Idea of Varanasi

                          Varanasi means different things to different people. After the announcement of the candidature of Narendra Modi for "god's own constituency", philosophers, political scientists, sociologists, political commentators and media persons are trying to decipher the "idea of Varanasi". The rainbow city has hundreds of colours . Politically the city can be termed as " seat of Hindu orthodoxy", "birthplace of Hindu fundamentalism", " field of rebellion" and " garden of India's composite culture" etc. The city is rightly called "religious/spiritual capital of India".

                                 

                              Here are some news stories centered around some foreign dignitaries who experienced, in some way, Varanasi. They shed some light on the different facets of the eternal city.

                                                                                 Diana L. Eck 

                                   A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

                      Varanasi,  March 19, 1995. Her quest began three decades ago in bozeman, a small town in the Montana in the Rockies. It ended in Varanasi or Kashi, the city older than history and all her questions gradually dissolved in the holy Ganga.

                                           For Diana l. Eck a distinguished theologist and professor of Comparative Religion and Indian studies at Harvard, Gita and Gospel, Jesus and Jyotirlinga became one.

                                            She says that in Kashi, the Mahasmashan ( the great Charnel ground) death is not the opposite of life, death can only be the opposite of birth. The west is busy with the denial of death. To segregate death into hospitals and asylums but in Kashi death is very much part of life. The Yaksha-Yudhishthir position ( the inevitability of death) is necessary to make life worth living. 

                                          Ms. Eck, who obtained her Ph.D. from Harvard on the topic  "Cultural Glory of Kashi", says it is imperative to organise world-wide network of people who had some relationship with Varanasi to enable these spiritual citizens of Kashi to interact better.

                                           The author of the 1983 book " Banaras : City of Light" and the recently published book " Encountering the God: Spiritual Journey From Bozeman to Banaras", says " masti" as Banarasis call it, is a zest fro life, to live life to its fullest. 
                                          "Masti"does not stop at chewing Paan, consuming bhang, tasting sweets and appreciating art and culture. Masti requires a spiritual frame of mind which explores meaning of life and death, mortality and immortality.
                                            Ms. Eck worried about the deterioration of Kashi as centre of learning, the miserable condition of the city especially riverfront and decreasing cultural awareness .
                                             She says that unique cultural flavour of Kashi must be preserved.  Knowledgeable people and citizen groups should make concerted efforts to teach and enable people, especially new arrivals and children  to understand , appreciate and love the distinctive way of life of Kashi.
                                               The local administration should show more sensitivity and sense of urgency to make the riverfront more beautiful and preserve the crumbling buildings and temples. It would be good for the gods and people alike, she said.
                                              She said the symbolism of god as Jyotirlinga was very strong in Kashi. This sublime understanding of god as Jyotirlinga enabled her to understand Christianity differently. She quoted the gospel, "light shines in the darkness"to emphasise that Jesus is also a form of Jyotirlinga.
                                                Ms. Eck believes that India can be great example for the world of peaceful co-existence of people of different religions, cultures and languages. It was sad that at present when the world needed India's leadership, the country was midst of communal and sectarian problems.
                                                                                                                                                             She said it is true that all Indian religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism had common roots but they were changing and assuming new identities. A contemporary movement like that of the Buddhist monks in Bodha Gaya might not be stopped by a reminder of common roots of 2,500 years ago. It needed contemporary efforts and solution.
                                                  Ms. Eck was perturbed by the presence of para military forces, barbed wires and fencing around  the Gnanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple complex. It was a disgrace that Banarasis , both Hindus and Muslims, had allowed the situation to take this turn, she said.
                                                   She also said that cultural and ethical globalisation might not be able to keep up with economic globalisation. There was an urgent need to evolve a global ethics to make economic justice, gender equality and non-violence a global commitment, she said.  Human relations, however, can not be evaluated in terms of market. In the end, the final yardstick was our sense of truth, she said.
                                                      Ms. Eck finds some solace when she hears the rickshaw bells in the heart of the city. It is like melodious song to her.
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