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Published: October 20th 2009
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The very first thing that I ever learned about Varanasi had to do with Turtles. Varanasi is considered on of the oldest living cities on earth. It is a holy pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddists. Buddha himself is supposed to have given his first sermon at nearby Sarnath around 540 BC. Varanasi is known as the City of Light devout Hindus hope to die and be cremated there in order to escape from the endless cycle of rebirth. But the first thing I ever learned about Varanasi was that due to years of pollution and throwing dead bodies into the river had killed almost all of the wildlife in the sacred River Ganges. The only thing that lives there anymore are the turtles who have adapted to eat the flesh of disposed corpses. I am not sure how much of that is true and how much is a legend. I was certainly not going to set one finger into that river to find out. But the image stuck in my head.
The Hindu religion is a very ancient and unique religion that can trace its origins back to second millennium BC. Hindus worship many different Gods and Goddess. The
three most important are Brahma the original ‘creator,’ Vishnu the ‘preserver’ who balances the universe, and Shiva the ‘destroyer.’ Hindus have a very stringent caste system.
Brahmins-priests and teachers
Kshatryas- rulers and warriors
Vaishyas-merchants and cultivators
Shudras- menials
Dalit-untouchables who deal with dirt or death
It is technically illegal to discriminate against someone due to caste but reality is a different story. Hindus also believe that each soul undergoes a cycle of death and rebirth and that a person’s actions in past lives contribute to their present position in society. In other words if you are born a homeless untouchable who suffers everyday you must have done something to deserve it. This philosophy can seriously hinder upward social mobility. In December 2002 in Chennai India police acted to prevent 1500 Dalit people from converting to Christianity. There are only around 2 million Christians in India today and most of them come from lower castes.
The stone steps built along one side of the Ganges River are called ghats. Located conviently next to a building that houses cows. Manikarnika Ghat is the famous cremation ghat. All day bodies are burned on wooden fires and the ashes swept into the Ganges River
thereby releasing the soul of the departed from the cycle of reincarnation. It takes three hours to burn a body and funeral parties of family members wait all three hours by the ghat. Certain groups of people are exempt from cremation and weighed down and thrown bodily into the river. Pregnant women, children, holy men, and people who have died from a cobra bite are all considered in some way blessed and do not need the purifying cremation. I’m sure the turtles appreciate it. When I visited the ghat there were about 8 bodies being burned and there were more waiting to be burned. I can only imagine the number of bodies that have been disposed of in the Ganges River. I am sorry that I didn’t get any pictures, but it is considered disrespectful to take pictures of the burning bodies. If you want to see it you will have to visit Varanasi yourself.
In reality more pollution comes from the factories upriver dumping heavy metals into the river than from the cremation ghats, but either way I find it interesting that people still bathe in the river to purify themselves. The water is a distinctly opaque gray.
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Bob Carlsen
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My impressions of India
When I was 8 years old, in1958, the ship on which I was traveling from Singapore to Naples docked in Bombay (Mumbai). I remember visting Malabar Hill where they place dead bodies for the vultures to consume. It was so gross, reinforced by your own recent description of Varanesi, that I never wanted to visit India again. Even stop overs in various Indian airports since then have been unpleasant experiences. I remember a stop over in New Delhi where they fumigated the plane before we could disembark to the transit lounge. They should have fumigated the plane after we boarded! There hasn't been any travel blog on India that has convinced me to change my mind. Nevertheless, I hope you have an interesting, if not pleasant, visit to India.