The Ganga River of India and the River of Eternal Life
Timothy Tin
With the advent of the COVID-19 vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic has begun to show a gradual decline. Israel has the highest rate of vaccination in the world. As of April 12, 2021, 61.6% of the people in Israel have been vaccinated once (source: our world in data), that is more than half of its population.
While Israel is moving toward herd immunity, India has a sudden COVID-19 outbreak – With more than 300,000 new cases and nearly 3,000 deaths every day! India is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines and pharmaceuticals, but only 10% of its people are vaccinated. India’s health minister announced back in March this year that the country was “in the endgame” of the pandemic! They did not know that a surge of “multiple variant viruses” had already swept across the country from the Ganga River; and this might even set off the next outbreak of pandemic in the whole world! Why is this sudden outbreak in India related to the Ganga River?
The Ganga River is 2,510 kilometers long and is the longest holy river in India. In the eyes of Indians, it is considered the most sacred eternal river. According to a Hindu scripture written in 300 BC, “The Ganges is the source of atonement. Many sins accumulate during one million births, and they are eliminated as soon as they come into contact with a gust of wind that fills the river.” The Indian people have believed that the Ganges water not only can atone for sins, but also can heal all diseases, a large number of patients come to bathe in the Ganga river every day, and some people throw ashes in the river. The poor would put dead bodies directly into the river because they cannot afford the buried fee. They also hope that the river can redeem the souls. Indians put their lives in the hand of the god of Ganges.
From January to the end of April this year, as many as one million people celebrated the Dahu Festival, which happens once every 12 years, in the Ganga river. A total of 150 million people gathered, which led to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic!
The Ganga river was once a clean and beautiful river, but it is now been heavily polluted by human activities and become a hotbed of many bacteria and viruses! The river was even considered an environmental hazard by the World Health Organization. Although many practices that polluted the river were based on a pious religious belief, but when religious activities pollute the living environment, it still increases the risk of infection during the pandemic and leads to disasters! It can be seen that the water of the Ganga river cannot cure diseases, but instead made people sick and die. The gods of the Ganga river cannot save the local residents from their tough times.
We have seen from the pandemic in India that human nature is filthier than the pollution of the Ganga river. Many black market sellers took advantage of the pandemic to sell drugs, vaccines, and oxygen tanks at sky-high prices. Meanwhile, the average Indian cannot even afford to get wood to burn dead bodies!
The devotion of the Indian people to their religious beliefs should be respected by the world, but their gods cannot cleanse the “filth” of human nature. Although the Ganga river brings hope to the world, it does not give us true eternal life. Who can remove the sins of mankind and enable us to gain eternal life? The Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Son of God. He gave up everything in order to bear the sins of mankind. He died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day. He has experienced the sufferings and death of life, and entered eternal life and heaven so that those who believe in him can be forgiven of their sins immediately.
There is no need to look for the baptism in the holy Ganga river, we only need to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, then we can enter this “river of eternal life” in the future! This river is the real river of life, because “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22: 2) This river is a river of living water, because Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38)
Dear friends, do you want your soul to enter this “river of eternal life” in the future?
Author: Christian Alliance Bible Church in Los Angeles, CA
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