Varanasi: In Touch with the Gods
Varanasi: In Touch with the Gods
Oshi Alika Narayan
A look into Varanasi, India.
Varanasi, Kashi or Benares — call it by any name — is the oldest living city of the world with a continuous history dating back to approximately 3,000 years. This city touts an unrivalled diversity and a unique sense that can be experienced nowhere.
To Hindus, this is the holiest place in the world because it is the spot that the Lord Shiva picked as his earthly abode. Benares has been a cradle of learning, enlightenment, culture and civilization for centuries. Today, perhaps most visible along the shores of the Ganges in the softening morning light of sunrise, the spiritual and cultural traditions of Hinduism continue to define the city.
This city represents the essence of India. Here is India's life and drama and its uncompromising harshness. But here too, concentrated and almost tangible, is the mysterious, magical "energy" that entices and captivates anyone coming to Benares. The city of Shiva wakes up early — before sunrise — to the sounds of conch shells, damrus and bells of various sizes in the temples. With sacred bhajans filling up the air, the life of a banarasi begins with a dip in the Ganges. This is followed by offering the sacred "Ganga Jal" to the Lord Shiva in the temples which abounds the Ghats and the whole city.
The next offering he makes to himself by savouring a "Paan". There is popular saying that if you have to sum up the essence of life in Benares, all you have to say is "Ganga, Bholenath and Paan". To an average Banarasi, eating paan is as much part of life as drinking water or having food. He may skip a meal but never his daily quota of paan.
Benares is mystical, too. The mystical and spiritual allure of the city draws not only pilgrims, but also ascetics and holy men to its fold. They come here to be released from the bonds of their human existence. It is believed that if you die here, your soul will be released from the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
The uniqueness of this city is that it elevates you to such a level that you are no longer afraid of the ultimate reality of life — death. That is why everyone in this city is a king for he has conquered the worst fear. So when a Banarsi meets a fellow citizen, he greets him by saying "Ka Raja" (Hey, king!), to which the other replies, "Han Raja" (Yes, king).
To a rank outsider, the city may appear a bit chaotic, but that is superficial. Sitting on the Ghats, feeling the sunrise (seeing is only outwardly), moving around aimlessly in the myriad narrow lanes and sitting again on the Ghats in the evening for the Ganga Aarti, is simply out of the world experience which frees you of your inner chaos.