GANGA TO GANJA: The Dual Face Of Spirituality

GANGA TO GANJA: THE DUAL FACE OF SPIRITUALITY.
“Raand, Saand, Seedhi, Sanyasi- Inse Bache, to sebe Kasi!”
(Hustlers, bulls, stairs and the mendicants… These are the common things found in Kashi. By escaping them, one can attain salvation”!)
Varanasi the heritage capital of our country. The city famous for the beauty of river Ganga, the elegant banarasi saree, the simplicity of lord shiva, the knowledge of lord Buddha, the overwhelming taste of Banarasi paan and the lively nature of the people living here.

Tourists from across the world visit the place in search of new experiences and to see the spiritual side of life. Lord Shiva being the spinal cord of the city and bhang & marijuana being his offerings has now become the priority of the tourists and this is one of the reasons why in recent times tourist around the globe visit the city and especially from those places where marijuana is completely banned. When we talk in the context of India marijuana has been used since as early as 2000 B.C.E. Many states like Orissa, Assam, Uttarakhand has legalized the growth of marijuana mainly for medicinal purpose. When you wander on the ghats you can easily spot foreign tourists with self-proclaimed spiritual babas who would preach them with lessons of life and these babas are the top most suppliers of marijuana in the city who have a tie-up with the local and unauthorized tourist guides. In the name of Prasad of Baba Bholenath, nobody questions the consumption of this drug and when in India we connect something with the name of religion nobody has the dare of raising any objection against it. Foreign tourists can be easily spotted on the small lodges, cafes located mainly in the Shivala area and the Dashashwamedh area of the city that illegally keep this drug with them and sell it to foreign tourists. The Recent attraction of teenagers towards drugs has made this thing more popular.

When we talk in the context of police they are the one who takes this issue very casually and nothing is done to solve this problem. There is leniency of narcotic branch working in the city as everything is done in the name of the lord and the supply is done in such a secret manner that nobody gets to know about it. If the people in charge don’t take this issue seriously there may come a time when Varanasi will not be known for its positive aspects like knowledge, Ganga, music, culture, food but for the drugs sold in the name of spiritualism.