Linda: Varanaisi Jan 27-31

Linda: Varanaisi

This city is one that defies description. It truly is the universe, all held in the arms of the blessed Ganges; this amazing river, flowing north through the city sparkles like jewels in the sun. Its quiet majesty sweeps by and contains all there is. Every aspect of life and death are displayed on its placid banks. Every moment is punctuated by the sounds of prayer, of play, of music and drum, of washing, of selling. Every vision takes in every human possibility in all its modalities. One is never away from life, or from death and decay. From purity and contemplativity to activity. From that which is Most High to that which is Within. From duty and work, or from a sublime rejection of every day work for the work of prayer. From the ancient (sacred places and ways of being) to the old (most of the architecture is from the 1800’s) to the modern (mostly is the faces of some of the people). Around every corner is a place where some great personage has lived and prayed, whose influence is still felt and revered. Here, one could live in one corner for a lifetime and not exhaust its possibilities. Every day has brought a different light, a different angle, a different perception. And through it all, the Ganges flows forth, bringing with it the hopes and prayers of thousands and thousands.

Being in Varanasi is traveling back in time. The old city is a maze of small streets, wide enough for two people to go down somewhat comfortably – moving amongst the bullocks, carts, bicycles, and motorcycles like streams of water flowing together. Our days were mostly spent walking up and down the ghats, just being present in this city with no real agenda. The images pass before my mind’s eye, so little with ties back to our world in the west. The sound and sight of cars and automation is far away, and the air is filled with music, bells, chants, laughter, and speech.

Three events punctuated our visit to Varanasi. The first was a short visit to the ashram of Anandamayma, a woman Hindu saint from last century. Her life and her words are inspiring and she radiates a presence of devotion, intelligence, and love. She left a legacy of ashrams and had western disciples as well as Hindu. She was a beacon of beauty. Hidden up a long flight of stairs on one of the ghats, tucked away off a narrow alley, was her ashram and a memorial to her presence. The memorial had two floors, the bottom with a shrine with flowers and a photograph of her to the side, as well as photographs surrounding the hall. A man at the door then showed us the upstairs, which was a more intimate setting. Here there was a shrine to a god, again bedecked with flowers, with a photograph of her beside it. Nearby on a table were many of her personal artifacts. These things were protected behind a metal grate. Outside the grate was a bed with a photograph of her holding the statue of the god – the symbol of mother came immediately to mind. It was a place radiant with light and peace and overwhelming presence, which took me by surprise.

Later, we met a man that several friends knew. He works in a bookstore here in Varanasi (Indica Books) that sells many interesting books about traditions and India. He is of Spanish descent, but upon travel to India over 25 years ago, was taken with her culture and her religion of metaphysics. He has since married here and has become a Hindu – something that is very unusual, as one must typically be born a Hindu to truly practice this religion as the religious duties of Hinduism are based on caste. Through many years of sincere effort and through this contact with the Jagadguru of the North, an eminent spiritual leader, he was able to overcome this obstacle and became one of the kshattriya caste. (4 castes: Brahmin – priest; kshattriya – leader/warrior; vaisha – merchant/artisan; shudra – worker). Each caste not only has certain things to do religiously, but also has different duties to society. Thus, in the perfect blend of caste and adherence to caste, all aspects of society are cared for, and everyone is appreciative of the sacrifices made on every level for the good of the community. This is difficult to maintain in modern times, to say the least, as western and eastern ways of thought become intertwined in all the people. We had a wonderful conversation with this good man, and through him, we had our introduction to the Jagadguru of the North. Matthew has written about this unexpected visit. The simplicity and this meeting was a perfection. He is an elderly man (83 years) who has recently had surgery, so his meetings with people are necessarily brief. We waited in an anteroom, quietly talking on soft mattresses covered in white cloth. Then, the doors opened and light came in through open windows. Inside, sitting on a bed and surrounded by devotees in orange robe was a man of great light. His countenance was like the sun. We were introduced to him, and he said, several times, “Man is not God. But when the Light of God is in man, he is not unlike God.” It is the profound metatphysics of Shankara, seen also in all traditions. In Christianity, it is, of course, the Christ, who is Son of God and the invitation is to be brothers. Thus it is the world over. The people who were gathered to see him were delighted to hear him speak, as he has been quieter lately. His voice rang with happiness and joy, and that joy spread through the room like the sun through clouds. My husband was the main interlocutor for us; I had the happy position of just being able to watch and see, without having to think about what I needed to say and do. There are many advantages to being in a family! Afterwards, we were given back some of the food we’d brought as a gift, with his blessing upon it, and were also invited to have a small breakfast downstairs: rice and vegetables served in a leaf bowl and given to us by the hands of one of his primary disciples. We had seen the places of past saints; it was a blessing to be in the presence of a man whose life has been dedicated to spiritual matters and whose influence and knowledge was palpable.

Our third venture was to visit Sarnath, or Deer Park. This is the place where the Buddha delivered his first sermon. Today, Eleanor and I leave for Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained Enlightenment – about 5 hours away by train. But it was here, near the banks of the Ganges that he gave his first sermon to five aesthetics who were living there. A sprig from the original tree in Bodhgaya was planted in Sarnath in the 1930’s. Its spreading branches are surrounded by prayer flags, a wall, and a plaque with the words of that first sermon written down. “In the 3rd century BC, Ashoka, a warrior king who converted to Buddhism, had magnificent stupas and monasteries erected as well as an engraved pillar with edicts for his kingdom. When the Chinese traveler Xuan Zang came in 640 AD, Sarnath boasted a 100m high stupa, 30 monasteries, 3000 monks (accounts vary), and a lifesize brass Buddha turning the Wheel of Life. However, soon after, Buddhism went into decline in India, and invaders with religious and political agendas destroyed and desecrated the city’s buildings, Sarnath disappeared altogether. It was not rediscovered until 1835 when British archeologists started excavations and Sarnath regained some of its past glory.” Sarnath for the most part now lies in ruins, but the largest stupa remains, surrounding by the foundations of monasteries and votive pillars. One temple was very large, and it is easy to imagine the magnificence it must have once been. There is a long courtyard, perhaps 60 meters long. On the right looking down are many votive pillars that must have once housed various statues and relics. One proceeds down the long courtyard to a temple, whose altar is the place where the Buddha gave his sermon, and a place where he meditated. There are still some friezes in place along the bottom of some of the ruins, and even the steps have beautiful carvings. The ruins are surrounded by parkland and gardens, grassy spaces and lakes. There is still an area for animals – interesting birds in cages, crocodiles, and … deer – those wonderful spotted deer that this park is known for. It is said that the Buddha had come in a previous incarnation as a deer, here to this park. He was a deer of magnificent beauty and the raja had ordered that this deer would be spared and never hunted. It came to pass that an arrangement was made through the Buddha deer that, instead of all the deer being hunted, that one deer would volunteer by lot to be sacrificed for the king’s table. And so it came to pass that when the servants came to hunt a deer, one would come forward to be killed. One day, the lot passed to the Buddha deer, who, as agreed, came to be sacrificed for the good of the deer people. The king, learning that it was the Golden Deer that was to be killed, came to the park and said it was not to be so. The Buddha deer then spoke, saying that it was not right for him to be spared and not the others. So the king decreed that all the deer would be spared. The Buddha deer then said it was not right for the deer to be spared and not the other 4 legged creatures. Thus, they too were spared. And so it went, until the king promised to not hunt any animals again – and thus it was. So, it was an apt place for the Buddha’s first sermon to be given here, at Deer Park, by the banks of the blessed city.