Kumbha Mela 2001 : Picture of the Day |
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| Questions and Answers on the Maha Kumbh Mela Question 3 :
Both the Yamuna and the Ganga are polluted. In fact,
I've heard that this far downriver, the Ganga is not even safe to touch. How can you bathe
in such a river and sip water from it? |
It is a sad
fact that these rivers, which Indians hold sacred, have become polluted. I hope more and
more people ask this question‹it might help Indians awake from their slumber and
clean up these rivers.
I was taught by my master, Sri Swami Rama, and many other masters to bathe in the spirit
of the Ganga and Yamuna. That can be done without actually taking a bath in the physical
river. This special bath requires that we learn to balance the flow of prana in our left
and right nostrils. At a deeper level, it means that we balance our ida and pingala (the
lunar and solar energy channels) and open sushumna (the central energy channel that is
equated with the Sarasvati River). By practicing meditation and by entering the realm of
tranquility within, we bathe ourselves at the confluence of these great rivers.
Just as the soul has a body, these rivers have a body, which is the water flowing in them.
And that body is ill. To me the real worship of the Ganga and Yamuna involves keeping them
clean, healthy, and well-nourished. I pray that the citizens of this ancient land come to
understand the value of serving and protecting nature as their ancestors did. There was a
time, as the scriptures tell us, that even spitting in the river was considered a sin. How
much more sinful is it to pour industrial waste, raw sewage, and other pollutants into it?
Article provided by the Himalayan Institute's online
newspaper, The Kumbha Mela Times. To get your free subscription to this
online newspaper, see http://www.HimalayanInstitute.org.
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