The triveni sangam- the confluence of three Rivers!!!

[Guest guest]

Most of you must have visited Sangam – the confluence of three sacred

rivers at Prayag near Allahabad. This is a work of nature. See how

the mind goes to discover the divinity in it for its own advantage.

 

Please follow this carefully to understand where the seers are

leading us.

 

There are three rivers that meet at this Sangam.

 

Firstly what are rivers ? Rivers being resources of life sustaining

water are revered by all. They are described in the Vedas as Rtasya

dhara- streams of truth and knowledge. The very life on this earth is

dependent on rivers in many ways than one. Remember again the

symbolic story of the Rk Veda when the serpent Vritra confined all

the waters of the rivers within its coils. The world was to get

destroyed until Indra with his weapon Vajra killed the serpent and

released the water for the creation to survive. The life enriching

rivers flowing down to meet the ocean have always fascinated our

seers as symbols for streams of knowledge reaching out to the source

of all knowledge and enriching its banks as she moves along .

 

This sangam that we are talking about is the confluence of three such

rivers. We have Saraswati. She is the Goddess and symbol of harmony

and knowledge. When she flows down from heaven to earth she brings

with her this harmony and knowledge that enriches my life, your life,

every body's life.

 

The spirit of Saraswati is the basis of all understanding of

spiritual knowledge. The Rk Veda (1.003.12) says maho arNaH sarasvati

pra cetayati ketunA dhiyo vishvA vi rAjati

 

Sarasvati_enlightens all understandings. Sri Aurobindo saw her as one

who or which makes us conscious by the ray of intuition -- pra

cetayati ketuna. She brightens every pious thought.

 

She runs deep, not in the open like Ganga and Yamuna. So does true

knowledge. Knowledge has no visibility. It is only realised.

 

After Jnanaroopa (knowledge personified) Saraswati, let us take the

next river Yamuna. What she represents? Yamuna represents the message

of Yoga. She represents Karma or the action. What is Yamuna's

relationship with Karma? After expounding the details of Karmayoga to

Arjuna Lord Krishna tells that the first recipient of the knowledge

of this Karma Yoga was Vivaswata – that is the SunGod. Yamuna is the

daughter of Sun, (Bhaskaratanaya). She has the direct knowledge from

her father of the message of Yoga – KarmaYoga more particularly. When

she flows down the lands, she brings to mankind this message of Karma

Yoga.

 

Now let us think of the great Ganga- The Ganges. Ganga symbolises

Bhakti Marga or the path of devotion. All along the banks of the

river Ganges, we have innumerable temples, ashrams, places of rituals

signifying the cult of Bhakti. No other river has this kind of

character. Ganga is imagined to be a symbol of Bhakti as it is the

only Goddess who is most closely associated with all the three

aspects of Bramhan. The Bramha the creator, Vishnu the preserver and

Shiva the transformer. Her association is of simple adoration. As the

imagery goes, she is originally associated with Bramha the creator,

residing inside the Pot of water - the Kamandalu that he carries.

Since a river can not be kept confined and its waters must reach

many, it must flow out. When the question of pouring her out of the

Kamandalu came up she opted to be poured out at the feet of Vishnu

out of seer adoration to him. But Ganga was destined to come down to

the earth from heaven for the benefit of entire mankind. When she

descended, she touched the head of Shiva. That is why we say, when

you immerse yourself in the waters of Ganga, you immerse yourself in

Paramatma himself , imbibe all three aspects of Bramhan (Bramha,

Vishnu and Shiva) and obtain Moksya or liberation.

 

So, now one can imagine how these three rivers relate to life itself.

The three rivers joining together flow as one great river to the

ocean beyond. The life that we live is often symbolised as a river

flowing down to meet the ocean, which again symbolises the ultimate

Bramhan. There are many descriptions as to why the life is like a

river and the ocean is like the Bramhan. We shall not go into that

here. But what we are given to understand is that as a river has its

goal as the ocean, so does the life its final goal to lose itself in

Bramhan.

 

When the life's preparation starts to meet the ultimate destination,

what is needed? You have to be enjoined or yukta to this journey in

pursuit of The Bramhan. You have to be a Yogi first.

 

What are the paths of Yoga? There are essentially three major paths

of Yoga. The Yoga of action (Karma Yoga), The Yoga of knowledge,

(Jnana Yoga) and the Yoga of devotion (The Bhakti Yoga). Bhakti is

essential. If one does not have the initial inclination, the

adoration and submission to the Lord, the sadhana can not be

sustained. One will always falter.

 

But what good is Bhakti without knowledge and understanding? We have

talked enough about the imperativeness of Jnana. Unless one acquires

knowledge there will be no progress beyond a certain point.

 

author- sri bimal mohanty

 

source- http://www.ahwan.com,

 

**********************************************************************

FOLKS, every pious hindu keeps at their family altar a small pot

containing the sacred water of Mother GANGA ... it is believed that

just before breathing one's last ( or leaving the physical body) it

would be a good idea to pour drops of GANGA JAL (ganga water) into

the open mouth of the dying... it is considered very sacred to

consume the holy water oF Mother GANGA so that the Jiva CAN ATTAIN

MOKSHA OR LIBERATION...

 

also, after death, it is believed that one's ashes should be immersed

in the sacred river ganga - this is a symbolic act and hindus believe

that the jivatma merges with the paramatma - the wave merging with

the ocean...

 

thirdly, it is said if you perform the 'shraddha' ceremony (funeral

rites for the dead) on the banks of the river ganges once, it is not

necessary to perform them every Year as per hindu samskara or

custom...

 

also, it is believed that If one breathes their last in the city of

Benaras or Kasi where the great river ganges flows, one would

certinly attain liberation- it is called MOKSHASTALA...

 

GANGES WATER IS very 'pure' and is supposed to have a lot of healing

properties...

 

But I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT ONE THING - when i was in benaras a

couple of years ago I have seen animal caracsses floating in the

river Ganges and also the local people coming and performing the

morning ablutions on the ghats near the river without any concern

for preserving the purity of the great river... but i was told that

the river ganges never contaminated by any of this and SHE IS

PURE !!!

 

our beloved ompremji had written a post on this aspect of the ganges

water ( its purity) from a book called 'bliss divine' by swami

sivananda ( if i recall correctly)... i would request him to post on

that as it was vey informative... i

 

love to the ONE and the ONE in all !!!!!

[Guest guest]

Dear friends!

Ganga - Yamuna - Saraswati Sangama is right within every one of us.

They represent Ida, Pingala and Sushumna nadis. Saraswati being

antragamini, represents Sushumna. Ganga stands for Jnana and Yamuna

for bhakti. Sushumna refers to something beyond these or an effective

combination of both. A verse in Varaha purana calls saraswati as a

river which is but pure chit, running along meru. Meru here means

Merudanda or the spine. So Ajna Chakra is what is the Sangama. It is

this place that the tantras call Yukta Triveni. Adi shakti, thank you

once again for the beautiful information.

 

Jaya Jaya Shankara!

[Guest guest]

NAMASKARAMS dearest HARSHA! it is such a delight to read your posts

again- welcome back....

 

Yes....

 

as pankah dikshit notes ....

 

"The confluence of three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati at Prayag

stands for the meeting of Ida, Pingala and Sushumna Nadis at Muladhar

Chakra known as Yukta Triveni. Kumbha symbolises the arousing of six

chakras to reach Ajna Chakra where these three nadis meet again to

form the Mukta (Liberation) Triveni for yogis."

 

he further states....

 

"The Ganga always flows and rushes very fast to the sound of Gama-Gam

(meaning go-go) while the Yamuna moves slowly with a placid flow to

the sound of Yam-Yam (meaning control-control). Likewise whether one

acts fast in life or acts after deliberate thinking, it must be

decided by his knowledge and temperament. And both these aspects

should be supported by the invisible Saraswati, the faculty of Jnan

(knowledge). The meeting of these three rivers in the spiritual realm

represents the three gunas or qualities of the native, i.e. Sattvic

or subtle represented by Saraswati; Rajasic or the vibrant Ganga; and

Tamasic or the dark Yamuna. These three rivers also signify the three

saktis, Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati; the three sacred

fires of sacrifice; the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh; and the

three notes of music, Sa for Saraswati; Re for Yamuna; and Ga for

Ganga.

 

Further deep in the spiritual sphere, these three rivers represent

the three phases of time i.e. present, past and future; the triangle

or minimum space enclosed in time; Nada, Bindu and Kala; and the

three humours, vata, pitta and kapha. The Triveni also denotes the

three basic philosophies of the Gita, i.e. Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and

Bhakti Yoga."

 

weaned from an article in astrocommunity.net....

 

 

so, we need not go to any outer 'pilrhrimage' for " the inner

pilgrimage' is withing the human body!

 

Om gangeya namaha!

[Guest guest]

Well mother,

 

As always, your post has brought delight, like the watres of ganga,

from Narayana's feet, from Adinatha's head, bringing to us, a perfect

concotion of Bhakti and Jnana. Thank you!

 

namo bhairavyai-

[Guest guest]

Harsha,

 

Glad to see your mail. Infact i am thrilled. Please let me know if

you have recd my mails and please respond to it immediately.

 

Ravi

, "harshanand_16" <harshanand_16>

wrote:

> Well mother,

>

> As always, your post has brought delight, like the watres of ganga,

> from Narayana's feet, from Adinatha's head, bringing to us, a

perfect

> concotion of Bhakti and Jnana. Thank you!

>

> namo bhairavyai-