The Ghats of the Ganges

Erika, our group leader, spent all day at the Institute trying unsuccessfully to arrange an audience with the Karmarpa. The rest of us spent the day walking along the Ghats, or shopping, or visiting silk factories.

One of our party did cause a religious dispute, interfering with the national religion, whilst out walking along the ghats. She inadvertently stood on a marked out cricket pitch that some of the locals were going to play on. Big mistake.

A small group of us visited the burning ghat where we were guided by a very knowledgeable Hindu who worked there as a guide one morning a week to benefit his own karma by raising charity money to buy the wood for cremation for those destitute people who arrive at the ghat and wait there to die, hoping that they will be cremated. He was excellent at his task of extracting money, and did make it clear that the money was going to these charity cases.

Calm waiting

We returned to the Institute in time for the audience with Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. Again there was time spent waiting in the gardens before we went in to see him, but again it is a haven of calm and peace. Eventually we had our audience which was impressive. Khenchen Thrangu has been the Karmarpa's teacher and has taught very many of the most senior Buddhist figures. After this we enjoyed the calm and beauty once again.

The monastic and permanent lay community were being calm in a very hurried way preparing for the arrival of the Karmarpa in the late afternoon. Their tasks were manifold, but did include altering the garlands of marigolds that had been placed on the hedges by making them into heart shapes; drawing out welcoming pictures on the paved paths; and lining up all the smallest monks in order of height from near full grown down to miniscule.

Then it was the arrival of the Karmarpa - first of all the clearing of all the laypeople from the grounds of the Institute, leaving only monks and nuns to welcome him.  The laity lined the road outside. The band assembled. The Indian Army security team came around, followed by the intelligence types providing a security cordon of their own and finally the security detail of monks. Then after much waiting came the arrival. A couple of security cars, the band in full flow, then some of the entourage vehicles and the the Karmarpa followed by more vehicles. I cannot imagine that anyone caught any glimpse of him before he was into the temple and his apartments. I certainly did not. It did mean a lot to be there for a great many people.

Then it was time to return to the hotel (the last part on foot this time) and so to close.

Peace and Frenetic Activity

 

Because it had been suggested that the Karmarpa was to arrive the following day, we decided to go straight to Sarnarth and the Vajravidya Institute, to find out what the arrangements might be on the following days. The monastery, temple and associated learning facilities - this is a major Buddhist academic site, teaching from 5 year olds to post-doctoral students - is very large, but an oasis of peace and beauty quite distinct from the hustle and bustle of its surroundings.Formal gardens with monks, nuns, and lay people, gliding round the place, while our tour leaders went off to find out what might be arranged. 

Sitting in the gardens was enough - as one of our party said - there is no where where I would rather be than here at this moment. A true summary.

Erika, the tour organizer, and Ken, our tour leader, came back and were able to tell us that an audience had been arranged with Kenchen Thangu Rinpoche for the following morning. The Karmarpa was arriving at four pm the following day and that it was possible that an audience might be arranged.

Fairly late in the day we set off to go to our hotel. The bus journey was fairly uneventful, though on very crowded roads. That is it was uneventful until we got close to the hotel. The bus driver the told us we had to disembark, carry all our luggage down the steps of a ghat and load ourselves and our luggage onto a super (!?!) power boat, to complete our journey on the Ganges.

(The explanation for this, which only came the following day, was that streets are so narrow and congested near the hotel that there is no possibility of vehicular traffic; for a somewhat wider zone traffic if forbidden; and for a wider zone still, by the time we got there, traffic is congestion was so acute that there was no possibility of a large bus getting through.

We got onto the Ganges eventually where the knowledge I have of boats proved to be a handicap. I was sitting at the rear of the boat, and could see the propeller shaft, which had no stern gland, or anything like one. This meant that every revolution of the propeller put more water into the boat. By the time we landed I reckon the boat had taken on two more inches of water than when we started.

I can only describe the Ganghes and Varanesi in cliche - a seething mass of activity with thousands of people doing their thing - usually in the noisiest, most flamboyant way possible.

And bed beckoned once more.