We may have progressed more than a hundred steps when it comes to technology, but deep down, we have not been quite successful in eradicating our meaningless bias and superstitions related to our customs and rituals. We still believe that the Ghats of Varanasi are a place where you can wash off your sins, some of us in the remote corners of the country have our faith intact in “jhaad phoonk”, and a lot of us still believe that amavas ki raat is the night when we can be haunted by the spirits.
There is something in us which keeps on reinstating our faith in such superstitions, and one such extravagant superstition is the one we fondly call the Maha Kumbh Mela. Yes, it is that congregation of humanity where many brothers and sisters had lost their way, only to be reunited in Bollywood movies. And why should they not get lost? Records say, there are millions of devotees headed to the Maha Kumbh every time!
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Many of us still believe in all kinds of paap or sins. There are times when you might end up feeling that there is more belief in paap than there is in your religion. A menstruating woman entering the temple has committed a sin, not believing in God is another paap, having sex before marriage is of course, a ghor paap. So in order to atone for all your sins and attain nirvana, a lot of us are drawn to Kumbh Mela because of the belief that a dip in the holy water would purge us of all our sins. We wonder whether the dip is to cleanse the sins of the mind or the dirt of the body after having travelled miles for this? We also wonder if this is the regular cycle of washing your sins and then getting back to the same things over and over again? Complicated thing, this human brain, for which control seems to be an alien word.
Each coin has two sides and so does this large coin of the Kumbh Mela. As India is considerably poor when it comes to economy, Kumbh Mela creates a plethora of job opportunities. So that definitely is a great cause as it contributes to the growing economy of the country.
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The Kumbh Mela is also a pretty sight to see, if we do not consider the crowd, which has the power to make you feel sick. The Sadhus and the Nagas are a treat to the eyes as they move in groups as soon as the sun rises towards the river to bathe. The constant chanting of the religious hymns and mantras will lull you into a strange sense of security and it will automatically want you to take a dip into the water which, the bhakts believe, turn into nectar.
It is indeed fascinating that the power of faith can drive multitudes to this place filled with religious aura, however, it also comes with immense frustration. If the devotees had their heart in the right place, then they would have believed in the classic adage of cleanliness being next to godliness. In the name of spiritual enlightenment and the path to moksha, all that the bhakts do is to contaminate the water and pollute the environment. What they do not realize is the amount of havoc that they are wreaking. And of course, why would they? In incredible India, everything is fair in the name of religion!
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It does not stop at just that. The crowd gets unmanageable and there have been deaths and injuries caused due to a stampede. So, the Mela which was supposed to take you closer to God, takes you to a place where you can be with god for good. The chillum enjoyed by the Naga Sadhus is more often than not enjoyed by the youth of the Kumbh Mela as well. But the world justifies the logic of it by saying that Lord Shiva used to smoke weed, so it is okay if the “bhakts” of Kumbh Mela indulge in it a bit because they are doing it in the name of religion.
We have no intention of defaming this huge religious phenomenon, but just sharing thoughts about the not-so-holi side, which makes this festival complete in the entire sense!
