I had bathed in the tank at this hour voluntarily, only because I wanted the experience and not because I saw it as a ritual that had to be followed. Sikhs don’t believe in rituals or superstitions anyway, they bathe in the tank out of sheer devotion for their gurus—and the water was perfumed with devotion. The Ganga, on the other hand, reeks of superstition: people treat the river as a drain carrying all their sins. The Ganga stands for blind belief, the pool of nectar stands for blind devotion. There is a big difference between belief and devotion: belief can change, devotion doesn’t.
