By Our Staff Reporter
Rishikesh, 19 Nov: On the sacred day of Dev Diwali, today, when it’s said that the Divine Beings and an especially divine energy comes into the waters of Mother Ganga, a very sacred and special Ganga Anthem was launched with world famous singers joining from across the globe. It was live-streamed on to the famous ghats of Parmarth Niketan Ashram here during the time of Ganga Aarti.
World renowned artist Snatam Kaur was so touched by the waters of Mother Ganga during her visit to Rishikesh and meeting with Swami Chidanand Saraswati, President of Parmarth Niketan, it inspired her to write an anthem for the Ganga, one that would rouse people across the globe to come together! The song has been completed and is sung by several of the world’s devotional singers, in addition to Snatam, including Krishna Das, Deva Premal & Miten and CC White.
The song emphasises that Mother Ganga is the true Mother and bestower of life and liberation. It emphasises the necessity of protecting, preserving and caring for this Mother River.
The central piece of the event was the Ganga Aarti live from Parmarth Niketan.
Just prior to the Ganga Aarti, earlier in the day, sanitation workers, educationists, teachers and students gathered together with Swami Chidanand Saraswati and Sadhvi Bhagawati outside of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance’s World Toilet College to take a special pledge, also commemorating the special occasion of World Toilet Day, which coincided with Kartik Purnima this year, to work together for the protection of Mother Ganga and her sacred waters.
During the launch event, Swami Chidanand said: “This beautiful song and the devotion of all these globally renowned singers, and the whole world joining us live tonight, shows that Mother Ganga is not only for Indians or Hindus, but She is for All. Now it is the responsibility of all of us to keep her clean and flowing freely.”
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati said, “Mother Ganga unites us. We come together across all races, religions, colours and cultures to sit in Her holy lap and bathe in Her waters.”
Deva Premal & Miten shared, “It’s an honour to be able to contribute to the wonderful work of Sadhviji and Pujya Swamiji from the Wash Alliance with this song. So, let’s continue cleaning up our beautiful nature, our beautiful rivers and oceans. And let’s chant and sing while doing it.”
CC White Soul Kirtan added, “This is a time for healing, a time to send love, blessings and gratitude to Mother Ganga.”
The song can be downloaded from Spotify, Apple, etc.
