Ma Ganga - Uncovering her Enigma Through the Gaumukh Yatra

I waited for a good three years after having listened to my teacher, Brahmachari Anand Chaitanya’s account of his Gaumukh yatra to embark on this journey myself. What inspired me was his devotion towards Ma Ganga. He described the entire journey towards the source of the river that has nourished and energized a civilization for centuries. It was riveting! In fact, The actual yatra was far beyond what I heard and could have imagined it to be…. I waited for the stars to align and for the call from the Himalayas to come. And it did! Br. Anandji informed me about the yatra scheduled for October of 2023 along with 8 other Chinmaya Yuva Kendra members. I immediately enrolled for it!While this was a yatra, it also involved a challenging trek which was a first of its kind experience for me. I have been to many Kshetras (sacred places) but none required a trek of this magnitude. The journey started from Gangotri, where Ma Ganga flowed in full glory dashing through the boulders making a thunderous sound as if Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda roared, ‘Wake Up! Wake up to the Highest Consciousness’. The sight of thousands of devotees across the world coming for a compassionate embrace from her, revealed her sacred importance for humanity.The first base camp is situated at Chirbasa, 9 kms away from Gangotri. The guides who accompanied us had brought along packed lunch for all the nine yatris. It took a good 3 hours trek to reach this spot, where we braked for a while and relished the delicious mountain lunch that our guides cooked for us. What cannot be missed mentioning is the picturesque ambience all along the way to Chirbasa. The aesthetics, environment, fragrance and feel of the air was all very different. I would commit a grave mistake by trying to explain all of it, but I can safely say that I got a glimpse of the words of Swami Tapovan Maharaj, ‘The mighty Himalayas seemed to symbolize the Almighty himself and the Ganga flowed as if she were overflowing with milk.’.The second base camp is situated at Bhojbasa, 5kms from Chirbasa. While the distance might seem less, it sure was an adventurous trek through two stretches of shooting stones zone, where any time boulders could fall from higher altitudes of the mountain. This meant we needed to be vigilant and fast to cross this section. The real challenge began here as I moved to a higher altitude and with that oxygen levels dropped. Once we reached Bhojbasa, we wound down and snuggled up in our tents. The fatigue from the trek won’t let anyone stay awake too long, as long as one is covered up with layers of clothing. As I got engulfed by sleep, I noticed a soothing lullaby from Ma Ganga as if my mother was putting me to sleep. Unlike my own mother, this lullaby was incessant and felt like a silent conversation, a transfer of consciousness. No wonder Gurudev says, ‘Go and sit near the Ganga, she alone can teach you the deepest knowledge in the Vedas.’.The most beautiful sunrise one could witness should be up there in the mountains! The next morning we woke up to the beaming rays of the sun, peeping through the mountains as though feeling shy to appear in his full grandeur. After a heavenly breakfast, we proceeded to Tapovan. This required crossing the river and reaching the other bank. The only way to the other side was through a container suspended to a zipline, operated manually by humans. Every trip (of the container) from the bank at Bhojbasa to the other and back took about thirty minutes. There was a long queue waiting for their turn and moreover every trip included heavy materials such as food, tents, gear, cylinder and much more. The wait for my turn was less bothersome than the risk the porters and guides had to take to ferry people from one end to another through a manually operated zipline. To better understand this, imagine pulling around 500-600 kgs of weight across 1 km distance over a river. Ma Ganga, as she observes all the activity above her, reminds us that she is not just a river but the soul of Bharat - representing the strength and spirit that all the porters and guides displayed in complete service to others.The journey ahead towards Tapōvan at 4500 meters above sea level was an experience of a lifetime. It tests the inner strength of an individual pushing one to the limits. The same can be mentioned for the descent from Tapōvan to Gaumukh. To top it, we decided to take a shorter route of walking over glaciers!I am unable to recount much from that as after reaching Gaumukh, I couldn’t help but immerse in Ma Ganga’s presence. After all the wondering and thinking I had been doing for 3 years, on what it meant to reach her at the source, I found no answer as the question itself dropped. She simply IS…