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Varanasi (44 images)

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  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,


  • As you begin to live in the present moment, you will experience a subtle but profound change. Your worrying about the future will cease.

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • There are traditional many rituals that surround the birth of child in a typical Indian family. These traditions and rituals aim at blessing the child to have a long fulfilling life. One of these sacred ceremonies is known as Mundan Sanskar or the first haircut of the baby. The mundan ceremony is an important tradition in India and relatives and friends are invited to bless the child. This first haircut of a child in India has an important significance, which is discussed in the following lines.<br /> <br /> The child usually receives his/her first mundan in either the first year or the third year of age. A priest is called to conduct the rituals according to the traditions and a barber is called to shave off the hair. The priest recited sacred hymns and chants and shaves a part of the head. The barber then shaves the entire head, sometimes leaving a clump of hair at the back of the head. Some of this hair is offered in the sacred rivers in holy cities like Haridwar and Varanasi. To cool down the head and to cure nicks and cuts, a paste of turmeric and sandalwood is sometimes applied on the entire head. Thereafter, a child may be shaved now and then or never, depending on the desire of that particular family.<br /> <br /> There is a significant reason as to why the head is shaved in such an elaborate ritualistic way. According to the Hindu beliefs, the hair present at birth is supposed to represent unwanted traits from the past lives. In order to make sure that the child has no undesirable qualities of the past birth in this life, the head is shaved off to ensure a new beginning and a fresh start. Medically, it is said that shaving off the hair stimulates the cells and improves blood circulation to the brain. Some also believe that this gives the child a long life.

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • Faces of Rajasthan

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • Faces of Rajasthan

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,


  • India,2013,


  • India,2013,

  • The most important point of the rituals that is not specific to any caste and creed. Everybody who wants to perform the rituals can indulge into these holy ceremonies in the guidance of the holy men, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • India,2013,

  • At the top of the Ghats of the Ganges, off to side, , 2 men watch and listen the evening Aarti ceremony.

  • At sunset, young brahmans (priests) perform a one-hour Ganga Aarti Puja ceremony in honor of the goddess Ganga, the mother of all Hindus. This ceremony has been conducted every night for the past 2000 years — 365 days a year, rain or shine. The Varanasi version of the Ganga Aarti is highly choreographed in comparison to other Ganda Aarti ceremonies. Flamboyantly staged, this ritual is filled to overflowing with prayers, incense smoke, loud clanging bells, chants, flowers, and flames.<br /> <br /> I found the Ganga Aarti Puja ceremony to be the most inspiring of my experiences in India. Some people complain that these ceremonies are too commercial or 'fake' -- but when you are actually there, most of the pilgrims are so present, hopeful, and content that their sincerity and devotion are contagious.

  • The young brahmans(priest) perform the Ganga Aarti Puja ceremony every nights at sunset for an hour in honor of the goddess Ganga, the mother of all Hindus. The Varanasi Ganga Aarti is highly choreographed in comparison of other Ganda Aarti in India. The air is filled with prayers, incense smoke, loud clanging bells,chants, flowers, flames in a flamboyant and staged fashion.

  • Women Devotes watch and listen the evening Aarti ceremony. Aarti descends from the Vedic concept of fire rituals and refers to a Hindu religious rite in which a part of a puja which unfolds with “light” from wicks bathed in purified butter is offered to several Hindu dieties

  • Varanasiis a veritable paradise for pilgrims, who throng the ghats of the Ganga for spiritual rewards, purification of their souls,deliverance of their sins and attainement of nirvana.The Hindus believe that to die here on the banks of the Ganges is an assurance of heavenly bliss and emancipation from the eternal cycle of birth and death. Many Hindus travel to Varanasi at the twilight of their life.

  • India,2013,

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