Varanasi

Varanasi

Better known as the city of Shiva, who resides in his Vishveshwara and Avimukteshwara forms (Lord of all and the One who never forsakes), Varanasi draws pilgrims from all over. It is home to the very first sermon given by Gautama Buddha (Sarnath) and has witnessed the evolving of great philosophical formulations of Patanjali, Shankara and Ramanuja. It has also been the nerve centre of great movements initiated by Ramananda and Kabir with their vision of a classless and casteless society . Varanasi embodies the true universality of spirit.

The name Kashi sums up the mythical and spiritual dimensions of the city's best. Etymologically speaking, Kashi is derived from the Sanskrit “kash" to shine­ and this City of Light is metaphorically alluded to by tradition, as that which lights up the inner desire to be a free and liberated soul. The Kashi Rahasya, part of the Brahmavaivarta Purana, and the Five Verses on Kashi, attributed to Shankara, extend this metaphor to internalise Kashi as Brahmn itself, the city which best reflects the Self.

One of the most overpowering images of Kashi, with its burning ghats, is Death. The simple and inevitable act of consigning a dead body to flames subsumes within itself one of the most profound philosophies of Kashi ­ that death in Kashi is liberation, “kashya maranam muktih“. It is believed that Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa went into an ecstatic trance while watching a cremation at the Manikarnika Ghat, and had a vision of Shiva breathing the famous Taraka mantra into the ears of the dead and releasing them from this endless cycle of births.

Taraka mantra or the ferry-boat mantra is believed to carry one over the sea of samskara to liberation. Not only does faith erase any fear of dying at Kashi, the fallibility of a senses driven life is underscored at each step in Kashi.

The other overpowering image of Kashi is its great musical tradition which echoes these philosophical truths even more. There is a certain timelessness about the music, which transcends individual beliefs and faiths and unites all in celebration of the Kashi way of life, free from fear of the unknown. It is this legacy of the Ganga-Yamuna tehzeeb which enables Kashi to overcome the vicissitudes of modern life as well, beckoning all to a universal cosmic vision beyond the merely transient. It is perhaps time to reflect on and learn from the spirit of Kashi “ever-luminous“, as it were.

Om Namah Shivay