Conky Tonkin' with The Pfeifers: The Holy Hindu City of Varanasi- An Experience Beyond Belief

An early 0400 alarm awoke us so we could get ready and breakfast in time for a 0615 departure to the airport. Today we would be flying to Varanasi about 200 miles southeast of New Delhi in the northern Indian state of Uttar Predesh (UP).

Welcome Jane!

Road scene to Sarnath

While we breakfasted, the porters collected our luggage and load it on the bus to the airport. We boarded the bus and take another harrowing ride (even this early the traffic is murderous) through the streets of New Delhi. At the airport we have the benefit of a group check-in and have our boarding passes before we leave the bus. Passing through security, which is much more stringent than what we’re used to, Capt. Larry runs afoul of the security agents and has to remove some electronics from his carry-on and have it re-x-rayed. Finally approved, he rejoins the group and proceeds to the gate.
After a one-hour flight, we touched down in Varanasi and boarded a bus for a tour of Sarnath—the birthplace of Buddhism and an important site for Jainism believers. As we ride through the countryside, our senses are shocked at the squalid living conditions that people and animals are living in. Open sewers, garbage everywhere, unkempt and half-built or half-demolished houses that form a nearly continuous road border, cow manure (from those holy cows) in yards and streets, crumbled sidewalks where sidewalks may have existed, rutted roads, and probably a sickening stink to all of this had we left our air-conditioned bus. It was a real culture shock. But then again, all the residents may just be thinking that they’re really living the high life! Who can judge?

Another Sarnath road shot

Bicycles are popular

Sarnath is located north-east of Varanasi near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in the UP. According to legend, Buddha came to Sarnath to preach his message of the way to nirvana after he achieved enlightenment, and gave his famous first sermon here. In the 3^rd century BC, Emperor Ashoka had magnificent stupas and monasteries erected here, as well as an engraved pillar. However, by 1000 AD Buddhism went into decline and when Muslim invaders sacked the city in the late 12th century, Sarnath disappeared altogether. It was rediscovered by British archaeologists in 1835. For Buddhists, Sarnath is one of four pilgrimage sites designated by Buddha. For tourists the main attraction is probably the Dhamek Stupa which was built in 500 AD to commemorate the Buddha's activities in this location. The stupa is a solid cylinder of bricks and stone reaching a height of 144 ft. and a diameter of 92 feet. We walked the grounds and visited a nearby temple before boarding our bus and heading to our hotel in Varanasi and had dinner.

The Dhamek Stupa

While Sarnath is important to Buddhists, Varanasi is the holy grail for Hindus and Jainists. Perched on the banks of the Ganges, Varanasi is a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh dating to the 11th century B.C.

Remains of smaller stupas

It is regarded as the spiritual capital of India and is the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism. Hindus believe that death in the city will bring salvation, making it a major centre for pilgrimage and the city draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters and perform funeral rites.
Along the city's winding streets are some 2,000 temples, most dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
After dinner, we had our senses shocked even more. Our bus took us down to the banks of the Ganges River for an evening river cruise.
The river and its banks were bustling with activity as pilgrims were preparing for the evening show. We made our way downstream until we came to one of the wildest sights any of us had ever seen. Stopping at a large crematorium, we watched as no less than 8 crematory fires were burning the bodies of the recently deceased.

Buddhist monk and followers

And while that was going on, we watched a family bring a body down to the water to cleanse it in the holy water of the Ganges prior to cremation.

Sarnath is an archeological site

Two main characters conducted the cremation: a dohmed who kept poking body parts into the hot embers to be entirely consumed; and the chief mourner who determined when cremation was complete by throwing any last remains into the river and dousing the fire with water from the river.

The "big" Buddha

The whole scene was really intense and we were glad to move on. We lit oil candles and placed them in the water to have our souls freed to go to heaven (it would take an inferno for Capt. Larry's soul!), then moved on to our last stop which was at a temple at which 7 priests performed a nightly public prayer.

Our ghat

They chanted and sang, burned frankincense, myrrh, and camphor, and finished with a nice dissonant instrumental piece. We were told that they perform this prayer to get donations for their sustenance. We headed back to our bus and retreated to the luxurious shelter of our hotel.
We went back to the river the next morning to witness a different kind of ritual being performed.

Going hot and heavy at the crematorium

While the evening brought pilgrim group celebrations, the morning is dedicated to individual purification. Pilgrims would bathe in the water, have their heads shaved, bring offerings to the various temples, and have personal consultations with the multitude of priests, if the price was right.

Another crematory fire

The banks were a swarming mass of humanity that would crescendo to the nighttime celebrations. We boarded our boats once again and made our back to the crematoria where only one fire was burning (slow day!).

The priests are working the crowd

Our guide answered our questions about the air, water, and human condition quality, but proffered manufactured science to support his claims. One thing we noticed is that we saw very few pilgrims under the age of say, 35, and wondered if there might be a decline in Varanasi’s spiritual importance with future generations.

And what a crowd it is!

There was so much to see and activity to describe, that probably the best way to share our experience is to do like we did with St. Petersburg—just share pictures and provide a description where necessary.