The Journey of Self-Discovery and Redemption: Masaan, A Saga of Liberated Souls

<p>The Ganga, at Varanasi - the city of ghats, as believed in Hinduism is said to purify the soul of its sins and karmas after the body is cremated here on its holy banks, making the path of the soul easier to travel towards heaven, is one of the main character in Masaan, Hindi movie directed by Neeraj Ghaywan (India), who won the Best Director award at the SAARC Film Festival 2016. It portrays the tale of two lives in despair and in hope, looking forward to break the shackles of life, traditions, caste, religion and inequality. <br>The longing to break free and live as a liberated soul is every man’s wish, whether he is from a rural or an urban background. We crave for worldly desires and are caught in the web of maya or illusion which gives momentary pleasure but results in lifelong scars and pains. It is time to make new bonds and new religions where there are no discriminations of colour, caste, creed, sex and the only criterion should be that we are all one soul awaiting our turn in the cycle of life and death to unite with the Supreme Power and attain eternal happiness.<br>    Masaan or shmashaan means a crematorium, a place where dead bodies are cremated. The body is sent back to the Creator to be moulded again into a new form for the soul to continue in its journey of life, till it is liberated and attains moksha. This is so rightly indicated at the end of the movie ‘Masaan’ -  where a boatman beckons offering Devi Pathak (Richa Chadda) and Deepak Chaudhary (Vicky Kaushal) a ride towards Sangam, the sacred point of confluence which is said to wash away all of one’s sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.</p>