Kashi is the celestial abode of Lord Shiva. The state of Utter Pradesh is specially blessed with the presence of Lord Siva and Devi adored by billions of devotees in the world. They include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Budhists and others. Kashi Viswanath temple is in the city of Banaras. Varanasi is a pilgrim place to Hindus and people of other communities. Anyone can offer wo Banaras is the spiritual kingdom of India. Thousands of people visit river Ganges to do the last rituals for their departed ones. Banaras is famous because it depicts the thrership to Lord Shiva and Devi.e dimensions of spirituality depicted in the universe- creation, preservation and destruction.
Mughal emperor Aurangazeeb destroyed the old temple of Kashi Viswanath in 1669 which was later rebuilt by Maharani Ahalya Bai Holkar . Later, the great Sikh king Ranjit Singh donated the gold canopy weighing 831 kilograms.
The western banks of river ganges are predominated with prominent ghats. There are many temples in these ghats like temples for Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswar, Narasimha, and Vinayak. Daswamedha ghat is the most prominent one.This ghat was constructed in 1748 AD by the famous Maratha Peswa Baji Rao. Darbhanga ghat, Scindhya ghat,Ganga Mahal ghat, and Manikarnika Ghat are the other important ghats.
I still remember the stories that I heard from elders when I was a 5 year child. When one decided to visit Kashi, relatives and friends make it a big affair; pooja would be conducted, special food would be prepared and the farewell would be a very emotional event, as if the person would get eternal blessings from God without returning to one’s house. The journey was perceived as the toughest one in one’s life. I visited Kashi many times for different purposes. I came on two occasions to Mmahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidya Peeth university and Banaras Hindu university for official duties. I did the ritual known as Shraat or Pind Dan- after death ritual- to our mom and those deceased in the Sunami disaster in 2003. When our dad died in March 25, 2010, I wished to do the same karma in Kashi. I was extremely happy to accept the offer of visiting Kashi Vidya Peeth in this travel as I could do the karma without delay. The best treat from Bhakshis was the Varanasi trip. The distance of Varanasi from Kochi by train is 2309 kilometers. From Jammu the distance is nearly 1351kms. We boarded the train from Jammu Tawi at 12 nights and arrived at Varanasi at 10 pm. Varanasi train station also known as Varnasi Contonment is the main junction. The other three stations are Kashi, Varanasi city, and Manduadee. I was in a very calm internal environment, feeling very happy to reach the university guest house.
Pind Dan is done only in the morning after having darsan from lord Shiva. This karma is done for moksha or mukth prapthi for those who died. We reached the Siva temple and offered our prayers, walked to the ghat, met the Pandit and got ready for the ritual. I dipped in the river, got blessings from Ganga devi and sat for the Pind Dan ritual. It took nearly 40 minutes to finish the ritual. I did the same ritual for kili accan, who was my mom’s favorite cousin sister who died very recently at Kollam. I also did the ritual for my deceased brothers. After finishing the ritual, once again I took bath in the holy river.
In the evening, we attended the Aarti conducted by Ganga Seva Samiti. It was absolutely a happy moment in my life. Ganga Seva Nidhi had dedicated its service for more than two decades. Dev Dipavali Mahotsav orgnised by GSN is an amzing event. It strives to address environmental pollution and degradation of river Ganges.
I felt a wonderful blend of spiritualism and nationalism while atending the aarti..
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