Article Added On: May 25, 2008 - over 3 years ago
Title: Hindu ritual quite a sight
Original URL: http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/travel/story.html?id=c854caba-55bb-4004-9f76-640c76ab7b90
Author: Michael McCarthy
Publication: Vancouver Courier
Publication Date: May 23, 2008 - over 3 years ago
Faith Groups: Hindu
Themes: other

Abstract: Led by chanting monks from the local ashram, Hindu devotees throng the banks of the Ganges River at Richikesh in northern India.

The Beatles have been there. Shirley McLaine was there. In fact, if you travel to Rishikesh in northern India today you might see her there, taking a yoga or meditation class, or joining the throngs who join in the nightly mass aarti sessions at sunset along the banks of the Ganges, as the great burning ball of fire that is the almighty sun sends its dying rays across the banks of this vast river.

Rishikesh and nearby Hardwar are two of the great holy cities of India, pilgrimage sites for millions of Hindu devotees who flock to these small northern cities for holy festivals. It is not unusual to witness hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and sadhus (holy men) blocking the narrow highways as they travel in great throngs to pay homage to the holy Ganges, mother of all rivers, as it emerges from the Himalayas north of these two towns.

Standing in contrast to the Hindu devotees are the many westerners who come here to learn meditation techniques, study advanced yoga or take classes in everything from ceramics to Tantric sex. Rishikesh was originally home for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and these days the town is a New Age mecca, drawing North Americans and Europeans looking for nirvana and just plain tourists drawn to its cheap hotels, shops and restaurants.

Mixed in with the pilgrims, New Agers and tourists are the river rafters, who come from around the world to revel in the class three and four rapids just north of Rishikesh, especially in the winter months before the spring snowmelt makes the river too fast to run. Rafting shuts down entirely in the summer as snowpack and glacial melt turns the great river into an icy torrent. Summer is also the "hot season"--as if every season in India is not blazing hot.

It was so hot the month of June when my family visited, it seemed we would die if we so much as stepped out of our hotel. But at twilight when a few cool breezes swept down from the hills and the great blazing orange ball of the sun sank over the Ganges, the evening "aarti" ceremonies drew us down to the banks of the river to join the thousands of Hindus who gather knee deep in the fast-flowing current, to sing and pray to the goddess of all humankind.

Vast crowds chant as one, following a choir of monks from one of the nearby ashrams that has the convenience of a modern sound system to spread their word of prayer far and wide. Despite the maddening heat, it is a marvel to witness thousands of worshippers dipping and immersing themselves in the dark waters.

Aside from being a holy river, the Ganges is incredibly polluted with everything from sewage to floating bodies, and it is quite a sight to see believers in a state of rapture drink deep from these waters.

The crowds can be 50 people deep all along the river, so in order to escape the pushing and the heat, we also ended up knee deep in the river, watching candles set atop banana leaves drift downriver in the golden glow of the dying rays of the sun while the great chants and prayers soared over our heads. It was a never-to-be-repeated spiritual experience that sent shivers down our backs, matching the beads of sweat from our brows.

The town is crammed with people, cafés, scooters, people, restaurants, people, scooters, bookshops, people and more people. Swiss bakeries vie with pasta parlours that vie with Indian restaurants that stand chock a block next to tourist traps. It's an unholy mix of the pure and profane--and watch out for those scooters unless you want the next prayer to be about you.