Let Life Flow

What happens in life is that the challenge is always new, but our response is old because it is formed on the past, which is memory. Experiencing with memory is one state, but experiencing without memory is altogether different; a new thought, an inspiration can happen only when the mind is not caught in the net of memory.

It is only when the mind is still, tranquil, not seeking any solution, any answer, neither resisting nor avoiding, that it is capable of receiving what is true, that which is eternal, timeless, immeasurable. You cannot go to it, it comes to you; what liberates is the truth, not your effort to be free.

Rishikesh, lying at the foothills of the Himalayas, is the gate through which one ascends to some of the most ancient Hindu pilgrim towns and treks on towards Gomukh - which is the source of the Ganga river. From here, the Ganga hurtles down the lofty mountains till it reaches the plains – flowing gently into Rishikesh, the first of its resting places.

It was here that I gazed on the Ganga for the first time in the spring of 2005. As I stood entranced by the sight of the last rays of the sun playing upon the flowing river, groups of young brahmachari boys, wearing saffron dhotis and kurtas, came out of the Parmarth Niketan ashram to assemble on the ghat whose marbled steps led down to the river bank. These young boys, many of whom are orphans taken into the loving fold of the ashram, began the Ganga puja by chanting mantras along with their Guru, who poured offerings into the sacred fire lit to evoke the goddess Ganga.

After this ritual they were joined by hundreds of devotees, who come here from all parts of the world, in the chanting of hymns. It was truly astounding to see them singing along in fluent Sanskrit and Hindi with equal devotion and felicity. This amazing confluence of cultures on the banks of the Ganga is a sight to behold, every evening.

The chanting reaches a crescendo and culminates in the lighting of huge brass lamps with innumerable wicks that burn brightly as the Ganga ‘aarti' is being performed. Facing the worshippers is a serene, largerthan-life statue of Lord Shiva absorbed in meditation while the gurgling Ganga flows merrily behind. This is Shiva as Pure Consciousness – silently witnessing Itself being worshipped by Its own creation.

What strikes one at first is that this is an aarti being performed for a living God, as embodied in a river. It is an awe-inspiring sight... this daily ritual and devout worship of what many, in other parts of the world, might consider as 'just a river'. Heraclitus said, “You could not step twice into the same river,” and one only needs to realise that it truly is a different Ganga that is being worshipped every evening – alive, vibrant, continuously renewing. It is indeed this unceasing change, which is the very basis of life and living, that is being worshipped. And this is what Let Life Flow is all about.

**Contents and Sample Pages**