Many people flock to this sacred Indian city in search of a unique purpose. An Israeli YouTuber unravels the mysteries behind their journeys
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00:00You can see bodies float inside the river here.
00:07Why people come before they feel they are going to die?
00:11Because they are sure when I die in Varanasi, Shiva City, I will go directly to Nirvana, to heaven.
00:17This is the only place for the high caste guys.
00:30And you need to pay more money for being here.
00:33Actually, I cannot smell a dead body smell or something.
00:39And Ashok says this is the power of Shiva.
01:00From Nirvana to heaven.
01:02We have a lot of hospice houses in the city.
01:06Do those people need to pay money for being in the hospice?
01:09Not charged. After they leave, they can make a donation if they have the possibility.
01:15Otherwise, it is not necessary that they have to pay.
01:18All the bodies arrive here, they go directly to the river for us to wash the body.
01:22To wash the sin of the dying person.
01:24After washing.
01:26After the body is purified in the holy river, they dip the body in the water.
01:29After that, they open cloth from the face of the body.
01:32That every family and relative have to give five times Ganga water to the dead body's mouth.
01:38And say last time Namaste, goodbye.
01:44But I heard that sometimes when the body is not burned till the end,
01:50you can see bodies float inside the river here.
01:53Child, pregnant woman, holy man.
01:57When a person gets bitten by a snake from a cobra.
02:00Because cobra is the necklace of God Shiva.
02:02Yes.
02:03And when there is a holy death, that body has to go in the river with a heavy stone tied.
02:08So you just put it in the river with the stone.
02:11Yes.
02:12And this is the reason why I see floating because they're not burned.
02:15They throw them like completely.
02:18Because when the body is already pure, they don't have to be purified in the fire.
02:27This is the wood that they use to burn the bodies.
02:42And Ashok, there are different types of woods, right?
02:46Yes.
02:47Like more expensive, less expensive.
02:50Okay, mango tree is supposed to be expensive or not expensive?
02:57Not really expensive.
02:58Not expensive.
02:59Tell me if there is someone that don't have money.
03:01Yes, most expensive.
03:02Most expensive is sandalwood.
03:04Sandalwood.
03:05Okay.
03:06If some family cannot buy enough wood.
03:08Yes.
03:08They can take the woods left from another fire and mix with some new body of that and help proper burning.
03:14Okay.
03:14This is called Shiva eternal fire.
03:17It has been burning here now for 3,500 years old.
03:21Owner of this place.
03:22This is the fire guys.
03:26Very, very hot.
03:27They keep this fire from generation to generation.
03:31They look after this fire.
03:32In this mode, it's a fire on grass.
03:34And finally, it takes fire to body.
03:36And it turns five times around the body.
03:39Yes.
03:40And it starts burning.
03:41Okay.