Varanasi – A Trip to the shaktipeeth of Vishwanath, the ruler of the Universe!
Few things in life are very mysterious and one has to witness them to know them in true sense. This trip has been an immensely satisfying trip for all good reasons. Though it was more of a pilgrimage, I had learnt things in a way that books don’t teach us. Especially when one takes a boat ride in Ganga, the river that stood as a witness to the rising and falling civilizations for centuries. The ride introduced me to the various ‘Ghats’ and their special reasons of existence. The Ghats that left a mark in my mind were “dasashwamedh ghat”, the Vijayanagaram ghat, the Marnikarnika ghat and the Harischandra ghat. Few Ghats talked about the impending death that is a part of everyone’s life whereas few had their own history surrounding them. Watching Life and Death so closely at same place is specialty of this place.
Not just a pilgrimage it also had a spiritual color to it. Varanasi is place for the people who believe in the Moksha of first type and that is Meditation by giving up all the things. Have seen Saadhus just sitting in the isolated places silently and praying. Trip didn’t end here as I also had chance to visit the place of Sarnath, the holiest place for Buddhists after Bodh gaya. If Buddha got enlightenment in Bodh gaya, He delivered his first discourse at Sarnath. I visited Buddh Stupa the place where the Buddhism originated to bring back peace and establish peace in the world. Varanasi had a different fragrance to it with lot of foreigners visiting and one cannot differentiate them as they are also deeply into Hinduism and spirituality.
Seeing is believing, as they say and I have seen something that is very different from what I have heard from the people before going to Varanasi. The Ghats were much cleaner and secure than what I heard from people. Shows how much work is going into it. Like this I have learnt few more lessons which I will be able to share to you all whenever the right time comes. Until then have a look at few clicks of my trip including the Ganga Aarti, Buddha Stupa, Japanese and Chinese Temples at Sarnath!
