People offering a deepak (floating flowers and oil lamp) to the Ganges river. Haridwar. Uttarakhand. India. Haridwar, Uttarancha
People offering a deepak (floating flowers and oil lamp) to the Ganges river. Haridwar. Uttarakhand. India. Haridwar, Uttaranchal, India. Haridwar is famous for its Ganga Arati, worship of Ganga Maiya, held nightly at Har-ki-pari Ghat. Every night ,(except for a short period during the summer when the ghat is cleaned & repaired,) thousands of devotees & pilgrims gather about an hour before sunset. As the sky begins to darken, devotees bathe & offer diyas (leaf-boats with camphor flames) to the River. Chants are played over loudspeakers, such as Sri Hanuman Chalisa & others, as the spiritual energy continues to grow. Then, just as darkness descends, numerous priests, (I have counted as many as 16), come out from the ancient Ganga Mandir carrying huge flaming ghee lamps. It appears as though they are carrying campfires in their hands! The Ganga arati song is then played over the loudspeakers while all the thousands of pilgrims join in the singing & the priests wave their flaming lamps to Ma Ganga, swooping down to just skim the surface of the water: "Om Jai Ganga Mata / Maiya Jai Gange Mata!" The spiritual vibration & upliftment of consciousness one feels simply is beyond description. You will just have to go there & feel it for yourself! In just a few minutes the Arati is over & everyone dispersses -- until the next night.
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