Our trip took us back to North India into Calcutta across the border into Nepal and then back into Varanasi, India. I call this Where Life and Death Dance Together for many reasons. The Hindus believe if you die and get cremated on the Ganga, a holy river of India, your soul will be purified eliminating the circle of life sending it straight to Nirvana. Therefore, you will not be reincarnated into a tree, leaf or bird but will pass this process and go to heaven. This is one of the main reasons Hindus prefer to be cremated (purified by fire) on the Ganga. If the family of the deceased is fortunate enough, they will be able to use sandalwood for the procession. The deal is they want to break the cycle of reincarnation and just go to Nirvana. All the while this is happening ( bodies being burned on wood and people dipping into the river for rebirth) the people have boats set up along the Ganga at sunset and dance the night away. Its like they are dancing and beating to the dead bodies souls .
The Ganga Ghats, which is believed to liberate one from all sins, encircle more than 100 ghats along the Ganges. Varanasi, India is considered one of the holiest places in India. Dipping into the Ganga, it is believed that people are cleansed physically, mentally and spiritually, therefore, washing oneself from all sins (rebirth). Hence,Varanasi unites life and death. Death, the fire to purify your soul..Life, the occasional dip into the holy river to wash your sins. For thousands of years people have been making a spiritual pilgrimage to these Ghats to offer their morning prayers to the rising sun. The most popular Ghats at Varanasi are the Dasaswamedh Ghat, Manikarnika Ghat, Harischandra Ghat, Kabir Ghat and Assi Ghat.
I have never witnessed anything like it, people coming from all walks of life to a town thats only sole purpose is to burn bodies 24/7 and hoping to get into heaven. Witnessing this procession had an affect on me and made me think about how vital it is to show a low estimate of one’s importance: humility. I was in shock and awe most of the time while in Varanasi. You have to wake up before the break of dawn to witness the washing of the sins. Waking up to see this at 5 a.m. was not easy. We tried to witness this and went and saw no one at the ghats, so we went to the lobby of the hotel, The Radisson.
I am Fasinataed with Bollywood and all the musicical movies they produce. The dances, the moves , the yogic poses while dancing, the music, the colors, I mean I loved Slumdog Millionaire! In India there are a select few personalities/actor/actresses that have a monopoly on movies and commercials. I learned from the Hindu Times , that the biggest Bollywood personality and humanitarian Amitabh Bahchan’s mother had just passed away. My curiosity immediately kicked in, was he going to submit to humility and take care of his mother’s remains as best as a Hindu knew how? My curiosity led me to question Mr. Bachchan’s humility. This promted me to ask if Big B was in town. Yes, he was as a matter of fact he wasn’t only in town he was in town staying at a 4 star hotel , all the posh 5 star hotels were sold out. It’s Varanassi afterall. “Yes, he is staying at the Radisson!!”
What? Big B…..I had to witness how a Bollywood actor stoops to humility. Yes, we saw him at the Radisson along with his son and his son’s beautiful wife. I had seen many movies for Aishwarya Rai and was amazed by her grace and humble appearance. We were among a few select people to be able to meet them at the Radisson. Mr. Amitabh Bachchan looked utterly distraught holding onto his mother’s remainings. Following Mr. Bachchan was his son and Aishwarya Rai. The 65 year old man was walking barefooted in the streets of Varanasi with the upmost humility.
Yes, humility is a cure even for the biggest Bollywood personalities. How wonderful to see a man and his family with nothing on but white drab clothing and a humble face. Although the setting and meeting was very intimate, the circumstances did not allow me to pick up the camera and pose for pictures. However, it was great to be 2 feet away from the biggest influence in Bollywood and ALL of India. Those you have traveled to Inida know how vast , mysterious and wonderous it is.
These personalities are full of Life which is evident in their success; however, had an appointment with the reality of a Death of a loved one.
Who would of known, out of all the cities in India we ran into the MOST influential personalities in Varanasi.
I leave you with another famous Mark Twain quote about Benares also known as Varanasi:
“Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, even older than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together”-Mark Twain
Humanistic Journals 