Comparative Religion 101

Background:

Varanasi, aka Banares, is the most important sacred city of Hinduism, situated on the banks of the holy river Ganges. It is an old city, sacred to the God Shiva. Buddha preached here. Temples, shrines to Shiva, Ganesha, Durga, Ganga, Vishnu, Krishna and others are prolific. Religion here is an all-day, every day occupation. Pilgrims come here to worship at shrines, consult astrologers, and bathe in the purifying waters of the Ganges, to expiate bad karma. This is where the burning ghats are - the dead are cremated here on the banks of the Ganges, and their ashes commited to the river. To die in Varanasi is to ensure liberation (maksha) at death. Many Hindus undertake the journey to die here. Mother Theresa's organization has a hospice here.

10 kilometers from Varanasi is Sarnath, where Buddha preached his first sermon to the five ascetics after his enlightenment. It is one of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage centers. Temples, monks, and stupas abound.

Finally, it is now Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

I am staying in a guest house just behind the Shiva Temple. My room overlooks the courtyard. Every morning at approximately 4 a.m., I am awakened by the muezzin across the road. From my window at that time I can see the street, deserted by people. Packs of dogs run up and down, barking, fighting and foraging for food.

At dawn, Varanasi really comes alive. Swarms of people pour down the street, heading toward the Dassawamedh Ghat for the morning puja ceremony, or to take a boat tour on the Ganges. In the temple courtyard below my window, worshippers ring the bells all day long, to notify Shiva of their presence. They light incense and candles, bring flowers, coins, red paste and other offerings to the temple and sit around in circles praying together over these offerings. Hindu hymns play on loud speakers, throughout the day. (Hare Rama, hare Krishna...)

One morning I venture out with the crowd at dawn and make my way down to the ghat. I hire a boat to ride up and down the river. My guide steers me past the priest performing the morning puja, past pilgrims bathing. We row by the Rana, Kedar, Hanuman and Assi ghats. At the Manikarnika (burning) Ghat we stop. A body is ready for cremation - there is a funeral pyre, about 4 feet tall, with the body wrapped in Benares silk and lying on top. We watch as the priest circles the pyre 5 times, then lights the kindling. The family of the deceased helps to light the fire. Everyone who dies here is cremated, with 5 exceptions: women who die in childbirth, monks, very small children, lepers, and those who die from a snake bite. In those cases the body is wrapped carefully, and set to float down the Ganges. I don't know where it ends up. While we were on the river, I saw one body float by.

Everything seems to be sacred here. One night I was walking down the street and came upon a dead cow, lying on its side and covered with a tarp. People had placed coins, flowers and incense on the tarp, and were gazing at the cow reverently.

In Varanasi I made a friend - the proprietor of a small restaurant. I stopped in to eat there one day and we struck up a conversation. I asked him how to get to the various temples, and he offered to give me a tour. I accepted, and the next day he put me on the back of his moped, and off we went to the 3 temples, around Banares University, and out to Sarnath. Later, when I had a terrible time getting out of Varanasi (due to a train crash which wrecked havoc on all train schedules) he and his wife helped me to get a train ticket, then insisted on putting me up at their home when my train was delayed. He and I had many interesting conversations about Indian and American culture, the Hindu religion, and Indian traditions.