Pilgrimage: Finding Siva in Varanasi
By Hinduism Today / January 1, 2020
Follow Savita Tiwari to the banks of the Ganga in Kashi, where she offers us a Mauritian’s perspective of this holy city, said to be the world’s oldest
BY SAVITA TIWARI, MAURITIUS
Savita, 36, grew up in India and is now a resident of Mauritius. She is an avid journalist, blogger, writer and poet with a love of dharma and a penchant for learning more about Hinduism.
Email: savitapost@gmail.com
TRAVELING IS TRAVELING, WHETHER you travel in the outside world or inside your own soul. I’ve found that when taking a pilgrimage within, the vista is far vaster than what you’ll find outside of yourself. Externally, one’s body goes from place to place, but internally, we traverse different levels of consciousness to finally reach a place where the dividing line between internal and external is blurred. Then comes an introduction to one’s true self. Varanasi is a place that can take a person on this inner journey. Speaking for myself as a non-resident Indian Hindu, every step of such a journey is taken with great passion. I am from Mauritius—an island where the echo of the Ramayana still rings through the air. This journey is an important pilgrimage for me.
Kashi is the city of 88 ghats—large steps leading down to the river. To some, it is still Banaras. The official name is Varanasi, because it is situated between the Varuna and Assi ghats. I prefer the name Kashi, as it is the beloved city of Mahadev Siva. Not only does the Ganga flow through this city, but the origins of much of Indian culture find root here. Kashi is the city where Siva Himself gives the tarak mantra—the mantra of liberation—to every person whose body is brought to the Manikarnika Ghat for cremation.
This is my first-ever visit to Kashi, and it came about rather unexpectedly. I was invited to participate in Pravasi Bhartiya Divas
(PBD) 2019, an event held by the Indian government to celebrate the achievements of non-resident Indians. I reach the city at night. Just after exiting the airport, I come upon the whole of Kashi bathed in its evening, tri-colored lights. We are accommodated by the Uttar Pradesh government in a high-class tent-city. A friend of mine is accommodated with a family in Kashi, as there is no space left in the hotels. I kind of wish I were in the same situation. Then I could see authentic Kashi culture closely—something nowhere to be seen in the crowds of the tent city.
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https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/jan-feb-mar-2020/pilgrimage-finding-siva-in-varanasi/