Varanasi – ALL I NEED IS MY PASSPORT

Three Religions – One Site

Nov 032018

November 1, 2018

This is known as Lat Bhairav. According to our resident scholar Deepak Anand: “Chinese monk-scholar Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang, 7th CE) mentions about the presence of an Aśokan stūpa and pillar on the west side of River Barnā (now Varṇā) on the way from Vārānasī to the Deer Park (Sārnātha). Vincent Smith (1848-1920) has identified Lāt Saraiyā on the west banks of River Varṇā as the place mentioned by Xuanzang. According to Smith, the mosque at Lāt Saraiyā is built over the remains of the Aśokan stūpa while the Aśokan pillar mentioned by Xuanzang is being worshiped as Lāt Bhairav (Staff of Lord Shiva). ”

This was a highly auspicious day, we believe we were the first Buddhists to chant and then circumambulate, what was once the Ashokan Pillar in a very long time.

A Hindi watching the monks chant inside the small enclosure

Monks chanting around, what was once, presumably an Ashokan Pillar

This small, once Buddhist, now Hindi, shrine is surrounded by a rather large Muslim complex. On one side is a graveyard, and on the other, a large structure, whose use, I could not determine.

We were there during prayer time

When we were finished we took a group shot. This is rather an important photo, the Hindi gentleman can be seen on the far right, and the man in the very front is Muslim. I felt a sense of awe at what I was seeing on this day.

The Search for an Authentic Candy Shop

Varanasi

Nov 022018

Rasvanti Sweets
CK 21/24 Sugga Gali, Thatheri
Bazar, Govindpura,
Varanasi
October 31, 2018

The Indians love their sweets, and this tucked away shop is as authentic as it gets.

Deep into the alleyways of Varanasi, winding past motorcycles, then bikes and cows, and then to alleys too narrow for any but a person on foot, one finally finds themselves in this old world Varanasi sweet maker.

You can tell by the pictures, that it is nothing fancy, but the purity of heart of the makers and the hours of preparation with original ingredients makes it worth the maze of alleyways.

Just one type of many offered by this small shop, that is silver on the top.

The owner kindly handed us free samples, so many we were sick to our stomachs like children, and then stood quietly as we ruminated upon our decisions. All while deftly handling the locals dropping in to purchase their packages, most destined for gifts at Dewali which is in just 8 days.

This is the beginning of a batch. This pot will be stirred for over 8 hours to make one of the delectable treats.

This is the area where the main pot sits for candy making. Notice the ground nuts in the left-hand corner

Notice the heat coming off of the pot, the building was truly very warm, the shop keeper was kind enough to turn on a small fan where I was standing after he saw beads of sweat come down my face.

Heat coming off of the pot, the building was truly very warm, the shopkeeper was kind enough to turn on a small fan where I was standing after he saw beads of sweat come down my face.

Big pots and nuts just waiting for magic to happen

The family laundry hung in one of the work areas, along with the motorcycle.

The boxes of candy that I will give to my monks

India is full of small businesses like this. While there are malls and markets galore, it is exploring and finding the very out of the way family business, run in a dingy dark place like this that is still, really the heart of India.

In the 1990s, 85% of the Indian population was self-employed. Maybe they were just selling twenty rupees worth of vegetables a day, but the number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) in India is awe inspiring.

Number of SMEs in India: estimated to be at 42.50 million, registered & unregistered together. A staggering 95% of the total industrial units in the country.

SME & Employment opportunity: Employs about 106 million, 40% of India’s workforce. Next only to the agricultural sector.

Products: produces more than 6000 products.

GDP Contribution: Currently around 6.11% of the manufacturing GDP and 24.63% of Service sector GDP.

SME Output: 45% of the total Indian manufacturing output.

SME Exports: 40% of the total exports.

Bank Lending: Accounts for 16% of bank lending.

Fixed Assets: Current fixed assets at INR (Indian Rupee) 1,471,912.94 crore. (a crore is 10 million)

SME Growth Rate: Has maintained an average growth rate of over 10%.

As you see the photographs, you can imagine that there must be far more of these hidden little shops than are counted by the government and business world.

Small Businesses I have photographed in India throughout the years:

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Banaras and The Ganga

Varanasi

Oct 302018

Banaras/Varanasi
October 30, 2018

What is India was one of the real reasons maps of India did not exist for a very long time.

The borders are fluid making India a malleable country.

I find that, just like the borders, the many adjectives I use to describe India are always changing.

I often say it is the color and the noise. Sometimes it is the pollution or the wonderful people and sometimes, it is the food. India belies description, but I feel the need to reach for a few words.

This morning, I once again took a sunrise ride on the Ganga, along the coast of Banaras. Since I have taken the Ganga river trip along the banks of Banares three times in the past, I decided to look at the river differently this time. I took away two words that I often use to describe India: the color and the noise.

It truly is a different place when looked at this way, the serenity comes through. That being said, serenity is not a word one would ever use to describe the Ganga, but it is important to consider.

The Ganga is known for its filthy waters, but it is also known as the resting place of ashes and bones from departed Hindi’s, something that has been going on since time immemorial

It is the ultimate wish of a Hindu to die and be cremated along a riverbank; the holier the river the better for the departed soul. Banaras, which is situated along the holy river Ganga, is the holiest place of all. It is considered so holy that every Hindu wishes to die there. Indeed, this desire is so ingrained in the psyche that some pious Hindus make provisions to move to Banaras at an old age for the sole purpose of dying in Banaras and instantly being reunited with God.

So today, instead of photographing the clothes washers, the bathing masses, the constant cacophony of bells, horns, and whistles from the religious, I decided to give this moment in time its due: serenity.

If the Ganga is to represent death to so many, then this serenity should be honored, if only in a series of Black and White photos.

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If you need to see what the river looks dressed in color, you can read older posts about the Ganga here.

Thes photos were shot with a manual Leica M Monochrome and are best viewed on a large screen.

Delhi, Sarnath and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh

India, Varanasi

Feb 242015

Dhamekh Stupa

We rose early in Delhi to head to the airport for a flight to Varnasi. Alas, the plane was late in arriving so our day became an exercise in catching up. It was not a problem, it just meant for a long and very exhausting day.

We checked into the Taj Ganges Varanasi, and I will say it is not the best, but I am told it is the nicest hotel in the area. I only find this of interest because of the incredible importance of this area, I would assume a high end tourist hotel would have been a natural, but I guess I am wrong.

This area is of such sacred importance to both Buddhism and Hinduism that I hope I don’t confuse you in my telling.

After an insane drive on half paved, oxen crowded roads we arrived at Sarnath. Sarnath is one of the Buddhists most sacred spots.

Buddha arrived in what was then Deer Park, in 528 BC, at that time Sarnath was already one of India’s greatest centers of learning.

It is here, under where stupa above now sits, that Buddha came to preach the Wheel of Law, his first major sermon after his enlightenment.

This stupa, the Dhamek Stupa. was built in 500 CE to replace an earlier structure commissioned by the Mauryan king Ashoka which was built in 249 BC. This stupa stands about 110 feet high and is about 90 feet in diameter. The lower portion of the Stupa is covered randomly with beautifully carved stones. Buddhists come from around the world to circumambulate the stupa.

The accompanying museum has a superb collection of artifacts, sadly photos were not allowed. As you enter you get the first glimpse of a polished sandstone Ashoken Lion Capital. The piece in the museum is considered the pre-eminant of the many found around the Buddhist world. The one in the museum does not have the wheel attached.

The pillar was adopted as the national emblem of India. It is depicted on the one rupee note and the two rupee coin.
These columns were commissioned by Emperor Ashoka (273-232 B.C.) who was a staunch follower of Buddhism and who visited Sarnath. It is assumed there were many pillars but only nineteen survive with inscriptions, and only six with animal capitals, the columns were a target for Muslim iconoclasm, thus their destruction. All the pillars were placed at Buddhist monasteries, these were important sites from the life of the Buddha and places of pilgrimage. Some of the columns carry inscriptions addressed to the monks and nuns. Some were erected to commemorate visits by Ashoka.

The symbolism of each and every part of the capital is worth studying, but in a nutshell.

The top of the column—the capital—has three parts. First, a base of a lotus flower, the most ubiquitous symbol of Buddhism.
Then, a drum on which four animals are carved representing the four cardinal directions: a horse (west), an ox (east), an elephant (south), and a lion (north). They also represent the four rivers that leave Lake Anavatapta (the lake that lies in the center of the world) and enter the world as the four major rivers. The moving animals follow one another endlessly turning the wheel of existence.

The four lions stand that sit atop the drum, also face in the four cardinal directions. Their mouths are open roaring or possibly spreading the Four Noble Truths of the dharma. The lion references the Buddha, formerly Shakyamuni, a member of the Shakya (lion) clan. The lion is also a symbol of royalty and leadership and may also represent the Buddhist king Ashoka.

The wheel (or Dharma chakra), was assumed to be originally mounted above the lions.

The Ashokan Capital at Sarnath as found before moving to the museum

This is the first time that I have been in India and presented with beads, rather than flowers, when entering an establishment. These beads are called Sadhguru made from the Radraksha seed. Rudraksha is the seed of the Eliocarpus ganitrus tree that once grew mainly in the Himalayan region. Unfortunately, most of these trees were used to make railway sleeper cars, so there are very few of them remaining in India. Today, they are mostly found in Nepal, Burma, Thailand or Indonesia.

Usually the beads (seeds) are strung together as a mala. A mala is a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists, used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity. Traditionally, they believe the number of beads is 108 plus one. The extra bead is the bindu. There must always be a bindu to the mala, otherwise the energy becomes cyclical and people who are sensitive may become dizzy. The Radraksha seed is said to have a certain harmonic resonance. The larger beads are prized for this resonance.

When we arrived at the hotel we were given a colorful set, not 108, In one form of Buddhism, for instance, 27-bead malas are common. These shorter malas are sometimes called “prostration rosaries” because they are easier to hold when enumerating repeated prostrations.

We spent a few hours riding down the Ganges to witness the Aarti Ritual, but that will be another post. Dinner was a true highlight and I would like to show you that.

We arrived via boat

To this…

Amrit Rao Peshwa Haveli

We were greeted with marigold necklaces, showered with marigold petals and escorted in to the sounds of traditional Indian music and chants.

A beautiful chorus of chanting greeted us upon our arrival

After a welcoming drink we were given a show of traditional Indian dancing by a beautiful woman, accompanied by a male singer with a voice of angels.

This is Amrit Rao Peshwa Haveli (mansion). Built in 1807 as a fine restaurant to the Brahmins, it sits on the Raj Ghat. Ghat is a Hindi word meaning a wide set of steps descending to a river, especially a river used for bathing.

Dinner was Thali,

Thali

Thali (plate) is an Indian meal made up of a selection of various dishes. Thali dishes vary from region to region in South Asia and are usually served in small bowls, called katori, which are placed on a round tray. Ours was fabulous.

A boat ride home by and to bed after a long, exhausting and yet exhilarating day.

Namaste

Varanasi at Night

India, Varanasi

Feb 232015

“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” Mark Twain

Varnasi, also known as Kasha (the City of Light) or Banares, is Hindu’s holiest city. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism, and Jainism. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Varanasi is also known as the favorite city of the Hindu deity Lord Shiva.

Hindus regard the Ganga (Ganges) as Amrita, the elixir of life, which brings purity to the living and salvation to the dead (Some Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation); outsiders tend to focus on all-persuasive and extreme lack of hygiene.

Varanasi is like any other Indian city when wandering within the town, it is when one delves into the life on the river that you see the religious and revered side of Varanasi.

Our first introduction to this world was at night. There are two events that make the river at night the center of the world. First is the Manikarnika Ghat, one of the oldest ghats in Varanasi. This is where funeral pyres burn day and night. The shroud wrapped bodies are placed on biers besides piles of wooden logs. According to legend,in the middle of the ghat is the well that Vishnu carved out with his discus before the Ganges flowed here. (out of respect, I took no pictures)

Farther down the river are the formal evening Aartis. These daily prayers (aarti) are done at dawn and dusk and serve as salutations to the river. This ceremony consists of fire offerings, ringing of bells, gonging of gongs and chanting sacred mantras. It is a colorful, and lively ceremony.

Photo from “About Travel”

The formal aarti is performed on a stage by a group of young pandits, draped in saffron colored robes and puja plates* spread out before them. It begins with the blowing of a conch shell, and continues with the waving of incense sticks, feathers, peacock fans all in elaborate patterns. The movement of the various chosen items, held in the pandits’ hands, is tightly synchronizing to the rhythmic chants and clanging of cymbals.

*Puja consists of a variety of ritual offerings and prayers to be performed as mentioned in the puja vidhi (protocol of worship).

Performing in the evening Aarti

An aarti is a devotional ritual that uses fire as an offering. So while this formal ceremony is taking place, many are performing their own personal ceremony. These are usually made in the form of floating lit candles or diyas down the river during this period. The diyas, that we sent down the river, consisted of marigolds and a little votive, placed in a cup made of leaves. It was interesting that little girls ran after us at the end of the night begging for our marigold flower garlands to recycle into these offerings to sell again the next day.

It is a religious ceremony, that by now seems to be more of a chance to watch the people watch, that the spectacle of watching is of as much interest as the ceremony itself. No matter how you feel about mixing tourism with religious practices it is so much a part of India as to be a wonderful and confusing experience, like so much of this amazing country.

Varanasi – Bodh Gaya and the Road In Between

Bodhgaya, India, Varanasi

Feb 222015

Varanasi in the Morning

February 2015

Up before dawn to catch the river as it wakes. It was truly amazing to be in an Indian city where it is quiet and the streets, while not deserted, were empty but for the sleeping cow and early worker.

Once at the river however, it was the beginning of the day. People are out, washing clothes, performing yoga asanas, offering flowers and fire to the river and also going for a swim.

Ganga “supermarkets” are floating along side happy to sell you whatever you may need, playing cards, post cards, malas, and even candy bars.

Today we passed many fabulous buildings, several funeral ghats and various religious temples doing morning prayers.

Here is our guide serenading us as we float down the river.

A quick breakfast and onto the bus for a six hour ride to Badh Gaya.

It is harvest time for some type of grain so, at 50 miles an hour, a painting of the process opened before our eyes.

The straw left from harvest is put to many uses in India included bio-fuel

A beautiful form of storage for the straw

BODH GAYA

Bodh Gaya is where the Buddha is said to have obtained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa).

For Buddhists, Bodh Gaya is the most important of the main four pilgrimage sites, the other three being Sarnath, Kushinagar, and Lambini.

Next to the Bodhi Tree there is a platform known as Vajrasana, or the Diamond Throne. This was originally installed by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Buddha sat and meditated.

Buddha’s Footprints

In the shrine are the footprints (Padas) of Buddha carved in black stone that date from the 3rd century BC when Ashoka declared Buddhism to be the official religion. He had thousands of these footprint stones installed all over the kingdom.

Apparently the architecture is a mystery. It appears to have been constructed with the intent of being a monument but later became a receptacle for relics of the Buddha. The temple is one of the few early monumental brick structures to have survived in eastern India.

The base is approximately 50 feet square and the tower, a 19th century construction, rises 170 feet.

Inside the temple there is a huge image of the Buddha in the bhumisparsha mudra “touching the ground pose”. This image is purported to be 1700 years old and is facing east exactly at the place where Buddha obtained enlightenment.

We arrived as the sun was going down and evening prayers began, it was absolutely magical.

Here is a small sample of that magic-

The R.V. Bengal Ganga and Bateshwarsthan

Ganges River, India, Varanasi

Feb 192015

February 2015Our only stop today was Vikramshila University in the town of Bateshwarsthan. This is the birthplace of Vajrayana Buddhism. Originally established by King Dharampala in the late 8th or 9th century in response to what he saw as a decline in the quality of education at Nalanda. Vikramshila is one of the more important centers of Buddhist learning, along with Nalanda. This center, however, is much smaller with only one hundred teachers and one thousand students. It taught such interesting subjects as theology, philosophy, grammar, meta-physics and logic.

The university was destroyed by the Turks around 1200.

Stupas at Vajaryana

Vajarayana is a branch of Buddhism, related to esoteric ritual practices associated most strongly with a branch of Tibetan Buddhism, Tantrism. Tantrism is found in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

There is a local festival of which I do not know, but the animals have been colored for this festival

Colored Goats

While it is quiet I wanted to go back to a site we saw in Varanasi. We had a quick stop at the Mother India Temple to view a map. Maps are an interesting concept in India. We have used maps throughout time and consider them a vital part of exploration and getting around, but this is not so in India.

Pilgrimage maps were the first maps of India, and these make the most sense. The candles and oil lamps that light the holy rivers drew the body of the Goddess (Bharat Mata) and gave sanctification to what was imagined to be the landscape of the country. So the concept of India can’t really be drawn in a western manner.

The second problem arises with “What is India?”

“There is no such country, and this is the first and most essential fact about India that can be learned. India is a name, which we give to a great region including a multitude of different countries. There is no general Indian term that corresponds to it.” – Sir John Strachey, 1888.

Because maps are such a touchy subject in India the Geographical Survey of India is the only organization that that is authorized to make official maps of India.

In April of 2013 the national surveying and map-making body filed a complaint with the Delhi police accusing Google of violating India’s national map policy. According to India’s 2005 National Map Policy, no department or entity, apart from the Survey of India, has the authority to produce maps of the country.

The Mother Goddess drawing the map of India with her body and clothing

We passed another ethereal rock form today with a temple called Khelgaon or Jahngira.

Some sights from our slow, relaxing journey down the Ganges.