Being edged from three sides by the foothills, the city lies at an altitude of 356 meters above sea level. The Holy Ganges runs through the city, and along its sandy shores, there are numerous ashrams. This is a perfect place for those who wish to temporarily leave the bustle of modern life and explore yoga, meditation and other aspects of Hinduism. The city gets its popularity also by the fact that in the sixties "The Beatles" came here to study with Maharishi Mahesh.
Rishikesh is one of the places directly connected to the Holy Ganges river. According to Hindu beliefs, the Ganges was born by Shiva and represents its vital force. For Hindus the river Ganges is presented in feminine gender and is associated with the female deity - the Ganges Atri, whose symbolic sculptural image is displayed on one of the guts on the river-bank. A gut is a ritual staircase, descending to the holy pond, where the believers make a ceremony of gifts and purification (Puja). Believers light lamps brought to the Ganges merge into a sea of lights, and it is impossible to remain indifferent while looking at this great unity of believers' spirit with the holy river.
In numerous restaurants of Rishikesh, it is impossible to find meat dishes, and a huge fish swimming in the waters of the Ganges is not caught by people.
Fish of the Ganges is considered sacred, and many pilgrims feed it because it is considered a welfare.
The city is also considered to be a «gateway» to the Himalayas. It starts out the routes deep into the mountain system, to a famous mountain temples. This place is considered sacred, and on the beliefs, a meditation held here will certainly lead to the achievement of nirvana.
Two parts of the city, separated by the Ganges, are joined by a famous suspension bridge - Lakshman Jhoola. According to beliefs, the suspension bridge has been existing here since the times of Ramayana and every time someone stepped on it, the bridge began to swing heavily.
In Rishikesh, they pray daily to all 33 thousands of Hindu gods, however not all of these gods are dedicated with the temples.
The most part of the city temples are dedicated to the Vishnu and Shiva gods, of course. Thus, the Bharat Mandir - the oldest temple in the city is dedicated to the Vishnu god.
A temple of Nilkanth Mahadev is built on the place where Shiva drank a poison threatened to destroy all life. Many ashrams offer their assistance to those wishing to try their-selves in yoga and meditation. Signboards glisten everywhere. There are large many-storied ashrams, as well as small huts also proudly named ashrams.
But one ashram stands out from the others for its blooming and well-groomed beauty. This is Parmat Niketan. Now it is the most famous and largest ashram in Rishikesh.
It seems that this is where the legendary "Beatles" met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi guru, by what made a great contribution to the glory of Rishikesh.
On the background of the whole plain city, Parmath Niketan sparkles like an emerald in the sun. Lots of flowers and greens, beautiful fairways and mighty Banyans, marble statues and openwork lattice. On the main entrance, in the waters of Ganges, there is a white statue of Shiva, by which every evening at sunset a colorful ceremony with songs and dances takes place. This ashram has even a website, parmath.com.
Of course, on the streets of Rishikesh you can find many yogis, or, to say it more precisely, sadhu, strangers. An essential features of them are orange garb, many beads and a big mug for handouts. The greater part of the day they spend on the streets, sitting under the hot sun and unobtrusively asking for help. Although not all of them are carefree and happy. Most of them have to literally fight for survival, as there are not so much people who are willing to help them. Ongoing shortages of food, care, etc is a common event. Despite of this, none of them had lost spirit, no one is embittered to the world. They are all friendly and good-natured, always happy to sit with you and chat. For someone who arrived to India at first time, it is unusual to see such good and always smiling people. Entrusting their fate to divine providence, these nameless heroes bravely go on unknown ways, remaining faithful to their ideals. People for whom religion is not fun and not an empty phrase but a living reality.
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