Monday, January 28, 2008
"Burn to Learn"
Varanasi: Thursday, January 17th
Varanasi is one of the most sacred and ancient cities of India. Sitting at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, when the Buddah visited it around 500 BC it had already been an important settlement for over two hundred years. Nowadays, thousands of the locals and pilgrims cleanse themselves both literally and spiritually daily in the Ganges. Hinduism also promises that those fortunate to pass away within the old city's borders will be blessed and will be transported straight to heaven.
More than sixty ghats (riverside ceremonial steps) currently remain along the riverfront in various states of use and disrepair. Everyday (and frequently through the nighttime), open fire cremations are performed at numerous ghats. These public ceremonies are attended by family members, hindu pilgrims, quizzical tourists and other on-lookers. Under the Hindu religion guidance funeral rites should be performed within days of the their passing. So the recently deceased are wrapped in saffron ceremonial sheets and are carried by their families through the city to the river where they are bathed one last time in the Ganges to wash away any remaining bad karma. Male family members in mourning have their heads shaved and the body is placed on wood pyre.
The cremation process is then handled by "the Untouchables" - those born to the lowiest of the Indian Castes. They tend the fire and after the cremation throw the ashes (and any bodily remains) into the Ganges. The entire ceremony takes several hours and yet there is no crying at funerals since it is believe that tears will "hold back" the deceased soul from its spiritual ascent and progress in reincarnation. Watching the bustle of ongoing processions and ceremonies, there seemed a remarkable peacefulness and matter-of-fact simplicity that was oddly striking and frankly strikingly odd - certainly compared to the Western funerals and wakes that I've attended. Perhaps it is their belief in karmic reincarnation that enables them to be so sanguine in the face of their loved one's death and departure. Maybe it somehow relates to the challenging living conditions that so many endur and yet seem to accept with little complaint and with impressive dignity.
In any case, as I stared rather dumbfoundedly on the multitudes of life stories unfolding before me, one youngster took the moment to earnestly remind me without a trace of glibness - "we must burn to learn!"
Varanasi is one of the most sacred and ancient cities of India. Sitting at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, when the Buddah visited it around 500 BC it had already been an important settlement for over two hundred years. Nowadays, thousands of the locals and pilgrims cleanse themselves both literally and spiritually daily in the Ganges. Hinduism also promises that those fortunate to pass away within the old city's borders will be blessed and will be transported straight to heaven.
More than sixty ghats (riverside ceremonial steps) currently remain along the riverfront in various states of use and disrepair. Everyday (and frequently through the nighttime), open fire cremations are performed at numerous ghats. These public ceremonies are attended by family members, hindu pilgrims, quizzical tourists and other on-lookers. Under the Hindu religion guidance funeral rites should be performed within days of the their passing. So the recently deceased are wrapped in saffron ceremonial sheets and are carried by their families through the city to the river where they are bathed one last time in the Ganges to wash away any remaining bad karma. Male family members in mourning have their heads shaved and the body is placed on wood pyre.
The cremation process is then handled by "the Untouchables" - those born to the lowiest of the Indian Castes. They tend the fire and after the cremation throw the ashes (and any bodily remains) into the Ganges. The entire ceremony takes several hours and yet there is no crying at funerals since it is believe that tears will "hold back" the deceased soul from its spiritual ascent and progress in reincarnation. Watching the bustle of ongoing processions and ceremonies, there seemed a remarkable peacefulness and matter-of-fact simplicity that was oddly striking and frankly strikingly odd - certainly compared to the Western funerals and wakes that I've attended. Perhaps it is their belief in karmic reincarnation that enables them to be so sanguine in the face of their loved one's death and departure. Maybe it somehow relates to the challenging living conditions that so many endur and yet seem to accept with little complaint and with impressive dignity.
In any case, as I stared rather dumbfoundedly on the multitudes of life stories unfolding before me, one youngster took the moment to earnestly remind me without a trace of glibness - "we must burn to learn!"
