We are here during the Hindu High Holiday of Maha Shivratri in Varanasi.

The observant Hindu faithful flock to temples to offer their prayers. All day long they observe a fast. They remain awake the entire night to serve offerings and implore the lord to shower his blessings upon them. Even at night they abstain from taking any food. They break their fast the next day.

Religious hymns are sung with feelings of great warmth and intensity. The ardor and devotion of the adherents is great. The belief is that they will be liberated from the cycle of birth and rebirth and attain true salvation if they chant this mantra.

Time for celebrating the Maha Shivratri in Varanasi

The Maha Shivratri in Varanasi generally falls in the 13th or 14th day of the Hindu month of Phalguna (February – March) which fell last night and today.

From our pictures, you can ascertain what we experienced in our “front row seats”: from a flotilla of boats, to walking amidst the huge crowds, frequent bulls, cows, dogs, goats, and perpetual motorcycles. It was a real miracle that none of us got lost from each other, as throngs of believers walked along with us… especially hundreds of thousands of Varanasi’s young people. They walked 50 miles barefoot all night and into the mid afternoon today.  It takes 15 hours and they visit 5 sacred sites along the way. We saw many of them limping or stepping gingerly this morning.

We also walked and traveled several times by boat past a Jain Temple which is located on Jain Ghat. Feroza gave us an explanation of this sect that arose from Hinduism 2,500 years ago: