Haridwar & Rishikesh (A Journey to Hindu Holy Cities)

Today we took a trip to two Hindu holy cities on the Ganges river: Haridwar and Rishikesh. We piled into a taxi – quite literally – and left the now familiar and comfortable Mussoorie. Hindus journey to the Ganges once a year to bathe in the water to wash away their sin, and to deposit the ashes of their dead loved ones to give them favor in their next life. We traveled there (about a 2.5 hour taxi ride) to pray over these two cities and to remind ourselves that the India we have been experiencing in Mussoorie is not representative of all of India.

Both Haridwar and Rishikesh are dark places, in their own way. Haridwar is without a doubt the most oppressive and thirsty place I have been. Hindu people are very good at worshipping. The amount of energy and devotion poured out in Haridwar is impressive. But poured out for what? The atmosphere is overwhelming and the volume of darkness made this place seem without hope. Jared and I share the same physiological response to places like this: tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. Standing on a bridge over the Ganges, out team prayed for that city and these people. I personally prayed that God would intervene: to remove the blindness from these people’s eyes, to let his light shine through the darkness, and to glorify himself in Haridwar. It felt like one of the biggest prayers I have ever prayed.

After praying, we got back in the taxi and headed further up the Ganges to Rishikesh (about another 45 minutes). The drive took us through an India national park and was actually quite pleasant. The atmosphere in Rishikesh was similar, although the scene was quite different. In Rishikesh we found the highest concentration of white people we had seen since being here. Ryan explained that a lot of Europeans come here for a “spiritual” retreat – to tap into Hinduism without fully immersing in it. After the intense fellowship with God and the folks from EMI of the last two days, this town felt empty, dark and desperate. We walked the streets and prayed. God please come to this place. Purge it of this worship of false, dead gods. Show these people the wastefulness of their ways. Bring light. Again, the prayers felt large. We reflected over lunch (a fine menagerie of Indian and Middle Eastern food) that we were all so thankful to know the true, living God. Sim and I talked about how we have a new understanding of the stories in the Old Testament where God demands that entire cities and peoples be completely destroyed. Dave shared how he prayed that these people would remain thirsty, that the water of the Ganges would not fulfill them and that they might come to see their need for living water – much like the woman at the well. Jared shared how he fears our own world in the U.S. is just as dark as what we see here, we just don’t recognize it for what it is. The enemy is not stupid, and in places like this it feels like his grip is oh so tight. Our God is big though and there is hope.

The return trip to Mussoorie revealed some of that hope. My chest loosened up and deep breathes came easier. Maybe it was the cool, cleaner air. Maybe it’s because Christ has a strong hold here in Mussoorie. A place from which His light will shine forth into India and the world – join us in thanking Him for his presence here and in praying for His light to shine.
[Bobby Rinehart]