1009. Ganga Saptami....

Srimad Bhagavatam says when Maha Vishnu grew from Vamana (Dwarf) to Trivikrama (Gigantic Form) to measure the three worlds His foot stretched to Satyaloka the abode of Brahma. Excited to see His holy feet, Brahma immediately offered humble worship with water from his Kamandala. This holy water, purified and sanctified by the touch of the His feet, gushed down as the sacred Ganga. Today is Ganga Saptami, according to Hindu Mythology Ganga descended to the earth on this day on the request of Sage Bhagiratha. When she descended on the earth from Heaven, it was Lord Shiva who took her in His matted hairs to check her mighty force which otherwise would have swept the whole Earth away.

It was on the Ganga Saptami day in 1986 my mother left for the Divine abode. Every year it was a custom to offer Tilatarpana on Vaishaka Shukla Saptami Thithi. I cannot count my fortune and the blessing which has provided an opportunity to be here in Ganges this year to perform the ritual. My priority though should be not to pollute Ganges while performing the rituals.

They say rivers have the ability to clean themselves if left alone to flow naturally. It's mere flowing force will maintain its purity automatically. The chain link of problem starts when a lot of silt gets accumulated, the quantity of flow reduced because of dams built, the width of the river shrinks, catchment area gets encroached, industries are set up and the effluences are linked to the river. With this chronology it is never possible to find the real culprit for the rivers to get polluted. As Buddha tells there is no point in finding the cause but it is necessary to work on the effect and see that it does not recur. It is an overwhelming sight to see the Namame Gange Mission for clean Ganga is yielding wonderful results and we are able to hear the local people say that now the river is much lively. After my Prime Minister declared he was the son of Ganga Maa and pledged to restore the river its pristine glory.

Ganga is one of the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent and is the national river, flowing east through the Gangetic Plain of northern India into Bangladesh. The 2,510 km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Uttarakhand and drains into the Sunderbans delta in the Bay of Bengal. On the banks of this river are situated many well known places of pilgrimage such as Haridwar, Prayag and Kashi. It is on the banks of this holy river that many Rishis, Munis and Tapasvis have been performing their spiritual endeavours.