Attending a Maha Kunbh is truly a once in a life time experience. There is a lot of folklore around the Kumbh ... the stereotypical Bollywood brothers who get separated, naked sadhus smoking pot etc.
My experience has been anything but the image created of the Kumbh ..
Lets start with the myths ...
1) Naked Sadhus - The most common image of the Kumbh projected by the media is that of a crowd of armed naked sadhus rushing towards the river bank. The sight of ash smeared, trishul/sword wielding sadhus may lead one for believe that the Kumbh is not a place for a family to be.
As I made my way to Ram Ghat in Ujjain, I saw around me extended families who had come together to take a dip .. there were kids, grand parents, uncles, aunts ... the great Indian extended family dominates the demography at Kumbh. There were no naga sadhus with weapons roaming around the streets. The naga sadhus are a very small minority who are largely confined to their own camps.
2) Dirt & Hygiene - When i first announced my plan to visit the Kumbh , I did receive a lot of negative reaction ... its a dirty, un-hygenic place .... one visit there and you will be sick ... the same image that many foreigners have of India. The Kumbh at Simhasth was very well organised, despite the crowd, there was no dirt of faith lying around. There were adequate changing rooms and toilets all around. There was no open defecation or urination.
3) Safety & Convenience - Most people believe that chaos and confusion are inevitable at a place like a Kumbh which sees millions of people congregating on a small river bank. Although technology was heavily leveraged at the Simhastha Kumbh with drone cameras, security with Go-Pro cams and a large volunteer force on the ground, people were very well behaved....there was no chaos around Ujjain. There is also an app which guides you around the Kumbh. Even little things like 'foot wear' management was extremely taken care of.
So what makes a Kumbh a once in a lifetime experience
a) Un-Imaginable Scale - The number of people at the Kumbh, their faith in Dharma and their orderly conduct cannot be imagined or described in worlds. One can only experience it. If anyone wants to experience 'Infinity', one can do that at the Kumbh.
b) Hinduism is often stereotyped by the West in terms of caste oppression, violent and psycho-sexual in nature ( as described by 'scholars' from Columbia and Harvard). Kumbh destroys this stereotype... no one cares or asks about your caste or class. Millions come together as a one large un-divided family ... its like a million hearts that are beating to the same spiritual tune.
c) Last but not the least .. you will feel and experience what Sanathan Dharma is all about. Hinduism believes that everyone is born divine and that this no difference between Brahama (God) and the soul that manifests in each one of us. This is often conveyed using the phrases - 'Tat Tvam Asi' and ' Aham Brahmasmi'. As I completed my dips in the river and walked back to the ghats ..... I felt like I had just completed a journey .... TO INFINITY & BEYOND.
My experience has been anything but the image created of the Kumbh ..
Lets start with the myths ...
1) Naked Sadhus - The most common image of the Kumbh projected by the media is that of a crowd of armed naked sadhus rushing towards the river bank. The sight of ash smeared, trishul/sword wielding sadhus may lead one for believe that the Kumbh is not a place for a family to be.
As I made my way to Ram Ghat in Ujjain, I saw around me extended families who had come together to take a dip .. there were kids, grand parents, uncles, aunts ... the great Indian extended family dominates the demography at Kumbh. There were no naga sadhus with weapons roaming around the streets. The naga sadhus are a very small minority who are largely confined to their own camps.
2) Dirt & Hygiene - When i first announced my plan to visit the Kumbh , I did receive a lot of negative reaction ... its a dirty, un-hygenic place .... one visit there and you will be sick ... the same image that many foreigners have of India. The Kumbh at Simhasth was very well organised, despite the crowd, there was no dirt of faith lying around. There were adequate changing rooms and toilets all around. There was no open defecation or urination.
3) Safety & Convenience - Most people believe that chaos and confusion are inevitable at a place like a Kumbh which sees millions of people congregating on a small river bank. Although technology was heavily leveraged at the Simhastha Kumbh with drone cameras, security with Go-Pro cams and a large volunteer force on the ground, people were very well behaved....there was no chaos around Ujjain. There is also an app which guides you around the Kumbh. Even little things like 'foot wear' management was extremely taken care of.
So what makes a Kumbh a once in a lifetime experience
a) Un-Imaginable Scale - The number of people at the Kumbh, their faith in Dharma and their orderly conduct cannot be imagined or described in worlds. One can only experience it. If anyone wants to experience 'Infinity', one can do that at the Kumbh.
b) Hinduism is often stereotyped by the West in terms of caste oppression, violent and psycho-sexual in nature ( as described by 'scholars' from Columbia and Harvard). Kumbh destroys this stereotype... no one cares or asks about your caste or class. Millions come together as a one large un-divided family ... its like a million hearts that are beating to the same spiritual tune.
c) Last but not the least .. you will feel and experience what Sanathan Dharma is all about. Hinduism believes that everyone is born divine and that this no difference between Brahama (God) and the soul that manifests in each one of us. This is often conveyed using the phrases - 'Tat Tvam Asi' and ' Aham Brahmasmi'. As I completed my dips in the river and walked back to the ghats ..... I felt like I had just completed a journey .... TO INFINITY & BEYOND.
Eye opening article for the dumb siculars
ReplyDeleteEye opening article for the dumb siculars
ReplyDelete