We were driven in cars through the crowded streets, surging with humanity, cows and carts, and through smells better described as “stench” toward the banks of the Ganges. Finally, we got as far as the cars could take us. We then walked through the same dense throngs for about a quarter of a mile to the bathing ghats (stone steps on the river banks) where we managed somehow to step into small boats without anyone slipping or falling in.

Hope of Divine Release

A.M.S…
Every Hindu, we are told, has the life desire to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges, which is supposed to help heal the sick, but primarily to purify the soul, and greatly aid in bringing the Hindu to a better hereafter. Many elderly, crippled or diseased souls arrive in the hope that they may die in this holy place of sanctity.

What we had driven through, and walked through was, therefore, not alone the normal filthy, smelly, destitute looking humans, but in addition, the maimed and diseased souls sitting or lying near the ghats… Many, it seemed, only hoping that death in this sacred river and city would release them from their suffering and misery.

Thence to the Burning Ghats

A.M.S…
Our little boats slowly rowed along the ghats where thousands of souls bathed, and where holy men, always arrayed in bright yellow, perform some ceremony under huge umbrellas to complete the ritual for the “pilgrims” who had bathed in the holy waters.

Further down the river, we were then shown the burning ghats. Here the bodies of the dead, after being immersed in the Ganges, are placed on huge, burning pyres for cremation. Following this unforgettable experience which will be burned forever in our minds’ eye and require no pictures to recall, we were driven back through the same mass of humanity to an acceptable restaurant: the “Hotel de Paris”, for our breakfast!

Indelible Sights, Sounds & Smells

A.M.S…
I should add that along the banks of the Ganges, just above the bathing ghats, are numerous temples, temporary living quarters for pilgrims, and even some private “homes”, ascending steeply from the huge stone steps of the ghats to a considerable height, so that the river at this point has the appearance of butting against a large city.

During the remainder of the day we viewed many other equally unforgettable (I fear this word maybe over-used, but not misused) sights. We shall touch on but three:

1. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple,
   also called the “Golden Temple”. It is perhaps the most venerated and sacred of all Hindu temples, located in the most sacred of Hindu cities. It's called “golden” because, we are told, there's more than a ton of gold in its plated “spire”. We could not enter because only Hindus are permitted within, but we could walk to it, around it, and peer in.

An Olfactory Challenge

A.M.S…
Try to imagine the most filthy slums you ever have seen; picture yourself reaching it through narrow alleys, avoiding cows, almost stepping into cow dung and trying to avoid occasional filthy little pools of, well, something you'd want to give a wide berth! Envision peering into a structure equally dirty and just as revolting, including the ever-present cow, along with humans. You have but a partial glimpse of the most sacred temple in the most holy of Hindu cities!

Applying Tolerant Comprehension

A.M.S…
No doubt from a Hindu viewpoint, this would be deemed as a distorted description, grossly insulting and irreverent! Also to the Hindu this temple may have far more meaningful significance than we Christians attach to any of our holy structures; for we have few, if any, that we would travel to at great discomfort for days to visit and to worship in.

We must, therefore, temper what the eye sees and the nose smells with a tolerant comprehension and a sincere effort to understand that to hundreds of thousands of beings who place no importance on sanitation and cleanliness, may well place greater importance and deeper feelings to the worship of their God than others do.

2. The Shailputri Durga Temple,
   also known as the Monkey Temple. Monkeys seem also to have a special place in the Hindu concept. In this temple (rather small) we're told that monkeys just happen to live here too, so tourists have endowed it with its disrespectful name: “Monkey Temple”, We were allowed to enter above the main court. To us, the monkeys, rather liberally covered with vile looking sores, were far more revolting than the cows!
3. Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath.
   Here at Sarnath, also known as the Deer Park, a few miles from Banaras, one is unexpectedly transported to a Buddhist Shrine, (and a nearby Janeism Temple) spotlessly clean and surrounded by beautifully kept, flowered and serenely peaceful gardens

Religious Belief: Compare & Contrast

A.M.S…
Buddha, was to Hinduism, what Martin Luther was to Catholicism. It was in this park where Buddha had preached his first sermons; not in the commemorative temple, of course, but at this location. So to the Buddhist this Temple which inside, in beautiful murals depicts his entire life, is of especial significance.

As nearly as we can gather, the basic beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism are quite similar, with certain deviations. The latter, for example, do not countenance the caste system of the Hindu, nor is it quite so resignedly fatalistic. Strangely, the story of Buddha who lived 500 B.C. bears some striking resemblance to the story of Christ.

Return to Bombay

A.M.S…
We left Varanasi Junction on the train that afternoon at about 5pm. for our final 30-hour ride back to Bombay and the Caronia. It's doubtful that in any 6 days of our lives, so much utterly new of another world had ever come into our vision and comprehension. It was a tremendous experience indeed!