The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1910, Page 60

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60

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Benares.

Benares is a city in India, situated on the Ganges
River. It is a large and wealthy city, but given
entirely to idolatry. It is the sacred city of the
Hindoo. He believes it to be the center of the
earth and the first created spot. Millions of heathen
pilgrims come there every year to wash away their
sins in the Ganges River, which is also considered
sacred, and to worship at the many shrines of hid-
eous gods. A traveler who spent a day in Benares,
writes: “On all sides you see heathen superstition

ing we took a boat on the Ganges. On the steep
Benares bank of the river there are forty-six land-
ing places. These consist of great irregular stone
platforms, on which are temples, shrines, foul-smell-
ing sacred wells, grotesque and obscene images of
gods. Among the flights of steps, or ghats, leading
down to the river is also the burning ghat for the
burning of dead bodies. ‘The Hindoo considers him-
self happy that can live in the sacred city on the
sacred river, or at least come here to die. Wherever
else he dies, some faithful friend must bring his
ashes to this river. Two bodies were being burned

Benares, India.

and idolatry. Among the temples we visited was
the monkey temple. This is sacred to the goddess
Kali, who delights in sacrifices, and for whom the
blood of countless goats is shed now that human
sacrifices are prohibited in India. Hundreds of
chattering, grinning monkeys run up the pillars,
quarrel on the roof, and eat popcorn purchased for
them by worshipers. We saw also the cow temple.
Here a number of particularly sacred cows are kept,
and the usual way for the worshipers to show rever-
ence is to kiss the cow’s tail. The golden temple is
devoted to the worship of Ganesh, the belly god,
a most hideous image with an elephant’s head. This
temple is a huge structure, and several of its domes
are covered with gold leaf. ‘The filth around this
temple is simply indescribable. In the early morn-

as we passed by; a third swathed in white was in
the river for its final purification; a fourth is borne
down the bank and placed in the river. Our guide -
tells us this last one is the body of a Bengali, who
treat their dead very badly — they break their legs.
We ask him why. ‘Because devil run round in body.
Break legs, devil can’t run.’ On each side of the
burning ghat up and down the river, thousands of
men, women, and children are praying aloud, pour-
ing libations, and making offerings of seed, and
fruit, and garlands, all to the sacred river. The
same trip serves to wash their bodies, their clothes,
their cooking vessels, and to get drinking water to
carry home. ‘The filth of the city sewer and the
presence of the dead bodies seem to make no dif-
ference. Soul-sick we turned our backs upon Ben-