The Eminence of the Kumbha Mela

Dr Pranav Pandya

Instate the Amruta Ghat and attain Immortality 

The greatest fear that a soul has is of death. Instating of the Amruta Ghat/Kumbha can mean attaining immortality. Self-realisation can also be called the attainment of Amruta-tattva. The Deities have become immortal by drinking the Payaswini (A celestial drink). It is said in the Shrimad-bhagawadgeeta – ‘The body of man perishes but the soul never dies’. And yet, to have attachment to the body is simply the enormous ignorance of the individual.

Aarti at Ghat of the Sangam

Bathing at a Ghat of Sangam

No creature, irrespective of its size, big or small, can escape death. Scriptures have called the Deities immortal; but Deities are not completely immortal either. They definitely live longer than the inhabitants of the land of death. Their complete one day (day + night) is equal to one year of a human being (six months of day and six months of night). As long as the sun is in Uttarayan, it is the day of Deities and during Dakshinayan, it is the night of Deities. In this method of Time measurement, the duration of the Kumbha Mela has been considered to be of only one hundred years. This is little more than 36,000 years of man.

According to us, the Kumbha Mela is a sign of immortality; because thousands of generations of man have passed away during this period. For example, in the eyes of mosquitoes and moths, man is in a way, also immortal; because thousands of their generations have perished during the lifespan of man. Therefore, it is not logical to call Deities immortal either. It is written in the Shrimadbhagawadgeeta that after enjoying the pleasures of heaven and exhausting one’s merits, the soul again descends to Mrutyulok or the world of mortals. This belief fits perfectly with the concept of Amruta. It is said in the Bhagavati Shruti – ‘We have attained immortality by drinking Soma’. Shrimadbhagawadgeeta also mentions that by drinking Soma, one attains Indraloka.

Actually, this can only be called relative immortality, because the meaning of getting freed from the cycles of life-and-death is something different.

Death (of the body) is certain for every soul that takes birth. It cannot be avoided. Even in scientific research, no proper steps have been taken in this direction. In fact, the meaning of attaining Amruta-tattva is to attain the sacred purpose of the human species. The Amruta of life can be attained only after understanding the poison of death. Scriptures call this Nishreyas, which is possible only in the human body. Therefore, it is called Devadurlabha. If the Deities were immortal, why would they be eager to incarnate by taking a human body ?

Human virtues are Amruta itself

The only secret behind considering the human species superior when compared with the Deities is their ability to obtain Amruta-tattva, which when attained, permanently destroys the sufferings of unbearable agonies of life, whereby  the Truth of life is realised and manifests before us. The Skanda Purana says – ‘The individual’s lineage is considered sacred, the mother is gratified and the Earth is also considered virtuous when he attains Amruta-tattva as the ultimate goal’.

Scriptures have suggested many methods to attain this Amruta-tattva. Any pious effort to achieve human virtue will be called Amruta. Kaivalya Upanishad says that Amruta is not attained by actions with expectations, nor by progeny or wealth; only sacrifice is useful for this. That is, only human virtues can be counted in the category of Amruta. Kathopanishad says – ‘All actions performed with a selfless spirit are like Amruta’.

Knowledge of the Supreme Soul has also been compared to Amruta; because after knowing the Supreme Soul, an individual becomes immortal. The Name of God is also like Amruta. The latter part of Padma Purana says that by continuously chanting the Name of Hari, the individual gets liberated from birth and death.

(Courtesy : Excerpts from an Article by Dr Pranav Pandya, the Head of All World Gayatri Pariwar, Chancellor of Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Director of Brahmavarchas Research Institute, and President of Swami Vivekananda Yogvidya Mahapeetham)

Knowledge of the Supreme Soul has been compared to Amruta; because after knowing it, an individual becomes immortal !