MY EXPERIENCES WITH THE HOLY GANGA –
FROM KASHI- TRIVENI SANGAMAM TO GOMUK via Karanaprayag, Devaprayag, Rudraprayaga, Gangothri,Yamunothri, Badhari, Kedhar etc .
PITHRUTHARPPANAM
Men and women sat obediently on the side of river Ganga. Each had a leaf spread in front. A lump of plane rice, Dharba grass, Gingelly, Sandal paste, flowers were laid on the plantain leaf. Men and women obeyed with prayers.Their lips quivered.Their bodies shivered in the cold morning wind. Reminiscences of dead fathers, mothers, lovers and siblings floated in their minds. Faces crunched, bodies trembled and the mantras reverberated.This was the magical moment of the wind, the water and the dead ones. For a moment it seemed to me that the sprits are all over the place, watching the deathly silence. In front the divine Ganga flowed. The Pithrutharppanam started, following the pundit’s orders. . . like sharp splinters, pundit’s chants had pierced my heart. . . I was broke down. . . tears came . . . finishing the karmas I dragged myself to the divine Ganga. When I dip my body in the Ganga I begged . . . Oh river, oh solace of life, take me into you. But the Ganga quiet flowed. The sun glowed more gold to the chilled blue waters. This the spiritual ground near the divine Ganga. It’s has been here for over thousands and thousands of years people come here to pay last rites to their dear dead ones. Yes, death and its reminiscences hover around but the wind wipes everything. Everything goes . . . the primal angst of death those leftover dreams on our dead dears. One simply feels within the incessant flow of life. Nothing dies, nothing comes anew. It’s all eternal, like the wind, like this river. I stood in the chilled water. For long something had been rumbling with me. I closed my eyes and saw my dead Ammamma, Achan, Mohanettan, Amma, Ayi and other dears. Yes I missed them. . Yes I really missed them. . . I opened my eyes . . . We were not born without our ancestors. We carry their particles, their lives within you. This Pithrutharpanam is all about releasing our ancestors from us and from the life, so that they can take rebirth or attain Moksha according to their karma. The process of Pithrutharpanam is to save from the clutches of this life. By offering the Balitharpanam, as the word means, we are satisfying them and cleansing ourselves. If we do these with our spiritual centre aroused, we will feel complete compassion and contentment filling us. Simply doing mere rituals is meaningless. It will depend on our attitude. Wherever observed the basic ritual deals with drawing souls of ancestors into five ritual elements which are then submerged in the water. From water comes life. And back there it goes. Then what remains?! ! ! . . Now the sun fiercely burnt upon the river Ganga. Om Swaha, Om Bhum Swaha, Om Bhuva. .
