Har Har Gange....

Har Har Gange....

Rivers have always been a source of inspiration for many of us. Born at Bhusawal, I grew up with the blessings of the Tapti river. Our house was close to the river and many evenings I would cycle or walk down to the river basin and just enjoy the flow or dip my feet in the cool waters. The floowing river never ceased to fascinate me.
Which is why I was overwhelmed by my first
darshan of the Holy Ganga twenty years ago. It was a family trip to the holy cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh. The expanse and the flow enthralled me. I kept gazing for minutes, my mind, a myriad of thoughts, of being born in India, a Hindu with the opportunity to experience this feeling of being free with gratitude. I have always felt free, in mind and spirit, to worship and remember God as I like, in a manner, i thought fit, unfettered. That is what i like most about being a Hindu, experiencing the spiritual, as a way of life, of being immersed in karm and bhakti. I felt engulfed in mind, spirit and body akin to attaining Moksha as i dipped myself in the holy waters then, literally cleansed, buoyant with life, rejuvenated.
Thereafter I didn't get the opportunity to go again to Rishikesh or Haridwar despite being so close for training at LBSNAA in Mussourie last year. There is a saying too that the call for darshan of the divine happens only when the divine desires.
Now all of a sudden, our pre-planned visit to Shimla had to be cancelled due to water shortage and instead my son and me headed towards Rishikesh to be among the green hills of the Himalayas and the flowing waters of the Holy Ganga.
We were fortunate to go to Parmarth Niketan Ashram, intereact with Bhagvati Swamini Adityanathji and receive the blessings of Pujya Swamiji Chidanand Saraswatiji who is the President and spiritual head of Parmarth Niketan.
Swamini Adityanathji was generous to facilitate my son, Vishnu to take part in two Yagnyas and also perform arati at the Ganga.
Parmarth Niketan Ashram is one of the largest and oldest ashrams in Rishikesh. Located on the Ganga, it not only provides perfect darshan of the Holy river but also has excellent accomodation and other facilities. It is a centre for yoga, meditation, satsang, bhajan and other cultural activities. It is open to all people without discrimination of caste, creed, colour, sex, nationality.
The sunset Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Niketan is the main attraction as thousands of visitors come there to seek blessings of the holy river Ganga and the Swamiji. The power of arati is beyond religion and is universal. Whether a person understands the language or no, it's aura is transcendent of boundaries or barriers of caste, language and culture and connects us with the supreme.
We were lucky to have the arati led by Swamiji himself. Listening to him leading the arati and the bhajans and hearing his divine discourse was uniquely divine. The flowing waters of the Ganga soothed our fluid minds bringing stillness and calm. Ganga is not just a river, she is truly our divine Mother, giving us life. From times immemorial her waters have witnessed growth of civilsations, supported agriculture, led to spiritual development of human beings.
Standing in front of the Holy river and witnessing the arati opened up my deepmost thoughts and emotions. A sense of gratitude, deep respect and pride for our nation and for being an Indian, a Hindu, with an opportunity to be a part of this divine experience.
I was totally immersed in peace and tranquillity when out of the blue I saw a plastic bottle floating in the water. There was a sudden sense of despair. The Ganga has been flowing since antiquity, it's flow and expanse more or less the same. What has really changed or increased are the number of persons taking the holy dip or bathing. What has increased is the habitation, hotels and industry and with it the onslaught of pollution.
Awareness to keep the holy river clean and also programs to clean the Ganga are in progress since 1985. Raj Kapoor's film Ram Teri Ganga Maili was also a step in that direction. Yet it has been difficult to surmount the problem because of the multitude of people and the magnitude of the task. Blaming the government or passing the buck to others as if cleanliness is their mantle is unfair. Actually, it is upto each one of us as individuals to take steps for maintaining the cleanliness of the Holy river and other places, just as we take care of our own homes and keep them clean. The need and desire, the transformation has to happen from within.
At Parmarth Niketan, Swamiji is also passionate about cleanliness and sanitation The Ashram has came out with a programme to create ambassadors of sanitation and clean Ganga. The Ashram has a dedicated team working to spread awareness on sanitation and hygiene. They also have a programme for training sanitation ambassadors who can go and work dedicatedly in the villages. No wonder the Ashram is so clean. Their film for generating awareness about cleansing the Ganga made me realise how casual we are in using and disposing waste material, sewage,  specially plastic. For us it can be a single bottle but when added up becomes a huge heap. Day in and out thousands and sometimes lakhs take a holy dip in the river. We must exercise caution not to use soap, urinate or defecate in the Ganga. It is for us to preserve our treasures for posterity.
Spiritualism is an act of the mind. Rituals are a part of it. However if rituals supercede the purity of spiritualism they can possibly lose their essence.
As my son and me walked down the river, hand in hand, we took an oath to propogate cleanliness and sanitation.
This visit not only made us rich spiritually but also left us calm and composed, ready to dedicate ourselves for the welfare of the society with renewed vigour. We were grateful to be born in this country and as citizens of being part of the wonder that is India !!!!