Gift of Ganga
The gift of Ganga
Vanisha Uppal fulfils her desire to be in the lap of Mother Ganga and finds herself being guided by Her and becoming one with Her
After two years of intense practice of Kriya Yoga, one night, I had a dream: Mother Ganga is waiting for me and when I approach her, we both are very happy to receive each other. She hugs and welcomes me saying, “Why did you take so long to come?”
I woke up the next morning with an intense desire to go to Rishikesh to see Ganga. The following day was Diwali (India’s biggest celebration). Without wasting any time in organising, I took the night bus to Rishikesh. I wanted to stay close to Ganga. It was pitch dark when I got down from the bus at 3.30 a.m. I looked around for a place to stay and came across an ashram. From the glass door, I saw two people sleeping inside. When I knocked, one came hurriedly and opened it. I asked, “Can I have a room, please?” to which he replied “No.” I waited for a while. The other person, sleeping beside him suddenly got up and said, “Wait! A room is available.”
I got a small room next to Ganga Ghat. It was 4 a.m., and after keeping my bag in the room, I went straight to Ganga. On seeing Her, I was overwhelmed! ‘Happiness’ is a very inadequate word for what I felt at that moment. I felt complete in Her presence. It was still quite dark and no one was around. Filled with uncontrollable joy, I entered Ganga and her touch made me one with Her. With every dip, my inner self was surfacing—an unexplainable feeling. I was lost in Her, and my breath became so subtle that I did not feel its presence.
After the bath, I silently sat on the steps of the ghat. I was in so much joy that I could almost hug Her from one end to another. Suddenly, I saw something floating towards me. I stood up to see clearly what the object was. It was a banana. I grabbed it, thinking it might be a coincidence that it was directed towards me. Anyway, I was happy to receive a gift from Ganga.
In Ganga’s care
I kept sitting at the ghat for hours in bliss and joy. I realised it was 2 p m., and I was hungry for some simple bland food. I hurried to the dining hall of an ashram nearby. A few devotee scholars were sitting around the table. They were reading Srimad Bhagavatam. I asked for food and they said that lunchtime was over. I remained quiet as I was at a loss for words. One of them, a very strict-looking fellow, stood up and said, “I’ll get you some food.” He went into the kitchen and put some dal, vegetables, and rice in a polybag and gave it to me. I sat under the tree just outside the dining hall and had it. It was a fully satisfying meal. I went back to those scholars again and said, “Thank you for the food. Now may I sit with you to hear Bhagavat Katha?” They replied, “Mother, no females are allowed to sit with male scholars.” “But you just called me ‘Mother’!” I retorted. “That is the rule,” was their response. It led me to wonder about the rigidness of rules in our great Indian tradition, not to speak of the significance of the word ‘mother.’ However, I greeted them and quietly returned back to Ganga.
I watched people from different parts of the country take a bath in the holy river, full of their faith in Ganga, God, and heaven. They worshipped and performed the ritual in their own different ways, which was beautiful to watch. Afterwards, they threw rotten flowers, old books, and ashes, along with polybags into Ganga. I was angry and was about to say something to them but, suddenly, I felt Ganga telling me to follow her example. Despite how everyone treats her, she is not angry and provides life to everyone. My anger turned into empathy and love. I thanked God that I did not react in anger. I quietly picked up as much garbage as possible and threw it in the dustbin nearby.
The gifts continue to come
I saw an old man quietly sweeping the ghat, oblivious to those around him. I offered to help him sweep the ghat, and he happily accepted.
Next day, I woke up and did my Kriya practice and went to Ganga at 5 a.m. I sat quietly at the same place as the day before. Yes! I was expecting a gift again, also thinking how stupid I was. Coincidences are not repeated. Guess what? I again saw a banana floating exactly towards me. I had no idea where it was coming from. It was no longer a coincidence. The waves were directing the banana towards me, without it being carried away in another other direction by the wind. I received it with much love.
In the afternoon, some kind of fear overtook me. The river looked very strong and huge. Realising my smallness and feebleness, I hesitated to enter Ganga. I was surprised at how I could manage it earlier and felt the pain of separation.
The small children selling flowers at the ghat looked like little gods to me. It was difficult to refuse to buy their flowers, and so, I bought some snacks and sweets and enjoyed with them, making sure they threw the wrappers in the dustbin.
Suddenly, they got up, removed their clothes, and jumped into Ganga. They were swimming and having fun, completely devoid of any fear, enjoying in the lap of my Mother. And I was standing on the bank, hesitant with fear. Without wasting any more time, I too jumped into Ganga. Swimming freely in the company of fearless beings, all my pain and fear were gone. Oh, it was so wonderful!
Next morning at 5.30 a.m., I went to my ‘banana spot.’ Having no doubt in my mind that a banana would appear again, I sat on the high stone and asked Ganga, “Mother, please don’t take long; send me the gift now.” I was sitting alert because I wanted to know from where the banana was coming. I saw something pop up from the middle of the Ganga. It was my banana, and it floated towards me. I grabbed the banana with the full authority of a child who has the rights to his parent’s property.
I came back to Delhi but left my heart in Rishikesh.