This month we have taken two field trips, one to the Hindu capital of the world, Varanasi and one to the Buddhist capital of the world, Gaya.
We took a boat out on the Ganges River and got to see firsthand the darkness that fills this old city. As we floated down the river we came across death ceremonies on shore. 9 bodies were currently being burned and ashes sprinkled into the river. People lay on shore waiting to die so someone will place them into the “Holy” water. 2 dead bodies floated by. All the while people are bathing, washing and drinking the water of this river desperate for a new clean life in every way. There are people crowded amongst hundreds of temples along the shore worshiping false idols, praying for a new clean life in every way.
We go to temple after temple looking at the same face of Buddha in every form and fashion. We go to the tree of enlightenment where Buddha first started this thing. We watch people doing strenuous exercises trying to reach forgiveness for their sins so they can live an enlightened life. We watch as young boys are brought up as monks at the grand temple having no choice in the matter and not really knowing another option of belief.
We go home and we praise our god. We praise that this year, this life is not another religion, another fad. We stand confident in the fact that our God is real, and living. Stand in the praise of the personal, intimate RELATIONSHIP we have with the one true God. We listen to the voice of reason, we sing praise to our creator and we give our hearts of thanksgiving for open eyes to the ways of this world. We pray. Pray for these people. Pray for this nation that is so blatantly lost. Pray that their eyes would be open and they could learn of the one true God. Pray that they could learn the only way to a new clean life.
