NEW YORK-based Guyanese observed the annual auspicious festival of Kartik Snaan or Teerath, by fasting and performing special pooja on the morning following the full moon last weekend. There were special rituals thanking the Lord for protecting the environment and making peoples’ lives safe. Rituals were performed on the shoreline in Queen’s and Brooklyn. During Kartik, Hindus also worship Ganga Devi, the goddess who presides over the holy rivers and ocean representing the divine in the form of water. The cold temperature made it difficult for people to take the full ritual bath, as is the norm in Guyana, although most simply immersed their feet in the water. Special Ganga puja was performed and offerings made. Guyanese Hindus and other nationals in Florida also performed puja on teerath. Karthik in America had almost the same customs, rituals and practices (where feasible) as in Guyana.
Kartik Snaan is viewed as the culmination of months of intense and sustained prayer and devotion for Hindu that began in August and included the observance of Diwali on November 3 as well as Dussehra. Kartik represents a time when Hindus reaffirm their commitment to environmental awareness and protection, especially at a time when the environment is being polluted. Pandits stress that the land should be used wisely for the sustenance of life. Kartik is an effort towards spiritual purification with the focus being on prayers, fasting, and abstinence and other acts of piety. Kartik is a time to cleanse oneself.
The holy river “Ganges” or the deity “Ganga Mai” is the main deity worshipped at the festival.  It is believed that the Goddess of water, Ganga Mai, came unto the earth on the day and so Hindus seek her blessings by performing special prayers devoted to her and taking a dip in the sea believing that the Ganges water is mixed with the rest of the bodies of water and as such by taking a dip at any ocean, their soul become cleansed.
Ever since Hindu Indian indentured labourers came to Guyana and to parts of the West Indies, Karthik or Teerath has been observed with puja conducted on any shoreline. At the ocean front, Guyanese prayed and chanted special mantras, sang bhajans, and made offerings as part of Kartik celebrations.  They also burned incense and other religious paraphernalia.  The offerings included rice, perfume, fruits, mohanbhog and clothes, and food.
As in Guyana, devotees shared the puri, lapsey, mohanbhog and food with others who came for a bath. But unlike in Guyana, students were not excused from school attendance. Instead of the ocean bath, many Hindus bathe in a mixture of Ganges water and made offerings at home. It is believed that those who took a bath in the holy Ganges are washed of their sins. Some people poured Ganges water in a bucket of water and took a bath. The symbolic observance of the festival is one of devotion, charity, purification and self-control. After migrating from India to the Caribbean and now to America, Guyanese continue to exercise their spirituality.

VISHNU BISRAM