The Mystical Mela..!

With excerpts from Kalpavasi for knowledge reference

Hinduism as they say is best explored in its diverse forms under the same umbrella of celebrations. Confluence of different monastic orders ranging from hermits to Naga sages and yogis, are all gathering in the same arena and the end result is a diverse exhibition of spiritual power which is an experience in itself. A confluence which stands significant for the fact that the common man is in the same plane as the saints and sadhus breaking all religious and spiritual barriers is the most significant amalgamation of tradition as well as the non-traditional aspects of Hinduism which is exemplified in the Kumbha Mela. Saints from the interiors of Himalayas and the missionaries from down South, Faith and Faith Based Organisations, foreign tourists especially from Africa, Japan, Europe and America are all drawn to the charm and spirit of the Kumbha Mela.

The ‘Kumbha Mela’ or the festival of the great urn is symbolic of attainment of Nirvana. It reserves it’s origin in the Hindu mythological tale of the ‘Sagar Manthan ‘or the churning of the ocean which resulted in the pitcher of nectar to rise from the bottom of the ocean. Salvation, according to Hinduism, means to attain freedom from the infinite cycle of life and death and Hindus believe that ‘moksha’ can be attained by the departed soul if the cremated ashes are scattered in the holy waters at the time of the Kumbha Mela. Every three years millions of devotees gather in rotation between four major Hindu pilgrims namely Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain to partake in the ‘Holy Snan’ which is believed to cleanse the soul.

Haridwar one of the cities in the state of Uttarakhand is famous because it is here that the Ganges descends from the Himalayan Mountains and enters the plains. Ujjain, in the state of Madhya Pradesh situated along the banks of the Kshipra River and Nasik on the banks of the Godavari River in Maharastra.

The year 2007 held its significance in the tradition of Ardh Kumbha Mela and in line with the expectations celebrations were defying all bounds at Allahbad. The festivities included the ‘Mauni Amavasya’ or the New Moon of the Saint’s Day. Significance being the devotees do not utter a single word until they take a dip into the holy waters of the Ganges which is believed to be turned into nectar as enabled by the posting of sun, moon and the planets. pirituality is marked by the naked procession by mendicants and the reorganization of the ‘Akahras’. The Kumbh festivities uphold the spirit of the land, which boasts of its diversities.

The Kumbha Mela has its mystic appeal to the millions and is only but flamboyantly exaggerated by the looks of Digambari Sanyasis with their ash-smeared faces. It is one of the most important festivals that pave the way for the spiritual appeal that India holds to the entire world. This has only intensified over the years with the global media attention and professionalism of industry experts like Kalpavasi.com who intend to highlight the less known aspect of the Kumbha Mela called the Kalpavasa Vrata.

The Mela also acts as the unofficial meeting grounds for the various religions and spiritual organizations and conferences like these add on to the breeding of newer mendicants through a well structured learning process.

Global Warming & the Kumbha Mela

The Copenhagen summit might have ended on a depressing and even on a disappointing note for climate negotiators across the world, but now spiritual leaders who are feeling the heat of the melting Himalayan glaciers have joined the ranks of green crusaders to raise their voice against global warming.

If you happen to visit the Kumbha Mela at Haridwar, don’t be surprised if you come to see hundreds of thousands of Naga Sadhus campaigning for awareness against global warming. It has been agreed amongst them that they will be using the Kumbha Mela as a platform to kick start a green campaign with the vision of reducing global warming.

Kumbh Mela being the largest spiritual gathering in the world and the Naga Sadhus being a primary attraction for the media frenzy international press and tourists, they have chosen an ideal platform to perform their part to save the planet from the throes of carbon foot prints. Fore more information on Naga Sadhus visit this link

This initiative will be headed and coordinated by none other than Shri Soham Baba, who is said to be the commander in chief of the 250000 odd Naga Sadhus in the Himalayas. The sadhus insist that they are the first to realize the adverse impact of global warming as it causes glaciers to melt in the Himalayan region and claim that there is a diverse variety of species of birds and flowers which are being lost due to the effects of global warming.

They plan to organize rallies with placards and banners which will educate and highlight the importance of the carbon foot print issue. The entire Naga community will also carry out a signature campaign during the Kumbha Mela fair. The anti-global warming campaign during the Kumbh Mela will be carried out in various regional and international languages. The also plan to organize an exhibition of photos they have clicked on global warming and the melting Himalayan glaciers.

The failure of the Copenhagen summit does not seem to dampen the efforts taken by various sections of the society to highlight the importance of the carbon footprint issue. We can only hope that the Naga Sadhu’s contribution to this global appeal makes the leaders see the light before it becomes too late.

Gandhiji & the Kumbha Mela

I came across this blog on Kalpavasi, which cites that Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Indian Nation was given the title Mahatma at the Kumbha Mela when he visited it in 1915 by Swami Shradhanand at his Gurukul.

The following blog is inspired in continuation with this series posted on Kalpavasi and is based on hear-say funeral recitals after Gandhiji’s demise.

Once the autumnal Ganges floods receded, baring a five-square-mile mud flat where three sacred rivers join—the muddy Ganges, the blue Jamuna, and the mystical Saraswati meet at the Triveni Sangam, a tumultuous tent city comes up, peopled by millions of Hindus, thousands of fires, breech-clouted sadhus (holy men) chanting Vedic hymns. Around the clock a clangor of raucous songs mingles with hymns, flutes with elephant bells, caterwauls with the keening of sacred recitations. Millions come for the religious festival of Ardh Kumbh Mela, to revel and to bathe where the sacred rivers meet.

In the year 1948, amidst the peak of this rancor, a hush fell over the entire Mela Kshetra sometime during the course of the festival at Allahabad when a truck entered the tented city with a raised platform draped in India’s tricolour flag. On top rode an earthenware brown urn, containing the ashes of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Chatter came down to a hush as the catafalque moved past slowly.

Gandhi would have disapproved of much that went on at the three rivers. Although an ascetic, he condemned the extreme self-mortification of holy men who lay on beds of nails, or walked on beds of live coals, or twisted their attenuated bodies into knots. Gandhi had gone a few times to the great popular Hindu festivals and even sternly condemned the orgiastic frenzy and the exhibitions of extreme asceticism. However after his death he belonged not only to the ages but to the people and India celebrated his last rites in its own accord.

At the waters edge the ash-laden urn was transferred, for mourning, on to the white superstructure of an army dais with eight other platforms. It churned noisily into the river, while army planes swooped overhead, dropping flowers on the cortege. On the shore, army guns boomed a salute of 79 salvos for Gandhi's 79 years.
Gandhiji’s son, Ramdas poured sacred cows milk into the urn of ashes, swirled it and then poured it into the water. It was believed that Gandhi's soul, according to Hindu traditions, was at last free from its mortal prison. At the same moment, milkmen from nearby Allahabad, in a unique tribute, poured barrels of fresh milk into the stream.

Tryst at the Sangam – Part II

Excerpts from real life experiences and knowledge reference from www.kalpavasi.com

Makar Sankranti generally falls around the 14^th of January at the time of the harvest festival – Pongal – in South India and the Kumbha Mela at Allahabad began with all the pomp and glory for which it is famous. The temperature dropped to a freezing below zero on the evening of the 13th, but bathers were not to be discouraged. Just past midnight, thousands began to enter the confluence of the three rivers, immersing themselves in the icy cold water. Loud chanting of "Bolo Ganga Mai ki jai (all glory to Mother Ganga)" filled the clear night air as the pilgrims washed away their bad karma. They came away from the bathing area wrapped in blankets and shivering from the cold. But as quickly as they came out of the water, thousands more came in their wake. With continual chants of “Bolo Ganga Mai ki jai" they entered the waters.

At dawn the sky reddened and the sun rose to reveal a crowd of five million enthusiasts slowly advancing towards the Sangam. From the center of that mass of humanity came a marvelous procession announcing the official beginning of the Kumbha Mela. Bands played, people danced in jubilation, and colorful flags and banners flew above the crowd.

The procession was headed by the Nagas, India's famed naked holy men. These holy men engage themselves in renunciation of the world in search of equilibrium. They hope to escape the world's concomitant reactions and suffering by their austere practices such as complete celibacy and non-accumulation of material possessions. Hence they are also known as liberationists. With matted locks of hair, their bodies covered in ashes, and their tridents (the symbol of a follower of Shiva) raised high, they descended upon the bathing area. Entering the water in a tumult, blowing conch shells and singing "Shiva ki jai, Ganga ki jai," they splashed the sacred waters upon each other and played just like children. Indeed, they are said to be the very children of the Ganges.

They are followed by the Vaishnava Vairagis, the wandering mendicants who dedicate everything to Lord Vishnu, the Sustainer. These saints live a life of service and complete dedication. Then come the innumerable other sects of ascetics dressed in saffron colored cloth and carrying their staffs of renunciation. It seemed like the the bygone eras of India’s spiritual evolution were simultaneously present together in procession each awaiting their turn to bathe in the Sangam.

Several hours pass before the procession is finished amd only then does the mass bathing of the pilgrims commence. From the high banks of the river one could see the dark blue water of the Yamuna mixing with the silver gray water of the Ganges. Bathers, immersed up to the waist, scooped up water with folded palms and offered it to heaven in a timeless gesture. Boatmen rowed their boats full of pilgrims to a small sandbar in the middle of the Sangam which soon disappeared under a cloud of bathers. There was none to young or old for this occasion. Some bathers made offerings of flowers, sweets, and colored dyes to the sacred waters, while others offered Vedic hymns. The chanting of OM - the supreme combination of letters - and Sanskrit mantras issued from the lips of every pilgrim.

As night fell, thousands of campfires could be seen burning along the riverbanks. In the central festival area, decorated pandals (large tents) accommodated the thousands who listened to some of India's most exalted gurus lecturing on spiritual and philosophical topics. In some pandals there were Indian drama and classical dance groups whose exotic costumes and performances attracted large audiences. In others there were elaborate displays and dioramas illustrating the stories from India's ancient epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There was so much to see and do that there was never a dull moment.

Some pilgrims prefer to come to the Kumbha Mela on the days of the big sacred baths like Makar Sankranti and then return home, while others prefer to set up camp and stay for the entire duration. During the Maha Kumbha Mela at Allahabad there were six scheduled days for auspicious baths. Those who remained for the full tenure of the mela and observe all the important baths under a strict pious regime are called kalpvasis. For more information on Kalpavasi’s refer to www.kalpavasi.com

That year the Indian government spent more than 8 million dollars on preliminary organization for the Kumbha Mela. According to national newspaper reports, arrangements provided 5000 gallons of purified drinking water every minute; 8000 buses which shuttle pilgrims in and out of the festival area that was spread over 300- acres; 16000 outlets and 6000 poles provided electrical facilities; 6000 sweepers and sanitation employees who worked around the clock to maintain health standards; 9 pontoon bridges which spanned the Ganges at critical junctions; 20000 policemen, firemen, and the Indian National Guard who kept a constant vigil at various checkpoints and with the help of closed circuit TV cameras guarded against traffic congestion and other possible outbreaks or disturbances; and 100 doctors and nurses on call at all times at medical assistance stations which were spread around the camp.

An entire city sprang up along the banks of the river during the Kumbha Mela complete with markets, hospitals, and even a tourist camp to accommodate visitors from foreign countries. It was also interesting to note that all the food arrangements throughout the festival were vegetarian. There was not a trace of meat, fish or eggs to be found in any camp or in any public eating place. We later realized that meat is strictly taboo amongst all types of transcendentalists in India.

The camel, a hardy beast of burden, used in India for centuries to transport cargo for long distances and through difficult and sandy terrain, was the unsung hero of Kumbha Mela. Carrying heavy loads of firewood, tents, and foodstuffs on their raised backs these awkward creatures formed the very lifeline to the Kumbha Mela residents. In the soft sand, cars, trucks, and even horse carts often got stuck. But the camel was rugged and the goods always got through.

Early mornings were the most austere time of day for everyone at the Kumbha Mela because it was always colder than at any other time and the sunrise is considered the most auspicious time of the day for spiritual practices. Every day at dawn, thousands arose early to bathe in the Ganges and return to their camps to chant mantras and meditate, Kumbha Mela is a festival which has enthralled and captivated millions and no Words, film, print, and paper can not do justice to the event — it is one that has to be experienced to capture the feeling of happiness.

A Tryst at the Sangam – Part I

Excerpts from real life experiences and knowledge reference from www.kalpavasi.com

They came by the millions! Some arrived on overcrowded trains carrying five times their normal capacity. Some came by bus, by car, some by ox drawn carts, and others rode on horses, camels, and even elephants. The rich and famous chartered private planes and helicopters, while the less affluent came on foot carrying their bed rolls and camping equipment in heavy bundles on their heads. Wave after wave, they formed a veritable river of humanity that flowed onto the banks of the Ganges at Allahabad to celebrate the greatest spiritual festival ever held in the history of the world, the Kumbha Mela.

Kumbha Mela has gained international fame as "the world's most massive act of faith." Pilgrims come to this holy event with such tremendous faith and in such overwhelming numbers that if boggles and baffles the mind. Faith is the underlying fact for the pilgrims at Kumbha Mela, and they come with an "unflinching trust in something sublime".

To understand the significance of the Kumbha Mela and the important role it plays in the spirituality of India, one must know something about the background of the sacred Ganges River. The devout believe that simply by bathing in the Ganges one is freed from their past sins (karma), and thereby one becomes eligible for liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Of course it is said that a pure lifestyle is also required after taking bath, otherwise one will again be burdened by karmic reactions .The pilgrims come from all walks of life, traveling long distances and tolerating many physical discomforts, such as sleeping in the open air in near freezing weather. They undergo these difficulties just to be blessed with the benefit of taking a bath in the sacred river at Kumbha Mela.

This spectacle of faith has for many centuries attracted the curiosity of foreign travelers. Hiuen Tsiang of China, who lived during the seventh century, was the first to mention Kumbha Mela in his diary. He gave an eyewitness report that during the Hindu month of Magha (January-February) half a million people had gathered on the banks of the Ganges at Allahabad to observe a celebration for 75 days. The pilgrims, writes Hiuen Tsiang, assembled along with their king, his ministers, scholars, philosophers, and sages. He also reports that the king had distributed enormous quantities of gold, silver, and jewels in charity to acquire good merit and hence ensuring his place in heaven.

In the eight century, Adi Shankaracharya, a prominent Indian saint, popularized the Kumbha Mela among the common man, and soon the attendance began to grow to enormous proportions. Shankaracharya emphasized the significance and the opportunity for the common man associate with saintly persons during the at Kumbha Mela. Both listening to the discourses of the sadhus (holy men) and sacred bathing are still the two main aspects of the Kumbha Mela. By 1977, the number of pilgrims attending Kumbha Mela had to risen to 15 million! By 1989, the attendance was in the range of 29 million-nearly double that of the previous record.

The ancient origin of the Kumbha Mela is described in the time honored Vedic literatures of India as having evolved from bygone days of the universe when the demigods and the demons produced the nectar of immortality. The sages of old have related this story thus: once upon a time, the demigods and demons assembled together on the shore of the milk ocean which lies in a certain region of the cosmos. The demigods and demons desired to churn the ocean to produce the nectar of immortality, and agreed to share it afterwards. The Mandara Mountain was used as a churning rod, and Vasuki, the king of serpents, became the rope for churning. With the demigods at Vasuki's tail and the demons at his head, they churned the ocean for a thousand years. A pot of nectar was eventually produced, and both the demigods and demons became anxious. The demigods, being fearful of what would happen if the demons drank their share of the nectar of immortality, stole away the pot and hid it in four places on the Earth: Prayag (Allahabad) Hardwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. At each of the hiding places a drop of immortal nectar spilled from the pot and landed on the earth. These four places are believed to have acquired mystical powers and festivals are regularly held at each, Allahabad being the largest and most important

Besides the Ganges, there are also two other sacred rivers located at Allahabad, the Yamuna and the Saraswati . The Yamuna, like the Ganges has its earthly origin in the Himalayas. The Saraswati, however, is a mystical river which has no physical form. It is believed that the Saraswati exists only on the ethereal or spiritual plane and is not visible to the human eye. This holy river is mentioned many times in India's sacred texts such as the Mahabharata and is said to be present at Allahabad where it joins the Yamuna and the Ganges.

This confluence of India's three most sacred rivers at Allahabad is called the ‘Sangam’. The culmination of the sanctity of the three holy rivers, coupled with the spiritual powers obtained from the pot of nectar of immortality, has earned Allahabad the rank of tirtharaja, the king of holy places.

The highlight for most pilgrims during a Kumbha Mela is the observance of a sacred bath at the Sangam. It is said that a bath in either of the sacred rivers has purifying effects, but where the three rivers meet, the bather's purification is increased by a hundred times. Furthermore, it is said that when one takes a bath at the Sangam during the Kumbha Mela, the influence is one thousand times increased.

According to astrological calculations, the Kumbha Mela is held every twelve years and begins on Makar Sankranti, the day when the sun and moon enter Capricorn and Jupiter enters Aries. The astrological configuration on Makar Sankranti is called "Kumbha snana-yoga" and is considered to be especially auspicious, as it is said that the passage from Earth to the higher planets is open at that time, thus allowing the soul to easily reach for the celestial world. For such reasons it is understandable why the Kumbha Mela has become so popular among all classes of transcendentalists in India