Stones are often associated with hard-heartedness. But I find them magically soothing. My favourite is a dull grey stone with a smoothly swirling whirlpool of dark grey lines patterned upon it. It recalls the millions of tons of water that have flowed over it for generations to wear it down to its perfect shape. It is cool to the touch. Held against my cheek, it is like the touch of a beloved hand — gentle and soothing. With it, the link we have with the eternal forces of Nature becomes vivid, immediate.
March 14, just a month after Valentine’s Day, is the International Day of Action for Rivers. Rivers and water help us purify our bodies and minds for prayer like the Ganga or the fountain of Lourdes. But sacred rivers like the Ganga are in urgent need of purification. During the Kumba Mela, over 100 million people live and bathe on the banks of the Ganges! Imagine the river after the Mela! “We care too much for our Creator, but do not care about his creations,” said a sage as he contemplated the pollution of the holy river.
Rivers are the blood that flows in the arteries of Mother Nature. During this time, let us start doing something to keep our rivers clean. Get involved, stop being a spectator, become a participant. Water is life. Get into a boat, sail on a river, hold a religious ceremony at the river without polluting it, organise a social event beside the river. Involve students in an essay or elocution competition about the river. Have a river festival. Do everything you can to get people involved in the rivers’ well-being. The river is the life blood of your community. Celebrate the river. Save the river!
The writer is the author of Everyday Happiness Mantras and Innovation Sutra
