Life Along the Ganges

Contrary to the myth that nothing interesting happens next to the water, Varanasi is one of the oldest living cities in the world.

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This ancient city on the banks of the Ganges river is the holiest of all places of pilgrimage. The Jerusalem or Lalibela of India. The place where Buddha himself came to teach. Already known 2.500 years ago, before even Rome had risen to fame, it is also the only city in the world that has maintained the same traditions since 6th Century B.C.

In the ghats, along the river Ganges, between temples and shrines, you can feel the drama and beauty of life and death. This is where devout pilgrims from all over India come to worship and bathe.

Early in the morning the pilgrims come to immerse themselves in the holy river, said to have originated from the body of a god at the beginning of time, from the union of the ancient Varuna and Asi river. According to different sources and religious books, the name Varanasi originated from these rivers — the mystical veins of the body or the sword, Asi, and the averter, Varana, that protect the city.

Varanasi is a place where the eternal light of the god Shiva meets the earth — a sacred place where people come to die.


Pilgrims from all over India visit the city and dream of attaining moksha, or liberation from saṃsāra, the eternal circle of reincarnation.

Moksha is a Hindu belief, a tradition where life and death are not different, where the image of god has a thousand faces, and where the ashes of the dead must return to the origins of life in the Ganges.
We do not see the city that Hindus see.

There is a hidden world, and we see only the surface — the pilgrims, the cows, the narrow lanes and the flowers. Hindus come for Darśana, an auspicious sight or vision of a deity. They want to be in the presence Shiva, The Lord of all Lords, and be ‘seen’ at the same time.

The pilgrims are here to follow in the path of the “holy men” or Sadhus who have attained truth through renunciation of common life.

Kashi (Varanasi) is a place where the true believer should stay forever. The Kashivashis, or the “dwellers in Kashi”, stay in the city — the most important among the cities of pilgrimage — living here until death.

Also known as Banaras, Varanasi, is one of the thousands of thirthas in India — a place were heaven and hearth meets. And amongst these thirthas, Varansi is one of the seven “sacred cities” representing a bridge to reach the other side, a place that has a special nature of purity and authenticity. Here it is believed that the avataras (descendants) form a path that allows the faithful to reach other dimensions.

In Varanasi, death is always present, but it is not felt as a burden. There is a famous Hindu saying, Kaashyaam maranam muktih, which means,
“Death in Kashi is liberation.”