श्री श्री गंगा स्तोत्रम् (Sri Sri Ganga Stotram)

श्री श्री गंगा स्तोत्रम् (Sri Sri Ganga Stotram)

रचना: आदि शंकराचार्य (Author: Adi Shankaracarya)

Shri Yogi Arwind on the banks of Ganga in the Himalayas

देवि! सुरेश्वरि! भगवति! गंगे त्रिभुवनतारिणि तरलतरंगे ।
शंकरमौलिविहारिणि विमले मम मतिरास्तां तव पदकमले ॥ १ ॥

devi sureśvari bhagavati gańge
tribhuvana-tāriṇi tarala tarańge
śańkara-mauli-vihāriṇi vimale
mama matir āstāṁ tava pada-kamale

O Goddess Ganga! You are the divine river from heaven, you are the saviour of all the three worlds, you are pure and restless, you adorn Lord Shiva’s head. O Mother! may my mind always rest at your lotus feet.


भागीरथिसुखदायिनि मातस्तव जलमहिमा निगमे ख्यातः ।
नाहं जाने तव महिमानं पाहि कृपामयि मामज्ञानम् ॥ २ ॥

bhāgirathi sukha-dāyini mātas
tava jala-mahimā nigame khyātaḥ
nāhaṁ jāne tava mahimānaṁ
pāhi kṛpāmayi mām ajnānam

O Mother Bhagirathi! You give happiness to everyone. The significance of your holy waters is sung in the Vedas. I am ignorant and am not capable to comprehend your importance. O Devi! you are full of mercy. Please protect me.


हरिपदपाद्यतरंगिणि गंगे हिमविधुमुक्ताधवलतरंगे ।
दूरीकुरु मम दुष्कृतिभारं कुरु कृपया भवसागरपारम् ॥ ३ ॥

hari-pada-pādya-tarańgiṇi gańge
hima-vidhu-muktā-dhavala-tarańge
dūrīkuru mama duṣkṛti-bhāraṁ
kuru kṛpayā bhava-sāgara-pāram

O Devi! Your waters are as sacred as “Charanamriti” of Sri Hari. Your waves are white like snow, moon and pearls. Please wash away all my sins and help me cross this ocean of Samsara.


तव जलममलं येन निपीतं परमपदं खलु तेन गृहीतम् ।
मातर्गंगे त्वयि यो भक्तः किल तं द्रष्टुं न यमः शक्तः ॥ ४ ॥

tava jalam amalaṁ yena nipītaṁ
parama-padaṁ khalu tena gṛhītam
mātar gańge tvayi yo bhaktaḥ
kila taṁ draṣṭuṁ na yamaḥ śaktaḥ

O Mother! those who partake of your pure waters, definitely attain the highest state. O Mother Ganga! Yama, the Lord of death cannot harm your devotees.


पतितोद्धारिणि जाह्नवि गंगे खंडित गिरिवरमंडित भंगे ।
भीष्मजननि हे मुनिवरकन्ये पतितनिवारिणि त्रिभुवन धन्ये ॥ ५ ॥

patitoddhāriṇi jāhnavi gańge
khaṇḍita-giri-vara-maṇḍita-bhańge
bhīṣma janani he muni-vara-kanye
patita-nivāriṇi tribhuvana-dhanye

O Jahnavi! your waters flowing through the Himalayas make you even more beautiful. You are Bhishma’s mother and sage Jahnu’s daughter. You are saviour of the people fallen from their path, and so you are revered in all three worlds.


कल्पलतामिव फलदां लोके प्रणमति यस्त्वां न पतति शोके ।
पारावारविहारिणि गंगे विमुखयुवति कृततरलापांगे ॥ ६ ॥

kalpa-latām iva phaladām loke
praṇamati yas tvāṁ na patati śoke
pārāvāra-vihāriṇi gańge
vimukha-vanitā-kṛta-taralāpāńge

O Mother! You fulfill all the desires of the ones devoted to you. Those who bow down to you do not have to grieve. O Ganga! You are restless to merge with the ocean, just like a young lady anxious to meet her beloved.


तव चेन्मातः स्रोतः स्नातः पुनरपि जठरे सोपि न जातः ।
नरकनिवारिणि जाह्नवि गंगे कलुषविनाशिनि महिमोत्तुंगे ॥ ७ ॥

tava cen mātaḥ srotaḥ-snātaḥ
punar api jaṭhare so’pi na jātaḥ
naraka-nivāriṇi jāhnavi gańge
kaluṣa-vināśini mahimottuńge

O Mother! those who bathe in your waters do not have to take birth again. O Jahnavi! You are held in the highest esteem. You destroy your devotee’s sins and save them from hell.


पुनरसदंगे पुण्यतरंगे जय जय जाह्नवि करुणापांगे ।
इंद्रमुकुटमणिराजितचरणे सुखदे शुभदे भृत्यशरण्ये ॥ ८ ॥

punar asad-ańge puṇya-tarańge
jaya jaya jāhnavi karuṇāpāńge
indra-mukuṭa-maṇi-rājita-caraṇe
sukhade śubhade bhṛtya-śaraṇye

O Jahnavi! You are full of compassion. You purify your devotees with your holy waters. Your feet are adorned with the gems of Indra’s crown. Those who seek refuge in you are blessed with happiness.


रोगं शोकं तापं पापं हर मे भगवति कुमतिकलापम् ।
त्रिभुवनसारे वसुधाहारे त्वमसि गतिर्मम खलु संसारे ॥ ९ ॥

rogaṁ śokaṁ tāpaṁ pāpaṁ
hara me bhagavati kumati-kalāpam
tribhuvana-sāre vasudhāhāre
tvam asi gatir mama khalu saṁsāre

O Bhagavati! Take away my diseases, sorrows, difficulties, sins and wrong attitudes. You are the essence of the three worlds and you are like a necklace around the Earth. O Devi! You alone are my refuge in this Samsara.


अलकानंदे परमानंदे कुरु करुणामयि कातरवंद्ये ।
तव तटनिकटे यस्य निवासः खलु वैकुंठे तस्य निवासः ॥ १० ॥

alakānande paramānande
kuru karuṇāmayi kātara-vandye
tava taṭa-nikaṭe yasya nivāsaḥ
khalu vaikuṇṭhe tasya nivāsaḥ

O Ganga! those who seek happiness worship you. You are the source of happiness for Alkapuri and source of eternal bliss. Those who reside on your banks are as privileged as those living in Vaikunta.


वरमिह नीरे कमठो मीनः किं वा तीरे शरटः क्षीणः ।
अथवाश्वपचो मलिनो दीनस्तव न हि दूरे नृपतिकुलीनः ॥ ११ ॥

varam iha nīre kamaṭho mīnaḥ
kiṁ vā tīre śaraṭaḥ kṣīṇaḥ
athavā śvapaco malino dīnaḥ
tava na hi dūre nṛpatiḥ kulīnaḥ

O Devi ! It is better to live in your waters as turtle or fish, or live on your banks as poor “candal” rather than to live away from you as a wealthy king.


भो भुवनेश्वरि पुण्ये धन्ये देवि द्रवमयि मुनिवरकन्ये ।
गंगास्तवमिमममलं नित्यं पठति नरो यः स जयति सत्यम् ॥ १२ ॥

bho bhuvaneśvari puṇye dhanye
devi dravamayi muni-vara-kanye
gańgā-stavam imam amalaṁ nityaṁ
paṭhati naro yaḥ sa jayati satyam

O Godess of Universe! You purify us. O daughter of muni Jahnu! one who recites this Ganga Stotram everyday, definitely achieves success.


येषां हृदये गंगा भक्तिस्तेषां भवति सदा सुखमुक्तिः ।
मधुराकंता पंझटिकाभिः परमानंदकलितललिताभिः ॥ १३ ॥

yeṣāṁ hṛdaye gańgā bhaktis
teṣāṁ bhavati sadā sukha-muktiḥ
madhura-manohara-pajjhaṭikābhiḥ
paramānanda-kalita-lalitābhiḥ

Those who have devotion for Mother Ganga, always get happiness and they attain liberation. This beautiful and lyrical Gangastuti is a source of Supreme bliss.


गंगास्तोत्रमिदं भवसारं वांछितफलदं विमलं सारम् ।
शंकरसेवक शंकर रचितं पठति सुखीः तव इति च समाप्तः ॥ १४ ॥

gańgā-stotram idaṁ bhava-sāraṁ
vāñchitaphaladam vimalaṁ sāram
śańkara-sevaka-śańkara-racitaṁ
paṭhati ca vinayīdam iti samāptam

This Ganga Stotram, written by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, devotee of Lord Shiva, purifies us and fulfills all our desires.

Arrogance of a Yogi

Well, every single impression on the canvass of life generates questions. The most generic form of this question could be ' who am I?' Or what is the purpose of life?

If one asks me was I not a yogi before the wandering that I undertook, I won't answer in affirmation or denial. I would say, my enquiry was on even before the wandering. Yes the backdrop was different. The setting of life was different.

And what does a yogi mean?
Is it about his attire?
Is it about the affiliation to a religious sect?
Is it about subscription to some established ideology?

Well, yogi is an enquirer.
A persistent enquirer.
Enquiry into the self.
And this enquiry can happen in any situation.
So the asceticism, or materialistically indulgent or any other way of life is not a prerequisite to be a yogi.

This enquiry into the Self generates answers that makes one fearless, confident, well tuned with the divine arrangement.

And when you are in tune with or in sync with the divine plan, things happen as a flow. Efforts are reduced. Wisdom drives the decision making.

With less effort when results are achieved, there is always possibility of judgemental folly.

And you start getting used to achieving with less effort and subscribing it to 'your own ability'. So the achievements which are product of divine grace and result of your non-karma existence, you start ascribing it to your actions!

This judgemental anomaly leads to the rise of arrogance of a yogi!

The thin lines between Karma and non-karma vanish and slowly the yogis starts believing that's the superficial means that are followed by him are the factors that are leading to the results which many a time appear as miracles. So the happening of a miracle which is purely due to divine grace, a yogi starts believing that it is by the grace of his actions!

This elevates the arrogance of a yogi.  The self enquiry gets shadowed by this rise of arrogance. The wisdom gets eclipsed and the Maya succeeds in bringing back the yogi into her fold from the state of self realisation.

If a yogi doesn't acknowledge and respond to this problem, of course he invites a bigger mess in his journey of the supreme union. The union is far away, even the walk there becomes tiring and full of obstacles.

Yogi has to be blissfully one with the god. Apparently there may be different colours of his life perceived by the world around. Yogi is his self. How the world perceives him is not his business. The moment he tries to associate with perceptions, his arrogance is going to to rise as he may falsely believe that I have been doing so much for people but it's not acknowledged by society.

Yogi shall resort to the basics. He shall go back to the initial stages of enquiry where supreme belief in the godly consciousness Is the only reality of his existentially. To reach there, a yogi must shed away all the illusionary relations that have affected his process of enquiry adversely.

Yogi must surrender.
Yogi shall just deny his illusionary supremacy.
Yogi shall simply acknowledge his ordinary being.
Yogi shall temporarily wear the veil of swadhyay - spiritual practice.
Yogi shall go back to his penance.
Yogi shall delve into the supreme oneness only and nothing else.
And all this should happen in any given surrounding.

The next door yogi

Five years gone...

It's a step by step gathering of wisdom, agony, joy, pain, suffering, happiness, stillness...

I stepped out of home for wandering.

It was not planned. It was not spontaneous.

It was a guided journey!

The wandering was by invitation. 

The invitation was through disappearance of my father.

My great father left the house on the morning of June 4, 2009 for never to come back home.

I was awake at 5.45 am that day. Got the feeling that he is not in his bed. Came out of my bedroom, he was quietly sleeping in this bed. I went back to sleep. At 6.15 am again got the intuitive message that he is not in the bed. I woke up. Went to see him. He was not there.

I went to the balcony, asked the watchman to look for my father. He said he is not downstairs, where in the garden he used to take his morning walk usually. 

Then started the great search.

Many vehicles move in different directions to look for him.

Friends and relatives searched the locality relentlessly.

Posters and notices pasted on the walls.

But in vain. No trace of him.

Then the police were reported.

They suggested to look into the dead body house of the government hospital.

Every morning and evening, the ritual of dead body search started. 

The keeper of the dead house would parade me in front the racks that hold the bodies. 

He would open faces one by one in the dim light. The faces darkened, young and old, with scars, pale, lifeless, stinking... 

With negation I would walk behind him after every body being searched. 

I would give him some money for his help. 

It went on for days & weeks.

While the eyes were searching for his body, feet were walking in his search, thoughts were jumping to the higher dimension.

Is this body the human existence? 

What's the use of life and it's comforts when each human has to meet the fate of the dead body in the dead house?

What's the significance of karma, when a pious man like my father must be suffering somewhere despite his able relations around?

What's the meaning of relations?

What are human bandages? 

My consciousness had already transcended to a next level. 

Then the search for him became mechanical process.

Then slowly it started becoming aimless wandering.

Then the result oriented effort seized. 

Started then the amusement of experiencing the universe without any goal in mind.

Business started getting hampered. 

There was no interest in attending office activities.

All started appearing mirage. 

Still the push by materialistic considerations was on.

Pre planned visits to various countries were  to happen.

As a part of this, went to Ghana in west Africa.

There happened miracle!

Deep spiritual calling!

Aggregation of contemplative thoughts resulted into one divine moment that changed dimensions of life.

Then it was all light! 

Came back to India, went to Shri Lanka, but the urge to earn had died.

All that was happening was a curious wandering. 

From malls, to hotels, to shopping streets, to temples, to Buddhist temples, to the churches, to the mosques, to the sea shores, to the river banks, to the paddy fields, to the mountains...

Everywhere life was seen in abundance.

No attachment anywhere. 

So it was witnessing. Beautiful witnessing.

Came back to India.

Wandered the South. 

Then to the north. In the trains, in buses, by walk, in the trucks, taking lift in the cars...

Penniless journeys.

People would feed.

They would care.

They would scold.

They would shoo away as beggar.

They would taunt.

They would offer physical labour.

They would get surprised.

They would experience calmness in the presence of a bearded man.

Some would put their palms before, requesting to read. 

I would read with my limited knowledge.

Then would give some advise.

People started believing.

Some would consult for family issues.

Some would bring alms confirming that my remedies have worked.

Some would donate money.

Rituals were done for people, meditations taught, knowledge breathing practices imparted, counselling sessions done, blessings were given.

All that knowledge that was imparted by my parents & brother came handy!

So the wanderer Arvind assumed the role of Yogi Arwind, in a flow.  

Without any directed efforts.

The religious community of various sects of babas, yogis and swamis got in acquaintance. We sang the bhajans together. We danced with divine euphoria. We dipped in Ganga. We meditated together.

Some would respect and offer higher seat to sit.

Some would deny the higher seat.

Some would force to smoke Chillum.

Some would get inspired by my non-smoking.

Some would say I am a born yogi.

Some would say I am fake.

Some would question my religious affiliations.

Some attempted on life twice out of ignorance! 

Journeyed from South to North. By walk. Barefoot. By bus, by train. By air. By any means.

Walked on the desert barefoot. Walked on the snow barefoot. Ran on the stones on the banks of Ganga barefoot. On the cemented road, tar road, walked barefoot. In the filth and in the gardens, walked barefoot. Walked barefoot in the crematoriums, cemeteries. To the temples.

Beautiful souls steadily crossed the path while walking.

On the peak of Mount Parashar in Himalayas met one exceptional sadhu who passed on the light. In Mandi in Himachal, met the Narayan himself in the form of the sadhu, Shiva walked with me on the banks of Ganga. Secret knowledge was passed on. 

Miraculous programs were conducted. Leher Leher Kabir happened. Yogi Arwind Foundation was formed, clean Ganga campaign was launched, awards for Ayurveda and environment were given, knowledge camps organised, health camps were organised, free food distributed, blankets distributed. Retreats organised.

Amazing wonderful souls supported all the way. Divine arrangement was, make a wish and money and resources will come. And the yoga of friendship was established, Maitrā Yoga! Now that 1800 days consciousness workshop is over.

As Nisargadatta Maharaj says, 

"Stay without ambition, without the least desire, exposed, vulnerable,

unprotected, uncertain and alone, completely open to and welcoming life as it happens, without the selfish conviction that all must yield you pleasure or profit, material or so-called spiritual."

Literally lived these lines!

Now the identity is thickening. 

The journey that started with evaporation of various identities like of Son, brother, business person etc has reached at the new identity of spiritual person, a yogi. This obviously brings the religious colour in the minds of people.

And the identity brings ego with it.

So obvious ego and arrogance is developing.

That beautiful connect is missing and getting covered under this identity.

Heart has become like stone in the process of restraining emotions.

The flow of love is getting blocked.

So it's a warning bell. 

It's an invitation -

to the next phase of journey.

To that shading of ego.

To dropping down the arrogance.

To be in the service.

To be ordinary.

To be a commoner again!

The next door yogi.