Varanasi burning Painting

Varanasi is an intensely holy and ancient city in India on the Ganges where for centuries people have pilgrimaged to bathe in the holy waters and to cremate their dead here with the belief that to be cremated in Varanasi will end the cycle of Maya and Samsara (cycle of reincarnation and illusion) and allow the spirit to enter Nirvana or Moksha (enlightenment and liberation from this cycle). The ritual surrounding these cremations have remained largely the same for thousands of years and even the fires have been burning continuously and tended by a select few families for over 500 years. The body is wrapped in orange robes and taken by family members to be submerged in the river Ganga for its last bath and a scoop of the holy water poured into its mouth as its last drink. Other rites are performed by male family members and finally the body is laid on the funeral pyre. The eldest son then takes the fire and before lighting the pile, walks five times around the body to signify the five elements (water, fire, air, earth and ether) of the body and spirit being returned to their source. Fire is associated with power and purity. Here mourners watch cremations taking place and the spirits of their loved ones being released.