18 ~Varanasi: Death and Rebirth.

January 3

Benarés in Hindi, Varanasi to the Western world, is the holiest city for Hindus. Surely, everyone has heard the common belief that in India, they burn their dead and throw them into the river. Like any "broken telephone" story and all narratives that become a little distorted, it’s a bit more complex and profound than that. But the truth is, Varanasi is the main city where this deeply significant ritual takes place.

It’s the place from the movies—the one that seems frozen in time and the epicenter of all the Western controversies surrounding this practice.

In India, the tradition is to cremate the bodies of the deceased in open-air cremation sites along the banks of the Ganges, their sacred river. After the appropriate rituals—which are many—they scatter the ashes into the river to purify and release the soul.

Varanasi is the city where families from all over India bring their deceased loved ones to give them the privilege of dying there. To die or be cremated in Varanasi is considered a gift and a true blessing for Hindus.

One of the cornerstones of Hinduism is reincarnation, or as they call it, the Wheel of Samsara—the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth of the soul, life after life, with the ultimate goal of breaking free from that cycle and achieving Moksha. This is the state where the soul (Atman) ceases to transmigrate from body to body and unites with Brahman—the Supreme Reality, the divinity, the source of all that exists. Eternity and infinity.

This is the spiritual evolution of the soul: a journey of learning and a path toward liberation from the suffering inherent in earthly existence. The Hindu scriptures say that if bodies are cremated in Varanasi with the proper rituals, the soul of the deceased is freed from the cycle of rebirth—the cycle of suffering that, in a way, is life itself. Complex, but beautiful.

"Why wouldn’t someone want to live again?" I asked an Indian friend from my Western perspective.

"Life is suffering—inevitably," he told me. "There is another level where the soul no longer suffers, where the soul is freed, where it unites with its true essence—with the eternal. That’s what we believe. So, 'this' life isn’t the one that truly matters—what really matters is how we live it to reach eternal life."

When death takes on a new meaning—when it becomes a transition, a change in form—the meaning of life also shifts. When the true focus is on the soul’s evolution, the emphasis isn’t placed on the material aspects of this life but on the path you walk and how you walk it—on your actions. And that’s where the beautiful notion of Karma begins to come into play, a concept so important here that no one who arrives can...

"What you do in this life comes back to you—in this one or the next," he say.

Your actions shape your evolution and the reincarnation of your future life. What we experience in this life is, in a way, the result of our own actions and choices, but also of the deeds from past lives. The place we stand today is connected to all of it.

It is easy to understand that good actions bring good results, while bad actions bring the opposite. It isn’t always immediate, and we can’t always trace a clear link between cause and effect, but according to this natural law of cause and consequence, everything eventually comes full circle—in this life or another.

In our culture, many of us remain unaware of this or easily forget that kindness generates happiness while selfishness breeds suffering. But here in India, this understanding is ever-present.

"We come into this life as a consequence of our past lives," an Indian will tell you one day—"your good or bad Karma." To resolve the lessons that remain unfinished or to continue those we have already begun. And that is an entire way of understanding our journey through life.

This existence of our soul holds value not only as an experience but also as a process of learning. This life determines the orientation of the next and is itself shaped by the one before.

You reap what you sow. If you wish to reincarnate as a more evolved being, more awakened and closer to spiritual liberation, you must cultivate actions in this life that lead you there. Gradually, both life and death begin to take on new meanings.

It may sound strange or extreme when framed in such vast terms, but when we bring it down to daily life, it becomes easier to perceive how every action we take has direct consequences—in multiple dimensions. In the material world, of course—in the things and people around us—but also in the patterns of thought and behavior that begin to shape who we are.

Each action produces immediate outcomes but also plants seeds in our minds, which, in turn, build new habits and establish precedents for future choices. And so, it becomes easier to understand why this law of cause and effect is called a Natural Law—because everything we do, or fail to do, creates effects within us, and those effects begin to transform who we become.

If I choose not to eat meat, for example, or decide not to kill a spider, I am contributing in a specific way to the external world. But I am also constructing my identity, my values, and my future actions, which will, in turn, be linked to the new choices I continue to make—like links in a chain. If we go a little further, we can begin to see that conscious and compassionate actions that preserve life create a ripple effect. They generate more actions of that nature within us, expand our awareness, and eventually manifest tangible impacts in the material world—a domino effect of goodness.

Maybe today, it's just reducing meat consumption. Perhaps tomorrow, this heightened awareness extends to fish. Over time, I might no longer want to kill a cockroach in my room simply because it disgusts me—because I truly understand that it, too, is a living being. With time, I will cultivate more loving actions toward other beings and, quite possibly, more compassion toward humans as well—because it is all connected.

And the most fascinating part, to me, is that all of this will unfold organically as a result of an expanded consciousness—like the beautiful fluidity of a falling line of dominoes.

The same logic applies to negative actions, which extend beyond something as simple as killing a spider. It also encompasses the ignorance and lack of understanding that lead us to act without awareness. This disregard for the lives of other beings perpetuates a blindness—and just like the domino effect, it magnifies and expands, generating more actions of a similar nature.

Initially, it might manifest in the smallest creatures, but the same seed of thought will extend to other beings, other situations, and eventually even to how we treat ourselves. Once again, everything is connected.

The part of the law of cause and effect that remains largely unknown is this: actions rooted in generosity and compassion generate happiness, while selfish actions create suffering in our hearts. "We act out of ignorance," Buddhism teaches—not realizing that the true loss lies not in giving but in our refusal to give.

We are expansive beings. What we do ripples outward and inward in multiple directions, whether we are aware of it or not. This is why bringing more awareness and light to our actions is so crucial. It is also part of the path to liberation.

This is just one way to think about the concept. And yes, I am—and strive to be—a vegetarian.

Your good karma brought you to India" – I’ve been told this on several occasions, and I treasure that phrase in my heart as a privilege.

Why Varanasi?

Here, Benares acquires a third name: Kashi, which means "City of Light," or my favorite: "City of God."

According to the sacred scriptures, Varanasi is the city where Lord Shiva lived—one of the three gods of the Hindu Trinity and, consequently, one of the most important deities in Hinduism. And that’s when the pieces of the puzzle surrounding this incredible city begin to fall into place.

Traditions carry stories and legends, and Hinduism is no exception. The story goes that Shiva was a flesh-and-blood person, more specifically a warrior, who, due to a particular circumstance, chose a path of transformation at a certain point in her life and withdrew to the Himalayas in search of meditation and spirituality. Thus, she became the first Yogini and also the first Great Master of the discipline—the Goddess who would powerfully represent the yogic path of renouncing worldly life, seeking truth, self-knowledge, and liberation.

When Shiva descended from the Himalayas after her personal transformation, she chose Varanasi as her abode, turning the city into the gateway to the spiritual realm.

The immense number of temples and the devotion to Lord Shiva here make it even more sacred. Devotion is a defining feature, and spiritual pilgrimages to the city are one of the most striking things about India. It is impossible to walk along its ghats without seeing devotees, sadhus, and pilgrims performing rituals or meditating on the steps.

So, if you are seeking spirituality, it is impossible not to be touched by this magic.

Within the Hindu Trinity, each of the three gods has an essential role in relation to the origin and creation of the universe: the God Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the "destroyer"—but also the one who allows the cycle to restart. From something to nothingness, to darkness, to ashes, and from there, life emerges again—but in a different way.A transformative reality, an elevated one. A liberation. A rebirth.

"But I read that Shiva was evil," my mother questioned me. I try to explain to her another way of seeing things. The other side of destruction. Life behind death. A different perspective. In the end, reality remains the same—what changes is how we understand that reality, as always, and that changes everything.

Yin and Yang. Everything and nothing. Light and darkness. Death and life. That is Shiva, and that is also Varanasi.

Sunrises with a brilliance rarely seen and nights so dark that they are sometimes frightening. Fires of death that emanate life and winding streets that at times instill fear. Mafias, noise, chaos, and death. Religion, meditation, rituals, and life. A place of overwhelming energy that never goes unnoticed—whether through love or aversion. It touches your core, and in some way, it touches your being, your ideology, and your principles. It questions you, and if you're fortunate, you can feel it.

It goes without saying that Varanasi increasingly captured my attention. It seeped into my pores like a blessing and awakened something in my soul that few places ever did. Here is where I began to feel India.

"Yeah, that all sounds great," my uncle said while I talked about India at a family dinner. "I’d love to believe it, but I’m a skeptic. I just can’t believe in that."

"I understand. I choose to believe," I replied. Because in the end, I think that—like everything else—it’s a matter of choice. Deep down, I’ve always found the reality we understand in the West and how modern science presents it to us to be quite empty.

Is this all there is? Is this everything? Is there nothing deeper? So, if life is fleeting and finite—Do we die, and that’s it?

What is the meaning of it all? Why are we here? What happens after death?

I remember that when I was very young, the idea of dying and everything suddenly turning off used to scare me. I imagined the world going black forever and us never waking up again. When I grew older, I found other, more comforting answers.

I like this way of understanding death. I like this way of understanding destruction too—it’s the same thing, but not really. On one side of the world, death is the end; on the other side, it is regeneration, life, and a new beginning.

In the end, the reality we choose to believe in is the one that will guide our actions, our thoughts, and consequently, the manifestations we encounter on our path.Our lenses, our vision, and even our illnesses too.

So, I believe it becomes inevitable to ask ourselves:

What do you choose to believe? What kind of life does that choice lead you to?

Thank you for reading ♥