Want to have a feel of the eternal divinity, come to India. Mystical India opens its doors to spirituality that is never witnessed before. An overwhelming spiritual feeling awaits you so come and follow the sacred Ganges' course to have an experience of a lifetime.
Ganga Maiya' or Mother Ganges is a testimony to the absolute undercurrent of Indian thought, spirituality & philosophy. No river in the world plays a more significant religious, social and cultural role in the lives of the people than the Ganges. Guided by its mesmerizing course are wonderful and generous waters that bathe the earth and fertilize the hearts of fervent men. An initiatory journey The Ganges beckons pilgrims from India and the entire world.
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The holy Ganges emerges from the venerable sources at the glacier of Gaumukh, situated at a height of 6500 meters. Descending towards the lowlands, the destiny of the river and its tributaries comes to 'Panchaprayag', the confluence of five places, it gurgles towards Rishikesh, the ancient city of the yogis. Allahabad, the ancient Prayag, Varanasi, the mysterious 'Kashi' city of light are also entwined by its mazes that also have been witness to sacred rites of passage since millenniums. After passing Bihar, it sprawls towards Bengal, where its name changes to Hubli. Then, towards Ganga-Sagar, where the dispersed waters of the river merge with the ocean, in the vastness of eternity.
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A source of splendid life, the Ganges has never stopped to inspire hearts in mystical odes, symbols and the art of living since the beginning of humanity. Her celestial origin and complex course covers a distance of 2,700 kilometers. Multitude of pilgrims throng her banks at large holy cities to perform the ritual bath and pujas. Every evening, at sunset, thousands of fire lamps are set afloat on the river in obeisance to the celebrated waters. Mythically rising from Mount Kailash, the fabled residence of Shiva to the glacier of Gaumukh (3,950m) the sources of Bhagirathi-Ganga, her streams multiply in the Himalayan valley before descending to irrigate the Indo-Gangetic plains and later merging with the delta at the Bay of Bengal. Sometimes calm, sometimes fervent, the Ganges unfolds her abundant waters in the course of the four seasons. Her banks are chiseled gracefully in the unpredictable geographical curves, at times sharpened, narrow and deep and at other instances, spreading across the indomitable expanse.
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The most austere of mendicants reside in forests and inaccessible caves in the Himalayas. These solitary beings descend on rare occasions like the Khumba mela at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain or Nasik, once every 12 years. The tradition of pilgrimage India has always had the spiritual tradition of pilgrimage that every man aspires to undertake at some point in his life, in gratitude to the Gods, to invoke blessings for a desire or in search of spiritual centers. The Himalayas, which are fabled residences of the Gods, are a favored destination for spiritual peregrination. Shallow mountain streams become sacred, tirtha, likely to bring an internal transformation of the being.
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The most austere of mendicants reside in forests and inaccessible caves in the Himalayas. These solitary beings descend on rare occasions like the Khumba mela at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain or Nasik, once every 12 years. The tradition of pilgrimage India has always had the spiritual tradition of pilgrimage that every man aspires to undertake at some point in his life, in gratitude to the Gods, to invoke blessings for a desire or in search of spiritual centers.
The month of Shravan (mid July to mid August) is devoted to a pilgrimage for Shiva. A tradition invites pilgrims to Badrinath the Precious Ganga Water (Gangajal), as carried by the sadhus walk to the source of the Ganges and collects the holy water, Gangajal, for their home or village shrines. The water from the revered source must never touch earth before being placed at the shrine.
