My presentation at the URI National Assembly at Amritsar was on Environment and I said Ganga can dry up one day if Global warming is unchecked. After the Assembly I went with Regi Thomas to Rishikesh to see Parmath Niketan Ashram and meet Mata Adityanandaji ( Lakshmi Saraswathi), who is a GC Trustee of URI. Mataji has dedicated her life for the Clean Ganga, Save Ganga project. I asked her about the dried up river which we crossed on our way to the Ashram and she said that the river Ganges used to flow that way once upon a time. It changed its course at some point of time. We travelled up to the Mussorie Hills after Dehra Doon on our way back to Delhi and the same dried up Ganga was seen from various angles from the mountain ranges.
It is really heart- renting to see the ghost of a river like this. If this is the fate of the Ganges, what will happen to the other unlucky rivers around the world? We saw the "Ganga Arathi" at Parmath Ashram, which is a daily pooja, which lasts for an hour. This is a magnificent sight and an exciting experience. Prince Charles from England came here once to participate in this Ganga Prayer ceremony. Will the Ganges exist for ever to accept these prayers always?
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When Mataji spoke at Santa Clara about the Save Ganga projects, we could not grasp its urgency and significance. Now that I was able to see the desertification process personally at the foothills of the Himalayas, I am thunderstruck. We have no time to waste to strive for the " healing of the Earth and all living beings".
Abraham Karickam
