Advertisement
Published: January 3rd 2009
We are completing the last days of our journey in Varanasi, the "Holy City" or city of light. It’s the religious capital of Hinduism and the most popular pilgrimage destination in the world. Some scholars consider this the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth and a contemporary of Babylon. Hindus come to Varanasi to purify their body and soul in the Ganges River and if possible, to die here in old age and achieve moksha, a release from the cycle of birth and cleansing of the soul.
As soon as we stepped out of Varanasi’s airport, we were overwhelmed by huge crowds of men dressed in white robes. Our guide told us that this was a very busy day at the Varanasi airport. A special international flight had just arrived from Mecca, transporting many of the city’s Islamic worshippers back from their pilgrimage.
We arrived at the beautiful Taj Ganges Hotel to a familiar experience - a power outage. After 2 weeks in India, this is pretty normal for us. The power goes out a few times a day (even in the nicest hotels). It’s easy to accept this temporary inconvenience after witnessing how so many people live here.
If there is one thing that we can take home from this trip, it will be gratitude.
This morning we left our hotel at 6:30 AM for a sunrise boat trip on the Ganges to observe the morning rituals of the devout Hindus. The city rises very early . . . and many start their day with a purifying bath in the Ganges. It was fascinating to watch hundreds of people meditating, bathing, washing clothes, swimming, brushing their teeth, and drinking from the river. Towards the end of our boat ride, we encountered a funeral ceremony and a corpse ready for cremation. Trying to soak in all of these sights was both overwhelming and intensely emotional.
We then walked the streets of the Old City and visited the oldest Hindu temple in Varanasi, Golden Temple. Our guide zoomed ahead of us through a maze of noisy streets and alleys adorned with temples, shrines, cows, goats, dogs and monkeys. Did I mention cow dung also? It’s everywhere!! Over a dozen policemen patrolled the front gates of the Golden Temple. Security has been heightened due to the recent terrorist attacks & specific threats on Varanasi.
The temple is normally
off-limits to Non-Hindus so we took in the atmosphere from across the street. When a street vendor offered us Chai Masala tea (my favorite), I hesitated thinking that he might use Ganges water. After my brave mom drank the entire cup and survived, I decided to have a cup. It’s a good thing I took all those immunization shots!
Tonight we will add to our Indian experience of hugging gurus, ayurvedic doctors, and village healers - we are off to see an astrologer! Stay tuned for the final update tomorrow . . .
Advertisement
Tot: 0.093s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0426s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dana
non-member comment
What an eye opening experience! Great video! I've learned so much from your blog! Thank you for sharing! Safe travels home!!