Everest 2015: Ceremonies of Life and Death in Kathmandu

Our last day in Kathmandu, we did the tourist thing by visiting two of the more popular spots: the Boudhanath Stupa and the Pashupatinath Temple. I had visited these spots on my first visit in 1997, but have never returned so it was interesting to see them again.

Warning: this post and video has graphic descriptions and images that may be disturbing to some people

Our first stop was to the Pashupatinath Temple where both Hindus and Buddhist take their dead for cremation ceremonies. Everything is out in the public and the families are accustomed to having tourist and locals, s watch the ceremonies complete with camera in hand.

If it is the death of a mother, the youngest son leads the ceremony, if the father, then the oldest son takes charge. The total cost is between $40 to $60, a lot of money for many of these families. It is believed that those who die in Pashupatinath Temple are reborn as a human, regardless of any misconduct that could worsen their karma.

The dead are cremated within 24 hours of death. The body is lovingly cleaned, sometimes painted before being wrapped in white cloth and gently laid on a pyre of wood. The son then take a flaming torch, circles the body many times before setting the structure aflame. It takes about three hours to complete and the ashes are spread into the Bagmati River which eventually joins the Ganges in India.

Posing for pictures in the temple area are Sadhus, wandering ascetic yogis, who are trying to acquire liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth by meditating. They are quite eager to pose for tourists in exchange for a small donation.

Next stop was to one of the largest stupa is South Asia,  Boudhanath. It has become the focal point of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. With April 3, the last day of the full moon and the start of the Nepal new year around the corner, the Boudhanath was full of families praying for their dead of the past year. They circled all three levels of the stupa.

The air was full of smoke and incense and the sound of praying monks, clanging bells and announcements over a loud speaker competed the sensory overload. Again, abject poverty was obvious with many handicapped people begging for money.

Prayer wheels encased in the lower wall made for more crowds as many people, locals and tourist alike circled the base spinning each wheel

This afternoon, we returned to the hotel to do our final pack and will leave early tomorrow morning. I’ll do another post on that later.

So, a good last day in Kathmandu with vivid reminders of the circle of life. Sights, sounds and smells to last a lifetime.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything