Kashi/Varanasi/Benares-
Travel Points
Nandini Mitra
Banerjee
May 24, 2022
1
Introduction
Where does one even start with Kashi?
Maybe from the name? In this article both facts, fiction, mythology and
folklore are incorporated. So, readers are free to believe or discard according
to fancy.
Kashi is also called Benaras and
Varanasi. Kashi is the ancient name of the place. Kashi kingdom with its ruler
finds mention in the Mahabharat epic as well as Buddha preaching His first
sermon at Sarnath. Kashi is the oldest living city dating atleast 5000 years.
Since Indians are notorious in keeping historical records, it is impossible to
prove when Kashi started being called Benaras. The name Varanasi was given to
the place after British rule in 1947 because this area was situated between the
two rivers Varuna and Assi.
Kashi, as the belief goes, resides
on Lord Shiva’s trident (Trishul) tips by which it is forever
protected against Time, the great destroyer. Thus, it is considered “outside
of Universe” and Avimukta. During
the Mahapralaya Lord withdraws into Himself, His manifestation along
with it His Lila-Kshetra (playground) which manifests again when the cosmos
manifestation starts. Thus, Vrindaban Dham’s manifestation disappears with the
disappearance of Lord Krishna’s visible form and similarly, Kashi disappears
with the disappearance of Lord Shiva’s visible form to manifest again. This
cycle goes on eternally.
Kashi is also where Lord Shiva resides
and hence termed “Shiva-Kshetra”.
2
Why Kashi?
During centuries of religious
onslaught, Hinduism’s survival pivot was Kashi. Christianity and Islam, all left
their marks; but one place that stood rooted in the ancient faith of Sanatan
Dharma (now known as Hinduism) and assimilated wide-armed with love and
understanding all other faiths, is Kashi. Many sects of Sanatana Dharma have a
center in Kashi holding a firm belief that it is under the protection of Lord
Shiva. Many other established pilgrimage deities scattered through other parts
of India, finds for itself a replica/representation in Kashi. One darshan of
them in Kashi is equivalent to a real pilgrimage to that actual place.
The Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb’s drive
to convert Sanatana Dharma to Islam brought vengeance, desecration and
destruction to many temples in Kashi especially Lord Vishwanath’s. The pious
queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Holkar dynasty of Maratha empire was instrumental in (re)construction
of Kashi Vishwanath’s temple after Aurangzeb had demolished the original and
built a mosque in its place. The current Baba Vishwanath’s temple’s main image
(Shivalinga) is however the original shivalinga that the priests had hidden in
a well during the raid. The queen also
restored and built many ghats including Manikarnika along the great purifier
Ganges river, constructed dharmshalas (rest houses for pilgrims) and dug wells
in Kashi. Ghat is a concrete flight of steps leading down to the river. There
is one ghat along the banks of Ganges named Ahilyabai Ghat dedicated to the
sage queen.
It is stated in Kashi Purana that any living creature who
dies in Kashi will be liberated. Thus, through the sands of
time, thirsting for salvation, many widows, abandoned, aged people amongst
others, would relocate to Kashi to breathe their last.
According to Karma-siddhanta of
Hinduism, a soul goes through eternal cycle of birth-and-death because of
unexhausted result of work (karma-phala). Unsatisfied desires lead to a
new birth giving the soul the opportunity to eventually become desireless and
thus free from this cycle. But this is almost unattainable! Seeing the plight
of poor (jivas) souls, Lord took pity and created this place called
Kashi. Here, the eight fetters (ashta-paash) which is the resultant of
all the remaining karma-phalas, get destroyed of the lucky jiva as soon as the
life-force (prana) leaves the body.
But how this happens was
forgotten over time. Customary to incarnations (Avatars) who revive the
forgotten spiritual rites and sites, Paramhamsa Ramakrishna Dev’s vision reestablished
the reason behind this fabled belief. While traversing Ganga on boat with
Mathurbabu and others, as soon as he beheld the Manikarnika Ghats’s blazing pyres
He went into a trance. Once His mind descended on normal plane, he recounted
that - as soon as the dead body was placed on the pyre, He saw (Sadashiv)
white complexioned Mahadev, Shiva, approach the pyre followed by Mother Kali.
Divine Mother cut the eight fetters of the jiva and handed the jiva over to
Lord Shiva. Lord whispered the liberating jnana (spiritual knowledge) as Tarak-mantra
in its ears set the soul free.
Over time, doubts crept up
especially because Swami Vivekananda said that without Jnana (here
referring to knowledge of Brahman) one cannot be liberated. Hence to settle
this once and for all, Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi was approached several
times. To all these queries Holy Mother replied emphatically that “Master (Sri
Ramakrishna) has said that anyone dying in Kashi would be liberated.” “Yes,
even a fly if it dies in Kashi would be liberated.” This fact is supported in
Jabala Upanishad.
Hence Kashi is known as Moksha-Kshetra;
place where one gets liberated. The eight fetters as outlined by Sri
Ramakrishna in Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (Kathamrita) are: shame, hatred, fear,
caste, lineage, good conduct, grief and secretiveness. These fetters bind jiva
to this cycle of birth and death.
No comments:
Post a Comment