Ganges River

Shaam Aarti

My guide, Anup: “It’s a nice evening. We will go to the shaam aarti (the Hindu evening ceremony) on the Ganges river,” “Is that where the faithful bathe in the river?” “Yes, but not during the evening ceremony; that’s tomorrow morning at sunrise.” Since we arrive early, Anup uses the time to describe the river and its importance to Hindus. “Everyone wants to die in Varanasi. It is central to our faith. When you die here, your body is dipped eleven times in the river, you’re then cremated, and your ashes sprinkled over the river. This breaks the process of rebirth and allows your soul to rest in peace. As Hindus, we strive to do good in this life so that we will reincarnate into a better life once we die. Seven times this happens, but we never know which life we are in. Having our body cleansed in the Ganges ends the cycle and we can rest in peace.” I muse: “The river looks dirty to me.” “It’s not! If you take a bottle of water from the Ganges and a bottle of mineral water and let them sit for a couple weeks, the mineral water will turn green, but the water from the Ganges will be clear.” “I don’t believe that,” I say. “Not only does the river look muddy. There is so much filth everywhere in this city, it can’t possibly be clean.” “No, it really is clean! The water is holy.” “Okay, prove it. I want to see you drink some.” “Okay, I will, but not now, tomorrow morning when we come back to the river.”