The Mountain Logs Day 4B - Ganga, The River Of Life

The Char Dham means “The Four Stations”. Why “The Four Stations” is because it is not just a reference to the four places in Geography. It is also a reference to the four stations of artha, kama, dharma and moksha. The four stations of a well lived life namely acquiring of prosperity or means, fulfillment of desires and passions, living a life of coherence with Nature, Nature out there and one’s own nature, and finally the station of transcendence where you get established in your own sense of being. 

On this pilgrimage, the four geographical stations of Gangotrti, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the pilgrimage seeks to get insight into the truth of these four stations of life through a combination of physical and mental effort, emotional aliveness, openness to the spirit and surrender to Nature. 

It’s quite beautiful, profound, intense and transforming. It’s unique as a pilgrimage, as an experience and breathtaking in its conception. 

In the following Episodes, Dr. Bharat Thakur takes you along this pilgrimage over 10 days, sharing the daily logs and some insightful blogs that will have you want to experience the Yatra for yourself.  

Transcript

Day 4 Blog: Ganga - River of life.

On our Char Dham Yatra, we will visit four rivers which will all merge into Ganga. We have already been to Yamuna near its origin. We will last go to Alakhnanda along which Badrinath is located, before that to Kedarnath along river Mandakini. But first, we head to Gangotri which is along the river Bhagirathi.

Thousands of small streams form a vast area of the Himalaya all join to first become six big rivers which in turn join to be called the Ganga, the five points where the rivers merge are called the ‘Panch Prayag’. 

First comes Vishnu Prayag, where the river Dhauliganga joins Alakhnanda.

Then comes Nand Prayag, where Nandakini joins Alakhnanda.

Further down, at KarnaPrayag, Alakhnanda is joined by river Pindar which comes from around the highest peak in this area, the Nanda Devi.

Then at RudraPrayag, Mandakini river joins Alakhnanda.

Finally at DevPrayag, Bhagirathi joins Alakhnanda to be called Ganga, which will then flow towards Rishikesh. We will go along DevPrayag on our way to Rishikesh  and we can see how two very different looking rivers join to become the Ganga. It’s a beautiful view from the top. The locals say that Bhagirathi and Alakhnanda are like the ‘saas’ ‘bahu’. Bhagirathi, blue in color comes roaring down at great speed while Alakananda with so many rivers already merged in her comes down more peacefully till they both meet.

Each of these places are considered very powerful in their own ways but among all the places, the area of Gangotri and nearby Gomukh are considered especially sacred.

Many yogis have gone to Gangotri and beyond to Gaumukh and Tapovan to live in seclusion where they don’t even see or hear the sound of a human being for months. They will stay in their ‘kuti’ or in their cave. It is said that after a point of living like this, the conscious mind completely drops off and you begin to experience your own deeper layers. It’s a process of cleansing at the deepest level that’s what some of the babas who stay there experience.

So here life is about the mountains, the caves and the rivers. All activity is done around the rivers so the people who have lived here for hundreds of generations, for them they are very real, very alive and so when they worship them, it is very deep and personal.

Bharat Thakur