Growing up, Tirath was one the festivals that my cousins and I looked forward to. You see, we get to go to the sea shores with the elders and bath in the salty sea waters. We observed the elders as they made their offerings to Ganga Mata. And as naugthy children, when the elders were out of waters, we made our way in and searched for the prasad (fruits) they had offered.
But later on, we realized the importance of taking baths in Ganga Mai and offering our prayers to Her. Ganga Mata is extremely revered by Hindus in the Caribbean. Until this day, Hindus go to Her by the hundreds and unload all their worries at Her lotus feet. They have the strong believe that She realeases them from their troubles in life.
The story of Ganga Mata is a beautiful one. According to Hindu scriptures, Ganga Maa came from the Kamandhal of Lord Brahma and was poured on Vaaman's Bhagwan's toe. So, Ganga Mata originates from Lord Vishnu's toe. King Bhagirat, who was the 4th generation of King
Sagar, did immense tapasya to bring down Ganga Mata from the heavens to earth to release his ancestors from their curse and ultimately grant them moksha.
If Ganga Mata had come with Her great force, She would have flooded this world and gone to Patal lok, which would have been useless for Bhagirat. He was adviced to pray to Lord Shiva to accept Ganga Mata in His jata and kept Her flowing from there. From Lord Shiva's locks, Ganga Mata's source on earth is at Gaumukh (Gaumukh means cow's mouth because the shape of the ice formation is like a cow's mouth), where the mighty river emerges from the depths of the Gangotri glacier, which is 4, 255 meters above sea level and approximately 24 km in length and 7-8 km in width in the Himalayas.
Ganga Mata has several streams and names, including: Ganga, Mandakini, Prabhawathi, Bhagirati, Janhvi, Sita, Nalini, Pavini and Soochakshu. Her greatness is mentioned in several Hindu scriptures including, Valmiki's Ramayan. And until today, Hindus simply adored this great Mother.
Tomorrow is also Satyanarayan Vrat Katha. It is said that the month of Kartik is extremely auspicious for the worship of Lord Vishnu and His incarnations. This Satyanarayan Vrat is very special. It is believed that Lord Vishnu took the form of Matsya on Kartik Purnima. In the month of Kartik, Hindus are adviced to wake up early and take showers before the sun has risen. This helps one to achieve the four goals of life: dharma (religous merits), artha (wealth), kama (marital life), moksha (liberation).
The early morning, just before the sun rises, is called Brahma-Mahurat. This means that most of the people are in deep sleep and nobody will disturb you, so it is the best time to worship God. The atmosphere is sacred, peaceful and conducive to praying because there are little vibrations emanating from the collective minds of people involved in all matters of the world since they are asleep. So the mind is very focused on prayers then.
So, tomorrow, Hindus are advised to wake up early in the morning and since many of us cannot go to Ganga Mai, we can take baths with some Ganga jal and offer prayers to Her during the bath. However, we have to be properly clothed, that means, we must wear our under clothings. Then, offer prayers to Lord Ganesh.
We are advised to keep a strict fast, a pure mind, meditate and worship the divine Mother. May Ganga Mata shower Her blessings upon all.
Below are online photos...
The snout of the Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh
The Gaumukh glacier
Ganga Maa at Gaumukh glacier
The Gaumukh origin
