From Brahma to Buddha, Fall 2008

Greetings from Kashi,

I hope this update finds all of you in good health and even better spirits.

We have arrived in Kashi (a native name for the city of Varanasi, used by southern Indians) and have taken a couple of days to settle in. It is a city built on top of itself countless times and its winding alley ways, huge water buffalo and cows, and overall energetic feel make it quite an experience.

This period of travel, until the 11th of December, is known as the "student led" portion of our semester. Basically this means that the students have taken the realm as 'leaders" and are planning the programing for this period of time. They have arranged for travel, lodging, activities, meals and much more, as Tracy, Peter and myself have taken a back seat, only assisting when it is needed. They have done wonderfully and I am going to mention what has been the highlight for me thus far.

Last night, we began an exploration into the history, symbology and cosmology of what has been termed "Hinduism," and today we went on an ancient pilgrimage, the Panchokarsi Yatra, to put experience to the information we had received. This specific pilgrimage has many forms, ranging in the largest route which travels throughout india and lasts for a couple of months to a 6 day venture to 108 temples in Varanasi and finally to our abbreviated, car traveled one day exploration. Don't be fooled though, it was quite a day and I am fully ready for some sleep.

Professor Rana-ji explaining the intricacies of Varanasi's relationship to Hindu cosmology

Our Guru for this period was a man named Rana-ji. He was a professor at Banaras (another name for Varanasi) Hindu University for many, many years and is a leading scholar, internationally, for the topic we investigated. His knowledge seemed never ending, and as we explored temples throughout the day, he spoke of both the scholarly and folk traditions that have served to create the traditions that are followed today. Each temple provided a unique way of worship, or physical representation of a specific God then the last, and with each turn, Ranaji eloquently grabbed our attention and gave us immense knowledge about the sites we were visiting.

Varansi is an intense place, but I feel that the information received today and the activities that are planned for the coming days will allow us to get a wonderful look at an ancient city that could probably take lifetimes to see.

Look for more updates soon,

Justin
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India December 7th, 2008