UNITED KINGDOM, November 12, 2011 (BBC): India’s thriving economy has brought many advantages to the population, including the widening of access to a special kind of funeral at the holy city of Varanasi. Trade is brisk as more people can afford to travel long distances to the cremation site.
There are 80 ghats (ghat means a series of steps down to water) lining the Ganges here in Varanasi – many with elaborate temples or palaces. Almost all are used for bathing, the steps allowing pilgrims to wash in the holy waters. Manikarnika Ghat is one of two which specialize in the business of human cremation.
Gajanand Chowdhary, the man in charge of Manikarnika Ghat, says people bring their dead here because Manikarnika is reckoned to be the most auspicious place on earth for a Hindu to be cremated. “If you are burned here at Manikarnika Ghat,” Gajanand continued, “you will achieve moksha. The cycle of reincarnation will be broken and your soul will ascend straight to heaven.” The reason the ghat is so sacred, Gajanand explained, is because the cremation fires are lit by a flame that is believed to have emanated from Lord Shiva himself.
Indeed, Manikarnika Ghat has never been busier. The fires now burn 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the reason trade is so brisk is, it seems, simple. As India gets richer and the road network more extensive and more reliable, more and more people are bringing their dead here to seek moksha.
A decade or so ago, it was only families in the direct vicinity of Varanasi who could bring their dead here. Now it is not unusual for even quite poor families to travel great distances to bring a body to the cremation ghats.