Talk and meditation on Kashika Stotram Verse 1 

manojña-vṛttiḥ paramopaśāntiḥ
sā tīrthavaryā maṇikarṇikā ca |
jñāna-pravāhā vimalādi-gaṅgā
sā kāśikāhaṃ nija-bodha-rūpā || 1 ||


This opening verse distills the essence of inner pilgrimage to Kashi, from an Advaitic viewpoint:
• मनोज्ञवृत्तिः परमोपशान्तिः — When the mind’s activities (vṛtti) become serene, attractive (manojña), and ultimately stilled in supreme peace (parama-upaśānti), one experiences the true sanctity.
• सा तीर्थवर्या मणिकर्णिका च — That inner stillness is the greatest of holy places (tīrtha-varyā), the Manikarnika within. In Vārāṇasī, Manikarnika is the cremation ghat where liberation is promised. In the yogic sense, it is the place within where the ego and ignorance are cremated.
• ज्ञानप्रवाहा विमलादिगङ्गा — The ever-flowing current of pure knowledge (jñāna-pravāha) is the spotless, Primeval Gaṅgā (vimalādi-gaṅgā). This is not the physical river, but the unbroken awareness of the Self.
• सा काशिकाहं निजबोधरूपा — That Kāśikā, the city of inner light, is none other than I myself, whose true nature is Consciousness (nija-bodha-rūpā).

Adi Śaṅkara thus identifies the real Kāśī as a state of Consciousness — the luminous awareness untouched by body, mind, or world.