Day out in temple complex of Pashupatinath

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This place is one of the holiest hindu sites in the world, outside India, dedicated to the God Shiva (one of the holy trinity, the god of destruction). The temple complex, the centre of which non-hindus are forbidden to enter, lies along the holy river Bagmati. This river, although sacred, still bears a striking resemblence to all the other rivers i have seen that carry their heavy burden of human waste off to India. Here though on the day of a hindu's death they must be purified in the waters by the male members of the family, then carried to the cremation ghats (stone outcroppings) and put on 35lbs of wood smeared with ghee (fortified butter). The family having carried the body around the pyre 3 times clockwise, then leave it to the eldest son to do this once more before lighting a taper in the corpse's mouth. It takes 3 hours for a man to be reduced to ashes, 4 for a woman. It is only by becoming ash that Shiva can release your spirit and start life anew.From now the eldest son, dressed in white (the colour of mourning) will shave his head and then undergo 13 days of eating nothing but fruit and drinking nothing but water.
When the cremation is complete, the ashes are swept into the Bagmati and the ghat cleared for the next cremation. It was a surreal sight to see families as distraught as would i be at the death of a loved one, so seemingly unaware of the voyeurs on the nearby bridges. Were those watching the spectacle learning something they would have to do themselves one day? were they bored and this was something to do? the atmosphere certainly wasn't entirely a sombre one, with naked children jumping into the same river and enjoying a cool swim. I was glad this wasn't the council estate i had grown up on; i know even in times like these there would be mocking comments from any crowd of delinquents.

By comparison, on the Eastern bank of the river, were a multitude of smaller shrines dedicated to Shiva and built to commemorate those wives that had thrown themselves on the fires that consumed their husbands and burnt to death. This was outlawed a couple of generations ago by the British. All were festooned with flowers from worshippers hoping to be blessed with fertility; inside each was a stone phallus poking through a female vagina.
Seeming to be stalking me was one of the helpers of the holy men (sadhus), i was blessed with long life and prosperity, but it didn't help with exams i was told when asked. I asked to meet one of the Sudhus and was led to a small hut in which i was invited to sit and share with him and his disciples. The guide books describe these man as religious exhibitionists and they are certainly welcoming of westerners who are willing to join them in tea and cannabis. After being given an adress to call into if ever i was in India, some of the excellent sweet tea i am fast becoming addicted to here, and far too many drags on a clay pipe stuffed with Hashish, i staggered out bowing and thanking them in Nepalese for the privelege of the visit. This particular Sudhu has not laid down for 14 years, instead supporting himself on a waist-high swing. He has also been silent and lived on nothing but milk, fruit and nuts (which he was kind enough to share with me) for the same amount of time. Others here include the milk sadhu, the tea sadhu and the cannabis sudhu. i asked about any dietary supplements he took to ward off malnutrition, but he neither needed, or took any any. As i left i made a donation for his upkeep of that of his disciples and was once again blessed with a tika, this time with hot ash.
One thing that fascinated me was this dedication to a way of life so far removed from my own. Here was i feeling the withdrawal symptoms after not seeing a TV for a week and this man had thrown aside all material gains in order to gain enlightenment. sexual abstinence is another committment and the thought of sexual arousal abhorent to them, so much so that there are times of the year when the same sudhus strip naked and hang great weights from their members in order to destroy the erectile tissue

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Photos

this place is open 24/7
Bodies purified through flames