Namaste,
I'm in Hardwar on the Ganges to
participate in the Kumbha Mela. The Kumbha Mela is a religious
event which occurs every twelve years at four different places, each
being three years apart. The two major ones are at Allahabad
where the Yamuna River joins the Ganga along with the hidden Saraswati
River.
These events celebrate an episode in the mythical story of the churning
of the Ocean of Milk by the gods and demons together, in order to
churn out a number of treasures, including the elixir of
immortality (amrita). When the amrita was obtained, a quarrel
broke out between the gods and demons as to the distribution of the
elixir - who would get it first. Vishnu took the form of the
beguiling Mohini, 'the Enchantress', and proposed that she would do
it. Overwhelmed by her beauty, the demons agreed. When
Mohini got hold of the elixir, instead of passing it out she fled, with
the demons in hot pursuit. During the chase four drops of amrita
fell to the ground, at Hardwar, Triveni Sangam (Allahabad), Nasik, and
Ujjain. It his here that the Kumbha Melas are held at the
atrologically appropriate times.
In Allahabad and Hardwar especially, ten to fifteen million
pilgrims come on thise dates to bathe in the river and partake of the
blessing of the amrita. The Kumbha Melas also serve as periodic
congresses of Hindu ascetics. The sadhus camp out for months,
maintaining sacred fires (dhuni), hanging out together (sat sang),
worshipping God (puja), taking sacred baths in the Ganga (snan),
holding ccelebrations and feasts (bandhara) and exchanging
esoteric knowledge.
I am told that there will be a ceremony during which 12,000 naked
acolytes will be initiated into the sadhu order of Naga 'Babas'.
Millions of chillems (clay funnel-shaped pipes) filledwith ganja (pot)
and charas (hash) mixed with tobacco will be smoked around the dhunis.
It's not too crowded yet, but noisy. The Akharas (sadhu
sasociations/sects) are holdiing daily parades (jaloos) with chariots
and elephants, etc. All of this requires the taking down of
electrical wires along the route, which results in long power cuts
which remind me of home.
And how did the story end? Needless to say, the gods got the
elixir. Otherwise they would be dead by now and demons would be
ruling the world. Or are they? As for Mohini, before this
avatar of Vishnu was withdrawn, Shiva became enamored with, her, chased
her down like no demon, and bonked (dally) her. The result of
this union was a god called Hari-Hara, who, as you can see, bore
resemblance to both his daddies, and is said to have reincarnated as a
miraculous lion-taming prince of a South Indian dynasty. His name
is Ayappa, and the yearly pilgrimage to his Sabrimala shrine in the
forests of Kerala is a major event in the South. But that's
another story...
I will be here till after Mahashivaratri,
when the first major bath (shahi snan) of the Mela occurs. I am
staying in a respectably dilapidated 'resort' on the banks of the
Ganga. This bulding once belonged to king Tribhuvan of Nepal, the
present (former) monarch's grandfather. He used it for pilgrimage
and retreat. With the change in the habits of his grandchildren,
the house was sold to a bollywood producer famous for productions of
mythological epics, and turned into a hotel.
My room
window of my room
The doors of my room open directly onto the Mother River.
There's a fair-sized landing with a temple, and steps leading down to
the Ganga.
There's a railng to prevent being swept away to an auspicious
death while taking a sacred bath. At one side there is a box
suspended on the railing, so that a pilgrim can perform worship of the
holy river suspended over it. It's rather cold. I don't
know how many baths I will manage to take before the obligatory big
one, but I will be taking sips of the water (achamanam) and sprinkling
it on my head (abhisheka).
The river is about 50 meters wide here. It flows swiftly,
glistening mesmerisingly in the sunshine, like like the flow of
Life. I feel extremely fortunate to be here.
Love&pranams, Billy
