By Charlie Lange

Rishikesh: the gateway to the Ganges. The city is a net sifting through our spirits and dripping away our thoughts as flowers down the river. Dripping from glaciers as old as the gods, the Ganges has stood the test of time. Now it’s time to part ways and seek personal connection. 

Silver sand flashes in unison with the turn of mahseer. We stand in the Ganges River watching fish rise in the holiest body of water in the world. Our parched minds yearn to sip the water. A quick glance left humbles our spirits in the presence of the vast foothills. A slip into the water. Its power far exceeds its intense flow. This moment is the accumulation of true eternity. Continents clashed, the world split. From the heavens, Vishnu poured holy water toward earth with enough force to destroy it. In an effort to save the earth, Shiva caught the destructive force with his hair. Now we all stand here blessed in the presence of gods and kings of nature. We now slide down the hair of Shiva and enter the fluidity of our earth that escapes us so easily. Every man, fish, or boulder, Shiva now carries to preserve this spiritual power. Slurred into one, our hearts submerge themselves to the embrace of the Ganges. A Golden Mahseer glides across the river embracing the alternating current. It also trusts in this rivers higher truth. Larger than a river, larger than ourselves and larger than this earth certainly. 

For me, these are the steps to the spirit. The winding road provides time to contemplate. Prepare your minds. We are coming home. Take us back to ourselves. Agora at last.