Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
Haridwar serves as the gateway to the ‘Char Dhams’ of Uttarakhand state and is the most visited pilgrimage place in India. Lakhs of devotees visit Haridwar. Throughout year it remain in hustle bustle because of many reasons but all relating to religious faith but on the occasions of ‘Kumbh Mela’ and ‘Somvati Amavasya’, Haridwar attracts pilgrimages that make this place jam-packed compelling the forces deployed to push the devotees to a Zigzag over temporary bridges over the Ganga channel to reach Ghats for holy dip after traversing more than two to three kilometers that in ordinary time takes 5-10 minutes. This is the toughest time for devotees especially for the oldies. Yet devotees take this challenge just to have a holy dip in the Ganga. The ‘Somvati Amavasya’ that was a day on May 30, 2022, when I with my family and most cherished member of my family, my mother somewhere 90 years of age (regular visitor to Haridwar), took a holy dip at ‘Har Ki Pauri’ Haridwar, the desired point to take a holy dip for almost everyone visiting Haridwar. I attribute so much desire to the episode of ‘Samudar Manthan’ that the Dhanvantari rose out of the waters bearing a cup filled with the elixir (Amrit) and in its chase to obtain it few drops of Amrit fell at this place also. Being a man of rational thinking, I find that the channel is diverted from the main Ganga flow route to facilitate the easy dip in the waters of Ganga. But belief theory cannot be put to question. Hinduism may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more. It is a matter of common knowledge that Hinduism embraces within itself so many diverse forms of beliefs, faiths, practices and worship that it is difficult to define the term ‘Hindu’ with precision. The unmanageable and unbelievable gathering of devotees from all age group youngsters to super citizens and even babies brought, who are yet to breastfeed, hammered my mind, why is it so? What brings one to Haridwar time and again? My curiosity was prevailed over by the explanation of Pandit (generally known as ‘Panda’) that neither, it is the strength of money, nor the desire, but it is the call of Ganga that brings someone to Haridwar, the ‘Junction of Faith’ and cherished by the faith. ‘Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the ‘Carvan’ of thinking – Khalil Gibran.’ It is the faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. On quarry, why is faith so important? Convincing point of view was that: It allows us to access a source of strength and hope that would otherwise not be accessible. Faith powerfully convinces us that everything will eventually take a positive turn. This in turn gives us the confidence to see things through. My exploration on Ganga concluded that it is not only Hindus but all the people having true diligence in religion have faith in Ganga. It has been mentioned throughout Indian literature from ancient times and is personified as the Goddess Ganga (commonly called as ‘Maa Ganga’). We mention Ganga with other names also such as: Jahanvi, Bhagirathi, Shubhra, Vaishnavi, Vishnupad, Bhagvatpadi, Mahabhadra, Mandakini, Meghna, Meghal, Gangika, Gange, Gangeshwari, and Alaknanda. It is repeatedly invoked in Vedas, the Puranas, and the two Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It finds its mention in Rig-Veda, the holiest of the Hindu scriptures. Its descent on earth is linked to the King ‘Sagra’ for the salvation (Moksh) of his sixty thousand sons, the ancestors of ‘Bhagiratha’ and on its banks, right from very beginning of time many of the ‘Rishis, Munis, and Tapasvis’ have been performing their spiritual endeavors. Ganga is considered as a lifeline because its basin extends over more than 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles). It has the highest population of any river basin in the world. Today, waters from the Ganges and her tributaries irrigate the fields of the millions of acres of agricultural crops which are grown along her banks. These farms provide food for more than 400 million inhabitants, which is nearly one-third of the population of India. The Ganga Basin supports numerous diverse ecosystems, from the alpine forests near Gaumukh to the plains of northern India to the mangrove forests and saline mud flats of West Bengal. We come across the mention of British Physician, C.E. Nelson, that the Ganga water taken from Hooghly River (The Hooghly or the Bhagirathi Hooghly called the ‘Ganga’ or the ‘Kati-Ganga’ in mythological texts, is the eastern distributaries of the Ganges River in West Bengal) by returning ships to England remained fresh throughout the journey. It was this property of Ganga that East India Company ships only used water from the Ganges for drinking purposes on their 3-month long voyage back to England. Concluding Haridwar is a place of Temples and Ghats, and we find many Ghats here, where devotees bathe in the holy waters of the Ganga.