Dear Editor,
Thanks for your photo and brief report on the celebration of the traditional Karthik Snaan (SN Nov 22) festival. It brought back memories of the celebration growing up in Guyana as a child. Please note that Guyanese also observed the festival in New York but in a more subdued manner than in Guyana. In NY, children are robbed of the kind of fun one had or has celebrating the festival in Guyana. The festival is more popularly called tirath (tirth) and as a youngster I remember people of all faiths and backgrounds making their way to the rivers, ocean, and canals for a dip, for a fun time and or “to wash away their sins”. It was a time for enjoyment (swimming, playing ball, etc.) and feasting at the shoreline on prasad and fruits.
In NY, with tirath or Karthik Nahan falling on a Sunday, many conducted poojas on the beach while others worshipped at the mandirs. The cold water made it difficult to wade in the ocean as in Guyana. It was a blustery cold day. Thus, people immersed their legs into the water, made their offerings, and exited quickly. They prayed and chanted special mantras, sang bhajans (spiritual songs in tribute to Goddess Ganga Maa) and made offerings.
On Karthik Nahan, Hindus worshipped the holy river “Ganges” or the deity “Ganga Mai”. It is believed that the Goddess of water, Ganga Mai, came unto the earth on the day and usually liquefies herself during the Hindu month of Kartik (mid October thru mid November). Hindus seek her blessings by performing special prayers after the full moon devoted to her and taking a bath in the ocean or rivers. It is the general belief that one’s sins or bad karmas are washed away or forgiven when performing this ritual.
The pandits at the mandirs explain that Kartik is a time to cleanse oneself and to ensure that something is given back to the Goddess of the Ocean with offerings and protecting the environment from degradation. The observance of Kartik is important, especially at a time when ocean and sea levels are rising, reclaiming land and endangering man’s very existence with “global warming”. The festival of Karthik should be used as an educational lesson for people to do everything to protect and purify the environment and stop polluting (dumping refuse into) our various bodies of water. The pollution endangers our very lives.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
