Om Ganga

Crystal Faith
Mar 25, 2017
1 min read

Updated: Mar 11, 2021

One morning during my stay at the Phool Chatti ashram, our group was lead to the Ganges for a ritual cleansing ceremony. We were all given fresh flowers (and instructed to not smell them, as it would “weaken” their essence) that would be offered to the mighty river. The group learned and began singing a devotional chant as we collectively walked into the current. We were cautioned about the strength of the river (people had been swept away in the past) and stayed close to the shore (waist-deep for me). A moment was taken to infuse our flowers with prayers before releasing them, we dunked under the cold water three times (as instructed for the ritual), and continued chanting. The director encouraged us to stay in the water for as long as we felt necessary. I stayed in for about 30 minutes and wrote this poem afterwards:

~ Om Ganga Mi Ganga Mi Ganga Mi Mi ~

Hibiscus flower floats away with a prayer

I stand glued to her

Nurturing current rocks against my cemented legs

Hypnotized as she soothes every layer of my being

Skin adjusts to the frigid Himalayan flow as I stay in her

~ Om Ganga Mi Ganga Mi Ganga Mi Mi ~

Rapids invite a release of anything that no longer serves

Unreal to real, darkness to light, death to immortality

I pour heaviness downstream, it all floats, light as a feather, on her warrior waves

Blissfully frozen in place…I’m held

Thinking mind is numb, she takes hold of my soul