Kaveri

A special feature
Kaveri is the name of one of the seven sacred rivers of India. Swamiji often mentions the River Kaveri because it is the holy river that traverses South India and winds its way through Trichy, where the Ashram is located, and across Tamil Nadu. Kaveri is the Ganges of the South and for many pilgrims who visit holy places and who perform various rites of passage, a bath in this river is essential. Kaveri is therefore, firstly, the Divine Mother in the form of water. Swamiji explains that in this form, She is linked through the element of water to all life, everywhere. She is the universal mother. Through Her cooling waters She purifies our karmas and washes away our sufferings. She is the One who soothes and gives us peace. The following is the story of how Kaveri came to exist in Her form of spiritual water.

Mantra for invoking the seven sacred rivers :
Gange ca Yamune cai'va Godavari Saraswati
Narmade Sindhu Kaveri Jale'smin Sannidhim Kuru

"O Ganga, O Yamuna, O Godavari, O Saraswati,
O Narmada, O Sindhu, O Kaveri, may your presence come into this water!"

The birth of Kaveri
In ancient times there was a severe drought in southern India. The crops were dying and the wells dried up. Even the greatest trees wilted through lack of water. The people and children were starving. The great rishi, Agastya, felt very sad about this and he prayed to the creator, Lord Brahma, to stop their suffering. Brahma told him, "Go to where Lord Shiva lives and from there bring some of the sacred water of the snow that never ends. With this snow-water you will start a new river to save this hot land."

Accordingly, Agastya walked for many days to Kailash, filled up his pot with snow water and returned. He looked for a good place to start the river in the hilly Coorg region. Agastya rested for a while and searched for the correct place to put down his special water pot. Close by a small boy was playing. The child was dressed in rags and had a dirty face. Agastya called him, "Little fellow, come and hold this pot for me. Hold it in both hands and don't spill any of it." Agastya looked around and carefully evaluated the land. He considered various places but dismissed them one by one. One place was too flat, one was too hilly. He was thinking very much.

The little boy was really Lord Ganesha, in disguise. He picked a place for the river to start, put the pot down and disappeared. Agastya could not choose a place and called out, "Little fellow, what do you think?" Silence. "Where are you, child? Why have you put down the pot?" Suddenly a large crow flew out of the sky and perched on the edge of the pot, which toppled over and spilled the very special and precious water onto the ground. Agastya was furious and he cursed the crow. But a blinding light flashed for a moment and the crow disappeared. Instead, a jolly-faced Lord Ganesha waving his rose-pink trunk appeared in place of the crow! "What! A curse! Why, I have done nothing wrong but started your river for you." Agastya's anger changed into bliss and Ganesha laughed, his huge ears waving in the morning breeze.

As he laughed, a crystal clear River with wonderfully tasting waters bubbled out of Agastya's pot. When she reached the ground, she became a small stream, then she became a fast-flowing, fully fledged river growing wider and wider. She tumbled down the Coorg hills and spread across the land giving life to all the land and its plant, animal and human beings as she raced across the peninsula. To this day she flows until she blends into the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal.

To this day, the people tell the story of how rishi Agastya brought Kaveri from the Himalayas and how he was surprised by Lord Ganesha. They also say, that we should look at life from another angle - things that we feel are holding us back are really helping us and that is the work of the cheerful elephant-faced Lord.