Introduction

As you stand at the top of a set of worn stone steps, your ears welcome the sound of a slow-moving river as she softly slips between the noise and bustle of city streets filled with people. Her deep waters, shrouded from penetrating light by the layers of dirt from her bed far below, carry unseen cargo in their midst.


People in every manner of colored garb are wading in her banks all around you. Some lift water above their heads and then let the little captured pools fall back to their mother river. Some sing or chant their prayers. Others simply clean themselves in the purifying currents.


As you stand, awestruck, playful waves mar the water's smooth surface with rapid activity. The surface dances with the breeze and a fish flies briefly to the surface in search of sustenance. Everything about this river teems with life and seems to soak in the wonder of this beautiful day and amplify it, making the reality of joy seem almost tangible.

You stand by the Ganges River, marveling at her busy sort of beauty, when a woman approaches you from behind and gently lays a hand on your shoulder. You turn around quickly, startled by the familiar touch this stranger has offered. She giggles at your reaction, and the sound dances like the light glinting off the river’s surface.


Oddly enough, you find this chortle somehow calming and are struck by the woman’s immense beauty. There is something somehow inscrutable about her, though, and the longer you look at her, the more she seems to have changed – as if every moment with her was a moment spent in flux.

Noting your initial shock subsiding quickly, the woman points back towards the Ganges.

“I saw you staring. Beautiful, isn’t she?”

The woman notices the slight furrow in your brow deepen into a small crease.

“The goddess, Ganga” she continues, smiling warmly as if the name gives her some sense of peace or accomplishment.


“If you wish, I can take you along the waters. Ganga came down to cleanse us all the world of sin. I would be honored to share with you the power the river offers all men and women. If you come with me, I will tell you the stories of the river and show you the people she nurtures. There is much to learn, and I have plenty of time to teach it. Come with me.”


Extending a hand to her right, the woman indicates a small, modest boat tethered to the river’s edge and entreats you to enter. Mesmerized by the tranquil aura this woman exudes, you board the small vessel without complaint and say nothing as you start off down the river heading upstream at a pace that would seem to fast for such a small boat with no clear mode of power or steering.


You watch the woman quietly as she stares at the water ahead, waiting patiently to reach your destination. Miles seem to pass in a dizzy blur you cannot quite recall until suddenly you are floating along at a leisurely pace miles north of the city of Varanasi where the two of you met.

The surreal discomfort of your situation suddenly strikes you, and you turn to the woman, shocked and worried. She seems harmless enough, but you know nothing about her, and you wonder why you boarded this ship in the first place, demanding an explanation from this mysterious woman. She smiles that gentle, smooth smile again and peers profoundly through you with warm brown eyes as she explains.


“I am Ganga, this river. When first you gazed upon my waters, your wonder was pure and full of delight. It pleased me greatly to find one so enraptured still by my presence. As a gift for your natural praise, I offer now to tell you what my waters and I have done in this world. You need only relax and listen to hear tell the tales of my presence on Earth from the lips of the river herself.”