Hindus comprise the third largest religious group in the world, coming in after the Christians and the Muslims. However, the distinction for the largest gathering of the devout lies with the Hindus. About 45 crore people are expected to make the pilgrimage to the unique and divine Prayagraj Maha Kumbha Mela. About 2 crore Muslims make the annual pilgrimage to Hajj. For scale, as many Hindus will have visited the Maha Kumbha Mela in one and a half months as Muslims who completed the Hajj in the first quarter of the 21st century! The Olympics, the grand festival of sports, is also held once every four years, but just about 1 crore people visited the Paris Olympics last August.
Most people are aware of the Kumbha Mela’s history. Hindu-American author and researcher Nilesh Oak says that it takes 12 years for the planet Jupiter to complete one revolution around the sun. Since the Kumbha Mela is directly related to the planet Jupiter, a Purn Kumbha Mela takes place once in 12 years. By collectively considering the movements of the three celestial bodies – the Sun, the Moon, and Jupiter, timelines of historical events can be accurately calculated. This shows the timeless nature of Indian civilisation, and the Kumbha Mela is an integral part of this ancient Indian Dharma. The Kumbha Mela is a testimony to the enduring nature of Sanatan Hindu Dharma!
Foreign Hindus
There is a belief that during the Kumbha Parva, the universal spiritual energy gathers in Prayagraj and purifies the body, mind and soul. The Kumbha Parva quenches the minds of thousands of foreigners filled with reverence and devotion, while the sacred waters drench their physical bodies. A well-known example is Maria Wirth, who was attracted to Hindu Dharma and India through the Kumbha Mela. Maria, who had left Germany for Australia, came to India for a few months in 1980. It was Divine providence that the Kumbha Mela was going on in Haridwar at the time. This German girl visited it and was engulfed in the Satsang of the sage-like Saints there. So much so that she never went to Australia, but adopted India as her new home. Maria was so overwhelmed by the worship methods and spirituality of Hindu Dharma that she adopted the path and made the propagation of Hindu Dharma her life’s work. Those who farm souls by dint of sword or material bribes pale before such shining examples of the glory of Hindu Dharma.
The Maha Kumbha, the most ancient and divinely created symbol of Hinduism, has survived attacks over thousands of years. From Alexander to Aurangzeb, there were thousands of attacks on Hindus, yet the Kumbha Mela continues unabated. French journalist François Gautier, an ardent student of Hindu Dharma, says that India is still home to thousands of Hindu Sadhus and Saints who have renounced worldly desires and aspirations. They gather in the Kumbha to benefit from the Parva and to do spiritual practice.
A platform for the Hindus
Gautier’s point is pertinent. Every civilisation thrives due to its military and intellectual might. Comparable terms in Hindu Dharma would be Kshatra tej and Brahma tej respectively. Kumbha Melas have played a historic role in repelling attacks on Hindus. Naga Sadhus have been a symbol of Brahma and Kshatra tej. Equally valuable is the contribution of the akhadas of sadhus and Saints affiliated with varied methods of worship. Kumbha Melas played a significant role in bestowing momentum to the Shriram Janmabhoomi movement over the last 40-50 years. The Dharma Sansad held at the Haridwar Kumbha Mela in 1986 was a decisive factor. Hindus created substantial pressure for the construction of the Shriram Temple through the Dharma Sansad and various movements in the 2019 Haridwar Kumbha Mela. The culmination of all these efforts was the consecration of Shriram Lalla in Ayodhya after five and a half centuries.
The Prayagraj Maha Kumbha should also address all the issues that Hindus are currently facing. The Hindu society knows the dire need for a stringent nationwide Love Jihad Act. Apart from this, efforts are required to protect Hindu land and national property from falling prey to the Waqf Act. The spectacular billboards erected by Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Narendracharyaji Maharaj’s organisation are a clarion call to awaken the Hindu community. The Mlechcha kings treated the sacred belief of Hindus as lowly, trampled upon it, and demolished thousands of temples. The alleged places of worship built on the ruins of these temples are a grim reminder of the atrocities that Hindus faced over one thousand years. A firm hand of Dharma is required to strike the constitutional gavel on them. The green jihadi clouds looming over Hindu Dharma in Bangladesh are only getting darker. Sadhus cannot forget the 6,000 plus attacks on Hindus in the last 5 months since the unjust arrest of ISKCON monk Chinmoy Das Prabhu. In this Maha Kumbha, appropriate demands, policies, strategies, directions and plans should be drawn by the sadhus who have sacrificed everything for the protection of Hindu Dharma. Over 10,000 spiritual and nationalist organisations are participating in the Maha Kumbha. It is an ideological churning involving Sants and Mahants in this sea of Hindu unity. May this global forum in the form of Kumbha Mela prove to be a powerful symbol of Hindu resurgence and may the Hindu community obtain strength to harvest the nectar of ‘Hindu revival’ and ‘Hindu Rashtra’. It is a rare opportunity to witness the Kumbha in Prayagraj, the king of pilgrimages at the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. May the tradition of fortifying this eternal shield protecting Hindu Dharma continue unabated through the Maha Kumbha Parva!