Varanasi: Holy and Wholly Fascinating

Varanasi is a fascinating city. It is a pilgrimage site for many thousands of Indian Hindus who arrive every day to bathe in the Ganges. They are tourists, like me. But their reason for being here is different from mine, so this was, for me, a mostly wonderful learning experience.

Why it was wonderful

Manikarnika Ghat

A ghat is an embankment along the Ganges. Most of these have steps leading from the level of the city down to the water. During the monsoon, the water level rises to the top of the ghats.

There are 84 ghats in Varanasi. This is a significant number:

• Hindu mythology describes 8,400,000 organic species. Each ghat represents or symbolizes 100,000 of these.
• There are 12 zodiac signs and 7 layers of the atmosphere. 12x7 = 84.
• There are also 7 chakras in the human body.

Last night we took a boat trip on the Ganges starting at Raja Ghat and eventually arriving at Manikarnika Ghat. Manikarnika Ghat is one of the holiest cremation grounds in all Hinduism.

The Ganga, as the river is called by Hindus, is the mother river. Its source in the Himalayas is the home to the gods. Because the river curves 180 degrees, at Varanasi it flows north, symbolically back to the Himalayas. For that reason, Hindus believe that when they are cremated in Varanasi and their ashes are thrown into the river, they flow north to the home of the gods.

Hindus believe in reincarnation, so cremation releases the soul from the body. Watching this was deeply spiritual for me.

Bathing in the Ganges

This morning a small subset of our group returned to the river at 6am to watch pilgrims bathe as the sun came up.

The joy on these people’s faces as they realized a dream was contagious. Many of these people came very long distances to perform this ritual. They believe it washes away sins committed in past and present lives. It is a way to break the cycle of birth and death and attain salvation. And it connects with the divine energy of the river goddess, Maa Ganga. 

Why it wasn’t so wonderful

Last night, after witnessing the release of souls at Manikarnika Ghat, we rode back downstream to Namo Ghat. This is a newer ghat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in 2018. It is named after him (Na Mo). It was built to be a tourist attraction.

We disembarked from our boat there to watch young Hindu priests offer prayers of Thanksgiving.

The entire atmosphere there felt like something out of Las Vegas. The prayers seemed more like a show. Young kids were running around and bumping into me. And old women tried to put a dot on my forehead in order to make a buck. There were carnival rides and all kinds of caterpillar-like buses that ran up and down the street while the priests were doing their choreographed show.

I’m sure the prayers were meaningful, but to me the whole thing felt like performance. In the video you can even see how they have seating set up for spectators. 

I had a hard time appreciating this part of the experience. Maybe I’m just a grouch who lacks spirituality. Or maybe this was more spectacle than spiritual.

Either way, the wonder of Varanasi will remain seared in my heart.

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Here are my photos from Varanasi.