Varanassi is the most important city to the Hindu religion, and the river is where all aspects of life and death take place. People meditate, pray, play and bathe. They wash their clothes in the river, and spread them out to dry along the ghats. They practice yoga, and take in every breathe of life as if it were their last. They learn to swim, and wash their sins away at every river visit. To die in Varanassi as a Hindu means freedom from the cycle of life and death.