Question & Answer – Yoga Vasishtha
Significance of Ganga
Question : What is the significance of Ganga?
Answer : River Ganga gets one rid of one’s sins. Gangavalambini nare yatha dushkrita sanchayah To be happy, one has to get rid of one’s problems. Only on getting rid of sins, one can atain merit and be happy. Even to attain any material or wordly benefit and to fulfil any righteous desire, one has to gain merit. Without any merit, one will not be able to get any happiness. Only when one is sinless, one can be happy. Then how to get rid of past sins? It is said that thinking of the Holy River Ganga itself get one rid of sins. Thinking of Ganga means – being pure and sanctified. This is not only about the physical Ganga originating from the Lord’s Holy Feetand traversing through the Himalayas. That Ganga will cleanse one of the bodily impurities. Those keeping their mind clean and pure will not keep any sins as they will not indulge in any bad deeds. Ganga also means the wisdom – Jnana Ganga that enters our mind. Whoever fills the mind with such divine wisdom will be pure and sin-free. Those taking refuge in Ganga (divine wisdom) will get clear of their sins and get increased merit in their lives. Even the physical remains of the deceased are immersed in Ganga so that the soul attains purity. That is a prayer to Mother Goddess Ganga to cleanse the person of the known and unknown sins. Jnana Ganga, the divine wisdom cleanses the mind of any illusion and/or confusion. River Ganga cleanses the bodily impurities and Jnana Gana, like Satsanga – sanctifies the soul and persona. Whoever follows Ganga in full faith, will get rid of their sins. The misery caused by the sins are cleared by the Ganga – both the River Ganga and the divine wisdom – Jnana Ganga. Not many live near River Ganga. Yet many other people think of going on a pilgrimage but may not be able to do so – what is their resource? We see many people visiting Ganga, including foreign nationals. How can those who are far off get get the benign blessings and cleansing merit of Ganga Mata to get sanctified? For those in the south of India, if they are near Kaveri – that river itself is Ganga, for those near Godavari, Godavari is the Ganga. One has to feel and experience Ganga in the holy waters of one’s place. If not a river, the tank in one’s place, or the lake in the temple, or the water one fetches, or any water body can be invoked and felt as Mother Goddess Ganga. All the water is Ganga, it is the blessings of Mother Goddess. We have to feel that we are taking the holy dip in Ganga and are consuming Ganga water as Teertha. Shankara Bhagavatpada also says in Bhaja Govinda Stotram that one has to take at least one sip of the Ganga water in one’s life time. Pujya Appaji blessed us all with a Shivaratri function on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar. All of us should visit and seek the blessings. Every Indian, nay every person, should visit the Holy River at least once and take a bath in the river.