The origin of Ganga = Pujya Gurudev

SIGHT OF GOMUKH

(The origin of Ganga)

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

 Today my long cherished desire of seeing the origin of Mother Ganga got fulfilled. The journey of 18 miles from Gangotri to Gomukh is fraught with far greater difficulties than those faced in the journey upto Gangotri. When the road to Gangotri gets cut off or blocked, the Government officials of the Public Works Department arrange for its quick repair. But this route to Gomukh mostly remains neglected and unrepaired. The mountain roads get damaged every year and if they are not repaired for a year or two the paths become very hazardous. In some places the paths were cut off in such a way that to pass by it was nothing short of gambling with life.

A slight slip of step and there ends your life. The glacier, from which Ganga originates, is of blue colour. This place of origin of Mother Ganga looks uniquely magnificent by the presence of snow-clad mountain peaks all around. The course of water appears like an ordinary fountain. Though the course is thin its velocity is tremendous. It is said that this course of Ganga comes from Kailash - Shiva�s matted hair. From Kailash to Gomukh Ganga is said to travel underground. The tremendous speed of Ganga at this visible origin is attributed to her having endured the weight of millions of tonnes of glacier for over hundreds of miles. Whatever that be, for imaginative minds, it is milk coming from mother�s breast.

A pious urge surges within to drink it and to get immersed in it like it happened with the writer of �Ganga Lahari� (Waves of Ganga) a composition of poems written in praise of Ganga by Shri Jagannath Mishra, who went on reciting his own composition, putting one step ahead with the chanting of each stanza and at the end of the last stanza plunged into Ganga in a fit of heightened emotion and accepted the watery grave (Jal Samadhi). I satisfied my urge by taking a sip and a dip in the Ganga. Throughout the way my imagination and emotions were billowing like the waves of the Ganga. Many thoughts appeared and disappeared.

 At this time I cannot restrain the urge to write down an important thought that has just surfaced in the mind. So here I put it. Here at Gomukh, Ganga is only a thin tiny course. On the way hundreds and thousands of fountains, streams and rivers join it. Some of them are many times bigger than the original Ganga at its source. It is only due to all those rivers and streams and fountains joining her that Ganga has become so large and wide as seen at Haridwar, Kanpur, Prayag etc.

Big canals are dug to carry water from the Ganga for irrigation. The water from Gomukh will not suffice for even a single canal. If no other stream or river had joined the Ganga its water would have been absorbed by the soil within a few miles of its origin, and it would have vanished, thereby millions of human beings would have lost the opportunity to be nourished by its life-giving waters. Ganga is great, certainly great, for it has bound myriads of streams and rivers in the bond of love. She threw open her arms of magnanimity and embraced them to her heart. Taking no notice of their virtues and faults, she assimilated them all in her fold. How can one whose heart is full of feelings of boundless love, intimacy and oneness be short of water? When the lamp burns, moths also get ready to burn themselves over it.

When Ganga has set out on the path of public welfare by spreading life-giving nourishment, why should not the rivers and streams come forward to sacrifice themselves in it. We can see for ourselves that innumerable souls have merged themselves in the large-hearted soul of Gandhi, Buddha, Jesus and the like.

Ganga’s bed level is the lowest. This has enabled the streams and rivers to fall into it. On the contrary if Ganga had, instead of keeping herself low and humble, held her level high feeling proud of her qualities, other streams, though not much worthy would not have tolerated her conceit and would have turned away from her, feeling rather jealous of her. The magnanimity of the streams is truly great and their sacrifice is also praiseworthy, yet it is the humility of Ganga in presenting herself as humble that has given the opportunity to the streams to make their existence fruitful. Ganga has many other great attributes but this one virtue of humility alone is so great that words fail to admire her. The farsightedness of the streams and rivers in renouncing their own ambition of attaining fame, keeping their separate identity and importance is also highly appreciable.

 They enrich the capacity and greatness of Ganga by losing themselves. They realized the importance of unity and co-operative working. So they deserve unbound appreciation. They did not preach nor discoursed on the strength of unity but showed it practically by their deed. This is called courage of conviction. This unique example of renouncing one�s identity is not only great but instinct with foresightedness too. Had they insisted on perpetuating their separate identity and sought to themselves the credit of their performance, they could surely have had their own name and fame, but that would not have been considered of much value. In that condition, no one would have considered their water to be holy nor worth using for sanctifying body and soul. The sacred Gomukh that I saw and bathed in today is only the origin of Mother Ganga. The complete Ganga is formed by the collective effort of thousands of streams and rivers. Gangasagar has welcomed it. The entire world worships it. Only a few like me go in search of Gomukh and reach it. I wish that a sacred united angelic and divine force may emerge in human consciousness to eradicate sin and promote universal welfare. If only our leaders and their followers could pick up this example of collaborative working like that of Ganga and her tributaries?

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma