Memories from India: Varanasi to Bodh Gaya

In 2008/2009 I spent three months travelling around India.  Here is an extract from my travel jounal, I hope you like it! 

We were heading to Varanasi, the quintessential Indian City, and the said oldest existing city in the world.  Lonely Planet painted a picture of unbearable hassle, con men, fear and paranoia over the backdrop of Varanasi so Lillie and I anticipated the worst.  We both agreed that neither of us had experienced the ‘India’ we had been warned about, but were certain that we would encounter it in Varanasi.

Getting the bus out of Lumbini, crossing the Nepali/Indian border and catching a second bus to the connecting train station was all rather uneventful.  We also managed to get on a train that conveniently left soon after we arrived at the station but not before thinking we had missed it and would have to wait half a day for another, and walking up and down platforms trying to decipher the contrary information we sort from various people.  At the last minute I noticed someone who looked like he worked at the station and due to his affirmation about where the train next to him was going jumped onto it seconds before it moved off. We  wondered for most of the journey to come if it was the correct one or not but thankfully it was.

Varanasi had arrived and we withdrew into ourselves and donned metaphorical armour in preparation to do battle with the onslaught of untrustworthys Lonely Planet had prepared us for.  Oh Lonely Planet, what so called travellers work for you, what poor innocents do you send out into the world to be terrorised not by what or who they find but by their own naivety?  Despite all our psychological preparation, we were greeted by friendly motor rickshaw drivers at the station who offered their services politely and kept their distance respectfully.  One offered to take us to a newly refurbished hotel free of charge and I almost didn’t agree as I thought it must be a scam because Lonely Planet says so!  But I am glad I did agree, as the Hotel was nice and clean, cheap by my standards and full of very helpful and friendly staff.  It was a walk from the Ghats, but not too far of a walk and you got to experience the quaint narrow lanes as you made your way.

The people of Varanasi were no more bothersome than those in any other Indian city who are trying to sell you some goods or services, but they are perhaps slightly more friendly and polite and overall I found Varanasi to be very hospitable.  As I moved off of the main road and into the lanes to make my way towards the Ghats on the River Ganges the noise of the car horns and cycle rickshaw bells began to fade away as I slowly started to leave the commotion behind.   Soon I became enveloped by relative silence and stillness that doesn’t stop at your eyes and your ears but seeps into your heart as you let out an ‘Ahhhhhhhhh…’ Yes, Varanasi is Shiva’s Holy City and the Ganga flows through the life and death of everyone who lives and dies there making it a very Holy and Sacred place for Hindus and those who are open to it.

The alleys and lanes that back the river have a medieval feel about them.  They are a narrow, cobbled, smoky almost maze like network with cows, goats and stray dogs lining the way to the small bazaars full of colourful and interesting Indian wares.  There are also a number of eateries, cafes, German bakeries, internet cafes and small Indian concert rooms full of tablas and sitars that you can learn to play or attend a performance of.  Every image you see in Varanasi is a picture and you are in it.

During the evening at about 6pm there is a Puja performed by Brahmin Priests at the main Ghat on the River Ganges for the Goddess Ganga and Peace in the World.  It is a ceremonial and ritualistic spectacle and a look at an ancient ceremony that has leaped into the present day straight out of antiquity.  The ceremony is very precise and follows a set pattern that the young Brahmin Priests no doubt had to train hard to learn so they can seemingly perform it without much effort.  Keeping with what I know and love about Indian religious tradition the ceremony is a delight to the senses full of vibrant colours, firelight, and the sweet smell of incense, enchanting music and the singing of sacred songs. 

Varanasi is famous for what have come to be known as the burning Ghats.  According to Hindu belief, due to Varanasi being Shiva’s Holy City and the constant outpouring of Devotion that occurs on the shores of the Ganga, if one dies or is cremated in Varanasi the consciousness can achieve Moksha or Liberation.  That is to say the consciousness or Atman can become one with Brahman - the two being of the same nature - from whence it came and forgo any further rounds of reincarnation, death and the inevitable dissatisfaction, struggle and suffering that occurs in between during life.  As a result of this belief many aging Hindus come to live out the last years of their life in Varanasi and many of the dead are shipped, flown or transported in one way or another to be bathed in and then cremated on the shores of the Holy Ganga.  As with all of life in India death too is on full display and the respectful visitors can take a sombre and reflective walk down to the burning Ghats.  Down there families take a final look at the cast off shell of their loved one.  Tears are discouraged  as a display of grief is said to disturb the consciousness of the deceased and arouse attachment or sorrow making it difficult for the consciousness to let go and achieve Liberation.  The body is firstly bathed in the river, anointed with oils and perfumes and then consigned to the flames that rage from the sandalwood funeral pier that appear to be carrying the soul of the deceased up into the ether.  

A local man showed us around the area explaining the tradition, ceremony and beliefs behind the cremation.  He took us into some very intimate areas including the eternal fire that he said has been burning day and night for thousands of years and it is from its flame that every funeral pier is lit.  He also showed us the areas where different people are cremated from your every day person down by the river, to Brahmins and VIPs higher up.  When we visited the VIP area there was a cremation in progress with many people standing around.  I felt a little uncomfortable being taken into the heart of it but nothing was said and our guide didn’t seem to think that it was a problem.  I had never seen a dead body before, let alone one being cremated out in the open where I could see the flesh singe and the fat drip out from the body. 

This was a strikingly new and different experience for me and it took a while for it to sink in and take effect.  It had to filter through the surface layers of experience that were occurring at the time that included trying to figure out if the man who was showing us around the area was doing a service or cheapening death by trying to make money out of people’s grief and misfortune.  I think it was a mixture of both as he was very informative but at the end he took us to what he called a hospice, although it was just an empty room with two very old ladies inside that he said were nurses.  He insisted that we get a ‘blessing’ from a ‘nurse’ and then attempted to extort thousands of Rupees out of us by way of emotional black mail and bribes of ‘good karma’ as he said the money would help to buy Sandalwood for poor families who could not otherwise afford to burn the bodies of their deceased.  To lessen the discomfort of the situation this man had suddenly forced upon me, but distrusting the likelihood of his story and position, I gave the ‘nurse’ a modest 50 Rupees and about the same amount to him for the time and information he had provided.

Nevertheless the truth of many of the things I have read in the past struck me at that moment in areas of my mind that I was not fully aware of at the time.  How transient is our life and how much do we take it and our good health for granted?  How petty can we be about life’s most trivial things?  How pointless it is to argue, fuss or fight with loved ones for tomorrow we may not have the luxury to ignore them.  How much time and energy do I waste on things that are ultimately of no real importance that just serve to satisfy a passing whim, amount to nothing substantial or meaningful and will hold no comfort for me at the time of my death? At that time I will have to let go of all possessions no matter how much I cherish them, no matter how long or hard I worked to obtain them.  All my loved ones and even this very body that I fuss over and worry about so much will all have to be relinquished freely or otherwise in the end.  What is more I do not know when that end will come so perhaps I should embrace life, make the most of everyday and extend my appreciation and love to all those who are close to me in this life and attempt to resolve conflicts before they arise because life is too short for anything else.  Thinking about death and one’s own mortality can really cut a person down to size, put life and its apparent problems into perspective and serve as the best motivation for really engaging with life and appreciating all that it brings our way.

 While staying in Varanasi I took a day trip to Dear Park in Sarnath where the Buddha gave his first teaching after obtaining Enlightenment.  I had a nice day there and visiting the near by museum that housed some amazing stone statues of the Buddha recovered from the surrounding site that had a living presence about them.  However, a few days previously I had started to experience a lot of emotional upheaval that I couldn’t really explain or put down to anything in particular so that accompanied me throughout the day.  I had been feeling like a stewing pot of random mixed emotions that were growing to be rather intense as all sorts of thoughts and feelings were presenting themselves uninvited.  I went and sat in one of the ruins, imagining it used to be the quarters of a monk, and attempted to observe them and work out why this was happening but nothing changed, they were too intense and I hadn't developed the necessary stability, clarity or insight.  One thing I thought of was that the experience at the burning Ghats had affected me more than I had realised but I still wasn’t sure.

Deer Park where the Buddha first taught the Four Noble Truths

Explanation of the Dharma Chakra

Dharma Chakra up close and personal

Where I attempted to sit and look into the nature of my arisings

  
That evening I became rather sick with diarrhoea that became worse the following two days making it impossible for me to leave my room.  The physical sickness just exacerbated the emotional torment that I had been experiencing.  I was left feeling very weak and dehydrated despite drinking plenty of water containing rehydration solutions.  All the while I was thinking that I would be unable to travel to Bodh Gaya as I barely had the strength or the will to walk down to town to obtain some antibiotics so I would have to give the Heart Sutra retreat a miss.  During that time I think that I had a few small  realisations about my mind, my life and my death.

The antibiotics were strong and soon stopped the flow that had been steadily running out of my lower door the past few days, however they left me feeling rather zoned out and I was still doubting if I had the energy to travel to Bodh Gaya and I almost decided not to go.  If it was not for Lillie deciding to wait for me an extra day I might not have attempted to and I am so grateful for her for doing so and bringing me bottles of water and toilet role when needed. Actually, I am just grateful for Lillie and to have met her.

After eating my first proper breakfast in days I started to feel a little better and we got to the train station okay only to discover that our train was delayed by a few hours.  I didn’t really mind as I could get some rest in the comfortable tourist waiting room they have at the station.  However, a few hours turned into a few more and we ended up spending the entire day in the waiting room due to the promise of the train constantly about to arrive. This is when I learnt that in India, if a train is 2-4 hours late it is considered on time.  If it is a day or two late then it's fair to say it is late.  For us the train was delayed for 8 hours, so not too bad, just a little late!

Despite all that I was feeling better in both body and mind than I had done for days.  When the train eventually arrived we had trouble finding our coach and I trod in a pile of human shit on the track that added nicely to the day.  The journey was only four hours or so long but due to the delay we would be arriving at notoriously unsafe Gaya late at night in one of the supposedly most corrupt states in India, Bihar.  Nevertheless, the conductor allowed us to upgrade out ticket on the train so we could lie down in a sleeper coach and when we arrived one of our bunk mates informed us it was time to get off and another local man showed us where to take a motor Rickshaw from.  So the people we encountered were rather nice and helpful actually, event though it was early morning.

The young driver was quick to agree to take us where we needed to go but it turned out he had little idea where Root Institute was so we had to stop and ask whoever was roaming the streets at midnight for directions, including a group of small children, while avoiding barking packs of street dogs.  Hooray we had arrived!  Oh no we hadn’t, it was the wrong retreat centre but thankfully the night guard new where we wanted to go and gave the driver good directions in Hindi.  This time we did arrive at the correct place and the night guard (complete with rifle) let us in at around 1am in the morning and the ground keeper took us to Thomas one of the volunteers who kindly showed us to our room.  After being sick in the same room for days in Varanasi, the delayed journey and a shit covered shoe, arriving at Root with its landscaped gardens, moonlit Buddha statues, a huge prayer wheel spinning in the distance and settling down for sleep in a clean room was like heaven.

Prayer wheel spinning in the candle light at Root Institute

The following day I had the morning off despite the retreat starting so I could get settled and clean myself up.  I was feeling much better if not a little tired however I could tell that the retreat centre would be the perfect place to recover.  As in the previous retreat at Tushita we had three freshly prepared vegetarian meals a day, a laundry service and a set routine to follow for the next 6 days so there was nothing to think about allowing the mind to settle and focus entirely on the topic being covered. 

Root Institute in Bodh Gaya (www.rootinstitute.com) is a lovely place run by wonderful volunteers that think about absolutely everything.  The gardens are beautiful and pristinely kept by the ground staff who seem to always be sweeping, planting or painting something.  The Tibetan Gompas (Temples) of which there are two, one small and one large, are exquisitely decorated by talented artists and are so joyful looking and brightly coloured that to look at them is to be cheered up instantly if you are feeling glum.  Root is home to many visiting Western and Tibetan Monastics and Teachers and draws well known names to it.  It is filled with sacred objects and statues not to mention the huge Prayer Wheel, three dogs, chickens and countless baby goats that a local man brings every morning to graze on the grass.  

Attached to Root Institute is the Shakyamuni Buddha Community Health Clinic.  It treats those with Western, Homeopathic and Ayurvedic treatments and is holistic in its approach to Health Care.  It has been created for the local population and educates as well as treats the populace in the self treatment and prevention of common and more fatal illnesses and diseases.  They also have a mobile clinic that visits local villages and helps those who out of illness or ignorance do not come to seek treatment from the clinic.  The clinic also houses HIV positive children who have lost their parents to AIDS.  You can stay at Root Institute even if you are not doing a retreat so you can still enjoy the facilities that include an early morning meditation session, a daily yoga class and a world class Buddhist library and video room.  It isn’t the cheapest place to stay in Bodh Gaya by Indian standards but the money spent there is worth every penny as it all goes to the best of causes.

The format for the retreat on the Heart Sutra was the same as that for the Introductory Course minus any Yoga sessions or separate discussion groups, probably due to the amount of material required to be covered in a short amount of time. Our teacher was a lay Australian guy called Glen Svensson who was an absolutely outstanding teacher with a phenomenal memory bank of knowledge in his subject that was complemented with the ability to be able to explain difficult subjects in the clearest, precise and digestible way.  The quality of the course and the teacher surpassed my highest expectations.

The Heart Sutra is part of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings and was given at a place called Vultures Peak by the Buddha during his second round of teachings.  It is regarded as one of the most important Mahayana Buddhist Sutras.  It isn’t very long and is the kind of text that needs some explanation otherwise it is hard to understand.  In short the text examines the way in which the ‘I’ and all of reality exists, explains how it does and what an individual needs to do in order directly realise the truth of reality themselves.  The Sutra points out that the way we commonly believe that we and everything else exists is a mistaken perception and that we in reality exist quite differently.  Succinctly put we live our life with the belief that what we refer to as ‘Me’ or ‘I’ is an individual, unchanging, independent thing that exists from its own side.  The Heart Sutra explains that what we refer to as ‘Me’ or ‘I’ is not an individual, unchanging, independent thing but rather a combination of many parts that are changing moment by moment that are dependent on an infinite number of causes and conditions for their existence.  Now if that sounds mind boggling to you that is because it is.  Six days of it with meditations that begin to give you a sense of what the Sutra is talking about can blow your 'mind' or help point towards it's true nature.

Venerable Tamir, a young Israeli Monk led our meditations during the retreat and was always on hand to talk to and was very generous with his time.  He was an outstanding example of what it is to be a Monsatic and it was a real pleasure to have known him.  I think it was on the first night that I spoke with him about the emotional roller coaster I had been experiencing before coming to Bodh Gaya.  He told me that it is not unusual and in fact rather common for the mind to react in that way before going to a place where its old comfortable ways about viewing itself or reality in general may be shook up.  He said that this can be especially true when attending teachings on the Heart Sutra as those teachings really do go deep, are direct and straight to the point which can be unsettling.  What he said made a lot of personal sense to me.  It is like that horrible tasting medicine we were given as a child, we pulled our face, squirmed, resisted and fought with our mother when she attempted to put it into our mouth despite the fact that we were sick and knew that it would make us better.

I am very glad that I made it to the retreat in the end despite the trouble in getting there and the fact that my brain felt a little fried afterwards.  I hadn’t seen any of Bodh Gaya due to arriving so late the day the retreat started so it was good to get out of Root when it had finished and have a look around.  After the tranquillity of staying in Root Institute the noisy busy streets of Bodh Gaya needed to be adjusted to but it didn’t take long for me to get back in step with India.

Mahabodhi Temple marking the spot where the Buddha 'woke up'!