The Ghats

I visited the Dashashwamedh Ghat,

too late for sunrise as I’d slept in.

It’s a short walk from the Anan Kanand,

through narrow streets I hope to master before departing Varanasi.

Even in February, Varanasi is quite hot by mid-morning,

so I headed back to the Anan Kanand for a simple lunch of plain dal, plain rice, and curd,

the recommended diet for those recovering from Dehli Belly.

Most visitors return to the ghats in the evening,

of which there are 84 along the west bank of the Ganges.

Dashashwamedh is the main ghat, the site of the Ganga Aarti,

the evening ritual dedicated to the Goddess Ganga, the sacred river. It’s worshipped as a living divine mother in Hindu tradition.

Wandering off,

I came upon the Manikarnika Ghat where the funeral pyres burn 24 hours a day, continuously.

There I sat on a bench with Pahadi Baba, a Sadhu monk on pilgrimage from his ashram, the Mahayogi Pilot Baba near Gethia. After some silence, he shared that he became a monk at the age of 26, and that when his Guruji died soon after, he moved on to Mahayogi Pilot Baba where he’s lived ever since. Now 46, he spoke in a whisper of the death of his Guruji two years ago and that Sadhu’s believe their Guruji never dies.

We again sat in silence, the flames growing higher as wood was piled on for a later cremation.

At the right moment, Pahadi Baba stood, explaining that it was time to return to the Sadhu monastery where he’s staying, a short walk from the Manikarnika.

Accompanying him there, he took my hand, invited me to visit his ashram should I return to India, and then ascended the steep steps to the Mahanirvani Akhara monastery.

Retracing my steps, I returned to the fires, then to the Dashashwamedh, arriving shortly after the Ganga Aarti had ended.