Ask fifty-year-old Venketesh who travelled from Trivunthupuram to be part of the one of world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims at Ujjain, if the Kshipra river water was clean enough to take a bath. Or was he aware of the negative reports about sewage water leaks and destruction by inclement weather past few days.
Pat comes the reply: “Taking a dip at the sacred Kshipra is all about faith and religious beliefs. Your all sins are washed away. And moreover the Government has taken enough steps to cleanse the river.”
It’s time to embrace your soul and material body with the sacred nectar bestowed by God. It’s ocean of humanity, he sums up the feeling of lakhs of pilgrims at the makahkumbh spread over 3,000 acres of area.
His wife tries to make a point: have you heard the song, Mano tho mai Ganga maa huin na maano tho bahtha paani (If you believe I may be holy mother Ganga or can be just a flowing water) from film Ganga ki SaungadhIJ Then she replies herself: same is with this holy river.
In fact, enthusiasm writ large on faces of the couple as also other pilgrims who included from almost all walks of life, literate and illiterate, old and young from across the country as well as world as they walked a few kilometers barefoot to reach to the temples and take a holy dip at the river. It seemed as if all just wanted to be at the fair, longing for moksha or liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Officials say that the special efforts have been taken to ensure sufficient water in the river through Rs650 crore Narmada-Kshipra river interlink project, water oxygenated and clean the ghats to ensure pilgrims take a ritual bath at the river. Fifty-one temporary police stations, 25 thousand police personnel and 650 CCTVs cameras among other safety logistical measures have been taken for convenience of public.
As the crowd of pilgrims and saints of various sects congregate at Ram Ghat, considered to be the most auspicious being the seat of the lord Mahakaleshwar, of all the 13 ghats designated by the Government, the festival presents a picture of mini India. Religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding and assemblies with debates by doctrines too dominated the scene.
“I had been keenly waiting for this Kumbhmela. Ujjain is also the abode of lord Mahakaleshwar, one of the 12 Jyotirlings in the country. I am feeling divine after taking the dip at the Kshipra,” says 25-year-old Trisha Kadli, an MBA student from Gujarat who has come with her family to attain spiritual benefits.
While stating that there were bound to have some gaps when events of such a large scale are organised, she praised the overall arrangements made by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s Government.
The Simhastha or Kumbhmela was kicked-off from April 22 and will continue till May 22. It has been drawing a huge crowd. On the ritual of Shahi Snan, conducted on 22 April, a day of full moon (Poornima) saw presence of nearly ten million devotees across the country. Ujjain had hosted the Ardha Kumbh in the year 2010.
It is Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, a spiritual master and philanthropist who rightly explains the science and significance of one of the world’s largest spiritual gathering in his blog.
“Most Indians are unaware of the depth of mysticism and spiritual process that has happened and continues to happen in India. This land has always been known as the spiritual capital of the world, simply because no other culture has looked at the inner sciences with as much understanding. Here, liberation or mukti has been the highest goal, and even God is considered just a stepping stone towards that,” he says.
According to Hindu legend, during samudra manthan (churning sea to separate nectar and poison) drops of nectar from a pot spilled at four different places. These are The Ganges (Ganga) at Haridwar, the confluence (Triveni Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati at Allahabad, the Godavari at Nasik and the Kshipra at Ujjain.