Bhagirath: God, why did you have this flash flood at
Himalayas? So many people got killed and so much of devastation?
Lord Shiva:
B: Why did it have to happen? People who came to visit
kedarnath are all pious and very devoted. Came long distances just to see you,
touch you, pour holy water on you
LS: Please continue
B:”So many families are missing their near and dear ones. Identity
of a lot of individuals who got killed remains unknown. People think that you have no power to stop such carnage. Some,
who believed in you till that mishap, have lost faith in you. So why should
they believe in you? Why did this have to happen?
LS:Do you remember the days when you did the penance to
bring Ganga to earth?
B: Yes my lord. Initially Ma Ganga was coming with such a
force that Earth was unable to bear the same. And she caused so much of damage.
I remember that.
LS: Then what happened?
B: I prayed to thee to withstand the force of Ma Ganga. You
did take it on your head first and split her into multiple rivers so that
Mother Earth could withstand the force. And I was able to absolve my
forefathers from their existing state to a higher state.
LS: How was Mt Himalayas then?
B: It was quiet and peaceful. Lot of greenery and Man had
not blasted mountains to make roads; not many buildings; no dams were built;
all rivers took to their nature course and flowed accordingly.
LS: Now?
B: Yes My Lord. Mountains have been blasted; new roads have
been laid; new houses have come up. Man has started building houses, hotels,
factories right on the river banks. Lot of sewage is let out into the rivers
with utmost carelessness. Dams have been built curtailing the natural flow
altering the eco-system. People flock to see you in numbers using helicopters, cars,
buses, jeeps causing pollution. It took Pandavas months to visit you but people
can do it in days. Such is the progress of man that he is able to do it very
quickly.
LS: When people did visit me during those early days, they
did their daily duties properly. Cleansed themselves, performed required
rituals to seek help from the five major elements, made it a pilgrimage. They
are allowed to touch me, perform abhisheka and pooja. Does it happen in the
same way today?
B: I do not think so My Lord.
LS: Today, it is a picnic. People are unclean, most of them do
not follow the basics, sanctity is lost.
Still they touch me. Over the years, the uncleanliness kept accumulating. One
way of cleansing me is by using Holy water. Ganga was more than willing to
cleanse the unhygienic environment, my abode and its surroundings. She came
with only that much force that is needed, only part of what you had experienced
earlier. Don’t you think that is the appropriate way to do? What do you do when
you have mud all over your body?
B: Yes, My Lord, I use lot of water to get rid of the mud. I
use a clean cloth to wipe myself dry.
LS: Don’t you think I am allowed the same liberties then?
B: Why the destruction?
LS: What do you mean by destruction?
B: Lives were lost, buildings were destroyed.
LS: When you cleaned yourself of the mud Bhagirath, are you
saying that you destroyed the mud that was on your body? Let me answer your
question differently. What is it that you are wearing?
B: Why My Lord, a dhoti.
LS: What was it before it was a dhoti?
B: May be a piece of long cloth that got cut into something
that I could wear.
LS: Before that?
B: It was probably in the form of cotton threads on a
spindle.
LS: Before that?
B: It was cotton.
LS: So, why did you destroy the cotton?
B: No my Lord, the cotton was not destroyed but it got transformed
into a long thread and then woven into a Dhoti.
LS: So, the Cotton got transformed then?
B: Yes My Lord.
LS: Are you sure?
B: Certainly my lord.
LS: Why do you say that people are killed or destroyed? It
was only transformed. The soul that was all trapped in the body got released
and moved into a different plane.
B: But, my lord, it was crude.
LS: What was crude?
B: The way in which the soul left the body.
LS: Then, can you tell me the right way for a person to die?
B: Do not know my lord. People die by different means based
on what they did in their life.
LS: Let us take another example. What do you see to your
right?
B: I see a beautiful oak tree my Lord.
LS: What do you see in front of you?
B: A table, my lord, a table made of wood.
LS: Where did the table come from?
B: It came from a tree.
LS: So, why did the person who made the table, kill the
tree?
B: The tree is just transformed my Lord into a table.
LS: So, the same logic applies here too. The soul got
transformed into something different. In case of table and the Dhoti, it is visible
to a naked human eye whereas, in the case of a soul going to a different plane,
it is not that apparent.
B: I get your point my Lord.
LS: So, this cleansing is needed, to rebalance the eco-system.
You can say that nature has a way to rebalance itself or you can say that Lord
Shiva initiated the same. In any case, this rebalancing was long due and it has
happened now. Are you at peace now?
B: Yes my lord.
