Bagels and Lakhs

There’s certainly nothing that makes you consider your own mortality more than viewing the body of a person who has died. But watching the continuous and never-ending Hindu process of dipping bodies into the sacred water of the Ganges and then burning them in order to further their soul in the rebirth cycle makes you reconsider your entire thought process surrounding mortality.

The Ganges at sunset

Being in Varanasi is like getting a crash course in one incredibly important cultural difference. There is no ritual more essential to human life than the way we bury our dead. And in the West we see death and burial and the afterlife in a wholeheartedly different way than people in the East do. One of the friends that I’m traveling with pointed out that its one of the biggest differentiators between East and West – we see life in a linear fashion. We are born, we live, we die, and we go to the afterlife, whatever that may be in our belief system. Time is moving forward. Hindus (and other Asian religions) believe in a cycle of rebirth in a more fluid version of time. This life is just one step in our long and winding journey to an eventual nirvana. And as such the burial process is incredibly different.

The crowded streets of Varanasi

Varanasi is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the World and it is the most auspicious and holy site for Hindus to purify themselves and, more significantly, to die. It is India at its most chaotic – its is crowded, dusty and filled with animals, shops, sellers, street children and pilgrims bathing in the holy (but undeniably filthy) water of the Ganges. It is at once overwhelming and awe-inspiring. You can stare at the sun rising over the water and feel intense calm and then moments later walk through a dense, dirty crowd packed in like sardines and feel as though the world is crashing in on you.

A man bathing on the Ganges at sunrise

We spent a lot of our time walking through the crowds and watching the bathers and pilgrims on the banks of the Ganges. But nothing hits you harder than witnessing the city’s famed burning ghats.

Every day hundreds of people from across India bring their dead, as quickly as possible, to the holiest place where their soul can re-enter the life cycle. While all Hindus are cremated, to be cremated in Varanasi after a final soak in the Ganges is the most preferable way to allow your soul to move on.

Our boat with the burning ghat in the background (as close as you can appropriately take a photo..)

We took a boat along the river in order to witness this holiest of rituals. In the main burning ghat family members wait as workers from an untouchable caste shroud and carry their deceased loved ones on a wooden platform down to the river. The bodies are then dipped in the river, covered in colorful cloth and adornments. After an hour to dry, the bodies are then placed in a pile of wood. The burning is an art – too much or too little wood can cause a body to burn improperly. Wealthy families can spend a small fortune purchasing the more expensive sandalwood and poor families can purchase a portion of the huge stacks cheaper wood. After being surrounded by wood the body is then burned over the course of two or three hours.

The scene is not overtly depressing – as a general rule only men come to watch the ritual because there is a fear that women would cry, thus disturbing the soul as it moves on. So men stand stoically for hours, watching as their wives or parents or friends are moved on to their next life. The eyes of tourists from the water or from buildings above do not seem to be intrusive – on the contrary, while tourists are not allowed to take photos (understandably) the waiting families often amuse themselves by taking photos of the watching white visitors. A dozen piles burn at once, each representing the entirety of one human’s life – but a life that their family believes will continue on into another.

As we slowly rode in our boat away from the burning ghat it was hard not to widen our view of humanity and the rituals that make each segment of humanity unique. To be so open with such an intimate portrait of a people is a unique experience for a visitor. It raises large questions and sears images into ones mind. It is like Varanasi itself – overwhelming and peaceful all together at once.