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Laden elephant on the road to Gorakhpur |
INDIA
Day 4. Thu 29 May BHAIRAHAWA – VARANASI
DEPARTURE TIME: 7.15 TACH. READING 131,883 DISTANCE RUN 313km
Todays run takes us out of Nepal and into the large over-populated country of India, - 1,269,291 sq.miles (3,287,263sq. kms), pop. 699 million (1980 figures - more than double that now - 2021). We enter India at the town of Sonauli and drive on into the State of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest and most populated. There is a 15 minutes – yes, 15 minutes – time difference between Nepal and India.
The Nepalese formalities are usually over quickly, but with the Indians there is a definite procedure. We arrived at the Indian side of the border at about 9.30 and having collected all the passports I took them into Indian Immigration, while Gopher, the driver, brought in the appropriate coach papers. The head immigration officer, with appropriate head movements, looked at all the passports then pronounced: “Border is closed.” To which I replied: “No, no, it is only 9.30. Border open, not home time yet!” There was a slight pause, he looked at the stack of passports again, sighed, then said: “I not be having pen. Nothing to write with. Cannot do passports!” I was prepared for this. “Ah, I have pen here for you.” With a shrug of his shoulders he processed two or three passports, then looked up at me, then at his colleague who was sitting alongside doing nothing, and said: “My friend, he not be having pen. Two can work faster than one” With a sigh I said: “I have another pen here.” With head movements that only Indian officials can emulate, they processed a few more passports, then: “Chai? You have chai.” “OK” and after a few minutes cups of ‘chai’ (the sweetened milk tea popular in India) appeared and there was a break with appropriate small talk before the passport process continued, now a little quicker. I could see members of the group pacing up and down the muddy street outside, looking impatiently into the office. Eventually, all formalities were complete after about two hours and we were on our way. If one was arrogant or demanding, as some new tour leaders could be, the process could take twice as long. Patience and pleasantness always got things done quickly - by the standards of India.
The route followed today is via Gorakhpur and Ghazipur to
Varanasi on the River Ganges. Uttar Pradesh state, besides being the most
populated, is also the most fertile. The western portion of the State, along
with the Punjab, provides India with all its wheat and the Eastern part of the
State, along with Bengal and Assam, with most of the country’s rice.
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| Temples by the side of the Ganges, Varanasi |
Varanasi, known to most Indians as Kashi, is the
sacred city of the Hindus, the city of Shiva. This is his perpetual abode where he and
his consort Parvati (also called Shakti, Bhawani, Durga or Kali) live. The city is
situated on the confluence of two minor
rivers, Varuna and Asi, with the mighty Mother river, the Ganges. Dr Raj Bali Pandey in Varanasi , the Heart of Hinduism expands on this: 'The 'Varuna' is associated with Varuna, the god of Waters and Morality. The word 'Asi' means a 'sword', a sword of knowledge, which cuts asunder, ignorance and bondage.' It was known by the British as Benares. It is here that the
mighty Ganges curves in a huge sweeping bend on its journey from its source at
Gomukh (the Cow’s Mouth), in an ice-cave in the Gangotri Glacier high in the
Himalayas, to its multiple mouths in the Sundabans of Bangladesh in the Bay of
Bengal. The Hindus have likened this great curve to the crescent moon, a symbol
of the great god Shiva, and so the city has become ‘the perpetual abode of
Shiva and his consort Parvati: every pebble being equal to Shiva.’ Here all
devout Hindus come to bathe in the sacred waters of Mother Ganges at sunrise at
least once in their lives and those who are lucky enough, or can afford it, are
cremated on one of the two great cremation ghats on the riverbanks, and have
their ashes scattered in the River.
TACH. READING 132,196 distance run 34kms
An early start for a
morning trip on the Ganges. As Varanasi is the holy city of the Hindus, all
adherents to the faith try, at least once in their life, to make a pilgrimage
to the city and bathe in the sacred waters of Mother Ganga. Time for the ritual
ablution is at sunrise when Surya, the sun, ‘giver of life’, rises
through the morning mists. Maximum spiritual benefit is obtained when the sun’s
rays pass through the sacred waters of the Ganges as it is trickled from the devotee's hands held in prayer.
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| The sun rising over the Ganges, Varanasi |
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| Devotees on the Bathing ghats at Varanasi |
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| Early morning ablutions on the Ganges, Varanasi |
Just before sunrise we will walk down to one of the bathing ghats to board a row boat which will take us past the major bathing ghats and the Marnikarnika and Harishchandra cremation ghats and on past the conglomeration of Hindu temples along the river bank. Some of these temples are showing the effects of frequent inundations of the Ganges waters. We will also glide past the dhobi, or laundry ghat before heading, with our guide, through the interesting back streets of the old city, to the golden Vishwanath (Shiva) Temple, the holiest in Varanasi, before we rejoin our coach.
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| Gliding in the early morning mists along the Ganges at Varanasi |
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| Early morning on the dhobi or laundry, ghat, Varanasi |
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| Dye sellers on the ghats, Varanasi |
After breakfast, we will go to Sarnath, a
settlement 10 kms from Varanasi, where Buddha preached his first sermon, known as the
sermon in the Deer Park, to his 5
disciples after he had attained enlightenment at Boghgaya.
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| Dhamekha Stupa at Sarnath |
This is known as Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, or the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma. Here at Sarnath is a modern Buddhist temple and the ancient Dhamekha Stupa built over the spot where Buddha preached; the ancient ruins of Sarnath and an archaeological museum which houses the famous Lion capital of King Ashoka, now the emblem of India. N.K. Sharma, in his book Varanasi: City of Burning & Learning describes the lions: 'They represent non-violent Buddha symbolically roaring the doctrine of peace, to the four directions of the world. India is proud of over (sic) this sculpture and has taken it as the national symbol of India which means that the constructor of this wonderful piece, the mighty emperor Asoka, 300 years before Christ, had the policy of peace to which India cherishes upto the time (sic).' From Sarnath we will visit a silk factory before returning to the Hotel de Paris.
Later in the afternoon I will arrange for snake-charmers and a yogi to perform on the lawn of the Hotel de Paris.
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| Yogi-man in 'resting position', Hotel de Paris lawn |
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| Snake charmers with their cobras, Hotel de Paris lawn |
In the evening a sitar and tabla player from the Varanasi Academy of Indian Classical Music will put on a performance at the Hotel. The sitar is the stringed instrument made famous by Ravi Shankar and used on one or two of the Beatles tracks, the tabla is a small hand drum which often accompanies the sitar
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| Tabla accompanying the sitar, Hotel de Paris |
As we are in Varanasi, India’s holiest city, I will now write
a few words on Hinduism, the world’s oldest religion still in existence. The beginnings
of Hinduism are lost way back in the mists of the ancient Indus Valley
Civilisations which flourished on the sub-continent in the 2nd
Millennium BC. These early peoples had a sophisticated image cult that embodied
many aspects of present day Hinduism. Then came the Aryan invasions from
Central Asia and with these people came the Vedas of which the Rig
Veda is the oldest. Throughout the centuries the religion developed and was
reformed until, finally, becoming the extremely complex faith that it is today.
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| Hindu trinity - Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva as one |
At its highest level, known as Brahmanism, belief is in a subtle and sophisticated monotheism in which Brahman is an impersonal all-embracing spirit, although there is a tolerant acceptance of more primitive beliefs. The Absolute, or Infinite, the Brahman, has three aspects, personified in the ‘Hindu Trinity’, or Trimurti: Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer.
The two great doctrines of
Hinduism are karma and transmigration. The universal desire to be
reunited with the absolute (atman or Brahman) can be satisfied by
following the path of knowledge. Life is a cycle of lives (samsara) in
which man’s destiny is determined by his deeds (karma) from which he may
seek release (moksa) through ascetic practices or the discipline of
Yoga. Failure to achieve release means reincarnation – migration to a higher or
lower form of life after death – until the ultimate goal of absorption in the Absolute is reached.
The Hindu Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are all interesting characters. Brahma the creator is usually depicted with four heads and is carrying the Vedas. Although the Creator, Brahma is not as powerful as the other two gods who often have to intervene in situations to help Brahma out. Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, is his consort.
Vishnu, the preserver, is also interesting in that every so often he has been reincarnated to help the human race. There are 10 major avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu, each with its own story: i) Matsya, the fish; ii) Kurma, the tortoise; iii) Varana, the boar; iv) Narasinha, the man-lion; v) Vamana, the dwarf; vi) Parasurama, the prince with an axe; vii) Ram, the feudal prince and hero of the Indian epic poem the Ramayana; viii) Krishna, the divine lover; ix) Buddha, the great teacher; and x) Kalki, the avatar yet to come. Vishnu’s consort is Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. It is Lakshmi who stimulates Vishnu by tickling his feet as he lies asleep on a serpent upon the cosmic ocean.
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| Narasinha avatar tears in half the demon Hinranyakashipu; Krishna enchants the milkmaids & Saraswati, consort of Vishnu |
Shiva, the destroyer, is
often regarded as the most powerful. He is Vishwanath, the Lord of the
Universe. He has two forms, a manifest form in which he is represented as the
ascetic with matted locks from which the Ganges springs; and an unmanifest form
in which he is worshipped as a lingam (a phallic symbol). Other forms of
Shiva are Nataraja – the King of the dancers, and in his destructive
aspect as Rudra, or Black Bhairab (Kathmandu), the terrible. His consort
is Parvati who, in her docile form is the perfect wife; in her terrible Shakti
aspect she is Durga or Kali, the goddess of death.
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| Aspects of Shiva. A Shaivite sadhu, or holy man; Black Bhairab of Kathmandu; & a Shiva lingam, the phallic symbol |
All these different aspects of the gods are extremely complex.
There are many other lesser gods, the two best known being Ganesha, the
anthropomorphic elephant-headed god of beginnings, the patron and learning and
letters & the protector of the household; another is Hanuman, the
monkey god, companion of Rama, and god of wisdom, strength, courage and
devotion. Other gods include Surya, the sun god, Vayu, the
wind-god and Agni, the fire-god.
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| Shiva, with Ganga entwined in his hair |
Before finishing, a word
should be said about the River Ganges, or Ganga Mai – Mother Ganges. The
river is personified as a goddess sitting astride a crocodile. The Ganges is
1560 miles long beginning in an ice-cave known as the Gomukh or Cow’s
Mouth, situated over 12,500 ft up in the Himalayas, at the foot of the Gangatri
Glacier. The icicles in the ice-cave are regarded as being the frozen
dreadlocks of Shiva, from whose head the Ganges springs. From the source, the Ganges
flows across northern India to its mouth in the Bay of Bengal at Calcutta
(Kolkata) and the Sundarbans of Bangladesh. Pilgrimage from the source to the
mouth is called Pradakshina and is done by prostration, taking 6 years to
complete. Every Hindu should bathe at least once in the river, and to say the
words: ‘O Ganga, o Ganga” with love will atone for misdeeds in three previous
incarnations.
Text & photographs ©Neil Rawlins |
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