It is believed that bathing in Ganga washes away all your sins and purifies your soul. The belief is still prevailing even after many years.
This question was asked to Ramkrishna Paramhans. Devotees who had come to meet and listen to Paramahansa asked him this question –
“Swamiji, Is it true that bathing in Ganga will wash away the sins?”
Swamiji smiled at them listening to their innocence. What should he answer them? However, he said –
“Yes, they go away, however not very far. As soon as you enter the river Ganga, the sins climb and sit on the nearby trees. Sins are afraid of Ganga not from you. They are your sins. Why would they fear you and why would they not follow you?”
With an ironic smile, he said –
“While you are in the Ganga they stay out and as soon as you come out of the river, they come and cling back to you.”
Everyone got scared listening to this. They asked curiously –
“So what should we do to get rid of the sins?”
“For the rest of your life, day and night just sit in Ganga then your sins will remain away from you. Because sins don’t come near Ganga so they will not come near you” – Ramkrishna Paramahansa said with a smile.
“That is not feasible.” The devotees said in one voice. “How can we sit in the river all our life?”
“Then there is only one solution to save yourself from the sins” – said Swamiji.
“Stop doing sins. Try to live a clean and innocent life. If there are no sins, there is no need to get rid of them. But if you keep doing sins and bath in Ganga to become sinless, even Ganga does not have that kind of blessing. On the other hand, Ganga will become sinful by cleansing everyone’s sins!
Wisdom Bite
There are many misbeliefs that we follow without understanding or giving a thought if it makes sense. We follow because we were told to do so or it is being followed as part of family tradition. We want an easy way out of our sins. We committed sins willingly with excitement and enthusiasm but we are not ready to face the consequences of it. Is that fair?
As per the law of physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you sin, you will have to be ready for its consequences. Universal law works on this simple principle. The other option is to deeply repent the sins we have committed and take a vow to not commit the sins again.
