Dipping into the sacred rivers at Kumbh Mela

By DR. T. SELVA

Every six years a sacred site in India attracts the world’s largest gathering of people – so large it can be seen from space, where satellites have photographed it!

It takes place again from January 14 – March 4, 2019, in Allahabad and I would urge spiritual seekers and readers not to miss the event of dipping into the sacred rivers. This is because I did at the Ardh Kumbh Mela and again six years later at Maha Kumbh Mela and had an enlightening experience.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this is the largest number of human beings to assemble with a common purpose in the entire history of mankind!

So, what is so special about the event?

Spiritual seekers believe that bathing in these sacred waters during the Kumbh Mela will speed the way to nirvana.

According to the Hindu faith, souls are reborn after death in a continuous cycle known as karma; nirvana is achieved when one is liberated from the cycle through righteous living and good.

The holy water at the confluence of three sacred rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical underground waterway Saraswathi, is said to wash away sins.

The circumstances of one’s next life, or even whether one achieves nirvana, are determined by one’s actions in one’s present life.

So, actions like going on a pilgrimage to places of spiritual power, such as this sacred confluence of three powerful rivers, can have a profound impact on one’s next life and whether one can break the cycle of rebirth.

Research reveals that the Ganges has been regarded as a site of power from ancient times and people have been visiting it since then.

No ritual or belief is necessary, and no particular religion need be practiced, to tap into the power when visiting the site.

Reportedly, all one needs to do is to place one’s foot on the holy soil to experience spiritual illumination.

The highlight of the event will be the rare sight of over 180,000 monks, saints, sages, yogis and sadhus who leave their remote dwelling places in mountains, caves and communes in the Himalayas and all over India to travel to Allahabad to take their ceremonial dip in the river during the festival.

These holy men live lives of complete simplicity and they are regarded by devotees as earthly representatives of God because of the extent of their self-sacrifice.

They use pain as a means of transcending reality and attaining spiritual enlightenment – they do things like sit in a circle of burning cow dung, walk on glass, sleep on beds of nails or wrap their sexual organs and stand on one leg for over 30 years!

This festival is usually the only time they leave their hidden abodes to appear in public.

Kumbh Mela genesis goes back to a Hindu creation myth when gods and demons fought over a pitcher.

For me, it was an incredible sight: hundreds of naked holy men, their bodies smeared with ash, their long hair and beards matted, charging into the Ganges River in India.

An even more incredible sight: more than 10 million people on the banks of the holy river, waiting their turn to take a dip and come away spiritually enlightened.

More amazing incidents and facts that I saw and experienced:

Despite the millions dipping themselves to cleanse their sins and purify their souls, the Ganges remained clean, contrary to earlier foreign news reports that had said it was polluted. I filled a bottle with the water and tasted it; I found it to be clear and clean tasting, like piped water.

According to believers, mixing even a small quantity of water from the river with ordinary water makes the ordinary water “Ganges water” with all of the river water’s healing and holy properties.

Also, Ganges water does not stink if stored for several days. And, although the weather was cold – minus 6°C after sunset – the water remained lukewarm.

And, despite the crowd, the feeling was mystical and blissful. It was fascinating to see the devotion showed by all those millions of pilgrims, young and old, from all over the world. There was no rushing or pushing and shoving, people conducted themselves with discipline. We’re talking about 70 million people behaving well – that truly is amazing!

A festive mood prevailed along the river bank as pilgrims chanted mantras, sang devotional hymns like Hare Hare Ganga (Long Live the Ganges River), lit oil lamps, released flowers into the water or sat shaving their heads bald before their ceremonial dip.

The Naga Babas, better known as Naga sadhu (naked holy men), are especially sought after as this is the only time they emerge from their remote dwelling places around India. Naga sadhus renounce all earthly pleasures in their attempt to attain spiritual enlightenment.

While these hermits usually shun all contact with the outside world, at this festival, they are quite hospitable.

I met one such naked philosopher sitting in one of the 50,000 tents lining the riverbank and came away with great admiration for his simple life. It might be devoid of comforts and sensual pleasures but that meant it was also free of materialism and all the negativity that entails.

His nakedness was the extreme expression of the idea of having no possessions. Sometimes, he seemed to fall into rather provocative poses but the point of his nudity had nothing to do with eroticism; rather, it showed that he was beyond sexuality.

The moment he made an eye contact with me, he invited me to sit beside him before a small fire over which he was boiling some tea with milk and, in the process offering darshan (blessing) to devotees coming to him. For devotees, receiving the darshan is a way of tapping into the divine energy of such spiritual leaders.

Women, who are forbidden to look at the holy men directly, joined the line with their heads bowed down and sought his blessing by touching his feet. Women who are experiencing bad karma, however, are allowed to take a brief glance at the sadhus as it is said that holy men can partially take on an individual’s karma. This is because sadhus are regarded as representatives of the gods and are highly respected.

The forty something Naga Baba, who only spoke Hindi, later took some ash from the fire pit and marked my forehead to indicate a spiritual initiation and offered me milk. He then asked if I could buy some firewood and I obliged.

He shared the hut with two older men who had also committed their lives to the attainment of enlightenment and the exploration of the inner light. They, too, were naked and longhaired and their bodies were covered with ash. All three sat on tiger and deerskins and one of them had painted his forehead.

The men practice celibacy, some form of yoga and bodily mortification and live in the mountains, aloof from society. The sadhus only eat fruit and drink only milk; fasting is a regular practice. They do not work and depend on offerings of food from devotees who recognise them as powerful holy men.

According to the sadhu I spoke to, the inner light is the core of one’s consciousness and it is identical with (or a part of) the absolute cosmic consciousness, though that is unknowable to the ordinary human mind.

Records show that there are over five million sadhus in India.

Kumbh Mela takes place in four different places: Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain.

The first British reference to the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad took place in 1868 and the biggest affair of the festival is the Maha Kumbh Mela which will take place every 12 years, the next is in 2025.

Photos’ courtesy DR T. SELVA

Dr T. Selva is the author of the bestseller book Vasthu Sastra Guide and the first disciple of seventh generation Vasthu Sastra Master Yuvaraj Sowma in Chennai. To get a copy of the book call Devi at 0412623017. He can be contacted at drtselvas@gmail.com Facebook: Vasthu Sastra; Website: www.vasthusastra.com