As soon as I stepped out of the tuk-tuk, a commotion made me turn around. Before me, a group of people were carrying something like a stretcher, with someone lying on it wrapped in yellow cloth, continually chanting “Ram Naam Satya Hai” as they walked.
I was at Manikarnika Ghat and had the good fortune to meet the person managing all operations there. He took me around to introduce the place. Starting from a high vantage point looking down, a wave of hot air and thick smoke seemed to “lash” at my eyes made my eyes sting. This Ghat is extremely busy, the boundary between life and death. There are many living people and an immense number of dead. The living bring the dead here and see them off at the transition between this life and the next. They carry the dead to the cremation place, repeatedly chanting a phrase as they walk. This was the scene I first saw after getting out of the tuk-tuk, as mentioned above. Speaking with the manager, I learned the phrase means ‘The name of Ram is truth.’ Although he did not clearly explain its meaning, I can simply share that Ram is one of India's important deities, regarded as an incarnation, or avatar, of God. Repeatedly chanting Ram's name beside the deceased on their final earthly journey, before the body immerses itself in the cremation flames, can bring beneficial energy to the departed. It resembles the Vietnamese practice of continuous chanting, or playing a cassette or device repeating ‘Homage to Amitābha Buddha’ beside the deceased. The energy of chanting sounds contains truth; it is believed to guide the soul toward a good place, a realm of light, or the Pure Land. If a dying person hears that chanting continuously, it becomes their final thought. As you know, the final thoughts of this life can bring forth one of the strongest ‘samskaras,’ one of the most ‘dangerous’ karmic impressions, acting as the cause that produces the next life as its effect and determining the dimensional magnetic field of the next realm the deceased enters. It would therefore be better for that final thought to be not hatred, pettiness, anger, sadness, or regret, but a direct connection to a Buddha or sacred deity through continuous chanting—even a connection with truth. Following truth, you will find real liberation. That would greatly benefit the deceased.
The wind still blew, and perhaps even without wind from the Ganges, the smoke from the fires here would still billow so thickly that it rose continually and rushed into my eyes, although I stood far away on higher ground. Many cremation fires are lit here. When families bring the dead, wrapped tightly in yellow cloth like a traditional coffin here, to Manikarnika Ghat, both the dead and the living undergo certain rituals before the most important part: cremation. Indians, not just in Varanasi but across the country, want to bring their deceased loved ones here to be cremated because they believe in fire's purifying power. In fact, in the science of consciousness, fire is among the strongest of the 5 elements (earth, water, air, fire, and space or ether), symbolizing spirit and soul. Spiritually, fire's “burning” energy carries the power of “purification.” For example, you can write a sorrow on paper, burn it, and experience how that purifying power operates and how much lighter you feel. Of course, complete purification requires other deep practices to transform those memories within the depths of your consciousness. Nevertheless, working with fire still has immediate effects. This is also why some people in our country burn paper to “dispel bad luck,” hoping to “purify that misfortune.” However, without understanding its essence, merely “imitating” it as a habit, they do not truly purify anything; it resembles the workings of a superstitious mind more than genuine direct experience of the science of consciousness. That is also why Indians wish to be cremated after death: they believe their living karmic consequences will be purified, leading them to a better next life or perhaps heaven. And what could be better than cremation in one of the most sacred places, on the Ganges—a place of extremely powerful purifying energy—in Varanasi, the city of light? That is why the living and the dead flock here to fulfill the final wish of those who have stopped breathing.
Living is not the only thing that costs money. Dying can also be luxurious and expensive. In our country, how much do people spend on death? Beyond procedures and rituals, there is burial land. It is no coincidence that “real estate for the dead” has considerable business potential. It turns out that even after dying, the expense continues! Cremation also has good, positive aspects: it takes up no additional land, so the dead need not “compete” with the living for it. Yet in India, here in “Kashi,” the city of light, where I am watching, cremation is not necessarily cheap or economical. It can be very expensive. According to the manager, fully burning a body requires a great deal of wood, which is not free. Depending on background, status and means, people may choose agarwood or sandalwood. Wealthier, higher-status people may use fragrant woods. The more “VIP” the wood, the more it costs. Many families or dying people therefore beg and do everything possible to save money to “arrange” their deaths. Without wood, a body cannot be burned and may instead be released directly into the Ganges as food for its creatures. Life is truly impermanent! Yet some things remain either abnormal or normal, in life or death: expense, and the existence of “the wretched.” At some point, we fully appreciate “Life is an ocean of suffering,” even while understanding all its positive meanings…
Standing upstairs and looking over the whole scene, the manager told me that even in death people remain divided by caste and status. It turns out that, although everyone must die, whether a billionaire or someone living in a slum, and everyone should be equal before death, here, even in death, people are still… unequal. Over there is the area for the lowest caste, then a higher one, then higher still… Up here, on the upper floor where I stood, I saw no flames, perhaps because “VIPs” are rare, while below there were bodies and golden flames everywhere. This upper area is reserved for the highest caste in society, the Brahmins. This entire legendary place, though immensely sacred and carrying very beautiful meanings, is still carefully “planned” into different spaces where bodies of each category and caste are laid and cremated. Usually, fully burning a body takes 3-5 hours, and it cannot be cremated 100%; some body parts remain. Everything is eventually scattered into the Ganges, from the unburned remains to all the deceased person's ashes. For thousands of years, cremations have continued here. On average, around more than 100-200 dead people are brought here every day. Each cremation takes an average of 3-5 hours. This has kept the sacred cremation fire blazing, never extinguished, throughout thousands of years. Day or midnight, this place operates 24/7.
Although the information above is partly passed down by word of mouth, my verification found it has substantial grounds, provided it is not interpreted too absolutely. It may be a figure of speech, yet this fire really has “burned without ever going out”: there is always a fierce orange-yellow flame consuming a body here, from ancient times when Shiva lit this sacred fire until today. This gives the place extremely intense spiritual energy and purifying power.
One very positive thing is that when the living bring the dead here, throughout the entire cremation process, they do not cry—or one might understand it as not being allowed to cry. They know they should not cry and try to appear still and relaxed, however deeply they grieve. This brings an auspicious, peaceful energy, helping the deceased reach a brighter, purer realm rather than being “pulled back” and “attached” to the suffering and anguish of those left behind. This is also discussed in great detail in the chapter “Through Death, Toward the Light” in the book “The Awakening Journey.” It can be seen as a spiritual bright spot in this area. There is no wailing, shouting, or anguished sobbing. People fulfill their duties toward the deceased and quietly watch the cremation fire, their souls seemingly “drawn” into union with that flame, contemplating and realizing something about life and death. When they truly believe that death is not the end but only a transition, they grieve less and feel lighter, enabling them to offer energetic support to the departing person. This is why the thousand-year-old sacred fire here has blazed brightly throughout the years: to remind us of that simple, beautiful, profound truth.
Walking around the area below, past each corpse and cremation site, watching brilliant golden flames transform human physical bodies back into nothingness, the blackened bones and remaining body parts, the faces and emotions of living relatives bidding farewell, and the sacred rituals here… I fully understood why Manikarnika Ghat and the cremation rituals on the Ganges can be such an intense, unforgettable experience in a visitor's life. For someone opening their mind, this experience can be profound, because death itself has been a great mystery to humanity throughout the ages. Life and death. The sky and clouds. The hazy, fragile boundaries between reality and illusion, truth and falsehood, philosophical and humane thoughts, anguished reflections on destiny and human life… All of this can stir us deeply from within, opening the consciousness of those with the right connection to be here.
From here, I continued walking along the Ganges to the next Ghat, only a little over a hundred meters away. This is also one of Varanasi's most important and famous Ghats, where the largest and most “spectacular” celebration takes place every evening.
Strolling here, it is easy to see many people immersing themselves in the Ganges to bathe and wash… I sat on a step and watched carefully. They do not merely immerse themselves in the sacred river they turn toward, “dreaming” of visiting once in their lifetime on a pilgrimage if they live far away. They also wash their hair and faces and scoop up the water to rinse their mouths. Yet just a little distance away, many corpses and body parts remaining after cremation are released into this same river, along with all the ashes of the dead, floating onward… Immersing oneself here and using the water to wash one's face or rinse one's mouth is therefore little different from touching or holding in one's mouth all those “remains” of hundreds of people who die each day. Some even drink the water and feel deeply honored to do so. Many ordinary tourists would probably feel shocked, nauseated and appalled by how dirty and unhygienic it is.
Actually, when we go deeply into spirituality, we understand the meaning and power of “purification.” Sometimes rituals can generate quite powerful purifying energy. Sometimes belief itself creates this purification. It is like a divine being walking the earth, using only the power of faith to turn dirty water into holy water. Of course, to do this consistently, that person must master “technologies of transformation,” possess a sacred, transparent consciousness, and already be an evolved soul. From what I sense, the people who come here simply have enough innocence and a strong faith in the “purifying power” of the legendary Ganges, a river that can purify even the “most mysterious, incomprehensible, and frightening” thing: death. Because they believe in this ability, they “innocently” drink water mixed with so many “substances” from so many dead people, with absolute confidence that it benefits their souls. Perhaps this very thing keeps them from facing problems with hygiene, stomachaches, or bacteria. Although it is very difficult to grasp through ordinary reason, this is what I understand through my practice and everything unfolding before my eyes. For many practitioners, including foreigners who come here, immersing themselves in this “extremely dirty” water is a “spiritually shocking” and “supremely sacred” experience, like 1 challenge they seek. It may be a little strange, but it is deeply meaningful on their journey of seeking. In fact, if I had not attained the necessary realizations about truth and reality, I would probably still carry the consciousness of a seeker, a wanderer. Although not every wanderer is lost, most are: they accept losing “themselves,” placing themselves “in midstream,” drifting uncertainly. Thus they may tend to seek spiritual challenges and mystical spiritual experiences that challenge the mind and its endless curiosity. They are “swept along” by bizarre experiences, something strange, out of the ordinary—the more shrouded in a mist of mystery, the better. If that were so, I probably would not have hesitated to jump into this water and do everything necessary, including drinking many mouthfuls, with the eager consciousness of someone “seeking the Way.” I feel no disgust or apprehension about the hygiene of this water. I simply no longer need to do that. Because I understand the light of the path of awareness and what the journey of awakening is. And so, I peacefully observe all the experiences people are having here.
Và còn biết bao những trải nghiệm kỳ diệu khác tại xứ sở trung tâm tâm linh của thế giới trong suốt hàng ngàn năm – xứ Ấn. Chuyến hành trình này đã đưa tôi đi từ Nam chí Bắc, từ thành thị đến nông thôn, từ sa mạc phía Tây lên đến vùng núi cao phương Bắc, từ theo dấu chân Shiva đến dấu chân của Đức Phật… Có những câu trả lời đã được ghi chép rõ ràng trong “The Path – Con Đường Khai Tâm“:
-To undertake such an initiation journey in India, what specifically must be prepared and done, and what are the methods and itinerary?
-Spiritual energy centers worth visiting from south to north in India.
-Why was Buddhism born in India, yet today fewer than 1% of India's population follows Buddhism?
-Is Buddhism really more progressive than Brahmanism?
-Why should we respect Hinduism more as we go deeper on the spiritual path?
-Why did the Buddha, immediately after attaining enlightenment, choose the “city of Shiva” as the first place to teach the Dharma?
-How does the Buddhadharma still exert a miraculous and profound influence in India, even when less than 1% of the population practices it?
-Why has India been an important spiritual center of the world for such a long time?
-What is the path of initiation, and what does an initiator do?
-Can the truths of the new age truly help transform people and nations?
Thank you, and wishing you steady, balanced, and beautiful steps on the path of initiation.
Inti Foundation & MinhBooks
