A spiritual Rendition - Varanasi

Varanasi (Banaras) is India’s oldest city, located along the banks of the famous River Ganges in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in North East India, rich in history and spirituality. Varanasi is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) of Hinduism and Jainism and saw the development of Buddhism and Ravidassia later. Varanasi also known as Kashi, is the pilgrimage place of many people specially devotees of Lord Shiva. Every year it sees several thousands of pilgrims taking dips in holy Ganga which is believed to bring salvation after death. Varanasi city is the amalgamation of both Mughal and Maratha culture. In 16th century, Mughal emperor Akbar have majorly patronized the city and built several temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu whereas modern Varanasi was developed by Maratha and Brahmin kings. 

Five friends planned for this spiritual journey to the holy city. As a traveler we want to explore the city and have a feel of the spiritual vibe of this holy place. It was a quick plan made by few of my friends in the end of July 2016, the month of ‘Shraavana’, when several thousand pilgrims gather there to offer their prayers to Lord Shiva. Varanasi transforms into a different place during this time. With the prayers, the hymns, the plethora of colors, saints and sages coming from across every corner of the world and tourists flocking over from far lands, Varanasi gives a different dimension to its visitors, a rare look for any other time of the year. 

We boarded our evening train for Varanasi from Durgapur and reached there early morning the next day. We had pre-booked our hotel which was at Meer Ghat, a stone-throw away distance from the river Ganga. We reached there by 10 ‘o’ clock in the morning, had our breakfast, quickly freshened up and headed to Banaras Hindu University. It is one of the oldest institutions of India spread over 1,300 acres of land having over 140 departments. We went to the new Kashi Vishwanath Temple located at one end of the campus. This temple is generally less crowded than the old one. After offering our prayers to Lord Shiva and other Hindu deities, we spent nearly 2-3 hours in the campus and went to Assi Ghat, a nearby ghat to BHU. There are as many as 103 ghats in Varanasi stretching along the bank of the holy river. Among them Dashashwamedh Ghat, Manikarnika Ghat, Harishchandra Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat are the most famous ones. Each ghats have their own uniqueness and one could walk along the ghats along the stairs built at the end of the river. 

After visiting the Assi Ghat, we headed for Dashashwamedh Ghat. The Dashashwamedh Ghat is the primary Ghat where the mighty Ganga Puja (Agni Puja) is performed. All the locals, visitors, tourists flock here at 6.00 PM to witness the puja. There were special sitting arrangements for foreigner which costs 100 to 200 bucks per seat. We managed to find a nice cozy place on the stairs the front row; lucky for us we had a mesmerizing view of the entire arena where the puja was performed. The Puja was continued for about 1 hour with Brahmins enchanting Sanskrit slokas and moving giant lamps commonly called ‘Pradip’ in circles. The whole view will give you some sort of satisfaction which entice people to come to this mighty place. It’s hard to describe the feverish and fragrant smoke. We prayed and released our little flower lamps into the Ganga, something I’d always wanted to do. After the puja we head to the main Kashi Vishwanath Temple which was 5 min walk from the place. On reaching there we saw a long never-ending queue of pilgrims who have come to Varanasi from different regions on the auspicious month of ‘Shravana’ to offer their prayers. Unable to find the end of the queue we finally gave up the idea, but by God’s grace one pundit came and lured us to a special queue in lieu of some extra cash. We agreed to the idea as that was the only option left for us to visit the temple. He took us crossing some narrow lanes and few turns to another entrance of the temple which had comparatively less crowd. Still it took us 2 hours to reach the temple entrance; we offered our prayers to Lord Shiva and visited nearby Annapurna Devi temple and Hanuman temple. After a much satisfied Aarti and visit to the temples we head back to our hotel and called it a day. After freshening up, we had our dinner in the open terrace dining space. We chatted about spirituality, divinity enjoying the cool breeze of the river Ganga and finally dozed off for the day. 

Following morning, we head to ‘Sarnath’, which is located 10 kilometers north east of Varanasi. ‘Sarnath’ is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna (Arhatship). The place has a Chinese temple, a Japanese temple, a museum where the famous Ashoka pillar is erected, the Dhamek Stupa, ruins of Dharmajika Stupa (one of the few pre-Ashokan stupa), The Chaukhandi Stupa (which commemorates the spot where the Buddha met his first disciples, dating back to the fifth century or earlier), and the famous Bodhi tree under which Gautama Budhha attains enlightenment about the Noble Eight-fold paths. We hired a guide who narrated us the history behind each architecture which made the visit interesting. After spending 3-4 hours we head back to Varanasi. Our train was at 6.20 in the evening, as we had some time, we went to Manikarnika Ghat, another famous Ghats where Hindus according to some beliefs cremate dead bodies to achieve moksha. It is said that burning of pyres never dies off in this Ghat. Our day and journey to Varanasi came to end; We quickly went to our hotel and headed to the station. On our way to station we relish on the famous ‘Banarasi pan’ without which the trip would be incomplete.

I have often heard people saying they want to spend their old age days in this very place, and now I know why. The place will definitely strike a chord in your heart and I kept thinking about the life (busy life) we are leading nowadays; the burning pyres sets my heart with utmost peace and contentment as death is the ultimate truth of our life. Never ever I thought that I will fall in love with this place, the congested roads, the dirty narrow lanes, the simplicity of the life the people have, and the ever-flowing river will give some unsettling spiritual satisfaction. The trip to the Ganges will reveal countless sights that will remain with you long after you leave.

There is a simple saying by Buddha which clings to my mind back home “Life is uncertain; death is certain”.