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Business News›News›Politics and Nation›Salvation House: The last stop before Moksha, where Hindus go to die

Salvation House: The last stop before Moksha, where Hindus go to die

Take God’s name & die in Varanasi

Take God’s name & die in Varanasi

They arrive in battered cars, on crutches and sometimes on a stretcher barely able to breathe -- but salvation is close for thousands of Hindus who go to the holy city of Varanasi each year to die.

Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi releases them from the eternal cycle of life and death reincarnation. Cremation in the Ganges is an added spiritual bonus.

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AFP
Seeking salvation

Seeking salvation

Some end up in homes for the elderly overlooking the revered Ganges river where they eventually hope to be cremated but a few struggle to the Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan, or Salvation House, which is reserved for those with only a few days to live.

About 20 men and women each month come from around the world to finish their days at Varanasi's 'Death Hotel', a tired old red colonial-era building with 12 sparse concrete floor rooms.

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AFP
Guest for few days

Guest for few days

There used to be more guest houses like Mukti Bhawan, but the buildings have increasingly become regular hotels for tourists who bring more cash to the city where 24-hour cremations on the holy river are a huge draw.

Bhairav Nath Shukla, who has been Mukti Bhawan's caretaker for more than four decades, said most of his residents pass away within in a few days.

Normally, two weeks is the limit for using a room.

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AFP
Deadly hotspot

Deadly hotspot

Because of the growing development in Varanasi, Mukti Bhawan, which is run by a charity, no longer has a view of the river. But there is still no shortage of mainly poor people wanting to die there.

Many have travelled thousands of kilometres (miles), sometimes taking a plane from a foreign country, or even just being put in the back of a car in an isolated Indian village.

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AFP
Just few dollars

Just few dollars

The residents pay about a dollar a day for their room and a fan.

Daily prayers are led by an elderly "pandit" Hindu priest who also offers residents Ganges water, which is considered pure and holy by Hindus.

For those with extra cash, a local Hindu choir can also be hired to perform holy songs for the ailing visitors.

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AFP
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