We wanted to make sure we experienced the spiritual side of India, so after a quick stop in New Delhi to reconnect with our wonderful Indian family, we boarded an early morning train to visit one of the seven holiest places in India and one of the ancient cities – Haridwar.
The city is on the shores of the sacred river Ganges, (pronounced “Ganga” in Hindi) and is believed to be the place where Lord Vishnu stepped down, and where Amrit (elixir of immortality) was sprinkled. Sadhus (holy men), pundits (Hindu priests), and pilgrims, from all over India, come to this city to bathe in the holy waters to rid themselves of sin and close the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
We decided to go with a guide so we could understand what we were seeing as we explored. Our guide Ashish, (means blessing) was amazing (and patient) as he shared stories and answered our endless questions.
The Ganges is also a place where people come to say goodbye to those who have passed. One of the first places we saw was an area where families do a farewell to their loved one. Spiritual men sit with the families and do special ceremonies which involved sprinkling of the ashes into the holy waters. Close male relatives will shave their heads to indicate the passing.
Like the rest of India, cows roam the streets and are considered sacred. There are stands of greens sold to feed the cows.
The markets are colourful and crowded, but most of them sell holy symbols such as statues, prayer beads, and bottles to bring home the Ganges. This reminded me of when we were in Jerusalem, as well as Lourdes, France.
Haridwar is a city of sacred temples, and one of the most famous, the Mansa Devi temple, is located high up on a hill. The goddess is believed to grant the wishes to those who visit, so there is quite a steady stream of worshippers. We walked up 2 km and along the way were amazed at the stalls of flowers used as part of the worshipping. There were also lots of monkeys who were ready to steal whatever they could get their hands on!
We were unable to take photos in the temple, but were able to participate in the blessings. During the final blessing a holy man cut a string, said each of our names as part of a chant and then passed it through a lit fire. We then tied the string to the branches of a tree.
After our temple visit we made our way back to the Ganges and along the way we saw a “vahi”, which is a holy person who is responsible for the genealogy of the hindu population. They track and update the family trees of the people by hand/book and pass it down to the next generation.
From there we went to the Hari-ki-Pauri ghat. The name of this ghat is significant as the word Har means “Lord Shiva”, Ki means “of”, and Pauri means “steps”. Thousands of devotees come to the the Hari-ki-Pauri ghat to bathe in the Ganges and rid themselves of sin. The place is also famous because there is a large footprint on a stone wall that is believed to belong to Lord Vishnu which is why some translate the Hari-ki-Pauri to mean Footprint of the God.
Twice a day, thousands of devotees come to the ghat to view the “Ganga Aarti” which is the morning and evening ceremony dedicated to the river. The word “Aarti” means to worship with fire. During the ceremony, lamps are lit, prayers are offered and small candles and flowers are floated in the river. It is also a celebration of how the Gods give life to the people through water.
We organized ourselves across from the ghat so that we could watch the evening ceremony preparations. You will be able to read more about the actual Aarti in tomorrow’s post.
To be continued…..
Comments
2 responses to “Gateway to God”
A lot of customs and rituals for these people to learn. My only question today is: Where are the flowers grown? There must be massive fields or greenhouses dedicated to these worshipers….
Hi Kat,
This was a very interesting blog with wonderful photos. I enjoy seeing all the different “Thoughts on the Gateway to God!” Thank you for sharing! Love, Mom