460. Holy Ganga, the Compassionate Purifier....

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/faith-and-rituals/holy-ganga-the-compassionate-purifier

Srimad Bhagavatam says when Maha Vishnu grew from Vamana (Dwarf) to Trivikrama (Gigantic Form) to measure the three worlds His foot stretched to Satyaloka the abode of Brahma. Excited to see His holy feet, Brahma immediately offered humble worship with water from his Kamandala. This holy water, purified and sanctified by the touch of the His feet, gushed down as the sacred Ganga. Today is Ganga Saptami, according to Hindu Mythology Ganga descended to the earth on this day on the request of Sage Bhagiratha. When she descended on the earth from Heaven, it was Lord Shiva who took her in His matted hairs to check her mighty force which otherwise would have swept the whole Earth away. On Ganga Saptami devotees worship the holy river and take bath in it.

Ganga is one of the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent and is the national river, flowing east through the Gangetic Plain of northern India into Bangladesh. The 2,510 km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Uttarakhand and drains into the Sunderbans delta in the Bay of Bengal. On the banks of this river are situated many well known places of pilgrimage such as Haridwar, Prayag and Kashi. It is on the banks of this holy river that many Rishis, Munis and Tapasvis have been performing their spiritual endeavours.

The minerals present in this holy river have the capacity to dissolve human bones in three months time which no other river in the entire world has. Even today scientists have not able to understand how this river water possesses certain qualities which cannot be found in the water of any other river of the world. Even many rivers that flow from the same Himalayan belt do not have the same qualities as the Ganges. The Himalayan range is the same, the suns heat is the same that fall on the ice on the peak of the mountain which melts and flows into the waters of all the rivers, but the quality of their water differs. It is difficult to prove it the difference; hence many believe Ganges is no ordinary river.

Scientists have also agreed that there is something special about its waters. To justify this Ganga water contains enormous amounts of viruses called “BACTERIOPHAGE” which kill bacteria and algae, which cause the water pollution and thus the water is potable for a long time. The river which could absorb thousands of dead bodies over so many years without stinking has been polluted to such an extent by human and industrial waste, that it is now regarded as causing cancer.

According to United Nations Development Programe (UNDP) report there are more than 29 cities, 70 towns and thousands of villages located on the banks of the river, depositing every year more than 13 billion liters of sewage directly into the river and 260 million liters of industrial wastes are added by hundreds of factories along the riverbanks. Added to it are the 6 million tones of chemical fertilizers and more 9000 tones of chemical pesticides that pollute the river.


When human bodies are not allowed to be dumped in the river so also strict warning should have been issued to all the industries that discharge effluents into this holy river. Aquatic life in the river is also affected endangering the “Ganga Dolphins” our national aquatic animal. Reverence to the Holy River is not enough lets keep it Clean.....What say????