In Hindu mythology water is the source of life and creation, which is why rivers and riverbanks are considered to be holy, especially the riverbanks of Varanasi. The riverbank or ghats of Varanasi serve as places where people can meet and celebrate their “Pujas”, which are their religious rituals celebrated almost daily.
Now and throughout the year Varanasi draws pilgrims from across the country. Any day in Varanasi you’ll find the ghats packed with people celebrating their Pujas. The only difference this month is that since it’s monsoon season the Assi ghat, also known as the bathing ghat, is completely flooded and isn’t nearly as crowded as it usually is. Now most people will congregate at the Dashashwamedh ghat in the morning, the same ghat where the evening ceremony takes place to honor mother ganga. And most of the pilgrims filling this ghat and the other ones as well are dressed all in orange.
I discovered this is a special month devoted to Shiva; in the lunar calendar it occurs only once every three years.
Pilgrims -- almost all of them young men, dressed entirely in orange -- travel on foot to Varanasi to gather water from the Ganges in small pots, and then travel on foot to other Shiva temples located throughout the country to pour the sacred water on the Shiva lingam-the symbol of the generative power of Lord Shiva.
And in all the temples here you have to remove your shoes before entering and so these young men, all dressed in orange, walk through Varanasi completely barefoot.
I’ve been able to spend my past couple mornings here at the Dashashwamedh Ghat soaking in the reverence people have for this place and the sense of rebirth and renewal that fill the riverbanks and the temples.
This sense of renewal stays with you even after you leave the ghats, which helps you maneuver the rest of the city.
Especially now, since it’s monsoon season you can’t simply walk from one end of the city to the other along the ghats. You need to find your way through the alleys that criss cross and wind their way along the riverbank. These inroads into Varanasi are narrow and street vendors, pilgrims, chai stalls, motorcycles, market vendors, flowers, cows, dogs and pedestrians are all competing for space.
Everyone’s trying to sell you something, help direct you to the temples, get you to stop in their shop, begging for food or money… It’s simply a part of being in a place where you look completely different, you’re going to draw attention, especially a white woman traveling alone.
I accept that this is the way things are. I also want to stress, this doesn’t take away from my experience or make Varanasi any less special or meaningful for me.
But if I could I would love to blend in and look like everyone else for a day so I could simply pass through the city, observe this place without interruption and experience it without making waves. Without everyone going out of their way to accommodate me, young men trying to get a picture with me, talk with me or sell me something because I’m a foreigner.
But being different, it’s something you learn to live with and something I only have to experience for a short period of time. This is something many people have to live with on a day to day basis throughout the world and they can’t escape the discrimination, prejudices and judgment that go along with being different. So sticking out here in Varanasi and in Kolkata, is nothing to complain about and an insignificant part of my travels.
What I chose to focus on instead is the deep sense of peace I feel here. I choose to focus on the spirituality, the sacredness that seeps into every part of the city.
Simply walking through the alleys you’ll see it and feel it.
Everywhere you go you’re greeted with Namaste, I love this. Everyone you meet is saying I honor and respect you and you're able to say the same in return.
Pilgrims dressed all in orange are filling every alley, marketplace, road in Varanasi. You see them and you're always reminded what this city means to people.
And in the Hindu religion-cows are respected and revered. The cow was Krishna's favorite animal and Krishna is believed to be an incarnation of God in the Hindu faith. Cows are also a symbol of divine love and grace. Without thinking of itself it produces milk to feed other creatures.
Cows are honored in festivals all over India in the Hindu tradition. Milk and ghee (clarified butter), are essential elements in Hindu worship, sacrament, and rites of passage. Gandhi once described both India and the cow by saying, "one can measure the greatness of a nation and its moral progress by the way it treats its animals. Cow protection to me is not mere protection of the cow. It means protection of all that lives and is helpless and weak in the world. The cow means the entire subhuman world."
Respecting the cow is meant to instill the virtues of gentleness and openness into the human mind.
So everywhere you walk through Varanasi, the back alleys and the main roads, you’ll find cows meandering along. As they pass some people will kiss their hand then place it on the cow as they pass by.
And almost every doorway here in Varanasi has a Ganesha statue or painting above it. Ganesha is the god of success, wisdom and prophecy and remover of obstacles. Placing him above the front door of your home is supposed to bring good luck and positive energy to all that enter. Just walking past and walking under all these statues of Ganesha I feel there must be all this good luck and positive energy wearing off on me:)
Doing my yoga practice in the morning I begin by simply focusing on the sensation of breathing. I bring my awareness inward and allow myself time to move through a practice that leaves me feeling stronger, more dedicated, more balanced and more relaxed.
This quote comes to mind...
There are mornings when I only have time for asana. Do I find that I connect to the spirit of the universe, that wondorous feeling of rest and wholeness, on those mornings? Definitely. When I pause from a busy and overstimulated mindset and become present with the asana and sink into it, then I find the portal to rest and peace. It's not so much whether you are doing a purely physical asana practice but how you are doing it that makes the difference. - Kartar Singh Khalsa
I have time for not only a purely physical asana practice but one that expands on this. For this I'm grateful.
I'm able to begin my day with a practice that brings me a deep sense of peace and build on this as I travel through Varanasi throughout the day.
Being here reminds me to live by this - to infuse it into every fiber of my being - grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.