everywhere in India. But they swarm in Varanasi. The woman with child is almost a caricature. I could not point the camera at the maimed, crippled limbless horrors.