Ganga – The Flow of Grace
The river frisks and sings as she rushes on her journey. She carries with her the wishes and prayers of thousands who visit her daily, drinking from her, dipping in her purifying waters, and setting alight tiny lamps of ghee and faith. Children wander selling baskets of bright coloured flowers to offer to her. The ringing of bells and the chanting of mantras resound in the air, creating an atmosphere of devotion and serenity. Ganga aarati is something we often attend when living or travelling along her banks, where our minds are elevated watching the multi-tiered brass lamps waved to the rhythmic chanting of mantras, the special offerings made into fires and the brightly coloured flowers and tiny lamps flowing in the current.
Ganga’s glories have been sung since time immemorial. Be it ascetic sages, sadhus, royals or the common person, she is an enigma to all. For centuries, day after day thousands have thronged her banks. Young and old, men and women, spiritual seekers, philosophers and travellers have all strived to see her once in their lifetime. Some see her as the celestial mother, some as a divine being, while others as a mesmerising river. But no one can ignore her. For the traveller from overseas, no visit to India is complete without meeting her. The Puranas mystify her, the Vedas glorify her, the historians study her, the farmers bow down to her and the many from all walks of life worship her.
What draws them to her? Why is she such an enigma? What makes her divine? Why is she worshipped? Why is she considered as Mother? Why do so many yearn to breathe their last on her banks? No-one has been able to answer these questions fully. Ganga can only be experienced but her mystery is never fathomed. - Savitri
Journey up the Sacred River
On our Himalayan Sacred Journey, leaving behind the beautiful aarathi ceremonies in Rishikesh, we travel to Gangotri stay at Tapovanam Hiranyagharba where Swami Sundaranada displays all his photographs and works to raise awareness of the threats to Ganga in modern times. Many great yogis, swamis, sadhus and spiritual practitioners, both past and present have made simple cave dwellings here in Gangotri, many who have dedicated their lives to living along the banks of the often-tumultuous waves at this point, and offer their service and wisdom to those who come.
We then travel up the banks of Ganga to Gomukh, where she emerges from the Gangotri Glacier, we trek up the 18 kilometres to have a dip in the chilled waters right at the source. The challenge of the journey is again, a reminder for us to always strive to reach our source, our own Divine nature.
A short but extremely tough uphill trek leads us further to Tapovan, our final destination on our Himalayan journeys, a beautiful secluded mountain meadow at the feet of Shivaling mountain, where Akash Ganga,(sky Ganga) falls from the mountain top.
Here we listen to her song, bathe in her waterfalls, and experience her Divine Dance with the mountain itself, the dance of Purusha and Prakriti, of form and formlessness, as we delve into the silence beneath the sounds of her entrancing meander down the mountain.
Details of our next trip to the scource of Ganga in August 2023 can be found at indiasacredjourneys.com
MIRACULOUS TALES
Ganga’s Darshan
Kumaramma, from Puttaparthi relates a story from her childhood in 1948 when her whole family would spend much of the year living in the Sathya Sai Baba’s Ashram:
“One day when we were sitting stringing flowers into garlands, Swami suddenly got us and said “Come on! Come On! Mother Ganga is coming to visit me.” He rushed towards the huge main gate of the ashram, and stood with outstretched hands, telling everyone.
“All of you stand behind me. None of you should go even one inch beyond these outstretched hands of mine. See there, Ganga is rushing” With great ferocity, her waves rising high in the sky, the river was approaching us, fuming and frothing with a roaring noise. She came quite near. ”Oh God! She may swallow us!” We children felt scared. The river came very near to Swami and was touching the hem of his robe. Due to the roaring water, we could not see the trees and shrubs growing there.
Swami extended his hands forward and touched the river. The stretch of turbulent water under his extended hands immediately became serene. The water beyond his outstretched hands was still frighteningly turbulent. Swami glanced at us and said “Go inside and bring flowers, coconut, turmeric powder and Kumkum. “After we brought them, all of us offered worship reverentially to the River Goddess. We were still nervous looking at the swirling water behind. Swami broke the coconuts, offered them to Mother Ganga and keeping his palms on the surface of the water said, “We are very happy that you came to visit us. Now, please go back Ganga!” While saying this, he affectionately patted the waves with both his hands. As if thrilled by his gentle touch, her fury subsided, and she disappeared completely without a trace.. We rubbed our eyes and gazed in disbelief in all four directions. Not a drop of water was to be seen anywhere, even Swamis robe as dry. It was a mighty surprise! Ganga went back as suddenly as she had come. How nicely she had halted before Swami, as if a wall was built for its waves. For a while we worried that the river might come roaring back towards us, but Swami laughed and pointed to his feet, where a garland of bib jasmine flowers were woven. He took them in his hands, smelled them and distributed the flowers to everyone. Each Jasmine flower was almost the size of a rose, soft with a sweet fragrance. We reverentially placed those flowers in our hair. We could not understand this miracle, no matter how hard we tried. It was an incredible experience to have Ganga’s darshan.”
From Anyatha Saranam Nasthi = Other than You, refuge there is none by Kumaramma
The Song of Ganga shows a young seeker his spiritual path
Radanath Swamii describes how he was guided to his path to become a world revered teacher within the Hare Krishna movement.
Radhanath was very young when he travelled from America to India, searching for meaning to his life. His travels took him to Rishikesh, where he was drawn to meditate on a large rock located in the river itself. Every day he would swim out and sit on the rock for hours on end meditating. Whilst in India he had let go all his possessions and was now left with his last, and most precious, possession – a harmonica. He felt that he should now offer this to Ganga, which he did with a full sense of surrender. Radhanath now had nothing and was fully reliant on God to care for him.
The following extract from his book, The Journey Home, tells of the grace of Ganga towards Radhanath.
"The Ganges valley was still with almost a mythical silence. My mind floated, recalling how God had taken from me so little and given me so much. For a moment I contemplated that the degree one feels unworthy of grace, one will be grateful when it comes. It is gratitude that makes the heart receptive to receive the Lord's blessings. I merged in the endless song of the river. It was just so beautiful. I felt on the verge of something extraordinary. Then I heard something that seemed to ascend from the depths of Mother Ganges heart. The choir of thousands of celestial voices sang a slow entrancing song that seemed to reverberate throughout the river valley
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Through the song of the river, I felt God had whispered this beautiful mantra into my ears. It was a mystical rite of passage, carrying me on a wave that lifted me closer to my aspiration. My heart soared with gratitude. I found myself breaking my long silence and singing these words aloud with the river. No intoxication on earth could come close to that experience. The meaning of the song was unknown to me, but it stole my heart. What did it mean? In sacrificing the song of my harmonica, I had inherited the song of the Ganges.”
Totapuri’s Lesson
One day, Totapuri, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was suddenly laid up with a severe attack of dysentery. On account of this miserable illness he found it impossible to meditate. One night the pain became excruciating. He could no longer concentrate on God.The body stood in the way. He became incensed with its demands. A free soul, he did not at all care for the body. So, he determined to drown it in the Ganges. The e walked into the river Ganga, but found he could walk to the other bank." Is there not enough water in the Ganges? Standing dumbfounded on the other bank he looks back across the water. The trees, the temples, the houses, are silhouetted against the sky.
Suddenly, in one dazzling moment, he sees on all sides the presence of the Divine Mother. She is in everything; She is everything. She is in the water; She is on land. She is the body; She is the mind. She is pain; She is comfort. She is knowledge; She is ignorance. She is life; She is death. She is everything that one sees, hears, or imagines. She turns "yea" into "nay", and "nay" into "yea". Without Her grace no embodied being can go beyond Her realm. Man has no free will. He is not even free to die. Yet, again, beyond the body and mind She resides in Her Transcendental, Absolute aspect. She is the Brahman that Totapuri had been worshipping all his life.
Totapuri returned to Dakshineswar and spent the remaining hours of the night meditating on the Divine Mother. In the morning he went to the Kali temple with Sri Ramakrishna and prostrated himself before the image of the Mother. He now realized why he had spent eleven months at Dakshineswar. Bidding farewell, he continued on his way, enlightened.
Swami Saradananda, (one of the Ramakrishna’s direct disciples.)
The Power and Magnitude of the Grace of Ganga
In 2017, Ganga was accorded the same legal rights as a person. This ruling followed a similar ruling in Aotearoa/New Zealand, where the Whanganui River was granted this status. The decision was made in a case that was brought before the courts about pollution of Ganga. This polluting or otherwise interfering with Ganga is the legal equivalent of harming a person.
Whilst this legal status has been entered into law, to many millions of Indians Ganga has always been a divine entity. Ganga Aarathi (the ritual waving of light to the river) has long been a practice in Hinduism, along with the placing of floating lights upon the river, especially on sacred festival days.
It is my experience that Ganga is a living, Divine being. She seems to welcome us into her waters when we go down to the ghats (steps) or the sandy banks to bathe. She fosters a great deal of life, both in the waters with fish, turtles, etc., but also in the forested banks at Rishikesh.
To sit beside her waters in the early morning or sunsets is to come into a state of profound peace. Last year, whilst doing Ganga aarati at Gangotri on the headwaters of the Divine river, I had the experience of Her entering my heart and bringing a profound state of happiness. The relationship with Ganga runs deep. At Gangotri I will go down to have her darshan at the waterfall after morning meditation. It is always an experience of her power, magnitude and grace. Phillip
Kumbha Mela – The Greatest Gathering
The Kumbh Mela at is possibly the world's largest gathering. Spiritual seekers from all over India and from every kind of spiritual path come together to bathe in the sacred Ganga river on this auspicious day, which is calculated based on planetary alignments. The kumbha mela happens four times every 12 years, which is one solar cycle, and is a number that is significant on the spiritual path. It rotates between Haridwar, Ujain, Godavari and Allahadhad. During a Maha Kumbha (every twelve years) over 60 million people gather. The Kumbha Mela is an enduring icon of India’s priceless spiritual heritage.
Meet the Naga Sadhus
Kumbha Mela is the time when Naga Sadhus descend. They are the staunch devotees of Lord Shiva who have given up all the material things of life, including clothes, and live only to worship their lord. Otherwise never seen in public, they flock in huge numbers at the Kumbha Mela places and can be seen bathing in the holy river, performing warrior skills with weapons, delivering religious speeches, and doing other activities. Apart from the Naga Sadhus, various other holy men, including Urdhawavahurs (who live in extreme austerity), and Kalpwasi (who bathe thrice a day or more), become a part of this largest gathering in the world.
Some intriguing facts about Ganga
Ganga water contains ‘bacteriophages’ that can destroy bacteria in the water This allows up to sixty million people to bathe communally at large festivals without any outbreak of disease
Ganga water can decompose any organic waste within it 25 faster than any other water taken from any other river in the world.
It has bacteria-killing properties which destroys all infectious diseases including cholera, and.
Ganga water completely prevents mosquitos breeding
Once collected, Ganga water will keep fresh for decades even in a small bottle.
Ganga flows down 2320 kilometres supporting 40% of the population of India on its journey from Gomukh to the Bay of Bengal
Some research into the miraculous properties of Ganga
Khairnar, K. Ganges: special at its origin. J of Biol Res-Thessaloniki 23, 16 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40709-016-0055-6
Rai, Y; Smith, D: Self-purifying properties of the Ganges River Scoping Review.Western Undergraduate Research Journal: Health & Natural Sciences Vol. 7 Issue 1, p1-3. 3p. (2016)
Ganga Quotes (to be inserted where they fit)
“We must learn to give, give, and give like the Sun, And like Mother Ganga- with no hesitation, no expectation, no vacation and no discrimination.” – H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Founder of Ganga Action Parivar and Spiritual Head of Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh)
“The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India’s age-long culture and civilization, ever changing, ever flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga.” – Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India
“Gita and Ganga constitute the essence of Hinduism; one its theory and the other its practice.” – Swami Vivekananda
“I will lay my bones by the Ganges that India might know there is one who cares.” – Alexander Duff
“O Ganga, strange are your ways, you fill up the sea but dry up Bhavsagar – the sea of troubles of worldly life.” – Ratnakar, Hindi poet
“If Ganga lives, India lives. If Ganga dies, India dies.” – Dr. Vandana Shivaji
“The land where the Ganges does not flow is likened in a hymn to the sky without the sun, a home without a lamp, a Brahmin without the Veda.” – Jean Tavernier, Travels in India