Banaras wisdom: 'Birth Is a Matter of Fate but Death is a Matter of Time'

 

Chopped wood is stacked up in several neat piles waiting to feed the pyres at Manikarnika Ghat, the cremation ground on the banks of the Ganga in Banaras where the pyres burn day and night. It is a unique cremation ground where the customary Hindu rule of cremating bodies only between sunrise and sunset does not apply. The special blessings of Lord Shiva himself, the lord of the city ensures the liberation of the soul. 

Burning Pyres at Manikarnika

 

As I lean on the railings of the terrace of a temple at the Ghat in the afternoon watching the flames and smoke rise from at least half-a-dozen pyres below, I am joined by a Buddhist monk in the characteristic maroon gown. “Everyone should pay a visit to this place to keep the ego in its right place,” he opines. He is accompanied by an elderly white lady – maybe European or American – who too, perhaps has come to Banaras in a search for the meaning of life – or is it death?

Bereaved waiting for cremation

As I trudge up the narrow alley from the cremation ground to the main road, the hustle and bustle around continues. Several funeral processions wind their way down to the ghat chanting ‘Ram naam satya hai’ (taking the name of Ram is the only truth). The Ganga meanwhile flows serenely down towards the sea carrying the ashes of the dead.

Words of Wisdom

Not that the belief is universal. I find a sceptic in a tourist guide and an old-time inhabitant of Banaras. How is it possible, he asks that ‘moksha’ is assured just by being cremated at Banaras regardless of merit.

Ganga Cruise

 

BENARAS CRUISE

Cruising along the Ganga at Banaras is at once a spiritual journey and one that offers the beautiful shimmering reflections of a medley of multi-coloured lights that play in the rippling waters. The Uttar Pradesh Tourism launch M.V. Sam Manekshaw glides softly upstream 

Manikarnika cremation ghat of eternal pyres

Ganga Arati

Sunset at Malaviya Bridge

starting from NAMO Ghat, among the latest to the added to the famed 84 Ghats, sites on the left bank the Ganga for the holy dip and other religious rituals. The cruise covers all the ghats from Ravidas Ghat to Raj Ghat and can be booked online at – https://alaknandacruise.com/Home/Booking_new

The eternal journey of life (and death) can be viewed from the launch. Vibrating life is evident in the Ganga Aratis in which the river is worshipped as the source of life for one of the world’s still living oldest civilizations. Priests blow conch shells, chant sacred mantras and sing hymns accompanied by bells and swinging huge brass torches. Thousands gather on the steps surrounding the Ghat or sit in boats anchored on the river front to watch the proceedings with reverence.

But barely a hundred yards downstream comes the reminder that life is not all song and dance and the human journey is a mortal one. This is the Manikarnika Ghat where cremations are carried out day and night. In fact, legend has it that the pyres have burned there continuously for centuries without a break. Hindus believe that though the body is cremated to return it to the elements, the soul attains ‘moksha’ or freedom from all earthly ties if the cremation in carried out in the Kashi of Vishwanath who helps them along with the ‘Tarak Mantra.’