Cleaning the holy Ganges

by Prof. Purnima Velamuri

Among the seven most sacred rivers in India - Ganges, Yamuna, the mythical Saraswati, Narmada, Godavari, Cauvery and Brahmaputra - the Ganges is considered the most sacred.

For Hindus, at least one rite of passage ritual has to be performed on the banks of the Ganges.

Traversing over 2,500km, from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas to the Sunderbans Delta in Bangladesh, the Ganges is used by millions of people.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to call the Ganga, Brahmavari - Brahman in the form of water, capable of arousing vairagya or dispassion in those who settle on her banks.

This traditional metaphorical character of the Ganges has drawn sages and seekers to the river, as millions of pilgrims congregate here to be revitalised in spirit. The Ganges is not only the river of India, but also its heartbeat, its soul as it were.

Symbolic

Yogic literature views the story of the descent of Ganga as symbolic of the descent of divine consciousness through the Kundalini to the last Chakra.

Ganges is divine consciousness itself, flowing from the Siva-self, which every seeker intends to merge into through the rise of the Kundalini.

A momentary feel of this cosmic touch is experienced each time one bathes in the physical Ganges as well.

Tradition sees the Ganges as the great mother whose waters are an end in itself, and no other temple or idol is required.

The water, Ganga-Jal, encompasses all rites of passage from birth to death for the individual. A pilgrimage to the various points of the Ganges are a source of liberation in itself.

Tradition

It is this living tradition, in which all differences are dissolved and no separate identities remain in our search for that transcendent reality.

But to sustain this tradition, one requires a radical re-look at the challenges the physical river faces today.

Burdened by the sins of those who battle in her, and accepting all the poisonous effluents that industries belch down her waters, the mother is sorely in need of a good bath to cleanse herself of the sins of humanity.

Issues affecting the river are myriad and complex. Untreated sewage and industrial waste are dumped into the waters without remorse.

Reduced flow and rampant underground water withdrawals affect millions of people. Regrettably, the quality of Ganges water at most places downstream is unfit even for irrigation or bathing, let alone drinking.

Industrial development, mismanagement and corruption severely stresses water resources, especially in Asia where despite water - friendly laws in place, they are violated with impunity.

Moreover, the changing dynamics of the Tibetan plateau, known as the water tower of Asia is depleting water sources due to global warming.

Accelerated by exploitation by humans, the Tibetan glaciers - accounting for up to 70 percent of glacial coverage in the Himalayas are receding fast, causing unseasonal rains, floods and landslides.

Ten of the largest rivers in Asia, Amu Darya, Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween Mekong, Yangtze, Yellow and Terim - originate in the Tibetan plateau.

Polluted rivers

Three of these rivers pass through the Indian subcontinent.

According to the UNEP, China's Yellow India's Ganges and Central Asia's Amu Darya are among the most polluted rivers of the world, due to unchecked dumping of untreated sewage and industrial waste.

Ganga the 2,525 km - long river is ranked as the fifth most polluted in the world. Studies reveal that the probable faecal coliform counts in the Ganges are around 1,000 MPN (Microbial Pollution) per 100 ML, way above the safe count of around 230.

The bacterial levels are so high that the water is unfit not just for bathing or drinking but for agriculture as well. Cleaning India's holiest river was a political poll plank for decades.

Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched the Ganges Action Plan with a huge budget in 1986 in Varnasi.

He vowed that the 2,500km of waters choking with industrial pollution would be made pure again, like it was at the birth time of the belief that the Ganga rises from the matted locks of Lord Siva, the divine protector of Kasi (Varnasi). For many decades, many leaders during many elections made promises to clean Ganges.

The latest promise in cleaning Ganges was made by Modi in the recent parliamentary election.

Prime minister Narendra Modi has promised to clean the Ganges by 2019 while filing his nomination from Varnasi, he had said it was the Summons of "Mother Ganges" which had brought him to the Holy city.

"Nobody called me or sent me to Varnasi. My coming to Varnasi is like a child going to his mother. I have come to this divine land on the call of Ganga Mata," he had said.

Uma Bharti, who had spearheaded the 'Save Ganges' campaign, has been assigned with a specially created ministry for cleaning the holy river along with the Water Resources Ministry by the New Prime Minister.

The fiery 'Sanyasin' has been agitating for long for quick and effective action to save the Ganges River from pollution and illegal quarrying and had been advocating that the issue be kept above partisan politics.

Apart from politicians, religious leaders and spiritual organisations have taken up the issue of cleaning rivers and water bodies.

Alarmed at the state of affairs of supposedly holy rivers, several faith organisations have launched river and water conservation projects, from the Himalayas to the plains, where water bodies face maximum abuse, these new initiatives cover most of the rivers' course.

Many environment experts believe that using religious as a tool to generate popular interest in saving rivers could yield positive results.

Tributaries

The Ganges action parivar found by Swami Chidanand Saraswati of Rishikesh; has long been working towards restoring, protecting and maintaining the Ganges and her tributaries.

He has roped in scientists, environmentalists, saints scholars and yogis to clean up the country's largest and most sacred river.

Khoryug a network of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries headed by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa is working closely with WWF to protect the fragile Himalayan environment from where Ganges rivers originate.

"We should protect the Tibetan plateau and preserve the Himalayan ecosystem by applying Buddhist principles of interdependence, compassion and no-self.

Our motivation to protect the environment should come from our pure desire to serve all sentient beings on earth."

"Buddhist advocates a gentle non-aggressive attitude towards nature. Since our monasteries are mostly located in forests and mountains, we believe in maintaining harmony with mountains, forests and rivers."

"Faith can work wonders, more so when it is founded on an egalitarian, universal belief in conservation of our natural environment got common benefit to all beings, now and in the future."

Cleaning of India's rivers are metaphors of national revival Ganges liberates the soul from sin can Modi liberate Ganges from pollution?

Modi has taken on a challenge that will severely test his government's management skills.