Christmas in Varanasi at the Ganges

Well, I thought I'd be in Kajuraho for Christmas, but it was not to be.

After touring Varanasi and visiting a silk factory and other special things, I went to a nearby town of Sarnath. What a wonderful place. Sarnath is famous for being the place where Buddha gave his first speech after he attained enlightenment. I went to the the oldest Buddhist temple in the world. Then I visited a Jain temple, and a Japanese temple where they had written "Na me myo ren ge kyo." Remember that in the movie about Tina Turner? She used this simple chant to empower herself and make her break from Ike. Maybe some of you joined the American Buddhist movement at one time and chanted that chant. I never knew it was Japanese.

Then the absolute best part was visitng a monastery erected by His Holiness the 16th Karmupa (the 2nd most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism - the one that holds the crown of death) and finding that he was in at the time. I looked up from the couryard and saw him on the balcony and he began waving. Maybe you don't know this, but when I was younger I had an incredible expereince with the previous Karmapu. I was in Boston and Werner Erhard brought the 15th Karmupa for Americans to expereince. I chose to go up to the altar to receive his blessings and receive a protection string. Someone stepped on the back of my shoe and I ended up falling into his lap. I looked up and he looked down and we both started laughing. Anytime I have retold this story to monks and lamas I have met, they have been impressed by the sheer luck of it. So, here I was visiting this monastery and I saw the next Karmupa!

At 5:30pm, I went to the gants, holy places along the Ganges to expereince a Puja led by a priest and 8 monks. The crowd was enormous. I found a place to sit and witnessed a remarkable ceremony where they chant and make music and offer blessings to the Ganges and the four directions. They offer things such as flower petals, fire, water in conch shells, smoke, incense and they do this almost dance as they offer the various things. The whole ceremony takes about 45 minutes. I loved it and shot many photos.

The craziest part of the entire day was that I went to the river and back on bicycle rickshaw because cars cannot drive all the way to the gants. Well, let me tell you what a difference Tantra has made in my life if I have not told you before. There I sat in this rickshaw in between cars honking and motor bikes and motor rickshaws and people walking and all the animals I have mentioned before in ealier posts. And it was plenty scary. All of humanity coming from every direction. This is what I would call being in the center of the universe.

Anyway, I was calm. I mean really calm. I was surprised at my condition. And I know this is due totally to Tantra.

The evening ended when I returned to my hotel and had dinner with two Irish women I met earlier. We dank Indian beer and laughed at or various travel stories and took photos of ourselves with the Indian version of Santa. Lovely day.

In the morning I awoke at 5am and visited the Ganges at dawn by boat. Many people were praying at dawn by immersing themselves into the cold river. I could be mistaking, but it was my interpretation that this was an exprssion of prayer.

The boatman also took us to see crematoriums where they have the funeral pyres for death ceremony. It was amazing to actually view a body being burned and see the legs sticking out from the fire.

Before leaving the Ganges, I bought a flower and candle floating altar and put it into to water for blessings and prayer. Very moving experience.

One thing I found out that I must correct as i hve written before that Varanasi was the center o Shakti energy. Wrong. Varanasi is the city dedicated to Shiva! I stand corrected.

I am in Kajuraho now visiting the temples with the Tantric art and Kama Sutra carvings. I will write more about it after I have visited all the temples.

Much love,
Laurie