TRAVEL|PHOTOGRAPHY|SPIRITUALITY
The Ceremony of Lights On The River Ganges Is An Amazing Experience.
See the beauty and you will be amazed by a spiritual experience
Entry to the Ganges (Ganga)
At the entrance of the Ganges, we saw the beautiful hands of a man, woman, and child.
This was amazing! It was a cordial greeting to the people visiting the Ganges called Ganga in Hindi.
We were promised a cruise in the Ganga and what an experience it was.
I am secular and I go with different religions as long as it pertains to spirituality and teaches us something good. I am not a fanatic and I feel to each his own and everyone has a right to their own religion.
Ganga was a wonderfully serene and spiritual experience.
At the banks of the Ganga, there was a multitude of people but you felt one with yourself. No one seemed to be there.
The flow of the Ganges river
In our group, we were 67 people. 63 of them were Rotary members and we were the add-ons. They were so friendly with us that we did not feel out of the group.
It was a great moment of joy as I saw the Ganges flowing with blue water and a small boat floating in it. I took the picture immediately.👇🏽
The river was calm and we could enjoy the light breeze in the evening.
The Double decker boat
We went from the banks that had uneven surfaces to sitting on a double-decker boat. The double-decker boat was garlanded and decorated with flowers. We went up and took the corner seated to have a better view.👇🏽
Everyone was charged with energy as we found our seats. See how beautifully we were welcomed with flowers and a welcome soft drink made of sandalwood. Everyone started taking pictures.
The boat started and everyone was asked to sit down. Two musicians had been hired to sing with us some devotional songs.
They started with Har Har Mahadev which means Respectful greetings to the Lord!
It is a prayer to God to remove challenges and obstacles, sorrow, ignorance, miseries, and ego, and clear the path for positive energies to flow in.
The singers started singing old Bollywood numbers and found plenty of songs that people knew and we all had a rocking time singing with them.
They were students from Banaras Hindu University (BHU). They were young and lively. One of them was a pop and rock singer and had been selected by a channel on television and the other was a pure devotional style singer.
Both of them together made the occasion lively. Everyone clapped and some danced to the tunes played by the musicians.
Our travel agent had organized a high tea party on the boat. Snacks after snack kept coming and we kept devouring them.👇🏽See below what happened.
The sunset and lights
It was sunset and the prayer began and the Ganges was lit with so many lamps. It was the prayer of lights and we were to witness it from the boat.
The aarti takes place daily at 6:30 PM after the sun sets in summer and 7:00 PM in winters, It is about 45 minutes. The venue is Dashashwamedh ghat, one of the holiest of all ghats in Varanasi. (Ghat means stairs leading to the river bed.)
Ganga Aarti is one of the most important events related to the holy river. People come from all over the world to watch Aarti on the Ganga as the Ganges is referred to in India.
The Ganga aarti involves the chanting of hymns, fire, flowers, and lamps. The idea is to show gratitude and respect for the river and ask for its blessings.
You can either watch from the steps of any ghat or from a boat or a canoe but you cannot go near it.👇🏽
Ganga Aarti
Attending a Ganga aarti is a spectacular experience. The uplifting and beautiful ceremony is performed daily to honor the River Goddess Ganga.
The traditional small earthen lamps with a wick called diyas are used to light the banks of the river. There are loud chants. Incense and flowers, and musical instruments are used to create an ambiance of divine bliss.
The whole of the Ganges is illuminated with lamps.
The aarti ritual is of high Hindu religious significance. Fire is employed as an offering to the river. You need to witness the event to imagine the grandeur.
The mythology believes that Goddess Ganga came to the earth to wash the sins of the king and turned herself into a river. To thank her the aarti is performed. Thus the river Ganges is not only a river but a divine mother who helps everyone to remove their sins.
The small diyas and flowers are floated and it is believed that there is divine power that makes people bow in devotion.
This daily ritual is a choreographed ceremony.
It is performed on a stage on the river banks. A group of young pandits, draped in saffron robes raise huge brass lamps in honor of the River Goddess. They blow on the counches to remove negative energies around the area.
Scented sticks are moved in different patterns and they circle huge flaming lamps. The moving of the lamps is synchronized with the musical chants of hymns and cymbals. You get the the fragrance of sandalwood in that environment.
The takeaways
1️⃣The positive energy of so many people singing hymns makes the whole environment charged with positivity.
2️⃣Rituals do keep people together at a particular time. They forget all animosity for some time in the day.
3️⃣Prayers done with lights make it spectacular to view and people get attracted to the vision. The whole dance with lights is a visual delight and a lot of creativity is required to synchronize it with the music.
4️⃣People witnessing this tradition has become international and people actually travel to understand the mythology and the depth of the significance of the river.
To wrap up
Varanasi is attractive to people not only in India but to other countries as well. It is known for the Holy River Ganga.
It is also known for its silks and beautiful handloom fabrics.
The food in Varanasi is very special. They believe in vegetarian diets. They make the most special Beetlenut called Paan in India.
The Ganga aarti is most spectacular.
©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2023.
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