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.