Over 80 percent of Indians practice Hinduism. The idea of reincarnation is one of the central beliefs of this religion. As described in the Bhagavad gita, "Just as man discards worn out clothes and puts on new clothes, the soul discards worn out bodies and wears new ones." According to Hinduism, a soul reincarnates again and again until it becomes perfect. People may also be liberated from the cycle of reincarnation by dying or being cremated in Varanasi. Varanasi, also called Benares, or Kashi, "city of light", is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The genesis of the universe is believed to have occurred here at the beginning of time. Many people come to Varanasi to die and have their ashes scattered into the holy Ganges River. The first born son of the deceased traditionally has his head shaved along the banks of the river. The body of the deceased is submerged in the Ganges to purify it. Logs are assembled for the cremation fire along the river by members of the Untouchable caste. The first born son circles the pyre and lights the cremation fire in the mouth of the deceased from an eternally lit flame. He must walk away without looking back. The body burns for several hours. When cremation is completed, ashes and remaining bones may be scattered in the river.
There are five groups of people who cannot be cremated and scattered in the Ganges. These are Holy Men, pregnant women, children under the age of five, all believed to be pure already, as well as lepers and people bitten by snakes, for fear of infection. These people are, instead, weighted down with stones and placed in the Ganges.
The cremation rituals take place in the middle of the bustle of everyday life along the ghats. When I was in Varanasi, children were flying kites, women selling jewelry, holy men praying, and people washing clothes just around the burning ghat. I was encouraged to watch a cremation; as one of the cremation workers told me, "Burning is learning about the life." There was no great sense of sadness surrounding the ceremony, rather an acceptance that death is simply a part of life which all of us will face. Though it at first seemed strange, after some time I actually began to wonder what was more strange, the Hindu culture's way of publicly embracing death, or the way we distance ourselves from death.
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