The spiritual significance of Kumbh Mela

A significant spiritual event is in progress in the land of the mystics and seers – India. This congregation is happening in Haridwar after twelve years. Situate on the banks of river Ganges, Haridwar is hosting the Kumbh Mela from 14th January to 28th April, 2010. The dates are calculated based on the special astrological combination of zodiacal positions of Sun, Moon, and Jupiter. The references of Kumbh Mela are found even in the Puranas. So, we can infer that this holy event has been celebrated in India since time immemorial, even before the Puranas were written four thousand years ago.

The sages of ancient times, who used to live in seclusion in the forests or in Himalayas, envisaged the festival of Kumbh Mela thousand of years ago to bestow the worldly beings with an opportunity to mingle with the holy beings: the Sadhus, the Yogis and the Saints. In this manner, the sages of ancient times ensured that the spirituality, wisdom and the piousness doesn't remain secluded in forests and Himalayas, but also percolates to the heart of common man. Even today, this occasion of Kumbh Mela serves its purpose as you can see people from all walks of life interacting with the holy beings and getting inspired to lead a pious life.

The seers of Indian mysticism narrate another interesting story about the advent of this holy festival of Kumbh Mela.

Once the Goddess of river Ganges went to the creator, Lord Brahma and made a complaint, “Lord, my aura and purity will be desecrated if all the sinful and immoral people continue to take a dip in my holy water with an intention of sanctifying themselves.”

Lord Brahma gave it a sincere thought and then said, “My daughter, you are correct that if the sinful people keep on washing off their sins in your holy water, then your aura will be desecrated. But I give you a boon that when the saintly and Self-realized mystics will take a dip in your holy water, your novel aura will be restored.”

Ever since that time, on the holy occasion of Kumbh Mela, all the holy men, seers, monks and sadhus take a dip in the holy water of Ganges along with worldly people. This is how the sanctity of river Ganges is restored and maintained for thousands of years.

Braving the chilly weather, millions of pilgrims rise before sunrise and walk to the banks of the river Ganges to immerse themselves in the waters, which are considered sacred by Hindus. They have an unflinching trust in something sublime. They believe that bathing in the river on this occasion causes the remission of sins and facilitates the attainment of liberation from the cycle of life and death. You can imagine the magnitude of the human throng based on the record that during one of such Kumbh Mela in 2001, nearly about 60 million people gathered, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world.

Festivals facilitate the outpouring of inner peace and joy. The devotees travel from far distances to gain the benefit of pious vibrations of the religious celebration. The chanting of mantras and spiritual songs fill the heart of devotees with sublime joy. During the festival, the devotees try to maintain pious lifestyle by eating a little and pure vegetarian food, by chanting mantras, by listening to the discourses from the Self realized holy saints and by keeping their mind occupied with the remembrance of God.

Devotees get an opportunity to be in the holy company of saints and avail themselves of their enlightening talks. They learn various forms of breathing exercises and asanas for the physical well being. They are also introduced to the spiritual wisdom of the inner world, and the associated inner peace, divine bliss, and divine grace. During this festival, their senses remain controlled, mind acquires poise and intellect is illumined with the true wisdom of the Self. This in turn makes them all cheerful and their joyfulness makes this event a truly holy pilgrimage.

After visiting one of such Kumbh Mela in the year 1895, Mark Twain wrote:
“It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvellous to our kind of people, the cold whites.”