Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh :

Parmarth Niketan is a true spiritual haven, lying on the holy banks of Maa Ganga.  It is the largest ashram in Rishikesh, providing its thousands of pilgrims who come from all around th glob.    Parmarth Niketan is located in Swargashram, just on the banks of the sacred Ganges River.

Main attraction at Parmarth nuiketan is Ganga Aarti.

Ganga Aarti begins every day at sunset (times vary depending on season, please check with reception for daily timings) at Parmarth’s Ganga Ghat.   Yagna begins at the ghat a half hour before Aarti.

Ganga is not only a river. Ganga is a Divine Mother. She rushes forth from the Himalayas as the giver of life, carrying purity, bliss and liberation in Her waters. Ganga is nectar – the nectar of life, the nectar of liberation. Ganga irrigates not only our farms, but also our hearts, minds and souls. Ganga is the Mother Goddess – giving freely to all with no discrimination, hesitation or expectation. Her waters purify all who bathe in them, all who drink from them. In fact, Ganga is the remover of contamination.

Each evening as the sun’s last rays reflect off the boundless waters of Mother Ganga, we gather for Ganga Aarti. This divine light ceremony is filled with song, prayer, ritual and a palpable sense of the divine. Aarti is the beautiful ceremony in which dias (oil lamps) are offered to God. Aarti can be done to a deity in the temple, it can be done on the banks of the Ganges to Mother Ganga, or it can be done to a saint. It is performed to God, in any manifestation, in any form, and by any name.

Parmarth Niketan is open to all, with no discrimination on the basis of race, gender, nationality, religion, caste or creed.