Deep tradition - deep beliefs

Here is a video of the Ganga - enjoy the clip.

Funeral procession to the river

When you drive the streets here you pass funeral processions that are headed for the river; this occurs many times each day.  This is a sacred tradition - being burned here provides an instant gateway to liberation from the cycle of births/re-births.  The mortal remains are consigned to flames with the prayers that the soul rest in eternal peace.  The hot ashes of the burnt bodies makes one remember the inevitable destruction of everything in the world.

There are (5) conditions when a body isn't cremated:

1. Children - they are seen as holy
2. Pregnant women - due to the unborn child
3. People with Chicken pox - it's thought to be sacred
4. Priests
5. People that have bitten by a snake

Wood for burning - one of
many many many stacks

When we passed this sacred site there was a white bull and a black bull standing on top of the area and it had an eerie and sobering impact on our group.  The process is steeped with rituals and rites with the belief that the river takes away the sins of those that are cremated here.

This single site works almost non-stop as evidenced by the wood that is stacked almost everywhere.  There are other sect traditions that I'll not repeat here on the blog - suffice to say the evidence of their beliefs are overwhelming.